i love this. really do hope you continue it... even though it's been so long...

Please, please write more. This is actually good.

Man, I love Sirius! And I love how you write him. These iner ramblings make me laugh! :) But I cant help but notice you haven updated in ages! Is there going to be anymore? I really hope so! xx

So, Dumbledore is dead, that at least is according to the book. And it’s interesting that Sirius likes and admires him. I don’t get that impression from the books. But I like it, it shows Sirius in a slightly different light from how I usually see him. And I have to admire his constant steadfast dislike of Snape; he can’t miss a chance to get in a dig at him. I’d love to know if the feeling is mutual – and, in fact, whether Snape is still alive in this AU (my guess is that he is).

But what I like most in this chapter is Hagrid. He’s one of my favourite characters and I really appreciate the way you’ve written him. You’ve got him just right. And the friendship between him and Sirius. I think the Marauders were sort of favourites of Hagrid, just as Harry, Ron and Hermione were twenty years later. You describe the Nifflers so well, I can just see the funny little things. I only hope the goblins treat them a bit better than they treated their dragon. (I always liked the goblins until I got to the bit in DH about that poor dragon, it’s put me right off them.)

And now Tonks – oh dear, how I dread the mention of that woman. But perhaps she’ll be all right in this story.

Wonderful chapter!

I am looking forward to learning about Tonks and how Sirius sees her as well as what her story is.

Great description of Hagrid.

(-:

This is incredibly well written, well done. I was a little dubious as to where it would be a good way to tell the dtory of Dirius, but I have to congratulate you on it. It is wonderfully told, and I shall certainly be reading more when you post it next. (please let that be soon!)

This surprises me, that Peter wasn’t at the Potters’ wedding. I would have expected him to be keeping on good terms with them – otherwise why did they make him secret keeper? Sirius’s recollections of Peter are of course informed by hindsight. But it’s easy to see how Sirius, James and Remus could have made Peter feel excluded and vulnerable to the other side. Not that that excuses what Peter did, but – if the others had made more of an effort to include him, things might have turned out differently. Deep down, Sirius knows this and his guilt feelings over Peter are keeping his resentment alive.

Your Lily is great, just exactly how I like her to be, and I love her standing up for Sirius and Remus to the point of using uncharacteristically strong language.

And Remus calling Sirius a “diva” – that’s good.

Now I’ve caught up with the chapters of this story, so it’s okay to harass you and say “Update please!”

Yes, Sirius must have survived the Department of Mysteries, to be writing about interwebs – internets – so you’ve definitely gone AU. Good. And it’s obvious he’s living with Remus, also good.

I thought “limey” was what Americans called Brits, because of the limes and the scurvy.

It’s very well done how you show Sirius and Remus, and James and Lily, as young people in love and having fun, and make it heartbreakingly sad because of “the boulder that was about to flatten us all” which they had no inkling of.

But it looks as though things turned out all right for at least two of them – “Grandpa Sirius”?

Intriguing. And – especially considering you haven’t read DH – you’re right about Narcissa. She’s not all bad.

Your description of Azkaban is different from others I’ve read. Usually the prisoners are locked in their cells, solitary. But your version is quite believable. Why bother to lock prisoners up when you can control their minds? But Sirius will not be controlled, he keeps his secrets deep inside. I agree also with your ideas about the Death Eaters. Where the Dementors drain the good thoughts from good people, DEs don’t have so many good thoughts to drain, and have more of an affinity with evil beings like Dementors and are therefore not so much damaged by them. Lucius, I think, was not in Azkaban long enough to be badly affected. That line about begetting Draco made me smile. I think, though, that Lucius does really love Narcissa. What I find most interesting is the line about Bellatrix and the Department of Mysteries – I am hoping it means Sirius does not die there in this story. Because if he did, he couldn’t be writing about it afterwards.

This aspect of Walburga’s character rings true: that she hates animals, and won’t have them in her house. She can’t stand anything she can’t control, can she? Perhaps that’s why she never loved Sirius; she senses the stubborn strength in him which will not be ruled by her. And your Sirius’s love of animals illustrates the goodness and kindness which are part of his personality. (There is a cruel streak which is also part of his personality, but that is reserved for hostile wizards.) I like his description of Mrs Norris’s horribleness and how much he hates her, but I can’t help admiring her splendid viciousness. A bit like Bellatrix, you could say, but I don’t admire Bellatrix though I can see why some do. Bellatrix is a human who ought to have some moral sense, Mrs Norris is a dumb animal, though a wonderfully combative one. Or “spirited”, the word Sirius applies to himself and the Marauders. Of course, he hates her all the more because she hurt his Remus. But when he has her in his power, all he does is give her pink stripes. Which shows the Marauders are essentially good people – at this point of time anyway – and their pranks are funny, not harmful.

An unexpected revelation about Sybil having the hots for Remus. And yet, she does take a bit of interest in him later when they’re both teaching at Hogwarts, so it’s believable. And explains why Sirius is uncomplimentary about her –“that old crackpot” – he’s still jealous. Yes, he’s good at holding grudges.

A good chapter, funny and illuminating.

Yet another similarity between your Sirius and mine: mine can’t get interested in Muggle sports, because they’re all tame and boring compared to quidditch. Now that I think of it, I’ve never read any explanation of how the Marauders got their name. I like your idea that Lily gave it to them, and not meaning any compliment by it either. But what a dirty trick by the sneaky Snape – and he got away with it too. I hope justice will be done.

Once again, you’ve written Sirius precisely as I imagine him; making little or no effort at his studies, yet absorbing knowledge and producing good work through his sheer natural ability. Some authors write him as a sort of slob who didn’t study because he just didn’t care, but I think you’ve got him right; someone who loved to expand his knowledge and had the enviable knack of doing so without working hard at it. But what a shock for him: the first time he discovers what a Howler is, he’s on the receiving end of it. And for something that really wasn’t his fault. It’s not as if Walburga had tutored him in advance: “When they put that old Hat on your head, think Slytherin, tell it that’s what you want.” But of course she wouldn’t think she had to. She’d think he’s a Black, he’ll naturally be in Slytherin. So it was a bit of a shock for her too.

The descriptions of James and Lily are excellent too. I am thinking about Frank Longbottom. You’ve put him in the same year, in the same dormitory, as the Marauders, and he isn’t one. So, why not? If you’d made him a few years older, the question wouldn’t arise, but as it is I am wondering what was different about Frank. Perhaps he was more mature for his years than the other four.

I did wonder if Sirius would be happy about being sorted into Gryffindor; I’m glad he is. And I like the first meeting with Remus, when Sirius knows there is something special going on here but doesn’t know what it is. And the first sight of Snape – if it’s instant attraction with Remus, it’s instant repulsion with Snape. And yet Snape and Sirius have something in common, probably: both unreservedly glad to be at Hogwarts with no trace of the homesickness which may be felt by the others whose families are happier than theirs.

Oh, those poor tutors! I can just see Sirius and Regulus having fun driving them away – and despite that, Sirius at least becoming well-read and knowledgeable about magic. And I love the sly little Umbridge-reference. And that wedding – Sirius being collared and kissed by Narcissa is funny, and Bellatrix dancing with Voldemort is a chilling foretelling.

The day of the journey to Hogwarts is so well-written. You have conveyed exactly how it must have felt, the excitement and apprehension of the boy setting out on a great adventure. And typically, his family not even bothering to wish him well. The first meeting with James and Peter places them both perfectly: James the leader, and Peter the one who needs rescuing from bullies. Altogether an agreeable chapter, full of enthusiasm and hope.

No, I’m not surprised that the Blacks had many books about the Dark Arts in their library, nor that Sirius read them. It’s exactly what I had thought. Not that he was inclined to the dark side himself, but that he knew a lot about it.

And another thing where your Sirius and mine coincide: I also think he’s rather a good cook. When he wants to be.

Poor little Sirius. He IS only a child still, and Walburga has treated him horribly. But it’s so true, this is how adults treat children, making decisions for them without consulting them – in normal families it’s usually just things like throwing out their toys and clothes when they’re not looking, but the Blacks are not a normal family. It could have been worse; I really expected Sirius was going to find Numa’s head hanging on the wall. And the detestable Kreacher, all smirking and triumphant, yes, that’s just how he would have been.

I like the passing mentions of Snape and Remus, and that Sirius at the time of writing still hates Snape, and Sirius and Remus are together. That’s somehow reassuring.

I am surprised you haven’t read DH. Not even for curiosity? Well, it’s not much of a spoiler to say that in it we see James and Lily’s gravestone, and James’s birth date is 27th March 1960.

In this chapter things get really interesting, with the appearance of Lord Voldemort. I don’t think I’ve ever met LV socially before and this sight of him before he becomes powerful and notorious is fascinating. His supreme self-confidence – even Walburga will not dare chide him for smoking in her house – and the little interaction between him and Bellatrix, foretell what he will become.

And Sirius – I love his foolhardy courage in standing up to Bellatrix, and even more his hiding away to read at the start of the chapter. So often in stories Sirius hates books and never touches one if he can help it, and although that characterisation can be interesting if well written, I never really believe it. I do believe he hated being told what to read, and would never study anything that didn’t interest him, but I think he was an intelligent thoughtful person who loved to read and learn things that did interest him.

And Gary Oldman’s birthday is as good a date as any for Sirius, but it’s a happy coincidence that it also marks the rising of new life in the natural world.