Year 2: Chapter 34

"Are you going to eat that?"

Peter took the pastry from the floor and waved it in front of Sirius' face. He didn't say anything just continued to stare. Peter was beginning to worry. James had gone to prank the Slytherins taking Remus with him and yet Sirius hadn't even moved in twenty minutes.

Peter bit into the treat as the compartment door flew open. The two other Marauders entered in fits of laughter.

"I can't believe you got him to believe he had a rabbit on his head Moony, that was brilliant!"

James sat next to Peter and reached onto the floor pulling up a Chocolate Frog. Remus looked at Sirius studying the look on his face.

"Hey Pete what's up with Sirius?"

"Don't know I think he's broken."

Remus waved his hand in front of Sirius' face and he heard a low mumble.

"Mudblood. I had to call her mudblood."

"Who'd you call that Si?"

Remus watched as the boy blinked and looked around him.

"I've messed up, big time guys. I can't believe I ignored her and let her get beaten up and now she won't talk to me. And then there's … well she wasn't talking to me before but I had to call her that … Merlin I'm so stupid. I've got to find her."

Remus looked at James and Peter and shrugged as Sirius left the room.

"Did either of you understand that?"

Peter shook his head while James just picked up another Frog.

"Well at least he's stopped banging his head against walls."

The boys sat there trying to work things out when Sirius walked back in. He sat down and brought his head hard against the wall bringing it forward and letting it hit again. James leaned forward and pulled his friend's head towards him.

"Stop it already, you'll do yourself more damage. Although I don't know how much more damage you could do."

"Oh shut up James."

They sat there in silence for a while and then Peter looked up from his lap.

"So what did Amanda tell you then?"

This caused all three to look at him and Sirius laughed.

"She never wants to see me again, and if I go near her or Lily she'll do to me what Lucius did to her."

"What he do?"

Sirius frowned at his friend. It was weird that Peter hadn't worked it out, but then he wasn't the fastest person around.

"He did what families of our standard love to do, bully the younger ones into their way of thinking and not stop until you're black and blue."

"He beat her up, lets get him!"

Sirius grabbed James' arm and pulled him down. Peter and he were sharing a look, which meant that they understood this was the normal run of things and Remus just looked down at his feet.

They kept off that subject for the remainder of the ride and then said goodbye to each other on the platform.

They went through the barrier one at a time and Sirius was the last one through. He looked around the muggle platform and saw Lily standing with Branwen next to two men that Sirius knew to be Lily's father and Tad.

A bit over from them stood Ginny and next to her was Remus, they looked like they wanted to be anywhere but there as their families stood talking. Sirius moved along and watched as Andi left with her family and Peter seemed to be following quickly behind.

He saw his mother and made his way towards her when Alice bumped into him. She glared at him as she continued walking with James following right behind. Things seemed to have changed so much from the year before and Sirius wondered if things would ever go back to normal.

As he stood next to his mother he saw that Amanda was there. She looked stonily at him as if daring him to speak to her.

"Mother I'm ready can we go home now."

"We're not going home. We're having it decorated we're staying with Alistair and Aquilina this summer."

He felt his face drop and saw the same reaction in Amanda. They said nothing as they left and he couldn't help think that this would be the worse summer of his life, he was right but for all the wrong reasons.