Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
A/N: I still need a beta reader, though, and any offers would be deeply appreciated. Suggestions for a new title are also more than welcome; I can't stand the one I've got, but I can't really think of anything else. If you can come up with a good title, I'll send you a bit of the next chapter. Also, the rate at which I'm updating is unusual for me and I don't know how long it will last.
Sirius sat in the waiting room, a scowl on his face. He was not pleased to have received a summons from the Ministry, and even less pleased to have received it when he had. Being divebombed by an owl during a show was not his idea of fun; it had crapped on his guitar and attacked the drummer, who'd tried to shoo it away. He lit a cigarette, deliberately disobeying the 'No Smoking' sign. If they didn't like it, so what? He didn't like having his show ruined. Fifteen minutes later, he'd finished his cigarette, lit another, and begun pacing up and down the length of the room. The door opened, and he twisted around to see if they'd finally decided that he'd waited long enough.
It wasn't a Ministry official as he'd hoped, but a tall, thin man in an expensive looking suit. He looked familiar somehow... Fuck. It was Snape. He should have recognized him; his face was on every other bottle in the pharmacy. And there was someone coming in behind him. Sirius recognized Peter right away; Hollywood had obviously been good for him; the mousy brown hair that Sirius remembered was golden from time in the sun, and he was deeply tanned. Sirius was astonished to hear the two chatting like old friends; they hadn't even noticed him. Well, if they were going to ignore him, he'd ignore them. He stubbed out the end of his cigarette and lit a new one, regretting, not for the first time, that he'd gotten into the habit of chain-smoking.
"Damn it Severus, did you have to be so nasty to the flight attendant?" Peter asked.
"Well Pete, if you asked for the steak and they gave you the coq au vin, wouldn't you have been pissed?" Severus replied, in reasonable tones.
Peter sighed in exasperation. "How many times have I told you not to call me Pete? I swear, the next time you do it, I'll call you Sevvy!"
Severus' face bore an expression of mock horror. "Anything but the cutesy nickname! Anything but that! Seriously though, how about I give you a nice piece of cheese and we call it even?"
"Severus! I thought we agreed never to mention that again!" Peter moaned, then caught sight of someone in the corner, wreathed in smoke. A familiar someone. "Sirius! How are you?" He grinned, and bounded over to shake Sirius' hand. "It's been way too long."
Severus took the opportunity to get a close look at Black. Clad in worn jeans and a t-shirt, with his hair hanging messily around his stubbled face, he looked much the same as he had at twenty. The only things that were any different were the laugh lines around his eyes and his nicotine stained hands. Severus was impressed; even he, with all his potions, looked his age. He nodded. "Black." he acknowledged.
"Oh, come on, Severus. The schoolboy rival thing is so old it's not funny." Peter declared, ignoring the looks of astonished irritation he received from both Severus and Sirius. "I don't suppose you know why we're here, Sirius?" he asked hopefully.
"Not a clue. Sorry." Sirius said unapologetically. "Perhaps Snape knows; he was always a clever bastard. Do you know, Snapey?"
But Severus didn't answer; he was too busy staring at the woman who had just come through the door. The last time he had seen Lily Evans, he'd been certain that no woman could be more exquisite. He'd been wrong; the years had given her a glow of peace and contentment that she had previously lacked, and made her far more beautiful than she'd ever been before. Before he could stop himself, his eyes darted down to her hands; no rings. He quashed the feelings rising in him of desire and infatuation; they had to remain in the past, so that he cold tell himself that it had only been an unrequited teenage crush. But, oh God, she was enchanting. The smile he gave her was entirely genuine. "If it isn't Lily Evans! It's wonderful to see you again." He held out his hand, suppressing his longing to sweep her into his arms.
Lily smoothed her skirt and straightened her hair. She'd be damned before she let a Ministry official see her at less than her best. She steeled herself and opened the door, fully expecting to be chastised for sending back her check from the Auror Pension Department. Instead, she was met with the sight of three very familiar men. Sirius never changes, she thought fondly, seeing his usual sloppy clothing. Peter, though, had gone from a pudgy, retiring boy, to the successful actor she saw before her. He was still short, only 5'8", but it obviously hadn't impeded him in any way.
The one who really riveted her attention was Snape. His hair was long, and in need of a trim, curling around his collar as it was. He was nearly as tanned as Peter, and he wore an obviously expensive suit as if he'd been wearing suits all his life. Lily's eyes flicked up and down against her own will; my God, he was gorgeous. Maybe it was true what they said about how happiness made people more attractive; he certainly looked happy. He greeted her, and offered her his hand, which she gave a quick squeeze.
"Severus! The picture on the shampoo bottle doesn't do you justice. You look good." She turned to Sirius. "And you haven't changed a bit. What are you doing these days?"
He grinned rakishly at her around his cigarette. "Still in the music business, I'm afraid. Nicola wants me to get a proper job, but the entire idea of having to wear a suit is just... Ugh."
Lily smiled; she couldn't imagine Sirius in a suit either. "Who's Nicola? Your wife?"
Sirius' face took on a dreamy quality. "Not yet, but someday. I don't think I could live without her anymore."
Peter grinned. "And what does this goddess in human form look like?"
"She's the most beautiful woman in the world." declared Sirius.
"Absolute nonsense." said Severus.
Sirius bristled. "What? You don't think I can get pretty girls?" he asked, glaring at Severus.
"Oh, I'm certain she's beautiful, but she can't be the most beautiful." Severus said smoothly. "Because the most beautiful woman in the world is right here in the room with us." He bowed slightly to Lily, and took her hand and kissed it.
Lily blushed. She knew Severus was only teasing, but oh, how she wished he meant it. She heard a gasp from the doorway, and looked away from Severus' face. The figure standing there was vaguely known to her, but she didn't know from where. Greasy hair cut short, thick glasses, unhealthily thin and wearing cheap clothing. Where had she seen that man before?
Sirius sighed. It had only been two weeks since he'd last seen James, and he'd already managed to go further downhill. He hadn't been eating again, and by the looks of it, he hadn't been washing his hair, either. Glancing around the room, it was obvious that no one but him recognized James, which made him wince. He didn't want to think about what complete lack of recognition from Lily would do to him, but he had to, because he was about to have to deal with whatever the fall-out was going to be. James was glaring implacably at Snape, and Sirius gave a sub-vocal groan. He would have had to see Snape kiss Lily's hand, wouldn't he? Maybe if he pretended nothing was wrong James would act like a normal human being. Ehh. It was worth a try.
"James!" he exclaimed, and darted forward to grasp his hand and shake it vigorously. "How's the Bureau of Magical Control these days?"
James turned his attention to Sirius. "Hellish, as you well know. Fucking paperwork. Still better than going home to an empty flat." He transferred his glare to Lily, who was talking with Peter, and didn't notice. Whe he realized that she wasn't even looking at him, he slumped. "So, how's Nicola?"
"She was promoted last month. Our first anniversary was yesterday; we went out to dinner."
James sighed, his jealousy palpable. "Lucky bastard. When are you going to get up your nerve and ask her?"
Sirius reddened slightly. "I don't know. We're already living together, so it's not like anything would change. 'Nicola Black' does have a nice ring to it, though. I've got enough cash to buy a ring, but I'm ashamed to admit my Gryffindor bravery has failed me. She'd be so gorgeous in a wedding dress, but..."
"It'd look odd at the wedding, the groom being shorter than the bride. Nicola's what, two or three inches taller than you?"
Sirius felt a reluctant grin tug at the corners of his mouth. "Only an inch and a half, as you know perfectly well."
Lily laughed, diverting James' attention, and making him look sick with envy. Snape was leaning down to whisper in her ear, and she was blushing and gazing up at him with ill-disguised admiration, and Peter was standing a few feet away, looking slightly amused. He obviously thought they were cute; to an extent, they were, but he didn't like the effect the scene was having on James. He never could tell what James was thinking anymore, and it scared him. In James' current state of mind, he could be planning Snape's murder, and Sirius would never be able to tell before it was too late. He didn't like Snape, certainly, but even Snape didn't deserve to die, not after everything he'd done during the war. He frowned, pondering how to make sure James didn't do anything atrocious.
Remus stood in the door, gazing at his old friends. Lily and Severus, an odd pair if there ever was one, were talking animatedly, and Severus was looking down at her with something near worship in his eyes. Peter was off to one side, alternating between watching them and gazing worriedly at Sirius and someone who must have been James; no one else had ever had hair that messy. James was a wreck, and Remus felt a pang of remorse for never calling him over the years, to make sure he was all right. Sirius was fiddling with a cigarette, a sure sign he was nervous; the smoke assaulted Remus' sensitive nose, and he sneezed loudly, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room towards him.
He smiled; it had been far too long. "Hello, everyone."
Millicent cleared her throat. A charm had alerted her when the one had gotten there, and she'd come out of her office, and watched the six greet each other, and try to figure out why they'd been summoned. "I'm rather disappointed, Mr. Snape, that you haven't figured it out. You have, or had anyway, the best tactical mind I've ever met; I would have expected you to realize what was going on as soon as you heard that Mr. Pettigrew had gotten identical letters."
Severus, to his credit, did not react to the criticism; he merely nodded politely and said, "Minister Bagnold."
"So why are we here?" asked Sirius, his brow wrinkled in thought.
Millicent sighed; they were obviously out of practice. "The Aurors have been reactivated. There something going on that the Muggles cannot handle, and so it is our job to fix it." She mentally congratulated herself on remembering to say 'Muggle' instead of 'mudblood'; it had been years, but she still had trouble with it occasionally. She looked at the faces staring at her, with various mixtures of horror, amazement and glee, and said, "Come in to my office, and I'll enlighten you as to the situation. It is Not Good." The capitals were clearly audible, and the group, as one, sighed. They knew all too well just how bad something had to be to merit spoken capitals from the unflappable Millicent Bagnold.