Chapter Ten;
[Reader's PoV (Present time)]
"Erm… so, then what?" Sirius asked as he interrupted Remus' story once again.
"Sirius, I'm not going to continue if you don't keep your mouth shut," Remus said in a deadly tone as he finished off his glass.
"Fine, I'm sorry… you just tell the longest stories I've ever heard and I never get the point of them until the /very/ end," Sirius complained with a frown.
"That's the point of a story, to get it through your thick head every detail so you'll understand the ending. I could just give you the last line then you'll be confused, would you prefer that?" Remus asked.
Sirius shook his head, sinking further into his chair, "Continue, please."
Remus rolled his eyes, and then continued on…
[Remus' PoV (Marauder-era Flashback)]
Remus hadn't spoken to Severus alone since that night, which was about two weeks ago. However he had been paying attention to the way Severus stared at them. It was obvious he wasn't just studying them to find things he could get them in trouble for, but he was staring at Sirius with a… glimmer in his eyes. At first Remus was in denial, he figured maybe Severus was trying to play a trick on them, but now it was clear that everything Severus had said that night was true. He liked Sirius Black.
Remus decided he would talk to Sirius about this matter, of course not telling him Severus liked him until he was positive whether Sirius felt the same. He didn't know why, but he found maybe Sirius could like Severus too? Sirius had never had a reason to really dislike Severus. Nor had James, besides the Lily Evans problem, but that was James' problem, where did Sirius fit into it all?
He knew Sirius didn't particularly care what gender was warming his bed, so long as someone was warming it. Hell, he'd even heard rumors and gloating from Sirius himself that he had been with three people in one day, two girls and a guy. He began forming a plan in his head to confront Sirius as he finished up his breakfast and headed off to classes.
[Reader's PoV (Present time)]
"Wait, wait. So you thought I picked on Severus because I /liked/ him?" Sirius asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion, "But you never confronted me, I would've remembered that!" he claimed.
Remus groaned at Sirius, running his hand through his hair. "What did I say, Sirius?"
"Sorry! I just… gah, I get impatient!" Sirius pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"So I've noticed!" Remus bellowed, pouring himself another shot of Firewhiskey as he was going to need it with Sirius.
"Just continue!" Sirius bellowed back, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling.
"How about I just say the next part to get it over with?" Remus asked.
Sirius sat up his attention 100% on Remus, "Yeah? What happened then?"
Remus frowned at Sirius, "I was going to confront you the next morning. After my transformation."
Sirius stared, waiting for him to continue. "Then what happened? Like I said, you never spoke to me!"
Remus nodded his head sadly, "Because after that night, I didn't speak to you for two months."
Sirius stared at Remus, obviously confused, then it hit him, "Because… I sent Severus to the shrieking shack," he whispered as he sat back in his chair once again.
Remus nodded his head. "That you did…"
"No wonder he hated me so much… I never understood it. He escaped with just a few cuts and bruises, and no matter how much I apologized he would always brush it off with crude remarks," Sirius explained, biting his bottom lip.
"I went to talk to him in the infirmary," Remus confessed.
Sirius sat up, "What happened? What did he say?"
Remus frowned at his friend, continuing on with the story.
(Remus' PoV [Marauder-era Flashback])
Remus ambled into the infirmary after a few hours of sleeping in the shrieking shack. Albus had told him James was in the Gryffindor common-rooms with Peter, and Sirius was in detention with Filch. He had to explain to Severus he had nothing to do with this, and he had to explain that Sirius didn't mean to get him hurt, though he didn't really know if he did or not. When he walked in, he saw Severus sitting on the infirmary bed, legs pulled up to his chest, head rested on his knees, staring out the window. "Severus?" he called out, not wanting to startle him.
Severus lifted his head and gave a glare that said 'Go away, you monster' to Remus. Remus frowned and walked over, "I wanted to explain. I didn't know, I… Sirius… he…" Remus trailed off but was interrupted by Severus.
"I know exactly what happened, Lupin! You told him! You told him and your other little friends, and they all laughed then decided to get me killed, right?" Severus accused, staring down at his knees.
Remus shook his head, "I told nobody. I'm not sure why Sirius did this, but I'm telling you, he meant no harm. Professor Albus told me he apologized-" he was once again cut off by Severus.
"Oh yeah, he apologized, mumbled an 'I'm sorry, Snape,' then went off to do his detention! He should've been expelled! He sent me to a Werewolf to die!" Severus shrieked.
Remus winced at the 'Werewolf' bit, and frowned, "I'm sorry, Severus. I… listen, I could speak to Sirius. Maybe if I told him that you-" he stopped talking when he was tackled to the floor. Severus was now sitting on his chest, his hands tightly around Remus' neck, squeezing.
"You will tell him nothing! /Nothing/ I tell you!" Severus yelled, pushing his thumbs down on Remus' windpipe. "He tried to /kill/ me! Do you not understand that? He tried to KILL me! And you expect me to still like him after that?" Severus yelled, forcing back the tears that shined in his eyes.
Remus struggled underneath Severus, and was finally released when he began turning a light shade of blue. He gasped for breath as he sat up and watched Severus pull away from him. He stared at Severus who was nervously chewing on his bottom lip, staring at the ground. "You do still like him, don't you?" he asked in a weak voice.
Severus glanced up from behind his hair that he allowed to fall into his face, trying his best to scowl. That's when it hit Remus. Severus didn't like Sirius, no, it was something far more than that…
(Reader's PoV [Present time])
"He bloody loved me…" Sirius whispered, gripping his empty glass, "He loved me, and… I sent him to a Werewolf…"
Remus sighed, running his hands through his hair tiredly. "Yes."
Sirius looked up at Remus, who stared into the fire, "He still loves me to this day, doesn't he?" Sirius asked.
Remus, never taking his eyes off the fire, gave a curt nod.
Sirius stared into space for a moment, thinking back on all the signs, he would've never been able to see it, but now as he was older, he did see that glimmer in Severus' eyes when he stared at him. "Moony… I…" he trailed off, trying to think of what to do.
"You will do nothing, Padfoot," Remus said firmly.
Sirius looked up at Remus, his face distorting to anger, "Why the hell not?" he bellowed, now standing up and clenching his fists.
"Because you're just going to hurt him. So no, you're going to do nothing. You're going to stop talking to Severus, and things will go back to normal," Remus explained. "That is, unless you want to admit that you /like/ Severus."
Sirius blinked, thinking back on everything. Did he like Severus? He had enjoyed their time together playing Chess and talking without fighting. He found he hated it when others were talking to him, like the other day with Pince. It hit him, bloody hell, he fancied Severus Snape. "I like him."
Remus widened his eyes, looking up at his friend, whom seemed to be in deep thought. "Sirius…" Remus said in a firm voice.
"No! I like him, Moony!" he yelled, turning away and storming out of Remus' chambers.
Remus frowned as he watched his friend run out. He knew where he was going, to the dungeons. He shook his head and picked up the remainder of his Firewhiskey bottle and took a gulp, hoping this wasn't going to end by one of them killing each other, or emotionally hurt.