1Isafold: Well, since I didn't give an explanation on how he escaped...Sirius's parents just left him lying on the floor. Somehow he manages to get to a broom and fly out of the house without them noticing. Then the next morning, when they don't find him in his room, or anywhere else in the house, they conclude that he ran off again.

Rockpaperscissor: you reviewed...of course I love you! Glad you like the angst. It does make for a good read :)

Silver angel: it will all be answered below!

Cute and lovable: hmm money you say...no, j/k. but even if I tend to abandon some of my stories, this one wont be one of them. I have it too well planned out, and I've been immersed in it for too long. To bad I cant seem to say the same for that elf one...I've lost it with that one...sadness...

You don't know mi: hmmmm I like the idea of being a titan...haha I cant make promises on the elf story, but this one I'll keep up. I'm glad you like all my stuff so much. It makes me very happy! The worst of the sadness is, I think (I can never be too sure) , about over. Bu the story is far from so! Hooray!

And thanks a million to everyone else who reviewed, especially everyone who reviewed more than once to make me hurry up. I'm sorry it took so long, but here it is all for your enjoyment! Eat it up!

Note: I really don't know too much about injuries, to be honest. I really don't know what you do to broken ribs or lungs for that matter. I sorta just made stuff up. The leg stuff is good tho. A friend of mine broke her leg and was in a wheelchair for weeks! Well, if any one knows how all that other stuff really heals, I'd like to know. I won't change the story, but just for educational purposes. Anyway, continue on...

Chapter 6

It had been over a week since the Potters had brought Sirius to St. Mungo's, and still the boy had yet to awaken. James rarely left the private hospital room, despite his parents' urges.

Finally, one day while James was alone in the room, Sirius's face scrunched up oddly, and he slowly opened his dark eyes. James beamed down happily at his friend, eyes filling up with tears. "Sirius!" he exclaimed. "God, mate, you're all right!"

Sirius stared up at him groggily. "Jam—" was as much as he could get out before wincing in pain.

James's eyes widened. "No, mate," he said, "don't talk, all right? Your lungs aren't up to the effort of talking right now." Sirius stared up at him oddly. "You've been out over a week," James added.

Sirius drew in a deep, painful breath. He tore his gaze away from James and blinked several times. He looked terribly confused. He eyed the numerous tubes and needles sticking into him. Raising his dark eyes back to his friend, he whispered, "I'm sorry." He then closed his eyes and fell asleep.

For a few moments, James was unsure if he had heard the other correctly. He stood and walked over to a red button on the wall. He pressed it and waited for the nurse to come in. A few minutes later, a young dark haired woman entered. She looked around wildly, as if she expected something horrible had happened. "Yes, sir," she asked after assuring herself that everything was normal.

"He woke up," James said, lamely pointing back at Sirius, "but he fell asleep again." The woman nodded. She moved forward, checked the machines Sirius was hooked up to, and said, "I'll get the Healer."

She came back a few minutes later, Healer Carter in tow. The man checked the machines, performed a few spells, and turned to James. "How long was he up for?"

"Just a few minutes," James answered.

"Did he move around any?"

"Not really," James answered. "He talked a little, though. It hurt him."

Carter nodded. "It would," he said. "His lungs are still very fragile, and speaking will strain them some." Carter fiddled with one of the fluid bags putting nutrients into Sirius's body. "Well, he's come out of that unconscious spell. He's sleeping now, and he'll probably wake up before too long. Call me when he does, but keep him awake this time."

Carter walked towards the door. "I'll send your parents in."

Kaelin and Jacob entered soon, both ecstatic and relieved that Sirius would be fine. "James, baby," Kaelin asked, "what's wrong?"

James rubbed his arm and frowned. "He apologized," he said.

"What?"

"While he was awake, Sirius apologized to me," James repeated. "I don't understand. He always does this."

Kaelin placed a light hand on her son's shoulder. "What do you mean, James?"

James dropped wearily into the chair beside Sirius's bed. "Every time Sirius ran off from his house, he would apologize to me about it. He said he was a burden to us, that he shouldn't keep coming over."

"Ridiculous," Jacob said. "Sirius has never been a burden. Ever since you brought him over, we've adored him. Admittedly, I was suspicious about him at first, but still!"

"I've always told him that," James said softly. "But he's never really listened. He always apologizes about it. Sirius never apologizes for things. He just doesn't do it." James removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "This isn't fair," he muttered.

"Baby, life is never fair," Kaelin said.

"Sirius didn't deserve this."

"No, he didn't," Jacob responded. "No one does."

"Mum," James whispered. "I'm scared."

Kaelin wrapped her son in a tight hug. "We won't let anything else happen to him. We'll keep him safe."

Several days later, Sirius was released from the hospital. He was brought back to Godric's Hollow with a special, non-jerking portkey. He was still in too delicate a condition to travel any other way. The charms were still intact over his lungs, and several of the Muggle machines had been brought back to the Potter house.

Sirius himself had spoken very little in the limited amount of time that he had been awake. He was glad that he had the excuse of his lungs' condition to cover it up. He had yet to meet the eyes of any of the Potters.

"Sirius," Kaelin stuck her head into James's bedroom. "Sweetheart, would you like to try and get some soup down?" Sirius did not look at her but gave her a slight shake of his head. "All right," she said softly. "Just let me know when you're up to it."

Sirius's head sunk deeper into the soft pillows. They were troubling themselves too much over him. He didn't deserve it. He was worthless, after all. He had run away from home again. He had run like a coward after his beating. Sirius was unsure of how he had managed to get all the way to the Potters' home. It was a fair distance from the Black manor, and Sirius had been in no condition for travel.

What had made him come here? It had to be by far the dumbest thing he had ever done. Now they knew. The Potters knew his deepest, most protected secret. Other than his younger brother, no one in the family even knew about it. If he'd had the energy, Sirius might have slapped himself.

And James had vacated his room for Sirius. As if the Potters taking him to the hospital and then letting him recover in their house wasn't already too much. They were too kind. He didn't deserve it.

The next day, James came into the room. He had not really been around while Sirius was awake yet. James had not said so, but he couldn't bear to look at Sirius like that. He had thought it was bad enough while Sirius was unconscious. He had been quite mistaken.

The look of Sirius's eyes was more than enough to keep James away. Normally so full of life and mischievousness, they looked dead. So dark that they were nearly black, not the coffee brown he normally associated the piercing gaze with. James had only been able to see pain and shame in his friend's eyes. He couldn't stand it.

James sat down by his bed, nervously running his fingers through his already hopeless hair. Lamely he asked, "Do you feel any better?" Sirius sighed heavily and painfully, his dead gaze never leaving the ceiling. "Right, stupid," James muttered.

After a moment, Sirius raspily whispered, "You don't have to do this."

James jerked forward. "Don't have to do what," he asked. "Wait, you shouldn't be talking. It's just going to hurt you more."

Sirius ignored him. "You're uncomfortable being around me. I know it. I'm not stupid, James. I shouldn't have come over here. I shouldn't be burdening you like this."

It had been a mistake. The Potters didn't need this. James didn't need this. All Sirius had succeeded in doing was showing to James that he was keeping secrets. James never kept secrets from Sirius.

All Sirius had gained was the Potters' pity. They didn't know how to act around him now. When they did come into James's room, they spoke very softly and walked as though on eggshells. It was all because of his weakness, his inability to endure his parents' treatment. He should have been stronger. His parents were right all long about him.

James, however, seemed to think differently. He stood abruptly and said sharply, causing Sirius to cringe and shrink into the bed, "Dammit, Sirius! If I've told you once, I've told you a million times. We don't think you're a burden to us! My parents love you. They think of you as another son. They'd do anything for you.

"And me…dammit, you're my friend. We've been best friends for six years, inseparable. Do you have any idea how scared I was when I opened the door on Christmas Eve? I thought you were going to die." James swallowed thickly, his eyes filling up with tears.

"I don't know what I'd do if you died, Sirius. You really do mean more to me than anybody. You-you're my brother." James fell back into the chair, rubbing his eyes under his glasses.

He looked back up to see Sirius still staring at the ceiling, but now, the other boy had tears rolling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry," Sirius whispered.

James dropped to his knees by the bedside. "Sirius, please," he begged. "Stop apologizing. You haven't done anything wrong."

Sirius shook his head. "I-I wasn't good enough. I was a bad son, and I shamed the family."

"Sirius, you haven't shamed anyone!"

The other boy was silent for a few moments. He licked his lips and said, "Do you remember after we finally became friends, and you asked about the old Slytherin families?"

James nodded. "You told me I could never understand."

Sirius nodded. "You can't," he whispered, "because you've always been around people who love you, no matter your differences, no matter slight shifts in beliefs. You could be liberal, but they would not mind." He drew in a deep breath, allowing his voice a few seconds of rest. "We are one of the most conservative groups around. Nothing changes."

"The first memory I have is of my father sitting me in front of a book larger and thicker than Hogwarts: A History, all about the life of Salazar Slytherin. He told me to write an essay on it by the end of the next week. I was three."

"Three year olds can't even color properly," James protested.

"Oh, I had an enchanted quill to write for me, but I could almost write then. I know the entire Black family history, I have our entire code memorized, as well as the old Slytherin family code. I can write yards on every Muggle hunt in recorded history, I've read over a hundred books on Slytherin, a hundred more on purity of blood, another on superiority of blood. Every morning, Regulus and I are sent before my Father to quote an excerpt from our code, and to Mother before bed. The list goes on, James."

The raised Gryffindor stared shocked at Sirius. "What's the point?"

"To keep us away from Gryffindors," Sirius answered. "To keep us acceptable."

James ran a hand through his hair. "Do-do they all do it?"

"The other families?" Sirius raised a brow. "Of course, but the Blacks are far more extreme."

"Sirius," James said, "I'm the one who should be sorry here. I should have gotten you out of there before this. I should have been paying more attention."

Sirius frowned. "You couldn't have. I didn't want you to know. Blacks hide their secrets very well, James. We don't let anything out that we don't want known."

James lowered his head and sighed, "I'm not a very good best friend." James then felt Sirius's cold hand on his. He looked up, and the two family heirs locked eyes. James blinked. Sirius's eyes, they finally had another emotion in them. He looked grateful.

"I could never ask for a better friend than you, Prongs. I probably would have killed myself before now if I hadn't thought of you. Since we became friends, you're what's kept me sane in that house. All I had to think of was that it would just be a few more days until coming back to you and the others at Hogwarts, and I'd be okay," Sirius said. "You've done pretty well as far as I'm concerned."

James sniffled and rubbed his eyes. "No problem, Padfoot."