Setting: AU OOTP
(Harry never had the vision of Sirius being tortured and never went to the Ministry, Sirius lives - this story is set shortly after the argument on Christmas.)
I own nothing, all rights go to our queen – J.K. Rowling
Edited: July 10, 2017
As they sat around the kitchen table in Grimmauld Place, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black took turns sipping from their glasses of firewhiskey. It was a generally quiet evening.
Remus felt terrible for his old friend. He knew Sirius was miserable, he knew how the man hated being confined to the house – the place a constant reminder of his imprisonment in Azkaban as well as his hellish childhood. And while Sirius had never said it aloud, Remus knew just how much he hated being kept at arm's length. From his youth, Sirius Black had always been in the inner circle. The weight of his seclusion was surely crushing him.
Sirius grabbed the bottle and moved to refill his glass, but Remus held his hand out to stop him.
"Padfoot," he sighed, a reprimand Sirius was all too familiar with. "You know that isn't going to help."
Sirius laughed bitterly.
"I do appreciate your concern Moony, but in case you haven't noticed, I've nothing better to do." He replied, voice laced with angry sarcasm.
Remus dropped his chin in disapproval, but moved his hand away nonetheless. Sirius filled his glass to the brim and gulped half of it.
"I know it's hard to stomach, but you're doing the right thing." Remus reminded him gently. "It's safest for the Order, and for Harry, for you to stay out of sight."
Sirius snorted from the back of his throat, but said nothing else.
"Don't you think that Harry is been through enough, especially recently, without having his Godfather sent back to Azkaban?"
At the mention of his godson, Sirius perked up immediately.
"Harry? Have you spoken to him? Is he alright? What do you mean especially recently? What's happened?"
"Calm down, man," Remus pacified. "I've spoken with Dumbledore just this morning and Harry is fine. He's just been having a bit of trouble with Dolores Umbridge."
"What's the bloody cow done now?" Sirius demanded.
"The cow has done nothing that young Mr. Potter did not bring upon himself." A cold, mocking voice replied from the doorway.
Severus Snape moved from the shadows toward the men, keeping a careful hand over the pocket in his robes that held his wand.
"Snivellus," Sirius growled, lip curled in disgust. "I didn't invite you in."
"No, you didn't Black." Snape replied smugly. "Dumbledore requested I pay you a visit. He wished for me to remind you to keep up with your generous contributions to the Order by staying on top of the housekeeping for our new headquarters."
As he spoke, Snape smiled viscously and Sirius flushed with anger.
"It'd be in your best interest not to insult me without Lucius Malfoy's robes to hide behind, Snape."
Severus's jaw tensed and his sallow skin turned a putrid shade of green. Remus tried desperately to contain an exasperated laugh at the entire situation.
"It's quite amusing for you to accuse me of hiding, when you haven't come out from under your rock in over six months, Black. Then again … I suppose it is in your nature to follow orders. Tell me, are you still waiting for your long lost leader to let you out of your cage?"
At the taunt about James, Sirius leapt from his chair and charged at Snape – wand pointed at his throat.
Severus's eyes bulged with fear as his own wand was knocked out of his hand.
Remus stood quickly, but kept his distance from the fray. Years of experience had taught him to stay out of the way of an angry Sirius Black.
"I'll make this very clear, Snivellus." Sirius's voice shook with rage. "James Potter was a thousand times the man, and wizard you could ever dream of being, you miserable git. And everything that made him loved by so many has been passed onto his son, my godson, who at the age of fifteen shows astronomically more talent and bravery than you could ever hope to. You may have managed to fool everyone else, but I've never forgotten the man you truly are. Dumbledore's manipulated the lot into ignoring your past, but I know exactly what you try to conceal on that arm. I know who you are Snape, I know what you've done, and I'd sooner die than play into the act."
Sirius's free hand came around to grab Snape's collar, bringing him even closer.
"I see through you, just like when we were lads. You're still that pathetic little prat who used to spend every day hung upside down by your ankle in the courtyard, terrified. There wasn't a single person who gave a damn about you back then, and there's definitely no one now. Now that Dumbledore's given you a taste of authority the best you can do with it is torment children, but I suppose kids are the only lot you can intimidate … If James had lived, he'd have murdered you years ago for your treatment of Harry – but only if Lily didn't reach you first."
Severus was shaking so violently, Remus almost thought he was having convulsions. But Sirius was far from finished.
"You've gotten away with it for too long, Snivellus." Sirius smiled, a cruel expression. "But I'm in Harry's life now, and you can rest assured that if he even hints at mistreatment from your hand – even Dumbledore won't be able to protect you from me. I'm sure you remember just what it's like to go against me, don't you?"
Snape took several shaky breaths in an attempt to regain his nerve.
"That's touching, Black," he said finally, trying to break Sirius's hold on his collar. "I'm sure James Potter would be pleased to know that his only son is being guarded after by a lying convict, who even at his age, cannot begin to fathom how to behave like an adult. As for the young Potter - he is exceedingly arrogant, only shows bravery when he believes it will add to his fame, and is every bit the swine his father was."
Sirius's gripped his wand so tightly, his knuckles were white, and looked as though they would burst through the skin at any moment. Even Remus turned a violent shade of red at the insult to their friend's memory.
Snape flushed with pleasure at their reactions and continued.
"As for your remarks about cowardice, if my memory serves correctly, your fearless leader would only attack me when it was four against one. Not to mentio-"
"Don't act as though your hands were clean in that matter, Severus." Remus interrupted, his own anger starting to grow. "Have you forgotten all of the times you unfairly cursed James? And while I admit the way we behaved as children was wrong -"
Sirius scoffed.
"Don't apologize on my behalf, Remus. I have no regrets." He shoved the tip of his wand further into the soft skin of his enemy's throat. "Now Snivellus, I strongly recommend you turn and leave my home before I really lose my temper."
Remus let out a shaky breath, and held in a smile at his friend's attempt to keep a level head.
Snape took a step backward, away from Sirius and his wand that was now shooting black sparks. When there was about a foot of space between them, Snape couldn't resist firing off one more insult.
"I'll happily take my leave, Black, but I can't say I'm surprised. Your threats were always hollow without Potter to lend you a backbone."
Before Remus could even move a step to intervene, Sirius had thrown his wand away and charged at Snape like a madman. His right fist connected with Snape's cheek, the resounding crack bounced off the walls, and sent Snape sprawling to the floor. Remus crossed his arms, and against his natural instincts, sat back down. He didn't condone the fighting, especially not with the current state of chaos, but there was no denying that Snape had asked for this.
Snape lay face down on the floor, but Sirius wasn't finished. He grabbed the back of the bitter man's robes and dragged his body across the floor toward the door. Sirius slammed him against the door, and Severus slid down, lifeless. His greasy hair was mussed, sticking to his face in places. His large nose showed a clear break and gushed blood down his chin. His eye was quickly swelling shut and turning a deep purple color, and the eyebrow above it was split.
Sirius squatted so he was level with his opponent.
"Get out of my house. And stay the fuck away from my godson."
Then Sirius opened the front door and left the room, fighting his instinct to throw Snape down the front steps. As he walked away, he heard the door slam and that made him smirk.
As he walked into the kitchen, Remus was holding two glasses of amber liquid aloft in his hands. Sirius took the fullest one, clinked his glass with his friend's.
"Cheers." He said, simply.
The Next Day
Professor Snape had been the source of gossip all day.
He showed up to class with a badly broken nose, and an eye so black it was swollen shut. It was obvious the professor attempted to heal himself with magic, but even the best of charms couldn't hide the damage.
Harry made sure to keep his head down during his Potions lesson, but he said silent prayers of praise to the mystery person who gave Snape such a beating.
There you have it folks!
I'm really on a kick for the Marauders right now.
Shoutouts: NormyMellark99, xoRossxoRikerxo and CammieLunaCullen who have been reading and reviewing like crazy. Also a big thanks to everyone who has followed any of my stories recently. I will be updating 'The Past and the New Generation' and 'Until the End' very soon!
I received a PM full fun HP questions and wanted to share my answers publicly:
Who are your favorite adult characters?
The Marauders - James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Minerva McGonagall, Hagrid, Molly & Arthur Weasley, and Mad Eye Moody.
Favorite Book?
You cannot ask a true Harry Potter fan what their favorite book/movie is
Favorite Professor?
McGonagall, by far.
Favorite Hogwarts Class?
I would be jumping with joy to go to ANY class at Hogwarts.
Favorite Evil Character?
I wanted to TORTURE Umbridge.
I hated Bellatrix Lestrange with a passion.
Fenrir Greyback freaked me out the most, he was seriously terrifying.
Favorite Hogwarts ghost?
Peeves, of course, but I thought the backstory between the Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron was super interesting.
Favorite House?
GRYFFINDOR! (Which is also MY house :) - Go check out what yours is on Pottermore!)
Favorite Qudditch Position?
Beater.
Favorite Deathly Hallow?
... ... the one I would want the most would be the invisibility cloak.
Which Harry Potter character are you most like?
I'm a mixture of Ginny, Tonks, and Angelina Johnson.
Would you have fought in the Battle at Hogwarts?
YES! Absolutely! I would've been on the front line ... until I saw the spiders, then I'd have probably moved toward the back.
Which Harry Potter death was the saddest?
Sirius Black and Fred Weasley were DEFINITELY the two hardest ones for me.
In Deathly Hallows when George and the other Weasley's are crying over Fred's body - I lost it. I still start sobbing at that part, every time I watch the movie.
And when Sirius reappeared with the resurrection stone - I was such a mess.
Also, I was really really sad when Mad Eye died.
I love these kind of questions! So if there are any questions you guys would like to ask, I'd love to answer them - it doesn't have to be Harry Potter!
Thanks once again to everyone
xoxo