Open Wounds

Cuts and Burns

James has been pacing back and forth in his bedroom, trying to figure out what to do with the boy laying in his bed. Sirius had been asleep for hours, occasionally thrashing back and forth.

He found himself increasingly concerned, especially as he noticed more and more injuries on Sirius that he didn't see in the panic of dragging him into the house. Dark bruises circled around his neck, crescent shaped cuts lined his forearm, and bruises trailed underneath his shirt. James wondered what injuries lie under his clothes.

He was going to change Sirius into clean clothes once they got him upstairs into James's bed, but he was too afraid too wake him. He could tell that Sirius needed the sleep.

"No, no, no, please!" Sirius screams and pleads in his sleep. James whips around in shock. He doesn't know whether he should wake him up and save him from the nightmare or let him get the sleep he obviously needs.

"Please, don't, it hurts!" Merlin, he can't listen to his best friend in all this pain. James shakes Sirius awake. He doesn't awaken at first, but when he does, he instantly sits up and gasps for air. He doubles over into himself, hands around his neck, coughing and wheezing.

"Sirius? Sirius, are you okay?" James tries to calm him down, but the coughing continues so he reaches for the glass of water sitting on his nightstand.

"Try drinking this." Sirius quickly grabs the cup and gulps the entire glass. When he's done, he sets the cup down and turns to James, who is now sitting at the end of the bed.

They stare at each other for a moment, Sirius's breath still ragged. Neither of them seemed to know what to say to each other. James isn't sure if he should ask Sirius what's going on or if he should just wait for Sirius to open up to him, so he just settles with "Uh, you want a clean change of clothes?"

Sirius nods in response, and James gets up and makes his way to his wardrobe. He pulls out a pair of flannel joggers and an old shirt and hands them over to Sirius.

"Thank you," Sirius's words come out raspy and weak, as if his throat was ripped to shreds. The sound is so jarring coming from the usually confident and well spoken boy that James nearly comments on it, but then he remembers the bruises around Sirius's neck and decides not to say anything about it.

He gives Sirius a small smile and begins to make his way to the door, before stopping and saying, "I'll be downstairs. Mum put a sandwich in the fridge for you when you're done cleaning up." And with that he exits the room and closes the door behind him.

Behind the door, Sirius slowly begins to get out of James's bed, his head pounding. He makes his way to the mirror and wonders what the Potter's must think of him. He looks horrible. His hair is nearly greasier than Snape's, his eyes and cheeks are sunken in, and he's still got dried blood painting much of his body. He sighs and makes his way to James's bathroom to take a shower.

He lets the water warm up as he slowly undresses, being very careful because sudden movements hurt his sore body (and his rib that is probably broken). He manages to get his shirt and trousers off when he notices that he left the clean change of clothes on James's bed.

He exits James's en suite bathroom, clad in nothing but his boxers, at the same time that James opens the bedroom door, stopping in both boys in their tracks, "Oh, sorry, I-uh, I heard the water and-" he stops.

Sirius can tell he's looking at his chest and thighs, and at the bruises, cuts, and cigarette burns that cover the skin there.

"Sirius..." For once in his life, James Potter is rendered speechless.

Sirius takes a step back, and then turns back into the bathroom.

James quickly makes his way across the room, "No, Sirius, you can't just pretend that I didn't see-"

He's cut off when Sirius doesn't close the door in his face, and instead shuts the water off and turns back towards James, "Yeah," Sirius sighed, his voice still sounding strained and tired, "I know."

"Oh," James breathes out, not expecting that answer, "okay." He sits down on the end of his bed as Sirius puts a shirt back on and then leans against the wall across from him.

Sirius crosses his arms across his chest, "You're obviously going to make me have this discussion, so hurry it up. I need a shower."

James clears his throat, trying to find a way to begin this, "The cuts and burns...they don't look like they're from your dad."

The other boy stays silent, his gaze carefully avoiding James's.

"Sirius...where did the cuts and burns come from?"

"You know how my parents are!" Sirius bluffs, but James has known him far too long to be fooled.

"Yes I do know how they are, but you know what else I know? You've never ran away like this before, and I also know that you're the only one in your family that smokes cigarettes," he gestures toward the cigarette burns, "You started smoking just to piss them off, so I'm going to ask again and I want the truth. Where did they come from?"

Sirius grits his teeth and looks down at the ground. Telling James that he inflicted them upon himself isn't going to make this situation any easier, "Really, James, they're from my dad."

"Bullshit! Did your dad also fill you with Fire Whisky and place you on my doorstep?"

"...No," he scoffs, "Not directly, anyways." He laughs bitterly, but James doesn't join in, instead he looks on in sadness. There's nothing funny about Sirius's situation.

"Can we not joke around right now? I'm concerned about you. You look like a fucking ghost, Sirius! What the hell happened?"

Sirius looks away from James, mad at himself for making his best friend so concerned about him. He stares at the ground, and fighting back tears he says, "It just all got so hard."

He slid down the wall and landed on the ground, putting his head in his hands, and he let out everything he had been feeling. He told James everything. He told him about the starvation, the alcoholism, the abuse, the self harm, and even Voldemort.

And through all this, James sat on the bed and didn't utter a word. He let Sirius purge it all from his brain, and he began to cry along with him.

Finally, when Sirius was done, James stayed silent for a moment. He didn't exactly know what to say. What do you say when your best friend tells you something so massive? So heavy? He knew Sirius's home life was bad, but bloody hell.

"Sirius, I promise that you never have to go back there again. Mum said you can live here with us."

"Really?" Sirius's tear-stained face looked happy for a moment before falling back into a frown, "Are you sure I wouldn't be a burden?"

James laughed, "Sirius, you're my brother now! You're only a burden when you turn my dinner to slugs!"

"That was only once!" Sirius lied.

"Oh yeah, once, sure!" The boys laughed, and laughing had never felt better.

James gets up off the bed, "C'mon, get up," he forces Sirius off the ground and opens his arms wide.

"No, no, no, I've had enough emotional intimacy for the day," Sirius tries to dodge James's embrace.

"Nope! We're doing this! Hug your brother, goddammit!" James forces Sirius into a tight hug, but not tight enough to hurt the injured boy.

As they pull away from the hug, James jokes, "Alright, now take a shower. You reek!" Which leads Sirius to promptly shove him as he laughs, and then turns back towards the bathroom.

He stops right before closing the door, "James...thank you. Really, thank you." James smiles and then watches as Sirius closes the door behind him.