Story Title: Cinnamon Choices
School: Mahoutokoro
Round: 3 - Potions
Theme: Amortentia
Main Prompt: Sirius Black [Main Character]
Other Prompts: Severus Snape/Lily Evans [Pairing], Dungeons [Setting]
Year: 4
Word Count: 2,140
Sirius Black did not make a habit of wandering down to the dungeons alone. Slughorn was far too eager to discuss blood purity or his cousins, which Sirius was not interested in, and Snivellus was almost always lurking around down there. He preferred to avoid both snakes, if possible. Desperate times called for desperate measures, however, so he slunk through the cold, damp corridors and tried his best not to step too loudly.
It still managed to surprise him whenever he managed to be quiet. Though he didn't like to admit it, he'd learned to move and slink around almost as silently as Severus had. The other Blacks—the other Gryffindors, even—were loud at best, but Sirius had spent the first eleven years of his life under the reign of Walburga and Orion Black. He'd learned to roll his steps and stick to the outer edges of the stairs. He and Reg had even made up a song when they were kids so that they could remember which floorboards creaked on the way down to the kitchens. Sirius had had to be silent, then.
He seldom had to use that skill, anymore, because being flanked by James made silence impossible. Not that he minded, of course. The noise was usually comforting, and it served as a nice reminder that he didn't have to ever go back to that house. But this was not a casual stroll through the dungeons, he reminded himself, this was a mission and there was no time for reminiscing.
"What are you doing down here, Black?" It was a sneer, and Snape spit that name at him like a slur, but Sirius forced his face not to react. Stupid, arrogant Snivellus Snape. Just once, Sirius wanted to catch him without his wand or his precious potions and hex him in ways that only the Black brothers even knew existed. But now was not the time. As much as he wanted to, there were more pressing issues at hand and, as Walburga had always said: A war is fought with words and weapons; be sure to use them in that order. So, instead, he twisted his expression into a smile.
"Why hello, sweet Snivellus. Just the person I was hoping to find." Snape gave him a doubtful look, as if there was no possible way in the name of Godric or Salazar that he'd been hoping to run into the brooding Slytherin. He had, though, as much as he hated to admit it.
"What do you want," It wasn't a question. "Come to try to kill me again?" Sirius balled his right hand into a fist and dug his nails into his palm. Words first, weapons later.
"Come now, Snivellus, don't be so melodramatic! We're all friends here." Snape shot him a glare that said, in no uncertain terms, that they were certainly not friends. Ah well, no use crying over spilled pumpkin juice. He took the opening to step closer in the dark corridor, now only a mere two or three feet from the snake, but kept his composure relatively well. Slowly, he reached into his pocket.
"Oh, wait. You're right, my mistake. Because friends don't try to drug other friends, do they?" His fingers closed around the baked good and pulled it out, displaying the golden muffin like some kind of smoking gun. The look of utter shock that pooled onto Snape's face was almost comical. It was fake—he was fake—but Sirius held back a smile when he reminded himself why he was here.
"See, Lily gave this to me. She can't stand cinnamon recently, you know, because of a bad hangover from some fireball—muggle drink, you wouldn't know it—that Peter smuggled back from winter holiday. But wait... You wouldn't know that because she doesn't speak to you anymore, does she?" Sirius' eyes flashed instantly to Snape's right hand, which was twitching and inching towards the pocket of his robes. He wasn't worried, though.
"I'm curious, Snivellus, as to how a muffin laced with Amortentia could have ended up in our dear, sweet Lily's hands. Especially considering it can't be bought or sold on Hogwarts grounds anymore…" The potions prodigy sneered again, but it was less confident. Clearly, Sirius was starting to get to him and the fact that his plan hadn't worked only egged the Slytherin on.
"Why don't you ask the almighty, precious Potter?" Hot, searing anger coiled through Sirius' muscles and dared him to raise his wand—to defend his best friend and his brother—but he stopped himself. Now was not the time.
"I would, but you and I both know James is rubbish at anything that doesn't use a wand. Last week he asked me what the difference was between a millimeter and a milliliter of scarab's blood, can you believe that? Besides, if anyone in Gryffindor was going to risk brewing a forbidden potion like that, it would be me. But, given that I didn't… And, well, there's also the fact that you're obsessed with her, so you understand my suspicion." Snape evidently did not like his suspicion, even if he understood it. Before Sirius could blink, that annoying, whiny little voice was yelling some sort of duelling jinx. He blocked without even thinking about it.
"See, Snivellus, it's things like this. You know it's not very nice to jinx people, especially when they're trying so hard to have a civil conversation, and yet—" Sirius was cut off, forced to block another jinx. "And yet here we are. Honestly where have the manners of this generation gone? If I had ever behaved like this, even as a child, my mother would have—"
"Flipendo!" Sirius blocked, and cocked his head at the Slytherin while raising his own wand.
"Now, that's just plain rude, Snivellus. Here I was, telling you about my upbringing, and you try to jinx me mid-monologue? Incarcerous!" Immediately, Snape was bound to the wall, his wand knocked to the cement and useless now. Slowly, Sirius advanced.
"What are you going to do? Kill me?" He laughed, letting the sound ricochet through the empty hall and bounce back into his current victim. Like it or not, Sirius had learned a thing or two from Walburga and Orion Black, one of which was how to intimidate without ever laying a hand on a person.
"I would never, dear Snivellus! Besides, this little chat isn't about me or what I want, otherwise I would have hexed you already. No, you were simply being difficult. What can I say? I enjoy a much more… captive audience." Sirius chuckled to himself and bent to retrieve Snape's wand before the snake could try to summon it. He'd thought through this moment a thousand different ways. Most of them involved at least a hex or two, but Sirius shook that thought out of the way because, as much as he wanted to, that wasn't what this was about.
"Now that I have your attention, shall we talk? This is the fourth Amortentia-laced gift that Lily has gotten this month, Snivellus, and, as much as I love a good joke, this has gone too far."
"I love her." Those words burned, even as they thudded against Sirius' eardrums.
"Love?!" he spat, resisting the urge to scream a jinx of his own. "Is that what you think this is? Attempting to drug her, stripping her of her own free will, ignoring her right to choose who she cares for… that's love?" Snape scowled at him, those dark eyes sharp enough to pierce dragon hide. The Slytherin looked ready to kill. But, with his wand still firmly secured in Sirius' robes, the snake didn't have much choice in terms of a weapon.
"Like you and your little werewolf would know what love is." At that, Sirius stopped. He closed his eyes and counted to ten the way Remus had always told him to whenever that infamous temper flared, but it did nothing for the anger simmering in his chest. Lily was bad enough, but Remus was too far, even for a Slytherin.
"Now, listen to me very carefully, my darling little Snivellus…" Sirius paused, taking just a moment to realize how much he was beginning to sound like his mother. "I come from a very, very long line of blood purity and repressed emotions. You may be quick with measurements and potions, congratulations, but my skillset is rather… unique. I like pranks, and I enjoy causing mischief, but I excel at pain." He inched closer, pressing the tip of his wand into Snape's throat and relishing in the rush of power it gave him. The fear in those dark eyes was like morphine in his veins. Was this how his parents had felt as they watched him squirm beneath their wands, listening to his little voice beg for mercy? It didn't make it better—let alone right—but Sirius could understand.
"You're bluffing." Snape could not have picked a better response. Sirius felt his face split into a grin and madness coursed through his body, but he just smiled at his prisoner.
"I'm not, dear Snivellus. You won't test me, though, because you've always been a coward. So, I will ask you once—and only once—to stay away from my friends. Lily included." Sirius could feel the indignation and the bitterness rolling off of Snape in waves. Good, the snake deserved nothing less. He expected an argument, or at the very least some form of protest, but Snape merely glared and eyed the pocket of Sirius' robes that held his wand.
"I love her." Again, that stupid sentence, as if it suddenly made everything okay.
"No, Snivellus, you want to own her. You're obsessed with your need to control and possess her, but you do not love her. Just because she said no, doesn't mean you suddenly have the right to slip her love potions or charmed little gifts. Obsession isn't love any more than a crush is marriage material. They're not equal." But Snape was far from reason or civil conversation, and he snarled.
"Tell that to Potter, then." Sirius let his smile fade, slowly, as he studied the sixth year beneath his wand. Interesting argument, he couldn't help thinking. Snape wasn't defending his own actions or motivations, merely calling James' into question too.
"I didn't say James was any better, Snivellus. He's infatuated, which isn't any closer to real love than you are, but at least he has the decency not to dose her with love potions." Again, he felt that fire course through his body and settle in his fists. Sirius had always had issues surrounding the idea of free will and choice. His entire childhood had been a game of tug-o-war between his mother's social agenda and his father's expectations, not to mention that complicated thing called loyalty. James, Remus, and Peter had been his first real choice. Sitting with them on the train had been the best decision he'd ever made—though they often got into trouble—and the idea of someone taking that ability to choose away from Lily made him sick.
"I love Lily. Don't you dare make a comment about Remus—I will hex you, Snivellus—but I love her like my sister. Love is supposed to be a choice. If I ever catch you, or anyone else for that matter, trying to take that choice away from her I will not hesitate to use the curses I learned from my parents. Do you understand me, Snake?" Just for a moment, Sirius let his tongue slip and turn that 'p' into a 'k' to emphasize the utter disgust in his voice. This was not some petty displace of testosterone. He meant every word. Snape, however, had paled considerably beneath his wand and swallowed hard as the Gryffindor finally stopped his explanation to wait for an answer.
"Are you kidding?" Ah, a rookie mistake.
"No, I'm Sirius, actually," He laughed, even as the Slytherin growled in irritation. "But no, I'm not kidding. I will not hesitate, Snivellus, and I suggest you don't tempt me because I find cursing you to be rather fun. Obsession is not love. If Lily says no—which she has—then you have to let it be. Wallow, brood, go off on some path of self-discovery and enlightenment—I really couldn't care less. But do not ever try to charm or force her into something again. Understand?" Wordlessly, Snape nodded. He looked rightfully terrified and Sirius had to hold back a smirk at the mere sight. Instead, he simply lowered his wand and retrieved Snape's.
"Glad we could come to an agreement. Now, as you so kindly reminded me, I have a date with my boyfriend whom I love. I'll leave your wand on the table and release the bonds when I'm far enough away, given that I'm not particularly inclined to trust you. See you in Charms, Snivellus."
AN: Thanks for reading!