January 1.0: How Did Sirius Get Here?
Title: How Did Sirius Get Here?
Summary: A look back on various moments in Sirius's life.
Characters/Pairings: Sirius Black
Genre: Gen
Rating/Warnings: PG
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 700
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: No
1.
The moment the Sorting hat came off his head, Sirius choked on the air that he tried to breathe in. The hat hadn't said Slytherin, he said to himself. Gryffindor. GRYFFINDOR. That was the house that had come from the Sorting Hat as it sat on Sirius's head for barely half a minute. How could the hat know that quickly? How could it not sort him into the house that every last member of his family had been sorted into for a century? More than a century? He tried not to be sick as he walked to his fellow Gryffindors.
2.
The first time Sirius became Padfoot, he caught fleas. He spent the next two and a half weeks scritching and scratching at his neck and armpits and even his groin, which got him nowhere except looked at with a frown by Professor McGonagall. He tried daily showers. He tried two showers a day. He tried talcum powder. He tried anti-itch potion. He even tried Lily Evans' damned home remedy that she insisted would work even though she didn't know why he was so itchy. It was almost enough for Sirius to never want to transform again, to give up now.
3.
He never regretted mentioning to Snivellus that he ought to go to the shrieking shack at the full moon if he wanted to see what was going on. He didn't think he would have regretted it if Snivellus had been hurt either, even if that meant hell for Moony. He knew that made him a bad person, an even worse friend. He didn't care. Sirius was so angry at Snape for sticking his nose where it didn't belong, so sure that he would get exactly what he deserved if he was that stupid. Sirius didn't know what that made him.
4.
Sirius was the first to raise a glass at the wedding reception for James and Lily. He gave a loud, rousing speech with just the right amount of humor and teasing of his two best friends. He laughed along with everyone else, grinned from ear to ear, gave off every appearance of happiness for James and Lily. But the truth was, he wasn't happy. He felt James drifting away from him, being taken away from him. He saw his friends split up, moving on, going in all different directions without him. He would be the one left behind, left alone.
5.
There was no trial. There was nothing but a dark cell on an island in the middle of the sea. Now there was nothing but regret. There was no one else. He was alone, as he thought he always would be. This loneliness ran deep, tightened his chest, forced a pounding in his head that wouldn't stop. This was regret as he'd never felt it before in his life. Maybe he hadn't committed the betrayal. Maybe he wasn't the one who killed them all. But he had as good as done it. For the moment, he saw no way out.
6.
Now there was Harry, that last remaining piece of James. How he looked like Sirius's best mate. He could see James's mannerisms, his tone, even without being raised by him. When Sirius looked at Harry, he saw James. This was enough to make up for everything in his past. He would make this right. Now he would move forward with his life, with Harry's life, and he would do everything that he couldn't do before. This was something to live for. This was everything he didn't know would happen thirteen years ago. He wouldn't mess this up too. He couldn't.
7.
One second he was dueling in the Department of Mysteries, and the next, nothing. It wasn't death, but it wasn't life either. It was something else entirely. It was simply nothing. But in that nothing, Sirius still existed. He thought. He thought about everything, his life, his past, his choices. In that void, it was hard not to think about everything that had happened to him. How each moment was born to change the next one. How one moment affected every other one both before it and after it. Sirius had an eternity to think, and he wished he didn't.
Sarah // Gryffindor
23 points
Summary: A look back on various moments in Sirius's life.
Characters/Pairings: Sirius Black
Genre: Gen
Rating/Warnings: PG
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 700
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: No
1.
The moment the Sorting hat came off his head, Sirius choked on the air that he tried to breathe in. The hat hadn't said Slytherin, he said to himself. Gryffindor. GRYFFINDOR. That was the house that had come from the Sorting Hat as it sat on Sirius's head for barely half a minute. How could the hat know that quickly? How could it not sort him into the house that every last member of his family had been sorted into for a century? More than a century? He tried not to be sick as he walked to his fellow Gryffindors.
2.
The first time Sirius became Padfoot, he caught fleas. He spent the next two and a half weeks scritching and scratching at his neck and armpits and even his groin, which got him nowhere except looked at with a frown by Professor McGonagall. He tried daily showers. He tried two showers a day. He tried talcum powder. He tried anti-itch potion. He even tried Lily Evans' damned home remedy that she insisted would work even though she didn't know why he was so itchy. It was almost enough for Sirius to never want to transform again, to give up now.
3.
He never regretted mentioning to Snivellus that he ought to go to the shrieking shack at the full moon if he wanted to see what was going on. He didn't think he would have regretted it if Snivellus had been hurt either, even if that meant hell for Moony. He knew that made him a bad person, an even worse friend. He didn't care. Sirius was so angry at Snape for sticking his nose where it didn't belong, so sure that he would get exactly what he deserved if he was that stupid. Sirius didn't know what that made him.
4.
Sirius was the first to raise a glass at the wedding reception for James and Lily. He gave a loud, rousing speech with just the right amount of humor and teasing of his two best friends. He laughed along with everyone else, grinned from ear to ear, gave off every appearance of happiness for James and Lily. But the truth was, he wasn't happy. He felt James drifting away from him, being taken away from him. He saw his friends split up, moving on, going in all different directions without him. He would be the one left behind, left alone.
5.
There was no trial. There was nothing but a dark cell on an island in the middle of the sea. Now there was nothing but regret. There was no one else. He was alone, as he thought he always would be. This loneliness ran deep, tightened his chest, forced a pounding in his head that wouldn't stop. This was regret as he'd never felt it before in his life. Maybe he hadn't committed the betrayal. Maybe he wasn't the one who killed them all. But he had as good as done it. For the moment, he saw no way out.
6.
Now there was Harry, that last remaining piece of James. How he looked like Sirius's best mate. He could see James's mannerisms, his tone, even without being raised by him. When Sirius looked at Harry, he saw James. This was enough to make up for everything in his past. He would make this right. Now he would move forward with his life, with Harry's life, and he would do everything that he couldn't do before. This was something to live for. This was everything he didn't know would happen thirteen years ago. He wouldn't mess this up too. He couldn't.
7.
One second he was dueling in the Department of Mysteries, and the next, nothing. It wasn't death, but it wasn't life either. It was something else entirely. It was simply nothing. But in that nothing, Sirius still existed. He thought. He thought about everything, his life, his past, his choices. In that void, it was hard not to think about everything that had happened to him. How each moment was born to change the next one. How one moment affected every other one both before it and after it. Sirius had an eternity to think, and he wished he didn't.
Sarah // Gryffindor
23 points