It was later that night, much later, when Sirius' bedroom door swung open and a tall shadow crept in. "Come to kill me in my sleep, Father?" Sirius asked, grabbing his wand.

"That's not funny, Sirius," Regulus said quietly. There were soft footsteps and then there was weight on the end of Sirius' bed. "Thank Merlin you're tidy or I'd probably have broken my neck," Regulus muttered.

"Or your toe," Sirius said. "Lumos." His wand lit up and he set it on the covers. Regulus looked tired, but determined. "What's wrong?"

"You are," Regulus muttered.

"Pardon?" Sirius asked, taken aback.

"I was talking to Cissy and Bella - Bella's joining the Death Eaters," Regulus said.

"Surprise, surprise," Sirius muttered. "Told you she fancies Voldemort."

"Just stop it!" Regulus snapped. "You didn't even try tonight, did you? You were just so determined to get one up on Father, and to upset Mother that you didn't care how you made the rest of us look."

"Us being you? Sirius asked.

"Yes," Regulus said irritated. "You're not in Slytherin, Sirius. You can't defend yourself in the common room when people make fun of you and your friends. I am! And you make me look like a complete arse when you go and do something like this after I've spent hours shouting at Bella about you not being that bad!"

"You... defend me?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," Regulus said, flushing. "And you don't even try to look after me."

"Rubbish," Sirius said flatly. "When have any of my friends ever hexed you?"

Regulus thought about it. "Never, really. I think James hexed me once last year because I called that Evans girl a Mudblood."

"He gave you silver skin," Sirius said. Because Reg was 'so pure'. "And that was fair enough. James is touchy where Lily's concerned."

"I know. I don't hold it against him."

"I know."

"No, you don't. Fine, people at school leave me alone, mostly, but when have you ever taken a hex for me, or-"

"Taken a hex?" Sirius growled. "Who hexed you?!"

"No one," Regulus muttered, not meeting Sirius' eyes.

"Bollocks," Sirius told him.

"Why can't you just act like the rest of us?" Regulus asked, a little desperately.

"Because I'm not like the rest of you," Sirius sighed. "And I stopped trying to be a long time ago. I don't want to inherit this place, or Kreacher. I don't want to join Voldemort and I-"

"Why not?" Regulus asked.

"I hate it here and I loathe Kreacher, evil little bastard that he is."

"I mean about... Him," Regulus said.

"Voldemort?" Regulus flinched but nodded. "Because he's evil, Reg! He hurts people! The pureblood community is stuffy enough without some stupid git telling them they've got the right idea."

"It's not just purebloods who like him, though."

"No, but most of his followers are purebloods."

"Is that so bad?" Regulus asked. "Bella said he wants to make the world a better place."

"He doesn't."

"And how would you know?"

"Killing people is wrong, Reg, and that's how he does it!" Sirius couldn't believe he was having this conversation.

"You're the only one I know who seems to think it's wrong. Mother and Father think He's got the right idea."

"They're wrong. Look, James' dad is an Auror-"

"I know." Regulus looked at him like he was stupid.

"So he's seen the people Voldemort hurts! He kills families for the sake of it, he tortures muggles!"

"But he's got thousands of followers," Regulus said stubbornly. "That many people can't be wrong."

"Why not?"

"Because," Regulus said, looking flustered. "They just can't. Maybe muggles really are evil."

"And Dumbledore? Dumbledore and the Ministry, Reg. You love the Ministry! All that order, that law-"

"Cissy thinks the Ministry's full of stuck-up gits."

"When did you start to care what Cissy thought?"

"I've always cared!"

"Not this much."

"Maybe it's because she actually listens to me."

"I listen to you!"

"You make me look stupid!"

"I make everyone look stupid. But right now, with all this Death Eater talk, you're doing well enough without my help."

Regulus looked like he'd been slapped. "That many people can't be wrong," he said again. "Bella said so, and so did Mother and Father."

"Clearly, as far as morals go, they're the ones to be believed," Sirius said sarcastically.

"Who else should I believe, Sirius? You?"

"Yes, me! I'm your brother!"

"And they're my parents! Our entire family except for me hates you! All the Slytherins think you're a prat! If that's what believing you costs, I don't want to." Sirius stared at his brother as if seeing him for the first time. Regulus looked up at him with gleaming eyes. "Please, Sirius. It's not too late. You could apologise to Mother and Father. We could be like a family again. Remember what it used to be like?"

"Yes," Sirius whispered. "But even then we weren't happy. We were just too young to realise that we weren't."

"We could be a family," Regulus insisted.

"Yeah, but only if I go against everything I believe in," Sirius said heavily. "I can't do that, Reg."

"You can. And you don't have to change everything. If you settled down a bit, maybe you could persuade Mother and Father to see your side more."

"And James? Remus and Peter? All my other friends? What would they think?"

"You could talk them around too. Remus and Peter would do what you told them to, I know they would."

"Peter would. Remus couldn't."

"And James. James would still be your friend if you changed sides, you know that."

That was what decided it. Remus was a factor, of course, but it was James that did it. James would, as Regulus had said, stay his friend. But he would never be his brother again. It would always hang between them because James wouldn't turn, not with his dad being an Auror, not with Remus as a friend. Sirius couldn't lose that. And they say you don't get to choose your family, he thought, grimly amused.

"I can't," he whispered, staring at his brother, the boy - despite there only being a year age difference between them - that he'd helped raise. The boy he and Kreacher had sheltered when Mother and Father fought, the boy Sirius had taught his first spell, the boy Sirius had taught to fly, the boy who he'd failed to protect from Voldemort's influence, the boy who recently, had been the one parenting Sirius, instead of the other way around. Regulus's face closed over. "You're still my brother," Sirius said immediately. And that was the difference. He'd been losing Regulus for years, really, now that he thought about it, but they were still brothers, still bound by blood if nothing else. They could stay brothers, through this.

"A brother you just chose your friends over," Regulus said bitterly.

"A brother I chose my family over," Sirius said gently.

"We are your family!"

"Mother and Father aren't. You are, if you still want to be."

Regulus hesitated. Sirius waited, a little worried, but he knew even if Regulus said no, it would be nothing compared to losing James. "I still want to be," Regulus whispered. He held his hand out. It trembled.

"A handshake?" Sirius asked, shaking his head. "What do they teach you in Slytherin?" He hugged his little brother and Regulus tensed for a moment but then hugged him back.

"I'm going to bed," Regulus told him a moment later.

"Reg?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks." Regulus smiled weakly before slipping out of the room.

"Why aren't you in bed?" he heard Mother say from out on the landing.

"Nox," Sirius muttered.

"I thought Kreacher had put my pyjamas in Sirius' room."

"Where are they, then?" Father's voice said.

"Oh, they weren't in there."

"Your behaviour was immaculate tonight," Mother said proudly.

"I'm glad you approve." That sentence summarised Regulus better than anything. He had a fierce independent streak - Sirius liked to think he'd cultivated that in his brother - but more often than not, his desire to please smothered it. "Good night." There was a click as his door closed.

Sirius' door opened and Mother and Father walked in. "I'm sleeping," he told them. The lamps came to life. Sirius groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "I thought you didn't want to see me for the rest of the night," he added, glancing at Father.

"Sirius, this needs to stop. This provocative attitude of yours is going to get you into serious trouble eventually, particularly if you're around people that aren't as understanding as we are."

"Understanding?" Sirius laughed. "You're understanding?"

Mother straightened her awful hat. "You have no respect for your elders whatsoever. You are an embarrassment, a- a- a blood traitor!" She clapped her hands to her mouth, as if she couldn't believe what she'd said to him. She didn't take it back though.

"Okay," Sirius said. Once, that comment might have wound him up. After his little talk with Regulus though, he could certainly think of worse things to be.

"Where is your pride?!" Mother shrieked.

"Perfectly intact," Sirius assured her. "Ready to make an appearance when I do something spectacular, or when I'm insulted."

"I insulted you!"

"Hardly. If you'd called me a Death Eater, maybe, but-"

"Sirius Orion Black!" Mother screeched.

"Now I'm insulted," Sirius said cheerfully.

"By your name?" Father asked, holding up a hand to silence Mother.

"Wouldn't you be?" Sirius asked. "It's revolting, practically oozes pureblood."

"Would you prefer something... common?" Father asked dangerously. "Like that foolish nickname of yours. Padfeet."

"Padfeet?" Sirius asked, smirking.

"Padfoot," Mother said. "It's Padfoot." The smirk slipped off Sirius' face. "Would you take that, Sirius, over what we, your family, named you? Would you take that silly name over your bloodline?"

"In a heartbeat," Sirius told her.

Mother made a shrill noise but Father held up another hand. "Why?"

"Because that name isn't who I was born. That name is who I am. That name is what I worked for, that name is the one that my friends - my real family - gave me. And that name, aside from anything else, fits, right in the middle of Moony, Wormtail and Prongs which is exactly where I want to be." He stared at them defiantly, though he felt the effect was ruined by the fact that he was sitting on his bed, while they were standing over him. Still, even sitting he was almost as tall as his mother.

Father's lip curled. Mother let out a quiet sob. "I think, Sirius, that your priorities are in grave need of rearranging."

"I've never cared much what you think, Father," Sirius said. "Maybe I would have-"

"How dare you-"

"Quiet, Walburga. Let our son finish."

Sirius squared his jaw. "Maybe I would care what you thought, Father, if you were home more."

"Are you lonely, Sirius?" Father asked mockingly.

"Not anymore," Sirius said honestly. "I used to be. I used to wonder why you were never home and then I realised, you don't give a damn. So now, I don't give a damn either. I haven't for years, but of course, you're never home to have noticed-"

"Enough!" Mother shouted, slapping him. Sirius just sat there. He was well used to Mother's temper tantrums. "I will not have you be so blatantly disrespectful! We are your superiors! Your betters! We deserve to be treated-"

"Like rubbish!" Sirius told her. "You deserve to be treated like rubbish because that's how you treat everyone else! If I treated you like you treat me, Mother, you'd be deaf in one ear and have a permanent handprint on the side of your face."

"You're too weak," she spat. "Your Gryffindor honour doesn't allow it."

Sirius stood up suddenly. He had no intention of hitting her, none at all - she'd been right about that at least - but he knew how she'd react and she didn't disappoint. She squeaked and staggered back to hide behind Father. "No wonder you never made it into Gryffindor," he said.

"I wouldn't want to!" she said, emerging when she realised he wasn't a threat. "And if you had any honour you'd never have been Sorted there!"

"You made that very clear when I came home that Christmas," Sirius said flatly. "You needn't have bought Bella that Augury quill; me being beaten at the dinner table was more than a substantial Christmas present for her."

"Because she knows what is due to her name! She was placed in Slytherin!"

"And that in itself is reason enough for me to not want to go there." Mother screamed at him. She didn't say anything. She just screamed. "Quiet, Mother," Sirius said when she'd done. "Reg is probably trying to sleep."

Her eyes bulged. She opened her mouth to say something but he never heard it; his father had lifted his wand and said, "Crucio."

Then Sirius was the one screaming. It was like every nerve was being pinched, like his blood was boiling, and every hair on his body was being pulled at once. It was like being stabbed, trampled by a hippogriff, falling off a broomstick from a hundred feet, having every bone broken at the same time, being hit by a thousand bludgers, like- it stopped.

Father crouched down beside him. "How- how could you," Sirius gasped. "It's- Unforgivable-"

"As is your behaviour of late. The more you push me, Sirius, the stricter I will become." Sirius couldn't find the strength to phrase anything. He just lay there, trembling.

"What's going on?" It was Regulus. "Sirius! Why are you on the floor?"

"Go back to bed, Regulus," Father said curtly, getting up.

"Why was he screaming? What did you do to him?!" Regulus demanded from somewhere behind Sirius.

Sirius forced himself to sit up. It was a huge effort, but the alternative was Father getting angry at his younger son too. "Go back to bed," he rasped.

"I won't! Not until I know what's going on!"

"Reg, please," Sirius said. "Just- just go."

Regulus walked further into the room until he was standing right in front of Father. "If you hurt him, I'll never forgive you," he promised. There's that independent streak, Sirius though dazedly. Regulus cast a last, anxious look in Sirius' direction and stalked out. His bedroom door slammed.

"I'd listen to him if I were you," Sirius said weakly, though his mind was reeling; he'd just been subjected to one of the Unforgivables, by his own father. It wasn't that he'd never thought his father capable of it. He had always hoped though, that his father had limits, that his father would never resort to that. He'd been wrong. Any delusions he'd had - few though they were these days - were shattered.

"And if I were you, I'd listen to me," Father said softly. "I have spoken with Bellatrix. She will come by in the morning and collect you."

"What am I, a newspaper?" Sirius asked.

"Such insolence," Father murmured, pulling his wand out again. Sirius flinched. "Finally, something that will curb your..."

"Personality?" Sirius suggested.

"Indeed." Father smiled coldly. "She will take you with her tomorrow, when she goes to join the Dark Lord's ranks."

"Each new member has to sacrifice a Gryffindor to be accepted, right?" Sirius said, but worry was beginning to chew on his insides.

"Don't be a fool," Mother said. Sirius jumped. She'd been uncharacteristically quiet for the last few minutes and he'd forgotten she was there. "She's taking you so you can join too." Sirius stared. "It's a chance for you to redeem yourself."

"I'm not going. I won't," Sirius said, through numb lips.

"Oh, but you will," Father said. "It'll be good for you, Sirius. No one will ever have cause to doubt your loyalties again. You'll learn to follow commands, you'll learn what it is to be a pureblood, what it is to be better-"

"No," Sirius said. "I'm not joining that lunatic. I refuse." Father brandished his wand again. "Do it," Sirius said. "Torture me. It won't change anything. I'll still say no."

"You will join," Father said.

"I'd rather die," Sirius snapped.

"Don't tempt me. You'll do what we say."

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want," Sirius said.

"What sort of language is that?!" Mother screamed. "How dare you befoul the house of my fathers with your foul tongue?!"

"My tongue's said and done worse," Sirius told her. Her eyes bulged again. He turned back to Father. "I'm not going."

Father watched him without expression. Then he lifted his wand. "Imperio," he said coolly.

The spell swept through Sirius and a sort of fog filled his mind. Go to bed, Father's voice told him. Be ready in the morning for when Bellatrix comes to retrieve you.

Sirius - the part of him that was still him and not under Father's curse - screamed wordlessly. No sound made it out of his mouth though, and after Father petted his body's shoulder and Mother kissed his cheek, his body turned and walked to bed and climbed in.

He could feel himself shutting down, about to fall asleep. He heard - through ears that weren't really his at the moment - his parents turn off the lights, leave the room, reassure Regulus outside and head downstairs.

Don't fall asleep! he urged himself. The fog turned to him, curious. He said go to bed, never that I had to sleep.The fog snarled but settled down and his mind cleared a little. Thank Godric for Father's ambiguous wording. How am I going to get out of this?!

I'll leave. Sirius didn't particularly like the option, because if he left now, there was almost certainly no coming back. But what's the alternative? Joining Voldemort? Fuck that. He tried to roll out of bed but couldn't. The spell wouldn't let him.

Go to bed, Father's voice commanded.

I'm in bed. I want to get out.

Bed, the voice said unreasonably.

Fuck you, Sirius told it. He glanced longingly at his wand but couldn't make himself reach it.

His bedroom door opened and a shape slipped in. He could have cried with relief. It was Regulus. "Sirius? I know you're awake."

It took Sirius a while to convince the spell that Father hadn't prohibited talking, and a few seconds beyond that to remember where his mouth was and how to use it. "Reg," he said.

"Are you hurt?"

"Do you have your wand?"

"Of course. Why?" Sirius found he couldn't say the words. End the spell! he wanted to shout, but they wouldn't form. Help, wouldn't form either. "Sirius?!"

"Reg," Sirius said. It was all he really could say.

"What's wrong with you?"

Imperius Curse, wouldn't come out. Neither would spell, or hex or magic. "Reg," Sirius said again.

"Sirius, what's going on?" Regulus sounded scared. "Can you move?"

"Not really," Sirius said. "Please."

"Is it a body-bind?" Regulus asked. His shadow moved. "Finite Incantatum." The fog screeched and vanished. Fury replaced it. Sirius threw himself out of his bed. "Sirius, what-"

"He Imperiused me!" Sirius snarled, picking himself up off the floor.

"What?!" Regulus exclaimed. "He can't have! He wouldn't!"

"That pompous, old windbag," Sirius growled. He grabbed his wand off the bedside table and lit it with another growl. He started to throw the contents of his desk into his trunk.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" Regulus asked.

"Leaving," Sirius snapped. "I'm getting as far from here as I possibly can."

"But it's the middle of the night."

"And in the morning, Bella's coming to drag me off to join with her. I'm sorry, Reg. I can't stay here."

"Why would she do that?"

"Father asked her to. Apparently, I need to learn my place." Sirius tossed a Transfiguration textbook into his trunk, slammed the lid and locked it. "Locomotor Trunk," he snapped. It lifted a few inches off the ground and hovered obediently. "And this whole night has made it very clear that my place is not anywhere near this Godric-damned house, or our hag of a mother and arse of a father."

"Sirius-"

"Come with me," Sirius said. He focused on the incantation for a Permanent Sticking Charm and waved his wand in a loop around the room. I hope they like my Gryffindor banners, he thought vehemently. He glanced with a little pang at the photograph of him and the Marauders which was now stuck there for eternity but decided it was better there; he'd have the real thing, now, and Mother and Father would have a constant reminder that he was happy with the people they despised. "You don't belong here either, Reg. It'll be you next. They'll make you join."

"Sirius I can't," Regulus said. "Please, don't make me choose."

"That's more than Father ever gave me," Sirius said coolly.

"They'd be without an heir."

"They don't deserve one."

"I can't," Regulus said. "And I won't. I'm not asking you to change your mind. It's past that, but I will ask you to respect my decision. We can still be brothers after this."

"Of course we can," Sirius said. He hugged Regulus. "Now get back to bed. If you have to stay here, at least do it on good terms."

Regulus nodded. "I'll write when I can."

"You don't know where I'll be," Sirius said. Even I'm not entirely sure.

"You'll be at James'," Regulus said, in a tone that questioned his sanity. That, of course, made perfect sense; James would take him in without hesitation. James wouldn't ask too many questions if Sirius didn't want him to; they were brothers. And when one family had forsaken him, it only made sense to go to another family. A real family. "Good bye, brother."

"Bye," Sirius said. He glanced around once more, satisfied he'd never be coming back and followed his brother out of the room. He didn't try to sneak out of the house. He walked down the stairs as he usually would - loudly, two at a time - with his trunk floating behind him and his wand in his fist.

Mother and Father were waiting for him outside their bedroom, one floor down, on the third floor. Sirius felt a little surge of excitement, the kind he always got when there was potential for a duel to be had. This was the first time since third year however - excluding special cases (Snivellus) - that he'd deliberately sought out a duel. If he'd had a tail in human form, it probably would have been wagging.

"What are you doing up?" Mother demanded. "You were told to go to bed."

"I changed my mind," Sirius said coldly.

"Why do you have your trunk?" Mother asked.

"I'm not off to join the Death Eaters if that's what you were hoping," Sirius said snidely.

"Go back to bed," Father said, sounding irritated.

Sirius looked him in the eye. "No."

Father blinked and lifted his wand, slowly, deliberately, as he always did. Sirius snatched the wand out of his grip before the first syllable of a spell could leave his father's lips. Then, holding his father's gaze, he twisted his fingers and snapped the wretched thing. A surge of murky green-black magic came out in shapes that resembled shards of glass more than anything else. Father took a step forward, absolutely livid - this was definitely the maddest Sirius had ever seen him - but Sirius lifted his own wand and muttered, "Colloshoo." Father wobbled but didn't go over as Sirius had hoped.

"How dare you?!" Mother cried, recovering. "You horrid, shameful, little-"

"Shut up!" Sirius bellowed. Mother choked on her words. "The only thing that's horrid and shameful here is you, you vindictive old hag!" Mother drew her wand but Sirius Disarmed her without even bothering to say the incantation. He let the halves of Father's wand fall to the ground - still sparking magic - and strode around his stuck parents to the next flight of stairs. Father made a grab for him but recoiled when Sirius sent a mild Stinging Hex at his hand.

"Where are you going?!" Mother shrieked. "Sirius!"

Sirius turned to face them. "Home," he said.

"You traitor!" Mother shouted, her face turning an awful mottled purple. "You scum! You dare to- You attacked us- You-"

Father watched with his usual cold disapproval. When Sirius had had enough of Mother's screaming and turned away, Father called his name. He glanced over his shoulder. "When the Dark Lord kills you for being a blood traitor," Father said, "I will not mourn you."

"You need a heart to mourn," Sirius pointed out. Father looked annoyed that his insult had been turned back on him. Sirius waited a moment to see if either of them had anymore to say but they didn't. He flicked his wand and his trunk floated down the stairwell. He followed it and didn't look back.

* * *

"Belstone, Devon," the Knight Bus conductor called. Sirius yawned and pried himself off his four-poster.

"Thank you," he grunted, dragging his trunk off.

"Have a good night." The bus disappeared with a bang.

Sirius set off West, down the narrow dirt road, wishing James lived in one of the little muggle cottages in the village instead of the Manor which was probably a half hour walk from where he was. Sirius made it to the edge of the village in hardly any time at all - it really was tiny - before taking the North road.

He tripped a few times in the dark but didn't dare light his wand for two reasons; the first was that he was underage, the second was that in a village with a population less than that of Hogwarts, a strange person walking around with a lit up stick was certain to be noticed, even if it was the middle of the night.

Sirius was tired and sweaty by the time he reached the fork that diverged from the main road and even more miserable by the time he reached the end of that and had to go cross-country. His feet hurt from walking several miles, his head hurt from trying to pick a path in the dark and the rest of him was sore from the Cruciatus Curse. He thoroughly wished he'd thought to Floo, even if it meant a less dramatic exit than the one he'd made.

Sirius lifted his trunk, tossed it over a fence and climbed over after it. Almost there. He crossed the paddock, scaled another fence - it would be pointless to try to find a gate in the dark - and headed in the general direction of the Manor.

He knew roughly where it was, but he was tired and he was sore and in no mood at all to spend much longer searching; if he didn't get there in five minutes, he resolved to find a nice patch of grass and sleep there, perhaps as Padfoot.

It was unnecessary in the end. Potter Manor, a huge, white stone building loomed out of the night, eerily bright against the dark of Halstock Wood. Sirius almost didn't see the wrought-iron fencing in the dark and stubbed his toe on the stone base.

He felt his way along the fence, knowing wards would keep him from climbing over, until he found the gate. "Aut viam inveniam aut faciam," he murmured. The gate clicked and swung open. Sirius hauled his trunk through, shut it again and crossed the garden; there was a pond that hadn't been there when he visited in Easter and wondered whether a pond was a good idea while someone like James was living there. He left his trunk on the doorstep and headed around the back of the house; he wasn't about to ring the bell and wake everyone up.

Just James.

He lit his wand - the wards on the Manor would conceal any underage magic used, just like the ones at Grimmauld did. Grimmauld. Sirius felt a little twinge of guilt for leaving Regulus, anger, and then amusement as he wondered whether his parents were still stuck to the third floor landing. Sirius found the window he was fairly sure was James' and murmured, "Ignis Dissiliunt."

Three balls of light shot out of the end of his wand and exploded in the air outside James' window with quiet fizzing sounds. Sirius had to repeat the spell three times before James' sleepy face appeared on the other side of the window, illuminated by wandlight. The window flew open a moment later. "Padfoot?!" James said, his mouth falling open.

"Hi, Prongs," Sirius called.

James blinked a few times, shook his head and said, "I'll be right down."

Sirius made his way back around to the front and not long after, a flushed, out-of-breath James wrenched the door open. "Did you run the entire way?" Sirius asked; it should have taken James several minutes to get to the front door from his room.

"Sirius, you've shown up at my house, in your pyjamas, in the middle of the night. Yes, I ran."

"Right." James grabbed Sirius' trunk and carried it into the foyer. Sirius followed him in. It was warm inside, and the lamps on the walls were on, but very dimly. "Sorry for waking you up," Sirius mumbled, flopping onto the bottom step of the staircase.

"It's not the first time you've woken me up and I doubt it'll be the last," James said, yawning as he sat down beside him. "I take it, from your trunk, you've come to stay?"

"If you'll have me," Sirius mumbled. "Sorry for just showing up like this but I didn't know where else to go and-"

"Of course we'll have you," James said, bumping Sirius' shoulder with his own. "You're family. You're always welcome."

"Thanks," Sirius said and was embarrassed to feel his eyes stinging. He'd cried in front of James before, but not usually over something this small. Running away from home isn't small and you know it, a voice in his head that sounded like Remus' said. Go away, Sirius told it.

"No problem," James said brightly. "Shall we head upstairs? You look dead on your feet. Locomotor Trunk." He flicked his wand and it went floating up the stairs.

"I ran away," Sirius said, staring at his trainers.

James' eyebrows rose. "Like in fourth year, when they said you couldn't visit and you came anyway?"

"No, like I snapped my father's wand when he tried to make me stay." James stared. "I hexed them both," he admitted, flushing. "Last I saw, they were glued to the third floor landing."

"And Reg?" James asked apprehensively.

"He freed me from the Imperius Curse and went back to bed," Sirius said, unable to bring himself to tell everything in detail when he was so tired.

"WHAT?!" James shouted.

"Shh!" Sirius hissed.

"Imperius Curse?" James whispered viciously. "They had you under the Imperius Curse?!" Sirius sighed and nodded. "Wait until I tell Dad-"

"No," Sirius said.

"Padfoot, it's illegal!"

"I know. Please, Prongs, just leave it alone."

James' eyes narrowed behind his glasses but he nodded. "Is that the only Unforgivable he used?"

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Sirius said, hoping he'd be satisfied with a half-truth.

James stared at him. "Paddy-"

"Don't," Sirius said, feeling close to tears again.

James seemed to notice. He didn't hug him - Sirius thought he might have cried if he did and thought James knew it - and instead nodded and led Sirius up the staircase. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm absolutely fine," Sirius snapped. "Never been better, in fact." James said nothing. The momentary anger faded - Sirius wasn't even sure who he was angry at - and the he realised what he'd said and to who, and was appalled. "Sorry," he said miserably. "I'm just tired and-"

"I know," James said, giving him a little smile. "And from the sounds of it, you've had an awful day. You have every right to be a little pissed."

"Awful doesn't begin to cover it," Sirius said darkly.

"James Charlus Potter," said a strict voice.

"Ignore her," James muttered. "She'll think she's dreaming."

"Sirius Orion Black."

James winced beside Sirius and both boys spun to face Dorea Potter who was looking formidable in her fluffy, crimson dressing gown. She was a tall woman and slim, with short, curly hair - it was still red but beginning to fade with age - and hazel eyes, which were narrowed in suspicion. Usually a pair of rectangular glasses - not unlike McGonagall's - rested on her long nose, but Sirius supposed her ability to read properly wasn't important at two in the morning. "Mum," James said, sounding delighted. "Fancy seeing you here."

She sighed loudly. "Sirius, why are you tracking mud all through my house?"

"Oh!" Sirius said, looking down at his filthy trainers and the footsteps he'd left coming up the staircase. "I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"Oh, good, you've found them." Charlus appeared through a doorway at the end of the hall. Charlus, in Sirius' opinion, was James in seventy years' time. He had the same mop of messy hair - though it was starting to thin and turn silver - the same smile - though Sirius had never seen it as mischievous as James' - and the same tall, lean build. "Hello, Sirius." Charlus said, even sounding similar to his son, with that same on-the-verge-of-laughter tone.

"Hi, Mr Potter."

"Charlus, please."

"I know. I just thought I should be polite, given the time."

Charlus chuckled. "Was that your trunk that almost knocked me over?"

"Probably," Sirius said apologetically. Charlus chuckled again and glanced over at his son and wife.

"We were trying to be quiet," James was telling Dorea. "Dad's just a light sleeper."

"I'll give you that," Dorea conceded, "but this time you woke both of us."

"Doing what?" James asked.

"Sprinting down the hallway like you had a chimera after you," Charlus said.

Sirius sniggered. "Oi," James said. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"I didn't wake them up," Sirius said, grinning.

James scowled. "You woke me up." He turned back to his mother. "It's all Sirius' fault."

"Such loyalty," Sirius said dryly. "You could have been a Hufflepuff, Prongs."

"Shut it, you- Ow!" Dorea had swatted her son. "Mum!"

"Don't be rude!"

Charlus sniggered and got a smack as well, making James snigger. "What?" Charlus asked.

"You can handle all those Death Eaters but you still get bossed around by Mum," James said.

"I boss everyone around, James," Dorea said firmly. "That's the way it should be and the way it will stay. Let's get you settled in, Sirius." She strode off down the hallway and the boys and Charlus followed.

"Never argue with a redheaded woman," Charlus told James and Sirius. The three of them stared at Dorea's back. "It'll end in tears but rarely on her part." Sirius glanced at James and nodded, positive they were both thinking of Lily Evans. "They're merciless and-"

"Have very good hearing," Dorea called over her shoulder, her lips twitching.

"Shall I wake Noddy, dear?"

"No. If she's managed to sleep through this, she deserves to stay where she is." Dorea sent James off to find the spare bedding and Charlus to fetch the mattress.

"I really am sorry for just showing up-"

"It's quite all right. I do wish you'd chosen a more socially-acceptable hour but it's done now. What matters is you're here, look absolutely dead on your feet and in serious need of some mothering."

"Serious need?" Sirius asked, grinning.

Dorea gave him a fond smile. "I'm well aware of what I said."

"I don't think-"

"Sirius, do remember who you're talking to," she said, shaking her head.

"I know who I'm talking to," he mumbled.

"I'm the woman who raised James Potter and survived," she told him with a grin every inch as mischievous as her son was capable of producing.

"Right," Sirius muttered.

She held her grin for a little longer and then her brisk tone was back. "Are you happy to sleep in James' room, or would you like to move into one of the guest bedrooms?"

"Sending the others to get bedding and a mattress is pointless if I go into one of the guest bedrooms," he pointed out.

"This isn't about them."

He shifted uncomfortably. "I'll go into James' room," he said. "I could use the company."

"I thought you might say that." They walked the last few yards of the hall in silence and then Dorea pushed open James' bedroom door. It was exactly as Sirius remembered it; big, with a large red-covered four-poster in the middle of the far wall, a large window on the right - the one Sirius had lured James to half an hour earlier - a desk beneath that upon which rested piles of holiday work and Chudley's cage, and a large, well-stocked bookcase and couch rested against the wall on the left. Like Sirius' room, the walls were adorned with Gryffindor banners, though James had a collection of Quidditch posters in the place of Sirius' muggle models. Even so, it was like coming home.

Sirius wondered absently if James had actually cleaned when he got home from Grimmauld - there wasn't even a sock or scarf out of place. Sirius' trunk sat at the end of James' bed.

"Watch out!" Charlus called. Dorea - who was probably well used to these situations, grabbed Sirius and pulled him out of the way as a mattress went zooming past. It fell with a quiet thump, landing beside James' bed.

"Must you?" Dorea asked, turning to her husband with her hands on her hips.

"Get out the way!" James called. A pillow raced past Sirius' knees and collided with the desk. Chudley hooted irritably.

"James!" Dorea said.

"Sorry, Mum," James said, not sounding sorry at all.

The second pillow hovered over unassumingly, and hit the back of Sirius' head. James pointed his wand at his mother, no doubt wondering whether to get her with the pillow too and then seemed to think better of it. Sirius thought that was smart of him. Instead, he sent it to rest on the mattress and he dumped the rest of the bedding there too before he retrieved the other pillow.

Dorea made the bed with a wave of her wand. "Now," she said, "bed for the pair of you."

"Yes, ma'am," James said, saluting.

"Is there anything else you need, Sirius?" she asked. He shook his head. "James?"

James turned to Charlus. "An extra Cannons ticket."

"Boys," Dorea muttered, but she smiled at both her husband and son. "Would like me to write to my niece, Sirius, and let her know you're safe?"

"No," Sirius said, his voice catching a little. "I don't think she cares where I am at the moment."

Charlus frowned slightly. "Surely your mother...?"

"Trust me, she won't care," Sirius said heavily.

Dorea was frowning at her son. "James, what...?"

"We've adopted him," James informed his parents as he looped an arm around Sirius' shoulders.

"Oh, have we now?" Charlus asked.

"Yep," James said. Sirius felt his face heating up. "I'll take care of him, I promise. I'll feed him and take him for walks and-"

"He's not a dog, James," Dorea said, rolling her eyes. Well actually... She shooed her son away and hugged Sirius. "You're welcome for as long as you want to stay," she said.

"I might not ever leave," Sirius joked.

"You make a better house-guest than some," Charlus said, grinning at his son.

"I'm a wonderful guest," James protested.

"Who said I was talking about you?"

"You looked at me..." James sighed and elbowed his father who caught him and ruffled his hair.

"Sleep in tomorrow," Dorea advised, releasing Sirius, "and then if you feel up to it, we'll have a chat about things." She fixed her son with a stern look. "And you look after him, James."

"You're kidding me!" James said. "You think you have to tell me to?! It's like you don't know me at all-" He continued to splutter indignantly as his mother kissed him on the forehead and she and Charlus left the room. "Look after you," James grumbled. "What do they think I'm going to do, hang you out the window? Feed you to Chudley? Honestly!"

"Feed me to Chudley?" Sirius asked, climbing into bed.

"He's vicious," James said gravely.

"Sure."

"He is. He bit me the other day. I'm going to have a scar there forever-"

"Why'd he bite you?"

"Nox," James said, waving his wand at the lamps. "Pardon?"

"I said why'd he bite you?"

"Because he likes Lily better than me. I swear she's told him not to deliver things to her anymore."

"Wonder why..."

James missed the good-natured sarcasm. "I don't know, but it's unfortunate, really. When she finally gives in and realises she fancies me, I won't have any way to contact her."

"You'd buy a new owl."

"That's what I told Chudley. And then he bit me." Sirius chuckled. "Speaking of Chudley, I was thinking, I'll write to Moony tomorrow and see if he wants to come over a few days early."

"Not yet," Sirius said.

James understood at once. "You don't want the company?"

"I just want a few days to think," Sirius said.

James was quiet. "Fair enough," he said after a moment. "If you need anything, though, let me know. I could invite Marlene over if you want... that... sort of company."

Marlene's company was tempting but Sirius shook his head and then, remembering James couldn't see him said, "Not yet."

James made a funny little noise and then, "I'm touched, Paddy, that you want me around."

"You live here," Sirius pointed out. "I don't have much choice about you."

"If you want me to bugger off, say the word," James said cheerfully.

"Prongs, I don't think that day's ever going to come."

"Good," James said simply.

And that was all that needed to be said for now. Sirius would explain the night's events in depth tomorrow when he was thinking coherently, and James would probably get upset and want to have Father arrested before Sirius talked him out of it. Sirius would probably cry at some point, and he would probably feel guilty for leaving Regulus behind but he could face all of that, he knew. James would help him through it, and when he felt up to their company, Remus and Peter would too. He wasn't alone. He had his friends, his brothers. His family. A family that he was proud to belong to, and one that was proud to have him-

"Padfoot? Paaaadddfoooot..."

"Hmm?"

James laughed. "I thought I'd lost you for a bit."

Sirius grinned at the wording. "Almost," he said. "But I'm back now."