A/N: It's the weekend, so have another chapter! It's a bit dark in places, but at least it's short (which is probably why!) 'Enjoy'..

Chapter 14 - Casa Lupin (but not for long…)

** Warning for child abuse **

Sirius Black was sitting on the edge of his bed, holding the piece of parchment he'd received from Remus. He tried not to cry as he read it but the whole thing was just so sodding unfair…

Dear Sirius,

I really hope this gets to you. I put 'Regulus' on the front as I thought your parents wouldn't check his mail as much as they might yours, and I did want you to get it.

Mum and dad say they'd love for you to come on July 31st for a week. Do you think you can? Please say yes, It won't be the same without you!

Let me know (if you can…)

Love, Remus

Sirius smiled as he got to the end of the letter, in spite of how he was feeling. Remus was the only twelve year old boy he knew who wrote 'love' at the end of his letters.

Of course Sirius wanted to go to Remus' on 31st. One week wasn't nearly enough because it meant nearly a whole month with his stinking family after, but he'd still gladly accept the invite. But then he remembered that he wasn't his parents. Remus hadn't really been asking him, a twelve-year-old, he'd been asking them. The ones who always said no. To anything he ever wanted to do.

It had been good of Regulus to give him the letter, he supposed. He was surprised he'd dared disobey their mother, the evil witch troll that she was.

He scrunched the letter up and threw it in the bin.

He couldn't go to Remus' house. And he couldn't send any letter back to tell him. What a pointless, hopeless, stupid, trapped…

There was a knock at the door. He sat up in his bed and looked over at it. "Yes?"

Someone small shuffled in and closed the door behind them. It was only Regulus. He sighed and sunk back down on his bed.

"What?" He Asked.

"I just wanted to ask what the letter said?" Regulus said

Sirius pointed at the bin. "It's in there. Fish it out if you're curious."

Regulus did so, straightening it out and reading quickly.

"Oh Sirius." His face fell as he looked at his brother. "I'm sorry."

"'Course you're sorry." He snorted. "You're not sorry. If you were sorry you'd be trying to help me find my way there."

"Why would I do that?!"

"Well you wouldn't, obviously. That's my point."

Regulus glared at him. He glared back. "Go on, run back to mummy. Don't tell her you were talking to me or she might get cross with you. Heaven forbid."

"You're being a real prat."

"You're being a bad brother. Why won't you help me break out of here?"

Regulus glared at him and then sighed. "Alright, I'll help you. On one condition."

"Name it."

"You tell mother it was you who smashed the porcelain vase and not me."

Sirius stared at him. "Why do you care?"

"Because she thinks it was me!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Fine. Done." He knew his mother would be a lot less forgiving for his carelessness than her precious golden boy's, but if that's what it took…

And so they agreed. His brother snuck into his bedroom with their parents' screech owl Hades, to whose leg he fastened a reply to Remus, and Regulus promised to distract their parents in the morning room with a sung rendition of 'A Hippogriff went for a Stroll one Night', while Sirius snuck out the front door.

It was all arranged, and it was all executed. Sirius snorted as he heard his younger brother's high pitched voice from the room upstairs, then threw his satchel over his shoulder and walked out of the house.

He'd had the foresight to extract (meaning steal) some muggle money from his dad's study earlier in the week. He hadn't been back in there (to his extreme relief) at all this summer. Though his mother had been furious with him and she got worse the more he defied her, his dad seemed to be losing the will a bit. Sirius wondered how much of his behaviour towards his son was of his own choice and how much was dictated to him by his indomitable wife? Sirius supposed he was glad to see the old man finally showing some grit. For his own sake as much as his…

He still had an urge to take out his father's wooden cane and smash it into pieces (however he might achieve that), but he glared past it, finding, as he'd hoped, a little pouch full of odd pieces of silver and copper that his parents used when they were forced into muggle London. Sirius found it oddly amusing that his father kept the two things in the same drawer.

Sneaking back out of the study, he'd behaved impeccably for the next few days, giving his parents absolutely no opportunity to lock him in his room or anywhere else unpleasant, and now his bag was packed and he was ready to leave.

He felt a surge of gratitude to his brother as he took to the grimy streets of muggle London. He hadn't needed to do that. It was oddly decent of him. Sirius knew he'd deny absolutely all knowledge of his brother's escape and so have no chance of being at risk of any punishment, but he'd not behaved like quite as much of an arse as usual.

Sirius felt like an arse, walking through London in his white shirt and black trousers, with everyone else wearing brilliant colours. Why were his parents so strict and boring about everything.

He boarded a London bus, then hopped onto the Northbound train to Newcastle which would take him to where he knew he could get to Remus' house from. It had worked out excellently. They hadn't even checked tickets yet, and when they did, he could just duck into the loo.

Though he'd promised Remus he'd find a way to make it to his house (he usually just asked muggles the closer he got to the address), he disembarked the train to find Remus, Hope and Lyall Lupin, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew all waiting at the station for him.

They rushed over to greet him as he walked over to them. "You made it!" James cried, clapping him on the back.

"How did you manage it?" Peter asked.

"We're so glad you're here." Hope and Lyall said.

"Not as glad as I am." Sirius said, grinning at Remus and slinging an arm around his shoulder. "Good few weeks?"

The Lupins' home was just over an hour's drive from Sheffield. As they drove, the countryside got greener and more hilly, and Sirius found himself transfixed by the beauty of it, having never seen the likes in concrete London.

Hope Lupin ushered them inside the house and made them all lemonade, inviting them to 'make themselves at home'. Remus brought them up the single flight of stairs to his bedroom. There were only two bedrooms upstairs. Remus' parents and Remus'. It really was a very small house.

The kitchen was small too, but Hope Lupin's cooking more than made up for any limitations there. She served them all home-made scones with jam and cream, strawberry tart and apple turnover. Sirius devoured every morsel.

She and Lyall wandered off and Peter and James went outside to spy on the muggle neighbours. And Sirius suddenly seized his chance. The thing he'd wanted to ask Remus since five minutes into his arrival. He'd had time to watch Remus' mother. He had seen her driving, in the kitchen, in the garden, and talking with them. He noticed she was a woman of remarkable skill, spirit, good conversation and energy, and, importantly, health.

"Lupin," he hissed, cornering his friend in the kitchen. "Why are you telling everyone your mum's sick when she's not?"

Remus glanced around anxiously. "I'm not… I mean she was… She's… She's better now."

"She's better." Sirius repeated, looking out of the window to where Hope was walking over to James and Peter, presumably to ask what they were up to.

"Sirius, please leave it." Remus pleaded. "She was sick, now she's not. Er… She might be again. Who knows? But…"

Sirius looked at him. "Just tell me the truth."

There was a sudden flare of panic behind Remus' brown eyes. Sirius was convinced he saw it, well versed as he was at keeping his own secrets. "Remus?"

But before he could ask anything else, James and Peter came running back inside, laughing and clutching their sides.

"That bloke to the right was in a paddling pool!" Peter shrieked with mirth.

"Peter says only muggle kids use them." James said, laughing so hard he was doubled over. "His stomach was so fat it was hanging over the edge."

Peter clapped a hand on his thigh and laughed twice as hard.

"Boys, it's not kind to laugh." Hope said, coming in and pretending to smack them. "Poor Mr Lewis is still recovering from his hip operation. We must be kind."

For some reason, this made James and Peter laugh even harder.

But they were cut off by a sudden loud knock at the door. Hope frowned at her husband and went over to open it. There, standing silhouetted in the doorway, like something from a horror film, was Sirius' mother. And, clasped in her iron grip, was Regulus.

Sirius could do nothing but gape at her. His mother, here, now, here?!

"Come, Sirius, we're leaving." She said from the doorway. She did not seem to want to take a step inside.

"Surely that's a bit soon…" Hope said, trying to smile at the woman. "Won't you come in, have a cup of tea. I'd love to have a chance to meet you properly. I never go to the platform, I'm a muggle you see…"

But she was cut off by a howl of fury from Sirius' mother. She pushed past Hope, grabbed Sirius by the arm, spun on the spot, and Sirius felt that odd sensation like he was being squeezed through a very narrow tube.

All too soon, they arrived in the cold stone basement of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. The very last place on earth he wanted to be. He flinched involuntarily as his mother pulled him to his feet and slapped him. "How dare you." She hissed, shaking him roughly. "And dragging your poor brother into it too. Just you wait..." Giving him one last vicious glare, she turned on the spot and disapparated again.

Shaking slightly, Sirius looked around. What was he supposed to do?! Make a run for it? Surely anything must be better than this…

But he'd waited too long. With a loud crack, his mother appeared back in the basement, this time with his brother clasped firmly in her grip.

Silent tears were running down Regulus' cheeks. He looked utterly wretched.

"It wasn't his fault." Sirius said without thinking. "I made him do it."

"As I suspected." His mother said, throwing Regulus from her. He fell against the wall and sunk to the floor where he put his head in his knees. "I'm still going to punish him though. Or rather your father will. We must do something to stop him ending up entirely like you."

There was no way Sirius was going to let that happen. "Father won't." He said, an idea forming of its own accord in his mind. "He won't have the chance." And, before she could stop him, he turned and ran out of the basement, up the stairs and along the hallway. He darted up the first flight of stairs, along the first floor corridor, then up to the next flight.

"Sirius Black!" His father's enraged voice came from the floor below. "Stop that this instant."

"Stop what? Stop running?"

He ran back down the stairs to the corridor where his father was standing, hands on his hips and frowning at him.

"Yes. Stop running."

"You can't stop me running at Hogwarts." Sirius said, glaring back at the man. "You can't stop me doing anything at Hogwarts."

"So we have realised."

He looked over his shoulder to where Regulus and his mother were coming now. His time was running out.

"You don't know the half of it." He said with a slightly shaky laugh. "Guess whose house I was in today? A muggle's. Guess who I've danced with at school? A muggleborn. And no I won't say mudblood. Because quite frankly, they're not the ones with dirty blood around here. When was the last time anyone in this family actually checked how noble their own blood -"

But he got no further for his father had grabbed him firmly and was twisting his arm up his back painfully. His mother had reached him too, and drawing back her hand, slapped him so hard his vision blurred.

His eyes met Reg's. He was hiding behind the stairs, looking frightened. Sirius knew he wouldn't say anything. He'd chosen this for him. If only the stupid idiot would run and hide…

Of course his mother had banned Regulus from speaking to him for the remainder of the summer, but fortunately, he hadn't paid any worse price for Sirius' disobedience.

Sirius for his part, felt like his whole body had been hit with a battering ram. How could anyone go through this much pain and still exist? He groaned and rolled onto his back. It didn't help.

He wondered what the others were up to, at Casa Lupin, where though the house was small it had been peaceful, comforting and homely. Everything the 'Noble and Most Ancient House of Black' wasn't.

There was the sound of footsteps from the corridor and then the sound of rustling on the carpet. Sirius sat up to see a note of parchment slide under the door.

Getting up, every muscle in his body protesting, he walked over to it and picked it up.

It wasn't a long note, but he imagined it had taken Regulus a long time to work up the courage to send.

He felt his face crack into a smile as he read it.

Gobstones when mother and father are out tomorrow? I'm sorry I'm not more brave…

He got out his favourite quill and scribbled a reply underneath.

You're learning… Gobstones sounds great. SB.

His parents could take a lot away from him. But never everything.