Detention was waiting for the Marauders and their accidental casualty the Sunday after their return from holiday break. Remus still felt guilty that they hadn't told the truth about Severus's lack of involvement, but he didn't want to go against James and Sirius. They weren't right, and he knew that, but at the same time he didn't want to make it seem like he was taking the Slytherin's side. He didn't think his friends could ever forgive him if he did.
However, that didn't mean that he wouldn't try to make the detention more bearable for Severus. When Filch told them they would be splitting up to clean the trophy case or the potions lab, he immediately volunteered for the latter, knowing that Severus would do the same. This way Sirius and James couldn't start any trouble with him that could and would ultimately lead to more time in service.
Remus and Severus made their way down to the dungeons in a tense silence that would not be broken until Professor Slughorn opened the door to the lab. "Ah, yes, Mr. Filch told me you would be coming. Please, please." He ushered the boys in and shut the door behind them. "I've left all the supplies you'll need on the front desk. Do be careful, as we had another incident with your friend the other day." He gestured to one desk that still had vibrant orange stains even though the majority of the potion was gone. "I'll be in the next room working on a brew if you need me." With that, Slughorn left them to their devices.
Severus immediately grabbed a rag and a bottle of 'Goop-B-Gone', starting to scrub the desk at the front of the classroom. Remus followed suit, taking a chisel and dust pan to get some of the crustier leftovers on another table.
The pair worked wordlessly for a long while, but when Remus looked up and across at Severus he noticed his usual indifferent sneer had disappeared, replaced by an expression that was almost forlorn. He felt a pang of sympathy for him and knew that he owed him some sort of attempt to clear his name, or at the very least an apology.
"This is the first time someone who wasn't involved in one of our pranks has gotten in trouble," he started as casually as possible. Severus grunted, not looking up from his work. "I know I should have said something to Argentum right away but-"
"But you didn't," Severus finished in a clipped tone.
Remus stopped cleaning and turned fully towards him, but the other boy didn't acknowledge this. "It's not too late. Maybe if I say something to him he'll-"
"Forget it!" the Slytherin snapped. "You're no better than that spineless Pettigrew, trailing after Black and Potter like a lost pup."
Remus nearly recoiled, his word choice unnerving. "I don't trail after them." But he did let them manipulate him into doing things he wasn't supposed to with promises of chocolate and heartstring-tugging faces.
Severus scoffed. "Then you would have said something before I got stuck in detention with the likes of you." He started cleaning more vigorously.
Remus knew there wasn't a point to continuing, as Severus seemed quite against his attempts to reconcile. Yet he still found himself speaking. "I know James and Sirius have been terrible to you, but you're not completely free of guilt. Sirius tried to stick up for you a few times and every time you were rude."
"I didn't ask for his help," the greasy-haired boy growled.
"And maybe you didn't need it," Remus conceded. "But he was still willing to give it, and I think that deserves some kind of gratitude." Severus didn't respond. "Honestly, the only reason James acts the way he does is because he's jealous that you and Lily are close. And Sirius goes along because of the way you've treated him. But if you actually gave them a chance, then maybe you'd have more in common than you thought."
Severus remained silent for a moment longer, and Remus thought maybe he'd actually gotten through to him. But then he grit his teeth. "I will never be friends with those arrogant swine." With that, the conversation came to a halt, and the werewolf sighed to himself. No one could say he hadn't tried.
Towards the end of their two hours, which had passed to a soundtrack only composed of scraping and scrubbing, Slughorn returned to the room with a cauldron in tow. As he passed Remus, the boy caught a slight whiff of the potion within and found it to be both familiar and tantalizing. He paused in his work to try to take a deeper breath.
Slughorn chuckled a little. "Come, Mr. Lupin, come have a closer smell. I can see you've already fallen into the clutches of the Amortentia."
"Amortentia, sir?" Remus asked as he approached the professor's desk eagerly to take another sniff.
"Just a little something I whipped up for my sixth year class. It's the most powerful love potion in the world." As Remus came closer, he could smell both chocolate and the smoky scent of a roaring fire, amongst other things that he couldn't quite make out yet. "It leads the drinker to become obsessed with whoever or whatever the brewer wishes."
"How is it that I'm smelling so many different scents at once?" Remus peered inside the cauldron, the pearly surface of the potion reflecting back a distorted version of his face. Spiraling fumes floated towards his nostrils and he detected cedar, the same kind of tree his father picked every year for Christmas, and the distinctive smell of the library.
"It's quite spectacular, isn't it?" Slughorn said with a grin. "The potion smells different to everyone, depending on what they are attracted to."
"Yes. It's wonderful," Remus said dreamily, finding himself intoxicated.
Just then the door to the classroom opened again, as James, Sirius, and Peter walked in. "That's the last time I pick trophy polishing," James complained. He then took one look at Severus and the two boys sneered at each other. "Then again, at least the company was much more pleasant." The Slytherin didn't bother to retort, as Slughorn was watching.
"C'mon, Moony, are you ready to go?" Sirius asked, walking up behind Remus, but the werewolf was still transfixed. He had just taken another long inhale, finally extracting the last few scents. Fresh laundry, summer rain, and just a bit of ginger, all hitting him at once. He sighed, feeling as if he were wrapped in a warm blanket. Sirius nudged his shoulder. "Remus?"
Slughorn hummed lightly. "Perhaps you should step back now, Mr. Lupin. We wouldn't want you trying to dive in, now would we?" Remus blinked up at his professor, eyes hazy. His overly sensitive nose had given him twice the effect that a normal person would have upon breathing in the fumes. "Oh dear. Keep an eye on him, will you?" Slughorn disappeared into the closet for a moment before returning with a small tin. He nudged Remus back from the desk a bit and waved the tin under his nose.
The werewolf's nostrils immediately filled with the dark scent of coffee, and he felt his head start to clear. "Wha…What happened?" he asked, looking up at Slughorn.
"You inhaled just a bit too much Amortentia. But not to worry, my boy, coffee grinds always do the trick." Slughorn looked at his watch. "I believe your friends are correct that it's time to call it a day. You'll feel right as rain after a good night's sleep."
"Right…goodnight Professor." Remus still felt a little out of sorts from the potion fumes, but he was lucid enough to travel. He and the rest of the Marauders headed out of the lab, Severus trailing behind so as to avoid any confrontations with his favorite Gryffindors.
"What was that stuff?" Sirius asked as they headed back to the Tower.
"Amortentia," Remus said. "The strongest love potion in the world. Apparently it smells differently for everyone depending on what they like."
"I wonder what it would smell like to me," Peter mused. "My favorite scents are really nice cheese and bread, and my mother's perfume."
"I'm pretty sure that it's supposed to smell like people you're attracted to," James said. "Which is why mine obviously would smell like Evans," he added wistfully. This was met with a collective groan.
"Too bad you don't know what Evans smells like to be sure, but she'd never let you get close enough to her to get a whiff," Sirius said.
James made a displeased noise. "Well, then I'll just have to sneak a sniff when she least expects it. Made all the more easy by my fantastic invisibility cloak." He waved a hand as if dismissing the thoughts for the time being. "So, Remus, how was it working with Snivelly? He must have been thrilled to be in his place of worship."
"It wasn't terrible," Remus said. "Mostly we didn't say anything." He rubbed his eyes, still trying to break the last little bit of fog in his head.
Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder. "You alright, Moony?" Sirius's concerned voice sounded. Remus pulled his hands away from his face, inhaled, and felt his heart skip a beat. For in that breath he caught a whiff of his friend's scent which was now familiar twice over, as he'd smelled it only moments before in the Potion's lab.
Fresh laundry, summer rain, and ginger.
But just as quickly as he planned to panic, he remembered that Sirius had been standing next to him as he supposedly smelled those things in the love potion. He immediately relaxed. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, giving him a small smile. Of course he wasn't attracted to Sirius. Why would he fancy his best friend?
.:~I~S~S~:.
The first Quidditch match back from the holidays was Gryffindor versus Slytherin. It was the first time that Sirius would be facing off against Regulus, and the idea brought mixed feelings. On the one hand, it would be fun to compete against his brother in one of his favorite activities, since the most they'd ever played together in the past was card games. On the other, he knew that it his job to try to knock him around with the Bludger, and he wasn't keen on accidentally hurting him. Regardless, he found himself out on the pitch on a chilly Saturday in late January, Regulus just across the line with his broom in hand (the one he'd apparently gotten from their mother for Christmas).
Sirius met his brother's darker blue eyes and grinned. They hadn't been spending quite as much time together recently either, another reason why he didn't want to stir up any hard feelings during the game. Not that they were on bad terms, but Regulus had created his own 'group' with Anjanette, Lily, and to his continual displeasure Severus, with whom he spent most of his free time. Though he supposed it was his fault that they were two separate factions seeing as his and James's feelings towards the greasy-haired Slytherin were so negative. That certainly wasn't going to change anytime soon, but it made things difficult.
Regulus gave him a slight smile in return, though he was already focused on the match. Madam Hooch had the Captains shake hands in the center of the pitch and then prepped the balls. She held the Quaffle low, whistle in her mouth, and then tossed it up with a shrill blow. Immediately James and the other Chasers on both teams zoomed off after it, while Sirius and his fellow Beater watched out for Bludgers and potential targets.
The match was going well for a while. James had really hit his stride this year as Chaser, and although he missed using their natural connection to work together, Sirius was enjoying smacking Bludgers at the bunch of grimy snakes that tried to impede his friend and the rest of their team. So far, he hadn't had a reason to try to hit Regulus because the Snitch had been nowhere in sight, and that meant he could relish in the pure spirit of competition.
That is, until he suddenly felt his whole body snap up, sitting straight as a rod on his broom. Sirius inhaled quickly in successive sniffs, and tilted his head to listen. He knew that smell. Ball. Where was the ball? He had to have it! Spinning around on his broom, he suddenly saw it near another Beater, who just at that moment hit it in his direction. Sirius's mouth opened, tongue lolling out at the side and he charged towards the ball. Just as he was about to catch up with it, another Beater swung at it, and it veered off in another direction, but Sirius was right behind. He would get it, he had to!
Finally, he managed to reach the ball and his body lurched forward, teeth crashing down into it and sending sharp clangs of pain through Sirius's head. He pulled back immediately, cursing and spitting away the metal taste as the Bludger flew off. The other Beaters and a few of the other players nearby were staring at him, bewildered, but he was just as confused as they were. "What in the name of good Godric's socks are you doing, Black?" the Captain chastised. "This isn't time to be fooling around!" He zipped off in annoyance.
James shot Sirius a look from where he was a few yards away, and the latter just shrugged. He had no idea what had come over him, but he certainly wasn't going to let it happen again. He shook his head and set his focus back on the match.
Another ten minutes went by without incident. Sirius was on fire now, never missing a chance to sock it to a Slytherin and thankfully having no more urges to swallow down the Bludger (his teeth had to have been cracked from the first attempt, he didn't need them shattering). He wailed the iron ball in the direction of a Slyhterin Chaser who was holding the Quaffle at the moment, but as he did, James wound up in the path. Ordinarily this wouldn't have been a problem, but as the ball came careening towards him, the messy-haired boy stayed stock still, hazel eyes wide, and it smacked him straight in the face.
The Gryffindor stands were in an uproar, booing at James for his bad reflexes. But Sirius was suddenly beginning to feel like there was a bit more going on than that. He flew over to James as the Captain called a timeout, and the teams descended to the pitch.
"You alright, mate?" Sirius asked.
"No I'm not bloody alright! Look at my nose!" James prodded at the already swelling part of his face, tearing slightly from the damage. "I don't know why I couldn't move. But all of the sudden I felt like someone had petrified me. I had no control."
"Potter, why on Merlin and Mordred's green Earth didn't you dodge that?" the Captain asked, throwing his hands into the air.
"Now, now, the boy's been injured," Madam Hooch said, stepping over to intervene before the Captain could get any angrier. "I'm going to get Poppy down here to have a look at that nose, but until then the match is paused." She then grabbed her own broom and flew up the grounds to the castle. The Captain grudgingly ordered the team into their tents, and they left the pitch.
"Lily will never love me with a nose like this," James whined. "Why must the handsome be hit in the face?"
"Forget about your face. Evans doesn't like it anyway," Sirius whispered urgently, and put up a halting hand to stop James from repeating his mantra. "We have more important things to worry about. I think someone's hexing us so that we'll lose."
James frowned, and then winced as it pained him. "Why hasn't anyone else been hexed then?"
"I'm still trying to figure that out." Sirius put a hand to his chin in thought.
As they were waiting for Madams Hooch and Pomfrey, the curtains to the changing tent parted and Anjanette slipped inside. Her hair was sticking up in places and there was a scratch on her face that was crusting with blood. She spotted James and Sirius and marched over immediately.
"We have a problem," she said, actually looking mildly agitated.
"What the hell happened?" Sirius asked, shocked at the idea that she would have gotten into a physical fight.
"Peter," she said, which only made the Gryffindor boys more perplexed. Anjanette fixed them with a hard stare and brought her hand up to her mouth, licking the back and rubbing it over her face.
"Oh bugger," Sirius said as he realized what was going on. He snagged James and Anjanette's wrists and dragged them to a corner, away from the rest of the team. "That's why we've been acting weird. Side effects of the you-know-what potion."
James's mouth dropped open, and then he groaned. "Now? We're in the middle of a game!"
"Like the potion cares," Sirius scoffed. He paced a little. "We'll just have to try to control it. Hopefully the Snitch shows up before we do anything else crazy." He turned to Anjanette suddenly. "Did Rem seem suspicious?"
She raised a blonde brow. "Oh no. Two of his friends just started scratching and biting at each other for no reason. Nothing to worry about."
"Right," Sirius said, pursing his lips. "We can worry about that later. For now, sit as far from Peter as possible, just in case." The curtain opened again and Madam Pomfrey stepped in. The Healer scurried over when she found James's mop, and turned him round with a gasp.
"Goodness gracious, boy, what on Earth happened?" She tugged him away so that she could fix him up, and Anjanette left as well. Sirius just hoped to Merlin, Godric, and the Quidditch gods that nothing else happened before the end of the match.
It took a few minutes for Madam Pomfrey to get James's nose back in shape, and soon the two teams were back out on the pitch. As they gathered around the center to start up again, Regulus glanced across at Sirius, tilting his head in concern. The elder Black waved a hand in dismissal.
Madam Hooch blew the whistle and threw the Quaffle back into play, and the players soared back into the sky. Sirius did his best not to worry, just focusing on hitting the Bludger. Though just in case James went deer-in-the-wandlight again, he made absolutely certain that the ball never strayed towards him.
The game continued on for another half an hour or so, thankfully problem-free. But luck was not on their side. There was a sudden gasp from the stands as the two Seekers shot off towards a tiny gold glint in the distance, and Sirius suddenly found himself transfixed. There was only one thing on his mind: get that ball.
He sped away, knowing he had beat out the other two that were chasing it. He distantly heard shouting but he was too fixated to make out what anyone was saying. Zooming first past the Gryffindor Captain and then Regulus, he opened his mouth, ready to catch, and chomped down on the Snitch. The gold wings fluttered sporadically from the corners of his mouth, but he smiled proudly.
"Sirius, what the bloody hell!" Regulus exclaimed as he hovered in front of him. "Spit that out right now!" Sirius's smile fell and he pouted, opening his mouth and letting the Snitch free. The gold ball didn't try to escape, believing that the game was over, and remained floating between the brothers. Regulus grimaced and took the Snitch, wiping it off on his robes. "What's wrong with you today?"
Sirius whimpered. He did something wrong, Regulus was mad, and now he felt incredibly guilty. And then suddenly, he clutched at his head and winced. "Good Godric…"
"Siri?" Regulus's anger was quelled by seeing his brother in pain. "Are you okay?"
Sirius didn't get a chance to answer however, before his Captain was upon him. "BLACK, ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY MENTAL!? YOU COST US THE GAME!"
"I did?" The Beater could barely remember what he'd done, but as he came further to his senses, he could hear the crowd roaring in disapproval on one side and cheering on the other. The players of both teams were gathering around him, and he saw Regulus holding the Snitch, which looked slimy. He felt his heart drop into his stomach.
From below on the pitch, Madam Hooch pressed her wand to her throat and magnified her voice. "Sirius Black has Snitchnipped, and therefore the Gryffindor team is disqualified. The winner of this match is Slytherin!" The green and silver covered stands erupted with applause and Sirius could feel himself sinking to the ground as quickly as his intestines were dropping to his feet. The Captain wouldn't even look at him, but the rest of the team (minus James) was glaring. Regulus still looked concerned, but his team was busy celebrating and he was dragged away.
Sirius did his best to change as quickly as possible, but speed didn't make him able to block out the mutters of his disgruntled teammates, which included a few accusations of disloyalty. It was the sort of thing he hadn't heard since his first year; was he really back at square one after two and half years of proving he was a worthy Gryffindor? Head bowed low, he gathered his things and scurried out of the tent. But he couldn't get too far before someone called his name.
He stopped and turned, seeing Regulus waiting for him around the corner. The younger boy jogged to him and could tell right away that he was in bad spirits. "They're pretty upset then?"
"What do you think?" Sirius muttered.
Regulus pursed his lips. "Why did you do it then?"
Sirius lifted his head, a fake smile on his face. "I fancied finding out what the Snitch tasted like. Come on, Reg. Do you think I have any idea why I would go crazy like that?" he lied. "I don't know, maybe someone in the stands hexed me."
"Then you should tell Madam Hooch that," Regulus said. "Maybe we can have a rematch."
Sirius sighed and he shook his head. He couldn't do that. Much as he hated the Slytherins as a whole, it wasn't fair to persecute them for something that he very well knew they didn't do. He smiled faintly, thinking about how very Remus-like his conscience was behaving. "It's too late for that," he said. "Besides, we weren't going to get the Cup this year anyway. We already lost to Ravenclaw."
The rest of the team was starting to come out of the tent now, and when they saw the brothers conversing they shot cold looks in Sirius's direction. He turned away from them quickly and hunched slightly. One set of footsteps came closer to the pair and James's voice joined them.
"You alright, mate?" he asked in an uncharacteristically gentle tone.
"Yeah," Sirius sighed. "I'm good." He faced his friend and smiled as best as he could. Regulus and James didn't look entirely convinced. "Let's just head up to the castle." He started walking up without another word, and the other boys followed him.
When they reached the Entrance Hall, they found Remus, Anjanette, and Peter waiting for them. Anjanette looked even more beaten up than before, and certainly more miffed, and Peter was shaking like an anxious wreck. As soon as he spotted James he was instantly at his side.
Regulus's eyes widened. "AJ, what happened?" The Ravenclaw just shook her head, not prepared to explain even if she could.
"I think we need to have a talk," Remus said. The words were meant for everyone, but his amber eyes had locked onto Sirius. And even though he was now in his right mind, he felt more than ever like a naughty puppy.
