The human brain works for seven minutes after death. You see your life flash before your eyes seven minutes before you die. Seven minutes.
“Nice one, James!” Sirius stands side by side with his godson, fighting death eaters with him, just like he did with his father. He grins easily as he slides into his old dueling stance, wand out in front as he flicks and weavers himself through the enemies.
It’s like an old dance to him, something never forgotten just like riding a bike. He doesn’t see his cousin in the shadows, too busy sending spell after spell at Lucius, making sure he takes all the hits.
At this moment, Harry is his brother, and just like Regulus, he will take every taunt, hit, or hex to protect him. He grins when Harry lands a good spell, and finally knocks Lucius off the platform.
Sirius sees Bellatrix too late, his head snapping back. He stumbles, going toward the veil. He sees James’ face staring at him, looking like he did when they were 15. He leans into the veil, smiling.
It’s said that in the first minute, you see yourself being born.
Sirius blinks and he sees bright white. Like his eyes have been covered his whole life and he can finally see, blinded by nothing but white white white. The walls are white, and the doctor holding him has blue gloves on, a blue mask too. He has thin square lensed glasses on, and he’s smiling so hard that you can barely see his eyes.
Behind the doctor, there is a man behind him. Tall, dark grey eyes, and short black hair neatly styled.
Distantly, he hears crying, wailing. He wonders who it is. His eyes are blurry, and he can’t get a true breath in.
He reaches for the man with the dark hair. The man’s face goes hard, cold even. He’s no longer looking over the doctor’s shoulder, no longer interested in the baby that is being held. He stands straight up and turns to look at someone else who Sirius hadn’t noticed yet.
“Boy.” The man says. He doesn’t sound proud, but he is not displeased either. He seems satisfied enough and nods at the woman on the bed before turning and leaving the room.
Sirius cries harder, searching for something, anything in the room to cling to. His small hands reach for the doctors, but he can’t reach the fingers holding him, probably wouldn’t be able to grab onto them anyways.
He’s handed to someone else, the women on the bed that the man was talking to earlier. She looks just like the man. Long black hair, grey eyes, pale skin and sharp cheeks bones prominent in her face.
She doesn’t look as cold as he did though. Her face is flushed red and there’s sweated covering her skin. She coos softly and holds him close to her, cradling him to her chest.
“Oh, im so happy you’re a boy,” she whispers into his skin. His crying dies down a bit, having someone to cling to. “Sirius,” she whispers, “Sirius.”
The second minute you see your happiest memories, the small and pleasant things. The first time anything made you truly happy and you did something good.
Sirius are Reguluis are running around the halls of 12 Grimmauld place. Their parents are away on ministry business, but they’re happy for the freedom it gives them. Kreature is in charge of watching the two, but with his friendship towards the Regulus they hope he won’t rat them out.
They run around the halls, jumping over furniture and sliding down the rails of the stairs. A muggle game that they watched the ot6her kids play in the streets through their windows. They called it tag.
The brothers threw themselves out of reach from each other, Kreature yelling at them to behave, but all the boys can do is laugh. They’re barely 9 and 10. They spend all their time living up to their parents perfect image, young scholars, piano lessons, flying lessons.
It’s both of theirs first time smiling this hard, being able to breathe easily.
Sirius is on the train to hogwarts. He’s nervous being away from his parents and his brother for the year. His hair is gelled bak, posture straight, and he sits in a compartment alone in his ridiculously expensive robes. He stares out the window, and notices this boy with wild brown hair. His glasses look too big for his face andd he’s hugging his parents good bye before running after the train. It’s 10:58 and the boy is trying to lift his trunk up the steps and make it on the train.
Sirius is baffled by the unseriousness of the boy. He recognizes him from the dinner parties, another blood, a Potter. Jeremy? Maybe Josh? He was never allowed to talk to him, his parents calling his family bloodtraitors.
It’s no time at all for the messy haired boy to poke his head into the compartment.
“Hi!” He’s loud and cheerful and his this stupid grin on his face. “Black, right?” Sirius stares at his and nods. “I’m James! Mind if I sit?”
This is exactly who Sirius shouldn’t be friends with. He’s also exactly who Sirius wants to be friends with. He nods again and extends his hand. “Sirius.” He says. He gives the boy, James, a slight smile. James smiles back and warmness spreads through Sirius’ chest, he feels safe and he can’t exactly pinpoint why or what it is. He knows him and James are going to be friends.
Sirius blinks again, and he’s in his third year setting up a prank with his friends.
They’ve snuck into slytherin dorms, befriended some house elves who are helping out. It’s the early hours of the morning, James and Sirius smushed under the the invisibility robe, Remus under polyjuice potion to look like Slughorn, and Peter was waiting in front of the dorm room as a rat to keep lookout. They snuck around the Slytherins dorms, replacing their robes with ones that were annoyingly pink. Each student got a pink robe on top of their trunks, and the house elves held onto whichever robes they took from the students for cleaning.
James and Sirius were laughing so hard that they woke up the first years, who Remus had to calm down and say he was just doing a dorm check. They were so scared of their head of house being in their dorms at three in the morning that they just nodded along, and Remus had to put a silencio over them for the rest of the night.
They laughed so hard the next morning when the slytherins came into the Great Hall glaring daggers at them in their bubblegum pink robes.
He’s at the hospital, asleep on Remus’ shoulder while Remus reads a book. Peter sits on the other side, watching whatevers playing on the muggle television. Sirius sighs, stretches, and looks around. A kind-looking nurse walks into the waiting room.
“For Potter?” She asks. The three stand up at once. Other family is there too, Effie and Monty, Dorcas and Marlene, even Minnie came to see Baby Potter. Sirius is surrounded by his family, the one he chose and grew up with.
The group goes to the delivery room, Smiling and crying over little Harry. One of them having a baby shows that they’ll be okay. It’s the marauders world, it always has been, and now they’re expanding even more.
Sirius holds his godson for the first time and cries for the joy of it all.
In the third minute, you see the love of your life.
Sirius sees Remus, the quiet eleven year old covered in scars. He carries a thick, wellworn book in his arms, and is wearing an old knit sweater. It hangs off of his lean frame, bunches at his wrists.
Sirius thinks he’s adorable.
It’s their fourth year and they’re sitting next to each other in the great hall. James and Peter are there too, sitting across from them, talking about something that he isn’t paying attention too.
Him and Remus are side by side, shoulders knocking against each other with every laugh, knees bumping into each other every few moments. Sirius was loud, smiling, grinning, soaking in every joyous minute of life that he possibly could. Remus was quiet, small smiles and easy going laughs that Sirius melted for every time.
Sirius and Remus are walking down the halls together. James and Peter are off in Hogsmeade, and Sirius stayed with Remus while he recovers from the full moon the night before. They’re walking through different parts of the castle, planning how they’ll set up for a new prank once the others get back.
Sirius is talking about wizards chess, a way he trapped James in their game last night and beat him. He’s smiling and gesturing happily as he talks, and then Remus grabs his hand. Sirius stops talking and stares, and Remus smiles back and grips Sirius’ hand with a little more confidence.
“Problem?” Remus asks, with a smirk on his face. He knows exactly what he’s doing to Sirius.
“Nope!” It comes out as a squeak, and Sirius immediately wants to face palm and disappear. Remus laughs, and Sirius is swooning.
He’s crying in his bed, the beginning of his sixth year at Hogwarts. His parents kicked him out and he hasn’t slept in Remus’ bed since. He’s always had nightmares, but they’re worse now, and he doesn’t want to wake Remus every night.
He’s shaking, his covers pulled tight around him and over his head while he struggles to breathe, a silencing charm placed before he fell asleep.
He startles when someone pulls at his curtain and the moonlight shines through the fabric of his blanket.
“Pads?” Remus whispers into the air, hand hovering over the blanket. Sirius tries to bury himself further into his mattress. He lets out a soft sob. “Oh love,” Remus’ hand finds his waist easily, pushing gently until Sirius rolls over.
Sirius lowers the blanket from over his head, his lip wobbling and eyes full of tears when he meets Remus’ face.
“How did you know?” Ha asks. How did you hear me? He thinks.
“I just felt like something was wrong. Can I lay with you?”
Sirius’ heart explodes, and he nods while he moves over to make space. They get resettled, Sirius’ head ends up on Remus’ chest, Remus’ arm wrapped securely around his waist.
“I love you.” Remus whispers into his hair, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Sleep well.”
Sirius falls asleep with a smile.
The fourth minute shows you all the times you’ve felt alone, sad. Unlovable.
Sirius is sitting in the Great hall on his second day at Hogwarts. People have been staring at him since he entered the hall, his cousins glaring since last night. Since a Black got sorted into Gryffindor and not Slytherin. He wishes he could melt into the ground.
He wishes he was good enough, a good heir, a good son.
The owls bring morning mail, and he’s dreading his parents reaction to his placement. He’s sure they know, dear cousin Bellatrix surely told them the moment they made it back to their dorms.
He winces when he sees his family bird fly in, carrying a crimson red letter in its beak. He drops the letter and it starts screeching in his mothers shrill voice.
“Sirius black! How dare you! How dare you disgrace your family like this? Me and your father are very disappointed. You have embarrassed us! You’ve embarrassed your brother! Pull your act together, or else you’ll regret it. I promise you. You will regret it.”
The letter tears itself apart in front of him. He stares at the destroyed paper, his lip only quivers for a moment before he pulls itself together. Blacks don’t cry. His parents must be mad if they’re willing to send a howler when everyone can hear it. If people weren’t looking at him before, then they certainly are now.
“Well,” he starts. He tries to sound nonchalant and like he doesn’t care. It doesn’t work. It comes out strained and forced. “They seem happy?” He tries for a joke, but no one laughs. Everyone is looking at him, most with pity in their eyes, other looking like they want to laugh.
His new friends look at him like they can’t believe a parent would ever do that to their kid. He envys their obliviousness, their disbelief. They don’t understand what it’s like to have parents like his. James’ parents love him unconditionally, Remus’ mom makes him tea every morning and his father helps heal him father transformations. Peter comes two loving parents and two little brothers, a family that’s the closest Sirius has ever seen.
Sirius feels alone when learning how his parents treat him versus how his friends’ parents treat them. He never realized how different he was, that there was something wrong with him to deserve it.
He cries in his bed later that night.
It’s a cold night, and Sirius sits on toip of the Astronomy tower in thin pajama pants and a white tshirt. He shivers as the wind blows through his hair and licks over his skin. He’s thinner than he’s ever been, refusing to eat unless forced to. Not able to sleep until he’s dropping from exhaustion.
He stares into the sky, looking for anything to ground him back into reality, but at the same time he wishes for nothing more than to disappear. He did the unthinkable, telling Snape Remus’ secret, and now none of his friends will talk to him. They’ll look at him, they’ll glare daggers into him like they want nothing more than to beat the shit out of him.
He wouldn’t blame them. He deserves it.
He’s staring at the wall. He isn’t sure how long he’s been sitting against the concrete wall, staring at the matching concrete wall across from him. He can feel how matted his hair is, how heavy and long it is. Dementors blow cold air into his cell when they pass. He doesn’t have the energy to shiver anymore.
He doesn’t have the energy for anything anymore.
He distantly remembers screaming and crying to anyone who would listen that it wasn’t him. He didn’t kill his best friends, he didn’t rat them out, he would never. Nobody would listen, the guards didn’t care about him in the slightest.
He’s accepted his fate that he’s never getting out of Azkaban. His bestfriend is dead. His godson is an orphan. Every letter he’s sent to Remus has gone unanswered. He wants to believe that Remus never received them, but somehow he knows that’s not the case.
Remus probably saw the letters, and he ignored them. He genuinely believes that his boyfriend murdered his best friends.
The fifth minute you see your miracle moments.
Sirius is on the ground screaming in pain. He thinks his screaming anyways, his throat certainly hurts and he can’t catch his breath. His mother stands above him with her wand pointed at his face. He isn’t sure how long he’s there until everything goes dark.
Regulus finds him sometime later and gently helps him up.
“Reg?” Sirius asks, confused. “What’s going on?” Regulus’ face is tearstricken, something Sirius hasn’t seen from his brother in years. He’s never met anyone who could hide their emotions as well as his little brother. “Are you okay?”
Regulus shakes his head silently, pulling a little harsher at Sirius’ arm until he stands up. His side twinges in pain, the tell tale sign of bruises forming over his calves and arms. He inhales sharply when the change in position makes his head pound.
“You have to go.” Regulus whispers. He drags Sirius’ arm over his own shoulders to support his brothers weight. He drags him towards the stairs, the two making their way to Sirius’ room.
“What?” Sirius asks, a bit too loud that Regulus shushes him immediately. “I don’t understand,” he says quiter. He’s a little scatter brained, still trying to figure out what’s going on, why he was on the ground, why his brother was crying.
Regulus nudges the door to Sirius’ room open with his foot, and drops Sirius onto the bed.
The room is destroyed, posters Sirius had on his wall are ripped to shreds, his desk torn apart and papers everywhere, his clothes are spread out on every surface. It’s clear Walburga was searching for something.
Regulus starts grabbing things at random and shoving them into Sirius’ trunk at the foot of his bed.
“You have to leave, Sirius.” He keeps stuffing more and more clothes into his trunk. Anything he can reach.
“See, you keep saying that but you won’t tell me why.” Sirius is sitting up in his bed, watching his brother frantically move around his room.
“You’re not safe here, you have to leave.”
Sirius tsks at him. “I’ve never been safe here, what’s it matter now?”
Regulus stops moving and glares hard at him. It doesn’t do much other than show Sirius just how red-eyed and flushed faced his younger brother is. “Regulus….:” His tone is softer, more gentle.
“Because they’ll kill you know!” Regulus yells at him. “She’ll kill you…” His voice breaks, “And I’d rather lose you for the summer than for the rest of my life.” He’s crying again, and Sirius’ breath hitches in his throat. “I was healing you for an hour before you finally woke up. You… You were so cut up, a piece of you arm was missing. There was so many different wounds Siri, did you even notice you were laying in your own blood? Your arm was broken, so was your nose. I healed most of it but, b-but I didn’t you were going to wake up.” Regulus is sobbing. He’s kneeling on the ground by Sirius’ trunk, his hands are balled tightly in fist against his own thighs.
“I thought you weren’t going to wake up..” He whispers.
“Oh, Regulus,” Sirius starts. “Reg I’m okay, I’m alright-”
“But you almost weren’t! Can’t you see that? You almost wweren’t. You aren’t invincible Sirius!” Regulus keeps packing. “You have to leave.”
“I can’t leave you here.”
“You have to!” Regulus huffs, and throws a rolled up pair of socks at him. “You have protected me your whole life. Let me protect you this one time. I’ll be safe here. If I stay, then they won’t come after you!” His hands are shaking so hard that he balls them up again.
Sirius shakes his head, sliding off the bed, and now that Regulus points it out, he notices the weakness in the his left ankle.
“What if they start hurting you once I leave? What then?” Sirius asks, he sits down next to Regulus. He reaches a hand out and grabs one of his, unfurling his fist. There’s small crescent shapes indents from how tight his grip was.
“No Sirius! I can take it! I need you to be okay! They won’t hurt me the same as they hurt you.”
“Come with me.” Sirius reaches for Regulus other hand.
“I can’t. You know I can’t. If I stay, then you’re free to leave.” Sirius is shaking his head before Regulus even finishes talking. “They won’t kill me Sirius. I’m the back up, they have no one else if something happens to me. Sirius opens his mouth to say something else when they hear the front door slam open.
They look at each other wide eyed.
“You have to leave. Now.” Regulus says, yanking his hands away from his brother and frantically added last things into his trunk.
“No Sirius. Now!” The stairs creek and their mothers footsteps get closer, her heels clicking against the old wooden floor. Regulus pulls his wand out and shrinks Sirius’ trunk to fit in his pocket. He shoves it into Sirius’ hands before grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the window.
“Sirius if you don’t leave right now I swear to Merlin that I will push you out this window!”
“She’s coming!” Regulus starts pushing at Sirius while opening the window and popping the screen out at the same time. “I’ll see you at school in two months. Don’t write, she’ll get mad. I’ll be okay, I promise.”
“I love you.” Sirius yanks his brother into a hug, he holds tight. Never ready to let go.
“I love you too.” Regulus says, melting into his brother. “Please go.” He whispers. Sirius lets go of him, lifting himself out of the window. He sits there for a moment before fully jumping out.
“If something happens, anything happens, you leave. You come to the Potters.”
“You can. And you will. If anything happens you will come to the Potters. Understand? Or else I’m not leaving.”
Regulus huffs, and smiles. His brother has always been so damn stubborn.
“Fine, I promise. Now go. Before she catches us.” Sirius ruffles his hair one more time, before dropping out of the window, into the streets outside. He disappears into the dark just in time for his mother to twist open the door to the bedroom.
He’s underneath one of the quidditch towers. It’s been raining all night, but he doesn’t feel safe enough to go back to his dorm. He doesn’t know if he deserves it. He’s wrapped in a thin blanket from his bed, and abulky sweatshirts. His clothes are wet where they’re touching the mud on the ground below him. The wooden beams on the tower and mostly wet and soaked through, but at least he is protected from the wind.
He tries to settle himself down a little more, ready to sleep there once again for the night. He’ll sneak back into the dorms during breakfast to shower.
He can hear footsteps leading up to the tower he’s under, feet stomping in mud, but he doesn’t expect them to walk up to the tower and slip into it. He stares wide-eyed at Remus. His hair is plastered to his head and his clothes are soaked through from the rain.
It takes Sirius half a second before he’s scrambling to sit up, his hands sinking into mud puddles around him.
“Rem-” he starts. Trying to apologize again and again, and he would be apologizing for the rest of his life. He stops talking when Remus holds a hand up to him.
“Why are you under here?” Remus asks, displeased. He looks around the small space, cringing at the cold and the state of the structure. Spider webs covered the walls, patches of grass overtaking the corners.
“What?” Sirius was leaning against one of the corners, still on the ground. “I assumed you wouldn’t want me back in the dorms- Remus I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, really, I wasn’t thinking- and- and-”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. And I know you’ll never forgive me, and I deserve that-” Sirius blabbered over Remus.
“Sirius stop.” Sirius stopped. “I forgive you.”
“What?” He jerked, his brain taking a moment to catch up. “No! You can’t! I don’t deserve it.”
Remus moved to squat down next to Sirius, minding the mud. “I forgive you.” His hand reached out carefully to cup Sirius’ face. Sirius trembled under his touch but leaned into it and the same time.
“Remus…” A stray tear fell from his eye. “Moony..”
Remus wiped it away, pulling Sirius in and hugging his head to his chest. “I forgive you.” He whispered again. “Oh pads,” he said, pressing a kiss to Sirius’ forehead. Sirius sobbed into him, wrapping his arms around Remus’ waist. Remus shushed him quietly, before shifting to look Sirius in the eyes.
“Let’s get you out of here, yeah? I’m half worried that this whole structure is going to fall onto us.” He gave Sirius a strained smile. Sirius let out a wet laugh that was half a sob, taking Remus’ hands and letting him pull him up.
The sixth minute is when you judge yourself, if you were a good enough person
Regulus dropped a plate at dinner, and he looked like a dear in headlights when his mother started to rise out of her seat, anger in her eyes.
“Reg-” She starts, and Sirius cuts her off.
“So, I’m thinking about dating this girl from school.” He says. He is not thinking about doing that. Ever. “Jessica Wright. She’s a muggleborn, a little dull, but she’s pretty enough.” He’s rambling, saying anything to get his mothers attention on him.
“Excuse me?” She shrieks. “A mudblood? You-”
“Muggle born is the correct term, mother.”
She forgets about Regulus entirely. If looks could kill, Sirius thinks, I’d be a dead man.
His father stays seated, but he puts his utensils down, content with watching his wife torture his child. Sirius keeps talking.
“Mudblood is so outdated, don’t you think? Very posh, very old. From your time probably, right mother?”
Walburga is quick to slap him across the face, her rings biting at his flesh.
“Ouch,” Sirius says sarcastically, hiding how much that hurt. “That was almost painful mother, losing your touch, are we?”
He pinpoints the exact moment she goes from just being angry to downright pissed off. It was going to be a long night.
He’s laying on the ground, eyes shut tight and his fists clenched. His jaw is locked. He will not scream. He won’t give them the satisfaction. He can feel the exact moment his leg snaps and his entire body goes in blinding pain. He gasps, his eyes shooting open while he stares his mother in the eye.
She cackles. She shuts his eyes again.
It’s worth it, he tells himself. It’s worth it, it’s worth it, it’s worth it. He keeps repeating it, convincing himself. Regulus bolted the moment his mother hit him the first time. He’s glad for that, Regulus doesn’t have to see him like this then. He knows his brother will heal him later, but for now he just has to take it until his mother gets tired.
He’s doing good, for his brother.
Him and his friends are sitting in the Great Hall. They got to breakfast early that morning, Sirius next to Remus, James next to Peter.
“This is going to be so good!” Sirius muses. The four talk in hushed whispers, waiting for other students to fill the hall. They’ve charmed Slughorn’s pumpkin juice to spill on his head as soon as he lifts his fork.
The hall starts to fill slowly as more students come to eat breakfast. Finally, Slughorn walks through the hall, yawning and looking not at all awake as he makes his way to the teachers table.
James has to kick Sirius under the table so he stops staring and smiling as slughorn walks past.
“You’ll give us away!” He whispers, but James is smiling anyways. Peter is grinning next to him, they can’t wait for Slughorn to get juiced. Remus smiles, shaking his head at his dumbass friends. The boys have fully abandoned pretending to eat when slughorn finally sits down. He fills his plate with food, and finally picks up his fork.
The hall is mostly filled at this point, and the boys are watching professor Slughorn like hawks.
He picks up his fork, and his goblet raises and tips on his head.
He gasps in shock, hands hovering at his side. Students around the hall notice and start cackling with laughter. The halls shake with joy, and the four boys grin. Sirius and Remus high five under the table, James and Sirius tap their feet together.
Slughorn is fuming. Sirius falters slightly at the look on his face, he’s extremely upset. Then Sirius decides he doesn’t actually care because he made everyone else laugh.
And how bad could he be if he made everyone else happy at the expense of one person?
“Expelliarmus!” James yells. He flicks Snape’s wand out of his hand. There a group following them, chanting.
“Nice one, James!” Sirius grins next to him, James starts to lift Snape in the air. Dangling him upside down.
“Now,” James starts, “who wants to see me take of Snape’s trousers?” The group cheers and yells louder. Sirius is laughing the loudest, nudging James with his arm.
“Do it, Prongs!” He cheers. James does.
They both cackle and laugh at Snape’s expense. Snape is horrified, frantical;ly reaching for his pants, but struggling upside. The boys laugh and ridicule him as they put on a show in front of the crowd. Sirius doesn’t feel an ounce of remorse. Distantly, a small part of his brain wonders if he should.
The seventh minute is unpredictable. You see your entire life start to finish, flashes of everything you’ve ever done.
Sirius sits through piano lessons, his teacher a harsh lady who smacks his hand with a cane if he messes up. He always plays beautifully.
Sirius and Regulus are stuck to each other like glue. Hand and hand running around the house, to the park up the street. Sirius was always pulling him, urging him to move forward forward. All Regulus would do is pull back back back.
“What of our parents, Sirius?” He asked, worried of the trouble they would get in.
“What of us, Reg?” Sirius would shoot back. “Memories over fears, come on.” He would tug Regulus’ hand softly, and Regulus would always come with him anyways.
Sitting at the table in silence, family dinner where it never felt like family. It felt like Regulus and Sirius versus the world. Sirius protecting Regulus from the rest of the world. The food was always quite good though.
Sirius is hugging his brother goodbye the night before he leaves for Hogwarts. Regulus is in Sirius’ bed, clinging onto him.
“Don’t leave.” Regulus cries. He looks at Sirius with large doe eyes. “I don’t want you to go.”
Sirius holds him tighter, pressing Regulus’ face into his neck so he doesn’t have to look at his sad eyes.
“I’m sorry Reggie,” he whispers. “I have to go. But I’ll come back for winter and easter and summer. Then next year we’ll be together again.”
“I’ll miss you.” Regulus mumbles. Sirius gets teary eyed.
“I’ll miss you too,” he chokes out.
Sirius is sitting on the stool in front of the entire school. Everyone looked up when his name was called, another Black heir.
He smirks going up there, no doubt that he’d be put in Slytherin.
“Slytherin?” The sorting hat asks. Sirius’ face drops. The hat sounds like the thought is the funniest in the world.
“Well, it is quite funny,” the hat says. “You barely have an ounce of Slytherin in you. Nothing like your cousins.”
“Yes… Yes I see, you seem much better suited for..”
Sirius feels his heart drop to his toes. His parents are going to kill him.’
“Gryffindor!” The hat yells. Sirius swallows, and starts walking toward the red and gold table.
His parents are definitely going to kill him.
Sirius and James are pulling a prank, the first one of their second year. They’re standing at one of the higher stairs. They’re hidden under the invisibility cloak, crammed but they fit. Everytime a first year walks by (or a slytherin), they levitate something out of their hands.
So far they’ve got a book, a wand, even a toad. They levitate for a minute or two, watching the owner jump for it just above their reach, before letting it drop.
Sirius and James are grinning, high fiving every time.
Remus and Sirius are sharing a moment by the black lake. James is off wooing Evans, and Peter is with him. Wingman and all. Sirius and Remus get to be alone together, and they’ve just started dating.
Sirius lays his head on Remus’ shoulder, smiling softly.
“I love it when you smile like that.” Remus says. He has a book open in his lap, but he isn’t reading. He’s looking at Sirius.
Sirius feels his face grow hot and hides in Remus’ shoulder.
“Moonyy…” He whines. Remus laughs, one of his hands easily wrapping around Sirius’ waist.
“It’s cute.” Remus says. Sirius blushes harder and tries to burrow further into Remus. Remus grins a toothy grins, forgetting his book entirely and bringing his other hand to play with Sirius’ hair.
He’s standing in the corridor on the night of a full moon. He’s staring down Snape across from him. Fuming.
“Tell me, Black.” Snape says. He smirking, his wand twirling in his hand. Sirius’ wand is in his other. He disarmed him the moment he turned the corner.
“No?” Snape mocks. “Is the puppy that whipped? You don’t anything if Remus doesn’t tell you to, do you?” Snape laughs. Sirius wants nothing more than to lunge at him.
“Does Remus make all your decisions for you? Do your homework love, Pay attention Paddy, Be good Sirius.” Snape does his best to mock Remus’ voice, and it only serves to piss Sirius off more.
“Fuck you.” He spits. It takes all of his willpower to not kill Snape where he stands.
Sirius does lunge this time. Snape freezes him with a flick of his wand.
“Where does he go, Black?” Snape asks again. Sirius is so blinded by fury that he doesn’t fully process what he’s saying until afterwards.
“You really want to know? Go to the willow, press the not. Then you’ll find out.”
Snape grins, greasy and gross, throws Sirius’ wand to the other end of the corridor, and doesn’t release him until he’s already turned the corner. Sirius fills with a strong sense of dread.
Sirius ends up on the Potters doorstep. He’s cold, and quiet, and sad. It’s extremely early in the morning, the back of his shirt is still soaked in blood, but at least he isn’t bleeding since Regulus healed him. The pain is a dull thrum that’s getting stronger. He couldn’t feel it before due to the adrenaline of escaping, but now it hits him full force.
He takes a breath and knocks on the door. He leans against the wall of the porch, righting himself once he realizes he’s leaving a bloodstain.
The light turns on in the entryway, and he blinks tiredly as the door slowly opens. It’s a short women who answers, looking curiously at the young boy on her doorstep.
“Hello?” She asks, cautiously.
“Hi.” Sirius says. “I’m Sirius.”
The women smiles, here face lighting up. “Sirius? James’ friend?” Sirius nods. “Oh my, I’ve heard so much about you! Come in dear, come in.” She says. She opens the door and lets Sirius in, she gasps once he’s in the light and his wounds and blood are visible.
“Monty!” She starts yelling. “Monty get down here!” Sirius starts to lose his fight with consciousness and he feels like he’s underwater. He’s about to turn and ask for James when his head pokes around the corner.
“Mama, que-” His eyes snap to Sirius standing in the middle of the hall looking lost. “Sirius!” He runs down the rest of the stairs and to his friend. “What happened, what’s going on, why-”
“Hi Prongs.” One side of Sirius’ mouth lifts in a slight smile. “I think I need help.”
Everything tilts and he drops to the floor.
“Gryffindor wins the house cup!” Dumbledore yells. All the Gryffindor’s at the table scream and cheer, their hats flying up into the air.
“We did it!” James yells. Him and Sirius climb onto the table.
“We did it!” Sirius yells back, high fiving his best friend. The two grin and smile, setting off fireworks for their departing gift. The Gryffindor crest explodes into the sky. Remus and Peter climb onto the table as well, all taking their final bows.
Remus and Sirius enter their new flat. Eahc holding a box. Sirius drops his in the entry way, going to Remus and making him drops his as well. He stands on his tiptoes to peck Remus’ lips.
“Welcome Home, baby.” He says. He hugs him tightly, everything is going to be okay.
The group is met up at Molly and Arthurs house. Order meeting. The prophecy was just announced, Harry Potter is in danger.
The Potters must go into hiding. Sirius wvows to protect them with his life.
James hugs him, smiles, and chooses Peter.
Sirius is flying to the Potters as fast as he can, his motorcycles going as fast as possible. He gets there and he can hear Lily screaming, before the street goes quiet. He’s too late.
Too late too late too late.
Peter is standing in the driveway, staring at the house.
“Peter!” Sirius screams.” He isn’t fully on the ground before he’s swinging at his old friend. Peter tries to open his mouth, tries to say something but Sirius is on him immediately.
“My, my.” Voldemort comes out of the door, Sirius looks over his shoulder at him. “The Black I couldn’t have.”
He sits staring at the wall of his cell. He would guess it’s beena few years. It fells like it’s been an eternity. He doesn’t know how much longer he can take it.
Someone walks past with a newspaper.
He sees Peter. Peter. As a rat.
Sirius sees red. He’s going to kill Peter. He turns into a dog and slips out.
Sirius sees Remus again in the shack.
Brings back old memories, he thinks. He hugs his friend, boyfriend? Exfriend? He doesn’t know what they are, but he’s happy to see him regardless.
They threaten Peter together.
Sirius has been in his old house for so long. Too long. Remus stays with him most days, but he’s aching for the chance to get out and help fight.
“Sirius!” Molly calls, he can hear her feet running up the stairs. “Sirius!” She’s out of breath.
“What?” He asks frantically. “Whats happened?”
“It’s Harry! Arthur called, him and his friends broke into the ministry. They’re looking for the prophecy. Sirius, the death eaters found.”
He’s gone in a flash, he apparates to the ministry. He notices the crack of the rest of the order behind him. He doesn’t mind them, he walks straight up to Lucius and punches him in the face.
Home. Is his last thought. The next time he opens his eyes, it’s white light except for his best friend standing there waiting for him. James opens his arms for him, which Sirius easily falls into.
