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Written for Auction Prompt - 29/4. Grimmauld Place
Word Count - 313
Be Careful What You Wish For
He hated being back here. So many memories lived in the walls of Grimmauld Place, and while many of them were unhappy, Sirius was struggling more with the few happy times he remembered.
Times when he and Regulus had still been young enough to not have ridiculous family drama coming between them.
When Sirius was the first one that Regulus would come to with a nightmare, when he'd crawl into Sirius' bed and huddle close, trusting in his older brother to keep him safe.
When they'd play for hours together in the library. When they'd each sit in front of the fire, and their father would read them a story from one of the family diaries. Grim tales, but the rare time with Orion had been enough of a gift that it didn't matter.
Christmas Eve's spent babbling excitedly to one another, eager for the morning when expensive gifts would be awaiting them under the tree. Even though Sirius often didn't get what he truly wanted, opening presents was still fun.
It was those memories that Sirius drank to forget, the endless bottles of firewhiskey bringing a numbness that Sirius sorely needed.
He tried to hide it for a while, but he knew he was doing a shit job of it. Remus would watch him with worry clouding his amber eyes, Molly would frown disapprovingly at him, and Kingsley would look at him with just a touch too much understanding.
Even the short time that Harry was there didn't do enough to quell the dark mood haunting Sirius' every moment in that house.
He craved the fresh air, the freedom. Every single day he'd spent on the run, he'd wanted nothing more than a roof over his head and a warm bed to lay his head in.
Just goes to show that you really do need to be careful what you wish for.
