Things Worth Dying For (A Sirius Black x Reader Love Story)

Tales of the Heart

Sirius tumbled into the portrait hole of Gryffindor tower, arm slung around James's shoulder as the two doubled over, laughing. Seconds later, Remus and Peter stumbled in, both wearing wicked grins, hands tinted the color of rotting leaves. 

"Did you see their faces? I don't think I've ever seen anyone look that mad!", yelped James in between fits of laughter. The quartet entered the common room, faces flushed with excitement, eyes bright red with the effort of holding back tears of laughter. 

Sirius could still feel the thrill of his heart trying to beat out of his chest with the excitement of running away from the dungeons, out of the clutches of Slytherins whose robes had turned from a royal, emerald green, to the color of a troll's feet. He didn't notice the small girl in the common room until he felt James's body stiffen under his arms, both of them stopping dead in the entrance. Remus and Peter continued walking, sprawling tiredly onto the worn-out couch in front of the fire place, but James wouldn't budge. At the sound of the boys' heavy sighs of content, Y/N looked up, the expression of calm solace she previously wore, curled up on an armchair, engulfed in a book with Lily scrawling away on some homework next to her, turned instantly to a perturbed one. Within seconds, Y/N had leaned down to mumble something into Lily's ear, who nodded sympathetically before shooting the dark-haired pair a look dripping with venom. By the time Remus and Peter had processed the tension in the room, Y.N had already gathered her things, bag slung over one shoulder as she skulked up the spiraling stone staircase to her dorm. 

Sirius felt James curl his hands into fists of rage, his previous mirth flying out the window as he too trudged up the opposite stairwell to his dorm.

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"Why do you hate her so much?", Sirius asked. 

He had followed his best mate up to bed, but James seemed to be consumed with a silent resentment, as he had not even acknowledged Sirius's presence. Instead, he had changed into his sleeping robes, brushed his teeth, making much more noise than necessary, and lay eerily still in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.  Sirius, knowing James needed time to cool off, had done the same, lying silently in bed for what seemed like hours before the tension in the air had thickened, becoming palpable, and the questions swarming in Sirius's mind yearned to get out.

James stirred in bed, turning on to his side to face Sirius.

"I love my mom and dad, you know that? They're a bit older than all my friends' parents but I'd-I'd kill a man for them if I had to", James whispered.

Sirius didn't move his gaze from the spot on the ceiling he was staring at. He felt his heart skip a beat, a beat filled with longing for that kind of bond.

James continued. "We used to be best friends, Y/N and I,-basically family, really. Her mom died when she was four and her father-he never seemed to have time for her. Her brother-Nigel- was already in school at that time, and I guess her grandparents weren't in the picture so she stayed with my folks during the day. All her father was really good for was giving her a place to sleep-mom and dad could have done that too, to be frank."

Sirius finally turned to face his friend, shocked at the intensity of his gaze. There was real pain reflected in his eyes when he talked.

"I-we did everything for her. We raised her as family, loved her as family,but she couldn't even-couldn't even keep her stupid blabbing mouth shut. She went and told her father the things my parents tried to teach her, you know, about muggles and such. Mom used to tell her they were our equals; different, but equal."

As James spoke, his voice got softer and softer, to the point where Sirius was teetering dangerously at the edge of his bed in an attempt to catch every single word. At this point, James shut his eyes, taking a quivering breath before continuing.

"When her father found out, he barged into our home, yelling obscenities, creating a huge scene. You should have seen dad, I don't think I've ever seen him so mad. He grabbed Y/N and left the house, slamming our door so hard the neighbors even came around to ask what happened. It wouldn't have been so bad if mom hadn't cried for days after that. To her, it was like she lost a daughter. They still haven't seen her, you know. I haven't even told them that I have to see her every day."

For a long minute, Sirius didn't know what to say. James, the boy who was so filled with love, and mischief, and pure, unbridled joy, seemed so uncharacteristically downtrodden that Sirius could feel a fissure going through his heart. Still, a small voice nagged at him.

"She hasn't been seen in London for 4 years. She must have been-what-7? She was a child, James", Sirius whispered.

James's voice hardened again. 

"I gave myself that excuse for a while too, mate. But, we wrote to her, you know? Even before she had officially moved-wherever it is she was sent. We wrote to her, worried, practically begging for a response, but she didn't bother writing back-not ever. We didn't know where she was for years, but she knew where we were. She could have written, couldn't she have? Or fire-called? She clearly couldn't be bothered to-forget me-make sure my folks were alright after her father's little stunt. She has some nerve coming back here, after all this time. For all I care, she could've rotted wherever she was for the rest of her cursed life!"

James finished his speech, voice once again shaking with anger. Sirius got up from his bed, making his way to the one opposite his and placing a reassuring a hand on James's shoulder. Maybe he was right. People aren't always like their families, but by the looks of it, Y/N is.