The Comfort of Knowledge, Chapter 5
The following morning Sirius awoke shivering.
He opened his eyes to find James at the foot of his bed looking uncharacteristically awake. The reason for the chilliness immediately became apparent when he noticed his friend had pulled the covers off of his bed – clearly in an attempt to get him out of bed more quickly.
"C'mon Padfoot, get up—it's nearly eight!"
Sirius sat up groggily.
"Hey it's your fault we were up so late working on this…it took you ages to get the book. Really mate, you ought to get to the library more." James was grinning and looked prepared to continue teasing his friend but was cut off before he had a chance.
"I told you already – I got distracted. Where's Peter?" he asked, attempting to change the subject before James could ask what could possibly have kept Sirius Black distracted for well over an hour.
"He went down to breakfast. We better hurry or we'll miss it."
Remembering what awaited them in the Great Hall, Sirius attempted to force any thoughts of Remus to the back of his mind.
As the two boys rushed down the last staircase several minutes later, Sirius could feel his excitement bubbling up at what he and his friends were about to witness.
"You know Padfoot you really were gone a long time last night. If I didn't know better I'd say you paid a little visit to someone," James said, raising his eyebrow suggestively.
Sirius smiled his arrogant smile, and turned away without making a reply. James, knowing nothing of the previous night, took that to mean his assumptions had been correct and that he'd hear all about Sirius' latest conquest later that evening.
As Remus took his seat at the Gryffindor table that morning, he immediately began reviewing his DADA homework once again. So engrossed in his latest work, he actually jumped slightly when a blonde haired boy sat down nearby him.
"Oh, hello," he said, smiling warmly. "Peter, right?"
Remus could remember Sirius' talking about his two best friends at Hogwart's but had yet to meet them.
The plump boy looked shocked at first that anyone would know his name but he quickly recovered and replied haughtily that yes in fact that was his name before promptly returning his attention to his breakfast. Clearly, he knew who his friends were and did not need to consort with younger students.
"Trust me, it's his loss," a friendly voice whispered into his ear. Remus turned to see Terry standing with his breakfast.
He smiled in response.
"Mind if I join you?"
Sliding over to make room for the other boy, the two quickly fell into a comfortable chat about one of the books Remus had loaned Terry.
Their friendly debate continued until about halfway through breakfast when Remus felt his stomach clench with a strange sense of foreboding.
A moment later James and Sirius entered the Hall grinning mischievously at the students around them.
Almost immediately, several Slytherin boys appeared behind them—all looking livid.
Severus Snape rushed to the front of the group and stalked angrily towards Sirius, his wand held high. The greasy-haired boy opened his mouth to throw what was no doubt an unkind curse towards the Gryffindors and the students watched with bated breath.
However, much to their surprise, nothing but a series of hisses came out of the boy's mouth.
Indeed, all the Slytherin boys appeared to be incapable of forming any words necessary to curse the two Gryffindors.
James and Sirius looked thoroughly amused.
Remus stood up and followed behind the other students who had begun to crowd around the hissing Slytherins.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that their tongues had a small slit in the middle, identical to that of a snake.
He heard Sirius whisper harshly, "You should be pleased Snivellus…now you aren't just a greasy, slimy, snake on the inside. You're a greasy, slimy snake on the outside too."
The Great Hall was filled with laughter.
In a flash of black hair, Snape launched himself at Sirius' tall form. The pair rolled around the floor, both trying to get the upper hand.
It was not long before there was a resounding snap and Remus realized, with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, that Sirius must've broken the Slytherin's nose.
Sirius stood up, victorious, and turned searching the crowd until his eyes came to rest on Remus.
He wasn't sure why he had expected to see Remus laughing along with the other students, but he could not describe his feelings at the sight of Remus' shocked and dismayed expression.
Remus stood, his books held in a loose grip, and blinked a few times at Sirius. He looked down at the Slytherin holding his bleeding nose and making hissing noises—as if still attempting to curse Sirius, despite his inability to do so.
It looked for a moment as if Remus might go to help the boy, but he turned away after a moment and headed for what Sirius assumed was the library.
He did not look back.
Sirius could hear his heart thumping loudly in his chest.
"That's it boys," he heard James shout in the distance, "hiss for us!"
The great hall, sans the Slytherin table, erupted in laughter.
"Oh Sirius, won't you tell us how you got them to drink the potion?" This question was followed by a distinctly feminine giggle.
Sirius smiled his perfect smile in response as he looked the pretty brunette up and down.
The girl was leaning back against one of the bookcases in the library, trying her hardest not to let her intent become apparent too soon.
Following the incident that morning Sirius had had many giggling admirers attempting to pull him aside to show him how impressed they really were.
It was not until ten minutes ago that he had finally given in and decided to try to take his mind off of things—specifically that look he had received from Remus.
He merely needed to walk out of the Gryffindor common room before he was noticed by a pretty sixth year on her way to her dorm.
"I suppose I should get back," she said giggling. "After all, some of us do care about whether or not we get detention."
Sirius laughed and held a finger up to his lips, indicating they should be quiet, lest they did get caught being out after midnight.
He took her hand wordlessly and she trailed behind as he took her further into the darkened library.
After Sirius was satisfied that they were hidden well enough, he turned suddenly and pushed her up against one of the bookcases, brushing his lips against hers softly. She didn't object and closed her eyes as his lips moved to her neck.
It was nice, she mused – as all the other boys before Sirius had been. But it was not until she felt the sudden change in him – the tighter hold on her body, the hungry kisses covering her neck, her face, her shoulders – that she knew without a doubt Sirius Black would be the best shag she'd ever had.
Unbeknownst to the pretty Ravenclaw brunette, it was not her curvaceous body or her pretty face that sparked the sudden passion within the dark haired boy. Sirius knew she was considered attractive—curly hair, nice lips, lovely chest – but, for some reason, as soon as he had begun touching her he remembered the sight of Remus from the night before.
In a burst of excitement he suddenly imagined the smooth skin, the golden eyes, the warm voice. He stared through an opening in the books and remembered the firelight playing across Remus' skin as he sat studying.
That night, Sirius closed his eyes in shame as he continued to kiss and touch the moaning form in his arms—trying to forget who it was that he actually held.