House: Ravenclaw

Class: Charms

Word Count: 1321

Prompts: [Time] Midnight

[Location] Bus

Major Warnings: Mentions of Emotional Abuse by Family

Midnight Runaway

I had had enough. I sprinted up to my room as fast as my legs could carry me. I burst in so fast that I almost tripped on the motorcycle I was trying to repair. I yanked my school trunk out from under my bed and wildly began to stuff it with clothes, schoolbooks, and everything else I needed. I could hear my mother's incoherent yelling from a few floors below, but I didn't care about what she wanted to berate me for. Not anymore. I looked over at a small clock in the corner of my room. Midnight. Perfect. I forced my trunk shut and dragged it down the flights of stairs Grimmauld Place had.

"Where do you think you are going?" my little brother Regulus asked when he saw me with my trunk. He sounded less upset and more like I was burdening him with my ruckus.

"Somewhere else," I said flatly. I was too tired to come up with a quip and just wanted to leave. I heard my brother murmur something but couldn't make it out. I just continued down the stairs.

I reached for the front door when I heard my mother's obnoxious feet stomping towards me. "SIRIUS ORION BLACK IF YOU TAKE ONE STEP OUT THAT DOOR, YOU WILL NO LONGER BE A PART OF THIS FAMILY!" my mother screeched.

I felt tears begin to roll down my face. I couldn't even turn around to face her or my father. I just turned to the doorknob. "I never was," I replied.

"You have nowhere else to go. Who would take a Muggle-loving blood-traitor like you?" I heard my father mock coldly.

"I don't care. Anywhere is better than here." I responded as I stormed out the door.

The midnight air outside felt cold. The downpour of rain didn't make me feel any better about my choices either. I knew I needed to find something fast, so I started thinking about an emergency transport Remus told me about last year. I took out my wand and pointed it in front of me. The next thing I saw was a blur of purple and a pair of bright lights rushing up to me. I jumped back startled, but breathed when I saw it was the Knight Bus, a magic triple decker bus that could transport witches and wizards anywhere (except underwater, which Remus had to answer because Peter asked).

The conductor helped me get my trunk on board. I paid him fourteen Sickles and got a hot chocolate, then I chose to sit on one of the beds on the first level, right by a window. The conductor asked me where I was heading.

I will be the first to admit, I didn't think that far ahead. I stared at the floor. I didn't realize how drenched my hair had gotten until I saw water begin to drip onto the Knight Bus floor. "That is a good question." I commented while I thought of an answer. It was the middle of summer holiday, so I couldn't go to Hogwarts. I didn't have much money on me, so I couldn't afford to stay at The Leaky Cauldron all summer. I remembered James offered for me to come live with him if things got too bad, but did I really want to burden my best friend with me showing up at his house in the middle of the night? Then again, James would understand. Things had gotten bad. I took a sip of the hot chocolate before I answered. "Godric's Hollow, please." I said. The conductor tapped the glass and then the Knight Bus sped away at the speed of a lightning bolt.

It took me a moment to get used to the beds swaying and traveling at a speed faster than any motorcycle I had been on, but even this was still better than being in my room at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

The trip took a while, even at the speed the bus was traveling. I sat on the bed thinking about everything that had just happened. I still couldn't believe that my parents supported Lord Voldemort. Hadn't they seen everything that he and his twisted Death Eaters had done to people? And then my parents had the nerve to say I was wrong for thinking the Dark Lord was wrong? When my own mother said she would be prouder if her son was a Death Eater instead of a 'worthless Gryffindor', that was the last straw for me. Being a Gryffindor means being strong, loyal, and brave. A Death Eater is nothing more than a murderous psycho. If you need proof of that, just look at my deranged cousin Bellatrix. When I thought about that, I shuddered and shakily tried to take another sip of the hot chocolate.

I peeked out the window and saw part of London come and go. I thought about my father trying to mold me into the 'perfect' pure-blood son. He always mumbled about me being 'mad' or told me all of the ways I have 'been a disappointment' to him. At this point, I liked being a disappointment to my family, if I could even still call them that. Merlin forbid if a member of the House of Black had a different moral compass from the rest of their family.

I yawned as the cities dissipated into forests. I felt exhausted in every way a person could feel exhausted. I wondered if my mother had already made quick work of setting my portrait ablaze on the family tapestry. I smiled at that thought; I didn't like my picture on it anyways.

Suddenly the Knight Bus halted with a loud screech. I gripped one of the polls connected to the bed, so I didn't fly face-first into one of the windows. "Godric's Hollow," the conductor announced.

"Thank you," I said politely as I left the Knight Bus with my trunk behind me in tow. Godric's Hollow, despite the rain that seemed to follow me, was peacefully quiet. I actually enjoyed the nice midnight stroll through the small village. For a moment, I was able to forget that I didn't have a family anymore.

I found James's house and saw one of the second floor rooms was still lit by candlelight. I carefully approached the front door. I didn't want to wake James's parents, so I came up with a genius idea. I opened my trunk on the front lawn, grabbed my two-way mirror shard, and locked the trunk up again. "James Potter." I whispered to the mirror.

Within seconds, I saw my best friend's face in the mirror. "Sirius? Everything all right, mate?" He asked. He still had his glasses on, so I knew he hadn't gone to bed yet.

I took a deep breath. "Prongs," I started, "it got bad."

"Where are you?" James asked me.

"Outside." I answered. "I know it's a lot to ask, but I have nowhere else to go."

James laughed, which was not the reaction I expected. "Are you insane? I told you, you're always welcome here." Then, his face vanished from the mirror. After about a minute, James opened the door.

"James, I-" I didn't know what to say. I wanted to tell him that I ran away from my awful family, that I was grateful to have my best mate to run to, that he was more of a brother to me than Regulus, but I was too tired to form any words that would have begun to show how thankful I was to have him.

Apparently, I didn't need words. James just smiled and embraced me. "I'm proud of you, mate," he whispered. After a moment, he let me go and looked at me from my drenched, matted black hair to my leather boots. "Come on, let's get you inside and dry you off. You smell like a wet dog."