Because We Are Made Of Dreams

New Beginnings

Walburga Black was making the last preparations for the annual Black family meeting. The event, that assembled the whole Black family, was probably the most important moment of the year for the witch, for it was the perfect time to prove to all the Noble House of Black members how respectable she and her husband were. And this year, the meeting would take place in her own house, at 12 Grimmauld Place, and it was the perfect opportunity to shine. As she took one last look around her living room, everything was perfect. Well, everything except...

"Sirius! Can"t you dress up properly?!"

The sixteen-year-old boy rolled his eyes and straightened his robes. Really, the entire thing was utter bullshit...

"And you"d better behave yourself, young man!"

"I will, if they do."

"Don"t start!" she roared, her voice so powerful Sirius could have sworn the whole living room was trembling, or maybe it was just an after-effect of his ears exploding.

This day was going to be a nightmare, he knew it. The only thought that was keeping him together right now was the image of the warm and welcoming Potter"s cottage in Godric"s Hollow, where he would spend three entire weeks of freedom with James, his best friend. He would go there the next day and they were going to have so much fun! Well, if Sirius could survive the next few hours with his entire deranged family all gathered in one small room, that is... Near the mantelpiece, Regulus was watching Kreacher, their house elf, helping his mistress to prepare the reunion. He was perfectly dressed, just like any respectable pure blood, standing very straight, his chin high and proud, impatient for their guests to arrive. Sirius, on the other hand, was constantly passing a finger between his throat and his tightened collar, clearly uncomfortable and annoyed by the whole thing. Though the two brothers looked alike, only Regulus a bit younger than Sirius, they were desperately different. Sirius couldn"t help but regret his lost relationship with his younger brother. He regretted the days when he would defend Regulus against his parents, when they used to play and laugh together. But Regulus had never stood his ground in front of their parents. He was too docile and scared of them, while Sirius was reckless and bold, rebellious even. It was probably because of this difference of attitude towards their family and their beliefs that Sirius ended up in Gryffindor, while Regulus was placed in Slytherin. The child a stranger in his own home and the perfect little pure blood... Sirius glanced bitterly towards his younger brother. Yes, they couldn"t be more different indeed. Orion Black, the patriarch, entered the room, wrapped in his best robes.

"Is everything ready?" he asked his wife.

"Yes, all is fine."

She glanced in the direction of Sirius.

"And everything is going to be fine, because you will behave yourself and shut up the whole evening, are we clear?"

"Crystal clear," answered Sirius from behind his gritted teeth.

"Fine."

Suddenly, a green fire was lit under the mantelpiece and wizards and witches started to arrive, using the Floo Network. They were greeted in the most honourable way by their honourable hosts, before sitting in the most honourable living room and being served by the most honourable house elf in the most honourable way, honourable being the word Sirius usually used to define how creepy and delusional his whole family was. He also generally referred to his sudden nausea at the sight of his family with the same adjective. He made a huge effort not to roll his eyes in front of every single newcomer.

The evening went on, dull and boring for Sirius, as usual. He had stopped listening for a while now, and was imagining what James and he would do first the next day. Probably a game of Quidditch. Sirius had not unpacked his things since he had come back to Grimmauld Place at the end of his fifth year at Hogwarts and his trunk was ready, waiting patiently in his bedroom for freedom the next day. He couldn"t wait. But he was torn away from his thoughts as he suddenly heard his name being mentioned in the conversation around him.

"It must be so hard for you Walburga, with him in Gryffindor..."

As usual they were talking about him as if he wasn"t even in the room. How lovely...

"Oh, you can"t imagine! I don"t know what to do with him really. He"s just useless and unbearable!"

What a nice pair of adjectives to describe her elder son, really...

"And his friends must all be blood traitors, if not worse!"

Sirius felt his blood starting to boil in his veins and he tightened his grip on the arms of his chair. He didn"t give a damn about what they all thought of him. He took all the insults his mother threw at him rather like compliments. He was different from them, and he was proud to be so. They were all deranged pure bloods, and he was ashamed to have the same blood than theirs running through his veins; the same hair, the same deep grey eyes, the same form of face. He would have gladly exchanged his last name with any muggleborn if he had had the opportunity. He didn"t care about them insulting him, but hearing them insulting his friends was something else entirely.

"All traitors alike indeed! When they aren"t mudbloods! I can"t believe he"s inflicting that on us, after all we have done for him!"

All they had ever done for Sirius was beating him and repeating to him that he was nothing, that he was a shame to his family. He had never had a loving, or even kind gesture from them, and he knew he meant nothing to them. And she was claiming they had made sacrifices for him? What a joke!

"I heard he was friends with the Potter boy."

Sirius gritted his teeth. He couldn"t help it. James was his best friend, his brother, and he couldn"t bear to hear them insulting him, he knew it. But he had to remain calm if he didn"t want to get into too much trouble with his family just a few hours before escaping this prison, so he took several deep breaths, trying to focus on another conversation, but all he could hear was his mother and her sister.

"He is indeed. He"s awful! This boy has no manners and such ideas! I"m sure he"s the reason why Sirius is so rebellious towards his father and me."

"But it can"t be a surprise, with blood-traitors like his parents to raise him, really. They are the worst kind, and such a disgrace for the whole community!"

Sirius could take no more. James"s parents were like a second family to him. They were the kindest and the most generous people he had ever met. They had received him in their home with open arms in his first year at Hogwarts and had never failed to treat him as a second son since. He loved the Potter family like he should have loved his own, and he couldn"t let his mother and her stupid sister insult them.

Suddenly, Sirius"s glass shattered, sending shreds of cutting glass all over the room. His parents threw him a threatening look. But Sirius didn"t care anymore, he was too angry to think straight.

"Don"t you dare insult the Potters!"

His voice was low and menacing and all of a sudden the room was completely silent. They were all too shocked to answer. Finally, Orion Black spoke in a low and scary voice.

"Apologise to your aunt! NOW!"

"No! I"ve had enough of this!"

"Sirius!"

"NO!"

He got up and strode towards the staircase.

"If you don"t come back here and apologise, I will not accept you in this house again! Do you hear me?" cried his mother with all her might.

"So be it then!" snapped Sirius back.

It was too much. He had had enough of the insults, of the threats, of the whole pure-blood mania. He wanted to get out of there, he had to. He felt that if he didn"t escape this house, he would explode and destroy everything, himself included. He entered his bedroom, grabbed his wand and his trunk and stormed out of the room, running down the staircase and hurrying towards the door.

"Filth! Traitor! Shame on you, you beast!" raged his mother." Don"t you ever come back again to our home! Do you hear? You"re not part of this family anymore! You"re not our son anymore, you have nothing and no one! You are alone and homeless! A street cat is worth more than you, you filth!"

"Don"t worry, I won"t come back!" Sirius snapped back.

But his father was standing in front of the door, a stick in his hand. Before Sirius could make a move to defend himself, his father had hit him hard in the ribs with his stick. Sirius bent, an arm clenched against his broken ribs, letting out a moan, and Orion Black hit his elder son on the back, making him fall to the ground. He kicked him hard on the ribs, making Sirius gasp desperately for air between loud moans. Orion let go of his wooden stick, grabbed his son by the hair, pulling him up, and punched him hard on the face several times. Then he grabbed Sirius by his collar and threw him out of the house, before sending his trunk flying down onto the pavement next to his injured son. As Sirius was trying to stand, his mother cursed him and he flew several meters away, landing on his painful ribs. He let out a cry of pain, and watched as the door closed on his angry parents and his upset brother. He remained there, lying on his back, looking at the red and golden shades of the burning sky above him, and a grin formed on his painful face. At last, he was free.

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He searched inside of his trunk for something to cover his bleeding face. He had only one place to go right now, and he was too weak to fly there, so his only option was the Knight Bus, and he wasn"t really in the mood for questions. He finally found his Gryffindor scarf and wrapped it carefully around his face. When he was sure his wounds were not visible, he called the Bus.

"Godrig"s Hollow," he indicated to the driver as he entered the unusual transport and paid for his ticket.

He was alone in the bus luckily, and Sirius just had the time to reach a seat before being pushed back against his seat by the strength of the acceleration. Less than ten minutes later, he was in front of James"s parents" house. Night had almost fallen by now, and Sirius stayed for a while on the threshold, hesitating. What if they pushed him away? What if they didn"t want to help him? He really had nowhere else to go. He was just their son"s friend after all. Sirius shook his head. No, they weren"t like his family, they were too kind to at least not take him in for a day or two, giving him some time to think to a better plan. He finally knocked on the door, his heart racing against his hurting ribs. A second later, James"s face had appeared. The moment he saw those deep grey eyes, James knew to whom they belonged, and he grinned at the sight of his best friend.

"Padfoot! What are you doing here? I thought you were only arriving tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry to arrive like this, but I had a little family problem..."

James"s expression grew worried, and he hurried Sirius inside, helping him with his trunk. They joined James"s parents in the kitchen, where they were finishing cleaning up after their diner.

"Sirius!" welcomed James"s mother, recognising him in a second too. "I"m so sorry, I was sure you were coming tomorrow, your room is not ready yet!"

She took him in her arm in a warm hug, squeezing him tightly. A bit too tightly. Sirius"s broken ribs were compressed and he couldn"t retain a moan. She let go of him with a scared cry.

"Oh I"m so sorry darling, are you alright?"

"Yes, Mrs. Potter, I"m alright. I"m sorry, I was supposed to arrive tomorrow, not today."

James"s father suddenly realised how strange it was to wear a scarf in the middle of August.

"Sirius, why are you wearing a scarf?"

Sirius"s eyes grew wide, and the next second, he was looking down at his feet, clearly feeling ashamed. He didn"t answer.

"Take it off, son," ordered Fleamont Potter to the boy, his voice uncertain.

Sirius took slowly his scarf off, revealing his bleeding face to the Potters. Euphemia Potter put a hand on her mouth as she gasped, while James set his jaws and clenched his fists. He knew Sirius"s parents were responsible for this, and he couldn"t bear to see his best friend hurt.

"I had a row with my parents. I ran away, I couldn"t live like this anymore. I"m sorry to just... arrive like this, but I didn"t know where else to go."

James"s father made him sit down at their table, while his wife was hurrying to get what she needed to clean Sirius"s wound.

"What happened, Sirius?" the old man asked gently.

Sirius shrugged, looking down at his knees.

"I got angry, I grabbed my trunk and ran away."

"And these?" asked Fleamont, pointing at Sirius"s injuries.

"My farewell gift from my father. He was waiting for me at the door after I grabbed my stuff."

Euphemia came back with a wet towel and several phials of healing potions.

"Where else are you hurt, darling?" she asked with her most tender voice.

Sirius took off his shirt, not looking at the Potters, revealing his broken ribs. The entire right side of his torso was covered with bruises. James"s mother gasped once more.

"I"m so sorry to come like this. I just thought, maybe I could stay here for a day or two. Just time to find a place to stay. The time I need to find a new home."

James"s mother took Sirius"s hurt face tenderly in her hands and made him look up at her. He had tears in his eyes, and he seemed so lost and scared.

"Our house will always be yours, Sirius. You are home."