Part Eleven: Close to Home
Sirius groaned as he woke up. Tomorrow the Hogwarts Express came to take them all home. He sat up and looked around to see if any of his roommates were also awake at this ungodly hour.
Peter was curled up in a ball muttering things in his sleep. Remus had his curtains drawn as always and the final bed in the dorm was empty.
Sirius plopped back down on his pillow. 'Can I face James this early?'
'Of course you can.' He told himself. 'Gryffindor's don't shy away from confrontation.'
'But isn't that what I've been doing?' He asked. 'I haven't been alone with James since we restored my bottle, and neither of us has spoken to the other even in company.'
'If I've been shying away from him then he too has been avoiding me.' His mind declared triumphantly.
"Argh." He said out loud.
He slid out of bed. 'Maybe James will be in a fairer frame of mind today.' Sirius sighed as he pulled a robe over his pajamas.
He winced as he stepped onto the cold stone of the dormitory stairs. 'In a castle full of Magic they couldn't just do a warming spell?' At the bottom of the stairs he was tripped by the Lady Staurt-Brahmes sudden appearance. James Potter, who had been curled up by the fire, rushed over to his side. "Are you okay?"
Sirius gave the other boy an incredulous look as he was helped up. "We've barely spoken to each other in weeks and all it takes for reconciliation is my cat nearly killing me?"
James grinned. "Well that and my realizing that in the end I have no real right to pry into your life."
Sirius blinked as he took a seat next to the fire. "Why do you hate Severus?"
James sighed. "Who is prying now?"
"Hey," Sirius held up a hand in defense. "You spent two weeks not talking to me because I refused to tell you what my oldest friend gave to me as a gift. I also suspect that any move to make amends was spurred on by Remus rather than any true feelings of remorse. So Mr. Potter, why do you hate Severus."
James narrowed his eyes. "How did you know that Remus talked to me?"
"He talked to me too," Sirius admitted. "Now stop avoiding my question."
"Look," James quietly sat down next to his roommate. "A lot of my feelings for Snape come from how my Mother's family treated my father and I. That day on the train when he refused to let me and Peter sit with you because we weren't 'future Slytherins' just took me back to all that grief."
"Uh huh," Sirius rolled his eyes. "Your father's family is rolling in money. Who in their right minds would object to having him as a son in law?"
James stuck out his tongue. "Okay, so I don't have any good reason. I just don't like him."
Sirius snorted. "Are we going to have a problem if I continue to keep his secrets?"
"Probably." James shrugged.
Sirius grinned. "If there is one thing you can say about us Gryffindors, its that we're honest to the extreme."
"I love the snow." Andromeda smiled at James as she stood with Sirius on the train platform.
James made a face. "I'm just glad we're Portkeying to someplace warm this year."
Sirius glanced over at the final member of their group. "What are you're plans Peter?"
The smaller boy shrugged. "I'll probably get paraded around, shown off, and forced to make small talk with my parents friends."
"I hate that." Andromeda agreed. "It's like parents think that we're among their accomplishments."
"Really 'Meda?" Bellatrix came up alongside the group. "And here I thought that you were the child our parents swept under the carpet."
James and Peter looked uncomfortable as the two sisters settled into what must have been a well worn routine of insults for them. Sirius noted with amusement that they nearly knocked the conductor off the train in their haste to board.
"Where do you think you're going?" A hand reached up and grabbed Sirius's arm when he started to follow his roommates. "Aunt Arachne has specifically asked that we keep an eye on you for the duration of the train ride." Bellatrix pulled him off the steps causing him loose his footing and fall.
"Trix," Andromeda admonished while helping Sirius up. "You don't need to manhandle him no matter what our 'Dear Aunt' said."
"'Meda," Narcissa smiled silkily as she approached the group. "Dear Aunt Arachne has also requested that we keep him away from you."
"Your association with Mudbloods has rendered you unsuitable." Bellatrix gave Andromeda a nasty look.
"It's to bad Sarah Parkinson got pregnant and needed a convenient groom," Narcissa's smile grew colder. "Because Jonathan Crabbe was the highest you could ever aspire too."
Andromeda narrowed her eyes. "You're treading on thin ice."
"Am I?" Narcissa batted her eyes.
Andromeda pulled out her wand and pointed it at her sister.
"Miss Black," Sirius sighed at Lucius's impeccable timing. "I believe that use of your wand against another student constitutes at least two weeks of detention with Filch." The blond placed a possessive arm on Narcissa's shoulders. "Ravenclaw should be thankful I can't take off points."
"You dick." Andromeda sneered.
"Andromeda Black!" Bellatrix sounded shocked. "Not in front of the children."
"What is going on here?" Professor McGonagall inquired, halting Andromeda's impending tirade. "If you lot don't get on the train soon you'll be left behind for the holidays."
"It was merely a family disagreement." Narcissa smiled prettily at the stony professor.
"Sirius?" McGonagall looked to her own student.
"It was merely a small family fight." Sirius agreed.
The professor looked like she didn't believe them, but nodded anyway. "Mr. Potter is worried about you, why don't you run along and join him now?"
Sirius gave McGonagall a small smile before climbing aboard with a light hear. 'She has no idea how happy she just made me. She took the steam out of my cousin's sails for sure.'
"Sirius!" James called from one of the compartments behind him.
Sirius's grinned as he turned to his dorm mate.
James's answering grin faded as Sirius came closer. "What happened to your chin?"
"My chin?" Sirius lifted a hand to his face. He felt a stab of pain and something sticky came away on his fingers. "Blood?"
"Yeah," James agreed. "Blood." James pulled out a cloth and pressed it to the wound. "How did you get this cut?"
"Belletrix surprised me and I fell." Sirius said as he felt the a healing spell coursing through him.
"You fell and didn't notice?" James looked skeptical.
Sirius shrugged. "There was a lot going on."
"Sirius," Severus's voice quietly appeared behind them. "Do you think it wise to sit with your Gryffindor 'friends'?"
"Snape." James growled.
Sirius put a hand on the other Gryffindor's arm. "Are you here under my mother's orders as well?"
"I'm just trying to look out for you." Severus continued calmly. "Your cousins will tell her you weren't sitting with them. How do you think she'll take to your 'friends'?"
Sirius glanced at James. James's eyes were cold. "I suppose you're just going to leave us."
Sirius glanced back at Severus. The Slytherin raised an eyebrow and walked away.
"I'm sorry," he whispered before turning to follow Severus down the hall.
End Notes:
- My reconciliation scene sucked.
- Please Review.
