Chapter 3 – 1973

By the end of his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Sirius Black had learnt a great many things. He had learnt spells and potions and how to read the stars of course, but beyond that he had learnt far more valuable lessons about friendship and of home. Hogwarts was undoubtedly his home, of that much he was certain. The summer at Grimmauld Place after his first year at the school was something of a mystery to his friends because Sirius never ever spoke of it. He hated keeping secrets from them, because they truly were the best friends anyone could ever wish for, even Peter, but there were just some things that were never meant to be shared, and that was by far the most important lesson he had learnt so far.

Throughout his first two years there had been slip ups, very much like that first day when he had slandered Hagrid (who turned out to be the gentlest giant you could ever meet, and who seemed to have taken a liking to the four Gryffindors.) Growing up, Sirius had always been quick to adapt though, learning what to say and what not to so as to avoid getting into trouble. In time it came pretty easily to adapt here too, the attitude of his peers at Hogwarts was the complete opposite to that of his family at home of course, but Sirius loved it, because for the first time in his life he could just be himself. Secrets aside his friends accepted him for who he was, but they were also observant and had grown suspicious. Not of Sirius himself, he was their friend and they trusted him, but of his family. Whenever Sirius was particularly emotionally vulnerable the cracks would start to show, and that was when they would get a glimpse of the old Sirius Black, the one they really knew very little of.

For the most part however Sirius and his friends simply had fun. The bond they shared was inexplicable yet undeniable. Sirius thought of James as a brother, Remus was like this part of him that he never realised was missing until it was there, and Peter was the final piece to their puzzle. Together they had set upon one very important mission: to rule all of the school!

General rule breaking wasn't going to cut it either. Sneaking out of their dorms for midnight rendezvous was a given, as were the most basic of pranks and classroom disruptions. They had made an unusual alliance with the ever mischievous poltergeist Peeves, but not quite content they had set their sights even higher. It wasn't just a matter of popularity you see; it was a matter of respect, respect from every single student in the school. This was their school, and by the time they left at the end of their seventh year, they wanted to be legends. Most of the other Gryffindors seemed happy enough to go along with their charades, never really getting in their way. Only the pretty red head Lily Evans had the guts to speak out against them. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs mostly kept to themselves so they weren't much of an issue, it was only the Slytherins who were the real challenge, and one Slytherin in particular: greasy haired, hook nosed Severus Snape.

The school year was ending and there was only one week left to play the mother of all pranks on Snivellus Snape. They had planned to do it the week before, but Remus had had to go home to look after his sick mother again. The four were huddled up together on Sirius' bed, chatting excitedly as they tried to come up with ideas.

"Oh, oh, what about the inflating charm!" Peter squeaked excitedly.

"Nah we used that on Bertie last month," said James, continuing to frown thoughtfully. "We still have some of that sleeping draught; we could put some in Snivel's pumpkin juice."

"He'll never let us close enough," replied Sirius. "What do you thing Remus?" he asked.

Remus' head jerked up.

"Were you sleeping?" James asked incredulously.

Remus' face began to colour in embarrassment. "Yeah, sorry," he said, "I didn't get much sleep with my mum being unwell again."

James nodded and looked at him sympathetically, but Sirius recognised something all too familiar in his eyes in that moment. He placed a hand gently on his knee to comfort him. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked quietly so that only Remus could hear.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." Remus whispered, and as he looked up at Sirius they both suddenly knew that they had something very significant in common; that they both had something they were trying very hard to hide.

"Ahem." James coughed to gain their attention.

"Gentlemen, I have got it," he announced "I am going to let you guys in on a little secret; actually it's a pretty big one." Sirius and Remus looked at each other. "Remember last year when I sneaked into the kitchens, when I found out about Mary snogging that fifth year?" The others looked at each other again, intrigued. "Well the time has come for me to reveal my secret weapon, the reason I am able to be so sneaky." he announced with a grin.

James jumped off his bed, went over to his trunk and pulled out a silky robe, holding it up with a "Tada!" Only Sirius seemed to know what it actually was, and his mouth fell open.

"Merlin James, is that what I think it is?" he asked.

"Well if you think it's an invisibility cloak then yes, it is," James answered with a grin, and then he proceeded to wrap the cloak around himself, and disappear. The other two gasped.

"Why are you just telling us about this now? Do you have any idea how useful this could have been over the last two years?" asked Sirius.

"Why yes I do, but I had to make sure I could trust you guys first didn't I?"

The word caught Sirius like a blow to the chest; trust. Here was James, sharing one of his biggest secrets. Those cloaks were extremely rare, and it was no wonder he had kept it hidden, and here was Sirius, who couldn't bring himself to tell them the truth, because he was just too scared to speak it out loud.

With the invisibility cloak the four 13 year olds did indeed manage to pull off the mother of all pranks. Every single item of Snape's belongings had been scattered around the castle, and it had taken him three days to find everything. Sirius hadn't laughed so hard in forever; it had even been enough to briefly take his mind off his impending return home. With just three days left until the end of term however, he now started to withdraw within himself, preparing for the inevitable torture once he was reunited with his family. As his friends all celebrated their victory downstairs in the common room, Sirius sneaked upstairs to their dorm. Once inside he closed the curtains around his bed, and let his head fall into his hands.

Back downstairs, Remus had spotted Sirius leave. Concerned for his friend, he had followed him, and upon entering their dorm he could hear the sobs coming from Sirius' bed. He called his name softly so as not to startle him, but there was no answer, so he gently pulled back the curtain instead. Not knowing what else to do the younger boy sat down beside his friend and wrapped his arms around him. "Shhh," he said softly, "whatever it is, it'll be ok."

Sirius half laughed half sobbed into his friend's shoulder. "No it won't," he retorted.

"OK," Remus said, pausing to think as he stroked Sirius' hair out of the way to look at him. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

Sirius shook his head as he met his eyes, and that's when he saw it again; that familiar look. Sirius knew instinctively that this was someone he could trust. "I don't want to go home," he said eventually, so quietly that Remus almost missed it.

"Why not?" Remus asked softly.

Sirius shook his head again, wrapping his arms around himself and hiding his face. He couldn't do it, he just couldn't bring himself to say it aloud.

"Is it your family?" Remus pressed.

The tiniest of nods. Remus sucked in a breath, he had suspected there was something going on in the Black household, he knew it was none of his business but he cared for Sirius more than he had ever expected to. "They're not happy with you being in Gryffindor are they?"

Sirius laugh was not humorous. "You could say that," he bit out.

Remus tried to encourage him to tell him more. "It can't be that bad. Sure they're upset just now but you're they're son, I'm sure they'll come around, it's maybe just a little hard for them to digest."

"They've digested it, trust me, they just really enjoy reminding me how much of a disgrace I am to them." As soon as the words were out he wanted to take them back, he hadn't meant to say that much. He tried to hide his face again, to hide how frightened he suddenly was.

"I do trust you." The words were soft and firm at the same time. "And you can trust me Sirius, I won't press you, but I… I'm here for you."

The kind words were too much and Sirius broke down in tears again. He was shaking violently now and when Remus reached to take his hand he pulled away, suddenly full of terror. "I shouldn't have told you this, I shouldn't have said anything. I should have kept my mouth shut!" he berated himself. Remus hadn't expected this and it made him think that there was something else that Sirius wasn't telling him, and then suddenly it all clicked into place.

"Sirius," he asked firmly. "Do they hurt you?"

Sirius froze, barely allowing himself to breath.

"Sirius Black, answer me."

He let out a sob and nodded minutely, and then before Remus could even respond Sirius' hands grabbed him forcefully by the wrists. "You can't tell anyone, no one can know." He looked so afraid that all Remus could do was nod. He knew the importance of secrets, and Sirius needed him to keep his.

"Of course," he said, and he pulled Sirius into a hug before he could pull away. "Merlin Sirius, I am so sorry."

They stayed like that for some time, just holding each other before Sirius moved away to wipe his tears. He took a deep breath and then said rather shakily "Thank you."

"No problem, I'll always be here for you Sirius."

Sirius smiled. "Thank you," he said again.

AN: So, what do you think so far? Enjoying my take on the characters?