Sirius sat and flicked pieces of paper at the small waste paper bin. He was bored and he was annoyed and he could hear his parents talking very loudly in the study about his apparent 'poor choice in friends'. He smirked slightly, he knew that if he let them know that one of his best friends was a werewolf, they would really get angry, but he always stopped himself because it would endanger Remus' school career. He got up, standing on his bed and leaned forward, clinging to the bedposts tightly. There wasn't much to do other than sit around all day. He supposed he could do his homework but then, what would be the fun in that?

He glanced out at the window and sighed as it began to patter with rain. He wanted nothing more than to just take off. He wasn't much for sticking around.

He hadn't had much of a birthday. It was pretty mediocre with the usual presents that his parents decided he needed. He hadn't even touched his velvet green robes or the luxurious feather quills and diamond crested family ring. James had sent him some sweets and a new travelling cloak, Peter had sent him a long black leather coat and Remus had sent him some magazines about Motorbikes and a couple of spare parts for the one he had bought with the money that he got from his parents. Remus had also sent a rather small moleskin bag with an undetectable extension charm. Sirius had stored some things in there like his broomstick, the key to his vault at Gringotts, several bags of spare money and other little things that he thought were valuable.

There was a sharp knock at the front door and Sirius ignored it, swinging back onto his bed with a satisfying thump. He heard voices downstairs and then some laughing and frowned. It was unusual for anyone to laugh in the Black Household. He got up again and peeked outside his door and looked down the narrow staircase to see his cousin Bellatrix and her husband Rodolphus standing in the hallway.

"That was you?" Regulus was asking.

"Of course it was us!" She cried. "You should have been there too!"

"I wish I was." Regulus sighed. "Next time, once I get out of that ridiculous school."

The low voice of Rodolphus sounded. "No one is stopping you from joining now, Regulus,"

Sirius stared at the scene he was witnessing. He always knew that his brother and the rest of his family thought Voldemort was in the right. But he had no idea that they were so involved.

Mouth dry, he tore open Regulus' room. It was a lot cleaner than his and he had no idea what he was looking for. But Slytherin paraphernalia hung from every wall. Regulus kept a box of secret hidden things away from prying eyes, or at least he thought they were secret because Sirius had known about the box for a long time. He dove under the bed and it, pulling it up and emptying the contents onto the bed. Glue, scissors and old Daily Prophets. His heart leapt to his throat as he saw a leather bound book that he had given him a couple of Christmases ago. He opened it and his jaw fell to the floor.

Furiously, he slammed the book shut and stormed downstairs where now his parents had joined his cousin and brother.

He threw the book at Regulus. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?" He bellowed.

"Sirius Orion Black, wash your mouth!" His mother shrieked.

"NOT UNTIL HE FUCKING EXPLAINS HIMSELF!" Sirius shouted. Regulus opened the book and gave a wry smile.

No one said a word. Everyone was staring at Sirius and he could hear his heart in his ears. "Fine," He whispered. "FINE!" His voice raised to a roar.

He took the book from Regulus, that was filled with cuttings from the Daily Prophet about attacks that Death Eaters had done and with one swift movement, he threw it into the fire. Bellatrix jumped up, grabbed Sirius by his hair and pushed him up against the war. In the kerfuffle, Sirius yanked down the sleeve to her left arm and saw the symbol that he was dreading, the snake with dark eyes wringing its way from a skulls jaw. In that split second, Bellatrix smiled, showing her crooked teeth.

"Like it boy?" She hissed.

Sirius spat into her face, and pushed her down towards Rodolphus before running off.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" His father shouted.

Sirius was not listening, he stormed back upstairs, locking his door as his family followed him, trying to open it. He pulled forward his Hogwarts trunk and looked around the room. Half the things he owned he would be unable to take. He gathered his mess of clothes and threw them into the base before adding his books, his robes and other things that he couldn't leave behind. He threw on his leather jacket and opened the door, wands pointing in their faces.

"You can't use magic outside of Hogwarts," Bellatrix said.

"I don't care. I'll fucking kill every single one of you," Sirius breathed. "You're not my family."

He pushed his way through them, dragging his trunk behind him and running down the stairs. He opened the door and went out into the rain towards his motorbike. With shaking cold hands he strapped the trunk to the back of the bike and pulled on his helmet. His parents were marching towards him and he pulled out his wand again.

"I'm leaving," He said. "I've had enough. Don't you dare try and follow me." He kick started his motorbike and sped off.

He had an idea of where he could go. But he wasn't sure. He turned left on the main road and sped up. Thoughts were whirring through his head at a million miles per second. Had he really just done that? He couldn't go back. Even if he wanted to. His heart pounding heavily in his chest and a ringing in his ears. He could feel tiny tears rip down his face, but he shook them off.

The nearest place was Remus' about 95 miles away. Sirius sighed, already feeling the cold bite at his hands. He revved up the engine and then began to speed.

…

Remus clicked open the door and his eyes grew wide. "Sirius?"

Sirius was pulling off his helmet and smiled wearily at his friend as another thunderclap sounded and rain spurted. "Got a spare bed for the night?" He asked.

Remus nodded and grabbed Sirius' trunk, hauling it into the porch. He pushed Sirius gently into the kitchen and sat him down beside the large stone table that covered his trap-door. Mrs Lupin entered, folding a dressing gown over herself.

"Remus? Honey you okay?" She stopped at the sight of Sirius.

Sirius looked at her sheepishly. "I ran away from home."

"He'll be sleeping in my room," Remus said, boiling some water. "He'll be gone in the morning."

"All right," Mrs Lupin said as Remus handed her a cup of tea. He gave her a light kiss on the cheek and she smiled before going off to bed.

"Why are you up so late?" Sirius asked as Remus set down a small cup of tea down in front of him.

"No particular reason," Remus replied, sitting down opposite him. "What happened?"

"I had enough," Sirius replied.

"Did they hit you? What happened?" Remus asked.

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "Honestly, I think I was looking for an excuse to leave. Regulus' talk of becoming a Death Eater and being urged to by Bellatrix and her no-good husband helped in some respects."

"What happened?" Remus tried again.

Sirius sighed. He wasn't exactly sure. He sipped the tea and grimaced silently before speaking once again. "Regulus has a book of cut outs about Voldemort. I think he wants to join the Death Eaters."

"But you don't know…?"

"If Bella has anything to do with it…" Sirius sighed and took another sip. "And she's joined."

Remus sighed. "She has?"

"I saw that tattoo that they all get," Sirius said. "The Dark Mark. Clear as day on her arm." He looked down into his cup and drained the last of the tea.

"I'm so sorry," Remus said. "What are you going to do?"

"Stay here the night, then leave tomorrow and head further North to James' and hopefully Dorea will let me stay until I have a place of my own."

"On that subject, do you have any money?" Remus raised an eyebrow.

"You are one smart bastard." Sirius said, pulling the moleskin bag that he kept hooked on his belt at all times and hung it on his finger. "Thanks for that, don't know what I would have done without it."

"So you do have a little bit?" Remus asked.

"Enough." Sirius shrugged. "Thankfully we're close to going back to Hogwarts so I won't need to spend so much time with Dorea and Charlus. But I don't know what I'm going to do after we finish 6th year."

Remus pursed his lips. "There's no chance of you going back?" He asked.

"None," Sirius replied.

"I'll send an owl to James," Remus got up and moved across the kitchen, opening some drawers and finding a pen and some parchment. He quickly scribbled a note and poked one of the owls that was nestling outside the kitchen window awake. He attached it to the bird's leg and sent it off before sitting down again. "Sorry I can't do any more for you."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, you've done plenty."

"Come on," Remus said, getting to his feet. "You must be tired."

Sirius put the cup beside the sink and followed Remus to his room at the far end of the small bungalow. Remus' room never really changed except for a few things that hung from the walls. Sirius recognised the old rug with patches darned into it was still the main part of the bedroom. There were now two beds each one up against a wall, one unmade and messy. Remus pointed towards the bed that was made.

"Here," He said.

"Why have you got two beds?" Sirius asked, sitting down and yanking off his boots and socks.

"For situations like this," Remus replied. "Always thinking ahead…"

"Often get situations like this?"

"I have to say that you're the first." Remus replied.

"I feel so privileged."

"You should."

Sirius smiled wryly and stripped down to his boxers, climbing into the bed and pulling the sheets around him. Remus pulled on an oversized jumper and an old pair of sweat trousers before closing the window and shutting the curtains. He clicked on the bedside lamp and looked over at Sirius. "Do you need anything?" He asked.

"No." Sirius replied. "Just some sleep."

Remus switched off the light and rolled over, within seconds he was asleep. Sirius looked up at the ceiling and sighed. Part of him wanted to rejoice, he was free, after years of saying that he would finally leave; he had left. He was finally able to live his own life. Another part of him couldn't process what had just happened and told him that it was a nightmare and that he'd wake up tomorrow and still be at the old house with nothing but their spiteful words to bully and bring him down.

He let out a restrained breathe and rolled over, his entire body aching. His eyes flickered and he felt himself fall asleep.

…

Sirius jolted awake.

He rolled over and peered out with tired eyes at his surroundings. Nope, this wasn't his room. Remus' bed was empty, the curtains were wide apart and the window open letting a fresh breeze in. Sirius stretched and found that there was a new set of clothes at the end of his bed, his clothes, that he distinctly remembered not folding before throwing them into his trunk, but there they were, folded and smelling fresh. He looked down to the floor and saw that the clothes he was wearing yesterday were gone.

He pulled on his t-shirt and jeans, tying up his hair before making the bed and leaving the bedroom and heading towards the kitchen.

Remus was sitting with his mother at the table, both with cups of tea in their hands. He was wearing a massive grey jumper that was picking itself apart and a pair of dark trousers and smiledas Sirius entered.

"Morning!" He said brightly.

"Morning," Sirius replied, sleepily. "What time is it?"

"It is 10:14," Remus replied as Mrs Lupin gave a small smile before getting to her feet.

"How did you sleep Sirius?" She asked.

"Like a baby," Sirius replied, stretching slightly.

Mrs Lupin smiled gently and gave Remus a small peck on the cheek. "I'm going to go do my puzzles," She said.

"Alright mum," Remus said.

She gave a soft smile before leaving the kitchen. Remus sighed and got up. "I took the liberty of washing your clothes," He said pointing to the folded pile of black clothing sitting on the table.

"Thanks," Sirius said sitting down. "You didn't need to."

"I was up," Remus shrugged. He leaned down and opened the small grill door and pulled out a fully cooked English breakfast. "Here," He said. "Careful, the plate is hot," He set it down in front of Sirius and handed him a fork and knife before boiling a fresh pot of tea.

"How many miles do you think it is till I get to James'?" Sirius asked.

"About another sixty or so," Remus replied setting a cup down in front of his friend. "You should be there in about 2 hours or so. Maybe less if you speed."

Sirius sighed and began to tuck into his breakfast. He chewed on the sausage before speaking again. "Thanks Moony,"

"That's what friends are for," Remus smiled.

"So, aside from me turning up at your door in the middle of the night… How has your holiday gone?"

Remus pursed his lips and fell back onto his chair, thinking for a second. "It's been a little boring to be perfectly honest."

"Really, nothing exciting?" Sirius asked his mouth full of bacon.

Remus shook his head. "You were unexpected," He said.

"It's nice to know that after five years of knowing me, I still have the ability to surprise and shock you." Sirius said.

Remus chuckled slightly.

Sirius finished up his breakfast and leaned back scratching behind his ear. "Anyway, thanks for the bed." He got up and pulled on his leather jacket.

"Are you leaving already?" Remus asked. "Do I smell that bad?"

"No you forgot to shave since the last full moon," Sirius said. "It's kind of unnerving."

Remus ran his hand under his jaw and felt the light stubble. He shrugged and laughed finishing up the tea and picking up the plates.

"Besides, I don't want to keep on intruding," Sirius said. "Dorea and Charlus are okay with me dropping by, but I'm not too sure about your parents."

Remus nodded and gathered up the clothes moving towards the porch and opening Sirius' trunk. He placed them in closing it gently as Sirius pulled on his boots. He grabbed his helmet from the table and tucked it under his arms as Remus dragged the trunk out and helped him strap it to the back of his bike.

Sirius placed his helmet on the seat of the motorbike and looked at Remus.

"Really, thanks for the bed," He smiled.

Remus shrugged. "Get lost you sappy bastard."

Sirius frowned. "No hug?"

"Nope," Remus said, folding his arms.

"I'm going to hug you anyway," Sirius replied, stretching out his arms and embracing Remus tightly. Remus kept his arms planted to his side as Sirius pretty much lifted him two feet of the ground and span him a few times.

"SIRIUS BLACK PUT ME DOWN!" He cried.

Sirius did so and smiled stupidly.

"Oh clear off," Remus said. "Go on,"

Sirius got onto his motor bike and started up the engine, backing it up the drive and turning it. Remus folded his arms and followed standing beside him.

"Drive safe," Remus warned. "And for Merlin's sake, write and let me know you got there,"

Sirius gave a two fingered salute and pulled on his helmet before kicking the motorbike into action and speeding off. Remus dropped his shoulder and returned to the house, closing the door behind him.

…

"You're an idiot!" Dorea cried, flinging the door open and pulling Sirius inside.

"MUM!" James said, trying to push her out of the way, but she was quicker. She yanked Sirius' jacket off and made him sit down on the large couch next to Charlus who was reading the Evening Prophet.

"Honestly Sirius Orion Black, could you be more of an idiot?" Dorea said as she began to make some food. "How could you leave your own mother?"

"I found it quite easy actually," Sirius replied.

Dorea turned, spatula in hand.

"It was a joke!" Sirius cried. "You would have left too if you were trapped in that house."

"What are you going to do? Mm? Thought about getting a place? Did you even consider the implications?" Dorea asked.

"To be honest, I was more concerned about getting away from my Death Eater supporting family," Sirius replied.

Dorea turned as James sat down on the edge of the armchair and rubbed his knees.

"What happened mate?" He asked.

Sirius sighed and leaned forward as Charlus took off his glasses and put down his newspaper. He began to recount what had happened up until the point where he had left Remus'. He stopped and glanced over at Dorea who was pulling her mum face.

"We've had owls from your parents already," Charlus said. "I assume they knew where you would go."

"Sorry about this, I don't mean to be a bother," Sirius said.

"Oh shut up," Dorea said, pushing a plate of his favourite comfort foods onto his lap.

"We'll try and keep them away from you," Charlus promised, his lips thinning.

"Thank you," Sirius said.

"Come on," James said. "We put a room together for you,"

Sirius finished up the last of the food and handed the plate back to Dorea, thanking her and following James up the stairs and dragging his trunk along with him.

"How was Remus?" James asked.

"He was okay about it all," Sirius shrugged. "It was a long journey to take in one day so I decided to do it in two stages,"

"Don't worry about that," James said. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine," Sirius replied.

James sighed and opened the door that was opposite his room. "Here, best we could do,"

Sirius peered inside and smiled gently. "Thanks Prongs," He said.

James smiled and patted Sirius on the back. "Get some sleep mate," He said.

Sirius nodded and dragged his trunk into the room. He switched on the lamp and sat down on the bed, looking around. He gave a sigh and kicked off his boots, falling against the pillows. His mind was spinning, heart was racing and throat dry.

A dull ache spread through his chest and he let out a silent painful sob before rolling over. He had no idea why he was so conflicted. All he knew was that he had to stay strong and breathe.