Me, James and Sirius were all in my room as they observed me packing; our parents had decided to head to London early to spend a little time in the wizarding world together. We had rooms booked at The Leaky Cauldron and Lily was going to reunite with me there instead, it was more convenient for her anyway. Sirius was speaking about his family in front of me for the first time since he'd arrived.
"They're still trying to get me to come back home." Sirius said, bitterness tinging his voice. "They even used Regulus - got him to write me a letter and everything."
I kept my mouth shut. I knew Regulus and he wasn't that bad, he could almost be kind sometimes. I thought it better to keep my mouth shut about it, though.
"Do you think you ever will?" I asked carefully.
"No." He scoffed. "Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots."
"Well, you know you can stay with us as long as you want. Mum and Dad love you enough." James told him. Say what you wanted about the Potters, they were all good people at heart and James was a fierce friend.
"Thanks mate." Sirius replied earnestly. "Really." There was a pause where both boys just looked at each other nodding slightly.
"Let's move on before one of you starts crying." I joked, shaking my head with a smile.
"Yeah." Sirius agreed, shaking off the exchange. "Can I help you pack?"
"No." I laughed.
"Please," He insisted. "I'm really good at packing underwear, I promise." He had a sleazy grin on his face to which I rolled my eyes at. James elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Hey!"
"Thank you." I said to James and he flashed a smile in my direction. "How's Remus anyway?"
"Do you know Remus?" Sirius questioned.
"Not well but he's my favourite of the four." I teased, turning to face away. Sirius seemed to accept it but a noise of indignation erupted from James.
"Incarcerous." My wrist suddenly was drawn to the leg of the bed and I fell ungracefully to the floor.
"What?" I looked up to see James with his wand pointed at me and a pleased look on his face. "What was that for?"
"A crime against my ego." He told me, shaking his head in shame.
"Very funny." I snapped as I attempted to use my other hand to slide out of the ropes. They were too tightly bound. "How did you even do that? That's NEWT level transfiguration."
"I'm good at transfiguration." He said simply, sharing a knowing look with Sirius. I gave up trying to pull myself free and instead, looked for my wand.
"It's on the bed." Sirius informed me, holding back a laugh.
"Fancy being a dear and fetching it for me?" I asked sweetly.
"I'm not on your team. He is." He reminded me, gesturing to James.
"Oh yeah - traitor!" I spat at James.
"Whatever, every man for himself in trying times like these." James teased in response.
"If I say that you're my favourite will you let me go? These ropes are starting to cut off my blood supply." I moaned, the shade of my hand was giving me an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
"No - you can't erase your mistakes. You can stay there forever." He said dramatically. "Or until I get an offer I can't refuse." He shrugged.
I made many attempts after that to bribe him into letting me go, including offering him a free throw of me into into the water and the entirety of my chocolate frog card collection but nothing would sway him.
"The longer you leave me here, the angrier I will get and the worse the revenge will be." I threatened, narrowing my eyes at James. "You too, Black."
"What? Why? I played no part in this!" He insisted incredulously.
"Doing nothing is just as bad. You could've easily untied me by now." I told him, trying to shake free of the rope again.
"That would be getting involved - I'm not getting involved." He said with a smug smile.
"Untie me." I ordered desperately.
"No."
"I'll pack for you."
"No."
"I'll pay you."
"No."
"I'll buy you a new broomstick."
"What's wrong with my current broomstick?"
"Nothing!"
"Then, no."
"James." I whined.
"Courtney." He mimicked me.
"Kids, dinner!" Mr Potter's voice drifted up the stairs. Both boys stood up to leave and I looked at them expectantly.
"What?" James asked.
"My dinner will go cold." I said, glaring at them both.
"Nah, it won't." James laughed. "Sirius and I are starving, aren't we?"
"Yeah, famished almost."
"You could say that we're so hungry that we could split a second portion between us."
"You could indeed." Sirius laughed, winking at me before thundering down the stairs.
"Sit tight now." James told me, shutting the door with a grin.
I sat there for a moment, considering shouting for help but I knew that the boys would not be able to hide their mischief from Mrs Potter for long. She would see right through them and sure enough, not three minutes after their departure, two sets of footsteps were coming back up the stairs and into my room. In the doorway stood Mrs Potter and her son. Mrs Potter had a slight smile across her face while James just looked proud.
"Oh, Courtney. We were worried about you, what mess have you gotten yourself into now?" James asked me, feigning innocence.
"Stop being stupid James, come on." Mrs Potter urged him forward.
"Always have to play hero with you, don't I?" He laughed, pointing his wand at the ropes. Soon my wrist fell free and I grinned at him.
"Thank you." I said to him before walking out the room. Not before catching the glimpse of fear in his eyes, though.
"You're in for it, son." Mrs Potter cackled, before following me down the stairs.
I made a point of walking behind Sirius and ruffling his hair, to which he stood up outraged. I turned to face him and everyone watched the stand off.
"If you would all excuse me and Courtney for a moment." Sirius announced politely and I raised my eyebrows. He soon charged forward though, forcing me to turn and run in the other direction. I ran out the back door, round to the front of the house.
"It's only hair!" I shouted back at him.
I laughed and continued to run away with Sirius at my heels. We ran and ran until I lost my footing, tripping over a rock and sending myself flying.
"Ouch." I said, after landing and rolling over to assess the most impacted zones.
"That was one hell of a fall." Sirius told me, with a smile tugging at his lips.
"Shut up."
"You alright?" He asked me, kneeling down beside me.
"Apart from my knee." Blood was trailing down the sides of it, it stung a lot and would be painful to stand on but it looked a lot worse than it was.
"Karma's a bitch isn't it?" He smirked. I rolled my eyes.
"Just help me up." I grumbled and he did. Sure enough, pain coursed through my calf. "You might have to help me."
"Might I?" He teased, eyebrows raised.
"Please." I seethed, just wanting to be somewhere with ice and bandages.
"You want a piggy back?" He offered after a moment.
"A piggy back?" I watched him carefully."Really?"
"Really." He said and turned his back to me. Careful not to apply anymore pressure onto my knee, I hopped onto his back.
"Don't you dare fall over or drop me - watch the rock." I warned.
"Don't you dare ruin my hair some more - I can see the rock." He retorted. After a while, Sirius started running with me on his back. Much to my protests he didn't stop until we had reached the house.
"Not how I imagined you two would return." James said as we slowed down. "I thought that at least one of you would be unconscious, or at least injured."
"Well, this one is."Sirius told James and jerking his head in my direction. "She fell over a rock."
"She has a name." I grumbled.
"She is on my back so I can call her whatever I please." Sirius retorted. I dug my nails into his shoulders a little bit harder than necessary. Sirius didn't seem to notice but chuckled anyway.
"Can you put me down now?"
"Not until I find a suitable seat." Sirius said.
"I still don't like you." I mentioned as he opened the front door.
"After everything we've been through?" Sirius gasped dramatically. "Where's your first aid stuff?"
"Top cupboard in the kitchen." I told him, as he made his way there. He carefully lowered me down and I took a seat by the counter. Sirius pulled out the green box of First Aid and pulled up a chair next to me while James watched from the doorway.
"Are they alright?" My mum's voiced called in.
"Yeah, they're fine." James called back.
"We'll be in in a minute." I told her. Sirius opened the first aid box. "Wait, are you a trained first-aider?" I joked with a laugh.
"You have to be trained to do this stuff?" He asked, shocked.
"No - not really - not in the home, at least." I explained with a smile. Sirius carefully addressed my knee, wiping it clean despite my protestations and wrapping a bandage tightly around it.
"Better?" He asked, admiring his work on my knee.
"Yeah." I answered. Sirius extended his arm for me to grab hold of while I stood up. "I don't mind limping." I said, denying his arm. "But, food now."
We walked in to see our plates waiting for us and everybody looking at my knee.
"Less than a year until you pair come of age..." Mr Potter joked with a shake of his head, looking between me and Sirius.
The comment triggered both families to be overcome with a wave of nostalgia and exchanged stories of which all but Sirius were present for. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him, though he looked perfectly happy to listen - he had no family that he felt he belonged to. He lived with James and though Mr and Mrs Potter were generous and welcoming, his blood relatives must've taken a toll on him to some degree.