Disclaimer: I do not own the following, only pull on their strings and make them dance

A/N: The mysterious note in this Chapter is the title and one of the lyrics from the Fall Out Boy song 'My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark' 3 Now, I'm redoing my last year at college ('cause I was in hospital most of this and last year, not 'cause I failed :P honest!), so I started this week and I'm positively knackered, so I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit off kilter. Anywho, enjoy!

Chapter Ten

"Are you going to tell me what that was about?" Remus asked with a sigh. Sirius had stormed through the castle, apparently having no plan as to where in the hell he was going, before coming to a standstill in their classroom. Sirius shrugged, pushing his hood back to reveal his scowling face. Remus moved to sit on one of the desks, making a show of waiting patiently for an explanation.

"He…" Sirius clenched his fists, "He was involved in some dodgy business investments with my younger brother years ago. Regulus, my brother, ended up dead. He was only eighteen."

"I'm sorry." Remus frowned, "What did Snape have to do with it? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"No, no." Sirius shook his head slowly, "They were involved with Voldemort during the warm helping Dark Creatures in support of him over the border into the country. Reg got in over his head and ended up paying for his mistakes. I didn't find out he'd been murdered by his own side until the war was over."

Remus watched silently as Sirius paused briefly to calm himself, his fists unclenching and settling in his lap.

"Snape was the one who told me. Dumbledore let him work here after the war – some crap about repenting and regret or whatever. Old man held a meeting with the three of us and I found out. Wasn't till a week later I found out that Snape had been in the position to stop it and hadn't." Sirius laughed, low and humourless, "Oh, he loved telling me that. Alone, out in the forest. No witnesses. That's how he wanted it, me attacking him with no one to say that he'd been provoking me."

"Why?" Remus asked softly.

"We didn't exactly get along at school." Sirius answered tightly, "And when James finally got Lily in our seventh year…well, he wasn't happy to say the least. He'd always liked her, but he blew it when we were young. Been bad blood between us all since."

"But especially you and him since the war." Remus supplied softly. Sirius nodded, looking away. Is he crying? Remus thought curiously, I'm really not good with dealing with that stuff… But he wasn't crying – Sirius turned, something odd flashing in his grey eyes, and moved towards Remus.

"And now he's watching you," the animagus snapped, "Everything he's ever wanted to do to James to hurt him, he can't because it'll hurt Lily, too. So he does it to me." His voice lowered and Remus suddenly realised how close he was standing, "Takes away my remaining family who might have actually grown to care for me again to make my life a lonely misery. And now you. Taking away what's mine."

A pause, during which a shiver ran its way down Remus' spine before Sirius seemed to realise what he had said.

"I mean…you're not- you're not mine, mine. Just, like...my friend. Right?" The other man stumbled, looking to the ceiling for answers. Remus sighed and shrugged.

"Yeah, of course." He answered, hoping he sounded comforting, "Snape won't be able to touch me."

"And why would I want to touch a queer?" asked a sneering voice from the doorway, the inflection on 'queer' making it sound offensive. Fucking snake, Remus thought venomously as he turned to address the N.E.W.T. level potions master.

"Why are you talking to one?"

"Dumbledore asked me to locate you both." Snape answered bitterly, "He also suggested that we set aside our differences and go back down to enjoy Christmas."

"As heartfelt as that was," Sirius snapped, "I think I'll pass. And Rem isn't gay."

"I wasn't aware that Longbottom was a woman."

Remus bristled at the derogatory tone Snape used whilst mentioning Frank. He stepped towards him, his fingers itching to turn his wand on the man. There was something more about this man – not that he had a past of being a Deatheater, that wasn't exactly surprising, although the fact that he had been allowed to teach children was (what the hell had the Headmaster been thinking? Oh hey, here's a guy who used to go around AKing people as a living – I know! He'll make a bloody good teacher! Who better to be around kids than a homicidal maniac? Well, at least he only taught the older kids. But still…). No, there was something almost familiar about this guy, just not from the war. He'd never come across Snape during those dark years; he'd been far too clever to get caught back then.

"Snape…Snape" Remus muttered thoughtfully, narrowing his eyes at the potions master, "Severus Snape…oh."

"What?" Sirius asked quickly, coming to stand protectively beside Remus. Snape pursed his lips, obviously knowing that Remus had realised who he was.

"You…You're the guy who was involved with Greyback."

"What?" Sirius demanded heatedly, while Snape just stared back at Remus steadily.

"Your name was everywhere his was in his records at the Ministry when we were researching him. Some guy named Tom Riddle was the boss of it all—"

"Yes," Snape interrupted with a tight smile, "And then Greyback forgot to use his brain again and thought he'd bite you and your partner to teach the pair of you a lesson for sticking your nose where it shouldn't be."

"It was our job." Remus hissed through gritted teeth, fingers twitching even more, "My partner got bitten for doing his job – if he had just done what we had asked, none of that would have had to happen."

"He got bitten." Snape snarled "Greyback died. I lost everything when you killed him."

"What do you mean?" Remus frowned. Snape's laugh was low.

"We were building up numbers again after the war," he informed Remus as though he was an idiot for not piecing it together, "Tom Riddle was the Dark Lord's name and the alias of the cause for rebuilding an army to fight against the Order of the Phoenix. Part of the plan was to create more werewolves to train for our disposal."

"Well I'm so sorry I had everyone under the name of Tom Riddle looked into and incapacitated for questioning," Remus said sarcastically, "I don't see how you lost anything. You managed to gain the trust of Dumbledore straight away – I spent the whole time being turned away from jobs because I got scratched by your little investment."

"Forgive me if I have no sympathy for a gay werewolf. I was reduced to begging Albus, an enemy at the time, for my life. I lost my high standing with the Dark Lord. I lost Li— I lost those I loved for good because they found out that I was involved with the wrong people." Snape said nastily. Remus snapped and drew his wand, in Snape's face faster than it took to it to say babbling, bumbling band of baboons. Snape didn't flinch, only glared across at Remus, hands in the opposite sleeves of his robes calmly. Sirius also realised he was most likely ready to whip his wand out because he pulled his own out and trained it on the hook-nosed man.

"At least I know why you disliked me from the start." Remus said coolly.

"Disliked you? I can't stand you." Snape corrected coldly.

"You need to leave." Sirius said in a low voice, glancing at Remus. He couldn't speak, was shaking with disbelief and anger. This man, this snake, hated him for defending him for a rabid werewolf and ending his terrorist career? It was ridiculous, it wasn't fair, when he faced prejudice from every potential employer – when he had almost starved to death because he had gone without pay for so long. And he was standing in front of him, telling him that he couldn't stand him?

"That's really rich, Snape. Real rich." He growled, lifting his wand to press it under the other man's chin. Snape stepped back with a mocking laugh, turning to leave. Completely undaunted by the trained Dark Creature researcher's ('researcher.' Ha, right. That's what they told the concerned civilians anyway), and the pissed off Black's wands on him.

"Merry Christmas, Lupin. Black." He called over his shoulder as he left, "Your gifts can be to stay out of my sight."

The door swung closed behind him and Remus tucked his wand back into his sleeve in irritation. He looked to see Sirius fuming, his clenched fist shaking around his wand, his expression one of struggle and rage.

"Sirius, calm down." Remus said with a small sigh, turning to him to forcibly take his wand and lay in on a desk behind him. Sirius turned to him, looking helpless, and Remus realised that he couldn't comprehend what it would feel like to have the reason for his brother's death right in front of him and have nothing to do about it. Going without food was one thing, going without a loved one was something else altogether. "I'm sorry." He said quietly, knowing it sounded out of context but knowing it was something he needed to say. Sirius' expression turned into something Remus couldn't decipher – before he could even try, the other man had jumped on him, shoving him back against the wall.

He was on fire. Burning under lips smashed roughly against his own – under grasping, pulling, pushing, needing hands. They collided with what felt like a dark implosion, falling into each other. Drawn together. Magnetised. The heat of a tongue pushing against his own made him feel like he was melting and freezing all at once. He was stuck between the self-built walls of his own emotion and defence, his fucked up ideals and plans. Attempted fate had failed and here he was, hanging onto him like he was lost in darkness, like he lusted for the essence of his very life, sucking his soul from between his lips and keeping it tight with the teeth that pulled on his skin. The game was over, smashed into pieces and suffocated with the heat of his hands everywhere, but nowhere – he wanted more, needed his everything.

It was over before it had a chance to begin, yet so much had begun.

Remus stood with his back pressed against the stone wall, feeling the irregular surface pressing sorely through his borrowed clothes, staring at Sirius who had stumbled backwards after being pushed away. Chest heaving like the other man really had been trying to steal his life by sucking it out of him – true to his costume, ironically; but this was not to time to be ironic – Remus realised that he was terrified. Terrified of the violence of his reaction to Sirius' kiss, to his forwardness, to the feel of his body pressed against him from their thighs to their chests.

Sirius stared back at him, everything that was flooding through his mind plain on his face, over his tightly coiled body – he couldn't believe that he had just done that, hadn't wanted it to end, didn't understand why he did it, didn't understand Remus' reaction – it was like Remus was looking at the other half of himself, feeling the other's emotions as though they were his own.

Frankie.

Ros.

The thought flitted through the both of them at the same time, rushing through them and jolting their consciences awake – and the connection was gone, Sirius' barriers fell down, blocking anything past his eyes and Remus felt suddenly, horribly, alone. Locked out of his thirty second ecstasy. Sirius stumbled back another step – one hand grasping blindly for his wand, the other lifted in apology as he spilt words from his mouth that meant nothing. Nothing compared to the memories fading to something bitterly sweet and forbidden as he made his escape from their classroom. Remus slid down the wall, running a hand through his hairspray coated hair, the godless and holy taste of Sirius on his tongue, a living oxymoron of confusion and understanding.

"Damn it, Black." He breathed, rocking his head back against the wall, already feeling the emotional wounds from tomorrow burning across his skin. Shit like that wasn't forgotten quickly.

Remus returned to his quarters that night after thinking alone (hiding), in the forest. Sirius, as expected, wasn't there and he didn't expect him to turn up anytime soon. He pulled off his friend's clothes and threw them over onto the other bed, intending to take a shower to scrub the scent and feel of him from his skin and – hopefully – from his thoughts. However, before he even turned around to go to the bathroom, something lying on his pillow caught his eye. He leant over to see what it was.

It was a piece of torn parchment, with one line written in a script that somehow came across to Remus as violent that read:

My songs know what you did in the dark

R&R! I haven't been getting as many reviews lately and it makes me sad *sniff* *flutter lashes* apart from my usuals and others, who I luurrrrve both platonically and sexually (in a totally fanfic way...shut up, it makes sense). So yeah, review and you get a strip tease from the puppy of you choice. Or Frank, if you so wish. Better yet, how about question time? Review with a question for the boys and they'll answer :)