Thank you for the wonderful reviews! Another longer chapter. Had to even break it up. I really enjoyed writing some of this, so I do hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize here, but I wish I did.
~~0~~
All was quiet in the Gryffindor seventh year boys' dorm room; save for a distant aquatic hum echoing from the washrooms. Sirius lazily sat up and stretched. His hair looked bed worn, yet disastrously perfect. Drawing the curtains from around his bed, his eyes squinted from the bright sunlight flooding their room.
That annoying humming that awoke him from a beautiful dream now became an off key singing emulating from none other than Peter Pettigrew. It amazed him that for such a gifted man of voices, Peter couldn't carry a tune even while he was underwater. Finally adjusting his grey eyes and surveying the room, he just began to notice that James' and Remus' beds appeared to be untouched from the night before. The blankets appeared to be in exactly the same state as when he returned last night. Strange, was the only thought he could muster.
A sudden burst of steam and awful sounds bellowed out of the bathroom door, as Peter triumphantly entered.
"Good morning dear Romeo!" Peter said in a much too cheerful baritone.
"It would be so much better if you could please stop the vocal annihilation," he snapped back. Shaking his head to relinquish the memory of awakening to Peter's shower voice, he stood up to collect himself.
Peter shrugged off Sirius' morning mood by perching at the end of his bed in his wrinkled robes with his knees drawn tightly to his chest. Wrapping his red towel around his head he began to furiously scrub and dry behind his pink ears. Sirius looked at him and smiled.
"Amazing sometimes how you really do resemble your animagus, Wormtail."
"Yes. Well it certainly takes one to know one, Padfoot," Peter dryly commented noticing Sirius' strange and habitual stretching. "So, where did you really get off to last night? And more importantly, and with all the candor of a Marauder, with whom?"
Furrowing his brow, Sirius shook his head at Peter. In a way he felt for the poor bastard. Peter certainly had his days of conquests, but he always seemed to be far more interested in everyone else's. It never really made much sense to him since Peter had many a Hogwarts girl giggling away at his talents.
"I was serving detention with Minnie. Being such an inspired academic leader, she felt I deservedly required extra duties for my rash transfiguration outbursts."
"Oh yeah. That's right. James and Remus had their imaginations running wild at the thought of you servicing Minnie in a compromising situation," Peter had remembered.
"Where in Godric's name did they get that idea!?"
Peter laughed heartily. "I may have given them that impression, literally speaking."
Peter then began to repeat his heated McGonagall mimic for Sirius' personal pleasure. At the resonating recollection, Sirius' handsome face twisted into a contorted pained expression.
"Oh, that's bloody wrong," Sirius said with all the disgust he could gather. "Please. Stop. Now."
"Sorry mate. Sometimes I just can't help myself. Sometimes it as if someone takes over my mind and my mouth follows suit. Don't really know where it's going to go half the time…"
"S'alright. I'm going to wash up and get down to breakfast early if you care to come," Sirius said while ruffling through his trunk for a clean set of robes. Amazing how it seemed futile to find not only one, but two clean matching socks when he needed them. Never did he used to be this untidily disheveled when it came to appearances. It wasn't until he met one James Potter that all that non-important rubbish went out the window, right along with courtly decorum. "Hey, you don't have an idea where Moony and Prongs may have run off to?"
At the idea of an early breakfast, Peter's eyes grew as big as two pumpkin muffins. "Last I saw them they were sitting in the common room before I retired. I ate way too much chocolate fondue last night at dinner and went directly to sleep."
"Wait. There was fondue?"
"Yeah, really excellent fondue too. Sorry you missed it. Just why have you been skipping all your desserts lately?"
"Well, if you must know, I have to retain that slim figure that the women lust for…"
Peter looked puzzled, as he was always slow on the uptake. Before Sirius could finish poking fun at his own image, Peter replied with a wicked grin, "Riiight! There's the Padfoot that we know and love!"
"Wormtail, I've been skipping dessert to get to detentions early. This way I can show Minnie my truly sincerest regrets about turning Diggory's nose into a penis," Sirius corrected his friend. Excellent, he thought, even his closest of friends assumed only the best of him. Defeated in conversational stamina, which was hard to do with the likes of Peter, he walked into the washrooms to get ready for the morning, still thinking about where in the hell James and Remus had buggered off to.
~~0~~
Remus didn't want to leave James in the state he was in. James looked as if every bludger in professional Quidditch history took a blustered beating to his skull. And Remus was most certain that whatever might have been left in James' head, felt relatively much the same way.
"Come on James. You really ought to drink this before your brain begins to slip out of your ears."
James grumbled and cried, "Leave me be! All I wanna do is sleep and forget I ever knew them!"
Remus realized hours ago that being a Prefect, he would have to abuse his powers to cover for last night's indiscretions, and more especially with James being the Head Boy at Hogwarts. He knew that last night was most definitely not James' finest hour, and worst of it was that he could hardly blame him. Trying to hold up the dark haired man was beyond difficult as he kept swaying about and fighting all control. Finally dropping him soundly on an old faded and frayed velvet couch, James remained still. Running both his hands through his sandy hair, Remus decided to change tactics to get James to drink the potion.
"Prongs, if you drink this potion, everything will go back to the way it used to be."
James violently shook his head like a toddler who wouldn't eat his strained peas, which in his condition was a momentous mistake.
"Aw fuck! It feels like my head is going to explode," James haphazardly sat up. "Give us the damn vial Moony," and with one swallow, James gulped the vial and threw it across the dusty room smashing it into a million shards against the stone fireplace.
"That's a good lad," Remus acknowledged in which James scowled back.
"Don't you even think that I bought into that everything will go back to normal fairy tale, because it won't. He's a bastard that I no longer call human."
Remus heard these same things throughout their evening of drinking and each time his hazel eyes grew more troubled than the next. A part of him regretted allowing James to get as drunk as he did, but he knew that if he didn't he would have murdered Sirius in his sleep. It had to be done, he reasoned.
Remus quickly noticed that behind the crooked glasses, James normally vivid hazel eyes were red and bloodshot. Slowly his eyelids began to hover heavily.
Quietly, Remus spoke gently to his friend. "James, why don't you have a bit of a lay down, and I'll cover our classes today."
"Umm, okay, sure Rem. I just love her so much it hurts," James replied as he drifted off on the dusty sofa. Remus stood over him studying his friend's sleeping figure. His mind searched for an explanation to what they witnessed the previous night, but he couldn't come up with one. He allowed one of his best friends to speak horrendously about another of his greatest friends. And it was breaking his heart.
James began to snore, and Remus hastily collected his things. He was glad he'd put a sleeping draught in the hangover cure, at least he could get to the bottom of this confusing quagmire. Turning to leave, he looked back at his now peacefully sleeping friend.
"Sirius may be an insensitive prat at times, but I know he would never hurt you James. You have to believe that, he's your brother," Remus quietly said before leaving the Shrieking Shack.
~~0~~
Watching Peter Pettigrew devour at least a dozen runny eggs was enough to make anyone lose their appetite. And such was the case for Sirius. If it could even be possible, Peter surged ahead of Snape in a slime-encrusted guise. Looking about the Great Hall and oblivious to many a girls' gaze, he yawned and looked through his sleepy eyes. A couple of pretty blonde Hufflepuffs passed by and one remarked at his comfortable yet decadently drowsy confidence.
"Love the bedroom eyes Sirius," she coolly commented. Half-heartedly he smirked in reply and reluctantly turned towards his breakfast's company. At this point, Peter had moved on to the muffin basket, and that was about all Sirius could take. Still, there were no signs of James or Remus to bring him out of this meal's predicament and so he decided to retreat early to class.
Grabbing a wedge of buttered toast along with his books, Sirius left without uttering a single word to anyone. Maybe it was because he had forged the toast into his mouth so completely that his tongue was trapped underneath it, or perhaps it was preoccupation. With a brave face, he left the Great Hall to arrive uncharacteristically prompt for a morning of double Potions with the Slytherins.
He continued to wonder of their unknown whereabouts, and worry began to overcome him. What if James had found out where he had been spending his time lately? In actuality, he was spending more hours these days with Lily Evans than his own dear friends. He concluded that this might not be good after all.
Students of all sizes and houses were rushing and running about through the main corridors of Hogwarts, impetuously swapping parchments and essays in the mad dash before Friday classes. Sirius Black walked through them oblivious to the chaos like one of the many ghosts at Hogwarts, which was exactly how he felt at the particular moment. Gliding by it all, he hoped that he would see his friends at class and that the nagging thoughts were only his ridiculous paranoia waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Descending the staircases to lead him to the dismal dungeons, and he was immediately shaken from these thoughts as he happened upon a nasty group of older Slytherins.
Amongst a shroud of languidly towering boys were a couple of trembling first years. Sirius rolled his eyes at the typical Slytherin tactics of intimidation and desperation. Such pureblood power displays were becoming much more common in recent days. Two of the tallest and greasiest gutless wonders were pushing and pawing at the frightened girls. Wondering how twisted a sixteen-year-old mind could be to threaten an eleven year old; Sirius withdrew his wand and at that moment observed a face amongst them that was all too familiar.
"Good day ladies," the natural cockiness rolled off his tongue. His address had been more directed toward the Slytherin mob than their much younger targets. Pointing his wand at them, he carefully chose his next words before the encounter could escalate any further.
"Certainly I never expected to see a Slytherin combing the first years for a Hogsmeade date. Don't you think that these two enchanting witches are a bit above your standards?"
Four pairs of dark eyes glared deathly at his smirk. A raven-haired boy flashed a sweetly malicious smile. "Ah, if it isn't the blood traitor savant. Come to save the day then?"
"Imaginably creative comeback, Nerodin," Sirius coolly replied, noticing two of the other ruffians side winding cautiously around their hidden wands. "Hands where I can see them, dears," responding to their movement.
At this, the two young girls looked as if they were about to either collapse in fear or soil their brand new robes. Sirius did not want an all out confrontation with these two in the middle, and tried to reason with his unsavory opponents. The Slytherins made a few barely noticeable retreating movements before their proclaimed leader spoke again.
"Bet you Black here just wants these two to himself," laughing and looking over at the quieter counterpart of his group. "The Gryffindor tramp without a home, only good for one thing. Isn't that what your dear cousin Bellatrix said about him, Regulus?"
Standing only a shy shorter, same dark hair but not quite as long, was a removed Regulus Black. The momentary fire in his light blue eyes flickered and then receded. He was almost a mirror image of his older brother, with a few exceptions of facial characteristics including the dark circles underneath his eyes. Each Black had only one dimple in the opposite cheek of the others, as if dimples alone could separate a set. Both brothers' eyes met with a cool icy stare.
"Well, I'm not sure of the mating habits of my dear older sibling, but I am certain that this altercation has lost its flavor," Regulus flatly spoke, "and I do believe there are more productive places for us to be. Besides, the dark lord wouldn't want us to trivially waste our time."
However much it hurt Sirius to see his younger brother entangled with future Death Eaters, he showed no signs to him. Once upon a time, the two brothers were as close as close could be, and there wasn't anything that Sirius wouldn't do for him. Unfortunately after the Sorting Hat separated and severed their bond, all brotherly interactions ceased. Sirius blankly stared at his once little brother.
Set back by his comments, the other Slytherins began to withdraw. None of them really wanted to duel with Sirius Black; he was already considered a difficult opponent that mastered even the most unheard of spells.
Of course, Alex Nerodin still stood his ground and inched closer to one of the smaller blonde girls. He hated Sirius with a passion and dreamt of destroying all that was good about him.
"All I wanted to do was have a bit of fun with your disowned bastard of a brother," grabbing at the girl's robes, "and I still intend to do so." Nerodin spun on the spot, with a fistful of robes clenched in his pale hands. Before he could utter another word or spell, Sirius, never lowering his wand or wavering in stance, struck him squarely in the chest.
"Relashio!" A bolt of orange abruptly threw Nerodin back against the stonewalls with an intensely simmering heat that singed off his eyebrows. From the smell of burnt hair, he slumped against the wall, looking defeated but still menacing, and he attempted to retaliate.
"Aw, come on Lexi, run along and live to play with your snakes another day," Sirius' bark taunted. The other Slytherins fearfully came to Nerodin's aid, helping up the boy.
Calmly and with the stern words of a leader, Regulus brought the situation to a halt.
"Alex, let's not waste out time on his filth. There will be better days and better rewards." Alex shot Regulus a scrutinized glance as he shot up with his wand.
"Crut-"
"Stupefy," Sirius blandly stated before Nerodin could finish his spell. Nerodin rigidly fell back against his companions looking like a bat caught in the daylight. The other two Slytherins, Adrian Dray and Duncan Chatwin, snarled at Sirius before collecting their friend. With the obvious realization that defeat had transpired, a boy with stringy dark blonde hair and emerald eyes opened his mouth to speak.
"We'll be on our way Black," Dray spoke through clenched pointed teeth. Hooking their arms around their numb leader, both wizards helped him back up the stairs with Regulus Black trailing behind. That whole time, Sirius still kept his wand pointed at their backs.
Behind him, two soft little whimpers escaped. Sirius turned around to see the two girls standing so close together they almost could have been one. He approached the girls carefully, finally noticing their Hufflepuff colors. The eyes of the smaller of the two met his, and gently smiled.
"Are you both alright? No worse for wear, right?" He flashed a full and honest smile to ease the moment.
"Thanks. Some older Ravenclaw told us to take this shortcut to Herbology. Guess we should really watch where we end up, I mean, not wander about carelessly and –"
"Wandering about Hogwarts is a wizard's and witch's right. You were by no means wrong. But in these times, best to pace along with others until you've found your footing."
"You're Sirius Black, aren't you?" the young witch realized. Her eyes were brimming with a grateful admiration. "Just that, well, the older girls talk about you in our house, and I never really saw you, well, up close before."
Sirius laughed at her honesty. She had long strawberry blonde hair and he knew there was more than meets the eye with her. "Yeah, that's the name I was so fortunately blessed with. Well, since you know my name, who are you two brave witches?"
"I am Grania Drake and this," pointing at the other blonde witch who barely would look into his eyes, "is Kelley Candron. I hope you don't think us foolish or daft first years."
"Should've seen me in first year. I was a right twit that became lost anytime I left our common room! You'll find your footing. Don't fret. Just watch out for those sticky steps, lost my robes once in one of those."
At this revelation even Kelley giggled. The girls seemed to have collected their fears and cast them aside for the time being.
"Let's get you two to class, yeah?" Sirius smiled.
"That would be great. Thanks Sirius," a modest voice replied from Kelley.
The three marched up the stairwell, with both Hufflepuffs flanking closely at his side. Sirius' mountainous figure escorting the tiny doll like girls, Grania and Kelley, was a sweet sight. When they left, a pair of twinkling eyes emerged from the darker shadows. A smile played about the wizard's aged face as his pride soared because of one of his student's actions. Albus Dumbledore never doubted the Sorting Hat.
~~0~~
She was the first to arrive in the dank Potions dungeon, which was rather usual. Finding her table, she began to set out her cauldron and supplies for the double hours ahead. On the outside, Lily Evans appeared to be her conventional self. But inside her mind's eye, she was more than distracted. Her Potions partner was one Remus Lupin. Out of all the Marauders, such a ridiculous name she silently mused, she always liked Remus. Sure he was brilliant, studious, and kind, and she never comprehended why indeed he found himself entangled with the likes of Potter. She also understood that he was the brain behind the madness of the Marauder pranks, as well as the moral conscience.
Her fiery red hair cascaded down the middle of her back, swirling about with her preparatory movements. Her preoccupations were festering. This would be the first time she had to directly speak with Remus ever since he discovered her staring at Potter during Charms. She had recognized his knowing look that day, and was fearful of the confrontation.
Never before had she seen such a change in James Potter. He seemingly had become, dare she say it, serious. Maybe it was that she missed the annoying attention he so generously showered upon her day in and day out. However, these days, he seemed distant and distracted. Yet, it was not enough to hinder his class work or his Head Boy duties. In fact, Potter was overly attentive in classes, and went unusually beyond his Head Boy obligations without consistent urgings from her. Remembering the look that graced his face during Charms, his black hair wildly sticking up in every angle, she silently wondered what it would be like to entwine her long fingers through his hair. Oh gods, no. Stopping that train of thought abruptly, she told herself she was not indeed finding James Potter attractive.
Soon enough, other students arrived in the dungeon, setting up for the grueling session to come. Lily smiled and greeted the others warmly, like she always did. Most of the Hogwarts population regarded her in a fair light. It wasn't as if she was the most popular witch there, yet most saw her graceful beauty and her kind nature.
With a rustle of robes, Severus Snape slithered into the Potions dungeon. His eyes immediately transfixed upon the radiant girl he so longingly missed. Sauntering past her desk, his mouth twisted and trembled, as he attempted to speak with her. Lily glanced up towards him and acknowledged his attempt with a light smile. He returned her actions with an unspoken nod and continued on to his desk.
There were still a few minutes left before Slughorn would make his grand entrance and commence the grueling hours that lay ahead. Sirius took long strides to reach the dungeon and entered with a caviler grace that made many a girl stare. He hardly noticed and chuckled when he saw a few of the Slytherins' reactions to his timely entrance. A hushed sea of whispers accompanied the extreme disappointment flooding his heart when he realized James and Remus were still absent. When he glanced at Lily, she uneasily curved around to catch his stare, and smiled brightly at his presence. Her smile lightened his own tension, and he winked deliberately in return.
Not a moment later and with a trumpeting bellow, Professor Slughorn waddled rapidly down the aisles of the heavy maple desks.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen! This is going to be a glorious day for honing your NEWT potions skills," Slughorn addressed with a wobble. "We will begin with a complicated elixir that will hasten the healing process from some of the nastier spells that inflict the deepest wounds, including internal bleeding. And afterwards, for the last few hours, we will work on a potion to blind the drinker from a specific premeditated aspect. Please follow the instructions upon the board and work with your partners."
Both Sirius and Lily skeptically scrutinized the room, for neither one's partner was there. Of course this bothered both students for completely differing reasons. Lily raised her hand to catch the attention of the teacher, which wasn't difficult since Slughorn adored her beyond treacle tart.
"Yes, Miss Evans? Is there a problem?"
"Sir, my partner is not here. Can we work alone on these assignments?"
Another hand shot upwards like lightning into the air. Slughorn noticed the urgency from this other student, who perhaps was not his favorite, but he did enjoy his brewing spunk.
"Ah. Mr. Black. It appears you seem to be missing a partner as well. Well, I propose that you and Miss Evans partner for the day's assignments."
"Yes sir," replied Sirius with a tad more exuberance than usual. Taking his things, he happily dashed over to Lily's table and her side. Purposely sliding his cauldron over to clunk against hers, she smiled at his upcoming words, as if she knew what he was about to say.
"Fancy bumping into you here, Lily," with a smirk best left to the imagination.
"Quite charming this morning Sirius. But your 'charms' are something we will work on another day," Lily whispered back. She was relieved not to see Remus, but strangely anxious. As they continued to prepare for their first brew, their banter continued.
"So, is there any reason as to why the Head Boy and Gryffindor Prefect are missing from today's lessons?" she asked nonchalantly. "Perhaps a great prank, or a contraband trip to Hogsmeade?"
Sirius laughed but not loudly enough to draw the attention of Slughorn. "Now why would you ever think such disgrace about two of the best Hogwarts students to ever wander these halls?"
"Sirius, I've always known about your secret trips. I've only chosen to turn a blind eye because…well, I figured as long as you weren't wreaking havoc," realizing that most times they did exactly that, she changed conversational course, "well, it was best left alone."
"I really do not have any idea where they might be Lily. Honestly. Actually, I wanted to ask you if you had seen either this morning in the common room. Believe you me, spending breakfast alone with Peter is not by choice,"
Chuckling softly, she pried a little further. "I have seen neither hide nor hair of either. And before you go drawing conclusions, it's just that lately James seems a bit off kilter from his typical behavior. Not that I'm complaining or anything," Sirius grinned at the fact she just called his best mate by his first name, "only that he appears to be sidetracked and I have wondered if he was all right."
He knew of his friend's recent behavior and could only conclude that it stemmed from that mysterious letter he received. Course he couldn't tell her that. He could only assume that whatever and whomever that letter was from disturbed him in some way.
"James has had much on his mind these days. Don't worry your pretty little head, he'll be back to torture you with adoration very soon," squirming at those last words, Lily was curiously comforted. "Strange though. It's been many a moon since Remus missed a double Potions."
Lily understood the meaning. She had known of Remus Lupin's lycanthropic condition since last year after an unfortunate mishap she cared not to recall in present company. Sworn to secrecy by Dumbledore himself, Lily never would reveal Remus' condition because she had a large sense of loyalty. Smiling back she began to slice the ginger claw root in thin sickle slices as per the board's instructions. Sirius began to place the powdered coltsfoot into the cauldron. And every so often, the two would smile as if to ease each other's worries.
~~0~~
After cleaning up a few playfully spattered mishaps, Lily and Sirius parted ways after the grueling Potions session. Amazed by the fact that he had as much fun as he would have had with James, Sirius walked blindly down the corridor after Potions. And the thought of James' absence brought forth his concern once more. His mind was still shrouded in dread that James may have followed him the previous night. Caught up in his thoughts, he turned a corner down a dark passage. A hand suddenly grabbed the back of his cloak and pulled him into an empty classroom that was no longer in use. Spinning around on the spot, he drew his wand at his attacker. All his mind could think of were the Slytherins he had the altercation with earlier.
But standing directly in front of him was only the beautifully impish smile of Shannon Sterling. Sirius looked surprised as she grabbed the front of his robes, pushed him against the wall, and kissed him with enough passion to enlighten the dark dingy classroom.
Her lips were warm and soft against his, and he responded without another thought. Hands were searching and shuffling underneath his robes and his own hands were gripping tightly at the fabric of her skirt. Her tongue wildly entered his mouth, which caught him quite a bit off guard. Responding hungrily, he pressed her full body against his and that elicited a longing moan from her flushed lips. Shannon began to trail velvety kisses along his jaw and down his neck.
"I've missed you so very much Sirius. Have you been avoiding me?" Shannon whispered husklily between kisses. Her eyes batted playfully, and he could feel the delicate brush of her eyelashes against his neck.
Sirius groaned and smiled. "Course not, love. Just been a bit busy with classes and all." He began to run his hands under her robes and up, circling his fingers slowly around her full breasts. Their lips met forcefully again and she began to loosen his tie and unbutton his shirt. Her hand slipped under the open chest of his shirt, purposefully brushing one of his erect nipples and he released a deliciously sharp intake of breath. Yet with all the building passion, something strange overtook him. His grey eyes fluttered open and he just stopped.
"Sirius? Don't you want to cut class with me?"
"Sorry Shannon. Just that I have Care of Magical Creatures next and I really can't miss another." The words escaped his mouth even before he thought about it. Did he really just say that? Certainly the sudden tightness in his pants said otherwise.
Shannon gazed at him, her large crystal eyes pleading with utter lust. For a moment, he didn't know what to say to this girl. It was as if he always had been on autopilot and now he was just learning to fly. With a sweet smile complete with the standard loose dimple, Sirius gently stroked her perfectly porcelain face.
The raven haired beauty smiled back at him and raised a single eyebrow at what she thought at first to be an inviting look.
"Baby, I can care for your magical creature,' Shannon said in a wickedly seductive tone. She began running her fingers through the sleek waves of his hair, curling a few stray locks around her index finger. Under most circumstances, Sirius Black would have forgotten the whole world and stayed with her. But he did not.
Sirius chuckled at the cutely contrived pun that fell from the lips of such a beautifully pristine Ravenclaw. "There's nothing in the world that I would like more, but I cannot spare to miss another class." He glided the back of his hand around her collarbone and continued to speak to the gravely disappointed glare she projected at him. "Maybe we could meet later after dinner? Perhaps in the Astronomy tower, hmmm?"
She pouted but smiled after he suggested the rendezvous. "Suppose I can wait until later, you're most certainly worth the wait. Besides, I do have plenty of research to do in the library for my Runes essay anyway. Just, don't forget Sirius."
"Believe me, after this excursion I don't think I could forget anything about you anytime soon," Sirius softly said as he smoothed her ruffled hair. He thought to himself what a load of bollocks. Wait, and he stopped his obscure train of thought. What the hell was he saying; sure he wanted to see her later. This was not normal.
"I'll see you soon baby," Shannon said as she kissed him sweetly goodbye. Her silky hair brushed his cheek as she turned and left him in the abandoned classroom alone only with his conflicting feelings.
Standing against the back of the door, his mind felt twisted in a strange web of discord. She was beyond beautiful – long ebony hair, radiant eyes, a full pouty mouth, with a petite frame filled with luscious curves. Why in the hell did he doubt? Of course he would see her later, he only hoped that it didn't feel so awkwardly mechanical as it just did. He banged that back of his head against the door repeatedly; trying to dislodge the moral cramp he was experiencing.
~~0~~
Realizing he had missed the double Potions session that morning, Remus surmised that perhaps this wasn't the worst catastrophe in the wizarding world. Flashing his worried light green eyes up at the courtyard's large clock tower, he deduced he had enough time to grab his textbooks and parchments for Magical Creatures class. Sprinting up the hundreds of stairs covering two at a time with his long legged strides, he jumped the last sticking step before his common room.
Breathing harshly as if an invisible pressure crushed his lungs, he knew that would be that last time he ever smoked muggle tobacco again. What the hell was it about drinking rum that made a person desire to breath in toxic tarry soot. Damn, I could never be a pirate…
At that very disappointing enlightenment, Remus heard his name yelled across an adjoining staircase. It was a very familiar voice.
"Remus! Wait up mate!"
Taking in a deep breath, as deep as he could with the present state of his abused lungs, he released it with a heavy rattled sigh. Reversing himself, Remus saw the shaggy dark haired friend he regretfully had to confront.
"Where in the hell have you been, you great ponce? James too? Been looking around for you two all morning," continuing with the complaints, Sirius shook his hair out of his eyes. "I had to breakfast with Peter. Alone. Can't quite tell you the hell that that was. Then had to partner with Evans for Potions, which actually wasn't too terribly horrendous-"
"Sirius. Slow it down," Remus interrupted his rant. "We need to talk," glancing around at the other students carefully. "Somewhere quiet."
Now this was not what Sirius wanted to hear. Fear gripped at him, wondering if James was all right. Judging by the state of the friend in front of him, this was not so. Remus had dark circles underneath his eyes as if he just returned from another howl at the moon.
Whispering, "Yeah, sure. Is he okay?"
"For now. But we need to talk in privacy."
Remus led the way to a secret passage past the common room entrance. They walked stoically together until they entered the passageway behind a woodland tapestry scene. Once they were behind it, Remus cast a silencing charm to further the chances of being heard.
Remus turned to Sirius as calmly as he could. Memories from the evening before kept flashing back at him. And the inevitable confrontation began.
"What in the hell were you doing with Lily Evans last night?"
Dread quickly spread through Sirius' every limb. This was the moment when Sirius wished he had told James everything about tutoring Lily.
"WELL?" he questioned in a very un-Remus like way.
"I…I've been helping her and –"
"Helping her with what exactly? I can only imagine how you could be helping her Sirius," shaking his disappointed head slowly, "Perhaps the way you help out all unsuspecting females?"
"NO. Why is it that you lot, not to mention, everyone, think that I'm always up to the worst of it?" Sirius spat back. "Not enough that I heard this shite all my life, but now, even my friends doubt me?"
"Please Sirius, save the family drama for someone else. Give me a reason. Give me a reason to understand this, please," Remus implored with him.
Sirius was angry at his friend's accusations. His eyes were cast down upon the grey slate below their feet while he contemplated whether to respond or to leave.
"We saw you last night with Lily, Sirius. Outside the Transfiguration corridor. She looked undeniably grateful to you for your help, perhaps too pleased."
"It wasn't what it looked like, Remus. I swear to you."
"Maybe you want to be the one to explain that to the wreck of a man I had the honor to comfort last night? He's your best mate Sirius, and for all intense purposes your brother. How could you do this?"
Sirius shook his head with fury at the thought of hurting James in any way. He screamed at the top of his lungs, "I've been tutoring her in Transfiguration Remus! That's the detention sentence I received from McGonagall. That's all!"
"Since when does Lily Evans need a tutor for anything Sirius? She manages just fine in class."
"She wants to be an Auror," Remus looked shocked at this information, "and she needed a bit of help with some of the more complicated spellwork in order to be accepted. McGonagall swore me to secrecy, even threatened to have me thrown out of Hogwarts for good this time, especially after last year's episode with Snape. I so desperately wanted to tell him. We talk about him all the time. Well, mostly me talking. But it was only last night when I realized that maybe I could help her to see the James that we know. Believe me, this has been tearing me apart," Sirius spilled out with great relief.
Only a few feet of cold air were between the two wizards, and Remus was silent during his revelation. He felt horrible for ever thinking those thoughts about his friend. The prior evenings rantings had poisoned his logical side and he had lost it.
"So, you're just tutoring her?"
"Yes. That's all. Well, she had agreed last night to help me with Charms."
"Sirius, you don't need help in Charms," Remus looked at him with wide questioning eyes.
"I know that. But this way I can maybe erase all the ideas she has of James, and help her to see the real him. Ridiculous, I know. But, if you saw the way she talks about him, there's more there than she says. And actually, she's his match in every way."
For the first time Remus smiled back at his friend's intuition. "I know. When I've studied with her in the past, it is blatantly obvious. She gives herself away at every mention of him. I'm glad that I am not the only one who sees it. Just have to get James to silence the daft git within when he's near her."
"Exactly," Sirius proclaimed and stood his full height as his confidence returned.
"I even caught her daydreaming yesterday while she stared at him in Charms," Remus confessed.
"Really?" Sirius excitedly asked. Both were beginning to sound like a couple of gossiping first year girls. Even though they silently recognized this, neither could help the wide smiles they exchanged back at each other.
"Sirius, I've been a right bastard to ever doubt you. And that remark about your family, well I never meant – "
"Moony, you had your reasons mate. It's not normal for me to be seen meeting a girl without snogging or shagging her senseless. I understand that. And don't worry about my family because you, James and Peter are my family," Sirius said this with such conviction that Remus was taken aback. Sirius never spoke openly about his feelings, even when it was about each other.
"Unfortunately, there is a rather nasty Prongs out there somewhere. Sirius, he's angry as all hell's fury with you, and I don't think it will be easy for him to come around. The things he said about you last night were absolutely unforgivable."
"I probably should have told him everything straight away. But I have to explain to him, regardless of what he might have said. Let me guess. The Skewthole?" Sirius knew the answer without even asking.
"Yeah. Best place in Hogsmeade to lose your wizarding worries," Remus grinned back at his friend's bright grey eyes.
"Where'd you leave him?"
"Shrieking Shack. Gave him a hangover draught doused with a bit of dreamless sleep. But knowing him as we do, he probably consciously bucked that."
"Most likely. Where would you go if you were an angry stag then, eh?" Sirius arched his eyebrows up in jest.
"Dunno know. Check the map you twit."
"But, I don't have it."
"Yes you do. Check your Potions book," Remus told him. "Remember our recent exploration to Filch's office?" Sometimes Remus was absolutely amazed at Sirius' lack of recollection.
Sirius rifled through his bag pushing aside assorted parchments and scrolls before he located the textbook. "A-ha, right you are, dear Moony." Sirius had that shit-eating grin gracing across his face that made Remus appreciate his friend even more.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Sirius tapped his wand on a yellowed and worn piece of parchment. The ink began to vein through the paper, until all of Hogwarts and its residents were revealed. Both began to wildly search the map for one James Potter.
Scanning the folds, Sirius eventually spotted the name they were searching for aimlessly walking around the grounds. "There he is!" he exclaimed.
The name of James Potter was slowly winding his way towards the Black Lake.
"Best be on your way. Wouldn't want to see dear Prongs jump in, now would we?" Remus joked. Sirius' eyes painfully squinted with the idea of his friend's broken heart due to his secrecy. He gathered his bag and the map and began to leave. Remus didn't envy Sirius this time. Sighing, he was about to wish him luck, when another nicotine-laden cough escaped instead.
"Still fancying yourself a pirate, Remus?" Sirius dryly said as he left him alone in the passageway.
~~0~~
Next chapter should be up soon...please let me know what you liked, or perhaps didn't. Thanks again to Acciosnuffles and butitsbetterifyoudo.