Disclaimer - You know the drill. You don't seriously think I created Harry Potter, do you? Give me a break, I'm not that smart. No, these characters are the sole property of J. Rowling and a number of publishing companies.
A/N -
Viewfinder - Wow, glad to hear I made you cry grin Glad you're back.
meheeners - The parody is currently underway, and I think you'll like it. Expect it on Sunday evening if not sooner.
Lillei - There, took care of the cliffhanger for ya!
Versipellis - Thanks for the publicity grin
SP-in-Sirius-Denial - Yeah, that'd be funny though. Sirius goes home and watches some TV, gets out the potato chips… "Yeah, I just got tired of the whole thing."
AffectedMangoO - You've got to show me that dance sometime.
-Leaf
NEVER ONE TO LEAVE
Sirius Black arrived at Grimmauld Place as dawn was approaching. He knew his mother would be asleep, but that wasn't stopping him. He strode up to the front door and ripped it open. It banged against the side of the house so hard that Sirius thought it probably woke the neighbors up.
From upstairs came a howl of indignation. A moment later, Mrs. Black came flying down the stairs. Her hair was everywhere and her eyes burned into Sirius, but he held his ground.
"What do you mean by coming here in the dead of night?!" She demanded, spit flying into Sirius' face.
Sirius set his jaw. "Did you tell Regulus to stop me seeing Remus Lupin?"
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT SCHOOL…!"
She stopped abruptly. Sirius had drawn his wand and was pointing it at her levelly.
"You're not going to use that on me," she sneered.
"Sit." Sirius pointed to a chair. Surprisingly, she did. "Did you tell Regulus to stop me seeing Remus?"
"Who the hell do you thing you are?" She whispered, her voice cold with fury. "How dare you threaten me? Why, if your father were here…"
"Yeah, well, he's not," Sirius interrupted. "It's just you and me now, Mother. Not even Regulus to back you up."
"You will not use that wand on me…"
"No, probably not," Sirius agreed. "But do you really want to test me, Mother? Just tell me if you told Regulus to stop me seeing Remus or not."
"Fine," his mother hissed. "I did. Of course I did. I'll have no son of mine fraternizing with werewolves, it's a disgrace! You're a disgrace to the name of Black! I've accepted your being in Gryffindor…"
"You didn't 'accept' that!" Sirius found himself shouting. "You locked me in my room all summer! You begged Dumbledore to move me to Slytherin! You haven't looked upon me as a son since the day of my sorting, so what does it matter what I do now?"
"I may not see you as a son," she snarled, "but you still bear the name of Black. Whatever you do reflects on the family. Can you imagine the shame your poor cousin Bella felt when she learned you were running around with a werewolf? Why, the girl was in tears. She is a loyal, successful Black, as is your brother, and I'll not have their lives tarnished with your choices."
Sirius wanted to hit her, to break her arms, to scream that Remus was and would always be a much better person than Regulus or Bella. But when he spoke, his voice was surprisingly calm.
"All right, mother."
She looked up at him, surprised. "All right?"
"All right," Sirius agreed, nodding. "I won't tarnish the name of Black any more."
"That remains to be seen."
"Nope," Sirius continued, "I'm done with the name of Black as of right now. I'm moving out."
"Moving out!" she shrieked. "You most certainly will not be moving out!"
"Oh, come on!" Sirius shouted. "First of all, I don't think you can stop me since I'm armed and you're not. But why wouldn't you be glad to be rid of me? I'm a shame to your name, remember? Tomorrow morning you can start spreading the news that I took off in the night, that I'm a traitor and you wouldn't have me in the house any more, and that I'm no longer any son of yours."
"You'll go to that old coot," she howled madly, and Sirius knew she meant Dumbledore. "You'll tell him…you'll tell him things…secrets…"
Sirius snorted. "What secrets do you think I'm going to tell him? You think I'll tell how you've made me live in the attic for the last five years? You think I'll tell him how you don't feed me during the summer, so I have to go out and find my own meals?" He stared at his mother, who'd gone white in the face. "That's it, isn't it? You're keeping me here because you're afraid I'll tell Dumbledore you've been abusing me and you'll be arrested."
"You'll twist it all around," she said bitterly. "You'll make out as though you didn't deserve what you got…nasty, filthy, worthless…"
Sirius had tuned her out. He had suddenly remembered the day he'd rescued Remus from his father's house. Remus had been badly beaten, and Sirius had been furious, but Remus' father Raymond had simply begged them not to turn him in for abusing his son. In fact, Sirius remembered, Raymond had planned to remove Remus from school to keep him from telling Dumbledore what was going on.
Remus forgave his father, Sirius remembered. He left home, but he forgave Raymond. Because Raymond was truly sorry, he cared about Remus. But my mother's just said I deserved what I got.
He laughed harshly, cutting her off. "Mother, you're in no position to keep me here, but I'll do you a deal. Once I've gone, I won't tell Dumbledore how I was treated. I'll tell everyone I left because I wanted to get my own place or something."
"Why?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Because I want something from you," he said evenly.
She laughed bitterly. "What makes you think I'm going to do you any favors, boy?"
Sirius rolled his eyes. Wasn't he making it clear enough. "Because if you don't, Mother, I WILL tell Dumbledore what you did, and I'll press charges and see you're packed off to Azkaban. That won't reflect to well on the name of Black, now will it?"
There was a moment of silence.
"Fine," she snapped. "What do you want me to do?"
"Tell Bella and Regulus they're not to let anyone find out about Remus. If anyone finds out, I'll have the dementors on you faster than you can say 'child abuse.'" She looked up at him, glaring furiously, but he met her gaze. "It doesn't do you any shame to have me 'fraternizing with a werewolf' if you've told the entire wizarding community that you've disowned me. Everybody wins."
She scowled, but Sirius knew she had no choice. "All right, I'll tell them."
Sirius turned to go. "Remember," he called back, "If anyone finds out about Remus…"
"You're the most disappointing son I could have had."
Sirius twisted to face her and mock-saluted. "It's been a pleasure."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James knocked. "Rem, can I come in?"
Remus turned slowly to face James. "I guess."
James walked over slowly and sat on his friend's bed. "Madam Pomfrey says you can leave the hospital wing tomorrow morning."
"Okay."
"Your face looks a lot better," James tried. "You can hardly see the bruises anymore."
"Uh huh."
James sighed. "Are you still thinking about Sirius, Rem?"
Remus' eyes filled with tears. "I don't understand, James…how could he? I don't understand!"
"I don't know, Rem," James said softly.
"I was always so sure of him," Remus cried. "I knew he'd never hurt me, he'd do anything to make things all right for me…he's always done that, James. I don't understand why he'd do this."
"Shhh…" James pulled his friend into an embrace. Remus leaned into his shoulder, crying, and James rubbed his back. "It's okay, Rem, I know it hurts. I know it's hard."
"Do you know what might have happened?" Remus choked out. "If I'd managed to kill Snape, or bite him…"
"I know, Rem," James soothed.
"I couldn't live with myself." Remus shuddered. "They might have actually just killed me anyway, you know, it's not unprecedented for a werewolf to be sentenced to death for killing during the full moon."
James, out of reassuring words, held his friend tighter.
"And Sirius knew…" Remus said softly. "He was there when I was meeting my parents for the first time, when I thought I'd killed my brother. Sirius was there, he knew what a wreck I was, how badly I took it. He was there when Dumbledore told us my parents would be within their rights to call for the death penalty." Remus sobbed suddenly, and James moved a hand to his shoulder, pulling him closer. "And it was Sirius who went to the library…found out I was innocent…"
"It's okay," James whispered, desperate to help. "I've got you, Rem, I'm here."
Remus threw his head back as the pain of Sirius' betrayal overwhelmed him, and howled "WHY?!"
A/N -
Viewfinder - Wow, glad to hear I made you cry grin Glad you're back.
meheeners - The parody is currently underway, and I think you'll like it. Expect it on Sunday evening if not sooner.
Lillei - There, took care of the cliffhanger for ya!
Versipellis - Thanks for the publicity grin
SP-in-Sirius-Denial - Yeah, that'd be funny though. Sirius goes home and watches some TV, gets out the potato chips… "Yeah, I just got tired of the whole thing."
AffectedMangoO - You've got to show me that dance sometime.
-Leaf
NEVER ONE TO LEAVE
Sirius Black arrived at Grimmauld Place as dawn was approaching. He knew his mother would be asleep, but that wasn't stopping him. He strode up to the front door and ripped it open. It banged against the side of the house so hard that Sirius thought it probably woke the neighbors up.
From upstairs came a howl of indignation. A moment later, Mrs. Black came flying down the stairs. Her hair was everywhere and her eyes burned into Sirius, but he held his ground.
"What do you mean by coming here in the dead of night?!" She demanded, spit flying into Sirius' face.
Sirius set his jaw. "Did you tell Regulus to stop me seeing Remus Lupin?"
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT SCHOOL…!"
She stopped abruptly. Sirius had drawn his wand and was pointing it at her levelly.
"You're not going to use that on me," she sneered.
"Sit." Sirius pointed to a chair. Surprisingly, she did. "Did you tell Regulus to stop me seeing Remus?"
"Who the hell do you thing you are?" She whispered, her voice cold with fury. "How dare you threaten me? Why, if your father were here…"
"Yeah, well, he's not," Sirius interrupted. "It's just you and me now, Mother. Not even Regulus to back you up."
"You will not use that wand on me…"
"No, probably not," Sirius agreed. "But do you really want to test me, Mother? Just tell me if you told Regulus to stop me seeing Remus or not."
"Fine," his mother hissed. "I did. Of course I did. I'll have no son of mine fraternizing with werewolves, it's a disgrace! You're a disgrace to the name of Black! I've accepted your being in Gryffindor…"
"You didn't 'accept' that!" Sirius found himself shouting. "You locked me in my room all summer! You begged Dumbledore to move me to Slytherin! You haven't looked upon me as a son since the day of my sorting, so what does it matter what I do now?"
"I may not see you as a son," she snarled, "but you still bear the name of Black. Whatever you do reflects on the family. Can you imagine the shame your poor cousin Bella felt when she learned you were running around with a werewolf? Why, the girl was in tears. She is a loyal, successful Black, as is your brother, and I'll not have their lives tarnished with your choices."
Sirius wanted to hit her, to break her arms, to scream that Remus was and would always be a much better person than Regulus or Bella. But when he spoke, his voice was surprisingly calm.
"All right, mother."
She looked up at him, surprised. "All right?"
"All right," Sirius agreed, nodding. "I won't tarnish the name of Black any more."
"That remains to be seen."
"Nope," Sirius continued, "I'm done with the name of Black as of right now. I'm moving out."
"Moving out!" she shrieked. "You most certainly will not be moving out!"
"Oh, come on!" Sirius shouted. "First of all, I don't think you can stop me since I'm armed and you're not. But why wouldn't you be glad to be rid of me? I'm a shame to your name, remember? Tomorrow morning you can start spreading the news that I took off in the night, that I'm a traitor and you wouldn't have me in the house any more, and that I'm no longer any son of yours."
"You'll go to that old coot," she howled madly, and Sirius knew she meant Dumbledore. "You'll tell him…you'll tell him things…secrets…"
Sirius snorted. "What secrets do you think I'm going to tell him? You think I'll tell how you've made me live in the attic for the last five years? You think I'll tell him how you don't feed me during the summer, so I have to go out and find my own meals?" He stared at his mother, who'd gone white in the face. "That's it, isn't it? You're keeping me here because you're afraid I'll tell Dumbledore you've been abusing me and you'll be arrested."
"You'll twist it all around," she said bitterly. "You'll make out as though you didn't deserve what you got…nasty, filthy, worthless…"
Sirius had tuned her out. He had suddenly remembered the day he'd rescued Remus from his father's house. Remus had been badly beaten, and Sirius had been furious, but Remus' father Raymond had simply begged them not to turn him in for abusing his son. In fact, Sirius remembered, Raymond had planned to remove Remus from school to keep him from telling Dumbledore what was going on.
Remus forgave his father, Sirius remembered. He left home, but he forgave Raymond. Because Raymond was truly sorry, he cared about Remus. But my mother's just said I deserved what I got.
He laughed harshly, cutting her off. "Mother, you're in no position to keep me here, but I'll do you a deal. Once I've gone, I won't tell Dumbledore how I was treated. I'll tell everyone I left because I wanted to get my own place or something."
"Why?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Because I want something from you," he said evenly.
She laughed bitterly. "What makes you think I'm going to do you any favors, boy?"
Sirius rolled his eyes. Wasn't he making it clear enough. "Because if you don't, Mother, I WILL tell Dumbledore what you did, and I'll press charges and see you're packed off to Azkaban. That won't reflect to well on the name of Black, now will it?"
There was a moment of silence.
"Fine," she snapped. "What do you want me to do?"
"Tell Bella and Regulus they're not to let anyone find out about Remus. If anyone finds out, I'll have the dementors on you faster than you can say 'child abuse.'" She looked up at him, glaring furiously, but he met her gaze. "It doesn't do you any shame to have me 'fraternizing with a werewolf' if you've told the entire wizarding community that you've disowned me. Everybody wins."
She scowled, but Sirius knew she had no choice. "All right, I'll tell them."
Sirius turned to go. "Remember," he called back, "If anyone finds out about Remus…"
"You're the most disappointing son I could have had."
Sirius twisted to face her and mock-saluted. "It's been a pleasure."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James knocked. "Rem, can I come in?"
Remus turned slowly to face James. "I guess."
James walked over slowly and sat on his friend's bed. "Madam Pomfrey says you can leave the hospital wing tomorrow morning."
"Okay."
"Your face looks a lot better," James tried. "You can hardly see the bruises anymore."
"Uh huh."
James sighed. "Are you still thinking about Sirius, Rem?"
Remus' eyes filled with tears. "I don't understand, James…how could he? I don't understand!"
"I don't know, Rem," James said softly.
"I was always so sure of him," Remus cried. "I knew he'd never hurt me, he'd do anything to make things all right for me…he's always done that, James. I don't understand why he'd do this."
"Shhh…" James pulled his friend into an embrace. Remus leaned into his shoulder, crying, and James rubbed his back. "It's okay, Rem, I know it hurts. I know it's hard."
"Do you know what might have happened?" Remus choked out. "If I'd managed to kill Snape, or bite him…"
"I know, Rem," James soothed.
"I couldn't live with myself." Remus shuddered. "They might have actually just killed me anyway, you know, it's not unprecedented for a werewolf to be sentenced to death for killing during the full moon."
James, out of reassuring words, held his friend tighter.
"And Sirius knew…" Remus said softly. "He was there when I was meeting my parents for the first time, when I thought I'd killed my brother. Sirius was there, he knew what a wreck I was, how badly I took it. He was there when Dumbledore told us my parents would be within their rights to call for the death penalty." Remus sobbed suddenly, and James moved a hand to his shoulder, pulling him closer. "And it was Sirius who went to the library…found out I was innocent…"
"It's okay," James whispered, desperate to help. "I've got you, Rem, I'm here."
Remus threw his head back as the pain of Sirius' betrayal overwhelmed him, and howled "WHY?!"