"Oi Potter, this isn't your table." Sirius scowled as he found Harry perched at the Gryffindor table the next morning.
Harry made no reply, his face shielded by his arms, the steady rise and fall of his shoulders the only sign of his wakefulness.
Sirius stepped closer and shook the table a bit. "Wake up you lazy sod and go back to your own House." He had every right to be rude to the little whelp, after that near drowning incident he had suffered from a sore throat.
Still nothing from the smaller wizard, which was beginning to worry the Gryffindor.
"Hey Harry, what's wrong with you?" He asked, nudging the unresponsive figure.
The tousled head remained buried in the younger boy's arms. "Nothing." Harry finally mumbled into the tabletop, his voice muffled.
Sirius relaxed and sat, at least he was talking now. "Don't lie to me Harry; I've lived with your brother long enough to know when he's hiding something." He glanced toward the Slytherin table as he distractedly filled his plate. "Beside the fact that you're over here, you seem depressed."
"It's nothing." Harry grumbled again, shoulders tensed.
Another presence arrived but Harry remained still. "What's wrong with Harry?" Remus frowned as he sat beside his boyfriend.
"S'not saying." Sirius shrugged through a mouthful of eggs, shoveling more food into his mouth. "I think it's got something to do with Snape though." He muttered darkly.
Amber eyes roved toward the Slytherins, locking onto the youth in question. Snape seemed… relaxed, glowing almost.
Remus' eyes widened. "He got laid." He said suddenly, sure of himself.
"What!" Sirius spat out the food in his mouth, spraying the tabletop in front of him with bits of mush.
A few heads turned in their direction with curiosity. They were ignored though and the boys' voices lowered.
"Are you serious Moony?" The dark haired boy demanded, eyes shifting toward Harry.
"Look at him." Remus grimaced. "You can tell Padfoot." His voice held disgust.
"Merlin's beard Potter!" Sirius cried. "Did you let him shag you!" He whispered fiercely.
Harry's face remained hidden. "How do you know I didn't bugger him?" He retorted.
Remus chuckled despite the sensitive situation. "Believe me Harry, I can tell. Take it from someone who bottoms, we can spot our kind."
"That's beside the point!" Sirius interrupted. "Don't try to change the subject."
There was a deep sigh of resignation. "Fine. Yes, I let Severus fuck me."
"What have you done Harry?" Remus asked sadly, trying to remain calm for both of them as Sirius scowled at his side. He knew and understood the situation between the Slytherins, and Harry was not scheduled for a shagging anytime soon, the couple's issues had not been figured out.
"He doesn't care about me." Harry's shoulders began to quiver. "I mean, I already knew that, but it just hurts to hear it too." He sniffed. "I tried so hard to prove that I was worth his time, damn him, he doesn't give a flying shit about me!"
"What did he say?" The werewolf asked softly.
"He called out Lily's name when we were having sex." Harry said miserably. "I knew it was too much to hope for that he had forgotten about her."
Sirius gasped. "That bastard!" He spat, eyes turning up toward the Slytherin.
Snape was watching them calmly and he had the nerve to smile at the fuming Gryffindor. Sirius growled and glared at the Slytherin. 'Watch yourself.' He mouthed warningly.
The mocking laugh from Snape was heard from across the Hall and Harry's shoulders stiffened even more.
"He's making fun of me isn't he?" He asked brokenly, refusing to lift his head.
Remus placed a comforting hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles to calm the younger.
"That bastard is doing this to spite us!" Sirius snarled. "James was right, why did he have to drag Harry into it?"
"Revenge." Remus murmured. "You know how Slytherins are, no offence Harry. They don't care if they hurt people."
"Let's go find Prongs; I don't think I can sit here any longer." The dark haired teen growled.
Remus nodded silently and nudged Harry's shoulder. "Come on pup, you're coming with us."
Harry roused from his mute state and stood with the two Marauders, allowing them to push him out of the Great Hall which was beginning to fill up with late risers.
The Slytherins laughed as they walked out and Remus had to keep a calming hand on Sirius' palm, which was itching toward his wand.
"No hexes this early." He said firmly. "We find James, then we form our plan."
--- --- ---
"What the hell happened to you?" James demanded.
Sirius was sporting a shiner and his left fist was twitching slightly at his side, knuckles burning an angry red. Remus entered through the portrait behind him with Harry.
"Nothing." Sirius replied. "We just ran in to Malfoy, bloody bastard." He muttered under his breath.
"And why – beside the usual reasons – did you find the need to pick a fight with that prat?" James crossed his arms with a demanding lift to his brow.
"He was taunting Harry if you must know." Remus spoke instead.
Taunting really couldn't be the word used to describe the degrading spout of drivel Malfoy had thrown at the depressed boy. The blonde was still suffering the aftereffects of the spell, and had retained his slim figure, chest and all, though the problem below had been resolved. So it came as no surprise that he would choose to laugh in Harry's face, having heard firsthand what had happened from Snape. The punch to his cheek distracted him a bit though, and that was how Sirius had ended up pounding Lucius with his fists.
"Harry?" James seemed to realize his younger sibling was in the room. "What's wrong with him?"
"Snape." Sirius growled.
"That bastard?" The eldest Potter scowled. "What did he do to my little brother?"
"He's a fucking arse that's what he is!" Sirius raged. "Pining after Evans when Harry's the one who loves him though I hate to admit it."
"He's still after her?" Hazel eyes closed with a sigh. "I thought he would have learned by now that she's mine." James rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.
"Obviously not." There was a reluctant exhale of breath before Sirius spoke again. "Him an' Harry buggered last night and after the greasy git was finished with him he was yelling Lily's name!"
"What!"
Remus sighed and pulled Harry onto one of the couches, soothing the silent boy with his touch.
"Snape had sex with my little brother!" James continued to rage. "No one touches Harry, I'll kill him!"
"I'm with you Prongs." Sirius stood. "I think we should go Snivellus hunting now, take care of our little git problem before he starts getting any funny ideas."
James nodded. "Yeah, let's go get the – "
"No."
All three Marauders turned toward the soft voice. Harry remained curled at Remus' side, head pillowed by the comforting arms holding him. He slowly looked toward his brother and Sirius.
"I don't blame you for wanting to protect me." He murmured. "You guys are my biggest defenders, and I thank you for that. But I can't have you hurting Severus, no matter what he's done to me. This is my problem and I will deal with."
"We can't sit around and do nothing Harry, he hurt you, he deserves to be punished." James retorted, though not unkindly. "What I want to know is why you're even back with him in the first place."
Sirius nodded. "Yeah, what happened to that Asian chit he had dangling off his arm a few weeks ago?" Sirius demanded. "Don't tell me you killed her to get into Snape's trousers."
Harry smiled wistfully. "I wish, but no, I hexed her and she attached herself to some other sod." His eyes shifted to the floor. "Then I pretty much seduced Severus into having sex with me, I thought he would want to stay with me if we were together physically."
James watched his brother for a few moments and then shook his head ruefully. "Lily's been talking to me lately and she's drilled it in deep that I have to let you grow up sometime." He ruffled his hair reluctantly. "I guess I'll step back in this case, no matter how much I want to wring Snape's scrawny neck."
"What!" Sirius cried. "You're going to let some girl tell you how to protect your brother?" He scowled. "Snape deserves to be punished! After everything – everything – that he's done, you're just going to forget about it like that?"
"Yes." Harry said firmly. "It's my own fault for going to him in the first place, just let it go."
Remus nodded. "Listen to him Padfoot, if Harry wanted our help he would ask for it, we shouldn't concern ourselves with matters that don't concern us." He explained calmly.
Sirius looked to all of them with a shocked expression. "That's it? You're all giving up just like that?" He demanded as he angrily stood. "Well I'm not some Hufflepuff first year, he should be taught a lesson. I take it quite personal when people are being hurt because of something I'm part of." His fist shook. "Don't you understand Prongs, Snape's been hurting Harry to get back at the Marauders, all of us!"
James shook his head. "Harry's made his decision."
"If that's how it's going to be then fuck you." He flipped James off to prove his words. "I'm a Gryffindor, loyal and brave, and I'm going to stand up for my friend whether he wants my help or not." He looked at Harry before storming away.
Remus sighed regretfully as his boyfriend left. "I'm sorry about that." He murmured.
"Why is he taking this so seriously?" Harry asked as he lifted himself from Remus' arms. "It's really nothing for him to be concerned about."
"Sirius doesn't take well to bullies, though the way we treat Severus can be categorized as such. I think it has something to do with his own family, he was never liked or accepted by the Blacks, he's an outcast really." Remus smiled sadly. "So when he sees you being shoved about by your own House and then turned away from the person you care for, it makes him angry and reminds him of his own self."
Harry frowned and looked toward the portrait. "Do you think he'll do something regretful? Or should I go after him and stop whatever crazed plan he's come up with."
"Let him go." James fell back into a chair, covering his face with his hands. "As long as he doesn't do anything too dangerous I think he'll be fine on his own."
Remus bit his lip nervously. "If you say so." Sirius, please don't take things too far.
--- --- ---
They're going to find me, I know they are. Damn arrogant bastards, they think they can go around bullying whoever they want. And does anyone see Dumbledore doing anything about it? No, because he turns his head the other way when it comes to his favorite Gryffindors.
Severus sneered at the thought and continued his brisk pace; it would do him no good to be found by Potter and his crew, especially after having deflowered the "little brother" of the Marauders. Potter was like a mother hen with Harry as his unwilling chick. A quiet laugh escaped Severus as he turned the corner, that would be an amusing sight to see.
He sobered at the thought of Harry. Last night had been a mistake; he should not have gotten close after having pushed the boy away for so long. All his hard work, thrown out the window for a night of mindless fucking! He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts, he should have gotten rid of his problem before it could get this far.
There was no helping it; he would find a way to get the message through Harry's head. He had to hand it to the third year though, he was persistent and not one to take no for an answer. If Severus had been put through the same situation he would have hexed himself five times over! Because really, he was trying to be an utter bastard toward Harry, in hopes that he would forget about him and leave, but the boy wasn't taking the hint!
"Damn brat, he doesn't know what's good for him." He muttered and rubbed the bridge of his nose as a familiar headache began to throb.
"Hey Snivellus."
Severus stiffened and halted all movement. Damn. He slowly lowered his hand and glared at the Gryffindor leaning casually against a stone wall outside. "Black." He glowered, when the hell had he gotten so far out of the castle?
Sirius waved casually, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Fancy seeing you here." His eyes flashed coldly. "Fancy seeing you at all actually, I'm surprised you haven't holed yourself away somewhere, or have you gotten cocky?" He pushed away from the wall and stepped forward.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Severus replied with a calm air, he refused to play into the Gryffindor's game.
"Really, because rumor has it, the Marauders are after your hide." Sirius purred silkily, stepping closer into Snape's personal space.
Shit. Severus cursed inwardly, while outwardly he donned a sneer. "Is that so, well I don't listen to pathetic rumors, or the unimportant people who spread them." He sent a pointed look toward Sirius. "As for the content of the rumor, well I haven't the slightest clue as to why I would warrant such a punishment."
Sirius clenched his jaw shut and bit his tongue, Snape was a slimy bastard, he knew which buttons to press and how far he could push. The Gryffindor took a calming breath and smiled as though the two were old friends.
"Enough of that, I pulled you aside for a specific reason." He said with false cheer.
Severus watched on warily as the Marauder took a step back. "Oh?"
"The Whomping Willow, ever heard of it?" Sirius asked with a mysterious grin.
Is he stupid, everyone's heard of that. "Of course." Severus replied, just as vague.
"Do you know how to get inside of it?" Sirius asked again. "Because I do."
Now this Severus did not know, he had assumed the tree was just that, a tree. But for it to have a route inside meant it was protecting something, something dangerous if the outside was anything to go by.
"Why are you telling me this information?" Severus asked suspiciously. "And why should I trust or believe you?"
Sirius shrugged and held up his hands in a beseeching manner. "No reason I just thought I would pass the info along, and you seem to be interested enough." He cocked his head to the side. "You are interested aren't you?"
Of course he was interested! But trusting a Gryffindor and one who pranked you on a daily basis was practically suicide. Severus sighed, there was only so much to lose, and so much more knowledge to gain.
"How do I get in?"
Excellent. Sirius's eyes flashed. "You have to wait until there's a full moon, and then all you have to do is prod the knot at its base."
Severus frowned suspiciously. "That's all?" It seemed ridiculously easy.
"Yep." Sirius clapped his hands together in success. "Oh, and if you happen to see Remus, say hi for me, he tends to hang out in that general area."
Lupin? Severus' eyes widened despite himself. Perhaps this is what he's been hiding. His thoughts turned inward as he smirked, he knew the Gryffindor was hiding something, and it was probably within the tree. If Black unknowingly helped him find out about his studious friend, then all the better.
"Thanks." Snape turned and walked back inside without a glance back.
Sirius watched the retreating figure for a few moments longer before grinning evilly. "No, thank you."
AN: While I was typing this I got a bit of inspiration and drew myself a "Fanart" piece or whatever, I don't have a freaking scanner, so I had to do it on Paint, but it looks ok in my opinion. So go check it out, it's of Sirius! The link's on my profile near the bottom, and when u go, make sure to click on Gone 'cus that's the fic!
-Red