fatal love

chapter 86

Sirius had been at the Potters' for almost two weeks now. He was yet to leave the house, or speak to anyone other than James, Euphemia or Monty, but he thought he was doing a little better than he was when he first got here. He was sleeping better than he had in months, and was finding he could go hours now without thinking about the Blacks, rather than just minutes.

All of the Potters had helped him more than he could imagine. James had not forced him to talk about any of the things that Sirius had told him the first night here; he indulged Sirius in easy conversation about Quidditch or music. Euphemia had checked in on him a lot, but she did not push him when Sirius said he was fine, and made sure to only talk about the future, instead of the past. Monty kept encouraging him to do things and keep busy; together, they cooked dinner most nights, and he helped Sirius set up his own Gringotts account, connected to the Potter family vault.

Sirius had never heard back from Dumbledore. He figured he was of no more use to the old man now he was no longer a Black.

At the moment, he was in his room, making a list of all the things he would need for Sixth Year. He basically had to buy new everything, and the longer the list became, the more uncomfortable he felt about asking the Potters to pay for him. Just as he was starting to get fed up, he heard shouting coming from downstairs.

A tremble shot through him at once, as he immediately thought Walburga had come back for him, but it wasn't her voice. Cautiously, he opened his door and crept down the stairs, keeping out of sight of whoever was in the living room.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME, JAMES?"

"I'm sorry, okay, but he hasn't wanted anyone-"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME!"

"Look, Moony," James voice snapped, defensive, "he's been through a lot! If he didn't want me to tell people, then I wasn't going to!"

Sirius peered around the corner. Remus was in the living room, looking like he had just stepped out of the fireplace. The two boys both shut up and looked at him immediately, James looking apologetic, Remus looking furious.

"Hi, Moony," Sirius said quietly, feeling quite vulnerable. James' clothes were too big for him, and he hadn't brushed his hair, and he was feeling small and beaten-down enough recently without having to deal with whatever Remus wanted from him right now.

"Sirius," Remus breathed. "You're here."

Sirius chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, I am."

It was silent as they stared at each other. Eventually, James broke it.

"You two should probably talk."

"Mhm," Sirius sighed. "Come to my room, Remus?"

Remus nodded mutely, his fists clenched, and followed Sirius as he led them upstairs. Sirius shut the door behind him, sitting on his bed, and Remus sat on the chair at the other end of his room. They never used to sit with so much space between them, a small part of Sirius' brain registered.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked bluntly, pulling James' sweater tighter around him.

"I- I..."

"It was a full moon yesterday. You should be resting."

"My dad came home from work," Remus said, "people at the Ministry were talking about how you got disowned."

Sirius nodded. "Surprised it took so long, to be honest. Pureblood families are right gossips."

"I thought you were missing, Padfoot!" Remus exclaimed angrily. "I thought you had been missing for days, living on the street and starving! Or- or worse... And I came here to get James, to go and find you, and then I find out you've been here the whole time, that you're completely fine!"