To Have A Home

Chapter 2

Sirius managed to stay under the radar for the rest of Christmas break, but he could feel the looks of disgust coming from each and every one of his family members. The only one who didn't seem to completely hate Sirius was his brother, Regulus. Even though Regulus didn't stand up for Sirius, he did try to make eye contact with him while the adults whispered about how much of a disappointment he was, trying to make sure he was okay. He even snuck into his room late at night, and they talked for hours like they used to when they were young. Knowing Regulus still loved him kept Sirius sane until the time came to head back to Hogwarts.
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     James Potter always had the perfect Christmas; just him and his parents. They would stay up late on Christmas Eve, singing carols, reading Christmas stories, playing board games, and eating cookies. The next morning, they opened presents and ate homemade cinnamon rolls. It was wonderful. But this year, something bothered him the entire break. He tried to push it to the back of his mind, but it made him feel very uneasy.  He knew there was something Sirius wasn't telling home about his family, he just wasn't sure what. 'Oh, well,' James thought, 'he'll tell me eventually.'
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Many years later, fifth year was about to begin, and 'eventually' still hadn't come. Sirius was still very touchy about the topic of his family, but he hadn't said a word to his friends about the problems he faced at home. James had almost completely forgotten his suspicions, and believed that the only reason Sirius hated home was that he couldn't stand all the 'Pureblood mania,' as he called it. However, things were getting consistently worse over at Grimmauld Place ever since the incident during first year. The summer before fifth year had been the worst Sirius had ever had to endure. He had countless bruises, but of course Orion was no idiot. He made sure that no one would be able to see where the marks were left. He couldn't risk having any uncomfortable questions.
     So when September first finally rolled around, Sirius was simultaneously relieved and stressed. Relieved that we wouldn't see his father for at least four months, stressed that his friends would find out what was happening. He was worried they might think less of him if they knew, and stop talking to him. That would be a much greater pain than anything his father could give him.
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     James, on the other hand, was ecstatic about the start of school. He had hopes of finally winning over Evans this year, and knew we would nail all of his OWLS. But mostly, he missed his fellow Marauders. Pete and Remus had stayed over for a week in the summer, but he was excited to see them nonetheless. But mostly, he couldn't wait to see Sirius, who he hadn't so much as gotten an owl from all summer. Sirius hadn't even used the two way mirror at all, which made James a bit nervous. James always worried about his friends, so going a whole summer without so much as one word from his best mate, James' worry was off the charts. But as he took off to King's Cross Station on September first, James was able to relax, knowing that he would see not just Sirius but all his mates within a few minutes. Fifth year would surely be one for the books.
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Author's note: Sorry this part is pretty short, I just wanted to put something up since I haven't updated in a while. I'm almost done with school for the year though so hopefully there will be some longer, more frequent updates to come. Also, if you have any comments- whether they're suggestions, questions, grammatical/factual corrections, or anything else- please leave them! I love any feedback I can get, just make sure it's constructive and not purely negative please :) Thanks for reading <3