*peeks out from behind rock* Please don't kill me - I know it's been a long time, but at least I'm here now right? *dodges lots of thrown rotten vegetables* or not. Anyway, it's been a stressful year at college, which kinda killed my muse, but it's back now, so there should be more frequent updates, not that they could get less frequent but you know what I mean.
Important: I have edited the scene where Sirius tells Snape to go to the Willow, because I realised that Snape was a little out of character there, so you may want to go catch up. If not, it's not really that different, you'll probably keep up.

A New Home

Harry found himself back in his Grandparents' home in time to watch Black come flying out of the fireplace. The boy landed with a thud and a grunt of pain. Harry winced, feeling sorry for the older boy.

Glancing around the Potters' comfortable living room, Harry was relieved to spot his father's ghost. Harry moved to stand next to him, glad to have company. The man was watching Sirius with a pained look on his face, but spared a small smile for Harry.

The sound of pounding footsteps heading towards them made Harry jump, but his father looked expectantly towards a door to their left, where the younger James Potter appeared, wand out, obviously expecting an intruder. His eyes found Black's now unconscious form on the ground near the fireplace, his trunk lying near his feet. James' eyes took in the scratches on the other boy's face, the unnatural angle of his leg and the way Black was shaking even whilst unconscious.

James ran back out the room, looking frantic. Harry could hear him calling for his parents as he ran, feet thumping on the stairs. A few minutes later, he ran back, face red and frantic, to stay by his friend's side whilst Grandma got her medical kit.
"I thought he was going to die," Harry's father said quietly, making Harry jump a little. His father had a strange look on his face, but Harry knew that this couldn't have been a happy memory for him to witness. Harry didn't know what he'd do if he found Ron or Hermione in this situation.

The scene changed, leaving Harry and his father in the Potters' guest bedroom, a cream coloured room with dark wooden furniture. Black was lying in the bed, looking broken and much younger than sixteen. The younger James was sitting in a chair next to the bed, his head resting near Black's arm. He was fast asleep and snoring softly, glasses askew.

As they watched, Black twitched slightly, opening his eyes slowly. Harry noticed that he'd stopped shaking, and the scratches on his face were healed. The boy looked around the room suspiciously, his eyes eventually resting on James. An almost comical expression of surprise passed over his face, before he started getting out of bed as quietly as possible. Harry noticed that although his leg was attached to a splint, it was at the right angle and no longer seemed broken.

Black made it out of bed, and started limping quietly out of the room. Harry and his father followed him as he made his way unsteadily down the stairs, looking very wary, and leaning on the banister for support. He was obviously trying to sneak out, but Grandma was awake, and had heard him. Black looked startled to see her standing at the bottom of the staircase, but she smiled reassuringly and led him into the kitchen.

Harry followed them, bewildered. Did Grandma know what had happened between the boys? Surely she knew that they'd been fighting at least. Grandma settled Sirius on a stool and got them both a hot chocolate. The woman sighed deeply, taking a seat opposite Sirius. She leaned forwards in her seat, waiting until Black met her eyes before she spoke.

"What happened, Sirius?" she asked.

Black dropped his gaze to the floor, almost like he was ashamed.

"It reminds me of what my family did to me when I told them who I was going to marry," Grandma said, almost wistfully. "I was a Black too, you see, before I met Charlus. I got on alright with my parents for the most part; I didn't always agree with their ideals, but I was in Slytherin and kept my opinions to myself." She smiled gently.

Harry was shocked. If his Grandmother was a Black, that meant that he was related to Sirius; his parents murderer!

"I met Charlus after leaving school. He didn't have a problem with my family until after he saw what they did to me." She pulled up her cardigan sleeve to show a faint scar, a thin line marring her pale forearm. She didn't elaborate on what had happened; but she didn't need to. "If you ever want to talk to someone, you know where to find me," Grandma finished, patting Sirius' hand.

"I don't think I'm ready Mrs P," Sirius murmured, looking at his feet.

"That's quite alright dear," Grandma said with a smile. "Perhaps you could tell me why you and James were fighting? He wouldn't give reasons you see, and I'd like to help."

Black hesitated, before giving a vague response. "I accidentally let slip a secret that I'd been trusted with," he explained slowly. "I thought the person already knew, but they didn't."

Grandma smiled a little at him. "You'll all make up," she said. Black looked disbelieving, but didn't argue. "And you can stay here as long as you need to, even if you and James can't make friends again. You're family."

"Thank you," Black breathed, looking particularly amazed by the word 'family.'

At that moment, James burst into the kitchen, yelling "Mum, have you seen…" but he fell silent as his eyes found Sirius sat at the table. There was a long, awkward silence.

"Well, I'll leave you two boys alone," Grandma said, exiting the kitchen after she gave her son a significant look. The adult James smiled after her, but the memory James only had eyes for Sirius.

There was another long pause. Neither boy seemed to have any idea what to say to each other. Eventually James broke the silence.

"So, are you feeling better?" he asked abruptly, apparently not being able to stand the silence anymore.

Sirius stared at him for a moment before answering stiffly; "Yes, thank you."

James slowly took his mother's vacated seat across from Sirius. Harry glanced at his father, and was surprised to see that he was smiling fondly. Shaking his head slightly, Harry went back to watching the memory; adults didn't make sense.

"I'm sorry," Black burst out suddenly. "I didn't mean for Snape to go into the Whomping Willow, I thought he already knew that Remus was a werewolf. I didn't think…"

"No, you didn't think," James interrupted. He sighed deeply. "Remus and I have been owling each other quite a bit, and we were thinking that it was mighty unfair of us not to listen to your side of the story." James paused. "You shouldn't have told him how to get into the shack, but I don't think you meant for him to actually do it – if he had known that Remus was a werewolf it'd be mighty out of character for him to actually go in." James smiled at his friend, who was staring at him like he'd never seen him before.

"I'm sorry," Sirius said again, less desperately this time.

"Me too," James said. "Forgive me?"

"What'd you do?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"I didn't listen to you," James answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And I forgive you, Padfoot, so long as you promise not to scare me like you did last night ever again." The last part was said sternly and fiercely.

"I'll do my best," Sirius said, almost smiling. James smiled back.

The scene faded again, leaving Harry and his father alone in the cosy kitchen.

"We called Remus over the next day – Peter was on holiday – and he and Sirius made up as well. We owled Peter to let him know and he forgave Sirius too. Everything was back to normal."

Harry smiled at his Dad; he loved it when James told him what happened rather than showing him.

"We celebrated with a special prank – we made a forest in the library, complete with tropical birds, and died Filch's cat like a leopard to match. We didn't get caught, but of course everyone knew it was us. The teachers weren't happy, and neither were the Ravenclaws for some reason."

Harry laughed at the false confused expression his Dad was pulling, enjoying the father-son time. He wished he could stay in the memories forever, but then again, he'd probably miss Ron and Hermione after a while. He joined in the story telling by recollecting the time they'd met Fluffy. His Dad was a brilliant audience, gasping and getting excited in all the right places. Harry would have loved to stay there forever, but there were many more memories to watch.

So, they're all friends again, and there actually wasn't a cliff hanger. I'm tempted to skip straight to 7th year now, but i'm not sure. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Anyway, review response time!
Hi, yes, sorry this one took so long, but I have given Siri his hug :D Locked Secret Keeper, thank you, this doesn't really count as soon - but it is an update, so half way there! Luiz4200, yes he will. I am really looking forward to writing that scene - in fact I've already written half of it to try and gather some muse :D Kazo Sakamari, thank you, I really enjoyed writing Regulus, he's one of my favourite characters. Sorry it took so long! SokkasFirstFangirl, Regulus is awesome; he doesn't get anywhere near enough credit - so I tried to give him some more here :D James won't listen to Sirius because he's upset and angry, but he regrets it now. Thank you, LadyLombax, sorry for taking so long again, but thank you for the inspiration, I think it helped :D Vendelareader, the internet is epic, it's a shame mine is too slow to stream things otherwise I'd be watching all sorts of American programs early! What did you think of the Merlin series finale - I still can't believe that that was it. Anyway, thank you for your compliments, I do think it was as angsty as it could have been, but there was a little bit. It's still James for now, but I may bring Regulus back in, and Lily is doing after Hogwarts :D Estel Ashlee Snape, thank you, I hope this one is as good - sorry for the delay XD Ice Jazz Elleth, thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I got the idea for the show of dominance off a nature program about lions, so I thought it might work. I'm glad that Regulus and Sirius' relationship reminded you of your brother - that means it seems genuine. Unfortunately I'm running out of prank ideas, but I have a few that I can use. Not enough to take up a whole chapter, but enough to keep the Marauders in character. We will see a little more of Sarah, but not as a ghost. Thank you for calling me well written, but being too brief is a fault of mine, I'm trying to take longer over things, but I do find it difficult :D xxSunnyXBlackxx, yeah, I feel guilty writing about it sometimes, but it is lucky that Regulus didn't get involved :) Thank you for reviewing, Diamondgirl3, sorry, but at least there isn't one this time, and the previous one is solved :D Sirius-Loey, no, please don't cry, I updated: late, but still :D lollohejhej, sorry it took so long, but I'm glad you want to read more :D Guest, thank you, I never really considered my stories to be well written :) Sorry for the delay, but hopefully it was worth the wait? Emi-Ly Sway, thank you, I'm glad that I'm in cannon as well, it is always a little bit of a worry when writing fanfiction :) I know that it's been a long time, but I updated now, Eliza272, thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it. Sorry for the delay in updating - I know it took a while :) Yorush, I know - I'm really looking forward to that scene; it's probably going to be really angsty, but then again, angst is always good :D And I will always continue eventually, I am determined to finish no matter how long it takes. Gryffindork39, oh, you're welcome, and don't worry. I don't really get other systems so it isn't that uncommon. That is true, but it didn't really work with my plot, and I am trying to make the chapters longer. I can promise that they'll always be over 1000 words :) Lilymarie73, thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it :D
Thank you everybody so much for your continued support. I don't know how many of you are still reading, but I'd still like to say thank you :D