Chapter 3

Sirius didn't leave the dormitory until all the families had departed the following evening. Remus had brought up toast after breakfast and cakes after dinner, but otherwise left him on his own, just the way he wanted it. Sirius was grateful to them all for this. He refused, point blank, to let his friends see him when he was depressed. He just needed a while to pull himself together and he'd be fine, he reasoned.

By Monday morning, Sirius decided he'd moped around enough. Having woken at the crack of dawn, he hurriedly pulled on his robes and crept out to the bathroom, not wanting to wake anyone.
Having dunked his face in ice cold water, the puffy bags under his eyes shrank back to normal. He danced around the room, trying to warm himself up. It was a cold November morning, the wind whistling around the bathroom from the cracks around the window was biting at his bare flesh.
When it was finally time for breakfast, he took the stairs at a run. When he reached the Great Hall, which had retracted back to its normal size, he saw that he was one of the first there. He made his way over to the Gryffindor table, his stomach grumbling with hunger.

He had just started his second cooked breakfast, when James, Remus and Peter arrived, closely followed by Lily and Ebony. His stomach gave an unexpected twist making him feel slightly sick, but he grinned at them, egg yolk escaping from the corner of his mouth. The others, however, looked slightly uneasy.

"You okay," James began, biting his lip nervously.

"Yeah fine."

"You sure-?"

"James!" Sirius said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, okay, sorry I said anything," James replied quickly, before taking a seat and grabbing a plate of eggs and bacon. The others followed his lead. Sirius obviously didn't want to talk about what had happened and they weren't going to force him to.

The rest of the day passed by awkwardly. Sirius wished he could have traveled back in time and changed the events of that Saturday, but he knew it was illegal. The false front he was putting on was exhausting, but his friends, he thought, had enough problems of their own to deal with, let alone his.

He hadn't been able to look Remus in the eye all day. What he'd seen etched on his friend's face the night his father called Remus a Mudblood was gut-wrenching. He didn't know what he could say that would come close to apologising for his father's outrageous behaviour.

Then there was Lily and Ebony. His father hadn't knowingly insulted them with his talk of 'Mudbloods' but he had all the same. And there was James and Peter who had had to endure his ranting about 'blood traitors'. What could he do or say? He thought anxiously. In the end he couldn't stand it any longer.

They were all sitting at the Gryffindor table eating dinner when it burst out of him. "I'M SORRY!"The words escaped him in a loud shout, echoing around the hall which went quiet instantly, everyone turning to look at him. Seeing all the eyes fixed on him, he grabbed his plate of food and ran, not stopping until he reached the Gryffindor tower. The others were hot on his heels, James and Lily followed by Remus, Ebony and a slightly out of breath Peter.

They sat in silence on the edge of his bed. "We know," Remus said, ruffling Sirius' hair gently.

"But, but, your face."

"It's okay. We understand. Anyway, your part of our family now," James said, looking around the group, hesitating when he reached Lily. And my parents treat you like a son... I'm getting quite jealous actually," he smiled.

It suddenly clicked, what Dumbledore had said. "Remember Sirius, no matter what choice you make, you'll always have a family." He realised that even though his parents were cold towards him, he still had his friends. They too were his family.

No matter how much anyone of them might have tried to deny it, the events which took place that Saturday had brought all of them, including Lily and Ebony, together. There was an unspoken understanding between them, a bond of close friendship, in which they were all a part of.

The days crept by as chilly November froze into snowy December. The grounds had become a white flurry as blizzards pounded the school. The students had become accustomed to wearing their coats both in and outside the castle as the temperature dropped.

By the final week of term, the snow was so thick that the games keeper, Hagrid, had to dig out a track to enable the students to get to the train station in Hogsmeade that weekend.

After a ferocious snowball fight, Sirius, James, Remus and Peter had finally dragged themselves up to their dormitory to pack the things they would need over the Christmas holidays.

"You doing much over Christmas?" James asked Remus.

"Don't know," said James. "We'll have to meet up or something. Someone needs to help me do my Christmas shopping."

"Yeah, we know, "Sirius smirked. "The last present I got off you was a tea cosy-"

"Hey, before you start, I didn't know what it was! My parents are from the wizarding world. They use magic to keep their drinks hot!" he protested.

"So are mine, but I still know what a tea cosy is you daft twerp! What did you think it was, a hat?"

James cheeks flushed. "You've got to be kidding..."

"Bloody hell! Remus croaked, cracking up. Peter was rolling around on the floor at his feet, laughing hysterically. James glowed with embarrassment.

"You... you... look... like Rudolf," Peter gasped, trying to control himself. "Where did you reckon on the hole for the spout going"

"I don't want to know," Remus interjected, as James opened his mouth to speak.
Sirius joined James in blushing violently.

"Hey, it's time for dinner," he said, desperately trying to change the subject. He looked at James, who had turned so red that he looked like a cross between a beetroot and a frightened House elf.
Sirius headed for the door, James hot on his heels.

"I can't believe you sometimes," he muttered as they pelted down the dormitory steps. "You do realise you're never going to live this one down!" he grinned wickedly.

"Oh shut up," James grinned, giving Sirius a sharp push as he climbed through the portrait hole, making him fall, splayed out on to the floor. "Get up you big mutt!" he said laughing, offering Sirius a hand.

They bickered all the way down the marble staircase and into the Great Hall, not stopping until they reached the Gryffindor table, where James wandered round to sit next to Lily and Sirius sat opposite them by Ebony.

Sirius flung his arm casually around Ebony's waist, as James struck up a conversation with Lily.

"What is it with you Gryffindor lads?" Ebony sighed exasperated. "First James now you, who's next?" she looked over at Remus.

"What do you mean?" Sirius smiled cheekily, wrapping his arm further around her waist.

Ebony rolled her eyes grinning. She looked down shaking her head and tried to extricate herself from his prying hand. "There you go, that's where it should be!" she said, shoving his hand into his lap.

"Ooo, harsh," James laughed.

"Moony, you mind if I sit next by you?" Ebony grinned, moving away from Sirius.

"Yeah sure," Remus muttered, moving over slightly, to give her room, as she sunk down onto the bench beside him.

"You know what you're doing over Christmas," Ebony began.

"Funny you should mention that," Remus chuckled, looking over at James, who flushed again.

"Shut it Moony!" To which Peter and Sirius burst out laughing.

"Now come on Prongs. I told you you'd never live it down!" Sirius sighed. "Remus, you can do the honours."

"Sure thing. Well we were discussing the holidays upstairs, and James here said he needed someone to take him Christmas shopping. Sirius let slip about a particularly weird gift he had off James. A tea-cosy of all things!" Lily and Ebony exchanged bemused glances. "Anyway, we asked him what made him choose a tea-cosy for Padfoot and, wait for it girls, he thought it was a hat."

"Oh, you are so innocent sometimes," Lily giggled, ruffling James' hair, making him go even redder.

"Ebony rolled her eyes laughing. "So you got anything else planned?" she continued, snaking her arm around Remus' back, catching Sirius' eye.

"Hey, hands off Ebs, he's mine," Sirius grinned, grabbing Remus' hand and draping it around his shoulders.

"Guys, guys, stop arguing, there's plenty of me for the both of you," he laughed.

"Ooo, I'll have your dangerous side," Sirius growled affectionately. "I've always been attracted to the more deadly species."

James and Peter grinned at each other. "Aye, aye, who's Mr. Popular all of a sudden," they laughed.

"Hey I resent that. Just because I hang around with you morons, doesn't mean I'm not attractive to the fairer sex!" Sirius nudged him. "Oh and Sirius of course," Remus laughed.

As the train pulled into London the following day, James, Lily, Remus, Ebony and Peter all looked at Sirius nervously.

"Are you sure you don't want to come home with me!" James asked tentatively as the train finally came to a halt. The journey, in their compartment, at least, had been somewhat ominous and subdued, all of them thinking back to November.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I should probably try and make peace with them anyway, before things get any worse. I've sent them an owl saying I'd be home for Christmas anyway now so..." he trailed off.
Out of the window, he could just make out Regulus running through the crowded platform to great his parents. He let out a sigh.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out at some point, Christmas shopping and all," James rolled his eyes trying to lighten the mood. Sirius however, knowing James so well, could tell that his voice was slightly strained and the cheerful tone was forced.

They all pulled down their luggage and headed out the compartment together, Sirius lingering for a few moments.

"Sorry, excuse me, I forgot my bag," Ebony laughed nervously. Sirius, however, hadn't moved his eyes from the point where his mother and father stood.

Ebony noticing, reached out and touched his hand gently, intertwining her delicate fingers with his. Sirius tore his eyes away from the window to look at her, her beautiful aqua-marine eyes sparkling with tears. She spoke with a quiet but soothing voice.

"Don't worry. We're here if you need us. Oh, and Sirius, Merry Christmas!" With that she gave him a kiss on the cheek and a hug. She smiled as she pulled away, a last lingering look and she was gone.

Sirius felt his spirits soar. His heart was beating hard against his ribs, and his stomach gave an enjoyable jump. He grabbed his belongings, a smile spreading across his handsome face, and made his way outside where James, Remus and Peter were waiting for him.

"Have a good Christmas," he said cheerfully, much to their surprise. He waved and shouted "Merry Christmas" to the Potters, the Lupins and Mrs. Pettigrew, who reacted the same way as their son's, but who returned the greetings nonetheless. He then headed over to where his parents and younger brother stood waiting, a spring in his step, feeling really happy.

The atmosphere was tense as they opened the door to twelve Grimmauld Place. The house gave Sirius an ominous feeling as he walked inside, but he shrugged it off thinking I'm here now, I better make the most of it, he reasoned.

The hallway was dark and oppressing. Heavy wooden furniture lined the walls and on the floor stood an ugly troll-footed umbrella stand.

"Get in," Mr Black snapped. "Hurry up!"

Sirius, who had stopped just inside the doorway, struggled in pasthis brother, who was talking animatedly with his mother. The family house elf, Kreacher, was standing further along, bowing deeply at them, his nose touching the floor, before scurrying off to make dinner.

"Oh crap," Sirius cursed angrily, as he stumbled and fell over Regulus' abandoned bag, landing head first on the floor.

"Watch your mouth!" his mother growled.

"Sorry," he muttered wearily, as he struggled to his feet, rubbing his head and glowering at his brother, who simply smirked at him from behind his mother's back.

As he made his way up to his bedroom, past the stuffed heads of the old house elves, Sirius wondered dully what his friends were up to. His earlier good spirits had somewhat dampened since he had entered the house.

Throwing himself on to his bed, he thought how bleak and lonely the house was. It didn't help that his brother, Regulus, was his mother's lap dog and despised him. He'd forgotten how depressive the house could be, even at Christmas. Being at Hogwarts most of the year, where there was always something going on, and then returning to the quiet misery of the house, only heightened his awareness of it.

The hours crept slowly by, merging into days and weeks. Christmas came and went, with no word from James. Finally, less than a week before school started again, when the whole family was sitting in the drawing room, Sirius starting to get used to the strict monotonous regime, it happened.

Sirius was lying on the hearth rug reading his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook trying to do some homework. His mother and father were sitting behind him drinking a bottle of Firewhisky and Regulus, curled up on the sofa, was reading a book entitled Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy, which he had got for Christmas, when there was an almighty crash.

"What the-" started Sirius in alarm, as he leapt up off the rug before breaking down into laughter. In the fireplace lay James, Lily and Ebony, all looking thoroughly disgruntled and humiliated.

Sirius moved forwards helping Lily and Ebony to their feet and pulling them out of the fire, James staggering out behind them. They looked round anxiously to where Mr and Mrs Black stood with Regulus looking shocked and annoyed.

James moved forward offering Mr. Black a sooty hand. "Sorry to just drop in on you like this," he rushed, slightly out of breath. "I was wondering whether it would be okay if we could take Sirius out. I mean, well, I need to get some school supplies and-"

Sirius shook his head to silence him. His parents didn't look impressed, far from it, Mrs. Black looked livid, but she stayed quiet. He looked at his father, who finally gave a slight nod of his head. He didn't want to give his son the satisfaction of going out, but at the same time he didn't want these people here.

Sirius thanked him, before leaving the room with his friends. They headed upstairs to change. Not needing to use Muggle transport, as Sirius' family was connected to the Floo network, they didn't need their Muggle clothing, which they had worn just in case.

Once they had changed into their robes, they headed back down to the drawing room. Sirius, grabbing some Floo power and chucking it into the fire, waited for the others to leave the same way they had arrived, before following them himself.

Once in Diagon Alley, the four cracked up laughing. "What the hell happened," Sirius exclaimed.

"Well you know I hate traveling by Floo powder," said James, wrinkling up his nose. "Well I almost went a grate too far, so I had to try to stop myself, and I ended up falling flat on my arse in the middle of your drawing room. Lily and Ebony following, tripped over me and we all ended up in a tangled mess lying on the floor in front of your parents."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "You really shouldn't have come to my house. Especially you two," he said looking at Lily and Ebony. "You know what they're like."

"Ahh, but they don't know who we are do they!" Ebony replied. "Anyway, we didn't have much choice!"

"Why?"

"Well all our parents live in the same area, and since we found out we were all going to Hogwarts together, James' mother decided it was her duty to introduce our families to the world of magic and they've been best friends ever since. They're sitting at James' now actually, having a mother's meeting or something. The choice was to sit there and listen to them all day, or to make a bid for freedom," Lily grinned.

"We chose the latter of course!" James interjected.

The rest of the day was spent hunting for interesting Christmas sales and school supplies, Sirius having the time of his life, especially after they met up with Remus and Peter, who arrived after lunch.

Finally, tired and with their pockets considerably lighter, they all headed back to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink.

After an hour or so, James, who downed the last of his Butterbeer, finally said, "We'd better get back."

"Yeah I suppose," Sirius sighed heavily, stirring in his seat by a fire. "I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts. My mother keeps looking at me like I'm a ticking bomb or something, and my father hasn't said so much as a word since I got home."

"I'm getting the irresistible urge to drop some Dungbombs, but Filch and Mrs. Norris aren't around to annoy," James sighed, with an evil grin on his face.

"I'm not hearing this, I'm not hearing this," Lily and Remus said together in unison, before all of them broke into laughter.

"Sorry Prefects," James and Sirius retorted, as Remus got to his feet and headed for the fire designated for the Floo powder network.

"We'll see you on the train they called, before Remus left, followed, shortly after, by Peter.

"You've got to come back to mine before you go home," said Sirius, turning to face James. "All your stuff's still lying on my bed."

"Oh, I forgot."

Sirius headed over to where Remus and Peter had been moments before, grabbing a handful of powder and throwing it into the flames. He stepped in shouting, "Grimmauld Place."

Sirius, arriving back at Grimmauld Place, stumbled out of the drawing room fireplace to find the room in total darkness. He shuffled around trying to find a candle. Behind him he heard two more pairs of feet hit the floor, followed by a third.

"Hey, who turned off the lights," James' voice called.

"Ouch, James your standing on my foot," yelped Lily.

"Oww. Who just whacked me round the head," Ebony moaned.

Sirius, finally finding a candle, lit it and turned to find his friends squashed together in the darkened fireplace. He let out a laugh, his face lighting up with a smile, as they bumped shoulders trying to get free.

"That's happened too many times today," Ebony grinned. "If we have to get up this close and personal so often, might I suggest James, that you take a bath once in a while. Lily might like your 'manly' smell, but I sure as heck don't.

Ebony tripped over her robes and stumbled. Sirius leapt forward to catch her.
"Thanks!" she said, flustered.

"No problem. By the way you have dirt on your nose." Ebony reached up trying to rub it off. Sirius smiled. "Here." He leant forwards and gently brushed the soot off with the edge of his robe.
James grinned as he slipped his arm around Lily's waist. "I think we have competition," he muttered.

"James, quit while your ahead, its never going to happen!" Lily retorted, looking down at his hand.

From behind him, Sirius could hear pounding footsteps on the stairs up from the kitchen. Still holding Ebony to him, he turned to see what the commotion was. In front of him, the drawing room door was yanked open to reveal Mrs. Black, her eyes blazing, her face red with rage.

Flanking her, in heavy shadow, with an equally malevolent look, was Mr. Black and beside him, a look of absolute glee upon his face, was Regulus.

There was a moment of terrible silence and then a torrent of Mrs. Black's cries.
"YOU...YOU...YOU," but she couldn't seem to find the right words to express her anger.

Her husband pushed past her into the room, his face holding the same fanatical excited look which they had all seen nearly two months before.

Sirius grabbed Ebony's hand and nervously backed away. Behind him, he could hear James and Lily doing the same.

"How dare you bring Mudbloods into my house you despicable boy," Mrs. Black shrieked catching Sirius off guard.

"What-" Sirius began

"We know what they are," his mother continued erratically. "Your father had to go to work this afternoon. He did a little check on their parents. Muggles, all Muggles. You, you, AHHHHHHH!" she screamed.

Sirius continued to back away in alarm, Ebony's hand firmly grasped in his, fear written across her pretty face.

"Mother calm down please!" he implored.

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN" she bellowed, whisking out her wand.

Sirius pushed Ebony behind him, he could feel her body trembling uncontrollably next to his. He saw James shift to stand by his side biting his lip nervously.

"Any ideas," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth." Ideas that won't get us expelled!"

Sirius didn't reply. Instead he walked forward towards his mother calmly and unarmed.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY," she roared.

Sirius looked to his father for support, but he too had his wand out, pointing to the corner where Lily, Ebony and James were standing. His eyes, Sirius noticed, were beyond cold, they were unlike anything he'd ever seen. He could feel fear welling up in the pit of his stomach. What could he do he thought desperately.

"You're a filthy blood traitor, just like he is," his father growled, nodding his head in James' direction. "After all we've done for you, all the books we've shown you, and you choose that," he pointed at Ebony, who was standing behind James. "Why do you deliberately go against our rules. We tolerated your friendship with that Mudblood Remus, but this, this is too much. Your brother doesn't disobey us. He does what he's told. He's a good son. A true Black and-"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE WRONG," Sirius shouted at the top of his lungs before he could stop himself, anger and fear coursing through his veins.

"What did you say?" his father spat through gritted teeth.

"You're wrong! You and your Pureblood beliefs. Just because you think it's right, doesn't mean it is!" Sirius continued frantically, angry tears threatening to spill down his cheeks, the fear continuing to well up inside him. He could see Regulus standing behind his parents laughing at him smugly.

Mrs. Black walked forward, looking at him searchingly, as if trying to see a trace of her son, a trace of the Black inside of him. Without warning, she smacked him hard across the face, her nails gouging his skin, peeling back the flesh. Sirius hardly flinched, he just looked back at her, blood pouring silently out of the five cuts she'd made. She pushed him away from her.

"Get out of the way. This is no time to play the hero Sirius!"

"Mother please," he begged, but he could see there was nothing, no compassion, no love, just a cold blank stare.

"You should know by now that the hero never wins. NOW I SAID MOVE!"

"I can't," he whispered breathlessly.

"Then you will have to learn the hard way," she shrieked. "Crucio!"

It hit Sirius like a kick in the gut, his whole body seared with pain. He let out a blood-curdling scream as his legs buckled beneath him and his knees collided with the thin hard carpet. All he could hear were the sounds of his screams, as the pain his mother was inflicting upon him intensified, the hatred within her bearing down upon every inch of his writhing and squirming body. He was sure his body would split in two, his mind was blank his heart racing, the blood pounding in his ears. Stop, he thought desperately. Please make it stop! Then suddenly it did.

He lay twitching on the carpet, his body drenched in a cold sweat. Above him he could see his mother's wand still pointing down at him, his father standing behind her. Both of them looked down at him coldly, his mother showing no sign of remorse.

Sirius struggled to his feet, shaking uncontrollably.

"Had enough?" his father leered.

"No." Sirius muttered defiantly. "You will never hurt my friends!"

Sirius could make out from the sounds behind him, that James was struggling to reach him, to defend him. Lily and Ebony, to his relief, were desperately trying to hold him back.

"YOU...PERFORMED...AN ILLEGAL...CURSE...ON YOUR...SON," James yelled, before Lily threw her hand over his mouth.

"Do I really mean that little to you?" Sirius muttered to his parents faintly, looking down at the floor.
They didn't reply. Sirius moved slowly away from his parents clutching his arm and limping, wincing with every step.

"Where the hell do you think you're going," his mother shrieked. "I'm not through with you yet."
Sirius rounded on his family.

"YOU HATE ME DON'T YOU! YOU ALWAYS HAVE. I'VE NEVER BEEN GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU NO MATTER WHAT I DO."

"Don't you raise your voice to me," his father shouted, trying to drown out his son.
Sirius moved towards the fireplace.

"Accio Sirius," his father cried, pointing his wand at him. Sirius felt himself lift off the floor and fly towards his father and into his open arms.

"LET ME GO!" Sirius howled, wincing with pain.

"No way you little sod."

James dashed forwards to try to pull Sirius free, but Regulus was there, whacking him hard round the head with an iron poker, knocking him to the floor.

"Why you little-" Lily began, rushing forward and prizing Regulus' fingers off the bar, clawing at his hands with her long strong nails.

Sirius struggled against his father's grip, as Ebony tried to drag a semi-conscious James out of the way. Sirius' mother was too quick for her though. She threw a curse at Ebony, hitting her square in the chest and throwing her across the room into the wall. Ebony crumbled to the floor.
Sirius saw Lily standing helplessly not knowing what to do. He shouted to her.

"Lily...go...get...all our stuff. It's in...my room...first floor...on your right."

Lily darted for the stairs, narrowly avoiding one of Mrs. Black's curses. She found Sirius' room, scooped up the bag of clothes lying on the bed and grabbed Sirius' bag, which he'd already packed for the trip back to Hogwarts, and ran back downstairs.

Ebony had struggled to her feet with difficulty, clutching at her ribs. She grabbed James and tried to pull him towards the fire. Lily rushed over to help.

"GO!" Sirius cried breathlessly to them, his father crushing his ribs, trying to stop him breaking free.

Ebony hesitated looking in to Sirius' tortured face desperately.
"JUST GO! he begged.

Ebony turned and grabbed a fistful of Floo powder, threw it into the fire, and, helping Lily, dragged James into it.

"Go!" Sirius' voice whispered weakly, as the three of them struggled into the fire and became lost in the green flames as they headed back to James' house.

Sirius managed to wriggle free from his father's grasp, though he didn't duck in time, as his father's fist collided with his cheekbone, the blow knocking him sideways. Recovering his balance, he grabbed his bag that Lily had dropped and ran for the fire.

"IF YOU LEAVE NOW, DON'T EVER COME BACK," his father bellowed.

Sirius paused for a fraction of a second as he grabbed a fistful of Floo powder, and looked back at his family, torn. He threw it into the fire defiantly.

His mother raised her wand, ready to strike. Sirius braced himself, but it never came. Instead, she directed the wand at the family tree. In a flash of light, his name, like Uncle Alfred's and cousin Andromeda's before him, was blasted off the family tapestry, leaving a hole, very much like a cigarette burn, where his name used to be.

With one last look at his fanatical family, and to his surprise, a grinning Kreacher, who was standing over by the door, he walked into the warm flames, shouted James' house and they were gone.

He landed with a crash in the Potter's fireplace, his legs no longer willing to take his weight.
Sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room were Lily and Ebony. They were still trying to hold down a mutinous James, who was flailing around under their grip on the floor. He immediately became still when he saw his friend's crash landing.

Mr. Potter, looking severely shocked by what was going on, seized Sirius around the waist and pulled him free of the fire. Still shaking, he let Mr. Potter guide him to the sofa where he collapsed onto it, his body relaxing slightly in relief.

It hit Sirius, like one of his father's ferocious punches, he felt numb. His body was aching, throbbing from his mother's curse, his head was pounding, his blood still racing, but he could not move. It all felt so surreal, like he was watching all these things happening to someone else, not himself. Everyone felt so distant. He couldn't believe it. He'd been wiped off the family tree. Disowned by his parents. He was, for the first time in his short life, completely and utterly alone.
He could hear Mrs. Potter, who'd been standing next to her husband, ask, "What happened?" in a far off distant voice. Obviously James, who had been struggling uncontrollably since they'd arrived, had not been intent on speaking. It seemed that none of them had.

No one spoke, instead they all stared at Sirius in silence.

"I'm going to get Remus and Peter," Mr. Potter said assertively.

"Within five minutes both had arrived, looking completely confused and then the look of shock turned to horror as they surveyed the carnage before them.

Lily, who was still sitting in the middle of the floor covered in dust with James and Ebony, was sporting a bruised cheek and grazed hands. James was lying in her lap, bleeding from the nose and mouth and still looked dazed and confused after Regulus' swipe with the poker. Ebony, who was sitting beside them, was bleeding from a nasty looking gash on her forehead and was holding her chest, wincing slightly every time she breathed, nursing, what she feared, were several broken ribs, Mrs. Black's curse having hit her with full force.

Remus, following Ebony's concerned gaze, saw Sirius sitting alone on the sofa staring into space. He was sitting hunched, every muscle tense, alert and ready, waiting for something to happen. Remus noticed that he had five gouge marks on his cheek, looking horribly like claw marks. He was also sporting a black eye and, like James, was bleeding from the nose and mouth. This wasn't what shocked Remus the most though. Sirius' normally bubbly and cheeky personality seemed to have vanished. His friend looked like a ghost, ashen-faced, uncannily like Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost. He hadn't even acknowledge their arrival.

Finally, tearing his eyes away from Sirius and focusing on James, he muttered, "What the hell happened?"

James however seemed speechless, unable or unwilling to talk. Lily spoke instead. Slowly, and with a heavy heart, she recounted all that had happened, from their unexpected arrival to their struggle to pull James back into the fire. Here she paused, looking anxiously up at Sirius, "I...I don't know what happened next."

Sirius, coming to his senses slightly, told them, in a hollow voice, what had happened after they'd left. When he finished there was a shocked silence. Tears streamed freely down his face as he threw his head into his hands. Lily, Ebony and Mrs. Potter's eyes glistened as they watched him.
Ebony, not able to stand the silence any longer, forced herself back onto her feet, clutching her side grimacing, and walked over to where Sirius sat. She slowly sat down on the edge of the sofa beside him and studied his body language. Tentatively, she touched his hand, which he'd thrown down beside him, intertwining her fingers with his, just as she had done two weeks earlier. His arm tensed, feeling her touch relaxed, a calming feeling washing over him.

The others, following her lead, encircled him, Remus sitting on his other side, threw an arm gently around his shoulders. Lily and James sat in front of him on the coffee table, Peter perched beside them looking anxious.

They sat in silence letting Sirius breath, but showed their support by being there. His tears, all the emotion that had built up that night that he had tried so desperately to control, cascaded down his face silently. His body slumped, utterly exhausted.

November had been bad, he thought, his parents' hysterical behaviour erupting at school. But this. Never in a million years did he think this would have happened. He didn't think he would ever forget his mother's curse, the force of hatred behind it had burned into his very skin. Her spite and her fanatical beliefs had inflicted upon him, the most horrendous pain he had ever felt. He wondered whether that was the kind of pain Remus had to go through every month, though unlike himself, Remus' bones did actually break and rip apart as he transformed into a Werewolf.

After half an hour, Mrs. Potter, who had fetched some ointment, gauze and bandages, came over and began patching each of them up in turn, coming to Sirius last.

Looking round at them all, she said, "I think we need to get you all back to Hogwarts right now. Madam Pomfrey, I'm sure, could make a much better job of fixing that nose James, and she'll definitely need to have a look at those broken ribs Ebony. You, Sirius, need to see a qualified Healer immediately. I fear if we go to St Mungo's hospital though, they'll start asking too many questions. Dumbledore will know what to do for the best, I'm sure. I'll have Colin go and tell your parents what has happened and- thanks Colin you read my mind."

Mr. Potter had walked over to the fireplace, had thrown in some Floo powder and had stuck his head into the flames shouting, "Hogwarts. Dumbledore's office." Within seconds, Mr. Potter had pulled his head back out of the fireplace and said, "Dumbledore's expecting you." He then disapparated, with a pop, to tell the other parents what was happening.

Five minutes later, Mr. Potter was back with four bags of clothes. He turned to face Lily, Ebony, Remus and Peter.

"Your parents said that they quite understand after I explained the situation, though they were rather worried about you Lily and Ebony. They all wish you a good term and said they'll see you at Easter."

"Thanks," Lily smiled.

With that, Mrs. Potter, who'd rushed upstairs to collect James' belongings, ushered them all towards the fireplace. Taking it in turns, they all whooshed out of sight.