Joyce, My Love ~ Sirius Black

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All the dog could see was half of Jocelyn's face and he had never been more relieved. He growled a large bark before returning to his human form.

His uneven haircut was soaking wet. A large gauze on his higher cheekbone and abdomen sat unhappily and likely infected. He looked- to put it simply -exhausted.

The only words she could choke out was, "Sirius?" "Hey..." He croaked softly before collapsing into the girl's arms. She began to carry him in the house, before realising a bright red pigment had replaced the paint that was previously on the girl's hands.

"MUM! MUM!" The girl called.

Euphemia Potter ran downstairs almost immediately and as soon as the mother caught a glimpse of the injured boy that clung onto her only daughter, she gasped.

"Josie, go get your father," the mother said firmly, grabbing the injured boy from her daughter, "but mum-"

"Jocelyn. Now."

The seriousness in her mother's voice shook her to the core. Running upstairs, Joss shot the door open, to reveal her father, sleeping steadily. She was about to grab his shoulders but after comprehending the amount of blood on her hands, she decided against it.

"Dad! Dad!"

"Jocelyn!" He groaned, "it's the middle of the night, what on earth?" He shot up, "what is on your hands, are you alright?"

"Sirius showed up about a minute ago, mum needs your help downstairs."

Without any hesitation, Fleamont joined his wife downstairs.

She had to get the red goo off of her hands, it made her look like a criminal. It made her insides turn. This wasn't paint and that thought haunted her. She rushed to the upstairs bathroom. On her way, she bumped into her twin. 

His eyes widened at her hands, "Joss!" He gasped. He studied her up and down. She was undoubtedly trembling and utterly overwhelmed. He wasn't aware of the chaos happening in the lower region of the house but he didn't care, he prioritised his other half.

He took her by the shoulders, he hurried her to the sink. Completely out of it, Jocelyn sat on the countertop next to the sink absentmindedly. Grasping her hands, he shoved them under the lukewarm water. Taking the handsoap next to him, he cleaned her hands. And she just stared. After they were finally rid of the red pigment, James stood directly in Jocelyn's eye line.

"Josie? What happened?" He spoke softly, not wanting to upset the poor girl. "I-I couldn't sleep, I was painting and I went downstairs to wash my hands," she looked down, relieved to see her hands were back to their usual state. "And I heard f-fucking knocking and then Sirius-"

"S-Sirius? Sirius is here?" "Yeah, he's downstairs."

Without a second of hesitation, James sprinted downstairs to see his best friend- no -his brother.

Sirius laid diagonally on the couch in the foyer, staring up at the ceiling. His mind was an empty abyss as he tried to remember what happened tonight. His hand placed pressure upon his rib with a hot towel. On the coffee table next to him, was a line of about 9 potion bottles, deities and anything a substance abuser could dream of.

"Well, don't you look dashing," James said sitting opposite the injured boy.

"Oh, Prongs you look beautiful, done something new with your hair?"

"What happened?" James' head nodded slightly, motioning to the boy's rib. "I don't wanna talk about it." 

"Padfoot-" 

"I hope I didn't scare Joyce too bad there." 

"She'll be 'right, now tell me what's happened."

"I would also like to know. If you don't mind of course," Euphemia came into the room, hand-in-hand with her husband. Seeing two people, who love each other just as much as Jocelyn's and James's parents made Sirius's stomach twirl with envy.

"They were going to make me sign up for war," his voice cracked slightly, "be a soldier to that... noseless, brainless git. I refused, obviously, but they weren't havin' it. So they cut my hair, used that-that curse on me. Threatened me, called me names but I had enough. I packed my shi- stuff. Sorry,"

"It's all right, son, continue." "But don't force yourself, dear."

"I tried to get Regulus to come with me b-but he rejected it. I told him if he ever wanted to leave, there was always room but he called me selfish. So I'm walking out the door and I got caught. Mum started throwing spells in my direction, calling me names, saying I'm a disappointment, you know, the usual," he chuckled, using humour as a coping mechanism.

"Anyway, I slammed the door and made my way. About an hour in, someone tried to mug me while crossing the street, shanked me, the dickhead. I didn't trust anyone to help me, so I just kept walking, found the- what d'you call it -Knightbus and asked them to bring me here. He asked if I wanted them to heal me but the chap looked quite janky, so I told him not to. Then, I had to walk another 3 blocks, 'cause they dropped me at the wrong bloody manor. So, now I'm here."

"If I ever see that wretched mother of yours, I swear to Godric, I will-" Euphemia cut herself off by her hand gestures. She took a deep breath before continuing, "you better get some sleep, you've had enough adventure to last you a lifetime."

"That sounds like a challenge to me, Padfoot," James said standing up, following his mum out of the room.

"Read my mind, Prongs."

The three Potters left and for a minute it was silent, the only sounds in the room were Sirius's shallow breathing. Until a shy knock came from the big dark brown oak doors.

The smallest Potter walked in sheepily.

"Hi."

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• 1482 story word count •