Chapter 3

The Dark Lord had been merciful. Whatever anyone wanted to say about the most feared wizard of all time, they could not say that he acted before he thought... Perhaps it was because he knew that he would have use for Severus Snape in the future. Perhaps he had believed him. Perhaps he had other motives, unknown to anyone but himself. Whatever the reason, Snape had been spared.

Now the Dark Lord was rising to power. His numbers were growing steadily every day. And Snape was stationary at Hogwarts, unable to act, for either side… The Death Eaters were busy trying to procure the prophecy concerning Harry Potter and Voldemort while the Order of the Phoenix was busy trying to thwart their attempts. Snape could be seen working for neither side, which left him irritatingly idle.

Frustration, itself, was bad enough. But frustration coupled with guilt and loss caused by the death of the second woman he'd ever cared for, made it almost unbearable to sit in his dungeon office as snow fell on the long sloping Hogwarts grounds. While the students and teachers spirits soared with the excitement of the upcoming Christmas holidays approaching, Snape felt only a looming sense of apprehension and idleness.

It'd been ages since he'd been asked to do anything useful for either side. So when Albus Dumbledore had called him to his office shortly before the Christmas holidays with a 'job' for him, Snape had been glad for the opportunity to do something… anything.

It seemed impossible that he should leave Dumbledore's office feeling more harassed than he had when he'd entered. The headmaster had asked him to teach Harry Potter Occlumency; the art of protecting one's mind against external penetration.

"Fantastic…" Snape thought. "Extra lessons with Potter. Happy Christmas indeed."

…

Begrudgingly, Snape let himself into the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. He strode purposefully toward the kitchen.

The swinging door, leading into the kitchen, was ajar just enough for Snape to see into the room before entering. There sat his arch nemesis, Sirius Black, laughing heartily with his childhood friend and werewolf, Remus Lupin.

Even despite his long stint in Azkaban, the wizarding prison, the years since their Hogwarts graduation had been kind to Sirius Black. His wavy black hair fell gracefully into his face, which was alive with laughter. His dark blue eyes sparked in the candlelight and crinkled, kindly at the corners. These wrinkle marks were characteristic of one who had laughed and smiled often over the years.

Snape bore none of these wrinkles. Instead of the laughter lines at the outside of his black eyes, he only had a deep, dark crease in the middle of his brow to speak of. He, unlike Sirius, had not spent much of his youth laughing and being happy. Just the opposite in fact.

No, Sirius Black was still sickeningly handsome. The bits of gray that were creeping around his temples and into his beard only made him look more sophisticated; as though they had been placed there, strategically… and on purpose. If the day ever came, where his name was cleared and he could show himself to the world again, it would only be a matter of deciding which witch to be with first.

With a fresh wave of disgust washing over him, Snape stretched out his hand and pushed the door open. It banged against the door jam, causing both men to look up in surprise.

The smile slid off of Sirius' face and was replaced by an ugly scowl, worthy of Severus Snape.

"I need a word with you, Black." Snape said curtly.

Lupin looked between the two enemies nervously. "Uh… well." He said awkwardly. "I should be going anyway. Happy Christmas, Sirius." He said, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

He moved around the table, not taking his eyes off of Snape. "Severus," he said as he passed, "Happy Christmas."

Snape did not reply, but stared back at Sirius.

The kitchen door had swung shut, leaving them swallowed in a dim glow coming from the fireplace and candles.

"What's this about Snape?" Sirius asked, not moving from his seat.

"It's about Potter." Snape, likewise, remained rooted to his spot.

"Really? I thought perhaps you'd come to express your condolences for the loss of my niece."

Snape and Sirius Black had not been alone in a room together since Alexandra's death.

"Oh yes," Snape said, his temper flaring at the mention of Alexandra Bane, Sirius's estranged niece. "Because the two of you were so very close." He said acidly.

"The relationship between Alexandra and me is none of your business." Sirius said angrily.

"You've made it my business by bringing it up, Black. I'm sure your grief is unmatched by anyone's."

"My grief runs deeper than you can possibly imagine, Snivellus." Sirius said, gripping the table with both hands.

Snape doubted it.

There was a pause in which the two only glared at each other, hatred hanging heavily in the air.

"What is it you want with Harry? Haven't you done enough damage to this family without dragging him into the equation?" Sirius asked.

"Of course, first the mourning uncle, now the doting Godfather. How very touching."

"If you're here because of something that Harry's supposed to have done at school-"

Snape cut across him. "I am here… on Dumbledore's orders. The headmaster is requesting that the boy learn Occlumency."

"What's that got to do with you?" Sirius asked, still scowling.

"He wishes for me to teach him."

"An excellent idea!" Sirius laughed coldly. "After all those extra 'lessons' you had with Alexandra and the results they've yielded. No! If that's what Dumbledore wants, then someone else can teach him!"

Snape's voice was soft and barely under control as he answered, "The headmaster wishes for me to teach Potter. If you have a problem, then I suggest that you take it up with him."

"Maybe I will." Sirius said, nodding. "I won't allow you to cause anyone else in this family pain."

"I assure you, that no one in your… family… has suffered by my hand."

"I'll thank you to leave your hands out of this!" Sirius said hotly. "They've done enough damage as it is."

"And what damage am I supposed to have done by my hands?" Snape asked from behind clenched teeth.

"The damaged was done the night you started putting them all over my niece!" Sirius shouted, standing up suddenly, his chair toppling over behind him and crashing to the hardwood floor.

Snape's eyes widened. No one could have possibly known about the night that he had spent with Alexandra.

"That's right." Sirius nodded, knowingly. "I know all about you and your seduction of her."

"Seduction?" Snape asked softly.

"I know what you did to her! I just haven't figured out how you did it! How is it that you managed to lure her into bed with you?"

Snape felt his hand twitch toward his wand, which was still stowed in the interior pocket of his robes.

"Was it a love potion? Something you brewed up in your lab with your chemistry set? Or was it something a bit more advanced? Perhaps an old Death Eater favorite, like the Imperius curse?"

Wands were drawn. Sirius was shaking with fury. Snape felt the same rage shooting through him but it was coupled with something else; pain?

It wasn't as though Snape felt that he had ever been worthy of the likes of Alexandra Bane. It wasn't the first time that he'd wondered why she'd chosen to care for him the way she had. But hearing it out loud, from his enemy, made it cut even deeper. Memories from his own time at Hogwarts and the taunting he'd endured for the feelings he'd had for Lily Evans, came crashing down around him. James Potter and Sirius Black's voices rang in his ears as clearly as if it had been yesterday.

If Snape hadn't known better, he would have thought that Black had, himself, been skilled in Leglimency, for he spoke Snape's thoughts out loud at that very moment.

"Lily loved James, Snivellus! She never loved you! And neither did Alexandra!" Black spat.

A curse was on the tip of Snape's tongue when the kitchen door swung inward.

"Sirius, I-"

Molly Weasley had just entered the room, holding a basket full of freshly laundered robes. She looked up and her jaw dropped.

Snape and Black were standing on opposite sides of the table, both red in the face and brandishing wands, as though about to square off.

"What's going on here?" she asked, outraged.

Both wizards dropped their arms to their sides immediately.

"It's nothing, Molly." Sirius said, trying to return his voice to normal and failing miserably.

"It certainly looks like something!" she said, horrified.

She glanced at Snape. He looked away.

"Honestly, Molly… just a couple old school friends… reliving some childhood memories… that's all." Sirius assured her.

Molly Weasley looked thoroughly unconvinced.

"Do you know where Harry is?" he asked, trying to sound mildly unconcerned.

"I… I think he's up in his room, playing wizard chess with Ron."

"Would you be a dear and fetch him for me? I need to have a word with him."

"Of… of course." She said, looking skeptically and backed out of the room.

Black sat. Snape did likewise, but only to keep up the appearance of civility.

The appearance of Harry Potter in the kitchen hadn't helped matters much. Tempers flared for a second time and wands, again, were drawn. Thankfully, the rest of the Weasley family had appeared, escorting a fully healed Mr. Weasley into the kitchen, and thereby snuffing out the chance of a duel happening for the second time that day.

Snape stormed out the door, acutely aware of the fact that the wound, caused by Alexandra Bane's death, was still wide open and perhaps more painful than ever. He felt the urge to do something drastic, something dangerous, anything to distract himself from hating Sirius Black and missing the bastard's niece.