Author's Note: Sorry for the small delay! College is getting busy!

Chapter Nine

Sirius was shaking.

Or rather, someone was shaking him.

His eyes fluttered open and Regulus' face swam into view.

"Reg, what…?"

Regulus put a finger to his lips.

Sirius yawned and whispered, "What's wrong?"

"I dunno," Regulus murmured, "But Mr. and Mrs. Potter are talking about something downstairs. James went down to spy on them. He looked pretty upset."

Sirius curiously scrambled to his feet and the brother snuck down to the foyer. As they reached the last few steps, they saw that James was sitting against the wall, next to the door that led to the parlor. The boys blinked as they realized that the door was closed. They had only been at the Potters for two weeks, but they had grown used to the fact that all of the doors were wide open – a welcoming change from Grimmauld Place.

'James, what are you doing?' Sirius mouthed.

James didn't answer.

He was intently listening.

Sirius and Regulus exchanged glances before hopping over the creaking step and sneaking over to crouch next to him.

They could hear Mr. and Mrs. Potter talking.

"This is a small mission," Mr. Potter was saying, "Just a few days. A week at the most."

"I know, dear," Mrs. Potter replied, "I just worry…"

Regulus abruptly sneezed.

Sirius groaned and the boys leapt to their feet, racing towards the staircase.

"Boys?"

They froze and guiltily spun around.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter had opened the door.

Sirius stepped forward so that he was standing in front of James and Regulus.

Fortunately, they weren't mad.

"How much did you hear?" Mr. Potter softly said.

James sighed and mumbled, "Almost all of it."

His eyes sparkled and he added, "Do you really have to go?"

"I'm afraid so," Mr. Potter replied.

"Go where?" Regulus asked, "What's going on?"

"I have to go on a mission with the Aurors," Mr. Potter gently said, "It'll only be for a few days."

"Wh…what will happen to us?" Sirius asked.

"Don't worry, dear," Mrs. Potter assuredly said, "You'll still stay here with me."

The brothers sighed with relief.

"When are you leaving?" James asked.

"In a few minutes," Mr. Potter admitted, "I was just about to come up and say goodbye."

James charged forward and tightly hugged his father.

"I'm going to miss you," James murmured.

"I'll miss you, too," Mr. Potter lovingly replied, "All of you."

Sirius felt a lump form in his throat.

Regulus suffered the same fate.

"Good luck, Mr. Potter," Sirius whispered.

"Yeah, good luck," Regulus agreed, "Tell Moody and Kingsley 'good luck', too."

"Thank you, boys," Mr. Potter gently said, "And of course I will."

Mr. Potter eventually let go of James and hugged the two boys.

He then straightened up and said, "Come, now. Back to bed."

He and Mrs. Potter followed them to the bedroom and tucked them in. They murmured kind words before going back downstairs.

Regulus immediately began to snore.

Sirius' eyelids began to droop.

Right before he dozed off, however, he realized that James wasn't even lying down.

The boy was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking quite upset.

Sirius forced his body to wake up.

He clumsily climbed up to sit next to James and asked, "Are you alright?"

James shook his head.

"Reg, wake up," Sirius cried.

His brother jerked awake with a yelp.

He scrambled to his feet and sleepily asked, "James…you okay?"

"No…"

Regulus glanced at Sirius before sitting down on James' other side.

They all flinched as they heard a pop – Mr. Potter had left.

Sirius put his hand on James' shoulder and his brother mirrored the action.

"Boys?"

Mrs. Potter entered the room and took in the situation.

She was quiet for a moment before abruptly saying, "I need your help!"

The three glanced at one another.

"I need help rearranging the living room," Mrs. Potter continued, "Would you mind?"

The boys shrugged and followed her downstairs.

"Alright," Mrs. Potter thoughtfully said, "Let's see…I'll need…these cushions…"

She waved her wand and the cushions flew off of the couch.

The boys each caught one and Sirius asked, "Where do you want us to put them?"

"Oh, anywhere is fine."

She hid a smile as they tossed them onto the ground.

"That's perfect," Mrs. Potter cried, "And I'll need these."

The cushions flew off of the loveseat and chair. The boys caught them as well and added them to the pile.

"And I'll need these blankets," Mrs. Potter decided.

Those were quickly added to the pile.

"I just don't know how I feel about these," Mrs. Potter sighed, "Let me get a few more and we'll decide which ones are the best."

She raced out and grabbed every pillow, cushion, and blanket in the house. She even stripped their beds. When she returned, she was pleased to see that the boys had already gotten to work. James was instructing Sirius and Regulus how to position the cushions so that they made a tent of sorts. Mrs. Potter dropped her pile onto the floor and their eyes light up. They hardly even noticed her as they created a large fort.

Mrs. Potter beamed and went out to the kitchen.

She returned with steaming cups of hot chocolate, each topped with a mountain of whipped cream. The boys drank, talked, wrestled, and chuckled.

At one point, James snuck up behind Sirius and hit him with a pillow.

Sirius laughed and grabbed a pillow of his own, returning the blow.

Regulus joined in and the three were soon in an epic battle.

They raced through the house, leaping onto the furniture and bouncing off of the walls.

At one point, Regulus hopped onto a kitchen chair. It teetered and he cried out.

He fell into Mrs. Potter's arms. The elderly woman gave him a reassured smile and quickly hugged him before setting him back down.

"Thanks, Mrs. Pott-AHHHH!"

Sirius had raced in and had leapt on top of his brother.

Regulus giggled and squirmed free.

He raced away and Sirius chased after him.

They reentered the living room and Sirius crashed into Regulus.

Unfortunately, the two lost their footing and went stumbling into the end table.

Even more unfortunate, a vase filled with freshly-picked flowers tipped.

"LOOK OUT!" Sirius screamed.

He grabbed his brother and pulled him back as the vase fell to the floor.

It shattered into hundreds of pieces, some of which narrowly missed Sirius.

James raced out from his hiding spot and cried, "Are you alright!?"

Neither brother answered.

They scrambled to their feet and stared at one another, alarmed and frightened.

"Boys!"

Mrs. Potter raced in and cried, "What happened?"

Sirius grabbed Regulus and James and pushed them behind him.

"Oh my!" Mrs. Potter gasped, assessing the situation, "Are you alright? Is anyone hurt?"

"We're fine," James answered.

He glanced at the others and added, "I…I think?"

Mrs. Potter sighed with relief and took out her wand.

Sirius and Regulus both screamed.

The former brought his hands up, desperately trying to shield himself.

Mrs. Potter and James both gave a start.

"Boys, what's wrong?" Mrs. Potter cried.

"DON'T HURT HIM!" Regulus shouted, "PLEASE!"

He tried to charge forward but Sirius held him back. In the end, both brothers clung onto one another; as white as the pillows on the floor; shaking so hard that their bodies ached.

Mrs. Potter's eyes bristled with tears as she understood.

She immediately threw her wand to the side and cried, "Boys, boys…I would never…I would never hurt you…"

Sirius wasn't listening.

His eyes were tightly shut.

Yet, he could still see her.

Yelling at him…swearing…waving her wand…the pain…

He could see her ugly face, her piercing eyes, her twisted snarl…

"Sirius…"

And suddenly, somebody was hugging him – a sincere, warm, hug.

He felt the warmth spread throughout his entire body.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw Mrs. Potter's kind face.

"I…I'm sorry," Sirius whispered.

"Don't be, love," Mrs. Potter gently said, "It's okay…you're okay…"

Sirius hesitated before tightly returning the hug.

When he was strong enough to straighten up, he glanced over his shoulder.

James was looking horribly confused.

Regulus had backed into the corner.

"It's alright, Reg," Sirius croaked.

He walked over to his brother and put a hand on his shoulder.

"She's not like Mother," Sirius whispered, "She won't hurt us."

Regulus studied his brother before carefully nodding.

"Sorry, Mrs. Potter," Regulus mumbled.

"It's alright, dears," Mrs. Potter whispered, "It's quite alright."

She spread out her arms and the three boys ran forward.

She hugged them for quite some time.

"Wh…why were you taking out your wand?" Sirius shakily asked.

"I was just going to repair the vase," Mrs. Potter explained, "That's all."

"Repair it?"

Sirius' voice was hoarse.

Mrs. Potter nodded and she finally let go of them.

She slowly retrieved her wand but only after making sure that the three boys were alright.

She then waved it and cried, "Reparo!"

The shards immediately flew together.

Within seconds, the vase was completely repaired.

Regulus sighed with relief and shakily chuckled.

Sirius, on the other hand, felt a lump form in his throat.

"Sirius," Mrs. Potter cried, "Are you…?"

Without warning, he spun around and raced away.

Hot tears streamed down his cheeks.

But he couldn't let the others see…especially not Regulus…

He burst outside, staggered down the steps of the porch, and raced out into the garden.

He made it about ten steps before he promptly broke down.

His legs collapsed and his entire body shook with sobs.

Someone eventually pulled him into a tight hug.

Sirius bawled into Mrs. Potter's shoulder, dampening her dressing gown.

"What is it, love?" Mrs. Potter whispered, "What is it?"

"It…it…it was…"

"It was what?"

"It was that easy!?" Sirius burst out.

His sobs escalated and Mrs. Potter tightened her hug.

"If it…if it…if it was that e…easy," Sirius sobbed, "Why did they do it?"

He curled up in Mrs. Potter's lap and whispered, "Why did they do it, Mrs. Potter?"

"I don't know, dear," Mrs. Potter truthfully replied, "I don't know…"

She had no answers to give.

But she did have love.

And so, she continued to hold Sirius.

She knew that these tears were coming.

It had only been a matter of time.

Her husband had told her about Sirius' tears at the trial.

But those were different tears.

He had been crying because he had been afraid.

But now, he was crying for a completely different reason.

And a heartbreaking reason at that.

Sirius finally calmed himself down. Nevertheless, he still sat in Mrs. Potter's lap. She stroked the back of his head, murmuring words of comfort.

"Okay," Sirius finally whispered, "I'm ready to go back inside."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded.

And so, the two reentered the house.

"They're coming!"

"Act natural!"

Mrs. Potter raised an eyebrow as James and Regulus dashed away from the window.

They both glanced at each other before ducking their heads.

"We just wanted to make sure that Sirius was okay," Regulus whispered.

"Of course I'm okay," Sirius bracingly said, "I'm always okay."

Mrs. Potter's heart ached but she maintained her smile.

"'You sure?" Regulus asked.

He nodded and the other boys sighed with relief.

The three retreated into their fort and began talking, soon forgetting all about the vase.

Mrs. Potter sat on the cushionless couch for a while, listening to them.

She couldn't stop thinking about how Sirius' face had crumbled.

She couldn't stop seeing the fear in his eyes.

But most of all, she couldn't stop seeing how she had shoved the other two boys behind him and had bravely stood in front. It would make sense that he would do so for Regulus. But he had stood in front of James as well…

Mrs. Potter realized that the talking had been replaced by snores.

She glanced into the fort and smiled.

The three were sound asleep, squished against one another.

James' head was on Sirius' shoulder.

Regulus' head was on Sirius' chest.

Sirius had both of his arms protectively draped around them.

And in that moment, Mrs. Potter realized just how similar the three of them looked.

All three of them could have been brothers.