Chapter Nine

When Harry finally returned to Gryffindor tower that night, he was relieved to find that Hermione and Ron were not busy in the common room. Either the two of them had already gone off to bed, or they had found alternate locations for their 'activities.'

Harry trudged up to the dormitories, flinging his bag on the bed and landing with a soft thump on his pillow. Suddenly, he remembered that he meant to write Andromeda back that morning, and still hadn't done so. Glancing around the room, he determined that the other boys were all asleep. He quietly gathered a quill, his wand, some parchment, and Sirius' diary and tip-toed out of the room. He went back down to the common room, knowing that he'd need light to write by and lumos would probably disturb his roommates' slumber.

Settling into the couch, he pulled out his quill and began to write.

Dear Andromeda (and Teddy),

It's great to hear from you. I hope Teddy's hair is back to blue, I wouldn't want Teddy to be 'green.' It's an interesting theory; I bet if Hermione knew about it, she'd probably be eager to test it out. She would likely be able to figure out what pink and purple mean.

As for winter holiday, there's no place I'd rather spend it. I can't wait to be there for Teddy's first Christmas and I'll be sure to get him a fantastic present. I'll ask Hermione and Ron about the Holidays as well, of course, but I do think they'll probably want to spend that time with their families.

Thank you for sending me Sirius' diary. So far, there's no deep wisdom inside, but I did discover that he was using the book as a kind of Pensieve to store his memories. So, really, I'm not just reading about Sirius' experiences at Hogwarts: I'm actually living through them myself!

I'll try to write as much as I can, but it's quite a busy year. Between preparing for the N.E. , practicing for Quidditch, and serving detention, I'm barely finding the time to eat and sleep.

Right, you're probably wondering about the detention thing. See, I used this potions book in my sixth year that had some notes and tips on how to brew potions better: it turns out that it was actually Snape's old potions textbook. But, I didn't report the book or turn it in to any Professors and Slughorn found out and gave me detention for the rest of term. It's not bad; all I have to do is dust potions vials, but for some reason Malfoy is in detention as well, which is quite awful.

I'll try to write soon. Miss you both.

Love,

Harry

He finished up the letter and placed his quill down. Harry stood up and began to make his way to the entrance to Gryffindor tower when he realized it was after curfew and the owlery was closed. Folding the letter, he stuck it inside his pocket and plopped himself back down on the couch. He reached for Sirius' diary, sure that no one else was in the room, and flipped to the page he left on last time.

Remus admitted that he used to have a crush on Evans in fourth year on the ride to Hogwarts. This, of course, upset James and he sulked for a bit before Peter distracted him with Quidditch, which is basically the only thing that could ever possibly distract James from Evans.

I don't like that Remus used to fancy her. I mean, she's an insufferable prick and it's bad enough that James is in love with her, she doesn't deserve Moony's attention as well.

Anyway, the feast and sorting was a bore, as usual. But we ran into Snivellus on our way into the Great Hall…

The room began to spin and blur until Harry found himself standing in a hallway outside the Great Hall. Sounds of chatter and excitement filled the air around him, but the hallway was dark and seemingly empty, until Harry spun around and came face to face with a young Severus Snape. Even at age sixteen, his sharp, hooked nose and greasy black hair resulted in a sharp intake of breath from Harry. Just because he now knew that Snape was always on Dumbledore's side doesn't mean that Harry didn't find him intimidating.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor as four figures made their way towards him and Snape. They finally came close enough for Harry to discern them as James, Peter, Sirius, and Remus. They stopped dead in their tracks when they spotted Snape. A moment of tense silence passed before James finally spoke.

"Severus." He nodded cordially at the Slytherin. In fact, he was the only one of the four Mauradors who officially greeted Snape. Peter glanced between James and Severus, almost as if James held all the answers in the universe. He trembled slightly and Harry found himself wondering why Peter Pettigrew was ever placed in Gryffindor. Sirius, however, was focusing all his attention on the greasy-haired boy. His mouth was stuck in a menacing scowl and his nostrils flared in rage. Behind his eyes, a threatening fire seemed to burn.

Remus didn't dare to look at Snape at all. He shuffled his feet and lowered his gaze to the ground. His expression was unreadable to Harry. It seemed as though he was afraid? Guilty? Ashamed? None of these emotions made any sense to Harry. Why would Remus be ashamed when looking at Snape?

Cautiously, Remus' eyes flitted up towards Snape's face. His gaze remained there for less than a second before Snape snapped.

"What are you looking at, you dirty werewolf?" he growled. Remus recoiled at the words, swallowing and avoiding Snape's eyes once again.

A lightbulb lit inside Harry's head. This must've been after Sirius' horrible prank with Snape: when Sirius revealed Remus' location on a full moon and Severus would've been injured or killed if it weren't for his dad's rescue. That's why Remus was so afraid; Snape knew his secret.

"Shut your goddamn mouth Snivellus," Sirius hissed, his already threatening expression darkening even further.

"Or what?" Snape immediately retorted, sharp features twisted into a sneer. "You've already tried to kill me once, are you going to try again?"

"Yeah, I just might." Sirius' frown mutated into a dark smile, his teeth bared and eyes flashing. "Except this time, I'll do it with my bare hands to make sure I get the job done." Snape's face paled slightly at the threat, but he continued to speak anyway.

"Are you always so protective over your boyfriend?" He jeered, glancing over at Remus, who's eyebrows raised in confusion. Sirius' expression went completely blank and he slowly turned to face his brunette friend.

"My dear Moony," Sirius greeted.

"Padfoot?" Remus said, regarding his shorter friend with a wary expression. Harry got the impression that Sirius was often up to no good, and that Remus was very aware of this.

"I do believe we've been discovered," he announced. James and Peter shared a confused look, and even Snape couldn't help a slight furrow in his brow.

"Whatever do you mean?" Remus suddenly began to smile, as if he had caught onto some inside joke. Harry found himself just as puzzled as the other three boys who also seemed to have no idea of what was happening.

"Snivellus has revealed our darkest truth: that we, Padfoot and Moony," Sirius paused for dramatic effect, taking in a deep breath before continuing. "Are indeed lovers!" Peter gasped and Snape took a bewildered step backwards, but James and Harry finally seemed to understand what Sirius was doing and both bit back a laugh.

"Woe is me!" Remus made no effort to make his delivery as convincing as Sirius. Clearly, the acting chops in the group belonged solely to Sirius. "He now knows both my deepest secrets: that I am, in fact," He risked a glance at Snape and winked. "A big, gay, werewolf." Remus then smiled. Sirius didn't return it; his expression remained as distraught as ever.

"There is only one thing left to do now my Moonykins." Sirius grabbed Remus by his collar in feigned desperation. Remus, being much taller than Sirius, had to lean down slightly to look his friend in the eye.

"What is that, my dearest Padfoot?" He rolled his eyes.

"Ravish me darling!"

With that, Sirius pulled Remus into his arms and dipped him downwards. Snape watched in horror as Sirius proceeded to place a hand over Remus' mouth and to mash his face against the taller boy's, although Sirius' dark curtain of black hair shielded what was actually happening underneath. James barked in laughter and Peter finally seemed to catch onto the joke. The greasy-haired Slytherin, however, stumbled backwards out of the hallway, eyes widening more than Harry thought possible before he turned tail and ran. Remus shoved Sirius away from him, laughing and wiping his mouth.

"I think you may have overdone it just a bit with the whole 'ravish me' line, yeah?" Remus commented once the four marauders had finished laughing. He raised an eyebrow at Sirius.

"What can I say? I have a flair for the dramatic." Sirius flipped his hair over his shoulder and gave Remus a smouldering wink. Remus, in turn, rolled his eyes at him.

"If by 'flair for the dramatic' you mean you're a drama queen, then yes."

"I am not a drama queen!" Sirius protested as the group started to walk towards the Great Hall.

"Yes you are." The other three boys uttered in unison, struggling to keep straight faces.

The memory whirled out of focus until Harry was once again sat on the couch in Gryffindor Tower by the fireplace. He couldn't wipe the smile from his face at the thought of Sirius being so over the top.

After shutting the diary and gathering his things, Harry set back up the stairs to the dormitories for a good night's rest.