James woke up early, his mind slightly fuzzy as he noticed he was in the guest room rather than his own. The sound of Sirius mumbling in his sleep brought the harsh realization of what had happened the night before. Anger surged through him when he remembered how scared and confused his friend had been, standing in his living room bruised and bloodied by his own parents.
He grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and slid them on cautiously touching Sirius' shoulder.
"Padfoot?"
Sirius flinched but he didn't wake, exhaustion keeping him asleep. He should let him rest, James decided. He slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb the other boy, and quietly left the room.
He could smell his mother making breakfast down in the kitchen, usually done by their house elf, Trinket, unless Effie was under stress and needed a distraction. He padded across the tiled floor and took a seat on one of the tall stools. "Morning mum."
His mother flashed him a tired smile, glancing up from the bacon she was frying. "Good morning, dear. How's Sirius?"
James shrugged. "Still asleep."
"Probably for the better," Effie sighed, shaking her head, "You know, I went to school with Walburga and-" she stopped herself and James could sense her frustration. "Well, let's just say not much seems to have changed," she looked at her son over the rim of her tiny rectangular glasses. "I'll be honest, when you first told me and your father that you had become friends with a Black, I have to admit we were a little thrown."
James laughed lightly and nodded, staring at the corner in front of him. "Sirius made it pretty clear from the first second that he doesn't want to be lumped in with his family. He wanted everyone to know he was different."
"I know," she smiled fondly. "And he is, anyone could see that."
"I don't think he always can, to be honest," James admitted, thinking of Sirius' constant battles with himself and fits of anger as well as anxiety.
"He'll get there. With enough separation and friends like you, Remus, and Peter helping him," she switched from the bacon and started cracking eggs. After a few seconds of careful consideration, she looked back at her son. "So," she continued, keeping her tone light. "I suppose I should be expecting Remus to show up sometime soon?" She gave him a knowing look and he nearly choked on the piece of bacon he had snatched from the plate. She chuckled, "A mother always knows."
James managed to swallow, pounding his fist on his chest dramatically. "Er… well, Sirius says he doesn't want him to worry."
Effie let out a laugh and shook her head "Right. So he'll just hide it?"
James snorted. "I don't pretend to understand his logic," he hopped off the stool. "I'm going to check on him," his mother hummed and nodded, eyes still focused on cooking. James suddenly felt a great deal of appreciation for the woman. He was very lucky, he realized, to have a mother who loved him so much, loved everyone so much, and did all she could to keep him happy and safe. He came up behind her and hugged her tightly around the middle. "I love you, mum."
Effie turned her head just enough to kiss his cheek. "I love you too, James," she patted his head before he released her and left the kitchen.
When he returned to the guest room Sirius was still deeply asleep, though he didn't seem very peaceful. His face was scrunched up and he was still mumbling softly to himself. James bit his lip and shut the door. This wasn't going to be something Sirius bounced back from the way he normally did, and it would take more than just some distracting mischief to help him. He crossed the hall to his bedroom and grabbed one of those silly muggle quills they had gotten over the summer and some parchment.
Moony,
We've got a Sirius problem.
-Prongs
—-
It took less than an hour after receiving James' owl for Remus to come stumbling out of the fireplace in the Potter's living room. He brushed the soot off of his jumper, eyes filled with worry as he took in James' tired and equally anxious expression.
James engulfed him in a hug. "Where is he?" Remus asked.
James released him. "He's been asleep all morning," he sighed, slumping against the back of the couch. "Sort of glad for that, actually. I don't think I'd be able to sleep if it were me."
Remus nodded, wrapping his arms around himself and chewing his bottom lip. "Right now he's probably too tired and shocked from the whole thing. It's what happens from here that worries me."
"Me too," James agreed quietly. He ran a hand through his hair. "He didn't want me to tell you but I thought this may not be a one Marauder job, though. He'll probably be ticked…"
Remus rolled his eyes. "Typical," he swallowed hard, trying to get the mental image of Sirius' parents doing such horrible things out of his mind. "I'm glad you told me, thanks mate."
James nodded. "Of course, Moony…" he gestured to the spot next to him and Remus sat down, rubbing his temples to ease the tension he felt forming.
"So, what's the plan of action?" He asked after a moment.
James shrugged. "No idea… first we need to get him up and fed. But I was having no luck with that. I've tried to wake him but he won't get up. He's said your name twice though, that's when I figured I should screw what he said about leaving you out of it."
Remus let out a slow, long breath, his stomach churned, mind going over a million different things at once. "James… what about- what about when he has to go back?"
The bespectacled boy let out a sharp laugh. "There's not going back, Remus. That I can tell you for damn sure. He's not going back to that house ever again."
Remus relaxed a little, unsure of how James planned to take care of that but knowing him well enough to come up with a way. "Right. Good," he stood up. "Guest room?"
"Yeah," James nodded, jerking his head towards the hall. "Go on up. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did."
—-
The feeling of another person wrapping themselves around him brought Sirius out of his fitful sleep.
"Moony?" He asked, voice hoarse and painfully raw.
"Mhm."
Sirius felt his body relax against the one behind him, losing himself for a moment in the warmth of the arms that tighten slightly around his waist, pulling him closer. He could close his eyes and sleep a little longer like this.
"What are you doing here?"
"James owled me. I took the floo over just a little while ago."
Sirius sighed and carefully turned over to face the other boy, ignoring the way Remus' eyes widened at the sight of what must be an impressive bruise on his left cheek from the feel of it. "I told him not to bother you with this," he muttered.
"Bother me?" Remus' eyebrows nearly shot up to his hairline. "Sirius, you ran away after your parents… hurt… you," he struggled with the right words, clearly upset and angry about the situation as well. "And you think it's a bother to me?" One of his hands came up to tuck Sirius' hair behind his ear and his breath hitched when Sirius flinched away from his touch.
"I'm a bother to everyone, Remus," Sirius said quietly, pulling away. "You've got enough stress in your life without adding my shit to it. I've gone and ruined James' holiday and yours-"
"Sirius-"
"No," he sat up despite the werewolf's attempt to pull him back. "I mean it. Look at me, Moony! Look at what I come from! What they do-"
"They're bad people, Sirius," Remus went to take his hand but Sirius quickly jerked it away, pulling his legs to his chest and wrapping his arms around himself. Remus watched him with a pained expression. "You aren't like them, Padfoot. I promise you that."
"How do you know?" Sirius asked bitterly. "If they could treat their own son this way, what makes you so sure I won't turn around and do something horrible to you as well? I can't control myself, Remus! I can't control the things I say, Merlin! This is my own damn fault, me and my stupid mouth!" His hands fisted his hair tightly as tears stung his eyes once again. Remus scrambled onto his knees in front of him, taking him gently by both wrists.
"That's not true, Sirius," he said firmly, bringing his hand down to his sides. "You aren't like that. You're good, Padfoot. So good. Don't you see?" He gently wiped under Sirius' eyes with his thumbs. "Look at what you've done…"
Sirius shrugged miserably. "What? Flooded the dungeons? Filled McGonagall's office with kitty litter? Been an inconvenience to nearly everyone I've ever met?"
Remus snorted and rolled his eyes. "No you prat. What you've done for me… You stayed friends with me after discovering I was a werewolf. You, James, and Peter broke a dozen laws and probably fifty school rules to become animagi so I wouldn't hurt myself anymore. You…everything you've ever done for me," he smiled. "Do you think someone as horrible and evil as your parents would do that? For a 'halfbreed' like me? Even some of the nicest wizards out there would have turned away from me once they learned what I was. You are not a bad person just because you were born into a bad family."
The door creaked open and James' messy head poked in. "Everything alright?"
Remus shook his head and James stepped into the room, closing the door behind him and joining the other two on the bed. Remus sighed and turned his attention back to the boy in front of him. "I love you, Sirius Black. And James loves you, and Peter does too. You'll never be like your family.
"Screw your family," James growled angrily. "We're your family, Sirius. Not them. That's not what family does. This," he put one arm over Sirius' shoulders and the other around Remus'. "This is what family does. We look out for each other. We love each other. They aren't capable of that. You are. Godric, Padfoot… I don't know anyone more capable of that than you. Your animal form is a dog, for Merlin's sake! Loyal! Man's best friend and all that!"
Sirius laughed, bringing his hand up to wipe his eyes. "Alright, I get it," he shook his head. "You two should make motivational posters or something. You're both pathetic saps," he watched as relief washed over their faces, glad to see even the slightest hint of humor in him. His stomach growled, making them all laugh and James patted his back.
"Good. Mum's been making breakfast since bloody dawn and she's not above force-feeding you," he slid off the bed and headed out to tell his mother they were finally coming down.
Sirius gave Remus a quick kiss. "I'll be down in a minute. I'm just going to wash my face. I feel like hell," he watched Remus leave the room and he stepped into the guest bathroom. He let the cold water run and splashed some on his face. He stared at himself in the mirror. There was a nasty yellowing bruise on his cheek surrounding a deep gash where his father's rings had hit.
He shuddered. His friends' words rang in his head.
You're not like them.
You're so good, Sirius.
No one's more capable of love.
Dogs are loyal.
But even dogs have a risk of not obeying …
