Summer camp
When Sirius had decided to go on this ‘camp,’ his primary goal was to improve his English, not to make friends. In truth, he had little interest in bonding with the other kids there.
The idea of being surrounded by strangers didn’t exactly thrill him. So, if he was honest with himself, it wasn’t so much a camp experience as it was a chance to get away from his family, to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the Black household, where every day was a constant reminder of how different he was from the others.
He certainly didn’t expect to enjoy the experience, and making friends was never a priority. To be completely candid, James Potter had saved him from what would have been three long months of isolation and loneliness. Without James, Sirius would’ve been stuck in that camp, merely existing rather than participating.
It wasn't like Sirius would have been entirely alone, though. Regulus, his younger brother, was coming along. Not that Regulus had any say in the matter.
At 15, Regulus was still too young to travel alone, and his mother had insisted he tag along with Sirius—much to Regulus’s evident dismay. Their age difference of just eight months might not seem like much, but it was enough to place Sirius in the awkward role of being the "responsible" one.
Unfortunately, that usually meant that when things went wrong, he was the one blamed. Growing up, Sirius was frequently the target of his mother's ire, bearing the brunt of whatever trouble Regulus got into.
By the time he was a teenager, he’d become so accustomed to being punished that he didn’t even have the reflex to flinch when his mother yelled or hit him. He’d learned to just take it “like a Black,” as his mother coldly put it. He had come to view it as an unfortunate part of life, something he had little control over.
Despite his bitter outlook on family life, Sirius had meticulously packed for the camp, bringing nearly everything he could think of.
The task of getting his large trunk, multiple bags, and other belongings downstairs had been more challenging than he had anticipated. His mother had given him a strict command the night before: they would be apparating at precisely 8:00 AM so they could arrive on time for the roll call.
They didn’t have to travel far since the camp was still in Britain, but the idea of apparating made Sirius uneasy. He had always hated it—the sensation of being squeezed through a narrow tube, feeling the wind and air seemingly sucked out of your lungs, as though your ribs were collapsing inward.
The worst part, of course, was the short, sharp pain that always accompanied the sudden displacement, but thankfully it was over in a matter of seconds.
This time, as always, the painful twist of reality was fleeting, and before he knew it, Sirius was standing outside the entrance of the campgrounds. The area was surrounded by tall, thick trees and the ground was rough and uneven.
It looked like the kind of place where you could easily lose yourself in the woods, and Sirius found himself silently wishing he could.
But his mother's sharp voice broke his train of thought. “Ok Sirius, ton frère et toi devez rester ensemble à tout moment. Tu comprends ?” Her tone was icy, and she gave him one of her typical, cold glares, her grey eyes piercing him with a message of no-nonsense authority.
“Oui, maman,” Sirius muttered, bowing his head slightly in submission, as he always did. His mother’s expectations were high, and her patience for deviation was low. With a single look, she could make him feel as if he had failed her. It was better to avoid confrontation when possible.
With that, Sirius began to walk slowly, keeping pace with Regulus, his younger brother. He took in his surroundings as they moved into the camp, his eyes scanning the other kids.
There were a lot of them—mostly around his age, with some a little younger and a few older. They all seemed to be mingling and chatting, and Sirius couldn’t help but feel somewhat out of place. He wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to do here. It wasn’t like he could just walk up to someone and start a conversation—he didn’t exactly have the social skills for that.
He hadn’t gotten very far when a boy around his age suddenly bounced up to him with an infectious energy.
“Namaste! Mera naam Jems hai. Aapaka naam kya hai?” The boy said enthusiastically, his eyes wide with excitement, his feet practically jumping up and down as if he was so full of energy that he couldn’t contain it.
Sirius stood there for a moment, completely confused. The words were unfamiliar to him, and he had no idea what the boy had said. His face probably showed his confusion because the boy let out a loud, joyful laugh, clearly not fazed by the awkwardness of the moment.
“Sorry, not a Hindi speaker,” the boy said in a thick accent, still grinning from ear to ear. His laughter was loud and bright, drawing the attention of a few other campers nearby.
“What I said was, ‘Hi, my name is James, what’s your name?’” he explained, his grin not fading even a little.
Sirius blinked a couple of times before chuckling lightly, finally understanding. “Sirius. Sirius Black,” he said, offering a small, but genuine, grin in return.
“Oh! And this is my younger brother, Regulus.” He gestured to the sullen boy beside him, who had barely looked up from the ground since they arrived. Regulus gave a half-hearted wave, not even bothering to muster a smile.
The new boy—James—didn't seem to mind Regulus’s lack of enthusiasm. He was already bouncing on his heels, eager to make a good impression.
Sirius couldn’t help but think that this camp, despite its isolation and awkwardness, might not be so bad after all. James seemed harmless enough, and maybe he could make the summer a little more bearable. At the very least, he was someone who had clearly decided to take an interest in Sirius, which was already a step up from what he had expected.
As they continued to talk, Sirius realized that, for the first time in a long while, he wasn’t as alone as he had feared.