*is hoping and praying that I get a new calligraphy pen for Christmas*

_________________________
Sirius sat alone in the dorm room. Everyone else was down in the common room, as it was Saturday. He sighed he stared at the letter next to him on the bed.

*le flashback to that morning*
The owls were arriving with the daily mail. A large screech owl landed in front of him and Sirius filled with dread. That was his mother's owl. With trembling fingers, he untied the letter from it's leg. He opened it and pulled out the piece of parchment.
Sirius Black.
How dare you. A Gryffindor? Your father and I are completely disgusted. Unfortunately, you were officially named heir to the Black fortune at birth, so we cannot disown you. Why we decided to do that, I have no answer for that mistake. You may continue to live at my house. That does not mean we have to treat you like family. Don't bother coming home for Christmas, you would be a waste of space and time.
-Walburga
Sirius's eyes glistened as he read the words. He stood up from the table, clutching the letter, and ran out of the Great Hall.
*le end of flashback*

A knock at the door sounded through the room. "Sirius? Are you willing to tell us what happened yet?" James's voice came through the locked wood.

Sirius stood up and walked over to his trunk. He opened it and pulled out his paints and brushes.

"Alright then." James said and footsteps receded.

Sirius looked around for a canvas or something he could paint but couldn't find anything. He shrugged and sat down on the floor, pulling up the sleeves of his sweater.

He dipped a brush into the open paint pot and flicked it down his arm, the acrylic cold against his skin.

Using multiple brushes, paint colors, and years of practicing with his left hand, Sirius painted a galaxy down  forearms.

The paint was dry by the time Sirius got up and unlocked the door, leaving the room. He walked down the stairs to the common room and stood in the stairwell, watching Remus and James play chess while Peter did homework.

Sirius walked over to the couch and sat down next to Remus. "Hey guys. Who's winning?" He asked with a don't you dare ask me about what happened tone.

James seemed to pick up on the warning in his voice, because he all he said was, "Me. Knight 2 to F7." Remus glanced at them but kept silent.

Sirius had pulled his sleeves back down, but the common room was warmer than the dorm and he was quickly overheating. He contemplated going somewhere else, but decided against it. Sirius pulled off his sweater and continued watching the game, acting as if he couldn't see the other three's astonished looks.

(If y'all are wondering what it looks like, go down to the bottom of the page, I'll put a picture off the net there.)

"You know, Remus, if you moved that bishop to D5, you could checkmate James." Sirius said.

"Okay nope." James said, standing up. "Start explaining. You get a letter. Run off. Lock yourself in the dorm room. Then you refuse to come out, and when you finally do, you've got a mother fudgenuggeting masterpiece painted on your arms. Start. Talking. Now."

Sirius sighed seriously. "Alright. My parents hate me and I like painting. That answers all of it." He said and sat back.

"W-what do you m-mean your parents h-hate you?" Peter asked from where he sat.

"I mean, they can't legally disown me, but I'm basically no longer part of that family." Sirius said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You can stay at my house over Christmas." James said and Sirius shook his head. "I don't want to be a bother."

"Nonsense. You are coming home with me for Christmas and that is final." James said determindly. If Sirius had learned one thing in the short time he'd known James Potter, it was that James Potter never gave up.

"Where'd you learn to do this?" Remus asked, inspecting Sirius's arms.

"Ummm I don't know. I just....do it?" Sirius said. He'd been doing art as long as he could remember. No one had ever seen any of his artwork, but he'd been doing it.

"Its amazing." Remus said, impressed. "Wish I could do art like that."

Sirius gently pulled his arms from Remus's hands. "So." He said, changing the subject. "Who wants to go explore Hogwarts?"

~le short time skip~

Sirius and Remus collapsed against the wall with laughter as Peeves, James, and Peter pelted some second years with ink pellets.

Peeves flew over grinning at them. "Say, you four are a lot of fun, I'll make a deal with you. I will never get any of you in trouble, if you never get me in trouble."

The four Marauders looked at each other. "Yea I think we can agree to that." James said and Peeves grinned wider. "Great! Now you might want to leave, I can hear McGonagall on her way." 

They scrambled to leave the hallway, sprinting down the corridors and taking turns at random until at last they found themselves far away from the second floor.

"Was that wise to make a deal with Peeves?" Remus asked.

"P-probably not." Peter said, trying to catch his breath.

"But at least we'll have him on our side at Halloween." Sirius said.

"That's true. But I still think it might get us in the long run." Remus said, sitting down on one of the desks in the classroom they'd run into.

Sirius waved a hand dismissively. "Everything will work out." He said.

~Meanwhile down in the Slytherin dormitories~

Lucius paced around Regulus's dorm. "I don't understand! How could they not disown him!" He exclaimed angrily.

Bellatrix, who was also there, pouted. "I was so looking forward to a burnt hole where he was in the tapestry."

Regulus, who hadn't looked up from his book once, finally looked up. "Why exactly are you meeting in my room?" He asked the group of 5.

Lucius Malfoy and his girlfriend Narcissa Black, her sister Bellatrix Black, Lucius's friend Francis Parkinson, and Francis's girlfriend May Halend.

"Because its your disgraceful brother we are discussing." Lucius hissed. Regulus calmly set his book down and stood up.

"My dear Lucius. Has it not occurred to you yet? We have someone in Gryffindor. An inside man. We can learn their secrets. I'll talk to my brother and convince him to join us." Regulus smoothly lied.

Lucius stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Yes I suppose we can. Alright. Talk to him soon."

He and the four others left Regulus's room. Reg sighed in relief that they had bought it. He fell back on his mattress and ran a hand over his face.

You've really done it now Reg,
he thought.

____________________________
Damnit. I thought I had decided on doing one really long book. But the plot keep elaborating itself. I don't write the book, the book writes itself. Ah well, I'll sleep on it.
~Meep
p.s. This is what his arms look like.