Sirius always had confidence; that much was true. But what he did with that confidence, even from an early age, sometimes got him in trouble. But to live without any confidence would have been a life not worth living, Sirius knew. He had to be daring because if he wasn't daring, who would be? Surely not his perfect baby brother Regulus, sweet cousin Narcissa, or, by no means, his "unique" cousin Bellatrix. No, it had be him and Andromeda to lead the family out of their dark ways and into the future. He had to be brave because if he wasn't brave, would Regulus, Narcissa, Bellatrix, or even Andromeda be? He was their bravery. He was always their bravery.
Sirius Black started out like every single human to ever walk the Earth; clinging to his parents' every word. He loved his parents for a long time. He loved his whole family, as a matter of fact. They were his flesh and blood, and he had no friends outside of the Blacks. He was very close to Andromeda especially. Sirius listened to what his family thought, soaking in every word. It was around the time when he was eight when everything started crashing down, and it came when he had enough confidence in himself to stand up and say two words. The two words are as follows: you're wrong.
That was when Hell started. His family marked him as a rebel when he wasn't rebellious at all; not yet, at least. Sirius had spent eight years listening to everything they said, listening to every word. His family would not - could not - pay him the same respect back to listen to what he had to say. If he said a single word that disagreed with the thoughts of the family, his entire statements would be disregarded. Sirius was, for all extensive purposes, now an outsider, a stranger forced to live with them. However, it affected him not; he grew up thinking that all families were that way, so he didn't believe anything was wrong. How sadly mistaken he was. And even so, he had the confidence to carry his opinions with him and hold his head high.
He was eleven when he discovered heaven on Earth. It was called friendship. Eleven years old and unknowingly lonely, Sirius Orion Black strutted with his head held high up as he boarded. That is, until he tripped. When he did, he brushed himself off, ignoring all the laughter (he'd learn to block out unwanted sounds from growing up with his mother dearest), and got on board. He plopped himself down in the largest compartment he could find, kicked off his shoes, stretched his legs out across the seat, and, with a big yawn, settled himself in. A minute later, the half-asleep Sirius jerked awake as someone snapped his legs down. He opened his eyes to find a boy with uncontrollably messy black hair and round glasses sitting next to him. The boy smiled, even winked, and no words were needed. Sirius just smiled back, and in a few minutes, the two were talking non-stop. Until Sirius met this boy, James Potter by name, he didn't even realize how lonely he had been for the past eleven years. About half-way to Hogwarts, another boy, this one with sandy hair and raging scars across his face, joined them. This boy was nervous, awkward even, and he clung so desperately to his book that his knuckles were ghostly white. James carefully slid the book from the boy's fingers, and the boy's knuckles thanked him. Sirius and James went back to talking as the third boy sat in the seat next to them, silent for about ten minutes. When that time was up, he interupted Sirius in mid-sentence to introduce himself, having finally worked up the nerve. He said his name was Remus Lupin. James smiled, happy that this new boy, Remus, had finally spoke. After three minutes of a hurricane of questions from Sirius and James, an even shyer boy peered into the crack in the door. This boy was blonde and rather round, and his face stole too many looks at each boy, his nervousness great. Sirius and James shot a whirl-wind of questions to this new boy, who found himself among friends. The boy, Peter Pettigrew, tried to answer each question as best as he could, but sometimes he couldn't keep up with James and Sirius. Remus scolded his new friends for their ill manners, but the second after the words escaped his mouth, all four of the boys were laughing. It was, indeed, heaven. Sirius was no longer alone. He didn't have to be quite so confident, but his confidence surely helped win over his new friends. The four were inseparable instantly. If one of the four was spotted, another was surely by their side, and the other two would definately be following shortly. Sirius was scarcely alone for even a moment, something he loved; he hadn't expected it would feel so good just to belong to something.
Once the train arrived, the first-years like him nervously poured out. However, Sirius was one of the only two not nervous; the other was James. For the first time, Sirius was excited to have a name like Black. It meant he could be sorted nearer to the beginning, so he wouldn't have to wait to find out. Confidentally, he strolled up to be sorted. He was the first name called. When the hat fell upon his head, the hat itself gasped. A child with the name of Black and a mind such as this? Impossible! What bravery! What morals! What confidence! The hat didn't have to tire itself in the process of sorting this child. The hat hardly brushed his hair before he cried out his sorting, and then it was all over. Sirius stood up, strolled down the way, and joined his classmates at the Gryffindor table. He roared with applause when his friends all joined him at Gryffindor, slowly after one another. James was last, and, though he tried to keep his cool, he was sweating like a pig. Sirius chuckled to himself, then shouted his mate's name confidentally. James got a hold of himself, and seconds later, he was where he belonged: with Sirius.
The Marauders, as they later called themselves, grew imfamous around the grounds. Moony, the bookworm and all-around sweet guy. Wormtail, the follower. James, the quiddich captain and professional Slytherin-punisher. Sirius, the heart-breaker. Life was good. Some people puzzled how four boys so different could be such great mates, but the four themselves knew they weren't all that different. Remus didn't belong in any society whereas Sirius didn't even belong at home. James and Sirius could date any girl they wanted. Peter was shy, and so was Remus, at least at first. They were connected deep within their very beings, and no differences on the surface could ever separate them.
For a while. When James finally won the girl he'd practically stalked since first-year, he spent more and more time with her. Remus fell deeper into his own problems. With Lord Voldemort on the rise, Peter began to fear all moving things, the wimp. Sirius found himself bored and lonely more and more, and he felt like he was just the child that no one wanted and didn't fit in quite right with the family again. With nothing else to do, he found himself seeking the company of a particular Severus Snape, their playtoy. But his companionship was irregular; Sirius sought him out only to terrorize him. Sirius knew it was wrong deep down but he had nothing better to do. The four eventually found their way back to each other by one way, and one way only; Lily, James's wife and first (and only) love became pregnant.
They asked Sirius to be the godfather, and how could he say no? A little Potter running around and knawing on the ankles was just what everyone needed to put everything back in perspective. Even with a full-blown war going on and it seemed they were all each other could trust, a baby could be created and raised. Sirius was completely estatic, perhaps even more so than James at first, who, when hearing the news, promptly choked on his soup. Sirius never figured out how anyone could ever choke on soup, anyway.
And then Harry James Potter was born. James's hair. His face. His nose. Lily's eyes. He was the perfect combination of their genetics. Sirius was so elated when Harry was born that he went out and bought a babyseat for his flying motorcycle. Meanwhile, life began to fall down all around them. Peter seemed to shake more uncontrollably than ever. Remus, though assigned a spy-mission for the Order, was absent more and more. On top of that, everywhere the Order went to try and stop Voldemort and his loyal Death Eaters, the Death Eaters seemed to be one step ahead of them. When Dumbledore announced that they had a spy, Sirius had his figures pointed internally.
Of course, he didn't tell Remus that he suspected him. On one day- it was late October -Sirius was heading over to warn James and Lily, who had gone into hiding as Voldemort clearly wanted them out of his way, that he believed the spy was Remus, he ran into Peter. With an unsuspecting smile, Sirius explained his situation and asked for Peter's help. Peter said nothing, only shaking his head. Sirius asked him why not, but Peter shared no words. When he raised his wand, Sirius knew he was in trouble. And there were a dozen muggles around! He scolded his supposed friend for pulling it out in public, but Peter only muttered some words, and all of the muggles shot back, cold and unmoving. Peter pointed his wand up at Sirius, trembling as he did so. Sirius did not beg; he had too much self-respect, too much confidence, to do so. He looked Peter in his cold, distant eyes and asked him why. Peter offered no response. He simply cut off a finger, transformed into his rat animagi form, and scurried away. As the aurors arrived, they found Sirius, Peter's finger, and a dozen dead muggles. The signs seemed to point all to one man.
Meanwhile, unknown to Sirius, Voldemort slipped into Lily and James's house. They heard him coming, and Lily ran up to baby Harry's room to hold him tightly. James, however, stayed behind in the living room. He confronted Voldemort as he entered, but in the time it took him to half-draw his wand, Voldemort had spoken those two words, a flash of green light had flickered, and James was dead. Voldemort slithered up to the nursery to find Lily and Harry. Lily begged, pleaded, all for the boy. Her last request fell on deaf ears. He mercilessly slayed her and went to the child's cradle. That night, history was made.
Sirius was shipped to Azkaban with no trial. If there had been a trial, Remus would have vouched for him. Dumbledore would have sworn his goodness. Even Narcissa, now-wife of a well-known Death Eater, would have admitted his innocence. Sirius thought it ridiculous that he be arrested for supposed Death Eater activities without even having his left forearm checked. But perhaps he was a new member, some of the aurors reasoned. Maybe he didn't have the Mark yet. Ridiculous. Still, with confidence, Sirius walked himself into Azkaban with his head held high.
Twelve years later, he made his escape. He was the first to do it. The papers featured his face on the front page. Dementors were sent nearly everywhere to search for him. How idiotic, he thought, to send dementors after him. As they were guards of Azkaban and he had escaped them before, what good would they do now? He met Harry and convinced him of his innocence; he even reunited with his now-only friend, Remus. He was found and nearly given a dementor's kiss until Harry and a friend, Hermione, busted him out. Sirius made another escape, but after this one, his confidence was shaken.
He stayed in contact with Harry for two more years. Harry was so like James. Sirius missed his friends James and Lily something terrible, but having Remus was enough to keep him strong and confident. Voldemort connected to Harry through visions, luring Harry to the Ministry. The Order showed up and had to face the Death Eaters. Sirius sparred with Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa's wife. However, it was an underhanded trick from his cousin Bellatrix that ended this hero's life. He fell through a veil to the other world, and Bellatrix skipped away victoriously. Sirius was gone for good.
At least on the other side he had James and Lily again. Not too long after, Peter, who had gotten redemption by losing his life in the process of protecting Harry's, join the three above in the skies. Months later, Remus and a cousin he had never known, Nymphadora Tonks, Andromeda's girl, came, as well. Remus and Tonks came together, man and wife, and, just as James and Lily had watched Harry grow, they would have to watch their own son, Teddy, do the same. Sirius realized, once he was far above the normal world, that confidence had gotten him there. His confidence had teetered between cockiness and normality. There was nothing he could do about it now, nor anyway to regret, but faced with the chance all over again, he thought he might have behaved a little better and not kept his head filled with so much confidence.
A/N: Even though Moony's my fav character, this has to be my favorite chapter so far. I really like how it turned out. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't, and what didn't make sense. And now, in the order of Mr.s Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, James will be our final chapter!