The Price of Love
One of the first things that he learned over the years was that what people don't know won't hurt them. The second, of course, was, why tell the truth when a lie sounds so much better?
Living with Sirius was an adventure. His second day he was putting those techniques into action.
The first day he learned a new technique: Never attempt to run away when a drunk maniac is trying to beat you.
He had to learn it the hard way.
He dropped his bag close to his wardrobe. Living in a cubical sized bedroom may have clouded his perception of a perfect room, but at that moment, he was pretty sure that this was as close to perfect as he would ever see.
The walls were wood. A nice finished wood. He learned early on not to touch his cupboard walls, because Aunt Petunia didn't dunk his hand in water when removing splinters.
"Is this alright?" The voice was tentative, and almost worried.
He must have taken the suck of his breath as an affirmative answer because the tight hand on his shoulder relaxed.
"You need any help unpacking?"
"I'm fine here."
"Did you want any-"
"Everything is fine, Sirius."
"I was going to ask if you wanted lunch." He said matter-of-factly.
"To tell you the truth, I'm still trying to digest the shards of egg shell we had for breakfast."
"That wasn't my fault! The guy on TV made it look so easy, cracking it with one hand like that. They should warn people that it's hard."
"That's alright, anyway. I like eating out."
"Take out it is then."
He surveyed the room without speaking for a couple of moments, and Sirius must have realized that he was either having a moment, or that he was trying to figure out where to put his things, because he didn't interrupt him.
"Is this actually my room? Are you positive this isn't your room?"
"Oh yeah. That's right. This is my room. I'm so stupid sometimes." He said mockingly. "You're in the laundry room, the other two are for my girlfriends."
"I miss those good old days. I use to sleep in the laundry room, up until I got too big to sleep in the clothesbasket, then they had to buy me a cot."
"The laundry room? Seriously?"
"It was pretty nice. Especially when they were right out of the drier."
"How about I just turn up the heat in the winter?"
"That sounds nice."
"You sure you don't want some help, here?"
"Nope. Everything is fine."
"Then I'll be in the living room if you need me. Come check out the TV. I'm no expert, but the color on this thing is awesome!"
"Yeah, I'll catch up with you later."
In truth, he felt that by unpacking all the crappy things in his trunk, it would be somewhat scandalizing towards the perfect state of his room.
He chuckled as the silly urge to jump on his bed came over him.
"Aw, what the hell?" He said, and threw himself on top of it, and bounced. This had been a favorite practice of his cousin, which explained why he got a new mattress just about twice a year. Of course, he only had to break his leg three times to figure out that it was hazardous to his health.
"Harry?" He heard a yell from downstairs. He automatically ceased from jumping and ran to the top of the stairs to apologize.
At his confession, Sirius had waved it off. "I just wanted to know what you wanted on your pizza."
"Oh." He blushed. "Uh, what ever you're having is good. I'm allergic to mushrooms though."
"Alright. Have fun."
He found himself too embarrassed to continue, however, and he began unpacking his things. It didn't take him long at all. In fact, he had fifteen minutes to watch TV before the pizza came.
He mechanically began setting the table for the both of them.
"Harry. Harry! We'll just eat on paper plates out in the living room." This, again, was very new. He couldn't remember anyone who ate in the living room with his relatives, except for his cousin, of course, who ate ice cream by the tub in front of the television set.
He opened the box to find one of the most heavenly smells in the world infiltrate his nose.
"Jeez, Harry. You act like you've never smelled pizza before… Have you?"
"Not fresh."
"I'm not even going to ask. Is pepperoni and sausage all right? You can pick it off if you don't."
"Never had them before."
"What?"
"Dudley always used to pick them off my pizza before I could eat it."
"Then you take the first slice."
He peeled the crust from it, and found the cheese slid off of it, leaving him with a chunk of pizza crust and sauce. He looked at disappointedly.
"You suck." Sirius laughed, good naturedly. He then proceeded to grab the greasy, sauce covered cheese and throw it on top of his crust.
He declined from asking him if he had washed his hands prior to eating. He curled it up and dug his teeth into it, practically taking the cheese off again. "Mmmmmm".
"Good?"
He nodded enthusiastically, his mouth still full.
The day continued at that speed, but he was eager to spend more time in his room. It was so big, and so empty, he found it freaked him out a bit.
Around ten O'clock, he found himself drowsily falling into a half-sleep, still staring out from under his covers. It was still overwhelming to him that he would no longer be doing his homework under the cover. No more ink stains on his pillows. No more looking at his photo album at wand light.
He was startled by a sudden shattering of glass, or pottery or something similar.
He got out of bed, and pulled on a robe and some slippers, and opened the door, to find Sirius standing in front of him.
The smell of his breath was a dead give-away he was drunk. Before he could even react to his presence in his room, he was suddenly knocked to the ground, with a throbbing shoulder. With a kick to the back, he realized that he had to do something. "You son of a bitch!" He heard in back of him. Who was this? Sirius? How could he be doing this to him?
He got to his feet with an expression of horror on is face, and meet a warped fury that had spread over his godfather's face.
"Goddamn little bastard! You killed my best friends, you sick asshole!" He felt another blow to his ribs, and strangled back a cry of pain.
He responded in his fiercest instinct. He ran.
He lunged for the staircase, and found his godfather following him at a close distance. Sirius was too close! He dived for the stairs, and found a pair of arms around his chest. They both rolled down the staircase, Sirius on top of him, crushing him as he went.
He got to his feet surprisingly fast, and lunged for the door. He tried to slam it shut behind him, but Sirius had caught the door before he could properly shut it.
He mustered all the strength he possessed, and began running towards where he could only imagine was town.
For about half a minute, he ran with no direction, dodging trees, until was too curious, and had to turn around to see if anyone was following him.
And there he was. Not a man, anymore, but a dog. His eyes were practically glowing.
He tried to run faster, but he was out of breath, and the stitch in his side was killing him.
And then he was on him again, as a man. This time, though, he had a mouth, to scream insults at him.
"You little shit! Goddamn murderer! You going to kill me?" He screamed, and tackled him to the ground. For a while, he couldn't tell what was happening. He was being beaten to death. He was going to die. Die at his godfather's hands. He could barely tell when the blows stopped, so much pain surged through his body that he couldn't even tell one blow from another. The tears streamed from his clenched eyes, and he realized that Sirius had retreated. He waited almost five minutes to make sure he wasn't coming back before he made his way back to his house.
Notes: Well, for anyone who didn't pick it up, this was a flashback to his first night. This is pretty much just so you know how his pattern of being beaten got started, and why he didn't tell anyone. I should probably finish it next chapter, and then we'll get back to the current plot.
So thank you for everyone who reviewed. I appreciate all of you for it.
Froboy: Thank you. I will try to keep them consistent.
Linky2: Eventually, he probably will, but not for now. Thanks for your review.
Ryou Bakura Fan: Thank you. I'm glad that appeals to you.
Savoy Truffle: I'm sorry, I misspelled your name last time. Anyway, Thank you for your review.
Glaivur grl: Well, that is the reaction I'm going for. The analogy is very good. I like that. Lets hope that it does end the same way, huh? And that is what everyone expects to happen, you realize. Everyone thinks Remus is going to conveniently walk in at two in the morning looking for some sugar. I guess we'll see what happens, huh? Thanks for your review.
SKC: Thank you. I'm trying to update frequently.
JessieRose: Thank you. Not everyone sees it that way, so thanks. I'm trying to write it that way.
Lyla Snape: Erm… Madam Hooch? That's very interesting. No one has
recommended her before. *shrugs* Eh, different strokes, huh? We'll see what
happens. And please don't hate Sirius on account of me! Think about how nice he
is sober, though. Or don't. It doesn't matter to me, really. Thank you.
Angel74: Thank you so much! : )
Wazza!: I'm sorry it took so long. Thanks for reviewing.
Natural Anthem: Yeah, people do. It's too bad. I'm glad you like him. I'm trying to write him as the guardian, struggling to figure out how to deal with a teenager.
MalletWeilderofDoom: If Harry knew where Sirius kept his liquor, he would have done it ages ago, I would think. Sirius keeps it hidden.
SarahPeach: Well, I can't exactly tell you if one of the two will happen, sorry to say. I don't think you're a loser. I have to say, I've done some crazy things myself. I really wanted to see a certain author's fan art (not naming names here), and spent about fifteen minutes hacking my way in. I keep forgetting to watch that show. I will! Eventually. Actually, I really liked that guy in the gap commercial a while back, which was almost identical to the new one, except a snappier song.
RosieCotton: I can't tell you thank. Sorry, but thanks for reviewing.
Black Rose9: Thank you.
Katini Petitedra: Well thank you a lot for your complement. I really wish you would post them though.
Brittany: Thank you.
Eric2: I plan on finishing the story, and my updates should be faster now. Thanks. I try to keep the characters… well, in character. It's not really all that hard.
Cat15: Thank you for putting me on your author's alerts. I really appreciate that. : ) It will probably be a while for the climax, but I can really tell how long this story's going to be.
MistressCoCoLoVeR: Yeah, I know what you mean. This was my attempt at exploring Stockholm syndrome, actually. The most common example is when you go out with an abusive partner because you love them so much, you make up excuses for their behavior. The fact that Sirius is drunk gives Harry a good excuse not to confront him about it. A lot of people have had experiences like that… a lot of people just don't talk about them openly. Look at the Catholic Church scandal. That was covered up for… how many years? I was stalked, and almost raped about two or three years ago. No, I can assure you, Sirius doesn't know what is going on.
Felinity: *cringes* sorry about that. Everyone wants to know when he's going to be helped… to tell the truth, I can't be sure. You'll just have to read and find out.
Doneril: Thank you. He does seem like the kind of guy who would have them, don't you think? Yeah, I know what you mean about the traumatic experiences.
Kateri1: Thank you. I hope you keep on reading.
Siri Kat: Aren't will all? Thank you for your review.
Aeryn Alexander: Thank you. I'm glad you like the idea. It isn't very common in this fandom. Yes, that has something to do with it. You'll see later on the entire picture. I guess I shouldn't comment on what you said about Remus's reaction not being right, since you accept it. I mean, Remus knew Sirius before Azkaban screwed him up, and that Sirius wouldn't act like that. Chapter three was suppose to show the contrast between drunk and sober. I hope I did it all right. Oh jeez. I hope I'm not keeping you awake with this. I guess that means I did my job right. I wonder how it is for everyone out there who is reading, since I'm the author, and I know the ending. *shrugs* Sorry.
Crazedgurl1291: I can't really see Harry telling anyone else about it after the fiasco with Remus. Thank you for reviewing.
Amyaggie: Thank you. I'm glad you like it. I hope this isn't making you hate Sirius, though.
Sirius-Lover-101: I'm trying to post better now. Thank you.
Charlie-Potter1: Thank you. I'm glad you like it.
Relle: Only for you. Actually, I think I started writing this about the time you reviewed. I got off my arse and started writing. And judging by the fact that you claimed to have read Bitter at 3 A.M. I think you're in Britain, right? And it was only about 10 O'clock where I am now, this should be up around 5 P.M. wherever you are. So, thanks for your review.
Rubberduckie713: Uh, coincidentally, the next update is… now! Nah, I'm just playing around. Not worry, just about everyone has asked me if Remus was going to walk in and catch him. Well, maybe, maybe not. I guess we'll see what happens.
Zorro x: Thank you. I know, it seems like everyone's pretty much screwed when the shit hits the fan, huh? Thank you for reviewing.
Notes: I can't guarantee the next chapter will be up very soon. I've got a really hectic week ahead of me. I've got about fifteen books to read in about eight days. So… I'm pretty much screwed. This should be the last time I'm online for quite a while, so, sorry.