"God they're pathetic." Sirius muttered. Regulus stared at him with wide eyes.
"Don't talk about mum and auntie like that." He hissed, fully expecting either of them to run into the room and start yelling at the boys. Sirius rolled his eyes. Whereas Regulus was unimaginably frightened of his mother and aunt, Sirius had no respect for them whatsoever, and it's very hard to fear what you don't respect.
He walked over to the doorway and listened. Brenna and Belladonna Black had been drinking all day. Sirius had spent a good deal of it out with James, listening to his preppy friend with the perfect life bitch about things that weren't really important. "Oh Lily won't go out with me, oh Daddy only gave me twenty galleons to spend today, oh my grades are slightly less than perfect." It was James' usual behaviour, and it got on even patient Remus' nerves sometimes. But Sirius rather enjoyed it. He liked to pretend his problems were as simple as James'. And counselling James was a helluva lot easier than counselling himself. At any rate, when he'd gotten back Brenna was still at his house and involved in a screaming match with Belladonna.
From the sound of it, when he'd first walked in anyway, they had been yelling about Andromeda. Seems the family had confirmed the father of her child was a Muggle born. They'd had suspicions but no proof. Well, Sirius had known all along of course, he'd met Ted a few times and thought he was a good guy. The rest of the family however…it had been thought best to keep them in the dark for as long as possible. He was pretty sure Andromeda had been sizzled off the tapestry that afternoon. Pregnant that young and by a Muggle born…
Anyway, as soon as Brenna had spotted Sirius coming in, she switched the conversation/screaming match over to him as opposed to her screw-up child. Sirius was pretty sure he'd given them at least an hour's worth of material before he'd finally gotten into his room and locked them out.
Regulus had come in at some point during the night. They weren't close, they never had been, but for some reason they always stayed together during the rows Belladonna had, whether it was with Brenna, their father, Andromeda, or even each other.
"They're back to Andy again. Honestly the same topics round and round, and they never make any impression on the other one. They're too thick to stop, that's what's the matter with them." Sirius said, a humourless smile on his face.
Regulus hugged his knees and rocked back and forth. "D'ya think auntie will leave soon?"
"I doubt it." Sirius answered. "They never leave before, like three when they're like this."
"Where's Dad?"
"Probably out with unc. Can you blame him? I'd run screaming every chance I got if I were married to that." Sirius said with disgust. "I can't imagine a more miserable life partner. She's mean, selfish, paranoid, bigoted, stupid, arrogant, thick-"
"Don't say that about mum!" Regulus shouted, jumping to his feet. A tinge of red had appeared in his cheeks and his fists were balled. He glared at Sirius with determination.
Sirius fought the urge to laugh as he lazily walked closer to Regulus. He was about a head taller than Regulus, and though he had a slight build himself, it was a lot more impressive than Regulus who was just willowy. Added to that Sirius had actual experience as far as fighting went, being a blood traitor and all, he was a popular attempted punching bag for the Slytherins.
"Are you going to hit me Reggie?" Sirius asked, not quite able to hide his amusement.
"Maybe." Regulus growled. "And don't call me Reggie. I'm sick of you Sirius! You don't think anything's important you don't, you don't get it! All you do is insult mum and run off and do bad things and make her worry! She's worried about you and how you'll turn out-"
"The hell she's worried about me. She's worried about her reputation. She's worried about having to admit to auntie that I'm just as much of a fuck up as Andy is. Possibly worse, I'll find something to outdo Andy. Although getting knocked up by a Muggle born would be pretty hard to beat." Sirius spat, bitterness dripping from his voice.
He was very close to Andromeda. But he doubted he would get to see her as much now, given his family's opinion of her.
"Don't you dare embarrass this family any more than that! I see you at school, with that Mudblood loving Potter and that queer Lupin-"
"What did you say about my friends?" Sirius asked, any and all amusement gone. There was a cold anger in his voice. He and Regulus were standing across from each other. They'd never gotten along, but they'd never fought like this either. It seemed like Regulus was letting out a lot of pent up anger.
"You heard me." Regulus snapped. "Everyone knows Potter's after that filthy Mudblood Evans, and Lupin, well he's always sick. Bellatrix thinks he's got AIDS. And that Pettigrew kid-"
"Hey, I don't even like Peter that much, he just stokes James' ego." Sirius said defensively. "And Remus does not have AIDS, you take that back!"
"Why are you so nervous? Have you been fucking him or something?" Regulus spat.
"You think I'm gay?" Sirius asked, some of the amusement returning.
"I think you're a slut and you'd sleep with anything." Regulus answered.
"You're awfully brave." Sirius said quietly. There was a very dangerous calm to him. He took a step closer to Regulus, and his confidence wavered. He seemed to be realizing how much bigger Sirius was than him, and how much better he was at fighting and casting hexes.
"If you hurt me, mum'll really kill you." Regulus warned.
Sirius let out a barking laugh. "There are so many things I've done to drive mum up the wall, do you really think punching you when you deserve it is going to warrant a worse punishment than she's already given me?"
"Well mum loves me, at least. And I didn't say anything that wasn't true." Regulus said quietly. Sirius growled and he backed away.
"You're such a bloody coward." Sirius said, low in his throat.
Regulus flinched at the threatening behind Sirius' voice. Then he cried out in surprise as Sirius darted forward and grabbed his arm. Sirius twisted his arm behind his back and he let out a yelp of pain.
"Stoppit! Stoppit Sirius or I'll tell!" Regulus pleaded.
"Tell what?" Sirius demanded, twisting harder. Regulus fell onto his knees.
"I'll tell them that you're fucking Lupin!" Regulus cried out, and then hissed in pain.
"I'm not-"
"I saw you snogging by the Quidditch pitch two months ago! I saw it Sirius, you're disgusting!" Regulus screamed. Sirius had released him out of pure shock. "He's got AIDS, look at him! Do you want to infect yourself!? You could die Sirius!"
"And wouldn't you all love that?! Wouldn't you all love if I just dropped dead before I could properly shame the family like Andy?!" Sirius yelled back. "I hate you all! You're the most selfish, fucking hypocrites, you're all bloody bastards, the lot of you! I hate this family!"
"Then leave! All you do is make us miserable!" Regulus was crying now, but still glaring angrily at Sirius.
"I make you miserable?! That's a load of shit compared to what you psychos do to me! I am leaving!" Sirius stormed over to his closet and started digging around for his cloak.
"Where the fuck will you go? Who would take in a rotten fucking poofy blood traitor like you?" Regulus hissed.
Sirius turned around and punched him in the face. Regulus was on the floor holding his jaw, whimpering in pain and staring at Sirius with wide, frightened eyes.
Sirius stood there, his vision clouded with red, he'd never been so angry. He knew he was nearing a point in himself he'd come to many times, and he slowly eased himself back. He realized Regulus was yelling at him, crying so hard most of it was incomprehensible through the sobbing, but he tuned it out entirely.
He found his cloak and the bag he stashed his Muggle cloths in. He opened the door and jogged down the stairs, intent on getting to the door as quickly as possible.
He was stopped in the hallway by Brenna and Belladonna. Well, delayed is a better word.
"Where d'ya think yer goin' this late at night?" Brenna demanded. "Fucking cunt uva kid ya got Bells."
"Don' you call mah kid that." Belladonna slurred. "Sirius you go upstairs n' sleep. S'late."
"Mum Sirius hit me!" Regulus cried, running down the stairs. He ran right over to his mother, crying and trembling. She hugged him fiercely and protectively, almost knocking him over as she leaned too much weight on him.
"What dijja do ya bastard?" Belladonna yelled, spit flying from her mouth.
"I punched the little son of a bitch." Sirius said through gritted teeth. "Now let me leave."
"If you go out that door now, yer never comin' back!" Belladonna yelled. "I've had enough of you ruinin' my family!"
"Oh don't worry mum, I don't intend to ever come back to this miserable place as long as I live!" Sirius yelled back.
"Where the hell'd you go? No one would take you in!" Brenna cried. "Yer a disobedient little shit an' no one'd want to deal with you!"
"I'd rather die freezing and starving on the street than spend another minute in this house." Sirius growled. With that he left the house, slamming the door.
He ran up the massive front lawn, fearing pursuit, though he knew his mother and aunt were unable to walk in a straight line, let alone catch him. It was an irrational fear, and he knew he didn't have to run but he did anyway. Eventually it wasn't so much running from fear as it was exhilaration. He was free. He was finally free.
*******************************
"Oh Sirius don't worry about anything, honey drink more cocoa. You can stay with us for as long as you need to, don't even worry about it. We have plenty of money, more than we need to. And that guest room can be your bedroom. Start eating honey, you look so thin and pale."
"Mum back off. He's had a hard time, let him breathe."
"I'm sorry sweetie, I just fuss. I'll leave you boys alone now." Meryl Potter bustled out of the kitchen, leaving Sirius alone with James.
"Sorry about her, you know how she is. She's nutters." James said, looking very uncomfortable. "So…is this permanent then? Like, you're not going back?"
"Not if I can help it." Sirius answered hollowly.
"That's cool then. I mean, you are welcome here for as long as you need it. You're like my brother anyway."
"Don't use that word." Sirius murmured. James quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "I, I fought with Regulus tonight too. It was brutal. He, he said things that…I don't want to talk about it."
"Alright. I'm okay with that. But if you need to talk…"
"I will James. Just not yet. It's…it's fucked. It's all fucked!" Sirius buried his head in his hands, mostly for the excuse to stop looking at James. There was too much pity on his face. And an awkward look that came from seeing someone you care about hurting and not knowing how to help.
James was Sirius' best friend, and he was good for a lot of things. Good for pranks, for stories, for sneaking out and getting into trouble. He was good for fun things. But he wasn't good for situations like this.
"I need to talk to Remus." Sirius didn't realize he'd said it aloud until he saw the pained look in James' eyes.
"You can't talk to me?" James asked, looking extremely hurt.
Sirius took a deep breath. "James he just…he understands this shit more. That's one reason why we're, well…"
"Dating?" James supplied.
"Yeah. Because, because we support each other. He, his mum drinks too. And, I don't know. It's…never mind. I can talk to you." Sirius murmured.
"No. Sirius, this is a dumb time to get jealous, and if you need to talk to Remus then I can owl him or ask mum to pick him up or something. I don't care."
"No, it's, it's stupid. I'll be fine." Sirius thought of Andromeda, how ironic it was that he'd run away on the night they found out about Ted. "I should owl Andy. She'd have a good laugh over this."
"Laugh?" James asked, looking very confused. "I thought this was a bad thing."
"Well I'm rootless now, and I'm in shock. But…it's not like I have no place to go. I mean…what they were saying, that was all shit right?"
"What were they saying Sirius?"
"That no one would take me in…no one would want me." Sirius muttered.
"Well you know that's full of shit. Mum absolutely loves you. Of course, she loves everyone, so I guess that's not saying much. But you're more than welcome here. I'm kinda glad about it, actually." James said, then grimaced. "That was the wrong thing to say wasn't it?"
Sirius smiled. "No it wasn't. Yeah, I guess I don't need to be all depressed. I mean, I'm free of them. Like Andy. I don't ever have to see them again if I don't want to. But…I won't be imposing on you guys, right?"
"Sirius look around this house. We're not filthy rich, but Dad pulls in more money than we need to live comfortably. They're joking around about buying me a Porsche just to burn some of it."
"What the hell's a Porsche?" Sirius asked in confusion.
"I have no clue. I think it's a car." James answered.
"We should ask Remus, bet he'd know."
"Or Lily…"
Distant smiles graced the lips of both boys and James knew, for the moment at least, everything was alright.
"Don't talk about mum and auntie like that." He hissed, fully expecting either of them to run into the room and start yelling at the boys. Sirius rolled his eyes. Whereas Regulus was unimaginably frightened of his mother and aunt, Sirius had no respect for them whatsoever, and it's very hard to fear what you don't respect.
He walked over to the doorway and listened. Brenna and Belladonna Black had been drinking all day. Sirius had spent a good deal of it out with James, listening to his preppy friend with the perfect life bitch about things that weren't really important. "Oh Lily won't go out with me, oh Daddy only gave me twenty galleons to spend today, oh my grades are slightly less than perfect." It was James' usual behaviour, and it got on even patient Remus' nerves sometimes. But Sirius rather enjoyed it. He liked to pretend his problems were as simple as James'. And counselling James was a helluva lot easier than counselling himself. At any rate, when he'd gotten back Brenna was still at his house and involved in a screaming match with Belladonna.
From the sound of it, when he'd first walked in anyway, they had been yelling about Andromeda. Seems the family had confirmed the father of her child was a Muggle born. They'd had suspicions but no proof. Well, Sirius had known all along of course, he'd met Ted a few times and thought he was a good guy. The rest of the family however…it had been thought best to keep them in the dark for as long as possible. He was pretty sure Andromeda had been sizzled off the tapestry that afternoon. Pregnant that young and by a Muggle born…
Anyway, as soon as Brenna had spotted Sirius coming in, she switched the conversation/screaming match over to him as opposed to her screw-up child. Sirius was pretty sure he'd given them at least an hour's worth of material before he'd finally gotten into his room and locked them out.
Regulus had come in at some point during the night. They weren't close, they never had been, but for some reason they always stayed together during the rows Belladonna had, whether it was with Brenna, their father, Andromeda, or even each other.
"They're back to Andy again. Honestly the same topics round and round, and they never make any impression on the other one. They're too thick to stop, that's what's the matter with them." Sirius said, a humourless smile on his face.
Regulus hugged his knees and rocked back and forth. "D'ya think auntie will leave soon?"
"I doubt it." Sirius answered. "They never leave before, like three when they're like this."
"Where's Dad?"
"Probably out with unc. Can you blame him? I'd run screaming every chance I got if I were married to that." Sirius said with disgust. "I can't imagine a more miserable life partner. She's mean, selfish, paranoid, bigoted, stupid, arrogant, thick-"
"Don't say that about mum!" Regulus shouted, jumping to his feet. A tinge of red had appeared in his cheeks and his fists were balled. He glared at Sirius with determination.
Sirius fought the urge to laugh as he lazily walked closer to Regulus. He was about a head taller than Regulus, and though he had a slight build himself, it was a lot more impressive than Regulus who was just willowy. Added to that Sirius had actual experience as far as fighting went, being a blood traitor and all, he was a popular attempted punching bag for the Slytherins.
"Are you going to hit me Reggie?" Sirius asked, not quite able to hide his amusement.
"Maybe." Regulus growled. "And don't call me Reggie. I'm sick of you Sirius! You don't think anything's important you don't, you don't get it! All you do is insult mum and run off and do bad things and make her worry! She's worried about you and how you'll turn out-"
"The hell she's worried about me. She's worried about her reputation. She's worried about having to admit to auntie that I'm just as much of a fuck up as Andy is. Possibly worse, I'll find something to outdo Andy. Although getting knocked up by a Muggle born would be pretty hard to beat." Sirius spat, bitterness dripping from his voice.
He was very close to Andromeda. But he doubted he would get to see her as much now, given his family's opinion of her.
"Don't you dare embarrass this family any more than that! I see you at school, with that Mudblood loving Potter and that queer Lupin-"
"What did you say about my friends?" Sirius asked, any and all amusement gone. There was a cold anger in his voice. He and Regulus were standing across from each other. They'd never gotten along, but they'd never fought like this either. It seemed like Regulus was letting out a lot of pent up anger.
"You heard me." Regulus snapped. "Everyone knows Potter's after that filthy Mudblood Evans, and Lupin, well he's always sick. Bellatrix thinks he's got AIDS. And that Pettigrew kid-"
"Hey, I don't even like Peter that much, he just stokes James' ego." Sirius said defensively. "And Remus does not have AIDS, you take that back!"
"Why are you so nervous? Have you been fucking him or something?" Regulus spat.
"You think I'm gay?" Sirius asked, some of the amusement returning.
"I think you're a slut and you'd sleep with anything." Regulus answered.
"You're awfully brave." Sirius said quietly. There was a very dangerous calm to him. He took a step closer to Regulus, and his confidence wavered. He seemed to be realizing how much bigger Sirius was than him, and how much better he was at fighting and casting hexes.
"If you hurt me, mum'll really kill you." Regulus warned.
Sirius let out a barking laugh. "There are so many things I've done to drive mum up the wall, do you really think punching you when you deserve it is going to warrant a worse punishment than she's already given me?"
"Well mum loves me, at least. And I didn't say anything that wasn't true." Regulus said quietly. Sirius growled and he backed away.
"You're such a bloody coward." Sirius said, low in his throat.
Regulus flinched at the threatening behind Sirius' voice. Then he cried out in surprise as Sirius darted forward and grabbed his arm. Sirius twisted his arm behind his back and he let out a yelp of pain.
"Stoppit! Stoppit Sirius or I'll tell!" Regulus pleaded.
"Tell what?" Sirius demanded, twisting harder. Regulus fell onto his knees.
"I'll tell them that you're fucking Lupin!" Regulus cried out, and then hissed in pain.
"I'm not-"
"I saw you snogging by the Quidditch pitch two months ago! I saw it Sirius, you're disgusting!" Regulus screamed. Sirius had released him out of pure shock. "He's got AIDS, look at him! Do you want to infect yourself!? You could die Sirius!"
"And wouldn't you all love that?! Wouldn't you all love if I just dropped dead before I could properly shame the family like Andy?!" Sirius yelled back. "I hate you all! You're the most selfish, fucking hypocrites, you're all bloody bastards, the lot of you! I hate this family!"
"Then leave! All you do is make us miserable!" Regulus was crying now, but still glaring angrily at Sirius.
"I make you miserable?! That's a load of shit compared to what you psychos do to me! I am leaving!" Sirius stormed over to his closet and started digging around for his cloak.
"Where the fuck will you go? Who would take in a rotten fucking poofy blood traitor like you?" Regulus hissed.
Sirius turned around and punched him in the face. Regulus was on the floor holding his jaw, whimpering in pain and staring at Sirius with wide, frightened eyes.
Sirius stood there, his vision clouded with red, he'd never been so angry. He knew he was nearing a point in himself he'd come to many times, and he slowly eased himself back. He realized Regulus was yelling at him, crying so hard most of it was incomprehensible through the sobbing, but he tuned it out entirely.
He found his cloak and the bag he stashed his Muggle cloths in. He opened the door and jogged down the stairs, intent on getting to the door as quickly as possible.
He was stopped in the hallway by Brenna and Belladonna. Well, delayed is a better word.
"Where d'ya think yer goin' this late at night?" Brenna demanded. "Fucking cunt uva kid ya got Bells."
"Don' you call mah kid that." Belladonna slurred. "Sirius you go upstairs n' sleep. S'late."
"Mum Sirius hit me!" Regulus cried, running down the stairs. He ran right over to his mother, crying and trembling. She hugged him fiercely and protectively, almost knocking him over as she leaned too much weight on him.
"What dijja do ya bastard?" Belladonna yelled, spit flying from her mouth.
"I punched the little son of a bitch." Sirius said through gritted teeth. "Now let me leave."
"If you go out that door now, yer never comin' back!" Belladonna yelled. "I've had enough of you ruinin' my family!"
"Oh don't worry mum, I don't intend to ever come back to this miserable place as long as I live!" Sirius yelled back.
"Where the hell'd you go? No one would take you in!" Brenna cried. "Yer a disobedient little shit an' no one'd want to deal with you!"
"I'd rather die freezing and starving on the street than spend another minute in this house." Sirius growled. With that he left the house, slamming the door.
He ran up the massive front lawn, fearing pursuit, though he knew his mother and aunt were unable to walk in a straight line, let alone catch him. It was an irrational fear, and he knew he didn't have to run but he did anyway. Eventually it wasn't so much running from fear as it was exhilaration. He was free. He was finally free.
*******************************
"Oh Sirius don't worry about anything, honey drink more cocoa. You can stay with us for as long as you need to, don't even worry about it. We have plenty of money, more than we need to. And that guest room can be your bedroom. Start eating honey, you look so thin and pale."
"Mum back off. He's had a hard time, let him breathe."
"I'm sorry sweetie, I just fuss. I'll leave you boys alone now." Meryl Potter bustled out of the kitchen, leaving Sirius alone with James.
"Sorry about her, you know how she is. She's nutters." James said, looking very uncomfortable. "So…is this permanent then? Like, you're not going back?"
"Not if I can help it." Sirius answered hollowly.
"That's cool then. I mean, you are welcome here for as long as you need it. You're like my brother anyway."
"Don't use that word." Sirius murmured. James quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "I, I fought with Regulus tonight too. It was brutal. He, he said things that…I don't want to talk about it."
"Alright. I'm okay with that. But if you need to talk…"
"I will James. Just not yet. It's…it's fucked. It's all fucked!" Sirius buried his head in his hands, mostly for the excuse to stop looking at James. There was too much pity on his face. And an awkward look that came from seeing someone you care about hurting and not knowing how to help.
James was Sirius' best friend, and he was good for a lot of things. Good for pranks, for stories, for sneaking out and getting into trouble. He was good for fun things. But he wasn't good for situations like this.
"I need to talk to Remus." Sirius didn't realize he'd said it aloud until he saw the pained look in James' eyes.
"You can't talk to me?" James asked, looking extremely hurt.
Sirius took a deep breath. "James he just…he understands this shit more. That's one reason why we're, well…"
"Dating?" James supplied.
"Yeah. Because, because we support each other. He, his mum drinks too. And, I don't know. It's…never mind. I can talk to you." Sirius murmured.
"No. Sirius, this is a dumb time to get jealous, and if you need to talk to Remus then I can owl him or ask mum to pick him up or something. I don't care."
"No, it's, it's stupid. I'll be fine." Sirius thought of Andromeda, how ironic it was that he'd run away on the night they found out about Ted. "I should owl Andy. She'd have a good laugh over this."
"Laugh?" James asked, looking very confused. "I thought this was a bad thing."
"Well I'm rootless now, and I'm in shock. But…it's not like I have no place to go. I mean…what they were saying, that was all shit right?"
"What were they saying Sirius?"
"That no one would take me in…no one would want me." Sirius muttered.
"Well you know that's full of shit. Mum absolutely loves you. Of course, she loves everyone, so I guess that's not saying much. But you're more than welcome here. I'm kinda glad about it, actually." James said, then grimaced. "That was the wrong thing to say wasn't it?"
Sirius smiled. "No it wasn't. Yeah, I guess I don't need to be all depressed. I mean, I'm free of them. Like Andy. I don't ever have to see them again if I don't want to. But…I won't be imposing on you guys, right?"
"Sirius look around this house. We're not filthy rich, but Dad pulls in more money than we need to live comfortably. They're joking around about buying me a Porsche just to burn some of it."
"What the hell's a Porsche?" Sirius asked in confusion.
"I have no clue. I think it's a car." James answered.
"We should ask Remus, bet he'd know."
"Or Lily…"
Distant smiles graced the lips of both boys and James knew, for the moment at least, everything was alright.