Embarrassingly, I cried writing this chapter :P It's been by far one of my favourites to write, so I hope that it's one of your favourites to read. Thanks again, for all of my wonderful reviews :) They make my day :DD

'James,

Can you at least have the decency to answer my letters?

Sirius'

Sirius sighed deeply and gave his letter to the owl to deliver to James. He'd already sent five messages, apologizing for everything he'd said and done, and asking for forgiveness, but James just wasn't answering. He didn't understand. He'd hurt Remus. Not James. Remus had already forgiven him, but James still wasn't talking to him. Why was that? Sirius couldn't grasp why...

There was a quiet knock on the door, and Sirius sat up quickly, staring at the door. He didn't answer, just made his way to his bed, where he curled up under the covers. His room was freezing, but he didn't dare ask his mother to turn up the heating. He didn't want to get anywhere near her any more. She'd seemed to take up using the cruciatus curse as punishment too, and her favourite person to punish was, of course, Sirius.

"Sirius?" called a voice from the other side of the door.

Sirius had heard Regulus, but he chose to ignore him. Regulus had been knocking on his door at least five times a day, every day for the last week. Sirius wouldn't answer. What was the point? Regulus had allowed him to be tortured. He hadn't done anything to help. He had just stood there – looking down. Doing nothing.

Unfortunately, ignoring him wasn't enough today as the door creaked open slowly. Sirius groaned and pulled the duvet over his head, turning his back towards the door. The sounds of footsteps told Sirius that his brother had entered the room, and he felt the bed move as Regulus sat on it. Sirius shifted over so that he was almost falling off the other side of the bed.

"Sirius?" said Regulus. Sirius didn't answer, and he heard Regulus sigh. "Can you please talk to me?"

Again, Sirius didn't answer.

"I'm sorry," Regulus said desperately. Sirius sat up quickly, pulling the covers off his head and letting Regulus see his tear-stained face.

"You're sorry?" Sirius asked. Biting his lip, Regulus nodded.

"I'm really sorry," he said.

"You shouldn't have to be sorry, Reg! You shouldn't have let that happen in the first place! How could you stand there and do nothing?"

"I... I'm sorry."

"Is that the only thing you can say?"

"I didn't mean to do nothing!" shouted Regulus. "You know me! I'm not as brave as you! I can't stand up to them all! They'd just torture me along with you!"

"And would you expect me to stand there and do nothing to help you if they tortured you?" Sirius asked.

"No... of course not," Regulus answered, looking down. "I wanted to say something, but I couldn't. Nothing was coming out when I tried to talk."

"Oh, right! That makes everything better!" said Sirius, glaring at his brother. "I still can't believe you did it!"

"What else do you want me to say, Sirius?" asked Regulus. "I made a mistake! I should've helped you... I know I should've, but I didn't. I can't change the past."

"The point is," said Sirius. "You're my brother. You're my boyfriend. You 'supposedly' love me. I don't believe that now that you just allowed him to torture me. You saw me – I was in so much pain. I couldn't think about anything except how much you were betraying me. I begged you! Throughout being TORTURED, I managed to ask you to do something. I used all my strength to speak to you then, and I managed to do it because I love you. You did nothing... you just stood there. How do you expect me to forgive you for that?"

"You're a nice person," Regulus said. "I just thought-"

"-You just thought I'd forgive you because I'm a 'nice person'? You make me laugh!"

"Sirius! I was going through a lot of stress at that moment, OK? I'm getting married! In two months! I'm not even old enough to get married, and I'm marrying a girl I barely even know! I don't love her at all, and I have no choice but to marry her! I wasn't thinking clearly after I had that bombshell dropped on me!"

"Refuse," said Sirius angrily.

"I'm sorry?"

"Just refuse to marry her!"

"I... I c-can't do that! You know what Dad would do to me!"

"So what if he did that to you? It doesn't matter. I don't care. Why should I care? I'll just stand there and watch, if you want. Even if you beg me to make him stop. How do you feel about that, huh?"

"Sirius, it's different-"

"-How is it different?"

"Because it is! You're used to being treated like that at home!" shouted Regulus.

"Oh, so that makes it OK then? Is that supposed to lessen the pain? So, while I was being tortured, you thought it didn't matter because I'm used to being treated badly? Nice, Reg..."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Regulus said, with tears rolling down his face. "I really didn't!"

"Do you love me?" Sirius asked. "Truthfully, Reg. Do you love me?"

Regulus looked torn.

"Answer me," said Sirius, almost in tears himself.

"Yes," said Regulus finally. "I love you. But not enough to stand up for you. I'm sorry. It's just the way I am."

"Then you obviously don't know the meaning of love, do you? If you love someone, you'd do anything for them. You don't love me. Not at all."

"I..." Regulus sighed. "Maybe I don't love you. Look, maybe we should just... stop."

"Stop?" asked Sirius.

"Break up," said Regulus. The words seemed to echo in Sirius' head over and over again. He couldn't think at all.

"Huh?" he asked stupidly – his brain hadn't fully processed what Regulus had said.

"Maybe we should break up," said Regulus bluntly. "I screwed up, I don't love you, and it's wrong anyway. I mean, it's incest. It shouldn't have happened in the first place. I'm getting married – it would have had to happen in the next two months anyway."

"You're – breaking – up – with – me?"

"Yes."

"You don't want to be with me?" Sirius asked, his heart sinking lower and lower by the second and his eyes glistening with tears.

"No, I don't. I think it was stupid. Yeah, it was fun – that was all it was."

"You – you didn't feel anything?" asked Sirius.

"Of course I did! It might have just been because you were my first."

"So... it was just a bit of fun?"

"Yeah," Regulus said. "I'm sorry."

"You're a fucking bastard, you know that?" screamed Sirius, shoving Regulus off the bed, making a thump on the floor.

"Sirius!" he gasped.

"NO! Don't you speak to me! You ruined my life! I can't believe you – you did that to me! You made me fall in love with you! You made my friends hate me! You made me cheat on my boyfriend, and you made me break my best friend's heart! You've put me and my friends through so much pain! But you're not feeling any pain, are you? You just think it's all a bit of fun?"

"I-"

"-I TOLD YOU NOT TO SPEAK TO ME! I CAN'T EVEN STAND LOOKING AT YOU AT THE MOMENT!" yelled Sirius, pacing back and forward. "I'll give you pain!"

Thinking angrily about everything Regulus had done, Sirius put all his strength into the kick he aimed at his brother, making him scream out in pain. He grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him up, pushing him back against the wardrobe hard.

"HOW COULD YOU?" he said, looking into Regulus' eyes. Then, before Regulus could answer, Sirius lifted his fist into the air and punched him hard in the face. Feeling excited about the pain he was inflicting on his brother, he punched him again... and again. Regulus was now sporting a bloody nose and a bruised face, and he was crying. He reached out and pushed Sirius forward, knocking him on the floor. He reached for his wand and pointed it at Sirius. Trembling, he opened his mouth.

"C-c-crucio!" he said. Sirius' eyes widened, but nothing happened. Regulus dropped his wand and ran from the room, leaving Sirius lying on the floor, in more pain than he'd been in before.

Regulus was actually going to use the cruciatus curse on him. How could he have ever believed that Regulus loved him. It all sounded so stupid now. He stood up and grabbed his school trunk, which hadn't been emptied since he'd arrived. School wasn't supposed to start for another week, but Sirius couldn't stand staying in that house for any longer. He grabbed his wand from the bedside table and wrenched his door open with force, stamping out of his room and pulling his trunk down the stairs noisily. When he reached the bottom, he spotted Regulus in the kitchen, staring at him with a weird expression.

"W-w-where are you g-going?" he asked timidly, staring at Sirius. Without answering, Sirius carried on walking towards the front door. As he opened it, he stopped. His mother had walked around the corner.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" she screeched, but Sirius ignored her and pulled his trunk out the front door. "YOU COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" He slammed the door shut, and began walking down the street. He walked and walked. He didn't care where he ended up – only that he was away from them. He was gone. He wouldn't have to see them ever again.

Sirius was under-age, so he couldn't use magic outside of school. He had no idea what to do. As he neared the end of the street, he looked around. He was in the middle of Muggle London, with no way of reaching anyone magical. He hoped he was somewhere near the Ministry of Magic, where he'd be able to reach someone, but he had no idea where the entrance of it was.

He was a mess. His hair was ruffled, and his face was covered in sweat and tears. He was still crying. Running his fingers through his hair, he wished he had a mirror – some way to see what he was doing...

That was when it struck him – he had a mirror. In his trunk. Not a real mirror, of course, but a way to contact James. His heart sunk when he thought of James. Would James really help him? He honestly hoped so – after all, the mirror was his only hope. Opening his trunk and ignoring the questioning glances by the passing Muggles, Sirius pulled out the mirror, and closed his trunk again, sitting on it. He lifted the mirror up so that he could see into it, and he was relieved to see James through the mirror. It was obviously propped up on a desk in James' room, and James was polishing his broom.

"James!" Sirius shouted through the mirror, and a few Muggles looked at him as if he was a bit mad. He made a face at them. "What? Never talked to yourself in the mirror?" he shouted at them, and they hurried along quickly. He looked back into James' room, and James appeared to not have heard him.

"James, please," he said. "I really need your help."

James looked up at the mirror and sighed. "I don't feel up to talking to you right now," he said.

"I know, I know. I was stupid. I'm sorry, I really am. I never meant any of the things I said to you. You're not mean or arrogant or a bully, and I think you have a great chance with Lily. I heard her speaking about you to Alice, and she's starting to soften up a bit. Honestly, I was angry, and none of the things I said were true. I just really need you to help me right now. I've got nowhere to stay. My family... well... let's just say, I can't stand to be anywhere near any of them. I don't know what to do."

"Wait? You've run away?" James asked, suddenly looking worried. "Where are you?"

"I don't know," Sirius whined. "Somewhere in London. I think... er..."

"Hold on a second," said James. Turn the mirror so that I can see where you are."

"OK," said Sirius, moving the mirror to give James a view of his location. He held it there for about a minute before turning it around again, and looking into the mirror. James was smiling at him.

"My dad knows the place. He'll be there in a minute, hold on," he said, and Sirius grinned.

"Oh, thank you so much, James," he said. "Honestly... I don't know what I'd do without you-"

"-Hey, don't worry about it," said James. "What are friends for?"

Crack

James' dad appeared right in front of where Sirius was sitting, looking sick with worry.

"Sirius!" he said, pulling Sirius in for a fatherly hug. "Quick, let's get you home."

"Home?"

"You know our place will always be a home to you," said Mr Potter kindly, and Sirius grinned.

"Sure you can handle me?" he asked.

"C'mon! We brought up James," said Mr Potter. "I'm sure we can handle you."

"But what about both of us," Sirius said, smirking.

"Don't make me change my mind," Mr Potter said jokingly, grabbing Sirius' trunk. "Let's go."

Being the first time Sirius had apparated, he felt like throwing up. It felt horrible – like being pushed through a tube that's too small. However, his sickness was pushed aside when he thought of what was going to happen-

He was away from his family forever. He was going to live with James. James had forgiven him. Remus had forgiven him. He would no longer dread going home. He'd never have to be tortured again. His life seemed perfect.

That was, until he thought of why he was there. Regulus. Sirius could feel an empty hole in his heart. Regulus had broken up with him, and tried to use the cruciatus curse on him. He hadn't ever felt this angry and distraught before. Everything he'd had with Regulus had been a complete lie, and he had actually believed that lie. He'd fallen for Regulus, when Regulus had just thought it a little bit of fun.

With a pang of guilt, Sirius realised it was almost exactly the same sort of thing he'd done to Remus. He'd lied, and Remus had fallen for him. He suddenly felt more guilty and sympathetic than he'd ever felt before for Remus, and he couldn't wait to see him to tell him how sorry he really was.

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