"I don't understand how a mother can do that to their own child Fleamont," Euphemia Potter spoke in a hushed tone. Her heart broke once again as she remembered the sight of Sirius, who came over last night. Once he had calmed down enough, he gently asked James's parents if he could stay over for a little while, till he found a place of his own.
"You can stay over for as long as you want," Euphemia had rubbed small circles on Sirius's back as she gave him a heart-warming smile; something that was much needed.
"It just goes to show how much blood purity matters for some," Fleamont Potter whispered back.
It was still early in the morning, and both James and Sirius were sleeping, or so the two elderly wizards had hoped as they sat in the drawing room, talking in hushed tone. The curtains were still drawn but the light reflected against the white curtains showed that the sun was up.
Sirius had slept in James's bed last night but he couldn't really sleep. He was wide awake the whole night but as soon as the clock stuck 3 a.m. he began to feel his eyelids getting heavier until he couldn't keep them open at all. It wasn't even half an hour since he had fallen asleep when his father's shouting and his mother crying woke him up with a start. It was a dream. After that, he could not fall asleep at all, but stayed still for James's sake until 7:30 a.m. when he thought it was a decent time to leave the bed.
Removing James's heavy arm draped around his waist and sliding out of the bed, Sirius's feet hit the cold floor. He frantically searched for his slippers, sliding them in at once when he found the cosy slippers. He turned around to look at James, who was sleeping peacefully and then sighed before getting up from the bed.
With soft steps he walked towards the bedroom door and turned the door knob as quietly as possible and swiftly exited the room. The door closed behind him with a soft click and Sirius could hear voices from downstairs. He couldn't make out what they were saying but he knew the voices belonged to James's parents.
Standing in the hallway, Sirius contemplated if he should go downstairs and greet them or just go back inside and wait for James to wake up. Remembering as they had helped Sirius last night, he wondered what they must be thinking about him? Surely his mother couldn't be right when she asked if he thought they would take Sirius in, right? Shaking the thought away, Sirius gulped and made his way downstairs without making a sound.
"I would never do that to either of them James or Sirius!" Euphemia's voice made Sirius stop dead in his tracks right before he appeared around the corner. His heart was thumping against his chest as he wondered what they were talking about.
"Of course not, you love them both," Fleamont's voice was calmer and Sirius could almost see James's father placing his hand over his mother's hand to comfort her. Much to the contrast of his own household, where he would regularly hear his parents shouting at each other and ending up with his father doing something unspeakable that made his mother cry or angrier.
"Yes, they are both my sons! We always wanted a child Fleamont, and almost gave up, but then we were blessed with James and even though it is a terrible way in which Sirius came to us, but he already feels like a second child I was so greedy for," Euphemia's words made a lump form at the back of Sirius's throat and he felt his vision blurring as tears formed at the brink of his eyes.
He had never been wanted as a child, not desired by either of his parents because he was a rebel. He was the dirt that stuck to the Black family name and the one person his mother couldn't just get rid of as she wanted. He had been constantly told how it would be better for him to die than live with the Black family name. Yet here he was, regarded as the second child by two of the most remarkable people he had met.
Sirius felt guilty for eavesdropping on James's parents and wiped his eyes with the sleeves of his night suit as he appeared around the corner with a tiny smile tucking on his lips.
"Good Morning Mr and Mrs Potter," his voice almost broke at the end of the sentence.
Their heads turned towards Sirius in unison as he made his way towards them. Mrs Potter was sitting on the long sofa and Mr Potter was sitting on her left in one of the armchairs by the fire.
"Sirius, come sit with us," Mrs Potter beamed as she patted the sofa beside her for Sirius to sit down. "You didn't sleep well last night?" she asked, her brows furrowed as she took in the dark circle under Sirius's eyes.
Sirius settled next to Mrs Potter. "I slept fine," Sirius lied, shaking his right hand. He did not want them to worry about him. They were already worried enough, anything more would make Sirius feel guilty.
"Your eyes are telling a different story son," Fleamont chuckled and Sirius froze.
They caught him lying; what will happen now? Back at his house, if Sirius had lied – even a white lie – his mother would punish him. He was sure it wasn't going to be anything severe at the Potter household, maybe they would throw him out, realising that they don't want a son like him after all. He could hear his mother chuckling once she would hear the news.
"Were you hungry?" Euphemia placed her hand on Sirius's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.
He spoke in a mumbled tone, "A little." He did not lie there; he had left his house after tea and hadn't arrived at the Potter's until midnight. He hadn't eaten anything and was too petrified to think about food or even notice if he was hungry.
"Well, you should've told me! I will get you something right away," Euphemia shook her head as she started getting up, dropping her hand to her side.
"No Mrs Potter, I am okay, I will wait to have breakfast with everyone," said Sirius in urgency. He didn't want to burden anyone with his presence. James was still sleeping and it didn't seem like he would be waking up anytime soon.
"Well, I am hungry too, why don't we start preparing the breakfast? You can wake James up," Fleamont smiled at Sirius and got up from the armchair. Holding out his hand for his wife, he helped her up as well and they both shared a smile.
They quietly made their way to the kitchen and Sirius made his way to James's bedroom, still guilty about worrying his parents.
James had pushed the blanket off him and onto the floor while sleeping and was shivering from cold, as he hugged himself close when Sirius made his way to James's bedroom once again. He picked up the blanket and placed it over James before shaking him awake.
"Oi Prongs!" Sirius's voice was a whisper as he continued shaking him.
James groaned and then rubbed his eyes, looking at Sirius and then sitting up at once. James's hands found his glasses. He looked at Sirius with frantic expressions as he put them on.
"What happened?" James's voice was strained with worry and then looked around, as if searching for something unusual.
Sirius snorted and then recomposed his face when James gave him a puzzled look.
"Is this usually – when everyone has – breakfast?" Sirius pushed his lower lip out in a small pout as he fidgeted with the hem of his night suit, a sign James clearly understood – Sirius was worried or uncomfortable.
He looked at the clock on his bedside table and then turned towards Sirius. Blinking his eyes rapidly to blink away his sleep, "Yes, why?" he asked, confused as to why the usual breakfast time would worry Sirius?
"Thank Merlin!" Sirius let out a sigh of relief as he sat at the foot on James's bed. "I was worried your parents started making breakfast early because of me. I went to greet them downstairs and they wondered if I was hungry and I said I was and they asked me to wake you up because they are starting breakfast," Sirius continued babbling.
"They start making the breakfast at around 8 o'clock, sometimes a little early, sometimes a little late," James spoke between his yawn as he shivered again. "It's cold this morning, right? Let's go," he got up from the bed and dashed out of the door, Sirius hot on his heels.
Sirius had stayed at the Potter household for a few weeks during summer vacations every year since second year, yet even today as he sat and had breakfast with them he couldn't help but draw this comparison once again.
The Potter household was full of lively chatter and banter as opposed to his house. Maybe it seemed even more contrasting because he had been here with the other two Marauders and he always believed it was just the four of them being noisy, but right now it was just James and himself with James's parents and the house was still just as energetic.
"Sirius let me ask you something," Euphemia turned towards Sirius and he almost tensed up, half expecting her to ask about last night and he wasn't sure if he was ready to answer that question yet. James turned his head towards his mother curiously and waited for her to continue.
"Who is Lily Evans?"
James looked bewildered, his eyes widened as much as they could and Sirius thought he would choke on the bite of his omelette as he turned towards Euphemia to answer her question earnestly. "She is a fellow Gryffindor student, same year as us," he wondered if he should mention that her son called Lily 'the love of his life', but decided against it.
"Is she James's girlfriend?"
Sirius busted out laughing harder than he wanted to, but in his defense, the idea that Lily would give James even the slightest attention was hilarious to Sirius.
"Mum!" James whined loudly before hiding his face in his hands and Mrs Potter looked between Sirius laughing so hard that he had to wipe his tears away and a flustered James.
"What – What is so funny?" Mrs Potter looked puzzled, and her husband now just as curious.
"No Mrs Potter, Ev – I mean Lily isn't James's girlfriend," Sirius chuckled as he shook his head. "But why did you think that?" he asked, wondering just how much James's parents knew about Lily before he started giving out information.
"He keeps talking about how there is this girl Lily Evans, she is a Gryffindor prefect and the smartest girl in the school," Euphemia told Sirius and he placed his hand on James's shoulder, making James look up.
"So, it isn't just the three of us you talk to about Lily, it's your parents too," Sirius spoke thoughtfully before he busted out laughing, seeing as James's face turned the shade of a tomato before he hid his face again.
"Why isn't Lily your girlfriend?" Euphemia asked James, when he did not reply, she turned towards Sirius for a response and he answered for his best friend.
"He shows off a lot in front of her,"
"And who supports me?"
"Moony has told you several times not to do it,"
"You help me out too Padfoot,"
"No, the difference is I never told you to be arrogant in front of her,"
"You are arrogant?" Euphemia turned to her son, raising her eyebrows and they both got silenced at once. "No wonder she isn't going to be your girlfriend. Arrogance isn't the way to a woman's heart," she continued and James nodded, hanging onto every word his mother spoke.
"If you truly like a girl, you shouldn't show off either, modesty is always appreciated; with friends, family, strangers, everyone," his father chimed in and James took his advice seriously.
Sirius's mind immediately wandered towards Marlene and he wondered if he should be a little more modest as well and if he should tone down his pranks with the Marauders. After all, James's parents were right, and if Lily didn't like James, Marlene being her best friend wouldn't like Sirius either, because he was just like his best friend. Not that Sirius was particularly concerned about her liking him, he just wanted her to be safe, if she did like him, that would be cherry on top!
James understood two things very quickly, first, he must never ask Sirius what happened the night he showed up at his door step nor should he ask why he went to the Slytherin dormitories. Second, whenever Sirius couldn't sleep at night, rather than asking what was bothering him, he should just talk to him till he fell asleep, which was very quickly once Sirius knew there were people around him that loved him.
Sirius too understood two things very quickly, first, the Potter family loved him like their own and always had his best interest in their mind like a real family and he was lucky to find them and second, James understood things better than he let on. Even though James pretended to be oblivious to his sleepless nights, Sirius knew James only talked to him so that he could fall asleep. Sirius also knew that once he would be back at Hogwarts, he would be able to sleep much better with all his friends around him.
A few days before their sixth year was going to start, Euphemia Potter asked James if he wanted her help to find everything, he needed for the new school year, James quickly declined absentmindedly but politely.
When she turned to Sirius, half expecting him to decline too, he was suddenly taken aback. He had been fetching his own things since second year and this was the first time in forever when someone had asked him if he needed help. He could feel the lump forming at the back of his throat; he did not trust his voice enough to respond and he just nodded; Euphemia's face instantly lit up.
So, they were at Diagon Alley getting everything for the new school year. Euphemia had told Sirius to wait outside Obscurus Books from where she was going to fetch their books when a familiar pair of eyes caught his attention from across the street.
Sirius could feel his heart doing a tango as soon as he had the clear view of the beautiful blonde girl standing with her parents, talking to them animatedly.
Was it just him or had Marlene gotten more beautiful over the summer? Her hair was for sure longer than the last time he saw her. As soon as her gaze met his, Sirius's breath was caught in his throat and he felt himself freeze. He knew his cheeks were getting redder under Marlene's gaze and when she raised her hand and waved, he looked around to check if she was waving at him. There was no one besides him and when he turned around to wave back at her, he realised how stupid he must've looked in her eyes but nonetheless, her smile made Sirius melt as he raised his hand awkwardly to wave back only to stop when someone blocked his view.
If he thought his heart was beating fast, that was nothing compared to what his heart was doing now as his mother stood in front of him. He awkwardly ran his fingers through his long tresses that fell to the nape of his neck and his mouth went dry when Walburga looked over her shoulder towards Marlene and her family.
"Mother," Sirius said immediately in a loud voice, to divert her attention from Marlene to himself. In another situation, he would have stayed quiet if not walked away but right now he had to be brave.
"The Potters have finally thrown you out?" she spat, narrowing her eyes at Sirius as if he was a bug that needed to be crushed right away. Sirius tried very hard not to flinch or show any signs of discomfort or terror.
"No, they haven't," he replied sternly, pushing his chest out and putting his hand in the pocket of his trouser where his wand rested.
People might call Sirius paranoid, but he wasn't going to give his mother another chance to hurt him, he would at least try to protect himself.
"Where is Regulus?" he continued and looked around for his little brother, the only family member who Sirius had actually missed and worried about. He knew his parents would never hurt Regulus, he was everything they wanted in a son, he even went as far as admiring the dark lord – the cause of Sirius's biggest worry.
When Sirius noticed Marlene and her family moving on to find whatever was next on her list, he relaxed mentally but stayed still as a stone physically.
"You've bought more shame to our family than anyone ever has, maybe that blood traitor Andromeda comes close but I don't care much about her, I never believed I would give birth to a son like you, you are no son of mine," although on the outside it looked like the words bounced off Sirius, on the inside Sirius was cowering like a small child, more so when he noticed his mother had her wand out, even if it was facing the ground, his own hand tightened around his wand.
"Walburga," a voice startled Sirius as he turned around to see Mrs Potter's stern face looking straight at Sirius's mother. Sirius could tell from her face that she had heard every word his mother had said and his head hung in shame.
"There you go dear," she handed the books to Sirius with a forced smile, making him look at her, before her eyes turned back to Walburga.
Walburga scoffed and rolled her eyes at Euphemia. "Were you going to use that?" Euphemia jerked her head in the direction of Walburga's wand and then looked back at Walburga without a slightest bit of hesitation or fear.
"I was talking to my son," Walburga spat out, and Sirius froze in his place.
"I don't see why you would need a wand to talk to your child, but then again, as I heard you don't consider him your son," Sirius almost smirked at Mrs Potter's response – almost. He had never seen anyone stand up against his mother so fearlessly, maybe that is why Mrs Potter was also a Gryffindor.
"I know what you did to Sirius and I would be dead before I let you touch him again, if I could I would take Regulus away from you as well because you don't know how to be a mother," Euphemia spoke from between her teeth and Sirius's head shot in her direction as he watched her take his hand and pull him with her away from Walburga.
"That is my son!" Walburga hissed and Euphemia turned around so fast that Sirius had no time to think or react.
"He became my son when he showed up to my doorstep bloodied because you and your husband love your fanatic ideology more than a child you gave birth to," before either of the Black could respond, Euphemia walked away with a shell-shocked Sirius and leaving behind an even more shocked Walburga.
A/N: Hey Readers,
Thank you so much Aamarylis and Judith for your wonderful reviews. I request all the silent readers to let me know what you think of the story. Hit the follow and favourite button if you like the story. Thanks!
-JT