The first two weeks of summer were spent as usual for Sirius. When Walburga came to pick him and Regulus up from the train station she barely said a word to him. She just grabbed Sirius tightly by the wrist while she was looking for Regulus. Then they apparated to Grimmauld Place. Sirius was locked in his room straight after arrival as usual. Every two or three days Kreacher would come up to his room with something to eat. Sometimes after his father arrived at home after work he would come to Sirius' room. The moment Sirius heard his father coming up the stairs towards his room he knew Orion had had a bad day at work. Nothing too bad happened, Sirius was just a punching bag for him. Nothing more. Sirius probably deserved it. He was a disgrace to the family, nothing good had ever come from him.

Sirius spended most of his time on his bed, not doing anything. He knew if he walked around in his room too much it would bother Walburga. He didn't need her to come in his room just to scream insults at him for what felt like hours. It was better to be quiet. Summer was lonely for Sirius, she couldn't contact his friends and if they even wrote him letters they never arrived. Owls weren't allowed in his room

After two weeks his mother came into his room and told him to get dressed in his formal robes. There was to be dinner at Grimmauld place tonight. Sirius was given strict instructions to not speak unless spoken to and to be presentable. His attendance was mandatory.

There were around 20 people there that night, all of them pureblooded and rather prejudiced. The conversation around the dinner table was rooted in pureblood supremacy. Sirius kept his mouth shut. Just as dessert was about to be served his stupid cousin Bellatrix was giving a idiotic monologue questioning wheter werewolves could be seen as people. Sirius couldn't stop imagining Remus as she was talking. He couldn't stop himself from blurting out: "They didn't choose to be bitten!'

Just after he muttered those words he realised the company he was with. If looks could kill his mother would have murdered him then and there. But Bellatrix started to smile, it was a twisted evil smile, her eyes glimmered with excitement as she rose up from her chair. "Looks like my baby cousin needs a little lesson." "Werewolves are the scum of the earth."

But Sirius knew that wasn't true, Remus was the best person he knew.

"Say it after me"

Sirius just stayed quiet, looking at her with dread. Bellatrix could be truly terrifying.

"Looks like we're not cooperating, Crucio!'

Sirius felt like fire and ice were simultaneously bursting through his nerves. He could taste the flavour of vomit in his throat. It felt like his brain was trying to burst out of his head. Every fibre of his body was in utter agony. At that moment Sirius truly wished to die. Death was preferable over enduring another second of this torture.

"Say it then, Werewolves are the scum of the earth"

"Werewolves are the scum of the Earth" Sirius said weakly

After Bellatrix was done he was lying in a pile on the floor. His entire body shaking. Tears flowing from his eyes no matter how hard he willed them to stop.

His parents didn't even flinch at the sight of their son on the floor. His father just said: "Can we get on with more important matters now you had your fun Bellatrix." "Regulus, go to your room" His mother just transported his body to his bed with the flick of her wand.

Sirius found himself lying on the bed, his body trembling after he had composed himself just enough to be aware of his surroundings. He hated himself for saying it, he was so weak. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut. It felt like he had betrayed Remus. His pain probably was nothing in comparison to the suffering the boy had to endure every month. And he couldn't even defend him. His father had hurt him before but this was on an entirely different level, and his body didn't even have a scratch. He deserved to be mutilated. It took the entire night to stop shaking. As he looked out of the window he noticed the moon. It was a full moon that night. Sirius felt like an idiot for not noticing. He was so selfish.

A few days after the dinner his father called him down to his study. Sirius could see bij the look on his face that he had had a particularly bad day. Sirius wondered why he didn't just come up to his room.

"There are some spells I will have to practice and for now you will do as a target. Please stand in front of the desk."

Orion practised crucio that night. It was the first time he had used spells against Sirius instead of just simply beating him. For the next few weeks he asked Sirius to come down to his office every few days, and used Sirius as some training dummy until he passed out. During the entire time his father would yell at Sirius, convince him he was worthless, nothing more than an animal, not worthy of being a Black. His fathers crucio started becoming stronger as he practised more. Almost as strong as Bellatrix's.

Slowly summer vacation started to come to an end. Sirius couldn't wait to go back to school again. He wanted to leave Grimmauld place and never come back again. He had missed his friends so much, Remus in particular for some reason. Every time when he laid in bed trembling he kept imagining Remus' face. Remus was the best, most kind and cutest person ever. For some reason the thought of seeing Remus specifically comforted him. Remus was beautiful.

In a friendly way of course, Remus was a boy.

He hadn't been let out of his room except to get tortured bij Orion since the dinner party. So he hadn't been able to go to Diagon Alley. On September 1st his mother dropped a stack of books in front of his door and told him to go to Kings Cross station. She didn't even bring him even though she had to go anyway because of Regulus. So Sirius walked to Kings Cross and sat down in the cabin his friends sat every year. Remus was already sitting there, when Sirius entered he looked up from his book. As soon as he saw Sirius face his look changed to concern, but he didn't say anything. That was how it worked, don't mention Sirius' homelife or Remus' self isolation.

It was time for their fifth year.