Seventh Year, Hogwarts…

Sirius lathered his hands with soap, sighing in frustration despite the cool water running between his fingers. First day of school and already they were being weighed down with homework; and if things weren't bad enough already, they had double Potions with the Slytherins next period. Pranks were completely out of the question because both James and Remus seemed to be taking their N.E.W.Ts a little too seriously, and Peter wasn't going to be much help alone. Sirius could just about see what a fun year this was going to be. Great, just fucking great.

He cringed a little when the door to the loo creaked open noisily but couldn't really be bothered to see who it was. At least not until he'd heard that familiar voice – the same oily tone that made ever muscle in his body tense and his blood boil. He didn't even have to turn around to see that bastard. A little adjustment of the eyes, and he could see Severus Snape clearly in the mirror beside him. And he wasn't alone. The son of a bitch wasn't alone; Regulus was with him, and they were talking - not too friendly but far from hostile.

Suppressing the sudden bout of anger bubbling inside of him, Sirius watched Snape leave with a courteous nod goodbye and an unmistakable grin. Regulus smiled maliciously as the door creaked close and even though Sirius hadn't been able to hear a word of their exchange, he could tell exactly what it was all about.

How dare he? My brother! He's fucking with my brother's mind, my brother's life!

Sirius took a deep breath, concentrating on the footsteps coming closer. 'I don't want you talking to Snape,' he said finally, glancing at the stream of water still flowing over his hands. His voice was surprisingly stable given his pent up rage.

Regulus startled, only noticing Sirius's presence. His face immediately contorted with revulsion. 'You.'

Sirius turned off the tap but didn't bother looking up. 'Don't listen to the poison he feeds you.' He grabbed a paper towel from the rack and wiped his hands dry. 'Keep clear of him and any other friends that he's made.'

'And who are you to tell me what to and what not to do?' Regulus sneered.

Sirius met Regulus's eyes through the mirror, the fury he felt burning red in his eyes. 'I'm your fucking brother, that's who!'

'Wrong, Sirius! You were my brother! Now you're just another street rat, invisible and unworthy!' spat Regulus.

Sirius snorted disdainfully. 'Unworthy of what? The family name? Oh, the unimaginable misery!' he spat. 'You keep away from Snape.'

'You chose your family, Sirius,' whispered Regulus coldly, but there was a definite break in his voice. 'You chose your side. Now it's my turn, so stay out of what doesn't concern you.'

Sirius raised his hands above his head, exasperated. 'I'm only trying to help you, Regulus. You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Snape…he's-'

'Helping me out,' finished Regulus, turning away.

Sirius grabbed his brother's shoulders, forcing him to turn. 'By getting you killed? Fat load of good that's going to do you!' His grip tightened painfully. 'You listen to me, Regulus, I know what you're doing and I'll tell you this - joining the Death Eaters might hold you high in Mother's eyes but that doesn't make it right!'

'Oh, and you abandoning you family is?' argued Regulus, struggling against Sirius's hold.

Sirius shook him violently. 'This isn't about me! This is about your utter lack of common sense and-'

Regulus finally pushed him away. 'You don't know anything, and you've never tried to understand anything either. There's no right. There's no wrong. There's only power and the people who can give it to you.' The last part sounded memorised, almost alien coming from Regulus's mouth.

Sirius laughed without humour. 'How daft can you get? They're going to ask you to kill innocent people. Men, women, wizard, muggle – it doesn't matter. What will you do then, o' mighty heir of the Black throne, pride and joy of Walburga Black? Will you murder them? Will you take responsibility for their wasted lives, hm?'

'Shut up.'

Sirius ignored him, a cruel smile still fixed on his lips. 'Know what else? If you fail, baby brother, it'll be your neck under Voldermort's wand and your blood in his hands…'

Regulus put both hands over his ears. 'Shut up, shut up, shut up!'

Sirius's expression softened, and he took both of Regulus's hands in his, squeezing tightly before letting go. 'Look.' Sirius bit his lip and nodded mentally. It was the perfect solution to all his problems. 'You can live with me, alright?'

Regulus rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, su-'

'Will you just shut up and listen to me for a moment?' Sirius ran a determined hand through his hair, rushing the next part of his explanation. 'Uncle Alphard left me a decent bit of gold this summer, and I'll be getting a place of my own soon as I graduate this year. So, after father dies, you can-'

Regulus spiteful laughter interrupted him mid sentence. 'You really do live in another world, don't you, brother?' When he saw Sirius's bewildered expression, his smile grew wider. 'What, didn't anyone tell you? Father died last month; he retched all over mother's clean silk sheets until he hadn't had a drop of fluid in his body left to spare.' If Regulus felt any sorrow over Orion Black's death, it was masked artfully. 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business to take care of.'

Regulus left Sirius staring at his reflection on the white marble floor, unsure of whether he was to cry or scream or simply fall to the ground, waiting and praying for someone to come and say-

XxxxX

'Wake up, Padfoot. Breakfast finishes in half an hour.' Remus shook Sirius by the shoulder while finger combing his own wet hair with the other hand.

Remus smiled as Sirius groaned and pulled the sheets above his head. 'Go away, Moony, it's too early to be awake.' Sometimes he could be so cute.

Remus tugged the sheets down, exposing Sirius's half naked body to the cold morning air. 'Come on, sleepy,' he said, shaking his head and deliberately spraying Sirius with water. 'We have Transfiguration first period and unless you want detention, you'd better get up.'

Sirius shivered and sat up grumpily. 'Stupid McGoogly, with her homework, and her orders, and the piles of study material. She can just go flush herself down the toilet.'

Remus laughed, kissing Sirius lightly on the forehead. 'Aren't we in a temper today.'

'Not we,' muttered Sirius, pouting even more. 'Me. Can't you just tell her I'm sick, Moony?' he pleaded, looking at Remus with large eyes.

Remus's expression was a mixture of amusement and exasperation as he handed Sirius his towel and uniform. 'Prongs is out of the showers, so you'll have one stall free. Mind you, it's the right one, so don't go into barging into Wormtail's like last time.'

''S not like I wanted to see him starkers,' replied Sirius moodily as he shoved the curtains around his bed, squinting at the sudden burst of light. 'The boy keeps forgetting to use the bloody lock.'

'And still, you're the only one who's walked in on him. Thrice, may I add,' came James's voice from the other end of the room

'No one's talking to you, Potter.'

James snorted and Remus smiled tolerantly. 'We'll wait up for you, Padfoot.'

Remus quietly watched Sirius leave, patiently waiting until he'd heard the lock to the bathroom click shut before turning to the other boy in the room. It wasn't that James was completely oblivious to Remus's stares, but he chose to ignore it anyway, concentrating on finding a matching pair of socks instead. He'd felt the sudden shift in atmosphere the minute Sirius had walked out of the room and the dread that followed was clear indication that he was not going to enjoy this particular conversation.

'Prongs…James?' Remus's voice was hesitant, nervous.

'Hm?' James tried to sound casual, but there was something in Remus's tone that aroused concern within him.

'Do you think there's something wrong with Sirius?'

This was exactly the sort of topic James had wanted to avoid. 'What, apart from his mental instability?' he tried with a false chuckle.

Remus walked to his friend's bed and sat down at the edge. He seemed genuinely troubled. 'It's just that…he's been acting sort of…normal ever since he came back.'

James frowned. 'I'm not sure I get what you're trying to say.'

Remus bit his lip, obviously trying to find the words to explain things better. 'It's like he hasn't changed…I mean, he still acts the same way, and-'

James shook his head in confusion. 'Wait, let me get this straight. You're worried because Sirius is being himself?'

'You make it sound really stupid, you know,' replied Remus bitterly.

'That's the way it sounds to me as well, Remus.'

Remus looked up at the ceiling, but his eyes were glazed over as if he were looking far back in his mind. 'His father just died, James, and you know how Sirius gets about his family. But so far, there hasn't been any acknowledgment…any tantrums or screaming…no tears…it's almost as if he doesn't know.'

James looked down at his feet. 'Maybe he doesn't?'

Remus shook his head. 'That's ridiculous. Orion Black's death was argued over for nearly two weeks. It was all over the media.'

James looked at him curiously. 'What did it say?'

Remus frowned, running a hand over his temple. 'Orion Black was more than just another name in the family, you know. They say he was something short of a genius. The man could literally create magic, some with lethal consequences. So now, Barty Crouch is fighting for the legal rights to use them against Death Eaters.' Remus shivered as he said this, remembering how his father had said that if anything, it was probably one of those curses that had bought an early death to the eldest Black.

'But that would be going overboard!' exclaimed James suddenly. 'There'd be no difference between us and them.'

It was exactly what John Lupin had said. 'That's not all. There's war going on within the family over inheritance…a lot of them are claiming that Mrs. Black's too unstable to inherit anything…spends half her time with that horrid house elf…and Regulus is a year short of being legal enough to get anything. It was second page news for quite a while. Impossible to miss.' Remus turned to James and caught his guilty expression. 'Unless you-'

'Yeah, maybe I did,' cut in James defiantly. 'I unsubscribed from the Daily Prophet the minute Black's death made front page headlines. Been trying to hide it from him all summer…a right job, I'll tell you that. I never realised how inquisitive Padfoot was before.'

Remus's eyes widened. 'What the hell, James? You can't just do that! Do you how devastated he will be if he hears it now?'

'And who's going to tell him?' James asked warningly, one hand already coming forward to grip Remus's shoulder.

'If you won't, then I will,' Remus replied firmly. 'Or would you rather he find out from some Slytherin…Snape for instance?'

James gritted his teeth, his hold on Remus instinctively tightening. 'He's not going to find out.'

Remus snorted sardonically. 'And how are you going to pull that one off? Cut off his ears? I know he's like your brother and all, but you have to stop treating him like glass, James. You're not doing him any good by trying to shelter him this way.'

James turned to face Remus, for the first time, truly meeting his gaze. 'You haven't lived with him, Remus. You haven't seen him the way I did. After he ran away, I thought he was going to-.' He shook his head, shaking off the thought. 'It doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say is that his family's not a subject we can just bring up in dinner conversations and the lesser he knows, the better off he'll be.'

Remus ran a furious hand through his hair. 'I wish things were that easy, James, but it's not going to work.'

James glared. 'You tell him a word, Remus,' he warned, his voice dropping an octave. 'One word, and I'll-'

Remus stood up, towering over the other boy. 'You'll what, Potter?'

For a few ephemeral seconds, both boys stared at each other in silence; their eyes smoldering with rage and fierce protection for their friend, their chests heaving with barely restrained anger. The air had changed; the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Neither of them noticed little Peter Pettigrew enter the dorm; neither of them heard their names being called out; neither cared.

And then, the silence was broken as James let out an enraged scream and punched Remus in the stomach. Remus, shocked by the sudden attack, reeled back and hit the ground. He was sure he heard Peter yell out but it was muffled by the ringing in his ears. And then something feral in him stirred, and he was launching himself on James; both of them kicking and screaming and punching; boundaries forgotten, friendship dismissed, reason left behind. There was only the carnal urge to hurt, to cause pain.

Remus was sure that someone had tried to pull him away from behind, but he must have taken care of it because that someone never tried again. Was that a good thing; because some part of his mind said no. But then, that wasn't what this was about. No, this was about Sirius and what was right for him; and James, who he'd thought was the leader – the man who made all the right decisions – leading Sirius on.

Remus thought he felt Sirius enter the room, a part of his mind telling him to stop fighting immediately because Sirius would disapprove. But James was still hitting him, and there was anger befuddling his mind and-

There was a loud crash in the room and an angry curse. 'What the fuck is going on? Petrificus Totalus!'

It was only after the numbing sense of paralysis hit him that Remus realised what he was doing. A sudden sense of guilt hit him. He'd resorted to violence (but I didn't start it!). He'd failed to reason (I was trying, but he wouldn't listen!). His eyes – the only part of him he could move – came upon Peter whom Sirius was helping up.

'You alright there, mate?' asked Sirius, glancing warily at his two other best friends. 'What happened?'

Peter shrugged and wiped the blood from his lower lip. He winced a little when he saw Remus but otherwise remained passive. 'They just started off at each other…couldn't get them off.'

Sirius frowned. 'Right. I'll let you two out, but you're going to stay dormant, yeah?' His voice shook a bit, clearly surprised. Things like this didn't usually happen among the Marauders. 'Okay…okay…and you'll just explain what happened…'

Both James and Remus rolled their eyes.

Sirius nodded and with a flick of his wand, loosened the binding spell. 'So what's this about?'

James cracked his neck, testing his joints. There were bruises forming on his face and hands, very similar to Remus's, but he didn't seem to pay them any mind. 'It's nothing, mate.' He flashed a reassuring smile. 'Just got into a bit of a fight, is all.'

'Don't lie to him, James,' whispered Remus, fingering the swelling of his eye. 'He needs to know.'

Sirius frowned. 'Is there something going on that I don't know about?'

'No!'

'Yes!'

James glowered at Remus. 'Remus, don't you dare…'

Remus glared back. 'Don't I dare what, James? Don't I dare tell him that his best friend's been lying to him the entire summer? Or don't I dare tell him that his father's dead, that he died a month ago, and he still doesn't know!'

James was about to pounce on Remus again when suddenly, Sirius burst out laughing. Both boys looked at their friend, bewildered and perhaps a little scared. They'd expected shock, anger mostly, but this side of Sirius they'd never seen.

'That's what you're fighting about?' Sirius exclaimed like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world. 'Merlin, I already know that.'

This time, even Peter blinked rapidly, unsure if Sirius had misheard the word 'dead' for something else. This sort of reaction from anyone was, to put it lightly – unexpected and perhaps, even bordering to lunacy.

Upon looking at his friends' confused expressions, Sirius smiled. 'Look, it doesn't matter to me, yeah? You all know that I've hated my family for a long time now. I couldn't care less if they all decided to drop dead tomorrow. It's not like they've ever done anything worthwhile for me, yeah?' His expression mirrored the nonchalance and cruelty of his words, as he simply picked a comb from the table and began fixing his hair. 'Next time you guys decide to punch each other's lights out, let me in on it, will you? I could save you a lot of trouble.'

All three of them stared at Sirius wide eyed, the silence only broken when Remus spoke up. 'You don't mean that. They're your family, Sirius.'

Sirius pointed the comb at him threateningly, his face grave. 'No, Remus. They were never my family, especially not now. You guys have been the only people that matter so far, and I intend to keep things that way. Am I understood?'

He was. In those few words, Sirius had conveyed his intentions with perfection. Yes, his father was dead. Yes, perhaps it did hurt more than it should; but he didn't need his friends comforting him or fawning over him. Most of all, he didn't need any more pity. This was a battle he'd chosen to fight on his own and as long as he had that ability, the decision to simply overlook any news concerning his family stood firm. They had long ago gone beyond help and the feeling of helplessness in Sirius that followed was, according to him, unnecessary and wounding.

Eventually, things would go back to their normal pace again. The fight between Remus and James, despite being their first and fiercest would be forgotten. Perhaps parts of it would be brought up in humour. Times were getting darker after all and laughter was so hard to find. But till then, as the old saying went, ignorance is bliss.

XxxxX

jka1:Sorry the chapter took so long. Vacation and all. But I'm back, and still writing! Padfootslittlegirl: Lol, thanks. Hope you liked this chapter as well, though my writing's a lil rusty after 3 months. Lykaios Nyx: Well, things are going to get sadder. I won't deny it. But amidst all that, happiness will be found. Goldfish682: Lol. Yes, Remus does have his moments. It's frustrating to be shy and sweet all the time, you know. LunasStar: Sorry I made you wait for so long, and forgive me if this chapter's a bit crappy. I haven't written for what feels like ages. WhiteWolfCub: Continuation, yes…even if it is a bit delayed. Holy Virgin: Thanks. It's nice to know I'm not going over the top or anything. Serpent91: Shouldn't I be the one saying thank you? Vamp468: Yes, smut is good, but combine it with angst and a whole new level of erotic is created. Hpfan4life1313: Drama is a guarantee. That's what this whole story is about after all. Muppetmadness: Well, it depends really. Maybe it won't be that sad if I put the ending right, eh? Finkpishnets: I guess I like to play with emotions a lot. It is what essentially makes a human being after all. So I'm glad you liked it. KawaiiMegami86: Sirius…yeah, I've read many depictions, but I think the worst ones are the overly girly or overly playboy. But again, that's just a matter of opinion. superman.is.my.lover.: Yes, they're moving in, but you'll have to wait a bit for that scene. fluffys-sidekick: okay, so this chapter didn't come out that soon, but it's here, and it's a little rough, but things will get better…hopefully. Elementalist: You never fail to amuse me, you know that…what with the silly rants and the overwhelming energy. Lol, and I think one of the reviewers actually have Remus and Sirius dolls, so maybe you can steal…er…borrow hers. Till then, keep reading! Yurikitsune: Hey, a girl's got to channel her mental instability, and sadism in stories are all I'm allowed. Sob! Woodgie: Lol. Fans in this country would be as useful as blowing on your own face. No, central AC is da bomb. You'd think it's be cooler in Sept, but nooo. Anyway, thnks for reading. Nuitah: Queen and Rufus Wainwright are Gods of music. There is no comparison to their greatness. Oh, and hope you liked this chapter. MagicalWinry: Unfortunately, before that, we must bear some angst, so stay with me. sola-bola: Well, it'll be sad this time as well, but things do get better. My promise to you. Fire x Ice: Lovely figure? Do you know something I don't? Come on…spill it out. Freakanature: Look back on some of my previous chapters and you'll find plenty weird sentences. I'm a specialist. Remo: Wow, honoured. Incidentally, my sis's name is Russian. We're a really screwed family. Seve-Suzie: No one's changing Remus, but as he's growing, his priorities are changing. siriusly delusional: Lol. Yes, glam fics tend to be cute, but if I ever see an actual guy in glitter, I'd probably say otherwise. Faery Goddyss: I don't think things will go that far, because I'm not too fond of that aspect of canon either. Gremlin15: Thanks. It's a real compliment when your readers can feel for your characters. Keep readings. jean kitsune: Not a wedding singer…just a singer of sorts, but I have a bit of stage fright so I don't do much. I'm gonna start uni in oct, though I'm a little young for it. But hey, the faster I finish, the better, right? mad.hot.love.: Sirius's is now officially a dead ass, so you should be happy. Leanna: Yeah, the pups can be adorable at times. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter. It's not much, but it's important. XXsavemysoulXx: Unfortunately, I'm an incredibly useless and unemployed to boot. When you're that pathetic, it's easy to find time to write. XXMysticXPhoenixXx: No, it's not over. I just went on a er…short break. Angel of 513: Ah, who doesn't wish the pups were real, or atleast magic was. Unfortunately, as you quoted, life sucks. Lucent Angel: Now I'm just plain flying on top of the clouds. I converted you? Wow! spirit element: I'm not sure how far I'm going to take this really. Maybe I'll take a poll or something if I ever do. I don't know. For now, I'm just writing chapters as they come and hoping they turn out well. UnForgiVingTearS: Aw…thanks. meltsI love you too. Damn, now you've got me going all soft. Sekre: Thanks. I'm glad you liked the story, and yes, bad things are going to happen, but love will find a way.