Sirius jumps awake, gasping for air, he looks around and sees he's in a blue room with green sheets laid over him. His Hobgoblins shirt torn to shreds, as he had suspected.

Slowly he gets himself to his feet, feeling light headed for a moment and going to the window, things are fuzzy in his mind as the light blinds him. But as his vision adjusts, he can think clearly

"Shit…" he mutters running a hand over his face, feeling a bandage on his head.

He slowly walks out the room and down the hall till he finds stairs, he hears the clattering of dishes, and the faint mutters of people talking. Slowly he walks down the stairs, into the parlor, which connected to the kitchen. He sees Mr. and Ms. Potter having breakfast and James playing with his food. The stair creaks under his foot, causing everyone to look to the doorway.

"Sirius," Ms. Potter gasps, hurrying up to help him.

"You shouldn't be up yet," she says, leading him to a chair.

"No, it's okay i just… i dunno i guess…" he sighs rubbing his head, a dull pain still lingering all over his body.

"'Common lets get you breakfast and you can tell us what happened if you want too," she emphasized the last part, giving him a plate of eggs and bacon. He eats slowly, nothing having any sort of taste to it, just thinking about what happened, how his mother just said she was tired and for his father to handle it, how they acted like it wasn't a big deal but at the same time like he was in deep shit. It confused him so much. Was it right or wrong that they did that?

"Sirius?" Ms. Potter said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?" he asked,

"Can i get you anything?" she asked. Sirius said the first thing that came to his head.

"Concealer," he blurted, Sirius always did cover up with humor. James just wondered how he could make a joke in what rough shape he's in.

"What day is it?" he asked, looking at the calendar on the wall.

"The twenty fifth," ms Potter told him. His eyes widened, and a small smile came to his lips, what he was thinking was hardly funny though. His parents used to always say, every year, 'you ruined Christmas again,' no matter how good he acted, he viewed it as a joke, even though his parents implied that his very presence was a menace.

"Sorry," he muttered finally.

"What, you have nothing to be sorry for," Euphemia said, sitting down next to him,

"I didn't know where else to go, and i-i uh, i kinda ruined your christmas." he muttered, looking at the mug of coffee in Mr. Potters hand, god he would kill for a cup, but something in him told him not to ask, not to be ungrateful.

"Pads, how long has this been going on?" James asked, nervously.

"Just tonight…" he muttered looking down at the table, god he was glad it was just tonight they took it too far.

"I don't think that's right honey." Ms. Potter frowned.

"What… what do you mean?" he asked.

"When have your parents hit you before?" she asks, as if it were the worst thing in the world.

"Just for disciplinary stuff," he muttered, trying to convince even himself now that that's all it was.

"Son, that's not discipline, that's abuse." Mr. Potter said slowly

Sirius's head started throbbing as the light came in through the curtains.

"I think…" he started.

"Yeah?" they all ask.

"I think i need to go back to bed." he mutters. Ms. Potter nods understandingly, and helps him up to his room. He laid down and closed his eyes, and fell into a mind numbing sleep for most of the day. With someone checking on him every hour.

There was a knock on the door, at noon, Ms. Potter had called the Lupins and asked them to come over early, guiltily asking if they could help cook. Explaining that Sirius showed up last night in rough shape was enough and they showed up with crockpots full of food.

Remus walked in and asked where Sirius was, James took him to his room, and you could hear Sirius softly snoring as you walked in.

Remus stopped in the door, looking at the bad cut on his forehead and the bruise on his cheek, right under the eye.

"What happened?" he asked.

"He wouldn't tell us, i don't think even he knows the extent of it." James sighes.

The bed stirs, and Sirius opens his eyes, smiling a little.

"Watching me while i sleep Moony?" he asked, Remus being the first one he saw.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Fine," was the default answer.

"No, really?" REmus asked, kneeling beside Sirius, who thought for a minute.

"Alive," he said finally, bringing a hand out from the covers to rub his face.

"Damn, what part of you didn't they hit?" he asked.

"Dunno, haven't really looked, everything sorta hurts, that's the point though i guess." he muttered the last part, sitting, up and patting the bed for both of them.

They all sat and leaned against the wall.

"What happened?" Remus asked.

"Remember when i said i knew what it felt like?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah,"

"Well the Cruciatus curse made me think i REALLY know now." he sai playing with the sheets, the two of them looked at him in shock.

"They didn't…" James muttered.

"Wanna know the sad thing?" Sirius asked tilting his head against the wall and looking at them.

"what? " Remus asked, his heart breaking at just how hollow the boy's eyes were.

"That's the first time i ever thought they were close to crossing a line, they didn't even cross it for me. I just panicked and ended up here, i think the floo." he said, ruffling his brows thinking.

"I'm really thirsty, it's not like a normal thirst it's like, three days worth of thirst." he chuckled, picking at some dead skin in his fingers.

"I'll get you some water," James said, getting up to get his mom.

"How can you laugh when you've just had an unforgivable done to you?" asked Remus.

"Wasn't the first time, they've used the imperius curse to make me clean for forty eight hours straight," he said, Remus was about to wrap his arms around Sirius out of instinct bt instead thought better of it, and placed his hand in his.

Sirius played with Remus's fingers, tracing the lines on the back of his hand. Remus decided Sirius wasn't one hundred percent there as himself, which he couldn't blame him, you hear stories of people going insane from these curses, so he was fine if Sirius was just humming and tracing lines.

James and his mom came back with water, and it was gone in seconds.

"Thanks," Sirius said with a small smile, still playing with Remus's hand.

"James told me," Ms. Potter said, Sirius hadn't even noticed the tears in her eyes, his vision was a little blurry. He shrugged.

"I mean,people survive it all the time, it's not a big deal," Sirius mutters letting go of Remus's hand and playing with a ring on his own finger.

"Mom i think this is the dissociation thing," James whispered,

Euphemia nodded. There's a thing with people who are put under this curse, they have a few moments of temporary euphoria, known as the dissociation, some get stuck in this stage so it's good to try and pull them out as soon as possible.

"Sirius, do you know why your parents did it? Obviously theres no good reason to, but did they have one?" she asked, his face fell, sadness coming to his eyes, replacing the hollowness

"Kinda, i remember one of the reasons…" he muttered.

"What was it?" she asked, he looked up at her.

"They called me a blood traitor, because off my… friends…." he forced out, looking like the most guilty person in the world.

"darling, come here," she said, leaning in to hug him, he flinched and put his hands in front of his face.

"Sorry," he muttered, putting his hands down and looking away.

"Hey, honey no need to be sorry, common you wanna go down and have something to eat?" she asked. He nodded slowly, hoping to get people to stop worrying.