Chapter 3: Emotions

"Come on, you can sleep with me tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Sirius yawned.

After his conversation with his mother, James had gone upstairs to join Sirius. Now, both of them having changed into pajamas, they were ready to sleep.

The two friends crawled into James's king size bed, where there was plenty of room for both of them. James lay on his back, facing the ceiling. Sirius was on his side, facing the wall.

Suddenly, Sirius turned and said, "James?"

"Hm?" asked James, turning to face Sirius.

"I need to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Would it be alright if I stayed for the rest of the summer?"

"Of course."

"What about on holidays?"

"Sure. You know you can always come here. But, do you mind if I ask why?"

Sirius hesitated before answering. "Because… I can't go home anymore."

"Things that bad, huh?" James asked.

"No, I really can't go home. I ran away, and my dear old mum said that if I walked out the door, I could never come back in. She probably burned me off the tapestry the second I left. I'm sure she's been wanting to do that for years."

James was shocked. Sirius had run away before, but now his parents wouldn't even let him come back? "Of course you can stay here, mate. Don't worry. You'll be fine. It's about time we had a use for some of those spare bedrooms," James joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sirius sighed. "Thanks, James. I…I guess I just got fed up with it. I'm sick of hearing how perfect Regulus is, and how I should be like him. I mean, I just…" Sirius trailed off.

James glanced at him. He had begun to cry. James knew Sirius had been holding back his tears since he had run away. James put his arm around Sirius, pulling him a little closer. "Hey, mate, it's okay. You're okay now," he said softly.

"Why is Regulus so bloody perfect? What makes him so bloody special!" Sirius said between sobs.

"Nothing. He's not perfect. He's a stupid little git. Don't let your parents make you think anything else, okay?"

"Okay," Sirius sniffed, claming down.

"Good. Now, let's get some sleep. Everything's gonna be okay now. You never have to go back to that house again."

"Right."

Within minutes, the two best friends were sleeping soundly, their arms wrapped around each other.