Marauders' Tales (One-Shots)

Sirius runs away (Part I)

This was going to be the worst vacation in his whole Hogwarts career, thought Sirius gloomily, as he sat leaning against the window of their compartment, staring outside blankly.

And he knew that it was nobody's fault but his own; if he hadn't tried that stupid prank on Snape, Snape would not have discovered that Remus was a werewolf, and if Snape had not discovered that Remus was a werewolf, Sirius suspected that Professor Dumbledore would not have written to his parents.

He remembered that awful hour in Dumbledore's office so well. Sick with worry about Remus—James refusing to look at him—Snape going on and on about how parents would not want their kids studying with a monster...

Finally, Dumbledore had managed to calm him down a little; writing to Sirius' parents and sending the OWL off immediately had played a big role in doing that. Sirius guessed Snape, who seemed rather close with Reg, knew about Sirius' equation with his family.

Sending the complaint meant that Sirius spent the rest of the term terrified of how his parents would punish him when he got back, but it had helped Dumbledore in making Snape promise to keep Remus' condition a secret, and Sirius wasn't complaining.

"Padfoot?" said James, breaking into his thoughts.

Sirius turned around quickly, hoping that James hadn't noticed anything.

"Yeah?"

James stared at him piercingly for a moment, but decided against saying anything except, "We're starting a new round, want to join?"

His message was clear: stop moping or else face my questions.

"Yeah, ok," said Sirius, joining in their noisy round of Exploding Snap.

Most of the noise was being caused by James and Peter, though, because Remus, in general, did not approve, and honestly today, Sirius was not in the mood.

He guessed things were better now than 2 months ago when the other three were flatly refusing to even talk with him. They had all come around eventually—only he caught a look on Remus' face sometimes which told him that even though they were ok now, Remus didn't quite...trust him anymore.

The Hogwarts express pulled onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters eventually; of course it would, though Sirius would have preferred it to never end at all.

James' parents greeted them all warmly, and now Remus' dad was coming over, Peter had spotted his parents and was running over, and Sirius was looking for Regulus...there he was.

"Bye, James...Remus," said Sirius in a voice that sounded rather hollow even to himself.

James' eyebrows knitted at once, and Remus looked like he would say something, but Sirius didn't need to hear anything honestly. He strode over to Regulus without another word.

Walburga Black was hugging Regulus by the time Sirius reached them. As if Reg hadn't been home since the beginning of the year, as if he hadn't gone home for Christmas and Easter, thought Sirius contemptuously. Sirius waited in silence as his mother and father finished hugging him and asking him all sorts of nonsense like 'how were your exams', 'how are your friends', etc, etc.

Stupid, meaningless, nonsense. It did play in the back of Sirius' mind that all this sounded suspiciously similar to how Euphemia and Fleamont Potter welcomes James back for a holiday, but he ignored that stupid voice.

"There you are," said Orion Black, as if he had just noticed Sirius.

"Yes," intoned Sirius. "I guess I am."

"Before you take that tone with your father, know that have a few important things to discuss with you," said Walburga nastily.

"Been busy, haven't you, forcing even that Muggle-loving Headmaster to complain about you?" said Orion.