Hey! :) I am back with chapter 8!

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Hurts…hurts…hurts…

He could hear someone whimper, and it took him a moment to realize that it was him who was whimpering, and then he groaned, not wanting to open his eyes, not wanting to wake up to the agony that was his body.

"You got a nasty hit there, Mr. Lemarc", a female voice said, and he groggily turned his head in her direction.

"Where…"

"You are in the Hospital Wing- Madame Hooch just brought you here, along with your friends", the woman, who turned out to be Poppy Pomfrey, told him matter-of-factly.

Even though he was in a lot of pain, he had to smile a little at her mention of his friends.

My friends. I have friends now.

"Hurts…", he mumbled, "hurts so much…"

"I will be right back with some healing potions", Pomfrey announced, and then he could hear her footsteps fading away. He still did not want to open his eyes, he just wanted the pain to stop.

Make it stop, make it stop…

He could hear footsteps coming closer again, and he sighed with relief, "want…my potions."

"Still so demanding, naughty boy?"

Whatthefuck?

He tensed, and then he very slowly opened his eyes, praying until the last moment that he was having some kind of pain infused hallucination- but when he opened his eyes, Aurelius was standing in front of his bed, frowning.

"What…you doing…here?", he mumbled, his throat dry and scratchy, "you…sick, too?"

Aurelius sighed, "no, I am perfectly healthy, Sirius", he came closer, still frowning, "what happened out there?"

"Accident", Sirius replied quietly, "just…an accident. I'm fine."

"You are not fine, Mr. Lemarc", Poppy informed him, carrying some potions in her hands, "you broke your left arm, and you put your shoulder out of joint- did you not see the Quaffle?"

I would have if I had not been so busy getting my anger under control.

Sirius swallowed hard, "I was…distracted."

"Apparently so", Poppy sounded disapproving, "this is going to be quite painful, Mr. Lemarc."

"It already is", Sirius mumbled, but then she held up some Skele-Gro, and he paled, "is…is that…really necessary?"

"For your broken arm, yes- for your shoulder, I have to give you something else", Pomfrey replied, "it is not easy to fix a dislocated joint, believe me", she looked at Aurelius, and her face split into a small smile, "it's a good thing you have your friend here to help you through the process."

He's not my friend.

Sirius waited for Aurelius to correct Poppy, but instead, Aurelius examined the potion she was holding up now, raising an eyebrow, "you are giving him Lemordocus?"

"It's a complicated dislocation- and it's the fastest way to heal him."

"And the most painful", Sirius had no clue why Aurelius suddenly sounded annoyed, "is there any reason why you cannot give him Morelatis? Twenty drops should be sufficient, even if the dislocation is complicated."

Poppy thinned her lips, "I have a very limited amount of Morelatis to give out to students."

There was a glint of something in Aurelius' eyes now, and even though Sirius was in too much pain to understand what was going on, he did understand that Aurelius was upset.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry!

Shhh…I need you to calm down, boy.

Aurelius' voice in his head did not sound angry for some reason, and he closed his eyes, just wanting to sleep and be done with the pain.

Make it stop, Relius.

I will.

He smiled, dozing off a little, and then he felt something being gently pushed against his lips a few minutes later.

What…that?

Medicine, boy. Open wide.

He slowly opened his mouth, and he could hear Aurelius hum with approval, "good boy."

And then something wonderful happened- the excruciating pain in his shoulder just vanished, and he opened his eyes again, amazed by the fact that he did not feel like he was dying any longer.

"That's some good stuff you got there", he told Poppy, but the nurse did not smile at his remark, she just curled her lips in annoyance instead.

What's wrong with her now?

"It's called Morelatis", Aurelius informed him calmy, sitting down on the edge of his bed, "how are you feeling?"

"Better- arm still hurts, though."

"You will have to take the Skele-Gro for that", Poppy told him, already unscrewing the top of the potion, "it will be quite painful, so you better prepare yourself for a sleepless night, Mr. Lemarc."

Great.

Sirius winced, but he drank the nasty potion until the last drop- not that he had a choice anyways.

Aurelius kept watching him silently, and when he could feel the first wave of pain crashing him, he suddenly sensed something embracing his body and mind, something…soothing.

What's that?

Just relax, boy- you are asking too many questions.

Does that mean I can't ask you anything else?

Was that another question?

You just asked one, too!

I am allowed to do that- you are not.

Why? Cause you are older?

And smarter, and stronger and…

And arroganter.

That's not a word, boy.

It is now.

He could hear Aurelius laugh, the sound echoing in his mind, and then he blinked at him, "it doesn't even hurt that much anymore."

"I am quite glad to hear that", Aurelius replied flatly, and Sirius blinked again, noticing just now that the older boy was wearing a dark blue suit with a black tie, "where you…at some fancy dinner party or something?"

"I was attending the pre-trial meeting for one of the Death Eaters with my father."

"And then…you came here?"

Why?

"I left in the middle of it, to be exact", Aurelius corrected, his voice calm, "you sounded like you were in quite some pain."

"How'd you even know that? That I got hurt?"

Aurelius sighed, avoiding his gaze, "I can sense your emotions, Sirius- only when they are very strong, though."

Wait. What?

"Is that…cause you are so good at Legilimency?"

Aurelius' lips curled into an amused smile, "no, Sirius- it's because I am mentally connected to you. Remember when I met you, I looked into your eyes and you were tired after? That's when I constructed a mental connection."

"That's fucked up", Sirius glared at him, "you've been controlling me!"

"I've been protecting you", Aurelius corrected, "mental connections are not that uncommon between a Mentor and a student. As soon as I realized how strong your abilities were, I decided it was safer to be able to sense when you are in pain or scared- especially since Dumbledore is not all too happy about your skills. The connection is also the reason why we are able to talk to each other mentally."

"Well, you're not my mentor anymore, so I'm sure you can just…delete that connection now!", it made him more than uncomfortable to have Aurelius be able to know whenever he felt something strongly- his emotions were only his business, and no one else's!

"It's not that easy, angry boy- the connection got a lot stronger due to our training sessions, and it will simply take some time before it is weak enough that I can reverse it", Aurelius told him, his voice calm, "by the way, before I sensed you being hurt, I also sensed a lot of anger- during a Quidditch tryout?"

Sirius turned his head, "it wasn't fair", he eventually mumbled, "Jake got less Quaffles, they want him as their Keeper!"

"Well, they most likely have him now", Aurelius deadpanned, "you disqualified yourself by getting knocked out by a Quaffle- which I am assuming only happened because you were busy with getting your anger under control?"

"Maybe you shouldn't assume so much", Sirius snarled, feeling humiliated yet again, "you kicked me out, so why did you even come here? Just to say I told you so?"

Aurelius stayed silent for several seconds, "you need to learn to control it, Sirius- and you can only achieve that by clearing your mind, and probably by stopping to think that everyone is out to get you."

"You don't know anything about me!", Sirius hissed, Aurelius' last words getting dangerously close to a very uncomfortable truth, "you…you didn't want to train me anymore, you…you fucking kicked me out!"

"You were not taking the training seriously, and you were being disrespectful- I will train you again once you realized how important it is to control your anger, and once you apologized."

Sirius' expression turned defiant, "I've got nothing to apologize for."

"Very well, naughty boy- if you ever change your mind, let me know."

"I won't."

Aurelius stood up, "alright, have it your way, Sirius. I am not going to stay at my quarters here any longer, but if you want to talk to me, you can use our mental connection."

Yeah, keep dreaming, asshole.

"Have a good night, Sirius- try to sleep. I expedited the Skele-Gro, so your arm should be back to normal within a few hours", he turned for the door, "and stay away from playing Quidditch- you are not ready for that yet."

Sirius bit his lips and demonstratively turned his head in the other direction, not bothering to respond as Aurelius left the Hospital Wing.

Stay away from playing Quidditch- who the hell do you think you are?

The first thing he was gonna do once he was out of here was go back to playing Quidditch- they had hit him with the Quaffle, so technically, he deserved another chance to try out for the team.

I am gonna be Keeper- you just watch out!

The dog whimpered.

"I know- I'm tired, too", Tom yawned, feeling the rain slowly drizzling down on him, "but we have to get far away enough from them- and we need to find a place with some garden or yard for you."

It was getting close to sunrise, they had been walking for hours now- with breaks to rest in between of course. The map he'd stolen really came in handy now, and it helped him make sure they were not ending up going in a circle.

They were getting closer to downtown London now, the part where they were a former industrial plaza, the buildings empty and abandoned. They had run into some homeless people, but none of them had seemed to be bothered by a boy and a dog walking around in the middle of the night all by themselves, and Tom was grateful for the fact that he did not have to explain himself.

They kept walking down the small, rocky street, turned another corner, and walked by another former office building.

The dog whimpered again, pulling in the direction of some trees by the side of the street, and Tom let him lead him over to the trees. Princess the First lifted his leg and peed, and then suddenly, there was a squirrel hurrying down the tree, and Princess barked, making a move for it.

"Stop!"

His order went unheard as the dog chased after the squirrel, and Tom hurried to grab his suitcase and ran after him.

"Wait! Princess!", he felt ridiculous calling the dog that, and decided at that very moment he'd have to give him another name- any other name, really.

There were some heavy bushes behind the trees, and Tom cursed under his breath when he felt getting scratched in his face.

He squeezed himself through the bushes, and then he blinked, his mouth opening in astonishment. There was a smaller, also abandoned little building back here, small enough that it was hidden well behind the trees and bushes. It was surrounded by some grass and even more bushes, and he spotted Princess barking angrily at the squirrel, which had saved itself up another tree.

"Come on, let's take a look!", he grabbed his leash and pulled the dog along, opening the wooden door to the small house. From the sign next to the door, it looked like it had been an office for a consulting company once, and inside, there were three small office rooms, still furnished with desks and chairs, and a tiny kitchen and a bathroom. Tom spotted a staircase leading to the basement, and he carefully went down the stairs, Princess following suit.

"Well, that's unexpected", he mumbled, taking in the basement. It was finished, there was another office down here, another bathroom, and a room that looked like it had been used to chill- it only consisted of a couch and a small table, but it was all Tom needed. He was happy to notice that the basement had windows, showing parts of the backyard, and since there was no trash, no roaches, and no other people to be seen, he decided he found himself a place to stay.

"We're gonna turn this into a home, you'll see", he told Princess, "come on, we have tons of work to do."

The most important thing was to make sure that no one else ever came in here- and since he decided to stay in the basement, he started by closing up all the windows on the ground level by placing parts from scattered cardboard boxes in front of them. There was only one door, which had a functioning lock from the inside, and he secured it further by moving a desk in front of it. The other furniture got pushed to the wall, securing the windows. He examined the kitchen next, happy to find a set with plastic cutlery, a stack of plastic cups and some napkins in one cabinet, all still in quite good condition. The bathroom was empty for a roll of toilet paper and a blue bucket under the sink, and he took both of them.

There was no running water or electricity anymore, but it wasn't cold- the office had been isolated quite well, and Tom assumed it was probably also the reason why no roaches or mice had found their way in yet.

He decided that the office downstairs would be their dining room, and the extra room with the couch their bedroom. He would use the bucket as a toilet and then dump it out in a hole outside, and he would make a fire somehow to cook their food.

"This is gonna be awesome, Squirrel", he told the dog, and just like that, Princess had a new name.

Tom spent the rest of the night with turning the office into a dining room by putting the desk in the middle and arranging some chairs around it. He put all their food and drinks in an empty shelf by the door, and placed the things he had found in the kitchen on the table.

He was delighted to find out that the couch was a pull-out couch, and after he had pulled it out, spread the blanket he'd brought out and undressed to his jeans and shirt, he curled himself into a ball on the couch- which was more comfortable than it looked- and Squirrel yawned, happily cuddling up close to him.

"Sleep…tight…Squirrel", Tom mumbled, and seconds later, he was asleep, feeling completely and utterly exhausted- but also, weirdly free. For the first time, he had nowhere to be and nowhere to go, it was just him and his dog.

Just him and his dog.

Sirius sighed, staring at the paper in front of him with open contempt, looking like he was trying to force it to tell him the answer to the question he needed to finally finish his homework for Snape, but of course, nothing happened.

This is bullshit!

He'd been sitting in the library since over an hour now, trying to figure out Snape's torture that he called an assignment, and he was just done with it.

Just like he was done with everything else.

Going back to the Quidditch field and demanding to let him try out again had been a mistake- Madame Hooch had made it very clear that the team had picked Jake as their new Keeper, and then the Team Captain had offered him the Reserve position- him, playing Reserve- and that had made him angry. Very angry.

It had ended with him breaking his broom yet again, and this time, Madame Hooch had lost her temper as well, telling him in a sharp tone that he was not allowed to enter the Quidditch field for a whole month- and he was not permitted to play Reserve any longer, either.

The news had spread, and he had gotten teased and taunted mercilessly for breaking his broom like a spoiled brat, mostly by some Slytherins of course- but Snape, sadistic git as he was, had added his unnecessary opinions to it as well. Snape was still trying his best to make him lose control so he'd get expelled, but since he had Dennis, Nigel, and the other's in his corner now, it was way easier to stay calm during lessons.

He still had not told anyone, not even Remus, that Aurelius had stopped training him- he was already being laughed at by some Slytherins, and Aurelius giving him so much special attention was literally the only thing that kept most of the Hogwarts students from making fun of him as well. He knew they were jealous of him, and he knew there were tons of students who were only nice to him because they hoped they'd end up in Aurelius' spotlight as well.

Yeah, good luck with that.

He sighed, trying to focus on the assignment again. His knowledge of potion's had improved greatly lately, but it was solely due to the fact that whenever he handed in an assignment that was not perfect, Snape would use the opportunity to humiliate him in front of the others.

Unfortunately, none of his friends were good at Potion's, Dennis was too scatterbrained to be good at any lessons, Nigel only cared for Quidditch, and Jimmy- he worked hard, but his grades mostly stayed average.

"Analyze the importance of Flitterby moths in regards to the brewing of the Pompion Potion by emphasizing their preference for heat", reading it out loud again did not help, either- he had no clue what any of that stuff meant.

But I know who does.

He groaned, cursing himself for going there- he must really be getting desperate.

He had not heard from Aurelius since he'd seen him in the Hospital Wing about a week ago, and even though he hated to admit it to himself, he missed him- the damn training had helped, and now that he was fighting his anger by himself again, he had realized how much it had really helped.

Well, screw it, it was worth a try.

Hey.

Hey there, angry boy.

He could not stop himself from grinning like an idiot at hearing Aurelius' amused voice in his head. Damn, he'd missed this. Him.

I have a question for you.

It better has nothing to do with Quidditch.

It doesn't- it's about potions. You ever heard of the Pompion Potion?

Are you trying to turn your head into a pumpkin, boy?

That's what it does?

Yes, that's what it does.

Aurelius still sounded amused, and he could not even put into words how relieved that made him feel. He had feared somehow that Aurelius was still mad at him after their argument in the Hospital Wing, and he still hadn't apologized, either.

I need it for homework- it's due tomorrow. Can you help me?

Certainly.

Sirius' grin widened.

Okay, here's the question, it's really complicated, though.

He read him the question in his mind, and after he had finished, he could hear Aurelius let out a small laugh.

Snape's always been like that with his assignments- lots of posh words that are completely unnecessary. Flitterby moths are useful for any kind of potion since they are attracted to heat- it makes it quite easy to catch them.

And then he went on to explain in detail why the moths were important for the Pompion Potion, and he told him about the other ingredients as well, telling him how the colors of the potion had to change from green to red to orange to show success, and Sirius listened attentively, scribbling along while Aurelius was talking in his mind.

And that will really turn my head into a pumpkin?

Momentarily.

Why would anyone ever need a potion for something like that?

For Halloween?

Sirius had to snort.

I think it's just for Snape to annoy us.

That is also a likely possibility.

He had to laugh.

Thanks anyways. I would have spent all night on this crap if you didn't…you know.

Anytime, pumpkin boy.

I'm not a pumpkin!

Not yet you mean- just wait for the next Potion's class.

I rather not.

Snape still being Snape?

Worse.

Is that why you got so angry five days ago?

Sirius tensed, hating the fact that Aurelius knew about his emotions like this.

Nah- another reason.

Are you going to tell me or do I need to guess?

I rather not.

You went and played Quidditch again, hmm?

Sirius closed his eyes, why, why did Aurelius had to know him so well?

Yeah. They…they picked Jake, can you believe that?

I can, naughty boy- you thought they'd let you try out again, right?

They should have! It wasn't fair!

Shhh…deep breath, Sirius. Technically, it was fair- the rules say that if you get injured or fall off your broom during tryouts, you are disqualified.

That rule is stupid! I wanna be Keeper, and now I'm not even Reserve!

Did they offer you the Reserve position?

Yeah.

How come you are not a Reserve player, then?

I…I…got angry and…I broke…I broke my broom and…Madame Hooch got upset.

You broke your broom.

I was angry!

How old are you, exactly?

No need to fucking mock me! I know it was wrong, but…it's…it's so hard to control it, and…I really wanted to be Keeper.

Are you still clearing your mind before you go to bed at night?

Yeah.

Every night?

Yah.

Sirius…

Fine! Fine, not every night, sometimes I forget! We hang out in the dorms and talk, and sometimes we have pillow fights…and…

Pillow fights, hmm?

Stop laughing!

I'm not laughing.

Not anymore, you mean.

You need to clear your mind every night, Sirius- it's important.

I know. I just…it's hard.

I can remind you if you want.

At night?

Every night.

Uhm…okay. Like, you just tell me clear your mind out of nowhere? That's spooky.

I would try not to spook you, naughty boy. When's your bedtime?

At eight.

Life of a first grader, hmm? I'll make sure to remind you around that time.

Tonight?

Yes.

Okay. Uhm…thanks. I…I talk to you later then?

Looking forward to it, little pumpkin.

Sirius' eyes went wide with shock, had Aurelius really just called him little pumpkin? Logically, he knew that was basically impossible- Aurelius was not one to give him a nickname like that. He was overworked and tired, and his mind was swirling with that pumpkin head stuff, so he was imagining things.

Yeah, okay, gotta go.

He ended their conversation, needing time to think, to calm himself, telling himself that he better stop imagining shit that was never gonna come true anyways.

Aurelius doesn't like you, he kicked you out, he called you disrespectful, he hates you!

Still, for a second, just a second, he allowed himself to wish Aurelius had called him little pumpkin.

He had been living in the abandoned office building for more than a week now, and so far, it was going better than expected. He had found more empty buckets that he used to collect rainwater outside- it had heavily rained the last nights, typical for London- and the water served not only as drinking water for Squirrel, he also used it to wash himself. He had taken a bar of soap, his comb, toothbrush and toothpaste from the foster family, and he was determined to neither look nor smell like a homeless person. Some of the water was also used to clean his clothes in the bathtub with some soap, and he was pleased that he was able to hang his wet clothes in the tub and let them dry there.

Furthermore, he had dug a hole in the front yard that he used as a toilet during the day- at nights, he used the bucket- and he had found a small drugstore in ten minutes walking distance where he had bought some food and drinks and had stolen a lighter. He had been afraid to be spotted, so he had worn a hoodie that only showed parts of his face, but the owner seemed so stoned that he had barely noticed that he had screwed him over with the payment. Tom was very careful not to spend his money too quickly, knowing he needed to make it last.

He shared his food with Squirrel, and the dog happily ate whatever he gave him, and Tom was certain he had already gained some much needed weight.

The days at the old office were quiet- the whole area was shady and abandoned, and since most of the buildings were lacking a roof, it was not even an attractive spot for homeless people. Tom was more than glad he had found the office, and he was even more glad that no one had found him yet.

Tom was on the way to the corner store one night again, it was raining, which hopefully meant that the store would be empty again. He planned to buy some fruit, bananas maybe, a pack with granola bars, and some cans with soup. He had managed to get a small fire running outside, and even though he was getting sick of eating canned food already- he missed Patty's lasagna- it was better than nothing.

For some reason, he felt like he was being watched as he quickly walked down the empty street towards the drugstore, the rain pouring down on his warm coat.

The feeling of being watched never left him, even after he had gotten his groceries and went back, and then he suddenly spotted a group of rats nibbling on something that looked like a rotting bone next to a trash can.

Maybe they were watching me- trying to steal some of my food.

And then one of the rats, the biggest one, suddenly stared right at him- and Tom froze.

This…this can't be…

But it was- because seconds later, the fat, ugly rat had transformed into the last person he had expected to meet on this godforsaken street in an abandoned part of London, while the rain was soaking them both.

Peter Pettigrew, his faithful servant.

"My…mylord?"

yep...Peter's back :D

there will be more Sirius/ Aurelius in the next chap...and another old friend is appearing again as well :D

Some feedback would make me very happy! :)

xoxo,

Antonie :)