In the Rain [ James ]

[JAMES IGNOTUS POTTER]

James repositioned himself on the bed, grabbing a pillow leaning against the wall to cushion himself, his long legs hanging over the side. He turned his head to the side so that he could see Sirius at the other end of his bed. He looked comfortable and at home and that made a warm comfort surge through James. This is how he liked things, hanging out with his best friend, he could just sit there quite comfortably without saying anything all night but he knew that Sirius wouldn’t allow that and besides, things needed to be discussed. He resisted the temptation to tut at him as he shrugged away the mention of clean clothes but he left it alone. Once he had made his mind up, there was no changing it.

Sucking in his bottom lip at the mention of Sirius’ alcohol dependency, James gave a small nod. All those nights Sirius had roamed around the castle with a bottle or whatever the hell he’d been doing, well his three other friends had no idea. They’d sit up in the common room waiting for his return. James had even gone off to find him on more than one occasion but with no such luck. The remaining marauders told themselves there was nothing to worry about, that their friend was just being young, living life to the fullest and that he’d probably end up in bed with a girl so they should probably leave him to it. But after they’d finished discussing they’d be left with a silence that meant more than any of the words that they passed between them. The unspoken words that they all knew that there was more of a reason behind Sirius’ drinking, even when he did it around them.


”That’s a pathetic excuse Sirius and you know it.” James wanted to be angry at him (hence the use of his given name), and his tone was cross but he couldn’t really do it. He understood his friend’s need to hide it even though it frustrated James greatly. ”How many times have I asked you how you are, Pads?” His voice was still weak and disbelieving but he tried his best to not show how let down he was feeling. ”You can’t say that in five years of our friendship, you never had the opportunity to bring it up. It shouldn’t have take this to happen,” He waved his arms about, indicating at the scenario as whole ”For it to come out.” He sighed, not in anger more in sadness. ”It just hurts me to think you went through it all alone.” He tried to catch his eye but Sirius seemed to be curling in on himself. ”You know how much Moony appreciates us being there for his furry little problem.

”We could have done the same for you.” What they could have done, James wasn’t sure. Getting Sirius the hell away from his family would have been a start but he’d stay there for this long because after all they were his. "How bad has it been?" He had some sort of morbid curiosity about it all, he shouldn't really be asking him, or maybe he should, he was his best friend after all, but still, he didn't want to have Padfoot relive the worst moments of his life. James took another long swig from the bottle and handed it back to Sirius. Getting drunk seemed like a very good idea.

[madie]

Leaning back against the wall, Sirius allowed his eyes to flutter closed, his head rested awkwardly against a Puddlemore United poster on James’ wall. He sat in silence for a moment, listening to the rise and fall of his best friend’s chest. Up and down, in and out. It was calming, reassuring. James’ presence alone was enough to bring him comfort, his company always having settled him. There was a certain familiarity in James, a warmth. Sad though it might have been, Prongs was the closest thing Sirius had ever known to a family. The boy was like a brother to him... heck, he was a brother to him. James brought the same sense of security that Reg once had, the same feeling of undisputed and unparalleled friendship. It made him feel less alone.

Shooting his friend a smile, Sirius could not help but let out a chuckle. After all the shit he’d been through, it was nice to just sit around with his best friend. It was almost as if they were back at Hogwarts, planning pranks and babbling endlessly about terribly mundane days. Only, this time, their conversation had taken a turn for the serious. No longer were they bitching about assignments and professors, but his family...

”I know” he admitted, nodding stiffly. Sirius looked down at his hands then, almost as if they were the most interesting thing on the planet. He really didn’t feel comfortable doing this... talking about this. It felt wrong somehow, strange, as if all his hard work keeping it a secret had been wasted. Which, in hindsight, it had been. This was far easier than keeping secrets, talking, strange as it might have felt. It made his chest feel a little lighter, his future seem a little less bleak. After all, he’d never really had much to look forward to in the past. Going home to be smacked around wasn’t exactly much to look forward to.
While his friends were off celebrating Christmas with their families, Sirius had locked himself in his room and tried his hardest to avoid his parents. Merlin, he led a sad existence.

”I just didn’t know how to tell you I guess... it’s not something I really wanted you to find out about” Sirius avoided James’ eyes then, the guilt gnawing away at him once more.”I dunno how to explain it but... I just figured it would cause more drama than it was worth.”

Picking at his nails for a little, Sirius could not help but raise an eyebrow at James’ question. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he shrugged slightly, not really sure how to answer him. ”It’s never been this bad before...” he half mumbled to himself, ”Mum blew her fuse this time though... and she...”. Sirius couldn’t bring it upon himself to continue, not really wanting to worry James with the specifics, neither really wanting to admit it to himself. ”I mean, usually it’s just a slap here or there but... sometimes they’d get inventive, when I did something particularly stupid” He said, trying his hardest to change the subject without his friend realizing. But he knew it was never going to happen...

Shutting his eyes again, Sirius let out a sigh, knowing all too well his friend was unlikely to let the subject drop. He supposed he just needed to get this over and done with, like ripping off a band-aid. ”They’ve hexed me before but... this was the first time either of them had tried an unforgivable” He admitted, glassy eyes finally looking up to meet James’. He let his gaze linger for a moment, allowing himself to take in his best friends reaction.

Not even Sirius knew how to read reaction he'd gotten in return...

[JAMES IGNOTUS POTTER]

James let out another sigh. There it was again, the Black Pride rearing its head. Of course Sirius didn’t want to admit it. It made him seem weak and unable to look after himself. He was rather like Moony in that sense; would keep his problems to himself so as not to burden anyone else. Well James was the opposite. Not only was he unopposed with sharing what was wrong with him he also always wanted to help his friends. It was in his nature to want to know. Not because he was nosy but because he wanted to be supportive. If you chose to be friends with James Potter then you had to get used to him badgering you because he wouldn’t give up. Sirius knew that and maybe that was why he had tried extra hard to keep it from him.

”I understand.” He said with a nod, which he did, he just felt slightly let down by it. Though he knew not to take it personally. He knew it wasn’t because his friend didn’t think he could trust him because James had proven his trust on more than several occasions over the years. He listened, his mouth parted slightly, his eyes trained on Sirius’ face watching his every movement and every word carefully. Knowing what had gone on and hearing the words come out of Sirius’ mouth were two completely separate things. Hearing Padfoot admit out loud exactly what had been going on made it worse and his heart ached for his mate.

He couldn’t begin to imagine what these ‘inventive’ forms of punishment were and quite frankly he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. What had he been put through that made Sirius Black turn into the complete opposite personality wise. Head down and dejected. He didn’t interrupt him, just let him talk because as much as Sirius probably didn’t think he did, he did need to get it off his chest; it was a hell of a lot to carry for such a young man. And then he admitted the one thing James didn’t want to hear, that he’d been put under an unforgivable curse, obvious which one. He exhaled sharply, the look on his face weak with horror and sympathy. It was abhorrent. How could a parent do that to a child? It went against nature. It was twisted and it made him feel sick to his stomach.

”Pads. . . mate. . .” He trailed off because really what was there to say? Sorry? It wasn’t like it was James’ fault and it wasn’t like he could’ve done anything about it. James knew that no words could replace or heal the hurt in his friend and so he didn’t bother to offer any. He just shook his head, letting him know with his expression that he was horrified and sympathetic and that he was grateful that he had told him.

James was determined to put a positive spin on things. Not simply because he hated to dwell on the badness but because surely being positive was the best way to deal with something like this? At least, for Sirius it probably was. ”But you’re here now, you’re safe. So let’s get monumentally lashed then, yeah?” James grinned, holding up the bottle of firewhiskey in order to make a toast. ”To a fresh start.” A better one. He said in his head. Merlin knows Sirius needed a better place to call home and he would most certainly get it at the Potters.

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(we could call it a day here if you wanted? Don’t want it to go on forever after all besides we got the main issue resolved xD Post once more if you want though)