Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the books or other fanfictions doesn't belong to me. I'm just borrowing it.

A/N: This fic is written as a response for a challenge. I also stole the summary from her. blushes Sorry!

„Sirius Black! Why on earth aren't you still dressed? The guests will be here on nine o'clock sharp and it's half past eight right now. If you can understand the meaning of this, which I highly doubt, then you have precisely half an hour to wake up, get dressed, wash your teeth, comb your hair and get downstairs." The woman in her mid-thirties took a sharp breath.

She was tall and thin, with shiny, long black hair and cold grey eyes. She stood in the doorway, hands on her hips and lips pursed together in a thin line.

"Now, if I don't see you downstairs, neat and handsome, in twenty minutes, you'll be in big trouble. Do you understand it, boy?" With that, the woman turned around sharply, robes fluttering behind her and stormed out of the room, closing the door with a loud clunk.

There was a loud groan and a head with untidy black hair appeared under the blanket. It belonged to a teenage boy, he had jet black hair and grey eyes and looked quite handsome and – at the moment – sleepy. He groaned once more and muttered something under his nose. Finally he stood up and wandered to the closet on the opposite wall. He grabbed his formal robe which was made from black silk with silvery decorations on the sleeves and edges. After several minutes spent in the bathroom he finally opened the door. He peeked outside; the coast was clear. He cleared his throat, stretched his robes and exited his room.

"Sapphira, how great it is to see you again after all those years!"

"I know, it has been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Sapphira, dear, you just have to tell me where you got this robe; it's fabulous!"

These and many more phrases were exchanged when the Black Family arrived to Grimmauld Place. There were aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers, mothers in law and fathers in law and so on and on. There were about hundred witches and wizards in the Black's living room.

Sirius Black sat on the couch in the middle of all of it and was growing quite impatient. And that hardly brought any good. He sat there and watched his relatives change news and argue about politics and raising children and stuff like that. He was really bored. He shouldn't have been here at all; he should have gone to James' place as he had wanted to. But his mother had ordered him to stay and he had done so. Why, he couldn't understand. He had never done anything because his mother told him so. At least not after he had went to Hogwarts and made friends with James, Remus and Peter.

He was suddenly interrupted by a beautiful young woman sitting next to him and smiling warmly at him. The woman had short dark brown hair and brown eyes with golden spots in them. She was wearing a dark red robe with golden stripe on the bottom. "Hi," she said, smiling more broadly.

"Meda!" Sirius exclaimed, suddenly smiling as well. "I'm so glad to see someone with brains in this room...besides me, of course." He grinned mischievously and stroke hair from his eyes. The woman laughed happily and shook her head.

"You will never change, Siri," she said, smiling.

"I know," he said, grinning broadly. "By the way, I have a secret to tell," Andromeda added with a more serious tone.

"Really? What kind of secret?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"Happy kind of," she answered and smiled mysteriously to herself.

"Bella, darling, when will you settle down and have a family like Narcissa here?" a woman with long curly blonde hair asked near them. The girl, who she talked to, laughed heartily.

"I'll never marry, I'll stay with my parents and help them in their noble work until they die and then I'll go and conquer the world," she answered, beaming all over the face.

The people around them laughed too, all except a young girl with blonde hair and pale skin. She fidgeted nervously and flinched when the woman turned to her.

"I'm so glad that you and dear Lucius will marry as soon as you finish the school. You are a great couple, meant to be. And both purebloods – how else could that be?" she said, smiling warmly.

The girl smiled nervously and said "It's my honor; Lucius is a very kind man."

"I know," the woman answered, "pity that he couldn't be here with us now. Business, you know." Yes, they knew. Business for Lord Voldemort.

"Well, my dears, I think it's time for eating," Sapphira Black said, standing in front of a big table. They all sat down, Sirius got a place between Andromeda and Narcissa, his cousins.

After the meal was finished and drinks were brought, Andromeda stood up. "I have an announcement to make," she exclaimed over the noise. Everyone grew quiet and turned their eyes to the young woman standing. She smiled and continued "I'd like to announce that I'm engaged to a young man named Theodore Tonks. Our wedding will take place on 10th September. You are all welcomed, of course." With that, she nodded and smiled once more and sat down. There was a stunned silence followed by a loud murmur.

"But, darling, who is your fiancé and why haven't you introduced him to us," her mother asked politely.

"He's...a muggle," Andromeda said, quietly and clearly. The silence was charged with electricity.

"I'm...I'm sorry, dear. What did you say?" her mom asked with a definite edge in her voice.

"I said that I'm engaged with a muggle, mom," she answered, sitting still. Her mom gave a cry and fainted.

"How dare you, young lady!" her dad bellowed. "After all we have taught to you, after all we have done for you! From now on, you are not a Black. I don't know you. Get out of this house now!"

"I don't think it's fair," a thin voice suddenly said.

"I'm sorry?" Sapphira asked, turning her cold gaze towards her son.

"I don't think it's fair," Sirius repeated more confidently.

"It's none of your business, keep your nose out of this," his mother hissed.

"Oh yes it is! Andromeda is the only normal person in this whole family! She's the only one who has her priorities right! She's the only one who cares about me! She's the only one I care about!" Sirius yelled back.

"How dare you speak so to our beloved mother? She has done everything for you, even when you were such an ungrateful brat!" his brother, Regulus suddenly bellowed.

"You shut up," Sirius yelled.

"Don't you speak so to your brother and mother," his father interrupted.

"I speak as I want to!" Sirius bellowed.

"Don't you dare to speak this way to your own flesh and blood, young man! You better shut your big mouth right here and now or you will regret this until the end of your days!" Sapphira Black screamed.

"Oh really, well I don't think so!" Sirius yelled "because I'm going to leave this house and I'll never, ever come back again and one day, one day you'll be the ones who regret 'cos I will pay! And if it won't be me, then there will be someone out there, who will pay for me! You better not forget it, all of you!"

And with that, he turned around, pushed aside his stool that landed with a loud clunk and stormed upstairs. When he reached his room, he stormed inside, took the suitcase under his bed and threw all of his clothes in it as well as his school supplies. In another suitcase went all of his pictures, extra quills, today's "Daily Prophet" and other things he found in his drawers, desk and closet. Finally he closed both suitcases, put on his cloak and took his wand into one hand and suitcases into the other.

He went downstairs slightly slower than before. When he entered the living room, he saw that Andromeda had left already and all his other relatives were fussing over her mother. His own mother looked at him with her cold grey eyes and looked away then. He turned and left the house.

When the house was finally out of sight, he put his suitcases down, sat on one of them and put his head in his hands. It had started to rain and soon raindrops blended with salty tears running down his face. Sirius cried like a child.

After a half an hour of sitting in the rain, Sirius had finally come to a conclusion. He would go to James' place and ask if he could live with them. Decision made, it didn't take very much time until he was standing outside the Potter's house. He put the suitcases down and brushed his wet hair out of his eyes. He then cleaned his throat and rang the bell. He heard footsteps heading towards the door and the door was opened. A young man about his age, with messy black hair and glasses peeked out.

"Sirius?" he asked suprisedly. "What are you doing here?"

"I...um...can I stay with you?" he asked hopefully, raindrops falling from his hair and clothes. "I ran away."

"Of course," James exclaimed, grinning broadly. "You looked so miserable that I thought something serious had happened."

He pulled his friend inside and gave him a friendly hug, stroking his soaking hair.

A/N: Review people! Virtual chocolate cookies and vanilla ice-cream to every reviewer! hands them out Ok, so tell me what did you think. What did you like? What didn't you like? Why or why not? Tell me so I can write a better fic next time! (Yeah, sure, like I can ever write a good story. Ha!)

All the best,
Laura Evans

XXX