November 7th, 1981 Potter Manor 8:30am
Over the next few days, the five of them began alternating in shifts when it came to watching over the Longbottom's home. During the day, one person would hide in wait under James' invisibility cloak, keeping a watchful eye on any suspicious activity. At night, however, two would go since they knew Death Eaters preferred to attack in the dead of night.
James and Sirius would simply transform into their animagus forms to do their watches while the rest of them would use the cloak. While on a shift, the one watching would take one of the two way mirrors James and Sirius had while the other remained at the manor. Severus added an alerting charm to the mirrors so, if anything happened during the watch, the one on duty would be able to simply tap the glass twice and the other would immediately give off a deafening alert to those still at the manor.
During the day while one was watching the Longbottom's home, the other four would be vigorously practicing their Occlumency under the guidance of Severus. Lily was the quickest to catch on, at no surprise to everyone else, so she began assisting Severus in the instruction of the others. On this day, however, while Remus was taking his turn watching over the Longbottom's, James and Sirius were left to meditate. They were ordered to focus on keeping up their mental protections. During this time, Lily had made the request to Severus of being shown his memories from his past life. So they retreated into the study.
After about three hours gone by, James and Sirius remained still and quiet as they continued their meditation. Severus joked that would be quite hard for them, so they did it out of pure spite. However, the two men were snapped out of their meditative state when they suddenly heard Lily scream, "I'LL KILL THAT TOAD FACED BITCH!" James and Severus bolted from their chairs and ran to the study to find Lily pacing. The look on her face was pure rage. "I SWEAR TO GOD, SEVERUS, THAT TOAD IS DEAD!" She bellowed at the very exhausted Severus.
"Lily, what are you going on about?" James asked as he entered the room. He approached his wife while Sirius went to guide Severus to a nearby chair.
"Lily has just witnessed the actions of Harry's fifth year Defense Professor Delores Umbridge…clearly your wife is not happy with what she saw," Severus said.
"What happened?" James asked, now concerned. "Grumble! Please bring Severus a Stamina Replenishment potion," he called down the hall.
"NOT ONLY DID SHE SEND TWO DEMENTORS TO ATTACK HARRY BEFORE THE START OF HIS FIFTH YEAR, THAT BITCH FORCED HARRY TO USE A BLOOD QUILL TO WRITE 'I must not tell lies' UNTIL THE WORDS WERE CARVED INTO HIS HAND!" Lily screamed.
"WHAT?!" James and Sirius said together.
"EXACTLY!" Lily said. "HOW COULD DUMBLEDORE ALLOW THAT?"
Severus panted, "He didn't have a choice in the matter," he said. "Mind you, I'm not defending Dumbledore in any way, but Delores was forced on him by Minister Fudge as a deterrent from telling students about Voldemort's return."
"When does Fudge take office?!" Lily demanded as she approached her tired friend.
"1990," Severus replied in his tired voice.
"Oh, I will personally see to it he does not become the minister!" She said with a look of pure defiance on her face. "Anyone who employs a wretched woman like that does not deserve to be Minister of Magic! And that wretched toad will go to Azkaban, so help me god!"
"Lily dear, you can't actually punish someone who hasn't done anything yet," James said, trying to calm his wife.
"You might not be so quick to defend her when you learn that after Voldemort returns and takes over the Ministry, Umbridge is put in charge of a inquisition meant to round up all muggleborns and interrogate them under the premise that they have stolen magic from a proper wizard," Severus said as he sat back and took the vial of stamina potion Grumble had bought him, downing it in two gulps.
"EXCUSE ME?!" James and Lily both said.
"Oh, no. That bitch is going down," James said flatly. "Let them try to drag my wife in there. I'll blow the entire place sky high."
"Now that's a plan I can get behind!" Sirius said, grinning.
"Be quiet, Pooch. The adults are talking," Severus said as he stood up. His strength was returning with the help of the potion. "If you really want to prevent an idiot like Fudge and Hag like Umbridge getting power, I suggest you select someone who shares your views and back them."
"That is a good idea, but how will it help us?" Lily asked.
"If the parents of The Boy Who Lived are seen supporting a specific candidate, even the Neutral Faction will support that candidate," Severus said as if it was obvious.
Severus watched as the light clicked in both James and Lily's mind. He had mentioned to them how Harry's accidental victory had earned him a place in history books, making the one year old rather famous in the wizarding community. "So you're saying we use our son's celebrity appeal to back a specific candidate who won't pussyfoot around about Voldemort and Death Eaters," James said, laying out the idea clearly.
"It'd also help if the candidate in question had absolutely a no tolerance to pure blood supremacy stances," Sirius piped up.
Severus looked back to Sirius, who was standing behind him. "Look at you, actually saying something useful." Severus reached up and ruffled Sirius' hair. "Good Poochie. Keep up the good work." He then turned back to James, leaving Sirius glowering at him as he tried to fix his now disheveled hair. "The dog makes a good point. That is definitely a quality you should consider. However, that is nearly eight years away. Lets focus on more pressing matters. Are you two ready for your next Occlumency test?"
James and Sirius both went a little pale at the mention of having their mental defenses tested again. Lily smirked. "I'll take James…the dog is all yours," she said as she grabbed James' arm and dragged him back to the sitting room to begin the drill. "Prowling through your head will help me relieve some of this pent up anger," she growled as she tugged him along.
"Let's go, Pooch." Severus grabbed Sirius by the back of his neck and began pushing him forward while simultaneously squeezing his neck so he couldn't get away.
"Ow…ow…ow…Severus, you know I'm not an actual dog, right?" Sirius said, objecting to the dog like treatment he was getting.
"Shut up and move," Severus ordered, enjoying his new role as the Marauder's strict tutor. He guided Sirius to the living room and forced him down in the chair beside James, who was looking a little worried. "Alright, children. We will give you forty-five seconds to prepare your mental defenses and then we attack…" He and Lily stepped back and drew their wands. "Your forty-five seconds starts…" he pulled a stop watch out of his pocket and clicked it, starting the timer. "Now."
James and Sirius both closed their eyes immediately as the exercise began. When the forty-five seconds were up, Severus nodded to Lily and they both pointed their wands at their respective targets. " Legilimens!" they both said.
Severus found a decent enough defense in Sirius's mind. Enough to keep out an average caster…he thought… not enough to keep out Voldemort or Dumbledore. He pushed against the defenses and they crumbled beneath his own will. Suddenly Severus found himself in the halls of Hogwarts.
There were Valentine's Day decorations everywhere. He spotted a young Sirius, standing in front of a blushing young Amelia Bones. The girl held out a box of chocolate. "Would you please go out with me?" she asked, shaking in her shoes.
The young Sirius frowned a bit. "Sorry, Amelia…I uh….I don't actually like girls like that…if you know what I mean," he replied nervously.
Amelia looked up at him, shocked. "Really? So you're attracted to other boys?"
The young Sirius nodded. "Yeah. I've kinda had a thing for this guy for a couple of years now."
"Really?" Amelia asked, a bit surprised. "Can I ask who?"
Sirius leaned forward and started to whisper in her ear.
Severus was suddenly pushed out of the memory by Sirius' sheer force of will. He snapped back into his own mind and heard Lily scolding James for an apparent fling he had with a Hufflepuff girl in his third year. He saw that Sirius' face was red from having that particular moment revealed. He then wondered whose name Sirius whispered into Amelia's ear. Probably James or maybe Remus, he thought before he shook his head to bring himself back to the task at hand. He immediately went back into strict teacher mode. "See, this is why you should try harder. Memories like that will be easily used against you by Voldemort and possibly Dumbledore," Severus began lecturing him. "You both must remain focused. Discipline your minds!" he said, remembering he said the same thing to Harry in his former life. "Again," he says.
Lily stood back next to Severus. She lifted her own stopwatch and said, "Your forty-five seconds start…now" she clicked the stopwatch.
James and Sirius closed their eyes, again preparing their mental defenses. When their forty-five seconds were up, Lily and Severus once again directed their wands at their targets. "Don't go easy on them this time," Severus said.
Lily nodded. " Legilimens!" they both said.
This time Sirius's mental defenses were much better. However, due to Severus' skill; he broke through in a matter of minutes and was once again sucked back into one of Sirius's memories:
The classroom had all the desks hanging from the ceiling as students were standing in circles across from each other. He could see young Sirius standing in a circle facing off against Lily. Across the room, he saw his younger self facing off against James. Severus remembered this day. They were at their after class dueling club session in their fifth year; the same day of the last memory he entered.
Young James and Severus began trading spells rather exquisitely. Sirius had lost to Lily in a matter of moments and was now watching James duel the young Slytherin. Their battle ensued, spell after spell, until a very annoyed James reared his wand back.
"Stupefy!" he exclaimed, putting way too much power behind the spell, which was against the club's rules.
The spell hit young Severus in the chest, sending him flying out of the circle and crashing into the wall then falling to the floor, unconscious. "SEVERUS!" Young Lily exclaimed, running over to her fallen friend.
Sirius had a look of utter shock and worry on his face when he noticed James chuckling. He walked over to his friend. "James, that was way too much!" he said. "You could've seriously hurt him. Are you trying to get kicked out of the club?"
James smirked and shrugged. "It was an accident," he said.
"McGonagall won't think so, you idiot. You'll be in detention tonight for sure!" Sirius exclaimed.
The memory melted away and a new one appeared. He saw his younger self laying on a bed in the Hospital Wing, unconscious. It was dark outside the window and he assumed it was just around dinner time. For a moment, he was alone, then young Sirius pulled off James' Invisibility Cloak. The young Sirius stepped up beside the unconscious Slytherin's bed and sat on the edge. "I'm sorry about James…" the boy began to speak to the unconscious Severus, "He's not a bad guy, I swear…he just gets jealous easily…he likes Lily you know…and you're always with her…it gets under his skin. Then he does things like this…he's got detention for a month with McGonagall if that makes you feel any better…which I doubt it would…I'm sorry, really," He apologized again before looking around, checking to see if anyone was around. Once he was sure no one was there, the young Gryffindor leaned down and gently pressed his lips to Severus', kissing him.
There was suddenly a clatter of books dropping. Sirius jumped away, whipping around to find Lily Evans standing behind him. "What…" she started to say.
"I…I'm sorry…"Sirius stammered. "Please don't tell him." He then grabbed the cloak from the end of the bed and ran out of the room.
The memory ended and Severus was thrown back into his own mind. His eyes were wide from what he'd just seen. He looked down at the older Sirius, who was looking at him with a pleading look in his eyes. "Severus please…calm down a moment…let me explain," he said, slowly rising from his seat.
Severus stepped back away from him. "I…I…" He couldn't form a sentence and he backed away again when Sirius tried to step closer to him.
"Severus…" Sirius began but the Slytherin turned and fled from the room. "Sev, wait!" Sirius took off after him.
James looked at his wife, confused. "What do you think just happened?"
Lily sighed. "Sev found out the secret Sirius has kept from him since third year," she replied.
"What?" James asked, now thoroughly confused.
"Never mind. Back to work, Potter," she said, acting as if she were a professor.
In the foyer, Severus was sprinting up the stairs, fleeing from the pursuing Sirius. "Severus, please!" Sirius called after him. "Stop running." Sirius was close behind him. Severus bolted down the first hallway he saw, trying to escape.
He continued down the hall, not bothering to look back to see if Sirius was still following him. He turned left, down another hall, when he was suddenly pushed against a wall. There he was. Sirius Black had gone the other way around to catch him off guard. Sirius pinned Severus against the wall. "Stop, please," he said, panting. "I…I'm sorry. You were never supposed to know about that."
Severus' voice finally came to him. "Why?" he asked.
"Well, because you never liked me back, of course…" Sirius said as if it were obvious.
"Did you honestly think constantly tormenting me would make me like you, along with doing nothing when your mate was obviously targeting me?" Severus asked. The look on his face was unreadable: somewhere between shock and fear.
Sirius was relieved he wasn't being outright rejected for simply being a man. "We were young, Severus. Stupid and young with no clue how to properly express our feelings."
"And what about you nearly getting me killed by Remus in his werewolf form nearly two months later?" Severus asked, now getting slightly angry at Sirius' excuses for his behavior toward someone he supposedly liked.
"One word: Payback," Sirius said flatly; "Or did you conveniently forget about how a week after you got out of the Hospital wing, you hit me with that cutting curse you created as revenge for what James did…I was in the Hospital Wing for two weeks before Madam Pomfrey finally figured out how to undo that curse of yours. So, I decided to get back at you for punishing me for something James did," Sirius said, defending himself. "I didn't honestly expect you to get past the Whomping Willow! I figured you get tossed around a bit, maybe smacked with some vines. When James told me he pulled you out just before Remus got you, I was so relieved."
Severus was surprised to hear this. Sirius pulled him into a hug as he started crying into Severus' shoulder. "I was so scared I almost killed the boy I loved."
Severus stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say. After a moment, he reached up and placed a hand on Sirius' head, beginning to pet him slowly. "When?" he asked. "When did you first notice you had feelings for me?" He clarified.
Sirius lifted his head a bit to speak. "Around third year…before when all we did was taunt you," Sirius said. "You would always come up with a witty repartee which would infuriate James…and make me laugh. I enjoyed our encounters and when you'd out do James in Potions, he'd start calling you names. One time you flat out told him to stop worrying about who he was going to snog most and maybe he'd do better. I laughed for hours on that one. Eventually, I just realized I liked you. Later on, it turned into love," he said quietly. Sirius lifted his head, slowly looking into Severus' dark eyes. "I still do." He gently cupped Severus' face and brought his own lips to the Slytherin's, kissing him passionately.
Severus did not resist him. Instead, he felt himself melt into Sirius' touch. When their lips touched, he felt an electric current flow down his spine. He slowly wrapped his arms around the taller man's neck and kissed him back gently. Once he did, Sirius immediately deepened the kiss, pressing Severus against the wall as he began making out with him. The two stood there, in each other's arms, for nearly an hour, simply kissing each other as the sounds of their make out session echoed in the silence of the hall.
A/N: Look guys I've seen a few of the reviews and as the synopsis clearly says that this story has SiriusXSeverus relationship if that is an issue for you I recomend choosing a different fanfiction cause there will be more and there will be explicit homoerotic content with the two of them I will not be changing that.
Up Next: The Maurader's band together to protect the Longbottoms from Bellatrix, but someone gets hurt in the process.