The Change

I was standing, my whole body tense, in my father's study. He was observing me silently from his chair. We had been like this for several minutes and I was starting to get nervous.

"How are you, Sirius?" he sked suddenly, making me jump.

"Fine," I replied.

"How did you like school?"

"It was good, sir."

He studied me for a few seconds and then said, "It has been a difficult year, I'm sure you agree. I am disappointed that you were not sorted into Slytherin. On the other hand you are my eldest son... and I'm willing to forgive you that fault."

"Thank you, Father," I replied, biting back my real opinion on his forgiveness.

He smiled and said, "Good boy, Sirius. Now, I wanted to talk to you about your friends. I'm sure you have been misinformed or you wouldn't sink so low as to be seen with them."

"James Potter is a blood traitor and Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew are half-bloods. If this is what you were going to tell me, I already know," I shot back angrily.

He stood up and moved towards me. "You know this and still you speak to them?" he whispered.

"Yes," I said, standing my ground.

"So you dishonor our family, again? You choose to turn the Black family name to mud?"

"They have been kinder to me then anyone in the, 'Noble and Most Ancient House of Black' ever has," I hissed.

"Do not mock me, Sirius. I am your father and you will respect me."

"Well then, Father, don't you think I should be the one forgiving you for Christmas?" I answered loudly.

If my Father could shoot fire out of his eyes, I'd have been in a lot of trouble. "Get out," he whispered, and I wasted no time obeying.

I spent all of July counting down the days until my visit to James's house. It was more miserable then ever at Grimmauld Place and it didn't help that I was constantly on edge waiting for someone to attack me. After our discussion my father had decided to just ignore me entirely, which I didn't actually mind. What really bothered me was my mother.

Only a year earlier I had been her favorite son and I hated to admit it but I missed her. It seemed that in the year I was gone she had changed from a strict but loving mother into a mean, bitter hag. She wasn't even kind to Regulus.

I felt a twinge of guilt every time I saw Regulus. He had to live here all year, I thought. He must have been miserable. Granted, my mother was worse to me then him but I couldn't help but feel it was my fault his home had been torn apart. Mother didn't even seem to care about him anymore. I swore to myself that I would never be so cruel to him.

One morning I was eating breakfast in the dining room with Regulus when my mother entered, looking angrier then I had seen her in a while. I glanced at Regulus, who had sunk so low in his seat he could barely be seen, and was about to ask what was wrong when I felt myself being lifted out of my chair.

"Sirius Orion Black, what did you do?" she asked.

"I haven't done anything," I replied.

"Don't lie to me, boy. What did you do to the mirror in the bathroom?"

I looked wildly around and saw Regulus looking guilty. I sighed and looked back at her. Putting on my most innocent grin, I said, "What, don't you like it?"

She roared with anger and smacked me hard across the face. "How do I fix it?" she asked dangerously.

I was scared now. I didn't want to wind up like last time. I didn't want her to tell me I couldn't go to James's, either. "I don't know, Mother," I whispered.

"What do you mean you don't know? Tell me how to fix it before I kill you," she said pulling out her wand.

I eyed it carefully, deciding what I should do. On the one hand I could rat my brother out, on the other hand I could take his punishment and probably worse. I felt a surge of anger when I looked into my mother's eyes and knew I would take whatever she threw at me happily. Whatever Regulus did it must have been good, and just seeing her this angry made it worthwhile. "It was a spell I used at school, but I don't know how to reverse it," I answered smoothly.

She raised her hand and smacked me again before dragging me up the stairs to bathroom. She threw me in front of the mirror and I broke down laughing at what I saw. There I was, standing tall and proud in Gryffindor robes and beside me was my mother looking like an overweight ape. I wasn't laughing for long though, because the next thing I knew she had me by my throat up against the wall. "How do I fix it?" she asked again.

"You're supposed to be a smart witch, figure it out for yourself," I answered.

She dropped me to the floor and pointed her wand at me. Suddenly I was flying backwards out of the bathroom and hit my bedroom door so hard I broke through it. Kneeling on my floor, gasping for air, I could see her walk in. She lifted me up by the shirt and hissed, "You better think twice before trying another one of your pranks on me, boy. I have no patience for you and your ways. You're no son of mine. A dirty blood traitor is all you are. And one day you'll get your rightful punishment." With that she dropped me to the floor and walked to my door. She turned around and I looked angrily into her eyes. I was disgusted to actually see her smiling. "You won't be getting dinner tonight, Sirius, and you better not write about this to your friends or you'll get worse." She fixed my door with a wave of her wand and I heard it lock behind her as she walked away. I stood up and limped to my bed, collapsing and submitting myself to the closing darkness.

I spent most of that day sleeping and, true to her word, my mother didn't bring me any food that night. It was dark outside when there was a quiet knock on the door and I heard it unlock. I cowered under my covers when I saw a tall man walk in. It was my father who had come to punish me more, I thought. He walked towards my bed and I whimpered, hoping he would go away if he thought I had already been punished enough.

Then I heard a voice that was not my father's. "Its all right, Sirius. We've come to take you back to my house early." I sat up straight and smiled at my friend, who was standing in the doorway.

"James," I said happily. "It's great to see you, mate."

"Is your trunk packed?" The man said and now that I could see his face I recognized him as Mr. Potter.

"No, but I don't have much stuff anyway," I said, getting carefully out of bed. I limped over to my closet and quickly threw all my clothes inside. Then, I grabbed my broom and placed it carefully in the trunk. "There, now I'm ready."

"Why are you limping?" James asked.

"Why are you here early and in the middle of the night?" I replied.

"Come on, boys, we can answer all these question later. I want to get out of here before Sirius's parents wake up," Mr. Potter said.

"They don't know I'm leaving?" I asked.

"No, and they can't, so let's get out of here," he said.

Mr. Potter levitated my stuff out of the room and James and I followed. I took one step down and gasped from pain. James put one of my arms over his shoulder and helped me walk carefully down the rest of the steps. When we reached the fireplace I was surprised to see Regulus standing next to it. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I came to say good-bye and thank you for not telling Mother it was me," he said.

"It was nothing. It was great a prank, by the way. I was honored to take credit for it."

"I'll owl you as soon as I can. Try and stay in touch while you're at Hogwarts, too. It gets boring here without you," he said.

"I will. You behave yourself since I won't be here to take the blame," I said, laughing.

James threw some Floo powder into the grate and stepped inside. He yelled, "Godric's Hollow," and disappeared. I went to follow him but was stopped by a high pitched shriek.

"Kreacher sees the young master is trying to escape. Kreacher must stop him. Kreacher will tell his mistress," and with a pop the house elf disappeared.

"Run," I told Regulus, and he ran into the living room without another glance. Not a second later I heard someone running down the stairs. My mother whipped around the corner, her wand in front of her, and screamed a curse at us. Mr. Potter quickly put up a shield and said, "Now Mrs. Black, I don't think you want to be making a big scene in front of your son. I'll be by tomorrow with Professor Dumbledore to discuss Sirius with you and your husband."

"He is my child and I can treat him how ever I please," she screamed.

"That is where you are mistaken, Mrs. Black. Sirius's ribs are broken and his ankle sprained. I'm sure the healers would agree it was from abuse and both of your children would be taken from you. You don't want to risk that, do you? You're a proud woman, you don't want something like this getting out," Mr. Potter said.

"Are you threatening me?" she whispered.

"No, I am warning you. I'll be by tomorrow. Sirius, go," he said.

"Good bye, Mother."

"You will not embarrass me, Sirius. I won't tolerate it."

I ignored her and stepped into the fireplace, yelling, "Godric's Hollow," and smiled as my house disappeared before my eyes.

James caught me when I fell through and a couple of seconds later his father was standing next to me. James led me to a couch and I sat down, breathing a sigh of relief. His father handed me a glass of water and then sat down in a chair across from me. "Is there anything I can get for you?" he asked.

"Can I have some breakfast, I'm starved?" I asked.

"Sure, I'll go get Susan and she'll make something for you," Mr. Potter replied and stood up. He started walking out of the room but stopped and turned around. "Sirius can you stand up for a minute?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"No need to call me sir, it makes me feel old," Mr. Potter replied pointing his wand at me. He muttered a few words and I felt my ribs heal and then my ankle. "Better?" he asked.

"Yeah, a lot," I replied sitting back down. Mr. Potter nodded and walked out of the room leaving me and James alone.

"So, how has your summer been?" I asked.

James gave me a strange look and said, "Fine, how about you?"

"Fine," I lied.

We sat in silence for the next few minutes as I looked around the room I was sitting in. Unlike my house, Godric's Hollow had a warm, welcoming feeling to it. The living room was well lit and had comfortable furniture. There were a few scattered toys around the room. There were pictures on the wall with James and his family smiling and waving at me. I could see a small kitchen from where I was sitting and behind me was the staircase. James house wasn't as big as mine but I liked it a lot more.

"Sirius, how are you doing?" Mrs. Potter asked me as she walked in the room.

"I'm doing all right."

"I'm going to make some breakfast. Bacon and eggs sound good to you?" she asked.

"Yes, thanks."

She walked into the kitchen and Mr. Potter sat down across from me again. "Sirius, you have to tell me how you hurt your ankle and broke your ribs."

I was startled by how blunt he was and took a second before answering. "My mother," I said.

"I know, but what did she do to you?" he asked.

I stared at the floor, embarrassed to admit how she had hurt me. "Regulus pranked her and she thought it was me. She punished me for it." I looked back at Mr. Potter who was still looking at me, waiting. I drew a deep breath and whispered. "She cursed me and I flew backwards across the hallway and right through my bedroom door."

When I looked up Mr. Potter was nodding. He stood up and patted me on the back. "I'll take care of it, Sirius. You don't have to go back there this summer." He turned to James and said, "Show him your room. There's another bed in there now." He walked out of the room and into the kitchen and I glanced at James, who was standing.

"Come on Sirius. I'll show you the room." I stood up and we walked up the staircase. On the second floor there were four doors and James led me right past the first door, "That's my mum and dad's room," he said. We passed the next door and he said, "The bathroom." When we reached the third door he opened it and stepped inside.

James's room was perfect in my opinion. The walls were blue and covered in posters of different Quidditch teams, who were all showing off when we walked inside. He had a desk in one corner that was covered in garbage and books. His bed was blue and said 'Puddlemere United.' His dresser had clothes hanging out. In his closet I could see a broom and a box of old toys.

"I love your room, James," I said and flopped down on my own bed, which was red and against the window.

"Thanks," he said.

"What's the door at the end of the hallway?" I asked.

"Oh, its my little sister's room. Her name is Meghan."

I frowned, "I didn't know you had a sister."

James smiled, "Oh yeah, she's only a baby. Meghan is two years old. She's a handful. Makes things pretty crazy around her sometimes."

As if on queue, a baby started screaming. James got up and waved for me to follow. He went into her room and I meet Meghan Potter for the first time. Immediately I knew there was something special about her. When James opened the door the toddler knocked into him and fell over giggling.

"Jam, hi!" she said, trying to look innocent but James just smiled at her. He picked her up and put her back in her crib.

"Meghan, what did Mum tell you about getting out of bed?" he asked.

"Not to," she said, smiling.

James nodded and walked over to her dresser, letting me see her clearly for the first time. Meghan Potter was a tiny little girl with black hair and blue eyes. Her smile was infectious and I knew why James seemed so fond of her. Nobody could look at her and not be happy. She was beautiful and I was sure she would break someone's heart one day.

Her room was just as enchanting. The walls were painted like a forest and fairies could be seen poking their heads around bushes to see us. A unicorn was eating grass on the wall near her crib. The light in the room was bright and made the room seem alive. Her crib was decorated with different dolls and stuffed animals. There even seemed to be vines growing up from the green rug around the dresser.

James came back to the crib and picked Meghan up. "Who's 'at?" she exclaimed pointing at me.

"That's my friend Sirius. He is going to stay with us for the rest of the summer," James explained, changing her diaper and putting clean clothes on her. He placed her on the floor and she walked over to me. I knelt down and she examined my face for a minute.

She nodded and said, "I like him."

I smiled at her, ruffling her hair playfully. She screamed and jumped backwards. James caught her and picked her up. He ran out of the room with her and down the stairs into the kitchen where the smell of bacon was coming from. I drew a deep breath and smiled. This would be a much better summer then I'd thought.