:Chapter Seven:

Mrs Potter, who had been looking through the window turned around, as she finally heard a loud crack behind her. She watched how Sirius stepped out of the fireplace and dropped his trunk and broom to the floor. He was shaking all over. She walked over to him and led him to the couch.

Breathing uncontrollably, Sirius sat there for a while, staring blindly into the fireplace. Mrs Potter looked at him with a pitiful expression on her face. She knew that, what ever she was going to say, she had to be careful. But it was Sirius who made the first move.

"I can't-" He tried to control his breath, "I can't go back there!"

Mrs Potter, still looking at him, tried to find something to say, as her love for him took over her reasonable thinking. Then she said carefully,

"You can stay here for the rest of the summer. After that, we'll see what to do next."

She sighed. Then she saw he was bleeding.

"Sweet Merlin… what did they do to you!" She said softly.

Sirius didn't say anything, but turned his face away, still shaking with his breath out of control.

"I'll make you a cup of tea. Just stay here." Mrs Potter said, as she started towards the door and left the room. She silently closed it and walked over to the foot of stairs.

"James."

She heard a door open and in a few seconds James was downstairs.

"Is he back?" he asked hopefully.

James wanted to open the door but his mother stopped him.

"James… He's back, but…"

The look on his mother's face was enough for James to confirm his bad feelings about this whole thing.

"What happened?" he asked silently.

His mother sighed. "I don't know. He didn't tell, but he's in a bad state. Don't ask him until he starts about it himself, okay?"

James nodded and turned to the door again.

James walked in and spotted Sirius, but he saw him in a state he had never seen his best friend before. Sirius had one hand buried in his hair and was still breathing unsteadily, but that was not what shocked James. It were those eyes.

They were red… The look in Sirius eyes was cold, with a mixture of rage, pain, hate, damage, bitterness and pure loathing at the same time. It was just scary.
It was then that James noticed the blood coming form Sirius' nose and shoulder.

"My god…" James whispered softly.
Sirius, not taking his gaze of the fireplace, said hoarsely through gritted teeth,

"They've burned it... Those bloody mental fucks burned it!"

Out of frustration, Sirius threw his wand to the other side of the room, directly followed by loud swearing as he clutched his hand to his shoulder. "Damnit!"

James, not really knowing what to do, carefully walked over to him and sat down next to him.

"What happened to your shoulder?" he asked very carefully.
To his surprise, Sirius answered quite calmly. "It's nothing. Just a scratch."

His breath was almost even again, though he was still shaking.
"I can't go back, James. They'd literally kill me."

James sighed, but didn't know what to say.

Mr Potter, coming from the garden, entered the kitchen.

"Tea so early?" He said cheerfully, kissing his wife on the cheek.

"No," she said, waving her wand, making the water in the cups warmer.

"Sirius went home to get some stuff he'd forgotten to take with him," she put the tea bags in the cups and added some sugar and milk.

"When he got back, he was all upset. I have no doubt they wanted to stop him from leaving again."

Mr Potter's cheerful face changed into a worried look. "Is he alright?"

"Not really. I'm afraid they mistreated him very badly… he's bleeding."

"Where is he?" Mr Potter asked as he started towards the kitchen door.

"In the living room." Mrs Potter said while she picked up the cups of tea of the dresser.

As they walked in, they saw Sirius and James sitting on the couch in silence.

Mr Potter sat down as his wife walked over to Sirius.

"Here you go." She said, as she reached out to give the cup to Sirius.

"Thanks. Could you leave it on the table for me, please?"

"Oh, it's not that hot. You can drink it now."

Sirius hesitated, then reached for the cup. He let out a silent moan of pain as he took it over from Mrs Potter.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah. It's nothing." He said again as he moved the cup into the other hand, for his right arm was shaking madly under the weight of the cup. Mr Potter stood up and hurried over to Sirius.

"Being abused by your parents isn't something I call 'nothing'. Come on, let me have a look at it."

Mr Potter worked at St Mungo's, so when anyone was hurt, he would be the first to have a look at it.
"Can you take off your shirt?" he asked, as he rolled up his own sleeves.

"Rather not." Sirius said, not wanting to think of the pain it would cost if he had to raise his arm.
"I'll help you. I promise I'll be careful."

And so he helped Sirius out of his shirt, who screwed up his face in agony. When Mr Potter tossed the bloody shirt onto the ground, Sirius immediately dropped his arm and grabbed for his shoulder again. He let out another silent moan.

"Are you alright?" James asked silently, laying a comforting hand on Sirius' other shoulder.

Sirius just nodded.

"That looks bad… It's very deep." Mr Potter muttered, more to himself than the others. "Now, let me see… does it hurt when I do this?" he said, softly pressing on a spot on his collarbone, right above the gash. In reflex, Sirius pulled back in pain.

Mr Potter immediately let go. He looked at his wife for a split second and turned to Sirius again.

"I don't want to hurt you, Sirius. But I have to know how bad it is. Do you trust me?"

"It's not that I don't trust you," Sirius answered, sounding exhausted. "It just hurts like hell. That's all."
Mr Potter smiled at him in a very friendly way. "Okay, this can hurt a little…" he, even more carefully, placed his fingers on the same spot as before. Then he moved his hand to some other places around the wound; asking if it hurt. Sirius could only nod, for his teeth were clenched together in pain. And to Mr Potter's great worry, Sirius kept nodding, even when he was touching way under the cut.

It took Mr Potter two minutes to confirm that the curse had affected Sirius shoulder to the half of his chest.
"Who did this to you?" Mrs Potter asked, not believing that someone could do this to a family member.

"My father," Sirius said disdainful.

"That's a nasty piece of dark arts he used on you, chap."

"No shit," Sirius muttered darkly.
"What is it?" James asked his father, a certain note of worry in his voice.

"I don't know exactly, but it seems this gash keeps going here under the skin. It's just not visible on the surface. It's turning blue, though…" Mr Potter explained, sitting down in a chair next to his wife.

"I'm afraid I have to take you to St Mungo's, Sirius."

Sirius didn't say anything.

With Sirius calmed down a bit, Mrs Potter carefully dared to fire away the question, "So… what exactly happened?"

For a few seconds it was silent. Then Sirius spoke, sounding hoarse and exhausted.

"Well… You know I went home to get my broom and the guitar James gave me,"

Mrs Black nodded.

"I got there and couldn't find it. So I went downstairs to ask where it was. They had burned it-" Sirius was starting to get angry again, so he waited for a few seconds and continued.

"Naturally, I got mad. I got sent upstairs by my father to get my Muggle related stuff downstairs. But instead of that, I packed and wanted to leave. They wouldn't let me through. S they cursed and hit me," he snorted in a disgusted kind of way.

"They wanted to teach me some blood-pride. Well, I hope they'll choke in their stinking blood!"

It was quiet for minute or so.

"How did you get away?" James asked.

"I guess just luck. I saw a chance to block their way. By the time they got to the kitchen, I was gone."

"Well," Mr Potter said, "We're glad you're back. But I really have to take you to the hospital now. That shoulder of yours won't heal naturally." He stood up.

Sirius stoop up too, picked his shirt of the ground and looked at James. "I'll see you, then."

"Yeah, see ya…"

Then Sirius nodded Mrs Potter goodbye, turned around and followed Mr Potter into the hall.

They used an always-active portkey and by the time they walked in one of the corridors of St Mungo's, it was already past eleven.

They went to the department of 'Curses and Grave Injuries'. When they got there, healer William Benthoff checked Sirius' injury again. He spoke with an Irish accent.

"It's good you came this fast," Mr Benthoff said, "We will be able to subside most of the pain tonight, but after that, it'll need to rest for another week."

"It has its advantages that the wound is visible," Mr Potter said looking at Sirius. "I know you well enough to know you would refuse to tell anyone. And by the time it hurts so badly you can't keep it for yourself anymore, it would be too late."

"He's right," Mr Benthoff said, "If you don't treat this in time, it can grow further and affect your organs and stuff. 'Don't want that to happen, do you?"

Sirius just sighed. Then he turned to Mr Benthoff,

"Do I have to stay here?" he didn't feel like staying.

"I'm afraid so, mate. I have to make sure your shoulder gets the rest it needs."

"I'll pick you up early in the afternoon, tomorrow." Mr Potter said, wrapping his cloak around him. "Get some rest. You need it."

That evening Sirius settled himself in a hospital bed and because of the potions and special medicines to prevent nightmares, he fell asleep quite quickly.