A/N: Thank you Laughing Fountain for the review :) You're my first reviewer on this story, so that makes you special!!

Chapter two - Out of home

Sirius found himself standing in front of his house. He took a deep breath and prepared to face his mother's anger.

Before he could touch the doorknob, the door opened and his mother stood there, anger rising on her face.

"Get in." she said dryly.

Sirius went inside and headed to his room. He didn't want to hear his mother's lectures, but he had no other choice, for she has followed him to his room.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! YOU'RE A DISGRACE FOR OUR FAMILY!" she shouted at him.

"I haven't done anything." Sirius said calmly. "He was lying there when we arrived."

"WHY DIDN'T THEY ALSO ACCUSE REMUS THEN?"

"I don't know."

"YOU ARE GOING TO STAY IN THIS ROOM UNTIL THEY DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH YOU. YOU'RE NOT TO LEAVE THIS ROOM AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY!"

"Okay." Sirius replied and his mother left the room slamming the door shut after her.

Sirius lay on his bed looking at the ceiling. He didn't know what to think at that moment. He was confused. He didn't mean to cause a serious damage to Snape, but it just happened.

"Why didn't Dumbledore accuse Remus about anything? Why am I the only troublemaker at school? Remus was there with me! James and Peter were there too!" he asked himself.

He looked at his hands and saw red marks on them. "So that's how Dumbledore knew." He muttered to himself and got up. "If I'm supposed to stay out of Hogwarts, I will. But I'm not staying here either." He took his wand and broom out of his trunk and muttered a spell that made his trunk shrink in size. He put the little trunk and his wand in his pocket and opened the window. He climbed on his broom and flew out of the house.

Sirius flew around for a while until he decided where to go. He headed straight to the Leaky Cauldron. As he landed, he took his wand and trunk out of his pocket. He put the trunk on the ground and muttered another spell, which made the trunk turn back to its original size. He pulled it behind him and entered.

An old wizard welcomed him and Sirius asked for a room to stay. He didn't know how long he was going to stay there, but since he was short at pocket money, he decided to spend a couple of nights there until he could figure out what to do next.

The old wizard showed Sirius the room where he was going to stay. Sirius put his trunk near the bed along with his broom. He lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"What will happen to me?" he asked himself. "What will I do if I'm expelled? I'd prefer going to Azkaban instead of being expelled. At least, I'd lose my mind there and I might die. And nothing will matter to me then."

After a while Sirius decided to go out to Diagon Alley. He walked through the streets with nothing special in mind. Suddenly a girl caught his attention. She was about his age, with shoulder length black hair that was pulled in ponytail. Her skin was pale and her eyes were blue. Sirius stared at her and saw her enter Flourish and Blot's. He followed her in. She was asking for some textbooks. Sirius stood near a shelf as to examine some books, but he kept staring at her all the time.

As the girl finished buying her books, which Sirius recognized as sixth year student books, she walked out of the store. Sirius followed her and saw her heading to the direction where he first came from. She was heading to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Well, looks like we'll get to meet each other." He said to himself and followed her. He pretended to be heading to his room and saw the girl coming. He stood in front of his room and started searching his pockets for his room keys, while his eyes were fixed on her. The girl entered the room that was right next to Sirius' room. Sirius smiled.

"So, we're neighbors. That's a good sign." He said and entered his room.

At dinner time, Sirius went downstairs and sat near an empty table. The Leaky Cauldron wasn't crowded, so there were many empty seats. Sirius ordered some mashed potatoes with some apple juice and waited for his order to be ready.

The girl came downstairs and sat near a table next to Sirius'. He looked at her and their eyes met. He smiled at her and she smiled back, then she turned her attention to her bag. She pulled a book out and started to read. Sirius got up and went to her.

"Hello, mind if I join you?" he asked.

The girl looked at him. "It isn't crowded and there are many empty tables."

"Well, I was sitting alone, and you're alone too. So I thought a little company wouldn't hurt."

"Alright." The girl said. "Have a seat."

"Thanks. By the way, my name is Sirius Black."

"I'm Christine Williams."

"Nice to meet you Christine." Sirius said and extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you Sirius." Christine took Sirius' hand and shook it.

The old wizard brings Sirius' order along with Christine's. He places the plates on the table and goes back to the counter.

"You're not from here. Are you?" Sirius asked.

"No. I'm from France." Christine replied.

"But you speak English pretty well."

"My parents are English, but they used to live in France."

"Oh, I see. Which school do you go to?"

"I used to go to Beauxbatons."

"I heard that it's a good place."

"Yes. Yes, indeed." Christine's face expression went dark.

"Er… I hope I didn't say something wrong." Sirius said.

"Oh no. Not at all." Christine said. "I have to go to my room now. Excuse me."

"Yeah, sure. See you tomorrow."

Christine smiled and got up. She put her book back in her bag and went upstairs to her room.

Sirius finished his dinner and headed to his room as well. As soon as he entered, he saw an owl waiting for him near the window.

"Hey there, you got something for me?" he asked, and took the piece of parchment that was tied to the owl's leg. The owl flew out instantly. Sirius opened the parchment and read:

---------------------------------

Dear Mr. Black,

I am please to inform you that Mr. Snape's health condition is steadier and nothing threatens his life anymore. You are allowed to return to school as of tomorrow morning. The train will leave at eleven o'clock from Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station. Please be there at the mentioned time.

P.S.: I would also like to inform you that you have been given a month of detention. I will inform you of the details as soon as you arrive.

Sincerely,

Prof. M. McGonagall

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"Great. Snivellus is alive, but I get a detention. This is just great." Sirius said in a disgusted manner.

Next morning, Sirius got up early and packed his trunk. He pulled it behind him and got out of his room and went downstairs.
"Blimey! I should say goodbye to her!" he said and went back upstairs, leaving his trunk behind him. He reached Christine's room and knocked the door, but no one answered.

"She left early this morning." A young witch said as she passed.

"How do you know?"

"I work here." She said and walked away.

"Oh, okay." Sirius said. He went back downstairs and headed to the counter where the old wizard was. "Excuse me, I need to get to King's Cross. How can I get there?"

"Use the muggle way. Get a taxi." The old wizard said.

"But I don't have muggle money." Sirius said.

"I can exchange some for you."

"Alright." Sirius exchanged some of his sickles and knuts for muggle money that was enough to take him to King's Cross by a taxi.

When he got to the station, it was 10:30. He decided to wait for a few more minutes before running through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Sirius kept looking around at people who were heading to their own platforms, then he looked at the clock. It was 10:15. Sirius decided that it was time to go. He got up and held his trunk. He took a deep breath and ran straight into the wall barrier and passed through it to find himself standing at Platform 9 3/4. Hogwarts Express was there as if it was waiting for him. He was the only one there. All the other students were already at Hogwarts.

"How thoughtful of them to let me go back by train." Sirius said to himself as he got inside the train. He walked through the corridors trying to figure which empty compartment he should take. Finally, he decided on one and went in. He sat near the window and waited for the train to move.

As the train finally moved Sirius lay back in the chair and closed his eyes. After a few hours he would be back at school and he'll meet his friends again, and he'll make sure they apologize to him about what happened. He wasn't supposed to be the only one to get a detention after all. Remus, at least, deserved a detention as much as he did.