Author's Note: Haha, this is the beginning of Sirius angsting a little more than is healthy for a teenage boy. Don't worry, he'll figure it out eventually. Sorry about the wait, but the website was protesting every time I tried to upload the document. I'll try to expedite the next chapter a little sooner.
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Chapter Three: Wax On, Wax Off
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After dinner that night, Sirius lingered in the common room for as long as possible. Spending the evening with Filch was bad enough, but the mere fact that Snivellus would be there was enough to make his stomach turn. Not to mention the fact that he would have to hotly defend himself, and make sure the bat and Regulus knew that when you threatened Sirius's friends, you would pay the consequences.
Finally, he took a deep breath and started for the portrait hole. "Wait, Sirius!" Lupin waved from the stairs that led up to the boy's dormitories and jogged over to him. "I know that you really don't want to do this, and you only started that fight to protect Lily, I feel like I should go with you. Here are some sweets though, if you can eat them when Snape and Filch aren't looking." Sirius accepted the bag, which appeared to be especially full of chocolate frogs. "Good luck," he said, and hugged Sirius around the neck briefly, before pulling back.
"Thanks..." Sirius inclined his head slightly as well, faintly shocked from the hug. It was unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome. He recovered after a moment, though, and flashed a famous smile at the werewolf. "See ya later, Moony!" He turned and exited the common room, and hid the bag of sweets in his robes.
He walked through the corridors towards Filch's office, wondering vaguely what the detention would be. With any luck it would be cleaning, since it was by far the easiest--well, as long as it didn't involve scrubbing down the dungeons. Sirius tried to ignore the nervousness that filled his stomach, like hundreds of bats flying around. Bloody bats...especially big greasy ones who knew too much. He still wasn't sure about what to say. Should he just outright deny what the letter said? He didn't think that the greasy prat and his git of a brother actually knew what the letter had said was true, but it still posed certain...problems. Lupin didn't need to get involved in it, but the werewolf was inescapably tied in--whether he liked it or not. Maybe he should just...
Sirius's thoughts ceased, though, when he reached the door to Filch's office. He knocked once, and opened the door. "Ah, Mr. Black," observed Filch as he glared at Sirius. "So nice of you to join us." Snape was already there, and he narrowed his eyes and sneered as Sirius entered the room. He glared back, and nearly crushed one of the chocolate frogs in his pocket. The silent duel was brought to an end as Filch rose from his desk. "Come on, you two troublemakers. Follow me."
Filch led them out through the front doors and down the stone walk. Sirius surveyed all possible paths, wondering just where they were going to have to go. Certainly not the Forbidden Forest, that was off limits, even for detentions. Going to Hagrid's hut didn't make much sense, but then neither did the lake. Unless Dumbledore had finally snapped and wanted Snape and Sirius to give the Giant Squid a bath. For Merlin's sake, it lived in a lake. Even Dumbledore wasn't that crazy.
"Here we are boys," said Filch, his words cutting through Sirius's thoughts. Snape let out an unpleasant snort. "I believe you two have your work cut out for you." Sirius scuffed the ground, and noticed exactly why Snape had sounded so unenthusiastic. "Clean out the stands without the use of magic, and clean the pitch."
Out any imaginable situation, Sirius had never thought that he would have to be the one to clean out the Quidditch field before the next game. It would take hours. "How long do we have to do this for?" he asked, thoughts of homework suddenly looming in his mind. "I mean, there's a time limit, right? Like, midnight?"
A sort of snort escaped from Filch's mouth—it might have been laughter, but no one could be sure—and she shook his head. "Oh, that was a lovely joke, Mr. Black. You'll be here until it's all cleaned, and I don't care if the two of you are still scrubbing while the sun rises! I'll be back to make sure you're working every half hour or so." He brought a few buckets out from under the stands, and plopped them down in front of the flabbergasted boys.
Sirius glanced at Snape for a reaction, and got one. The same look of disbelief was all over his face as well, and he blinked a few times. "Well…I guess we should get started," mumbled Sirius to the retreating back of Filch, as he scratched his head. The task was possible, but ludicrous nonetheless. As Snape picked up a bucket, a wave of doubt engulfed Sirius. He still had to confront the stupid git about the letter…but how exactly? The rage that had filled him earlier had dispersed a bit since then.
The two boys climbed up the stands, not speaking. Dirty looks were exchanged, but the cleaning went on in silence up until Filch's first check-in, and a few minutes after. Sirius's fingers were getting pruny from the water, and it was getting cold. He slipped on a wet spot, and his knee hit the ground with a crack.
"You're pathetic…you can't even clean without falling down!" laughed Snape as Sirius rubbed his knee. Before Sirius could get a word in, Snape spoke again. "So, Black, get any good mail lately?"
"Define good mail," Sirius growled. "I've gotten mail, but not any that I would classify as actually worth reading." He scrubbed furiously at a large green stain, trying to ignore Snape and the sneer that was set on his face.
"All of a sudden developing work ethic, are we?" Severus Snape leaned casually against one of the nearby railings. "Regulus said you would talk things out with me tonight. So here I am, what pearls of wisdom do you have to entice me with today?" The sneer became more pronounced. "That I shouldn't pick on upstanding citizens such as yourself, or I shouldn't tell the truth?"
A wet cloth collided with the side of his face, producing large smacking sound. Sirius looked up from where he had previously been cleaning. "Oops. It seems I've dropped my cloth. Would you mind handing it back?" Snape bent down and picked the dirty rag up, balancing it in his hand. The two boys stood, glaring at each other with loathing. "If Filch catches you slacking off on detention you might become intimate with those handcuffs. Give me the cloth back."
Snape threw it back in such a way that only Sirius's quick reflexes kept the cloth from falling over a rail. "My, my, my...you certainly are a bit touchy about the subject. And handcuffs? I don't quite remember that part, but I'm sure Regulus had a good reason for including it." He looked back at the castle for any signs of Filch, and pushed a greasy strand out of his face. The expression said it all--he looked like a hunter, waiting to see if Sirius would rise to the bait.
The two boys entered another glaring match, knowing that several curses would have come into play by then if it weren't for the fact that they were in detention. Actually, detentions were the only places that the two boys weren't attempting to hex each other into dust--all the professors thought they would have learned by then, but nothing ever changed.
"Come off it, Snivelly. You only wish it was the truth because only a story as improbable as that would get you some attention," Sirius remarked, carefully keeping a straight face, knowing he couldn't let any emotions betray him now. "I must admit, though, it's quite touching to see you taking orders from fifth-years."
Snape turned an odd color that Sirius could have sworn was red from embarrassment, but he had thought that Snivellus could only be two colors. Pale and paler. His teeth bared at Sirius, as his face continued to become a deeper shade. "Taking...orders...? I don't take orders from anyone."
"Which is why you listened to Filch and started cleaning, right?" Sirius asked triumphantly. He was gaining the upper hand; Snape was getting too angry to think properly. Now if only he could hold onto it without making an idiot of himself... "It's called thinking for yourself, Snivells, not listening to the biggest bully on the playground."
"And of course, Sirius Black follows his own will and never listens to the almighty James Potter, or his half-breed boyfriend, not Sirius Black." Snape was smirking at the look on Sirius's face. He was going kill Severus Snape; he would murder him in his sleep and take indecent photos, and post them all over the school. To hell with detention, he was not going to get away with his slander, not this time
Sirius clutched the rag tighter in an attempt to control his anger. He knew he couldn't do anything now--especially since Filch would probably come back to check on them soon. He would get his revenge later. His fingernails cut into his skin, and a small cut appeared on his palm. He swore as he dropped the rag, and glanced up at Snape. "Shut up, Snape. You well know that you were Lucius's little lapdog when he was here--so sure he wasn't your boyfriend? You know, it wouldn't surprise me if you joined the Dark supporters once you get out of here--you could probably take orders all day with them."
Snape returned somewhat to his normal color, but fury blazed behind his eyes. He stepped forward, his hand moving towards the pocket of his robes. He checked himself, though, and gritted his teeth, speechless for once.
Sirius smiled triumphantly, knowing he was back on top. The bloody bat was still going to pay, though. His comment had obviously stung, and the words formed a poisonous combination. That one was for you, Moony.
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"Goblin dung," Sirius muttered wearily to the portrait, and stumbled into the common room. It was well past midnight, but he was too tired to work on Transfigurations, no matter what McGonagall would do to him. Heading for the staircase up to the boys' dormitory he spotted a stationary figure curled up in one of the armchairs. Lupin's favorite armchair. "Oy, Moony, wake up," he whispered, shaking the werewolf.
Lupin blinked awake and smiled through a yawn. "How was detention? Was Snape a total prick?"
Sirius nodded. "We had to clean the Quidditch stadium without magic, and then the prat wouldn't stop pestering me until I basically threatened to blackmail him, and then he stayed quiet." Sirius grinned. "We also cleaned the pitch with magic, and got Filch good and worked up. I pointed out he said the stands without magic, and the pitch, so he let us go. Marauders: one, Bad guys: zero."
Lupin chuckled, though he was still recovering from the effects of sleep. "Excellent...Filch is going to be livid about that tomorrow, I'll bet." He pulled himself into more of a sitting position, and sighed. "It's too bad full moon was only last week--it's the only time we're able to have fun anymore."
Sirius nodded, and perched on the armrest. Full moons were always fun, at least, after Lupin got over the initial transformation. "Yeah...seventh year is brutal." The reply didn't quite make sense, but it was the most coherent thing Sirius could muster. With any luck, the Forbidden Forest trip would lead to some kind of fun--not just homework. Maybe even—
"Hey Padfoot--did you eat all those chocolate frogs? Or are there any left?" Lupin looked up expectantly, unaware that he had stopped Sirius from getting too far into his thoughts. Again.
"Oh, yeah, here," he distractedly pulled the one remaining chocolate frog from his pocket. Lupin took it, opened the wrapper and thoughtfully looked at the card before handing it over to Sirius. He took it and put it in his robe pocket. "Thanks for staying up for me."
Remus shrugged, and shoved the chocolate into his mouth. For all his refinement, he always became an animal when concerning chocolate. Sirius smiled at the memory of Lupin receiving three giant chocolate bars on Christmas, and the consequent stomachache he'd had that night and then all the next day. "It was my fault too, I had to do something. Let's go to bed." His hand rested on Sirius's arm as he spoke; an action that could take place a hundred times throughout the course of the day.
"Sure. Good idea." He was silent as he followed his friend up the stairs, his thoughts racing. For the time being he had the upper hand on Snape and his brother, they wouldn't dare try anything for a few days until they were able to make him do something rash. James was being a bit of a prat, but Sirius guessed that after a few weeks the novelty would start to wear off and he would realize that he had suddenly abandoned his friends. As for Remus...well, Sirius really wasn't sure. With James it was easy, all Sirius had to do was glance at those hazel eyes behind thin frames and know exactly what emotion he was experiencing. Lupin's face was a mystery. Secrets and riddles lay behind his eyes, but Sirius had no idea how he was supposed to get through to that. He'd thought that after all the time he'd spent staring at it, the face would be easier to figure out, but he had finally determined it was a lost cause.
The two went towards their respective beds, the silence only interrupted by a muffled "...you too, Lily," from James's bed. Sirius set the bag of chocolate on his nightstand, and stole a quick glance at Lupin. What had he been staying up for? The reality of the situation hit Sirius like a sledgehammer to the gut--he had secrets of his own, and he was supposed to confess them during the Forbidden Forest trip. Blackmail, lies, and uncertainty; the thoughts fell over him like a shadow. Lupin didn't deserve to have to deal with things like that, and it was the primary reason Sirius had always neglected to say anything before. Nonetheless, he knew he could trust Lupin--but how much did the werewolf want to know?
On the other side of Sirius, the sheets rustled as Lupin climbed in. A soft "G'night," was whispered, which Sirius echoed. He climbed on his bed, and pulled his knees to his chest. The ecstasy of shutting Snape up was wearing off, but it was still enough to keep him awake. Reaching over to his nightstand, he picked up a chocolate frog, tore off the wrapper, and shoved it into his mouth. Bloody emotions.
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Pale sunlight crept into the room, and its occupants began to stir. The only sign that it was a weekend was the fact that noises were generally more muted, and there were no spells going off in a last minute homework attempt. Sirius opened his eyes fractionally, and looked around the room.
The curtains around James's four poster were thrown wide open, and Sirius could hear snippets of his marginally good voice drifting from the bathroom. Peter's curtains were still drawn tightly shut, as he always slept in as late as possible on the weekends. Lupin's were open about halfway to let in sunlight, and he was contently reading a book on his stomach, elbows propped up on the mattress. Sirius was the only who never bothered to close his curtains when he went to sleep; he had never liked the suffocating environment that it caused.
He sat up slowly, stretching his arms above his head, yawning loudly. "What do you say to some early morning mischief? Attacking James in the shower, maybe? Record his voice and threaten to send it to Lily? Or maybe we could just make it look like Peter's sucking his thumb in his sleep again."
A smile was creeping up Lupin's face, as he staunchly ignored Sirius, too caught up in his book to bother to respond. It had become second nature to Sirius to try and break Moony out of his concentration, and it was Lupin's to listen to Sirius but not respond. "It is a possibility, however, to post signs up all over the common room proclaiming that 'Remus Lupin laughs like a girl'."
Lupin snorted into his book, shook his head, and looked at Sirius. "I laugh like a girl? How exactly does one do that?" He shoved the chocolate frog card from the previous night into the book to mark his place, and sat up. "What about 'Sirius Black screams like a girl'? I seem to remember a certain potion burning your robes once, and a particularly high-pitched noise after it."
Sirius slid to the floor, and feigned anger until he couldn't suppress a smile any longer--which turned out to only be about four seconds. "You know, Moony, if I didn't like you so much, I'd curse you for saying that!" Lupin rolled his eyes, and climbed off of the bed. He left the book on it, though, the title of which Sirius didn't have a chance to read.
"So, do you want to go get breakfast or something? Or were you set on torturing Jam--oh, hey Prongs!" exclaimed the werewolf, his question cut off by the sudden return of James into the room.
"Good morning!" James said brightly, water dripping from his bangs, a damp towel wrapped firmly around his waist. He sighed, and looked at the sun streaming through the window. "It's is a good morning, isn't it? The sun is shining, I've just taken a shower, Moony and Padfoot have begun their strange mating ritual, and Lily Evans is my girlfriend." He breathed in deeply through his nose.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Go stuff yourself," he retorted, while Lupin appeared to be hiding an odd grin.
James smiled at Sirius and batted his eyes. "Oh Sirius, why must you be such a dark spirit on such a glorious day?" He grabbed Lupin and did an impromptu waltz around the room. "Why, today is the first weekend that I don't have Head Boy duties. Today is the first chance we'll have all year to fulfill our names and create some mischief." His eyes narrowed gleefully. "So, what do you say to setting off a dung bomb in Snivelly's oatmeal?"
Lupin gracefully disentangled himself from James's grip, glad that the waltzing had stopped. "Sure, Prongs. I haven't done anything to properly disgrace myself for a while. Nothing too rash, though, if you don't mind...Padfoot and I are sneaking out to go to the Forbidden Forest tonight, but I suppose I'm up for nearly anything before that."
After recovering from Lupin's almost strange willingness to pull some sort of prank, Sirius shot a look at Lupin that seemed to ask why he had divulged their trip to James. Nonetheless, any potential problems quickly fixed themselves. "Tonight?" asked James, "But...tonight I was going to meet Lily in the Astr...oh. Bollocks." He stopped abruptly, realizing he had said too much. "I mean..."
Sirius rolled his eyes, and laughed. "Don't worry about it, Prongs. It's just for Moony's Herbology homework. At least, I think it is." He blushed slightly, but it went unnoticed as he regained his composure. "Have fun snogging your girlfriend tonight!"
James grinned brightly. "I will, thank you! Would you like me to send her your warmest regards?" He batted his eyes, and Sirius thought that it was unnatural, James and Lily's relationship. He should be blushing, not grinning like a stupid sod.
"Yes, tell her that I'll meet her there tomorrow night at seven," Sirius replied.
This comment managed to get James's face to go bright red. "You...snogging...Lily...in...the Astronomy...Tower?" Prongs stood there in shock for a moment, before his face contorted and he lunged for Sirius, tripping on his towel. He fell over, clinging to the towel tightly, and landed to what appeared a painful position, on his right elbow. "Padfoot, I'll hex you until you..." he trailed off, however, realizing his threat was ineffective, as Sirius was too busy crying with mirth. "Stupid dog," James muttered.
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The three boys walked towards the Great Hall for breakfast—Peter was still sleeping, and by then they knew better than to wake him up. Nonetheless, they were kind enough to give him the lovely opportunity to wake up and see the room plastered with posters that proclaimed "Peter snogs Hippogriffs!"
Lupin burst into laughter again as Sirius did an impression of James tripping on the towel. James had come to accept that it was going to be the new joke for quite a while, and even chuckled when Sirius added dialogue to his stunt. It consisted of him glancing down as he fell, and exclaiming "MERLIN'S BEARD!!! I'm a eunuch???"
At that moment, Lily met them from another hall. As soon as James was in view, she began smoothing her hair, and tucked it behind her shoulders. "You're a what, Sirius?" She raised an eyebrow, and the look of confusion became even more prominent as Sirius jerked his thumb at James.
"Not me, dear Lily, James. James is a eunuch." He grinned at the look of protest that was spreading across James's face. Lily merely had an eyebrow raised, still slightly distasteful of Sirius, especially considering the situation outside the library the other night. "Lovely singing voice, though."
"And you would know this how?" she asked, looking more amused than disturbed, which is what Sirius had expected. Maybe this girl wasn't so bad after all. "Have you been peeking in the shower, Sirius?"
Now James and Lupin were laughing, along with Sirius, who realized that the joke was on him. "No, I'm afraid not. He chooses to showcase these things. I think he's a closet exhibitionist, you'd better watch out that you don't have an audience in the Astronomy Tower tonight."
The entire group burst into hysterics, and Lily turned a light shade of pink. James was not to be embarrassed, though, and he raised an eyebrow at Sirius. "I'm a closet exhibitionist? If that's the case, then you must be the owner of some sort of 'Gentleman's Club'..."
The conversation continued down the hall, each deciding what the secret life of the others were (It turned out that Lupin secretly sold "toys" to other students via the black-market). They entered the Great Hall, and found a few seats at the Gryffindor table. The teasing had died down, though, thanks to the strange looks they had gotten from a few Hufflepuffs on the way in.
Lily and James had started staring into each other's eyes again, so Sirius turned to Lupin. He piled his plate with a few strange looking green pastries, and took a bite. "So, Moony...what time do you want to leave tonight?"
Lupin purposefully ignored Sirius's taste in food and let his chin rest in his hands, staring at the ceiling as if the clouds drifting across it would give him an answer. "Well, after dinner, so nobody notices the disappearance, preferably after curfew, so nobody can say we left and didn't come back...better just to sneak out in the first place...of course it can't be too late because Patricia Wamps wakes up at four every morning to jog..." He tapped the fork in his hand against the table. "Eleven?"
"How long do you expect this expedition to take?" Sirius asked, having managed to polish off three pastries while Moony was thinking. "I mean, if we have to leave at eleven to be back before the Wamps takes her morning jog, then you're not talking about an Herbology project, you're talking about an Herbology quest."
"Always expect the unexpected, Padfoot. Has Professor Claddins taught you nothing this year?" Lupin smiled, and shook his head. "I'm expecting it won't take more than an hour or two, but the list of things that could go wrong is endless." He grabbed a pastry from Sirius's plate and took a bite. "Dear Lord, Black, these things are awful." He set the pastry back in its original position. "Besides, you're always up for a quest, aren't you?"
Sirius took a swig of pumpkin juice and shrugged. "I suppose…this better not be all homework, though, or I'll turn your ears into kumquats." He put on a mock-threatening face, and took another bite of his pastry. "Or perhaps kiwis...they seem a bit more your color, you know."
Lupin gave him a look of skepticism, before replying in a hushed voice, "By the way, you are supposed to explain some things to me. I'm not letting you get out of that, no matter how long it takes." He sneaked a glance at the other two, to make sure they hadn't overheard. The werewolf quickly turned back when he saw James feeding grapes to Lily, though, and took a sip of his own drink.
Sirius sighed, and knew that Lupin was serious...but why couldn't he skip explaining the blackmail and simply confess that he, well...Damn it, Sirius, you still can't completely admit it to yourself by now. The hard part was that it seemed that Lupin felt the same way, which meant there could be a future—which could cause problems later on. It almost would have been easier if Lupin had started avoiding him when he started implying what he had begun coming to terms with. But then again, he had never directly admitted how he felt about the werewolf to his face. There were too many uncertainties in a world that needed strict rules. "If only" was a hollow wish that would never have an outcome, so Sirius tried not to hope for things that had little chance of happening.
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