I went to run to Sirius, but mum got there first.

"Oh dear! What happened to you?" she asked, gingerly holding him, surveying and carefully avoiding the many cuts and bruises surrounding his body. Sirius' head fell back as mum held him in her arms. I couldn't help but quietly hiss. His eyes were closed, his body limp. That couldn't be good. What had happened to him?

"Mum," I said. "He's hurt. We should just leave him alone, let him sleep, and try to heal him as best as we can. Bombard him with questions later. Like when he's conscious." These words sounded calm, but my voice was anything but. I was panicked.

Easing Sirius out of my mother's hands, I carried him up to the bed in the guestroom. A sharp intake of breath was the only thing that showed that Sirius acknowledged the fact that he was being placed down on the many wounds occupying his back.

"Wounds," I though wryly. It made it sound like a war. And knowing Sirius, that was exactly what it was.


Any satisfaction I had felt today quickly disappeared. Father dragged me back home. Literally, still grasping my hair, he pulled me into a painful state of obedience. I dearly hoped the party was over. No doubt every one of my relatives would enjoy watching me be punished. I pulled my mind away from what I knew was coming and concentrated instead on making my face completely passive and unreadable.

Not a good idea.

"Don't you dare start that Bravery crap!" Father slapped me. I bit my lip trying to not cry out, fighting desperately to clear my head. "I know you think you're being dignified and noble. You're nothing. You're absolutely nothing, you hear?" He slapped my face again and tugged on my hair to keep me going. I nodded, gasping. I bit down even harder on my lip as the nod caused the pressure on my hair to increase.

"How dare you! Sneaking out of the house on your own brother's birthday! You're not even wearing your new robes. And hanging around all that Muggle trash! You didn't even bother going to Diagon Alley!" As if to put emphasis to his point, he tugged my hair, dragging my forward. I bit down a cry, tears streaming down my face.

We reached the house. I dreaded what I knew was coming. I looked up as we approached the house. Great. There were still people there. People in the front yard spilling into the backyard. People everywhere. Those who could were already stopping to leer at me. Smirking and laughing. I was nothing more than another form of entertainment to them.

Father pushed me roughly into the house. I cried out this time, I couldn't help it. Not only was I pitching forward, but my father had forgotten that he still had hold of my hair and had let go only just in time to keep it from ripping out of my head by the very roots as I fell. Just then, my mother came running in.

"Dear, don't hurt R-! Oh, it's you," she said stiffly. Of course, I wasn't going to be protected by her. Whereas if Father had been doing this to Regulus, Mother would've screamed and cried for him to stop.

My mind screamed as my mother roughly pulled me back to my feet. People were crowding inside looking forward to watch. This would do nothing to stop my mother. In fact, it probably made her feel proud that I was at least good for entertainment. She and Father would love to prove that I was worth less than dirt in front of all my relatives. She grabbed my arms and dragged me to the sink. So. It had begun.


I couldn't sleep. All I could do was imagine what had happened to Sirius. Sirius Black bowed down to no one. He was rarely seen helpless or humbled even in front of me, his best friend. But this, this was horrible. This was the worst I had ever seen him. And I've seen him hurt before.

The first time I ever realized the extent of Sirius' family problems was in third year. It was the day after Christmas vacation. Everyone was gathering in the Great Hall for breakfast. Sirius had come into the Great Hall limping and bleeding. Nonetheless, he held his head high and tried hard to appear as if it meant nothing to him. But it did, I could tell. I couldn't stand the knowledge; I knew then that he had spent the night before in the Hospital Wing.

Other times consisted of small mishaps during full moon. The wolf had apparently been in a very mad mood those nights. Remus /had/ admitted that it was possible for him to lose control even towards animals for that reason. However, I had never seen Sirius as bad as he was now. Never.

Creeping out of bed, I walked down the hall, trusting my feet to carry me to the guestroom. I opened the door as quietly as I could incase he had returned to consciousness and was now just sleeping naturally. His form was a curled-up lump beneath the blankets. It was still except for his breathing.

Walking over to him, I whispered, "Sirius?" He didn't move. Not even when I shook him (well besides the fact that I was shaking him). Pulling over the chair from the desk, I sat down next to the bed. I stared out the window, still wondering what had happened and hoping, praying, that he would wake. Looking back over at him, I couldn't help but stare. There were just so many cuts and welts and bruises. So much blood; some dried some still dropping from his body.

I looked away. I couldn't stand seeing him like this. I knew Sirius as a happy, hyper, funny, out-going person. It always pained me to see him withdrawn, quiet, and in pain. Knowing that his own family did this to him just made the knowledge more painful. I shuddered. His parents scared me and I'd never been closer than ten feet to them. I would make sure I was there for him to talk to when he woke up. If he wanted to talk.

I must've fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, I was on the floor and the sun was shining in through the windows. And Sirius was gone.


"Mum Please!" I couldn't help but beg. Her only answer was to dunk me into the sink again, grasping my hair, keeping my head down for as long as she saw fit. Finally it seemed to get old. But not until everyone had their turn. I was tempted to turn into my dog self and bite Regulus' head off when he took his turn.

When everyone was done, I was allowed to collapse to the floor, forgotten and slimy with soapsuds. I forced myself to swallow and breathe regularly as I fought down tears. I stiffened at the sounds of footsteps behind me.

"So, itty bitty Sirius. You thought you could get away. You thought we were done just because your parents were. Just because they think that the filth of Muggle London has been washed away, doesn't mean we agree." Behind my cousin, Bellatrix (who was speaking), stood a line of her friends from Slytherin. All of them were servants to the rising power, Voldemort. Including my own brother. I glared at him, ignoring everyone else, before turning once again to Bella.

"Considering the people you're with right now, one would think you would stay away from insulting those I go near." Bellatrix's face hardened.

"You'll pay for that Black."