Author: HatefulRodeo

Story: Sirius' Awakening

Notes: Hola All! Sorry for the delay in posting an update but life is insane right now. Anyway, the plot is moving ahead! ENJOY LOVELIES!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I will make no money from the posting of this story.

Previously:

Sirius wouldn't be in Hogwarts forever so it would behoove him to do well in his classes and begin to make contacts amongst the other students. That was a slightly Slytherin thought wasn't it? Well he was a Black and if he hadn't mentally beat the damn Sorting Hat into submission he would have been in Slytherin.

Which at the time was the equivalent of being sentenced to hell but now he somewhat regretted his decision. Making allies, and acquaintances, would be much easier in Slytherin where many pureblooded children were sorted.

However, that wasn't the way it went for him. Now, Sirius was a Gryffindor with Slytherin tendencies and he would make it work. He was too damn stubborn to have it any other way. With a smile on his face he gave Severus a nod in thanks, really the onyx eyed teen always knew what to do to make him feel better, and went back to eating his dinner with much more gusto.

~*~*~*~*~*Chapter 7~*~*~*~*~

The first week back at Hogwarts was a blur for Sirius; just readjusting to classes after having the summer off was daunting, not to mention his constant juggling of people. Now that he rekindled his relationship with his baby brother the Black heir was eager to spend time with Regulus.

At first Sirius thought this would be an issue with his little brother's snaky associates but the Slytherins were being remarkably accommodating to the wayward lion. Whenever the eldest Black son approached his brother and the other snakes were around they'd cordially give Sirius a nod before making themselves scarce; for that Sirius was grateful.

He knew the Slytherins could have given him a hard time but they hadn't even though they would of had a right to torment him for his past actions against the House of green and silver. Merlin! James and him were truly horrible toward the upper year Slytherins; calling them Death Eaters and scum for no reason other than they were Slytherins.

How stupid could he be? Very, apparently but even with he'd done during his Hogwarts years his little brother, Severus, and the other members of the scaly house were willing to talk to him and if not speak to him at least tolerate his presence. But he was learning as he went and was taking this second chance with both hands; no one would ever put those rose colored glasses back onto his face again.

Having Regulus back meant the world to him and he wouldn't lose that for anything. He truly enjoyed chatting with his little brother about anything and everything. Sirius loved helping his brother out with school things; like a normal big brother would. He, also, delighted in teasing his brother about his crushes; most of which were boys.

The Black heir wondered if the attraction to males was in their blood. His dad, from what he'd heard from his Aunts and Uncles, used to be quite the playboy amongst both sexes before settling down with his mother. Not that Sirius was strictly gay; he found himself attracted to both sexes and one boy in particular. Of course that boy just had to be Severus Prince of all people! And that was both a good thing and a bad thing.

The good part was Severus was already adored by his family which went a long way in Sirius' new frame of mind. The bad part was James despised the other boy with a passion that rivaled the sun's heat. But Sirius would not let James Potter deter him from Severus. Over the past week Sirius had made an effort to be kind and friendly toward the newly named Prince heir; much to James' horror and Lily's happiness.

Severus, it seemed, was pleased that Sirius wasn't ignoring him now that they were back at Hogwarts. It made Sirius happy to make Severus happy and no one would stop him from getting what he wanted; James Potter be damned!

However, Sirius was at a loss on how to deal with his former best friend. He referred to James as his former best friend because that was what he was. Now, he was just a friend maybe even an associate. After Sirius about-face in beliefs and coming back to school and interacting with the Potter heir Sirius noticed how immature and bigoted James really was. The sad part was that the grey eyed teen used to fall directly in line with James' slanderous rhetoric.

Godric; had he really been that big of an arse?! Apparently he was according to Regulus, Severus, and Lily; they had expressed this opinion of him on a few occasions. Besides his brother and crush Lily was the only other bright spot in his school. They hadn't talked about what happened to him over the summer but she seemed to understand that it was something huge.

The red head didn't press however and allowed Sirius to speak on his own time. He appreciated it very much and when things calmed down a bit he would explain everything in full to her. Unfortunately, Lily was already getting frazzled and it was only the first week of school. James. It appeared, was still as set on winning her over and with every attempt to flirt he fell further and further away from his goal of winning Lily Evans.

Sirius found this hilarious now when in the past he really didn't get why Lily wouldn't want to date the Potter heir. It was funny how much one could change over a summer! But Sirius didn't regret it, not on bit. Severus was blossoming into a gorgeous young man, Regulus was happier than Sirius ever remembered seeing him, and he was on great terms with his family. He was still adjusting to his new views and beliefs but he was pleased that he was finally on the right path; better late than never, right?

Speaking of better late than never he really needed to get out of the Common Room and down to the library; he had a study date with Severus to get to. Well it was more of a study meeting but in his mind it was a date and he really didn't want to be late. The Prince heir hated people who were late; he saw it as a personal affront as if the tardy person was saying they didn't value the Prince's time.

Sirius figured you could see it like that but it just never mattered to him if someone was five minutes late, as long as they had a valid excuse did it matter? Yes, to Severus it did but Sirius had discovered a few quirks about his prospective love interest. The onyx eyed wizard was now meticulous about his cleanliness, fanatical about organization, and tyrannical about his studies but Sirius found most of his odd habits endearing and dare he say it cute; not that he would ever tell Severus that. The Black heir enjoyed living thank you!

Packing his books up Sirius stood and left the Common Room, ignoring the sounds of James calling his name and asking where he was going as he really didn't want to answer that and start another rant about Sirius changing. The Potter heir even refused to call Severus by his new last name; such an immature prat. Things were already strained between him and James and even the other Marauders were feeling it as well.

Remus was trying to be the peacekeeper, as usual, and the Werewolf really seemed to like that Sirius was focusing on his studies this term and not goofing off with James. Peter just went with it, not asking questions ever though the eldest Black son knew the smaller teen wanted to ask what was going on. Sirius planned to tell Peter soon, probably around the time he spoke to Lily.

He had a feeling that Peter would take it well as he was always closer to Sirius than he was to James and Remus. Maybe it was due to the fact that their families were similar in their views or it could be their personalities just clicked better. Who knew but out of the Marauders Sirius felt that Pettigrew would take his revelations the best.

His long legs carried him quickly to the library and, thankfully, Sirius was on time. Now all he needed to do was find his study buddy; if he were Severus where would he be? The back of the library in the most secluded, dark, corner. Destination in mind the raven haired wizard began to search for his partner, finding him exactly where he thought the other teen would be; in the back of the library in a shadowed, dusty, corner.

Severus looked up when he saw Sirius approaching and gave him that smile he only showed to Sirius and their eclectic family. It made the Black heir's hair skip a beat before it picked up again at a slightly elevated pace. Returning the smile Sirius sat down next to the smaller boy and unpacked his Potion's essay and book.

They'd reached an accord earlier in the week; Sirius would tutor Severus in Transfiguration and Severus would tutor Sirius in Potions; his weakest subject. Together they would breeze their O.W.L.'s, well that was the hope anyway. Besides there really wasn't a better person to seek help from in Potions than Severus.

The other teen was a genius in the subject and Sirius had no doubt that one day the Prince heir would achieve a Mastery in his favorite subject. The grey eyed teen on the other hand excelled in Transfiguration and had given a bit of thought at achieving a Mastery in the subject but for now he would focus on learning his subjects and his responsibilities as the Black heir and the future Lord of his family.

With his parchment, quills, and books now settled on the table he turned to his study partner, or his date as Sirius thought of Severus as, and began asking his many questions about the Potions lesson they'd had on Friday. The other raven lit up in excitement as he detailed why you had to shred the Nettles as opposed to chopping them, apparently by shredding them you released more of the plant's essence and liquor into the brew.

Sirius wondered why the idiots didn't write about this better method of shredding the Nettles in the damn book but he was sort of grateful the author didn't since it allowed him to spend time with his crush. From there the study session was underway, each teen asking their questions on the subject they struggled with and the other elaborating on why they did things the way they did in class. Neither teen ever followed the teacher's, or books, instructions seeing as they both had an intuitive grasp on their favored subject.

Toward the end they were both silent, scribbling away at their essays until Severus gave in and yawned an adorable little yawn. Why was it that Sirius was finding everything the Prince heir did adorable? It surely wasn't normal, was it? Did crushes really turn people into starry eyed idiots? Yes, they did because the grey eyed wizard had never seen anything as cute as a sleepy Severus.

However, his perusal of his partner was cut short when Severus turned toward Sirius and noticed the taller teen staring quite intently at him. When he raised a thin dark eyebrow in question the Black heir blushed slightly and looked away, causing the boy next to him to take on a confused expression; which looked absolutely adorable on his face.

Damn It! Keep your mind on the conversation and subject at hand not how attractive you find the guy next to you! At that moment Sirius wanted to punch himself in the damn face but settled for clearing his throat and speaking; "How have your classes been going? Anyone giving you trouble?" The Prince heir looked thoughtful for a moment before he answered; "Classes are going well, though I think the Professors are trying to kill us with homework but it is our O.W.L. year so what can you expect."

"As for anyone bothering me...no, no more than usual. A lot of purebloods are treating me better since I took up the mantle of Prince heir so that's nice. Potter is a pain in the arse but now that you're no longer joining in on the fun it's a lot easier to bear and deal with."

"Besides the Slytherins in my year always try to keep the idiot away from me so it's manageable." Sirius grit his teeth when Severus mentioned James' continued attempts to bully him. Yes, the eldest Black son knew James hated Severus but he thought that his fellow marauder would have left the onyx eyed teen alone for a little while; the damn school year just started!

He would have to sit his former best friend down soon and let him know the score but first he needed to talk to Lily and Peter. He needed allies within Gryffindor and he figured those two would be his best bet. Remus would be nice to have in his corner but he wouldn't hold his breath for it. The Lupin teen adored Dumbledore and would not take kindly to Sirius' new view on the old man.

And the Werewolf was also closer to James since he saw the Potter heir as his Alpha whereas he looked at Sirius as his pack mate; maybe Sirius should try to usurp James' status as Alpha in Remus' eyes. He shook that thought out of his mind, it would be too much work to overthrow James' status in Remus' eyes besides Sirius may be an Alpha male but he had no interest in rubbing it in people's faces like James did with his overbearing demeanor.

He would just have to hope that Remus would understand why Sirius felt the way he did now. However, now was not the time to think of such things. He was with Severus and wanted to eek out every enjoyable moment before he returned to the Gryffindor Common Room and his fellow Gryffindors. With a smile he responded to the other teen's words; "I'm with you on the mountain of homework. Merlin, I'll be lucky to get it all done before it's all due!"

"But I need to do well this year on my O.W.L.'s if I want to have options after school. You know I really want to do well by my parents and show them I really do take my position as the Black heir seriously." Severus nodded in response to Sirius words but remained silent, knowing the grey eyed teen wasn't done talking; "As for James...I'll be speaking to him soon but I want to talk to Lily and Peter first and get them on my side of the matter."

"Lily I'm pretty sure will side with me since she's your best friend. I'm confident about Peter since he's from a more traditional wizarding family and he's always been closer to me than James or Remus." The onyx eyed wizard hummed in thought before responding; "I can understand why you'd want to get people on your side before confronting Potter."

"Salazar knows that moronic four-eyed twit will take your new outlook as a declaration of war against him; close-minded, blind, child that he is. Potter will never be able to understand that people can have varied views on life and still be friends. No, to James Potter you're either with him completely, toeing the party line, or you're against him."

"Sirius, I really hope he gets a wake-up call soon since we both know life outside of Hogwarts does not work that way." Sirius beamed at his crush, thanking the Gods that once again Severus understood where he was coming from. "Sev," Sirius ignored the other teen's scowl at being addresses as Sev and continued talking; "Thanks for understanding why I can't confront James just yet."

"You know I hate it when he, or anyone, hurts you in anyway and once I let him know the way things stand between us I'll have no issue with putting him in his place. As for him getting a wakeup call about real like; I'm not sure it'll happen." Severus blushed prettily when Sirius spoke about defending him against bullies but shifted the conversation to another topic before the grey eyed wizard could comment on it; "So, the Slytherins in my year and above wanted to know if you'd like to meet with us so you can make some connections and maybe friends."

"Regulus and I will be there as well so you'll have people there you're comfortable with." Sirius thought about for a few seconds before answering; "I think I would like that very much. That was one of my complaints about being in Gryffindor now; I wouldn't be able to connect with the people I'm expected to make ties with since they're in Slytherin. Thanks for thinking of me, Severus."

The other teen smiled; "It was no problem, Sirius. As a matter of fact the older Slytherins have been curious to speak to you since school began. Regulus may have informed them of your new outlook and well they became interested in where you stand now." The Black heir figured as much and had no issue with his baby brother telling his allies and friends about his older sibling's turn around.

With a shrug he told Severus as much and moved to pack up his things since curfew was approaching them and Madam Pince would chuck them out of the library soon. The smaller raven began to clear up his supplies as well and when they were both packed up they left the library walking side by side until they reached the point where Sirius would have to split form his infatuation.

However, Sirius couldn't just say goodbye. Nope, he had to do something a bit more blatant to get Severus thinking about him in something other than a friendly manner. With a deep breath he turned to face his crush and waited for the other teen to turn towards him as well.

Once they were looking into the other's eyes Sirius leaned forward and tilted his head down to press a chaste kiss to Severus' soft lips; "Goodnight, Severus, I hope you sleep well and I'll see you in the morning." He smiled in triumph when he felt the shorter teen's breath hitch when his lips touched his and mentally cheered when Severus didn't hex his balls off for kissing him.

Kiss now delivered Sirius stepped away with a warm smile before turning and striding back toward his Common Room. He dared to look back once and was pleased to see the onyx eyed wizard touching his lips with a look of wonder on his normally blank face. Well it seemed it wouldn't be too hard to get Severus to see him as more than a friend.

That happy thought made his steps take on a more jaunty gate as a large grin settled on his handsome face; Severus may feel for Sirius the way Sirius felt for him. Yes, life was looking quite good for the Black heir tonight! He gave the Fat Lady the password and entered the Common Room with a grin still plastered on his face and a lightness to his heart; Severus Prince would be his by the end of this year.

He wondered who he would have to approach for permission to court the other teen...would it be his own father? That would be odd but he knew his father wouldn't favor Sirius in the courting contract at all. Orion took his role as Severus' guardian seriously and Merlin forbid if Sirius did anything to hurt Severus; his mother would skin him alive, whether he was her son or not.

He did know that his parents would be pleased to have the Prince heir as their official son as they already looked at the teen fondly and accepted Severus as one of their own. A marriage between Sirius and Severus would just make them an truly official family.

That pleased him very much since the onyx eyed wizard was everything he could want in a partner; Severus was loyal, smart, funny in his own way, and in Sirius' newly opened eyes very attractive.

And all it took was one crazy summer for him to see all that Severus always tried to hide from him and he was grateful for the eye opening experience; after all it got him his family back and a potential mate in the Prince heir. He was a bit shocked that he was already batting the thought of marrying Severus around in his mind but he believed if things went well between them that would be the end result.

However, they were still young and for right now Sirius would settle for dating the other boy. If it looked like it was getting serious he would speak to his parents about drawing up a courting contract for him and Severus. Yes, some would look at a contract that essentially detailed how you would date as restricted but pure-bloods looked at it as added security.

There were guidelines and restrictions involved in the courting contract such as no penetrative sex before a betrothal contract was signed between the two involved parties. With a shake of his head at how besotted he was becoming Sirius made his was across the Common Room to climb the stairs to his dorm.

Lily calling his name broke him out of his thoughts of courting, betrothals, and marriage; with a smile still on his face he joined the red head at one of the tables scattered around the room, ignoring the glare James sent his way for sitting with his infatuation.

How had he never noticed how creepily stalker like James was in the past? He was surprised Lily hadn't contacted the Aurors to file some sort of Order of Restraint against the obsessed Potter heir. But that was neither here nor there and he pushed it out of his mind and settled into his seat across from Lily. She smirked at him before she drew her wand and began casting several spells and charms to ensure their privacy and what she said wouldn't be overheard by anyone.

Once she was done she placed her wand on the table and looked at him with glittering emerald eyes; "So, Sirius, how was your study date with your crush?" The Black heir froze in surprise, his smile slipping off his face; how had this crafty witch known about his little, okay large, crush, on Severus?

Not that he was ashamed of is growing feelings for Severus at all; nope, he was just curious how Lily knew when he himself was just figuring this out. Plus, he really didn't want anyone to know outside of Severus how he was feeling about the Prince heir. Not until he'd gotten his situation within Gryffindor sorted out.

Not knowing what to say he sat silently and looked at Lily with a blank face, only his grey eyes showed a glimmer of confusion. The red head waved her hand impatiently; "It's not obvious if that's what your worrying about. No one would notice unless they looked and knew you well enough."

"You should be thankful that your friends are about as observant as a Star-nosed Mole. But your friends are beginning to notice something isn't right with you but I'm not sure they've noticed your new hobby of Severus watching."

Sirius released his breath and calmed down a little; Lily wouldn't do anything hurtful with this information. As a matter of fact she was probably curious since she was Severus' best friend and no doubt had the other teen's best interest at heart. Smile creeping back onto his face Sirius proceeded to spill his proverbial guts, talking about the summer, his new outlook on things, reconnecting with his family, and finally how much he was beginning to care for Severus in a romantic way.

The red head asked a few questions but generally just sat there smiling at the way Sirius was animatedly speaking as if she could feel his joy infecting her from across the table. When Sirius talked about how much he was beginning to develop strong feelings for Severus she squealed at having her suspicions confirmed and hurriedly assured the Black heir that she supported his plan to date her Slytherin best friend.

By the end of the talk Sirius was drained but relieved that at least someone in Gryffindor knew everything that was going on with him. Lily was still smiling at him and he knew she wanted to discuss some things with him but she told him to go to bed when she noticed how tired Sirius was looking.

However, before she released the spells and charms around them she made him promise to talk to her more tomorrow. Sirius made his promise and when Lily released the spells he made his way to his dorm room to clean up for bed.

When he entered his dorm room he once again brushed off James calling his name and collected his things to change and get ready for bed; he truly had no desire to have a confrontation with James right now. Sirius was just too damn tired to deal with the Potter heir's ranting and raving.

Remus, apparently, saw how exhausted Sirius was and captured James attention by asking him who he favored for the English League's Quidditch Cup this year. Sirius gave the Werewolf a grateful nod before slipping into the washroom. Peter was finishing up his ablutions and gave him a small smile before leaving the room.

The grey eyed wizard quickly finished his nightly routine and changed into his sleep pants. All ready for bed he exited the bathroom and put away his things before slipping into his four-poster bed and drawing the curtains closed. In the darkness of his bed he cast several spells; a silencing charm that blocked out all outside noise and a locking charm on the curtains so no one could open them.

Before lying down he set a Tempus alarm for seven in the morning. Alarm set he placed his wand under his pillow and settled down for a good night's rest.

Alright, Sirius is moving in on Severus; I decided to start the romance but it will be slightly slow nothing M rated quite yet but it will come.

Also, James will be getting his soon but first Sirius has some people to chat with. Now, this is A/U and most will want Remus to back Sirius but that's not going to happen. I don't see Remus going against Dumbledore at this point in his life. Lupin would still feel to indebted to the old man since he overlooked Remus' furry little problem and allowed him to attend school.

However, Peter will be getting a better role than he normally does in most fics so if someone doesn't like that then read elsewhere. I don't stay within what is expected or accepted in my writing and for that I make no apologies.

All Mistakes Are My Own!