Authors Note: This is a short chapter and I apologize for that. But I hope you enjoy it. Feedback and reviews would be appreciated. As always JK Rowling owns Harry Potter.

Chapter 7 - Where in Time

"This is my parent's house. I offered it to Dumbledore as headquarters for the order. It's about the only useful thing I've been able to do"

~Sirius Black~

He felt strange. He was a wraith hovering in a room he recognized all too well. The too formal furniture, the hook latch on the door that gave him an illusion of privacy, informed him immediately that he was at Grimmauld Place. The house of horrors. He took in the details at a glance. His Hogwart's trunk was open but empty on the floor beside the massive four-poster ready to be packed. He saw himself sprawled on the bed with his head hanging over the edge reading a quidditch magazine. He was eleven years old, he realized when his eyes fell to the Hogwarts acceptance letter on the table next to the bed.

He studied himself with a sense of shock. He was a silent death ready to invade his younger self and take over. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but... He thought of his carefree years at Hogwarts, forging friendships that would sustain him through a lifetime. All this was in jeopardy. At that moment his younger brother knocked on the door. "Siri? Can I come in?"

"Go Away!" the younger Sirius growled and tossed a pillow at the door. "God, you're such a bloody pain." He turned the page of his magazine lazily and Sirius suddenly wanted to pummel himself.

With new resolve, he took the next inevitable step unless he wanted to condemn himself as a wraith forever, and he approached his eleven-year-old self and knew all he had to do was touch him. He took a deep breath and laid his ghostly hand on the boy's head. "Sorry about this." And the deed was done.

He felt a long moment of disorientation. His 11-year-old self, momentarily shocked at the invasion, also gave Sirius had a sudden overwhelming influx of data. Feelings, memories, angst, fears, hopes, all of it crashed into him at once. He clutched his head in agony, trying to quickly build his mental barriers. Slowly the pain subsided and Sirius blinked his eyes open. He cautiously raised his head and moved it onto the mattress and looked up at the ceiling. "Shit. I did it." He didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry. He sat up and took a closer look around. His Hogwarts letter sat open on the table beside him. Quidditch posters graced the wall. This was before he had noticed girls he realized. He scooted off the bed and nearly tripped when the distance to the floor was so much further than he expected. A full-length mirror stood in a corner and he moved to stand in front of it. He lifted a brow at his appearance. A stocky young lad with shoulder-length black hair, still his greatest feature next to his smile he thought. He had difficulty reconciling himself with the man he would become. "Weird." He seemed to get an echo from his younger self's thoughts, "Weird is right."

Reality started closing in though. He wanted to pound his head on the floor and wail like a child. God, he was a child! He whimpered and sat down hard on the floor sliding down the wall. "What am I going to do?" He felt his chest tighten. He was having a full-blown panic attack! Every choice felt like a bombshell, threatening the direction his life would take. Dare he change anything at all? Death's ominous warnings still rang in his ears.

He tried to get a hold of himself and took long slow calming breaths. He needed information. He opened his eyes and stared at his reflection in the mirror. "It's okay. You're okay." A sudden loud whip-like crack sounded causing Sirius to jump and yelp as Kreacher apparated inside his room in front of him.

"Bloody Hell!" He cursed aloud, "You about gave me a coronary!" He gripped his chest dramatically.

Kreacher's ears drooped and he scowled at him. "Young master should not speak bad words. What would mistress say about this?" Kreacher reprimanded him and Sirius stared at the elf and blushed, realizing what he had said and how old he was supposed to be and wasn't sure how to get out of it. Kreacher didn't wait for him to respond thankfully and instead started cleaning Sirius's room and packing his trunk with a few snaps of his fingers. "Young master Regulus is upset because you are a bad boy." Kreacher said while pulling on his ear. Sirius took hold of his instant dislike and really paid attention to the elf. He decided that an apology was in order and that this at least was something he could change.

Sirius stood and said, "Kreacher. You are right. I have been a bad brother, and...not really the best master to you either. I… I'm sorry I've been such a prat to you Kreacher." He put as much sincerity as he could into that statement.

Kreacher seemed frozen in place, a blank look on his features. He finally nodded and said, "Master Regulus is in the nursery." Before apparating away. Sirius grinned a bit and then sobered. Fixing things with Kreacher might not be as easy as one apology and he was pretty sure that the same would be true for his brother, but he needed to act or he might find himself curling up in the fetal position gibbering like a madman.

He took a deep breath and opened the door only to bump right into the one person he had hoped to avoid for, well for the rest of his life. Walburga Black was an intimidating woman. Tall, regal, and most likely the bitchiest human being to walk the planet. She stood before his door and it was apparent to Sirius that she was in the process of coming into his room. A scowl... (Sirius wasn't sure if she even had any other expression) marred her classical features as she gazed down at him. "Kreacher tells me you are behaving oddly." She announced. "He says you apologized to him."

Sirius gawked up at her stupidly. His brain still trying desperately to catch up to his current reality. At that moment he regretted that he wasn't in Azkaban. Anything would be better than his mother. "Uhm..." His gaze moved to the tale-telling elf and sighed. "Well... I was kinda mean to him."

His mother lifted an imperious brow, "You are a Black. We do not apologize to elves. They are our servants and it is their honor to serve us. Do you understand?"

Sirius realized that he had never had this conversation with his mother before. He had already changed things. And he had barely even tried. "Yes ma'am," Sirius answered obediently. Be a better son...Be a better brother... He recited Lily's points in his mind like a mantra or a prayer. She had said those words to him just this morning when he fretted over the plan and the timelines they had written on the wall.

His mother swept past him imperiously, apparently not having any other grievances to air at him. He breathed a sigh of relief and crossed the room into the nursery. He found Regulus sitting in the window seat looking morosely out the window. Sirius moved to sit next to him and didn't say anything for a long time.

Regulus broke the silence. "What do you want?"

Sirius shook his head, "Nothing. I'm just... I realized something, Reggie." He looked at his brother, remembering speaking with him just that morning on a mirror call. "I really am going to miss you." And he realized how true that was. He wanted to somehow figure out a way to smuggle him to Hogwarts but knew that would be impossible.

Regulus looked up at him surprised by his brother's admission. "Really?" He didn't sound even a little bit convinced.

"Yeah...Really." He reached out and took his brother's hand for a moment, "You're my brother. And we've never been apart. I wish you could come with me. I don't want to leave you here by yourself." He admitted.

Regulus frowned. "Why can't I come with you? Please, Siri. I'll be really good. Maybe Professor Dumbledore can let me come." Tears started to flood Regulus's eyes and Sirius realized he'd never really had this conversation with Regulus before. "I don't want to be alone with her." He whispered.

Sirius nodded, "Ok then. There's just one thing we can do then."

Regulus looked at him, wiping away the tears that had fallen, "What's that?"

"We run away." He answered.