blood traitor | another harry potter fan fiction

dedication:

this is for my sister, because she so adorably freaked out after reading my last fan fiction

also, i love her to the moon and back and i can’t wait to see her face when she reads this

disclaimer: gif used in this story is not mine

He could hear them still, their last words running through his head.

“Blood traitor.”

“You don’t deserve to be a part of our family.” 

“You are a disgrace to this bloodline!”

And then, finally:

“Get out, you are not my son…Leave!”

They wouldn’t stop repeating, leaving a bitter feeling scorching through his veins as he threw his belongings into a suitcase, not even looking at what he was leaving behind. They were tyrants, all of them. If they didn’t want him, if he was simply a shameful mark on their blue-blooded tapestry, then fine. He would leave. Snatching up his wand from his bed, Sirius flung himself out his bedroom door and thundered down the hallway to the stairs. Despite his fury and the empty feeling of betrayal, the sight of his brother’s bedroom door stopped him in his tracks. He froze, hesitated, and dropped his suitcase to the floor with a bang. Stuffing a hand into his pocket, he eased the door open. Regulus stared at him from the other side of the room, impassive.

“What do you want?” his younger brother demanded, wrapping his dressing gown tighter around his small body.

Sirius forced a smile. “I’m leaving.”

Regulus scoffed. “I’m surprised you even bothered to say goodbye before you left.”

Sirius felt a stab to his heart, worse than the one his parents had inflicted. He sighed.

“You don’t have to do everything they say, Reg.”

Regulus stared at him suspiciously. “You’re the bad guy, Sirius. Not them.”

A punch to the gut would have hurt less. For the first time, Sirius choked back a sob, stopping himself from reaching out and pulling his brother into a hug. Instead he laughed, leaning back nonchalantly. 

“Yes, well, I’ll be seeing you.”

Regulus reached out to close the door. “Hopefully not.”

Staring at the elegant designs carved into the wood, Sirius felt something hot rising in his throat. His eyes were burning. He picked up his suitcase without registering the feeling of the wooden handle in his grasp, and pummelled down the stairs. They had twisted his own brother against him. Regulus despised him. His parents cursed him. Where would he go? An angry volley of tears spilled from his eyes as he stormed out of the door to Grimmauld Place and onto the street, his body dropping to the curb. That was it. He was done. Enough of all the ‘Most Noble and Ancient House of Black’ nonsense. He was on his own. Then another thought crossed his mind, and he bit back another sob, this one stemming from the overwhelming feeling of loyalty. He wasn’t alone. He knew where to go. James would help him. And Remus, and Peter. He swallowed around the brick in his throat. And Lily. They would be there. He dragged himself off the curb, fastening his hand on his wand and suitcase, and straightened his shoulders. He wasn’t a Black anymore. He was just Sirius.

__

The Potter’s didn’t have any pets. Not a dog, not a cat, not even a bird. James’ was planning to get a new owl this year, seeing as his last one had been shabby and hardly worth the ten Galleons he had handed over the counter. But as it stood, there were no animals in the house. Then why, James thought as he rubbed a hand over his face, did he hear the distinct sounds of a large dog downstairs? He rolled over, stretching his face muscles in a yawn, and listened carefully. Heavy breathing? Definitely dog-like. The occasional ticking of claws on the floor? Sounded like a dog chasing rabbits in his dreams. Dragging himself out of bed, James hesitated at his bedroom door, listening one last time. He sighed. There was definitely an animal downstairs. The only issue was why. And where did it come from? And what in Merlin’s name was it doing in his kitchen? He stumbled down the stairs, cursing as he stubbed his toe, and hobbled to the light switch. The honey-coloured glare flickered into the kitchen as James searched for the sound. 

“Padfoot!”

His exclamation of surprise was enough to wake up the giant animal sleeping under his table. It yelped and jumped up, crashing his head against the table, and panicked. 

“Hey, shhh,” James whispered, reaching out a hand. He pulled a chair out of the way, allowing the dog to crawl out. Kneeling, he put out a hand to scratch its ears.

“Sirius, what are you doing here?”

The dog slowly morphed into his best friend, his face a clear picture of pain. Dishevelled hair hung over his dark eyes, his jacket was crumpled, and his eyes were bloodshot and heavy.

“Hi James,” Sirius muttered, his voice dry.

James broke into a smile, pulling his friend into a crushing hug. “I didn’t expect to see you till September, what’s going on?”

He hesitated at Sirius’ lack of enthusiasm, running fingers through his hair. “Is something wrong?”

Sirius glanced up, slowly forming his words. “I left home.”

James took a deep breath. “For good?”

His friend nodded. “They said I was a blood traitor, a disgrace to the family. They told me to leave.” 

Suddenly his face crumpled.

In nearly six years of knowing Sirius, James had only seen his friend cry twice. But this was more than just crying, his whole body shook with sobs, his face twisted as he fought for breath. 

“Regulus,” Sirius choked, “Regulus told me—he said that I was the bad guy.”

He turned pain-filled eyes to James.

“It sounds stupid, but…he’s just a kid, you know? He shouldn’t be turned against his own family. But he’s lapping up their lies. He believes them.”

James ran a hand through his hair again, feeling his friend’s pain.

“I don’t, I’m not really sure what to say, Sirius. I’m sorry. You know that. And I’ve got your back.” He smiled grimly. “You know that too.”

Placing a hand on his best friend’s arm, James stared him in the eye. “I want you to know that you’ll have a home here as long as you need it. I mean that. Mum and Dad would never object, you’re basically their second son. And you’re my best mate.”

Sirius nodded, not able to speak, and crushed James into a hug. 

“I’m not a wuss,” he finally said, wiping his face on his sleeve. “But I appreciate it.”

James nodded, offering his friend a smile, and propped himself to his feet.

“Can I get you something to eat?” he said, dragging the fridge door open. “I’ll let Remus and Peter know.”

Sirius came over, scanning the contents of the fridge and grabbing himself an apple. “This’ll be fine, thanks.” He glanced up as James shifted. “And Lily, tell Lily.”

James nodded, not willing to object when his friend was hurting. “I’ll let her know.”

__

“What?”

Lily was practically screaming on the other side of the phone. James hadn’t dared to send her an owl, and he knew that her Muggle parents would own the contraption. But now it seemed like a bad idea. She was ranting in his ear, fuming at all pure-bloods and those stupid, conceited, pretentious, arrogant, slimy—she finally ran out of adjectives—disgusting people he called his family. She growled, and he could almost hear her feet pacing on the floor.

“Lily—” he tried to interrupt, but she refused to give him any leeway.

“Do you know what I would tell them? If they tried to do that to me? How on earth could they hurt him like that—he’s their own son! For Merlin’s sake, I hate them. Don’t ever let me catch them around, or I might just beat them black and blue. Self-righteous, uncivil, pitiless, cold-hearted, little prigs!”

James held the phone slightly away from his ear, turning to look at Sirius. He rolled his eyes, earning a soft chuckle. 

“Remus and Peter are coming,” Sirius whispered. “You don’t mind?”

James shook his head. “Nah, it’ll be like old times, we can crash on the couch.” He motioned to the living room. “You might want to grab a few more blankets.”

“James? James?”

James put the phone back to his ear. “I’m still here.”

“For Merlin’s sake, I thought you had hung up. Just hold on, I’m flooing over.”

“Lils, you don’t have to—”

There was a dead silence on the other end of the phone, cutting James off sharper than any words.

“Excuse me?”

James roughed a hand through his hair. “It’s okay, we have it under control. Sirius is staying with me, and Remus and Peter are coming. We’ll be fine.”

“I’m still coming,” Lily settled. “You can’t stop me.”

“Can I advise you not to?”

He could hear Lily moving, something was banging in the background and her breathing was hard, making soft little puffs through the line.

“I know what it’s like, James.” For the first time she seemed to have control of herself. “To have your family hate you, turn against you. I’m coming and you won’t change my mind.”

James smiled despite himself, shaking his head as he pictured her standing in the middle of her dining room, the phone pressed to her ear, her lips in a thin line. 

“I’ll be waiting,” he grinned, hesitating just a second longer before hanging up.

__

They had come—all of them. 

Remus first, still in flannel pants and a bedhead, clutching a wrapped pound of chocolate in his hand. He pulled Sirius into a fierce hug, saying nothing, and they stood still for a full minute. 

Then Peter arrived, still blinking and wobbly from speeding his broomstick in the dark, and he looked chuffed as James ruffled his hair and muttered something about being so sorry that this happened. 

It was just the Marauders for a time, James and Sirius waiting expectantly for someone else. And then finally she was there, a whirlwind of flaming hair and bright eyes, throwing herself at Sirius and whispering something in his ear that made his eyes sparkle with tears. And she was smiling at Remus, and clapping Peter on the back, throwing a mischievous grin at James. 

She led them into the living room as quiet as a mouse, careful not to wake his parents, and they had Butterbeer and chocolate and Lily had brought homemade fudge and strong coffee, and they were laughing—just laughing—and Sirius had a smile on his face and tears in his eyes, and when he proposed a toast, his hand wobbled just the slightest and there was a hitch in his voice as he said, “to the best mates I could ask for.”

And it was just like old times—Peter falling asleep hours before the others, his hair falling over his eyes like straw, his mouth hanging open. And Remus was ordering everyone to eat the chocolate, that they would feel better, and shushed them when the noise got to high. 

And James made them laugh, telling stories about the Hogwarts teachers and what had happened during his summer, while Sirius rolled on the floor helplessly, trying to silence his roars of laughter. And once in a while Lily would join in, the two bantering like an old married couple, as Sirius said, and there were hidden smiles and open tears and the comforting feeling of home. 

And then Remus fell asleep next to Peter, then James, and it was just Lily and Sirius.

“I knew exactly what happened when James called,” she whispered, her eyes on the sleeping boys. Sirius raised an eyebrow, looking over at her.

“I could feel it again, when the same thing happened to me.” She turned to him. “I remembered Tuney calling me a freak, I remembered the hollow, empty feeling, as though someone had punched out all of my insides.”

She forced a smile, her chin wobbling. “I knew that’s how you would feel, that’s why I came. I’m sorry for butting in, but I had to make sure you weren’t going to do anything stupid.”

Sirius’ eyes softened, and he wrapped an arm around her, tucking her head under his chin.

“It meant the world to me that you were here,” he whispered. “You’re basically my sister, and the boys would never object.”

Lily smiled, glancing across the room at James, who stretched and rolled himself back into a ball until you could hardly tell where his head started and his feet left off. 

“But are you sure that was the only reason you came?” Sirius teased, his eyes twinkling. 

Lily jerked back to him, her cheeks flushing. “Of course,” she said stiffly. “I wanted to see you.”

“And the boys?”

“Definitely the boys, but you were a priority.”

Sirius wiggled an eyebrow, and she blushed harder, ducking her head into his shoulder. 

“Stop it,” she moaned. “You’re such a pain.”

He leaned back, chuckling. “He’s a good bloke, James. He’s always been around for me.”

“Yes,” she whispered, her eyes straying back to the mound of blankets. “He’s a good friend.”

“Friend?” Sirius pushed, grinning.

She looked at him, one eyebrow arched. “Friend,” she insisted. “For you. We haven’t exactly…” she hesitated. “We haven’t figured out where we stand yet. We’re not friends exactly, but it’s not like fifth year, when we were enemies. We’re just acquaintances, classmates, whatever you call it.”

“But you could be friends,” Sirius said. “If you tried.”

“It’s awkward,” Lily objected. “And besides, he’s always hanging out with you boys or Quidditch and I’m really busy with school and other things. It probably would never work anyways.”

“May I advise something?”

Lily looked up seriously. “What is it?”

“Make a stab at it, I have a hunch that it would be easier than you think. You actually get along quite well, when you’re not yelling at each other. And James, well, James is my best mate, but he can be a thick. And stubborn. He’s the most stubborn guy I know. You’d be good for him, to knock some sense into that skull.”

Lily stared disbelievingly. “You actually think he would want to be friends?”

Sirius raised his hands to the air, closing his eyes. “The whole chuffing world’s gone mad! Lils—you’re just as clueless as he is.”

“I am not,” she protested.

“Fine, but trust me. He hates this awkwardness between the two of you just as much as you do.”

Lily smiled hopefully, shrugging. “Alright, I’ll make an effort. But in the meantime I’m going to be taking care of you.”

oh man

crikey, i’m not really sure what to say

just that i have a terrible way of ending stories, it’s always so abrupt and awkward

i have loads of fan fictions ready and written, so you’ll prolly be reading a few in the future (if you decide to read them, that is)

i hope y’all have a lovely day, thanks for scrolling through!!

~soleil