A/N: Captain Obvious was asleep when I posted the first installment so I wasn't reminded to write the standard disclaimer - I own nothing but a copy of the books, a crappy old computer, my imagination and a little brother and a bathroom to serve as inspiration. And the last two aren't even mine really. Shh!
I know that I've got the ages of Andromeda, Narcissa and Bellatrix wrong, but I didn't know at the time, and besides, I wanted Andromeda as the oldest and Sirius and Bellatrix to be the closest in age for later (eventual) purposes. I have no idea of Sirius's living arrangements when he was a kid, so I made it up. Same as with James's family in Part One.
The banter between Sirius and Regulus is kinda lame, I know. But hey, that's how 11- and 9-year-olds talk. Trust me, I know.
Thank you for reading. Reveiws make me scream at my computer in glee. You know you want to make me do that. Go on, reveiw. Make me look like an idiot. You know you want to...

Part Two – Sirius

The view from the windows in the grand house at number 12, Grimmauld Place was not particularly good. For a start, it was sort of blurry; everything past the glass was fuzzy and hard to focus on. It was like looking at something underwater, or through a heat haze. And secondly, the actual view was pretty dismal – nothing but the grey walls of suburban London houses in every direction.

Dismal and distorted though it may be, the view from Sirius's top-story window was all he'd ever known. He'd gotten used to the blurriness, which he supposed had something to do with all the enchantments his father had cast over the house. Like the one which stopped anyone who wasn't part of the family or friends of his parents from seeing the house, even if they were standing in front of the porch. Plus, because his bedroom was on the top floor, he could see more than just the next door neighbours' wall or the brown square of grass in front of the house. He had a view of all London, the chimney pots and roof-tops spreading out on every direction.

And although this was still a pretty bleak view, Sirius thought as he watched the newly-risen sun try to push through the suburban smog, he had to admit that it was better than a grey brick wall.

As the sun gave up and let the smog engulf it, Sirius poked his head round his bedroom door. A stray strand of thick dark hair fell over his grey eyes, and he swept it back in a habitual way as he glanced up and down the small landing where his bedroom was situated. He nodded and smiled slightly as he saw that his younger brother's bedroom door, located just down the hall from his, was still shut.

Sirius started down the stairs silently. Life started early in the Black household, and the queue for the bathroom could get dauntingly long alarmingly quickly – and Merlin himself couldn't save you from Mrs Black's wrath if you turned up for breakfast late or with an unwashed face or hands.

Sirius arrived at the first bathroom, on the fourth floor, and groaned. Already the door was locked, and worse, he wasn't next in line - his paternal grandfather, Arcturus, was standing by the door. After a quick 'good morning' to his grandpa (who only grunted sleepily in reply) he decided to venture further down the stairs to the other bathroom and chance his arm there.

He sighed as he reached the second floor bathroom. This too was fully occupied, and the line had started to form here as well. The fact that it was his brother Regulus, younger by two years, standing outside the door gave him some hope.

"Thought you were still in bed, Reggie." Sirius said as he sidled up to his brother, who scowled at the detested nickname.

"Thought you were," he answered. Sirius grinned.

"An intelligent answer, that." he said sarcastically, "But then, it is you, so I have to expect simple conversation."

"Push off."

"Who's in there?" Sirius asked, ignoring his brother's remark and nodding towards the bathroom door.

"Grandmother." Regulus replied, the scowl still etched on his face.

"Ah." Sirius said. "Well, that's annoying." Out of everyone that lived in number 12, Grimmauld Place – the two boys, their parents, all four grandparents, and their mother's brother Alphard – Irma, the boys' maternal grandmother, was the one who took the longest to get ready in the morning. She had been known to occupy the bathroom for a good twenty minutes, although no-one had the courage to complain to her face.

"Then again," Sirius continued, "you certainly take your time nowadays. What takes you so long? I was waiting for ages yesterday; you made me late for breakfast. Where you brushing your teeth? Well, I must say, that is a bit of relief; I didn't know that you were aware of the existence of toothpaste…"

Regulus growled, and Sirius got blasted with his morning breath. Pulling a face, he considered pointing this out to his younger brother, but decided that he had wound Regulus up enough for this time of morning.

"Push off!" Regulus repeated, more loudly this time. Sirius was glad he hadn't mentioned his brother's awful breath – he was obviously not in a very good mood. Maybe it would be best if he just leave him alone...

"No, Reggie, that's what I want you to do!" Sirius said as he shoved his brother aside and deftly stepped in between him and the bathroom door just as Irma opened it. Before Regulus could recover, Sirius darted around their grandmother and quickly shut the door in his brother's face.

Sirius laughed as he heard Regulus's roar of frustration. No doubt the little brat would go running to their mother, but Sirius had never been able to resist having a go at him. Besides, it was worth it. He'd been late to breakfast yesterday, and he'd had to have dry cereal because the milk had run out, and no-one had taken enough pity on him to refill the jug magically.

A slight frown formed on Sirius's face as he turned on the tap. They were in the shape of serpents, just like a number of other things in the grand old house. They'd never really bothered him before, they had just been there. But now, every time he saw something snake-themed, a flutter of worry passed through Sirius's mind.

He was due to start at Hogwarts on the 1st of September. His letter had arrived by owl last week, informing him of acceptance at the wizarding school. He knew that a lot of people receiving that letter would have been incredibly happy, with their parents' pride obvious. For Sirius, however, the letter was expected, it was nothing particularly special. Occasionally, on the days leading up to its arrival, he'd wondered what would've happened if the letter had never come. He knew that his mother's uncle had been a Squib, and he had been removed from the family tree which had hung in the drawing room for decades. As silly as his concerns had been, Sirius had breathed a small sigh of relief when his expected Hogwarts letter had arrived.

Now, however, a different worry had started to grow on his mind. Ever since the four Hogwarts houses had been introduced, every member of his family had been sorted into Slytherin. But Sirius had been told, by his uncle Alphard, which qualities were attributed to each house, and he'd thought that Slytherin sounded less appealing than any of the other houses. In fact, when compared to Gryffindor's values of bravery and daring, Slytherin's principals of ambition and cunning seemed downright undesirable. Sirius knew that, what with his self-confessed arrogance and penchant for causing trouble, he probably would fit in with Slytherin's students. But he felt that, deep down, he really wanted to be Sorted somewhere else. He was a Black, so Gryffindor was probably out of the question, but he knew he was smart – Ravenclaw wouldn't be am impossibility. Then again, he thought, if you were Sorted into Ravenclaw, you probably had to actually study…

Sirius had said this to his uncle at the time, and Alphard had raised his eyebrows and told him that he'd do well not to repeat that to anyone else, especially his mother.

Ever since that day, the reasons for Sirius's aversion to being placed in Slytherin had become more numerous. Apparently the Slytherins held the same pure-blood elitist beliefs that his family did. Sirius was always being told to keep well clear of any Muggle-borns he ever came across when hanging out with the other local wizarding children in the square. He had never fully comprehended this; they all seemed alright to him, and despite his parents' and grandparents' constant use of the term 'Mudblood', he had never perceived the Muggles as dirty or unclean. The news that these unreasonable beliefs were upheld in Slytherin made him wary of his family's traditional house.

The other main reason for Sirius's dislike of Slytherin was his cousins. Narcissa, Bellatrix and Andromeda were all in Slytherin. He didn't have a problem with Andromeda, who was four years older than him; in fact he got on quite well with her. Narcissa, who was two years his senior, was often annoying – her snobbish attitude infuriated him – but as long as they weren't forced into conversation, he could stand to be in the same room as her. Bellatrix, however, was a totally different story. She was only a year older than him, but she never let him forget it. For reasons Sirius couldn't quite remember, he and Bellatrix had been fighting since they were small children. If he was Sorted into Slytherin, he would be forced to see her everyday in the common room, and the thought of that was unbearable.

No, Sirius had decided, Slytherin was not the house for him.

Just as he finished washing his hands, he heard his brother's voice coming from up the stairs. He opened the door, waiting to see who Regulus had gone crying to. Lucky for him, it was Uncle Alphard. When he saw that Sirius had finished she looked at Regulus and told him that the bathroom was now free, so there was no longer a problem. Regulus obviously didn't think much of this theory, but it suited Sirius just fine.

"Thanks, Alphard," he said to the one person in the whole house who was ever willing to cut him some slack. Alphard smiled at him and retreated downstairs to continue breakfast. Sirius poked his tongue out at his little bother and called him a tattletale before following his uncle, laughing at Regulus's sour expression.