Back home
An owl swooped down, dropping an envelope onto Sirius’s plate.
He knew that handwriting.
James, already pouring a frankly concerning amount of sugar into his porridge, glanced over. "Who’s that from?"
Sirius shrugged, picking up the envelope like it might burn him. "My family."
He already knew what it would say.
But he opened it anyway.
The words were sharp, angry, written in dark ink.
Sirius,
Tu continues à nous humilier. Que pensent les autres quand ils voient un Black assis parmi des traîtres et des sangs de bourbe ?
(You continue to humiliate us. What do others think when they see a Black sitting amongst traitors and Mudbloods?)
Tu es une honte pour cette famille, et crois-moi, tu le paieras dès que tu mettras un pied dans cette maison.
(You are a disgrace to the family, and believe me, you will pay for it the moment you step foot in this house.)
Réfléchis bien, Sirius.
(Think carefully, Sirius.)
Si tu continues sur cette voie, des choses terribles arriveront. Tu échoues en tant que Black. Un Black raté est un Black mort.
(If you continue down this path, bad things will happen. You are failing as a Black. A failed Black is a dead Black.)
Sirius stared at the letter, his hand trembling slightly as he folded it back up. He tucked it into his robes quickly before anyone could ask what it said.
James narrowed his eyes. "What did it say?"
Sirius shrugged. "Oh, they still aren't very happy that Im a Griffindor."
James frowned. "That’s it? They’re still going on about that?"
Sirius forced a laugh. "They’rejust dramatic. "
Peter still looked worried, but he didn’t press the issue.
Sirius picked up his fork, shoving a bite of French toast into his mouth to stop himself from saying anything else.
He wasn’t going to let them see how much it bothered him.
He wasn’t going to let it ruin anything.
He was fine.
The Hogwarts Express rumbled beneath them, as all four boys sat in the carriage. James lounged on the seat opposite him, legs stretched out. “Come on, Sirius, It’s the holidays! No homework, no detentions, well, at least until we get back. We should be celebrating.”
Sirius forced a smirk, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah. Brilliant.”
James frowned. “That didn’t sound convincing.”
“It wasn’t,” Remus said, closing his book and looking at Sirius with quiet concern. “You’ve been off since this morning.”
Peter spoke up for the first time. “It’s because of his parents,” he said, as though it was obvious. “They’re still mad about him being in Gryffindor.”
Sirius stiffened. James sat up straighter, his grin fading. “Still? But it’s been months. Surely they’ve gotten over it by now?”
Sirius let out a short, humorless laugh. “You don’t know my family.”
That earned him a few seconds of silence. James leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Come on, how bad can it be? They’re mad, yeah, but they’re your parents. What are they gonna do? Shun you at the dinner table?”
Sirius gave him a look. “Actually, that’s exactly what they’ll do, if I’m lucky.”
Peter frowned. “What do you mean, ‘if you’re lucky’?”
Sirius hesitated, fingers curling around the hem of his sleeve. He didn’t really want to get into it. Not here, not now, when there was nothing they could do about it.
But they were staring at him, waiting.
“They don’t just yell at me, you know. They make it clear in other ways. The letters have been fun.”
Remus looked troubled. “Like what other ways?”
Sirius didn’t answer but he was lucky he didnt have to because James filled the silence.“You could just not go back. Spend Christmas at mine.”
Sirius let out a short laugh. “ It won't be all bad, I've got to see my sisters and reg, I haven’t written to them as mutch as I should’ve."
The train ride continued with the usual chatter, but Sirius was only half-listening. He tried to focus on James’s ramblings about Quidditch, Remus’s amused corrections, and Peter’s occasional outbursts of surprise when he bit into a truly terrible-flavored bean. It was comforting, in a way.
But then the train slowed. The station was approaching.
As the train pulled into King’s Cross, he reluctantly stood and grabbed his trunk. James clapped him on the back. “Write if you need an escape plan, yeah?”
Sirius smirked, masking the unease curling inside him. “I’ll send an owl if I survive the first dinner.”
They stepped onto the platform, and Sirius spotted them instantly.
He and turned back to his friends one last time.
“See you lot in January.”
And with that, he walked toward his family, bracing himself for whatever awaited him.