Small changes made from the previous version, and the beginning of this all-important scene.

IV

It was sixth year that Sirius renounced his family.

"Remus? James' in the fire for you. Don't stay long, you need your rest."

"Yeah, thanks Mum."

I dropped a bookmark into my copy of What Really Happened: The Weird War between Muggles and Wizards and headed towards the kitchen fire.

Predictably, James' bespecticled face was hovering in greenish flames. When he spotted me, his face broke into a grin, but he looked oddly tired.

"Moony! You will not guess what just happened."

"You managed to turn your entire house into a pink mountan of foam?"

He was not put off in the least.

"Nope, 'fraid not, mate. Sirius finally ran out on his parents!"

I dragged a chair up to the fire from the kitchen table.

"What happened?"

"He showed up a few hours ago on his motor bike, you know, the one he was fixing up, with his things."

I frowned. Sirius had been having rows with his parents for as long as I had known him, with escalating violence.

"He was pretty torn up, I'll tell ya," James went on, a little more sombre. "Pete freaked right out when he saw him in the front yard, you know how he gets about blood."

"Is he alright? Nothing really bad?"

James ruffled his hair and looked over an invisible shoulder before lowering his voice.

"He was up all last night, I think his parents might've... you know, done stuff to keep him from leaving."

James sighed and readjusted his glasses. "But Mum cleaned up most of him right enough. I think he's still in bed - wouldn't blame him."

Knowing him, he probably wasn't showing the worst of it. It was always a trial getting Sirius to the medical wing after a duel.

"Look, Moony, you definitely have to get over here as soon as possible. You can share the guest room with Sirius if you can convince your parents."

"Stay there, I'll be right back."

I got up immidiately, thoughts of Sirius running through my head as I went to find my mother. My father was out working, and it would have been easier to convince him, but I could probably convince her, the full moon wasn't for another two weeks...

Yeah, short. Move on to the next chapter for the actual stuff!