Part Seventeen: Who do you think you are?
Sirius woke with a start when a hand touched his arm. "Sleeping in the library now?" Bellatrix gave him a smile as she sat down next to him. "Can't you ask Severus for a potion to help you? Or are you still scared of your roommates."
Sirius shrugged. "No, just tired."
"Hmmm...." Bellatrix raised one of her eyebrows. "Did you get any interesting gifts for your birthday?"
Sirius sat up straight, "Mother sent me some clothes." He said brightly.
"Ah," Bellatrix blinked.
Sirius smiled at her, "Also, Remus got me the Chronicles of Narnia. The White Witch in the first book reminds me a lot of you."
Bellatrix smiled, "How nice of you. I think you've actually improved since you've come to this school."
Sirius gave her another smile. "Well, since I've already fallen asleep once here today, I might as well go off to my own bed."
Bellatrix nodded as if giving her consent and Sirius all but ran from her presence.
As a result of his speed he nearly knocked over one Severus Snape.
"Where are you going in such hurry." Severus stared down at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Away from 'Trix." Sirius replied picking himself up with a wry grin.
"Then all due speed was required." Severus nodded.
As Sirius laughed he noticed that his friend wasn't sharing in his mirth. When Sirius quieted down the other boy raised his hand to touch the dark circles under Sirius's eyes.
"Didn't you take the potion I sent you?" Severus asked quietly.
"What potion?" Sirius could hear the puzzlement in his voice.
"I sent you a sleeping draught for your birthday." Severus explained.
"I didn't see anything from you," Sirius said, still puzzled. "I just figured it was because it was too risky."
"I sent it to your room," Severus insisted. "I figured it would be less suspicious to my house mates that way. It went off just before breakfast."
Sirius narrowed his eyes. "That good for nothing sneak!"
"Sirius?" Severus called after him as the smaller boy vaulted away. Sirius waved a general hand behind him, dismissing Severus from his thoughts.
"James!" The three other Gryffindor first years all looked up when Sirius stormed into their room.
"Sirius?" James answered uncertainly.
"Did you touch any of the gifts I got two weeks ago?" Sirius demanded.
"No..." James shook his head. "Well, I did read some of the Nesbitt, but you said I could."
Sirius stopped short, "You didn't take any unopened packages. Maybe one that might have been on my bed right after breakfast?"
James shook his head again. "There wasn't anything on your bed when I got back from breakfast." He turned toward the other members of their dorm. "Right Peter?"
Sirius turned to look at the smaller boy as well. Peter seemed nervous about something. "Well Peter?"
"There was nothing on your bed when James and I returned from breakfast." Peter said, shooting a look at Remus.
Sirius turned his gaze onto his remaining dorm mate. "Do you concur with their assessment?"
"I didn't come back to the room after breakfast that day." Remus reminded him.
Peter quickly nodded in agreement.
Sirius gave Peter an odd look. "Peter, was there a gift on my bed before you came down for breakfast?"
Peter glanced at Remus before replying. "No."
Sirius looked at Remus with a raised eyebrow.
"I took it." Remus said finally. "So what?"
"It was a present for me," Sirius ground out.
"It was another potion." Remus replied in kind. "I think you have more than enough of those."
"It was a simple sleeping draught made for me by a friend, who thought I needed it." Sirius snarled.
"Oh," Remus's eyes narrowed. "That is so much better than the pain potion you normally take."
Sirius took a breath to calm himself. "You have no idea why I need that potion."
"I can guess." Remus replied. "The body can become so accustomed to it that anyone with the means keeps taking it."
"I haven't taken that potion for weeks." Sirius protested. "The pain stopped, and I stopped taking it. It is really that simple."
The two boys stared at each other for a few minutes before Remus broke the contact to reach into his trunk. "Here is your potion." He threw the potion at Sirius before exiting the room in much the same way that Sirius had entered.
After Remus stormed out the others exchanged looks. "That was different." James murmured before looking at Sirius. "Aren't you going after him?"
Sirius looked at him in disbelief.
"He is just concerned." James insisted.
Sirius shook his head slightly, but moved toward the door anyway. When he got to the common room it was to find it nearly deserted.
"Sirius." Lilly called from where she was sitting by the fire. "Do you know what Remus was so upset about?"
"Possibly," Sirius hedged. "Did he leave the tower?"
"Yes he did." Lily said with conviction. "He was in a right mood too. He has been since he came back from his grandmother's yesterday. Is she really very ill?"
"I don't know." Sirius said honestly. "It would certainly explain his behavior though."
"That is what I thought too." Lilly muttered.
"Thank you." Sirius called over his shoulder as he left the common room. The Hallway outside was deserted.
'I haven't a clue where Remus would go.' Sirius realized. 'James would go to the Quidditch field, but I haven't talked to Remus enough. Or maybe Remus just doesn't let us in enough.'
His footsteps unconsciously led him into the dungeons. 'Maybe I will see if Severus is lurking around. I can tell him I found the potion he sent.'
Sirius was brought to a stop when he recognized voices around the corner. 'Am I destined to listen in on conversations?' He wondered briefly.
"I'm not going to tell you anything!" Severus's voice hissed. "Even if I did know anything which I don't!"
"Don't lie to me!" Remus's higher voice was cracking with anger.
"I do not know anything." Severus insisted.
"I know that isn't true." Remus spit. "You are one of the best potions students Professor Davies has seen."
"So?" From Severus's tone Sirius could imagine his glare.
"So that means you are the most likely to know how to make the Benommenheit potion." Remus said more calmly.
"I do indeed know how to make that potion." Severus said mildly. "But I fail to see how it is relevant to the other matters we were discussing."
"If you were really Sirius's friend then you wouldn't keep supplying him with addictive potions." Remus's voice began to rise again.
"Look here!" Severus protested. "You know nothing about why Sirius takes the potions he does. I swore I wouldn't tell, and I won't." Severus said in replying to something Remus had done. "If you want to know so badly, you should just ask him."
Sirius decided it was time to move. "Yes, please just ask me."
Remus moved away from where he had pressed Severus into the wall. "Why do you take the Benommenheit potion."
"For pain." Sirius explained.
"It is addictive though." Remus insisted.
"For some," Severus said slowly. "But considering...."
Sirius shot the Slytherin a look to quite him. "It really isn't any of your business." Sirius told the auburn haired boy. "I have extremely bad pain sometimes, and Benommenheit is the only thing that helps."
Remus frowned. "The only thing that helps...." He turned from the two friends and walked back toward the main part of the castle.
"How did he know you were taking Benommenheit?" Severus demanded the moment Remus was out of sight.
"He caught me taking it the day we arrived back at Hogwarts." Sirius shrugged. "I'm still not sure how he knew."
"Could he have picked your lock like those other two?" Severus asked.
Sirius shook his head. "Father taught me some wards over Christmas. After I put those on the trunk I'd know if he had."
Severus shivered. "He is strong. I don't want him angry at me ever again."
Sirius smiled. "Neither do I. Thank you for the birthday gift."
"Your welcome." Severus smiled back. "Now you'd better leave before one of your other roommates decides that you're defecting to our side of the Castle, and comes to beat me up for that."
Sirius laughed before starting back to his Tower.
End Notes:
- Its done, and it is only a week or so after the last chapter.
- Please Review
