Three weeks is a long time to wait. For Sirius, being stuck in his family's dank depressing house without human contact or any decent creative outlet was only a few shades brighter than the solitude of Azkaban. The one thing that kept him from really losing it was the idea that Snape would soon return and he would be able to set his plans into motion. The schemes brewing inside his mischievous mind could rival some of the Marauders' best school pranks.
When I'm finished with him, that prat will never dare leave me without a fight. I'll make him scream his bloody head off. I'll crack that hard mask and show everyone what he's really made of.
The excitement of the rivals' approaching reunion had Sirius pacing the house like a caged animal. At times, remaining in his animagus form was the only way to keep from lashing out in frustration. Patience was not his strong suit.
When the day finally arrived, Sirius could be found in front of his bathroom mirror brushing his hair into soft curls and smoothing his button down. He only stopped for a second to question his motivation for taking such care.
I just want to look nice when I am tearing Snivellus to pieces. It wouldn't do to give him anything easy to pick at like how I look like a mangy mutt… That insult is getting old; I want him to dig deeper for this one.
Sirius stood fidgeting with his shirt sleeves as the Order members began to arrive. The excitement and anxiety fought within him and was threatening to spill over. Sirius had never gotten this worked up about…well, anything really. He had laid small traps all over the house that could only be triggered by Snape. Sirius was sure that the continued assaults throughout the evening would rile the dungeon bat into such a tizzy that by the end of the night they would have the kind of shouting match that goes down in the history books.
Sirius was abruptly brought out of his musings by the flirtatious whistles and catcalls of the Weasley twins.
"My, my Sirius-
"-looking sharp this evening."
"You didn't get all dolled up-
"- just for us did you?"
Sirius grinned at the two exuberant jokesters. They always brought him back to his school days with the Marauders.
"So, have you got a hot date?"
"Should we tell Dumbledore-"
"-to skip over all the greater good rubbish-"
"-so your lady love can take you-"
"-for a walk in the park?"
Sirius frowned. Do I really look like I'm dressed for a date? That's not it at all. I'm dress for the annihilation of my enemy.
With a shrug, Sirius smiled at the twins and told them to bugger off. He kept a close eye on the door. There were a few entertaining traps there and he didn't want to miss one second of the show.
After fifteen minutes of staring at the door listlessly then perking up whenever the house creaked, Sirius was getting worried.
Why the bloody hell is he so late? What could he possibly be doing? Dumbledore expects everyone on time. Surely the slimy git doesn't think he's better than the rest of us.
Sirius jumped when someone touched him on the shoulder. He rounded on them to tell them off for breaking his concentration. He was met with Remus' bemused half-grin.
"You all right Siri? The meeting's started. Come on."
"What?" Remus just grabbed his arm and steered him into the kitchen and into his regular chair.
Sirius scanned the table for any sign of greasy black hair and bottomless black eyes and came up empty.
Dumbledore had already started speaking to Kingsley. "The corruption in the Ministry makes it quite vulner-"
"Hang on, where the hell is Snivellus?" Sirius had the sense to look apologetic when he realized that he had just interrupted the meeting.
"If you are referring to Severus, I'm afraid that he was unable to attend our gathering tonight." Dumbledore smiled down the table at Sirius.
"Why not, you told us about the meeting three weeks ago. Can't he keep track or is he too busy with his other meetings?" Remus hissed at him to shut up from across the table.
Dumbledore eyes lost their twinkle, almost looking sad. It made Sirius uncomfortable and for some reason ashamed. "I'm sorry you weren't informed Sirius. After the last of Severus' meetings that you mentioned, he was left feeling a bit under the weather. Madame Pomfrey is taking care of him now and I'm sure he'll be right as rain soon enough."
All of the color drained from Sirius' face. The scenarios suddenly playing in his head had him reeling in fear, anger, and desperation- desperation to see that Snape was alive and breathing, and still an evil, greasy git.
He had to see him and then once he knew he was okay he was going to go after Voldemort and his Death Eaters and especially any of Sirius' relatives. Sirius ignored all reason in his formulation of these plans that very deep down he knew he could not actually accomplish. In his mind though, he would be a one man army. He would make his life-long enemy safe again so that they could continue their rivalry as they pleased.
Sirius' inner diatribe continued throughout the meeting, occasionally lapsing into worry about possible injuries that could keep Snape in the hospital wing. Sirius knew from all the times that the Marauders' pranks had landed Severus in the Madame Pomfrey's care that the stubborn man hated to be taken care of.
It must be bad. I'm getting out of this hell hole to see for myself whether Dumbledore likes it or not...
Sorry, this chapter is kind of a tease but I hope it's better than nothing. I'll try to keep at it and write the next part.