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Sirius was used to lying. He'd been lying since he was little. It was the only way to protect himself and his little brother. Although sometimes that meant one of them had to get hurt so the other didn't. Sirius always put his brother first.
Regulus had accidentally broken an old vase. It had been ugly anyway and he was only 2, he couldn't help it, but he would've been punished severely.
"It wasn't Regulus, it was me!"
That was his first scar: a relatively small slice across the back of his leg where the belt buckle had torn skin. It had hurt a lot but he was oddly proud of it. He'd protected his brother. He'd been brave. That's when he first thought of wanting to be in gryffindor.
Of course, he'd also lied plenty of times to get himself out of trouble too.
"I had no idea they were there! She just sat down and they went off!"
Apparently, that one wasn't quite good enough. He ended that day with a good few new cuts and bruises from the belt.
Then, there was the biggest lie. It was really more if a lie of omission since he'd never directly said anything but...
"You need to start looking for good pureblood ladies to marry in future. You will be expected to be betrothed in the next few years and as the heir to the Moste Ancient and Noble House of Black you will be expected to marry the best." His mother told him not long before he went to Hogwarts.
He knew he didn't want that. He'd never really liked girls and as he got older he realised he liked someone very, very different instead. But he could never say that. Of course he couldn't, he'd be disowned at the very least, probably far worse.
He managed to keep up the lie for a long time but during the Christmas holiday of 1975, he finally snapped. They'd been ranting on at him about his friends as usual. He and Remus had finally gotten together at the start of the school year and grown even closer because of it.
"- but at least Potter and Pettigrew are purebloods! That disgusting Loopy boy you hang around with is the worst of them! How you can dirty yourself with his presence I will never understand!"
Sirius lost it. He jumped up from table yelling, "Because I love him! I love them all, they're more of a family to me than you've ever been! But him most of all! He is everything to me and will not allow you to talk about my boyfriend like that!" He realised his mistake as soon as he finished talking. He was dead. There was no way they'd let him get away with that. He froze.
Suddenly, chaos broke loose. His mother and father shot up and each shot curses at him. Clearly the belt was too good for him now. He felt spells slice his skin, blood trickled down his back and chest. Then, the pain changed.
White hot agony coursed through his entire body. He screamed, unable to do anything else. He vaguely saw Regulus watching in abject horror, seemingly unable to move.
The torture lasted for what felt like hours. Eventually, they stopped and left the room, hissing disgusted insults at him as they walked past him crumpled on the floor, near unconscious.
Regulus seemed to break out of his shocked trance. He hurried over to his brother, looking over him frantically. "Sirius. Siri, you have to get out. Please Siri! You said Potter would let you say with them. You have to go!"
Sirius took a few moments to just try and breathe as Regulus helped him sit up. "Reg." He rasped. "Reg, come with me. You can be safe there."
Regulus looked conflicted but whispered, "I can't! You know I can't! I'm sorry..." He summoned Sirius' things from upstairs.
Neither brother could look at each other as the younger helped the older to his feet. They clung to each other for a moment whispering. "Be safe. Please be safe. I love you."
Sirius appeared alone on the doorstep of Potter Manor on the edge of consciousness. He'd immediately collapsed against the door and had fallen inside when Mr Potter had pulled the door open to investigate the noise.
"Effie! Come quick and bring your kit! It's Sirius!" Fleamont's worried yell cut through the large house and Sirius was once again surrounded by chaos. He flinched at the loud voices and reaching hands.
He didn't remember much after that but he later found himself lying on a soft bed.
"- cruciatus I'm sure of it, Minerva. He was barely conscious when he got here, Merlin knows how he managed to apparate at all in his state. He barely let me or Monty near him until James was there. I don't know if he even realised he was doing it..." He could hear Mrs Potter talking in another room.
There was a hand holding his, one in his hair and another resting on his knee. He forced his eyes open to see James slumped over in a chair next to his bed, his was the hand on his leg, and Remus, his Remus, watching him with concerned, caring eyes. "Moons...?" He murmured
"Hey, Padfoot..." Remus whispered, gently stroking his hand through his hair. Sirius leaned into the soft touch. "How you feeling?"
"Shit."
He felt sore all over and his torso stung where it'd been sliced open. Worse was the random sharp pains that would intermittently shoot through his muscles. He tensed as another shot through his arm. "What the hell is that?"
Remus squeezed his hand lightly. "Mrs Potter said you'd probably experience some aftershocks from the curse for a few hours. She left a potion to help. Here." He grabbed a cup from the nightstand and carefully helped Sirius sit up to drink it. The movement woke James who quickly started fretting over him.
Sirius relaxed, letting them take care of him. He was with his family. He just wished he could be with all of them...