Operation Seduce Sirius – Serious Snogging

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"Remus!"

Remus grunted.

"Come on, wake up!"

Remus grunted again, a little more loudly this time, in an attempt to make the highly annoying figure hovering over his up-until-not-so-long-ago sleeping figure to bugger off. He realised it was a lost cause when the figure jumped up on his bed and started hopping around instead. Forcing his hair away from his eyes he sat up at came face to face with James. A grinning James, hair sticking out in more directions Remus had ever thought possible for human hair to do. He made a mental note to congratulate James for managing the impossible.

He yawned. "What do you want Prongs?"

"Want? What makes you think I want something?" He looked awfully cheery. And a little too smug. The smugness instantly put Remus on his guard. "I mean-" James said rhetorically, "what could a man that already has everything he's ever desired, possibly want?"

Remus was dumbfounded. He didn't have any idea what James was on about. James rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Oh come on Moony. You know this!"

He should know, Remus thought. But James couldn't possibly expect him to answer riddles this early in the morning. James's impatience grew, and Remus was sure his friend was going to burst if he didn't figure it out soon.

"Oh bugger this." James muttered. Then his grin grew wider than ever. "She kissed me!"

And with that finally said, he started, once again, to hop around on the bed, all the while chanting "She kissed me! She kissed me! She kissed me!"

Forcing his mind to work, Remus finally put the pieces together. His grin grew nearly as wide as his friend's.

"She did? That bloody wonderful!" James stopped hopping and looked at Remus. "Yeah. I know." He sat down, jamming into Remus's legs in the process, and started to give a very thorough account of what had happened.
Apparently Lily had, with subtle force and amazing cunning, according to James, figured out what was going on. In other words: kissed him and forced him to tell the truth. Remus huffed. James was as transparent as his invisibility cloak. Lily hadn't forced him one bit.

"I love this plan…" James pretended to sniffle. "It's so…brilliant." And Remus had to agree.

Lily had also told James that she would agree to keep their relationship secret for the time being. Though, Remus thought with a smirk, that one reason for this was probably also because she'd have to come to terms with the fact that she was indeed dating James Potter. But…Black needs to realise it before it's too late she had said.
And if Lily believed that they were on to something when it came to Sirius, maybe Remus could believe it too.

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Remus and James came down to breakfast, holding hands in their usual manner. The only difference was that James, to Remus's utter horror, almost seemed to strut. It wasn't a pretty sight. Sirius cast a rather nasty glance at James before he covered it up quite nicely, and everything was back to normal. Well, as normal as life for the Marauders ever could be. But the whole day progressed nicely in fact. Until forth period that was...

"Where's Moony?"

"He'll meet up with us in a minute, Wormtail."

The Marauders, with the exclusion of Messr. Moony, were waiting outside their next classroom for said boy, who was on his way from Arithmancy. Peter spoke up again.

"Are you two really together now?"

"Hm? What did you say?"

"I asked if you know, you and Moony. You're dating right?"

James chuckled. "Yes, we are." He shifted his position slightly from where he was leaning against the wall, so he could see Sirius reaction to what was said in the corner of his eye.

"But isn't that kind of weird… We all thought you fancied Lily." James saw Sirius's frown deepen as the conversation progressed.

"Yes well, things change." James said with a wry smile.

"Oh come on!" Sirius snorted.

"Why do you say that, Padfoot? You don't think I'm serious with Moony?"

Sirius huffed. "S'not like you've done anything besides holding hands. Or maybe" Sirius lip curled in a smile that was anything but pleasant. "Maybe Prongs here is holding out."

"Oh Padfoot…" James said with an infuriating calm and patronizing tone. "It's called a Silencing Charm." Sirius paled. James smiled.

"Hey there's Remus!" In a quick motion James took off from the wall and started walking to meet the figure who was coming towards them.
Remus frowned and walked a little more slowly, James had that look in his eyes that could only mean mischief…

"Hi Prongs… what's happening here?" he said. James stood a couple of steps in front of him. Instead of answering, James cocked an eyebrow, took a deep breath, plunged forward, and kissed Remus squarely on the mouth.
Remus gasped, but quickly caught on and started, albeit awkwardly, to kiss James back. It was hesitant, no hands and thankfully no tongue, but it was a kiss. After a few seconds James drew back and fixed his glasses. Remus flushed.

"Er…" Remus said.

"Yeah." James answered.

"Uhm…"

"Er…" James cleared his throat. "That was nice. Must do it again sometime."

"…Right." Remus answered without much conviction.

They turned around to look at their friends. Peter's body was hanging like a lump, mouth open and eyes wide from shock. Sirius however, had slid down the wall, arms hanging limp on his sides, staring with haunted eyes into the opposite wall. When James and Remus stepped in front of him, he quickly got up, shoved past them, hitting James hard in the process, and bolted off.

"Hey Sirius!" James called after him. Remus however, dislodged his hand from James's and ran after.

"Padfoot!" No answer.

"Sirius wait!" he caught up and grabbed Sirius by the wrist, turning him around. Panting he said "Why'd you run like that?"

Sirius looked from Remus to his wrist and back again. "Why did you come after me?" he answered in a cold voice and a sneer. "You and James seemed to have so much fun."

Remus mouth opened and closed before he could answer. "We… well, class is starting." said. The sneer disappeared from Sirius's face.

"So that's how it is then…" he barely whispered. "It's not like you really care what I do… or feel for that matter…"

The embarrassed flush that crossed Sirius's face made it painstakingly clear that the last sentence wasn't one he'd meant to say out loud. Remus's mind was working frantically. But before he even had the time to consider a proper response, Sirius had dislodged himself and scattered away with an amazing speed.

"Well, at least he feels…" Remus soberly said to no-one in particular.

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Very reluctantly, one step at a time, Sirius Black walked up the stairs to the boy's dormitory, where he and the other three Marauders slept. One part of him was mentally preparing to walk in on his best friend and his, he swallowed hard, boyfriend, and their lovey-dovey state. The other part of his brain was simply ignoring the situation and demanded that he walk up the stairs anyways. It bothered him to the core that he, first of all, couldn't feel an ounce of happiness for the two of them, and second, that Remus, Remus, had let it happen at all. It was all very confusing, and deeply disturbing.

He stood in front of the door and braced himself. For a moment he even considered knocking but quickly rejected the thought. It was his room too. He would not knock on his own door. Even so, he opened the door one inch at a time, and listened very carefully for any awkward noises. He heard none. Feeling very relieved he pushed the door open and entered. The room was empty, which was rather unusual for this time of the evening. His curiosity taking the better of his not-always-so-good judgement, Sirius walked up to the dressing table and pulled out the Marauders Map. Looking down on it he tapped the Map with the tip of his wand, and muttered the necessary spell. He watched as the whole of Hogwarts revealed itself on paper, and couldn't help but smirk at his and his partners in crime's ingeniousness. It felt a little bit odd to be using the Map against his fellows, but he had to know if Remus was being shoved up against a wall or molested in an empty classroom by him. It was his duty to casually walk in on them if that were to be the case. He spotted the dot labelled Messr. Moony almost instantly. Remus was cooped up in the library, but he was alone. An odd occurrence, Sirius snorted. He let his eyes wander, not paying much attention to the dots of students making their way back to the dorms in time for curfew, and the caretaker and his cat patrolling the corridors. He saw Peter's name in the kitchens, not an odd occurrence, at least. But he too was alone. Where was James?

Sirius carefully searched the school with his eyes, and suddenly stopped in disbelief. James was spending his time in an empty classroom. The difference was that he wasn't alone. The dot next to him, all too close for comfort, was labelled Lily Evans. What on earth would Lily have any business with James? And in an empty classroom this late in the evening! Sirius had to see for himself. Muttering beneath his breath, he set out in a high pace towards their hiding place.

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He got there without much difficulty, consulting the Map every now and then. Peter was still in the kitchen in the same spot as before. Remus had walked back to the dorms in time for curfew a couple of minutes ago, but James and Lily where still inside the classroom, right where Sirius was. Their dots were as close to one another as ever, and Sirius could only think of two things dots that close could do. It was all very unsettling.

He checked the door with his wand to make sure it wasn't locked, and opened it as silently as he could.
As soon as he was sure of what he had seen, he forced the door open with a bang. James reeled, shocked by the noise, and even more shocked by Sirius standing in the doorway, looking fit to commit murder.

"Bugger" he managed to say.

A flushed Lily came to his aid "Sirius, this isn't-" But Sirius ignored her, his attention fully focused on James.

"You goddamn bastard. Who the fuck do you think you are!"

"Sirius listen!" James stood up and hurried over, trying to regain his composure, flattening his tousled hair, and failing abysmally.

"Shut up Prongs!" Sirius spat, his figure literally shaking with rage. "I don't have to listen to you, I fucking saw it!" Without hesitating, Sirius swiftly took the few paces which separated the two of them, and punched James squarely in the face. Ignoring the surprised squeak from Lily, he looked down on James's sprawled figure on the floor, taking in the tiny bit of satisfaction in seeing the blood coming from James's nose.

"This is, without doubt…the worst thing you have ever done to me, James Potter."

He left them there, determined to find Remus, to explain, but explain what exactly, he didn't know.

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The way back to the dorm didn't go as smoothly. In his hurried state, he was almost caught by Mrs Norris, cursing that the bothersome thing wouldn't leave him alone. He was more cautious after that, and after what was only a couple of minutes, but felt like hours, he reached the dorm in which Remus was.

The boy in question was putting away some books in his trunk when Sirius entered. The greeting died on his lips when he noticed the dishevelled state his friend was in.

"Sirius…is something wrong?"

Despite himself, Sirius couldn't help but give a small bitter laugh at the concern in Remus's voice.

"Everything…" he whispered.

"That's not an answer and you know it." Remus chided, though with a soft tone to his voice.

"I-" he began. "…I saw James." 'As if that explains it.'

"Yeah, I've seen him too." Remus tried, and managed to get everything but a happy smile from his friend.

"That's not what I meant Remus…" Sirius leaned back against the door, trying to figure out what to say, what to do. He was fighting hard to keep his agitation in control.

Remus took a few hesitant steps forward, but abruptly stopped as Sirius control ran out.

"He's a fucking bastard Remus! I took the Map, to see if you were with him, to see if you two were- and…" There was venom in his voice, and Sirius knew he was rambling, but it was too late for him to stop. "And I saw them, together!"

"Saw who?"

"James and Lily that's who! I know about them!"

Sirius felt as if Remus crumbled in front of him. He wasn't saying anything, but his eyes were full of disbelief.

"Oh…" was his only response.

Sirius wanted to do something. Something more to explain, to make the unsettling feeling in his stomach disappear, to cure that helpless look in Remus's eyes. Something to make Remus respond with more than an "Oh". He thought of James, of what he had done to Remus, and to him. Sirius did the only thing that he could think of. He pushed himself off the door, and before the boy in front of him could react to it in any way, Sirius had captured his lips with his own.

It wasn't a romantic kiss. It was a kiss full of desperation, of need and helplessness. Even so, Sirius felt everything falling into place. This was the way it should've been from the very beginning. It was then he realised that Remus hadn't pushed him away, though he wasn't really participating either. Sirius shivered as Remus regained a little bit of distance from him, not wanting it to end just yet, but anticipating what the next one would feel like. However, by the look on Remus's face, he wondered if there would be a next time at all…

Remus looked as if he was torn between smiling or crying, but there's no mistaking the hurt in his eyes, and what's more, Sirius realised, anger. Did he really like James that much? "Remus…" but the boy cut him short.

"Did they explain? Is that why you are doing this?"

"Explain what? Remus what are you talking about?"

"You said you know, Sirius! Surely they must've explained the situation?" Remus was agitated, but he had to know if the reason for Sirius kissing him was because of love, or only because he had felt obligated to. Sirius hold on his arms tightened, and his aggravation was evident.

"Do you really think I'd let him explain? I bloody saw him kissing Lily! The bastard is cheating on you!"

Remus cleared his throat, a little bit too awkwardly. "But that… yeah… I mean, then… why did you kiss me?"

Sirius drew one hand through his hair in an act of frustration.
"Remus… I've had enough of this. I've put up with a lot during these last weeks… but hell Moony!" he nearly shouted now. "I will not just sit there and watch while my best friend is cheating on the person I love!"

For a second, there was only silence. Remus put Sirius on end when he suddenly smiled, and Sirius was very unnerved with the mischievous glint in the boy's eyes "Padfoot…. What did you just say?"

The stark realization of what had just happened hit Sirius like a brick. "Erm… well, you see…"

"Do you love me?" The question sounded odd, and it was even odder still that Sirius could only think of one answer to that question.

"Maybe… er… I mean. Yes. Okay, I love you Remus. I do."

"Why didn't you say something?"

Sirius felt like he'd backed into a corner. "I didn't realise… I guess… The only thing I knew was that every time I saw you two together I couldn't stop thinking about how wrong it was. And how angry I felt." His eyes grew fierce then, looking straight at the boy in his arms. "I don't care if you still like James or not, Remus. He is a two-timing bastard and he deserved what he got." He growled.

"Sirius…" Remus was suddenly worried. "If they didn't explain, what did you do?"

"What do you think I did? I punched his lights out!"

Remus looked like he was on the verge of fainting. "I only punched him once!" Sirius began to rectify. "I had to! He was bloody cheating on you…"

At this, a strangled noise erupted from Remus's throat. Then, to Sirius utter surprise, he started to laugh! Startled, Sirius pushed Remus away from him, keeping the chortling boy at an arm's length.

"Oh Merlin." Remus composed himself. "Poor James…" He failed and started to giggle again. He put both arms on Sirius's shoulders and took a deep breath. "Sirius…" he said. "James and I were never a real couple."

Sirius just stared back, a blank expression on his face "What?" he croaked, voice hoarse and disbelieving. "But you… you held hands! And all the flirting… You even kissed!"

"We…er… actually only did it because I was in love…with you." Remus blushed slightly, trying to explain. "We thought that if we could make you jealous, you'd finally realise how you felt. James said he was sure… and I went along with it." He snorted. "You can get awfully jealous you know." Sirius only stood there, looking at Remus, but not really seeing.

"I think I need to sit down for a bit..." he finally managed. And indeed, he was quite shaken up. Mortified, would really be a more appropriate word for it. "Buggering bludgers…" He sat down on the nearest bed, and immediately covered his face with his hands.

"Padfoot…" Remus knelt down next to the bed and started to run his fingers through the dark strands of hair. "It's okay…"

"Bufdih'ddim…" Sirius mumbled into his hands.

Remus sighed and forced the hands away from Sirius's face. "Say that again will you?"

"But… I … hit…him. And with Lily there too!" He flung himself backwards on the bed. "I can never look him in the eyes again!"

Remus stifled a laugh. "I bet you it isn't that bad. And mind you, he knew what he was doing. It was his idea after all…"

"It was!" He rapidly sat back up again.

"Yeah." Remus smiled at the effect the statement had on snapping Sirius out of his self-pity.

"Hmpfh." Sirius was now eyeing him a look which made Remus feel like he had a sign hung around his neck which said: "Property of Sirius Black" on it.

"I bet he just wanted to get into your knickers."

Remus laughed rather nervously, not entirely comfortable being the subject of "into-knickers-getting". His discomfort rapidly disappeared as he got pulled up from the floor and fell tumbling into Sirius's arms.

"But that's all over now isn't it?"

"Hm? What is?" Remus inquired.

"You and Prongs…"

"Of course." Remus smiled. "You're the only one I ever wanted. Prongs just helped you realize you wanted me too."

"Well I'm sorry…" Sirius murmured into Remus's ear. "Sorry for being... well... me. You know. A jerk and being utterly daft and so on…" he looked at Remus, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. Remus couldn't help but smile back.

"Apology accepted." He planted a swift peck on Sirius's nose. "It was like watching the master at work. Honouring really."

"You flatter me…"

"No I mean it. Honestly. Even James was fascinated by it." He smiled in a playful manner. "But that's all over. I bet James is happy now that you've finally come to your senses." He frowned a little, but the smile was still plastered on his face. "I really should send him a thank you-note. Or at least you should. Along with the 'Sorry for punching your lights out-card'."

"Mmm…" Sirius murmured into Remus's hair, but Remus did not miss the implied deviousness of his next words. "But I don't think a card is good enough. I should send him flowers, or something better really..."

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A/N: Yupp OSS is still kicking, dunno what happened really, it's been a year since I last updated it or close too… Anyways I hope you lot haven't abandoned me yet! If you loved it/hated it let me know, it always brightens my day (well… not the hating bit.) Cheers :)