Okkie dokkies ya'll! I finally updated.

Misthea I'm glad you liked the sword fight. In the course of this story (which only takes place during the Marauders' first year) James will NOT know about Sirius's home-life. I wouldn't have him know until about sixth year when Sirius runs away. Sorry dude. And yes, James did ask his parents about all that, but because this story centers on Sirius, I don't go into James's thoughts. Kinda like how JK doesn't go into Ron's or Hermione's, ya know? And I know the gymnastics bit was overdone, but oh well. It made it more fun. And I don't hate you for saying it. Feel free to say anything you want! Thanks for your review.

To Lazy to Log: Sorry, they don't find out about Sirius. But never fear: Remus is starting to become more important!

Felcia Glad you like. I read the story, hope you got the review.

Cascadingmagic The raspberry thing still has me laughing. I like your mental fruit image. Glad you like and thanks for the review.

Lily-james12, Celebrean, Yoshimiwolfspaw, Hermione12, justarandomperson, lilroxyn03: thanks so much for the reviews, guys. Keep 'em coming.

Chapter 4

Easter break approached them quickly. About a week before they got off, James dropped into his usual seat next to Sirius at the Gryffindor table. "I've got a thought here," James said.

From across the table, Lily Evans snorted. She was a firm believer that James and Sirius were the biggest idiots in the world. She hated James with a passion that he returned, but she didn't seem to mind Sirius too much, which Remus pointed out to be near hypocrisy.

"Shut up, Evans," James said without a glance in her direction. "I was thinking that maybe you could come over to my house for Easter break. That is if your parents don't want you home."

'Only to take their misery out on me,' Sirius thought. Aloud, he said, "Sounds great, mate. I'll write to them tonight." For his sake, Sirius hoped they'd say yes.

Two days later, Sirius received his reply. Sirius was just thankful it wasn't a Howler again. James looked over his friend's shoulder and frowned. "Sirius," he said slowly, "there aren't any words on that parchment."

"Yes there are," Sirius explained. "It's a simple charm my parents put on all their letters. I'm the only person who can read it."

Yes, his parents did use the charm on all their letters, but it was imperative that they do it for any written to Sirius.

'Sirius,

You worthless little whelp. You have a lot of nerve to ask something like this of us. For a Black to be seen with a Potter!? Appalling! I had thought that you could shame us no further, but you, my dear little failure, have found a way. Next thing we know, you'll want to be an Auror! Go to the Potter boy's for Easter, but so help me, you will pay for it when you get home. And don't think you can escape it by staying at Hogwarts or coming home. No matter what you will be severely punished.

Prisa Black'

Sirius inwardly winced. To say the least, she was extremely mad. But if he was going to get beaten no matter what he did, then he was definitely going to James's house. After all, he had always been curious what other families were like.

"So," James asked impatiently, "what did they say?"

"Don't wet yourself, James," Sirius laughed pushing the other boy away from him. "They said it was fine."

"Sweet," James said in a high pitched voice.

Sirius stared in awe at James's house at Godric's Hollow. It was so like and unlike his own. The house was large, almost as large as the one at Grimwauld Place, old, and had probably been in the Potter family for generations. But James's house was, in a word, cheerful. No eerie, dark shadow loomed over it, and it was not likely that it was barely lit and decorated with silver snakes and house elf heads.

"Come on, Sirius," James called over his shoulder. Sirius jerked out of his trance and ran to catch up with James. Mr. Potter was already inside with the trunks. He politely wiped his feet off while James ran inside tracking mud.

"Well," a female voice said, "if anything, at least young Mr. Black has better manners than James."

"Mum!" Sirius looked up to see James fling himself at a short brown haired woman. Her hazel eyes filled with laughter as she hugged her son. Sirius would not have known, but she was very motherly.

Sirius walked up and bowed slightly at the waist to the woman. "Hello, Mrs. Potter. I'm Sirius Black, and I would like to thank you for inviting me to stay over the break."

Mrs. Potter blinked at him for a few seconds before laughing. "Sirius, dear," she said warmly, "none of that is necessary. As you can see from my son (she jerked her thumb at James, who was smiling madly) we don't put much stock in all that."

Sirius smiled shyly and shook the hand she stuck out. "And you can call me Kaelin," she said. "Mrs. Potter makes me feel old."

"You are old, Mum," James joked.

"Hey," both parents protested. Jacob Potter continued, "I've got three years on your mother. If she's old, then what does that make me?"

James pretended to think. "Ancient," he tried. Mr. Potter grabbed James and began to ruffle up his son's already messy hair. James cried out and wriggled out of his father's grasp, grabbed Sirius's wrist and bolted up the stair for his room.

James jumped up on his bed, and Sirius stayed near the door. "Wow," he said.

"Wow what," James asked.

"Your parents," Sirius clarified. "They're really nice."

James shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

Sirius looked longingly out the door. "That must be nice," he said softly. James stopped bouncing and looked at Sirius strangely until the other boy quickly commented about the woods behind the house.

Later that night, Sirius lay in the bed that had been set up for him in James's room. James had fallen asleep immediately after his parents had left the room, but Sirius found he could not sleep. James's parents had come into the room to make sure both boys were comfortable and to say good night.

Sirius had never had anyone say good night to him before. The warmth that radiated off the Potter family made Sirius want to break down and cry in self pity. Sirius glanced at James's sleeping form across the room. The other boy didn't know hoe lucky he was. He'd never know.

The next morning, Sirius awoke a seven o'clock sharp. James was still asleep, of course. James always slept until the last possible minute, where as Sirius, by force of habit, brought on by his parents, of course, was an early bird. Because it was a weekend, Sirius knew nothing would get James out of bed until at least 11:30, but there was no way he could just sit there for over four hours, and he'd never get back to sleep.

After a few minutes, Sirius decided to go downstairs. He only hoped James's parents were awake, too. He had no wish to wander about their house alone. Sirius silently dressed in his usually black pants and white shirt and slipped on his boots before creeping down the stairs.

He saw a warm light coming from down the hall and heard voices. Sirius shyly poked his head in the doorway and saw Mr. and Mrs. Potter sitting at the table, still in their dressing-gowns sipping coffee and munching on toast.

"No big breakfast, dear," Mr. Potter was teasing.

His wife snorted. "And waste all that food," she asked. "I'll just make a brunch. The boys won't be up for hours. You know how James is, and I'm sure Sirius is just the same. Boys will be boys."

"Is that a bad thing," he joked.

Mrs. Potter tapped her chin. "I'm still in debate—Sirius!" She noticed the small black head poking out from the hall. "Dear, what are you doing up so early?" She stood and walked over to the door. "And why are you just hanging out in the hall? Come in. Look at that, Jacob! He's already dressed, too."

"I didn't want to interrupt," he said politely.

Mr. Potter laughed loudly. "Just like James, huh?" Mrs. Potter frowned at him. "Are you hungry, sweetie," she asked him.

Sirius shook his head, "No, ma'am. I'll just wait for that brunch when James wakes up."

"Nonsense!" she said practically pushing him into a chair in her hurry to get to the pans in the kitchen. "You don't need to wait for James. He'll just have the brunch, and I'll make you something extra for lunch."

"You really don't have to, Mrs. Potter," Sirius said slightly uncomfortably.

"Come now, dear," she said cracking eggs. "You're skinnier than James is, and what did I tell you about that Mrs. Potter rubbish. Kaelin, please." Sirius nodded as Mr. Potter placed a cold cup of orange juice in front of him.

"I find that it's best just to agree with her," he said with a smile. "Everything is easier that way."

It wasn't long before Mrs. Potter had placed a feast before Sirius. There was no way he could eat all this. He was, however, glad to notice that the two adults had also grabbed plates and silverware for themselves. Sirius, in the end, was not able to eat near the amount of food Mrs. Potter had expected.

"That's all you want, dear," she asked worriedly when Sirius set down his fork.

"Yes, Mrs. Pot—I mean, Mrs. Kaelin," Sirius answered. "I'm full. I never eat much for breakfast, anyway." Sirius's parents had never fed their elder son much, and as such he was used to going on little. He would never have the kind of appetite that James had. James Potter could eat at a steady, shoveling pace for over an hour.

"If you're sure," Kaelin said uneasily, but left the boy alone.

After breakfast was done, Jacob insisted on entertaining Sirius until James woke up, and Kaelin wandered about the house, cleaning as she saw fit. Sirius found this to be very strange and could not stop himself from asking why she cleaned herself. Surely they were rich enough to have a house elf.

Kaelin smiled and said, "We used to have one, but we sold it years ago so James wouldn't kill it." Sirius's eyes widened and Kaelin explained, "When James was younger, he liked to play with the house elf, but he was a bit rough. He didn't know any better, but he almost killed the poor thing, so we sold it to keep it alive. I don't mind cleaning. It gives me something to do with James gone."

Every second Sirius spent in the Potter's house he learned something new and, to him, exciting. The Potters had absolutely nothing in common with his family. They did things so differently. He played chess with Jacob and laughed trough most of it. He had never laughed with an adult before.

Finally James came clamoring down the stairs at nearly noon, still in his pajamas. He blinked groggily at his father and Sirius, who was laughing at some story Jacob was telling. "H-how long have yo-ou been up," James asked around a yawn as he walked up to the pair.

"Since seven," Sirius answered.

Well, that woke James up pretty quick. "SEVEN!" he cried. "Sirius, mate, what's wrong with you? We're on holiday!"

Jacob laughed at his son's indignation while Sirius said, "I always get up at seven."

"Weird," James muttered as he made his way into the kitchen, Sirius and Jacob following. Kaelin had heard her son and had already begun to prepare his brunch and everyone else's lunch.

Over lunch/brunch, Sirius and James made plans to go wandering around the woods behind the house. After a long lecture about safety from Kaelin, the boys were off and did not return until it was nearly dark.

Kaelin and Jacob were relaxing on the back porch with a pitcher of lemonade when they saw the boys make their way up the back yard. Both were soaked from head to toe and were covered in mud, dirt, and leaves. Kaelin shrieked. "Look at the state of you two!"

Both boys offered her identical grins, their pearly whites contrasting greatly with the brown mud coating their faces. "Get a hose," she cried.

Sirius raised a brow. "What's a hose?" he asked.

"It's some kind of Muggle device," James said. "It shoots out water. Mum likes to use Muggle terms." James looked as though he were going to say something further, but he was met with a stream of water from Jacob's wand. He laughed and ran off, his father giving chase.

Sirius blinked as Kaelin marched up to him, her wand raised. His ice colored eyes flickered over to James and Jacob. "Don't even think about it," Kaelin warned. Sirius smirked and tore away from the woman. "Sirius!" she cried giving chase.

James and Sirius weaved their way through the yard. Finally, Jacob tackled James to the ground and when Sirius slowed to see if his fallen friend was all right, Kaelin grabbed him around the middle and carried him over to her husband and son. Sirius frowned as he wiggled in her grasp. The ten year old did not know exactly what he felt like right now, but dignified was not it.

"Light weight," Kaelin chuckled as she dropped him by James. Jacob held the boys down while Kaelin finished watering them down. Then, Jacob picked up the dripping boys and threw them over his shoulders and carried them inside.

"All right," Kaelin said, clapping her hands together for attention. "Everyone is to go and shower thoroughly and then come down for dinner. Boys, you're both still filthy. Twenty minutes each."

"Aw, Mum," James protested.

"James Potter, march!" Kaelin pointed forcefully at the stair case. "You, too, Sirius." Sirius smiled and followed James up the stairs.

The next day was Easter Sunday, and for the first time in his life, Sirius was brought to church. He had never seen anything like it. The building was amazing and the people seemed very devoted to the cause. Sirius found the Gospels very interesting but felt very stupid during the Eucharist. He had no idea what to do, so he stayed behind in the pews, besides, he wasn't Baptized.

On the way home from the church, while the Potters talked, Sirius pondered this religion concept. He was very confused by it all. If this God was so good, then why was Sirius's life so miserable? Wait, Sirius took that back. His life was only miserable when he wasn't around James. Still, this was supposedly a God of love, so why did He find it necessary to give Sirius parents who hated him?

By the time the four returned to Godric's Hollow, Sirius's brain was hurting, and he was feeling depressed, so he decided it was best if he didn't give religion a second thought.

On Tuesday morning, Sirius and James finished packing their trunks to return to Hogwarts. James was indifferent, but Sirius was extremely sad. He loved everything about James's house and parents. He never wanted to leave. "Come on, boys! Let's go!"

It wasn't long before the four were offering each other parting fare-wells. Kaelin knelt down and hugged Sirius. "It was absolutely wonderful having you over, Sirius dear," she said. Sirius was stiff in her arms for a few seconds before relaxing and hugging back.

"It was the best time I've ever had," he answered truthfully.

Jacob shook his hand firmly. "Don't be a stranger," he laughed. "You're welcome anytime." As James and Sirius boarded the train, the Black heir wished he really could go back to James's anytime.