Chapter Text
It was at the start of his 5th year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry that Sirius Black's carefully constructed world started to fall apart. In hindsight, he supposed it had to happen eventually, life seemed to have a certain skill for screwing him over.
Sirius had never really had the easiest time of things. Sure, he was from an incredibly wealthy and powerful family, and he couldn't pretend that that didn't have it's benefits, but that hadn't been much of a comfort to him for a long time. To the rest of the Wizarding world, the Black's were pureblood royalty and huge proponents of blood supremacy. To Sirius, they were a bunch of crazy, abusive, bigots who he had the misfortune of being related to. He had never seen eye to eye with his parents' views on muggles and muggle-born witches and wizards, which had earned him the reputation of the black sheep of the family. He wore this badge proudly, despite the fact that it made his life a hell of a lot harder when he was home. As the heir of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, there were expectations that Sirius was supposed to meet and, as his parents constantly reminded him, he was failing in all departments. As a result, his time spent at home was becoming progressively more unpleasant. The summer just gone had been particularly bad for Sirius, and he still bore the marks of his parents' anger. When September had arrived, he had been all too ready to return to school and escape the cruelty of Orion and Walburga Black.
...
It was the first Saturday back at school and it seemed that most of the student population were outside enjoying the last of the summer sun. The four Marauders had woken late, relishing the fact that it was too early in the term to have much school work to do and were deciding how to spend their free day.
James Potter already had a plan and spent all of breakfast telling the others about it. He had been made Quidditch Captain over the holidays and it was obvious that it was a role he was going to take very seriously. He explained to his friends that he needed to spend some time on the pitch to "get a feel of the playing field" before team practices started. He then resolutely ignored the other boys as they pointed out that he had been on the Quidditch team since his 2nd year so should already know it all. He spent the next five minutes explaining all the reasons that it was different now that he was Captain.
Sirius, always happy for the excuse to spend some time outside after having spent most of the summer locked in his room, agreed to keep him company. Not that he’d been given much choice in the matter, James had informed him that, as his best friend and one of Gryffindor's two beaters, it was his duty to come if he wanted to keep both positions.
Their two friends, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin, preferred to keep their feet on the ground and decided not to join them. So after breakfast, the two black haired boys left them to head down to the Quidditch pitch. Remus headed back up to the Gryffindor boys’ dormitory, intent on making some decent progress with his new book and Peter headed off towards the kitchens for a food raid, which was greatly appreciated by the other Marauders. They usually had a supply of treats in their dorm to see them through late night prank planning sessions and Peter had made a name for himself as the snack provider.
…
Down at the Quidditch pitch, James and Sirius took to the skies, Sirius letting out a cheer of unadulterated joy as he quickly ascended. There was nothing quite like the feeling of freedom that came with flying. It was like you left all your worries and responsibilities back on the ground, shedding the weight to allow you to go higher and faster. Flying with James only enhanced the experience for Sirius. Both boys were pretty talented flyers. James had made the Quidditch team in his second year, quickly making a name for himself as one of the best Chasers in the school. Sirius had joined a year later when one of the Beaters positions had opened up and was a natural. It helped that they knew each other so well and worked perfectly together, predicting the others movements and flying with flawless synchronisation.
They did a couple of laps of the pitch before James decided it was time to do some serious practice. He managed to engage Sirius in a few drills, passing and catching the Quaffle, before Sirius got bored and decided that starting a race would be much more fun. Never one to turn down a competition, James was quick to agree and all ideas of structured practice went out the window. They passed the next hour racing and challenging each other to do progressively more risky tricks like huge dives and loop-de-loops. By the time they left the pitch, both boys were exhausted and windswept, but grinning from ear to ear.
After packing up the Quidditch gear, the two Marauders headed back to the castle, laughing and joking as they went. As they arrived at the changing room door, James started on his favourite topic of conversation; Lily Evans. James had fancied Lily since their first year at Hogwarts and was unwavering in his belief that they would one day be married. Unfortunately for him, she seemed to want absolutely nothing to do with him.
"I'm telling you Pads, this is it. This is the year Evans finally realises that she's desperately in love with me," James stated confidently.
"I mean, who wouldn't fancy the Quidditch Captain? Especially after I've led Gryffindor to victory!"
Sirius just rolled his eyes, a fond smile settling on his face.
"Wow Prongs, mind the doorway, I'm not sure it's wide enough for your massive head"
James responded by giving him the finger.
"Tut tut Jamie, what would dear Evans think of such vulgar behaviour," Sirius admonished grinning cheekily.
"Joke all you want, Padfoot, but I'm telling you that by the end of the year, I'll have managed to get a date with Lily Evans"
" I think she'd rather date the giant squid, he's probably a better kisser anyway," Sirius teased.
"Take that back, I am an excellent kisser" James shouted in mock outrage.
"Nope" Sirius replied, sticking out his tongue.
James threw himself at Sirius, grabbing him in a headlock and vigorously ruffling his hair.
"No Prongs! Not the hair!" Sirius cried.
"I'll stop when you admit that I'm a better date than the giant squid" James said, continuing his assault on Sirius' hair.
"Never!"
Sirius took his revenge by reaching round and jabbing James in the side, where he knew he was ticklish. This caused James to release him and Sirius was able to gain the upper hand. Before long they were wrestling playfully, their laughter and teasing ringing around the otherwise empty changing rooms.
James was about to launch a new attack on Sirius, when he froze suddenly, laughter dying in his throat.
“What’s wrong Prongs, scared I’ll beat you” Sirius teased, unaware of the change in James' mood.
“Padfoot, what’s that?” James' voice was quiet and laced with concern.
Sirius’ heart stopped as he became aware of his friend staring at his lower back where his Quidditch jersey had ridden up in their tussle. He quickly righted himself and yanked the hem of his jumper back down, but he knew it was too late, James had seen the bruises.
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it," he attempted to brush James' concerns off with a quick smile. But James was not one to be put off so easily.
"It didn't look like nothing"
Shit thought Sirius, cursing himself for his carelessness. Shit . He was always so careful about keeping this part of his life a secret from his friends and now a silly mistake was going to ruin it all. Sirius had never wanted the others to find out about his homelife. At school he was the fun loving rebel, with a devil-may-care attitude and that's how he liked it. He didn't want sympathy or pity and he definitely didn't want anyone knowing how broken and weak he felt he really was. He tried to ignore the panicky feeling that was spreading through him as he attempted to come up with a good enough lie to placate James.
"I must have knocked into a table or something"
He knew it was a piss poor explanation, but it was all he could think of right now. He needed to get away from James before he asked any more questions. Pushing past him, Sirius quickly grabbed his clothes and headed into the shower, a clear message that the conversation was over. James stared after him, concern written over his features and an uneasy dread settling in his stomach.