'Have I been drinking?' Sirius thought when he woke up as his eyes rolled back into his head. 'There's no way I couldn't have been drinking, fucking headache!'

Sirius groaned and shook his head groggily to wake up.

Then he heard voices.

"Mum can't I see him? He is my best mate?"

"You're not waking him up to badger him James, he needs to sleep"

Sirius got up out of bed to go to the door to listen more, it sounded like they were talking about him.

"Oh fine," came an exasperated reply.

"How long is he staying?"

"I don't know don't pester me!"

"Sorry," came the younger frustrated tone, "but when will he get up? What if he's sick?"

"Forget it just go! Give him this too," James' mother replied.

Sirius quickly but quietly went back into his bed and pretended to be sleeping.

"Sirius?" James whispered urgently.

He looked over at his friend, whose dark hair was falling on his face. He could see that his one closed eye had turned a nice shade of black and purple.

James turned to leave when he noticed Sirius' lips twitched.

"You horrible faker!" James called out, catching Sirius.

Sirius sat up laughing, he winced a bit when he tried to open his one eye.

"Oh my mum said you should take this and the swelling well go down, and this too," James handed Sirius a mug of something steaming and a tall glass full of greenish yellow liquid.

Sirius raised his right eyebrow looking skeptical at James.

"Just do it," James laughed.

"Fine then. Bottoms up!" Sirius said as he swigged back the tall glass of green gunk.

He screwed his face up in disgust then coughed, "well that'll put hair on your chest."

James laughed, waited for Sirius to finish with his medicines, then decided to ask the question that was hanging over everyone's heads in the Potter household.

"Umm Sirius?"

Sirius' head snapped up he knew what was coming.

"Why did you runaway?" James tried to avert his gaze from Sirius'.

"Would you care for the epic? Or the breadbox edition?" Sirius said with a bit of edge.

"Which ever," James quickly replied.

"Here goes, you know how I'm like the black sheep in the family? Or more like the white sheep in the black family?" Sirius laughed at his own joke, "well enough was enough my mother tried to kick me out but I ran away before she could, however she did get a little in on the action," he indicated by pointing at his eye.

"You're mother beat you up?" James said surprised. Sirius wasn't a pushover and James doubted he would take any abuse from even his mother.

"Well you know she is a Black so she's a cheater too, it was me vs. mother and her wand. Seems a bit one sided, considering I wouldn't be able to perform legal magic against her if I did have my wand available." Sirius said disgusted.

James didn't say anything.

"You can change the subject if you want, I'm all for it personally," Sirius said trying lighten up the situation.

James said nothing.

"How are things with Evans?"

"She doesn't hate me as much, she even wrote me," James said proudly.

"She wrote you? What did she say? Ohhh I think I know! Evans is probably one of those dirty novelists who keep their talent hidden, until they get their hands on a quill!" Sirius started to laugh, one of those deep stomach laughs.

James tried to look angry with him, but the thought of Lily writing dirty romantic letters was pretty funny, and he started to laugh too.

"But seriously that's good news in the development of your whole love hate relationship with the ravishing Lily Evans," Sirius said trying to keep a straight face, "it seems that you're on the way to having it all..." Sirius drifted off and looked down at the bedspread, "you know family that actually likes you, good times at school, and the girl of your dreams of whatever you think of her as, wish I had that."

//Once you've found that lover

You're homeward bound

Love is all around

Love is all around//

"Sirius you know you're just like another member of this family I'm sure you can stay here for the rest of the summer," James insisted, "having it all? Where did you get delusions like that? There's no such thing and you know it."

'Easy for you to say,' Sirius thought bitterly.

"Well I'll leave you to get up and ready, I'll meet you outside for a Quidditch match," James said getting up to leave.

"Yea thanks mate,"

'Poor James Potter who's mummy and daddy love to bits, who used to be hated by his dream girl and now is receiving letters from her, I really pity him' Sirius thought sarcastically as he changed.

Sirius sighed, he was thinking like an ass and he knew it. The Potters could have not opened their home at all but here they were letting him stay at their home till who knows when.

'It's just so hard not to be jealous' Sirius conflicted.

He sighed, ran his fingers through his hair which fell back into place perfectly, and headed downstairs.

"Sirius would you like some breakfast?" Mrs. Potter offered.

"Yes thank you," Sirius said as he sat down, he waited to hear the question that was inevitable.

But it never came, she didn't ask about his family, the situation of why he left, or even the black eye.

Sirius assumed James' had filled them in, but the look on Mrs. Potter's face didn't suggest it. She looked like she did every time he visited, welcoming with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, like she knew a secret.

"Now you can stay here as long as you like, if you say anything a long the lines of 'I wouldn't want to impose' I'll personally escort you to the curb," Mrs. Potter said with a smile as she sat across from Sirius with a cup of tea.

"Thank you," Sirius said, "you don't know how much I appreciate this."

"There's nothing to it, now eat up, you need to distract James while his father and I can get errands and work done,"

// I know some have fallen

On stony ground

But Love is all around//