Hey! :) Hope everyone is doing well, thank you for the comments! :)

"You gonna cry now? You gonna cry, Tom?", Felicity asked in her annoying singsong voice, taunting him, and he balled his hands into fists, wanting nothing more than punch the girl straight in the face. He couldn't, though- he had just gotten in trouble again yesterday when Felicity had ripped her homework apart and blamed him for it, and now she was standing in front of him, holding his homework in her hands, "your teachers are gonna be so mad when they see this!", she giggled, and Tom did not bother to tell her he could care less about his teachers or the easy shit they called homework.

"Cry, big brother!", she demanded, destroying more of his work, "why won't you cry?"

Because I don't do what you tell me to do.

Felicity scowled when her taunts did not grant her the wished effect, "you're boring."

And you are a psychopath.

The girl eventually left, his ruined homework dropped on the floor, and he sighed, staring after her with a frown on his face. Since he did not engage in Felicity's games, her taunts had become more and more cruel- if she was not trying to rile him up about his homework, she'd taunt him about his lack of friends at school, or the fact that his real parents had not wanted him. Tom had no clue what story Gryffindor had told the adoption agency, but he would like to know what happened to Felicity's real parents.

Probably waiting for her in hell.

He could easily recognize Felicity's sadistic and cruel traits since he had them as well, but both Patty and Mike remained clueless about their precious daughter- not that they know anything about the real him, either.

His life was pretty miserable- and he had given up on trying to make this work. Not after the beating he had gotten the other day which had left him sobbing in agony.

Now all he wanted was to get the fuck away from these people, but he knew it wouldn't be easy. It was end of September now, and soon it would get cold- and he would need a place to sleep, food, and warm clothes.

He had plenty of time to develop a plan during classes, though- most of the lessons easy enough for him to fall asleep otherwise anyways.

Patty gave him some pocket money once a week, it wasn't much, but it was something- and he had found out where Felicity stored her pocket money, which he planned to take as well. Felicity was cheap- she never spent her money, but begged her parents until she got what she wanted, and Tom had no interest in spending his money on things the boys at his school used it for- candy and comic books. Therefore, he'd saved all his money, and he had started to build a little stockpile of food as well. Patty went grocery shopping every Monday and every Thursday, and he often accompanied her, not to help, but to steal a can of soup or a pack of granola bars here and there. Patty was too scatterbrained to ever notice, and Mike did not care about groceries as long as there was enough beer in the fridge.

He kept the food hidden in his closet, along with his money and some other useful things he planned to take with him- a map of London he had stolen from the school's library, a can opener he had taken from the pub down the street where Mike had brought him once to watch a soccer game, and a flashlight, courtesy of the janitor at his school. He was careful and sneaky enough to never get caught, and the more his little run away pile grew, the more excited he got.

Warm clothes would not be a problem- Patty and Mike had bought him a good amount of warm clothes, and he even had boots and a coat for winter already. He did not own a suitcase, but he had found one hidden in the attic, and he had decided to use it for his escape.

"We are going to do a play at school, and I am going to be the Queen!", Felicity bragged at dinner, the same day she had taunted him about his homework, "everyone says I look like an angel", her pretty face became smug, "and I have to sing and dance, too!"

"How wonderful, darling!", Patty gushed, shoveling pasta in her mouth, "we cannot wait to see it, right, Tom?"

In your dreams.

"Right", he confirmed, taking another bite of the lasagna. Say what you want about Patty, but she was a great cook- and he was certain he had already gained five pounds just from eating all her dinners and cakes for tea time.

"We cannot wait!", Mike echoed, one eye on the sports section of the newspaper, "you will be a perfect Queen, Feli."

The perfect Marie Antoinette.

He grinned at the thought, bending over his plate with lasagna. He was definitely going to get away from here before that play- the thought alone of being forced to watch Felicity perform making his stomach turn.

They kept talking about the play, Tom nodding at the right moments to feign his interest, and then Patty said something that made him freeze in his tracks.

"I have a surprise for you!", her voice sounded even more shrill than usual, "since tomorrow is Saturday, I thought we are going to go on a little trip and visit grandma- she wants to meet Tom, and she said she needs some help with cleaning up her basement."

Hell, no!

"That sounds fun!", Felicity said enthusiastically, but Tom could tell she was not looking forward to the trip at all- and that meant the grandma was either shrewd enough to look through her bullshit, or she was completely senile.

"Daddy's mother had a bad fall last year", Patty now said, "and…she is becoming more and more confused. She needs a lot of help at her house, but since she lives four hours away, we cannot go and see her that often."

Four hours! That made eight hours being stuck in a car with these people!

"She forgets to go to the bathroom a lot", Felicity now said, and Tom choked on his lasagna.

Completely senile, then.

"She is going to be so excited to meet you, Tom", Patty went on, ignoring Felicity's remark, "and it's going to be a lot easier to clean her basement with you there helping your Dad!", she smiled, and Tom forced himself to nod.

Not. Going. To. Happen.

"We'll get it done in no time, right, boy?", Mike grinned at him like he had not beaten him up in his basement yesterday, and Tom grinned right back, knowing he would run away tonight. Patty obviously planned to leave early the next morning, so he would have to leave during the night. He had planned to run off soon anyways- and there was no way in hell he'd go visit grandma and clean her dirty basement and probably her dirty underwear as well. Fuck that, he was done.

Patty made him and Felicity take a bath that night- not together, thank God for that- stressing how important it was to look nice for grandma, even though the old hag probably smelled like dried piss most of the time.

They got send to bed right after their bath, Patty telling them they would have to get up around six the next morning, and then Tom could hear her and Mike going to bed herself, wanting to get a good night's rest before the long drive the next day.

He locked his door behind him, not needing Felicity to come in again and pester him, and then he went to work. He had been able to sneak the suitcase from the attic while Felicity had taken her bath with Patty fussing over her, and now he quickly added everything to the suitcase he meant to bring along. Some warm sweaters, long socks, underwear and jeans, all the food and drinks he had collected, the map, can opener and flashlight, and a warm blanket. He got dressed again, wearing his warm boots and coat, and then he grabbed the box with his pocket money and slowly went for the door. The house was quiet when he went out in the hallway, and he could hear Mike's snores from the Master bedroom.

One more thing to do…

He was not going to leave without paying his little sister back for all the unfair punishments he had suffered from, and after he had made a quick stop in the bathroom, grabbing some toiletries and a big pair of scissors, he slowly opened the door to Felicity's room.

Time to make you cry, little bitch.

Felicity was sleeping deeply, her face an expression of angelic innocence in her sleep, but Tom was not fooled by it, not one bit. Princess the puppy was sleeping next to her, not even blinking at him- she'd never be a guard dog, that one.

He silently went over to her closet, took out a sock and a small belt, grabbed the box with her pocket money and then he walked over to her bed.

Before she had time to react, he had stuffed the sock in her mouth, all the way down her throat so she would not be able to spit it back out, and she opened her eyes, her expression panicky when she spotted Tom in the dim light.

"Hey there, Queen Felicity", he hissed, keeping his voice low, "and what a pretty Queen you will make."

"Hmmmppp!"

"Shut up- or I'll make you", he threatened her, quickly tying her hands to the bedframe with the belt, and then he lifted up the scissors who were shining in the moonlight.

"HMMMPPP!"

"Are you gonna cry now? Are you?", he mocked her, the feeling of throwing her own words back in her face glorious, and then he went to work, Felicity struggling in panic, her face pale and anxious.

He carefully cut off all her blonde curls, and Felicity was crying once she realized what he was doing, and he smiled at her, an expression of scorn on his face, "don't worry- I am sure you can glue the hair back on", he dropped the scissors, wanting to laugh at how ridiculous Felicity looked now- there was nothing pretty about her anymore with hair like an unkept hedgehog.

"So long, sister- have fun cleaning grandma's basement for me", he gave her one last wink, Felicity howling behind her gag and trying to get out of the bonds around her hands, but Tom knew what he was doing- there was no way out for her until her parents would find her scalped and gagged tied to her bed the next morning.

He left the room, quietly chuckling to himself, grabbed the suitcase and hurried down the stairs.

Time to get the hell out of here.

He could hear Princess the First quietly whimpering outside, and then he carefully unlocked the entrance door and went out.

"Shhh…stay calm, boy- it's just me, Tom", he whispered at the dog, "don't bark, okay?"

Princess whimpered. The dog looked like the picture of misery- thin, dirty, and lonely. Tom knew that no one bothered to brush, bathe or play with Princess the First anymore since the had Princess the puppy, and for some reason, leaving the dog behind with these people made him feel…uncomfortable.

He knew it was risky, and he knew it was stupid, but seconds later, he saw himself grabbing the dog's leash, and silently leading the dog over to his suitcase.

"Come along, boy- we are going on an adventure now", he told the dog quietly, "and we'll never have to see these damn fools again."

Princess the First followed him without making a sound, probably sensing he was being led to a better life by Tom. They left the property without being seen, just the half-moon shining down on them.

Tom held the suitcase in one, and the dog's leash in the other hand when he walked down the small, quiet street, and they kept walking, the boy and the dog, both secretly grateful about not being alone right now.

"Scipius, hold on!"

"Scipius, I wanted to ask…"

"Hey, wait!"

Sirius started to run faster, sick to death of all the fangirls and fanboys Aurelius had- since the news had spread that the Ice Prince was training him in how to control his anger, everyone wanted to know about Aurelius- never him, only Aurelius- and he was tired to answer the same damn questions every. single. day.

What kind of spells does he teach you?

Not the fun kind.

What's he like?

A cold-hearted asshole, that's what he's like.

Can he unblock your mental shields?

Yeah- and it fucking hurts.

Is he really able to plant mind traps?

Unfortunately, yes.

Can you ask him to train me, too? I want to learn from him!

Trust me- you don't.

The last question was the most popular one- it was astonishing how many Hogwarts students had the desire to get humiliated, reprimanded, and degraded by Aurelius- because truthfully, training was nothing else than that.

Aurelius never praised him- and he expected nothing less than absolute perfection, and as hard as he tried, he was never able to be as perfect as Aurelius wanted him to be.

He sighed, turning into the hallway where Aurelius' quarters were. It had been almost two weeks now since Aurelius had started helping him- two weeks of hell.

The name Ice Prince fit Aurelius perfectly, controlled and arrogant as he was, with his typical cold, reserved demeanor.

He knocked on the door, a resigned look on his face.

"Come on in, Sirius."

"Uhm…thanks. Hi", he mumbled, entering the room, "I'm not late, right?"

"Surprisingly, you are not", Aurelius' tone was dry, "get in position, boy- we are going to start with some simple mind blocks."

Aurelius hated small-talk, so all they ever talked about was the damn training, and the exercises.

"Stop dawdling, Sirius", he felt Aurelius' presence in his mind, and then there was a sharp, blinding pain in his head- he had gotten what Aurelius called a brain poke.

"Hurts!"

"It is going to hurt even more if you don't get moving, Sirius- I don't have all day."

"It's Saturday", he pointed out, frustration in his voice, "what else would you…", he whimpered when Aurelius poked him again, "one more time and I am going to use todays' training to clear some more memories, is that understood?"

He understood just fine- the mind clearing was still one of the most painful things Aurelius could do to him, and he rather not watch another memory of his mother screeching at him what a failure he was or of Snape mocking him in front of the class.

"Yes, Aurelius", he mumbled, getting in position, "I…understand."

"Good. Let's begin."

Aurelius put him through another hour of gruesome mental exercises, and when they were finally done, all he wanted to do was hide under his blanket and sleep.

"Be back in three days, same time", Aurelius told him, putting away his wand, "and practice to clear your mind- I find it quite irritating that you are still not able to have your mind cleared within a few seconds."

"I've read that it even takes an experienced Occlumens at least half a minute", Sirius replied sourly, "and I am only twelve years old!"

"Spare me the I am just a poor little boy scheme- I am your mentor, and I am not going to be embarrassed by a student who is not only lazy, but also constantly challenges my decisions", he gave him a hard look, "three days, Sirius- and I better see some progress by then."

"Yes, Aurelius", he mumbled, not even trying to hide the sullenness from his tone, and he whimpered when Aurelius gave him another brain poke for that.

"I'm sorry!"

"Get going, boy- I really am busy today."

Sirius ducked his head and nodded, quietly leaving the older boy's quarters. Really, if his classmates knew how awful training with Aurelius was, they'd stop pestering him with their questions in a heartbeat.

He went back to the Common Room, and Dennis Creevey waved him over to his little group of friends as soon as he had walked into the room.

"Scipius, hey! I wanna ask you something!"

Of course you do.

Defeated, he went over to Dennis, expecting more questions about Aurelius.

"The tryouts are this Tuesday!", Dennis announced happily, "and…we all hope you are going to try out for the team!"

Sirius blinked, he had not expected that, "uhm…Quidditch? Me?"

"You are the best one of us, Scipius!", another of his classmates, a little boy called Nigel Wolpert, told him earnestly, "I mean, I am good too, but not as good as you!"

"I…I thought you were going to try out", he replied hesitantly, and Nigel shook his head, "we have a much better chance if you try out- you are going to, right?", they were all looking at him expectantly now, and Sirius swallowed, "uhm…Tuesday, you said?"

"Yeah, Tuesday at five."

"I have…training at that time", he bit his lips when he saw the disappointed look on their faces, "and Aurelius won't…"

"You should ask him to reschedule!", another boy called Jimmy Peakes interrupted him, "he's so nice, he will understand!"

Aurelius? Nice?

"Yeah, he will!", Dennis agreed, "he was a Gryffindor when he was at school here, so he would want Gryffindor to win the Quidditch Cup!"

All Aurelius cares about is himself.

"I…I'm not even sure if I am good eno…"

"Yes, you are!"

"You are so talented, Scipius!"

"You're the best! And you're fast!"

Sirius felt warmth spreading in his stomach- he knew the first grade boys worshipped him because he was older than them and because Aurelius trained him, and even though he knew deep down he was not the best Quidditch player Gryffindor had right now- that would be Harry- it still felt good to be appreciated and valued like this, especially since Aurelius never did.

"Alright, I'll talk to him", he promised them, "I could go to the tryouts and then do training later that night, shouldn't be a problem."

The boys nodded, and Sirius had to smile. The second graders had feared and bullied him, so this was a nice change- being included. He felt that he did not want to disappoint them now, so that night he wrote a letter to Aurelius, explaining to him that the Quidditch tryouts were the same day as their next training session, and if he could please reschedule training. He thought the letter was very polite, and when he went to bed that night, he was certain Aurelius would understand.

The next day was Sunday, and they were allowed to sleep in and do pretty much whatever they wanted. Sirius had just left the Great Hall along with Dennis and Nigel after having some breakfast when he suddenly heard someone calling him by his- fake- name.

"Scipius! Wait! I have a message for you!"

He turned around, and Jimmy came running closer, panting, "you…Aurelius wants to see you. He told me to tell you to come see him in his quarters as soon as possible."

"He's probably gonna reschedule the training for you!", Dennis said, optimistic as always, and Sirius forced himself to smile, "yeah, probably."

He wanted to ask Jimmy how Aurelius had been, what kind of mood he'd been in, but he knew he'd embarrass himself if he really asked that.

"We're gonna go watch the team practice now- meet us at the Quidditch fields, okay?", Nigel informed him, and Sirius nodded.

Minutes later, he was standing in front of the door to Aurelius' quarters yet again, his heart hammering in his chest when he knocked.

Please don't let him be upset, please don't let him be upset, please don't le…

The door opened, and the look on Aurelius' face told Sirius everything he needed to know.

Shit, shit, shit!

"Nothing to say, boy?", Aurelius' voice was basically icy, "and you are usually such a chatterbox- telling me all about your little school adventures and hobbies, or is that only reserved for your letters to me?"

He felt like crying, "I…please…"

"Come on in, Sirius."

The door closed behind him with a click, and the sound had something final and definite about it, and when Aurelius wordlessly pointed at the couch, he slowly walked over and sat down, his legs trembling.

"Explain yourself."

"The…the tryouts…they are at the same time, and…"

"Explain your ridiculous assumption to think I would reorganize my schedule so you can chase a ball around, I meant."

Sirius forced back the tears, "alright, I got it. Sorry for asking."

"I am studying to become a lawyer, Sirius- I am still a student at St. Francis, and I am taking classes at Seymour's College, while I am also helping my father with his Ministry work and my dad with recruiting more members for our army- and in the spare free time I have, I am trying to help you get your anger issues under control- just to be told by you that you rather fool around on a broom than meet with me", his voice was pure venom now, and Sirius wanted nothing more than hide somewhere- anywhere, really.

"I…I really was trying to be polite…"

"Polite? You call this mess of a smeared letter polite? And next time you think you need to write me something, please use a dictionary- it is embarrassing for a boy your age not to know how to spell anticipate correctly."

Sirius flushed, hating Aurelius more than ever right now, and then he stood up, done with being humiliated, "sorry for wasting your time- won't happen again. I…I see you Tuesday", he turned for the door, but Aurelius' voice stopped him, "I don't think so, Sirius."

"What…what do you mean?"

"It means I am done training you- you are nothing but an ungrateful, undisciplined little brat, and since you seem to be more interested in wasting your time on a Quidditch field anyways, I see no reason to try to help you any longer."

Sirius stared at him in shock, "but…I still can't control it!"

"And with your attitude, you most likely never will."

He felt tears welling up in his eyes again, "I said I am sorry, what else do you want?"

"From you? Nothing- we are done here, boy."

Sirius had to sob, even though he hated himself for it, "whatever. I was never good enough anyways", the all familiar anger came quickly crawling back, and this time, he welcomed it, "it's no wonder they call you the Ice Prince- you are as cold and unemotional as a damn ice cube."

"Is that supposed to hurt my feelings, Sirius?", Aurelius' tone was mocking, and Sirius snorted, already at the door, "what feelings? You don't have any- at least no positive ones."

"Get. Out."

"With fucking pleasure!", he spat back at him, opening the door forcefully, and he took some smug satisfaction in hearing the loud bang when he slammed it shut behind him.

Screw Aurelius- and screw his fucking training, I don't need him!

He stormed outside, needing some fresh air. He had somewhat expected that it all would go to shit at some point- he just wasn't the perfectly obedient little goody-goody Aurelius wanted, and he tried to convince himself it was better this way- he had learned some strategies to deal with his anger, and he had friends in first grade now, so why would he get angry again anyways? With Aurelius gone from his life, there was no one left who made him furious- except Snape of course.

Sirius ran across the fields to meet Dennis and the others, excited to tell them that he would try out on Tuesday after all. There was no reason why he had to tell them that training with Aurelius was over- it was really none of anyone's business.

"Hey, Scipius!", they all greeted him warmly, and their friendliness was like a breath of fresh air after what had just happened, and he embraced it as much as he could.

The boys were happy to hear he was going to try out for the team, and they kept discussing the tryouts, and he was distracted enough to not even think about Aurelius anymore.

The next days, he was busy getting ready for the tryouts, not allowing himself to think about Aurelius again, and when it was finally time to go, he was filled with nervous excitement.

I'm gonna show them I belong in the team!

There were a few more Gryffindor's trying out, and Sirius was one of the three who had signed up to try for Keeper. He'd been a Keeper before, back in his old life, and it was the position he was most comfortable with.

The first up to try out for Keeper was a rather small third grade boy called Jake, and Sirius watched how Jake's older brother, a fifth grader named Graham, walked over to the boy and whispered something in his ear, something that made Jake smile broadly.

Must be nice to have a supporting brother like that.

For some reason, he could not move his eyes away from the scene, watching how Graham hugged his younger brother, holding him close for a few seconds. His feet started to move on their own, and now he was close enough to hear what they were saying.

"You'll do great, peanut- just like you always do", he could hear Graham say, "who's the best Keeper in the world?"

Jake's smile was basically blinding now, "that's me!", he whispered back, sounding proud, and Graham chuckled, "that's right, peanut- and if they don't pick you today, what does that mean?"

"That I need to keep working hard and make them pick me next time!"

"Exactly. Go out there and show them how amazing you are, I'll be here waiting for you."

"Love you, big brother", he could hear Jake reply, the happiness palpable in his voice.

"I love you too, little boy."

For a second, he could hear Aurelius saying those exact same words to him in his mind- and then he forcefully shook his head, stepping away from Jake and his brother. Aurelius did not love him, Aurelius loathed him- and the idea alone of Aurelius giving him a nickname and snuggling him was absurd.

I'm just nervous, and my mind is playing tricks on me- I gotta focus. Screw Aurelius, screw him!

He forced himself to pay attention to the tryouts, and he had to admit that Jake did a good job- and then a girl from sixth grade named Julia Jennings tried out, but she seemed very nervous, and Madame Hooch kept shaking her head.

And then it was finally his turn.

"Go Scipius!", he could hear Nigel yell, and there were Dennis and Jimmy and a few other first graders as well, jumping up and down in excitement. He scanned the rows of the spectators without being able to stop himself, maybe, just maybe…

But of course Aurelius was not among them, of course he would not come here to watch him play Quidditch.

Focus, goddamnit!

He got in the air, and he could hear Madame Hooch blowing her whistle, announcing it was time to start. The Chasers began to bombard him with Quaffles almost immediately, and Sirius tried his best to defend the hoops, racing around on his broom as fast as he could.

Another Quaffle came quickly flying his way, and he almost got hit in the chest by it.

Fuck, that was close- why are they going so fast? I'm sure they didn't throw as many balls at Jake.

And slowly but surely, the anger came back- and Sirius fought it, knowing he'd never have a chance to be part of the team if he lost control now, but fighting the anger inside him came with a price. A heavy price.

"Scipius, watch out!"

Jimmy's warning came too late- the Quaffle had already hit him in the shoulder, hard, and the pain made him scream out.

And then everything went dark.

poor Siri...but at least things will get better for Tom now ;)

and no worries, there will be some Sirius/ Aurelius H/C in the next chap.

I'd love some feedback from y'all!

xoxo,

Antonie