Disclaimer: All characters belong solely to JK Rowling. If you recognize a scene or a name, it is hers.
Chapter Seven: Mysterious Ailments
If anyone would have told Remus Lupin a year ago that he would be looking forward to meeting with Severus Snape outside of class, he would have sent that person to the hospital wing for a mental health evaluation. But here he was, eating as quickly as he could, in order to head to the library and meet with the Slytherin.
James was ranting about Sirius missing dinner again because of the "stupid detention," as he put it, but Remus felt it served the other boy right. It was Padfoot's own fault that he was in detention, so he could blame himself. And it wasn't like he was really going without dinner; they all knew that he would sneak off to the kitchen to get food anyway, whether he had missed dinner or not. The house elves were always glad to help out "Master Sirius and Master James." Remus wasn't as well known by the elves, but as the others went at least once a week, they were known by name.
"Hey, Jamie, Pete. I'm going to the library. I want to look up properties of Doxy eggs in Felix Felicis. Don't wait up for me," he added with a smirk at James, referring to the other boy's annoying habit of keeping them all up and awake until Sirius was back from a detention. A habit which normally failed, but he would nevertheless attempt it every single day.
"Funny, Remus. Really funny. So funny, in fact that…" he paused, glancing around at the crowded hall, "that I might just hex you."
He pulled out his wand, but Remus knew his friend wouldn't do anything. Not here. And not to him. Sirius, he would hex randomly. And maybe even Peter. But they all knew Remus was much too fast for them. "Watch me shake out of utter fear, Prongs. I'm going to the library now. Meet you all back in the dorm."
Remus took the stairs two at a time. When he got to the library, there was no sign of Snape, so he sat at an empty table near the door. He pulled out his copy of Advanced Potion Making and flipped to their current assignment. Ten minutes passed before Remus saw the Slytherin enter. He watched as Snape's eyes scanned the library, finally coming to a rest on his own. The dark-haired boy looked surprised, and Remus couldn't help but grin at him. Snape joined Remus at the table, dropping his own bag on the floor and sitting down, but with surprise still on his face.
"I was scanning the next few steps, but I don't see any way to…" Remus stopped, realizing that Snape was still staring at him. "What?"
"Why are you here?"
Remus looked up. Any other question wouldn't have shocked him like this one did. "You… you told me to meet you here. You said something about strengthening the potion. Remember?"
Snape sneered at him. "Of course I remember. I'm not the one with short-term memory loss. That would be Black. Not me."
"What?" Remus was exasperated. Could the argument between his friends and Snape really stand in the way of a potions assignment?
"You don't know?" Snape's sneer slid off of his face instantly. "Black was found passed out in a corridor an hour ago. He has no idea how he got there; supposedly the last he remembers is heading off to detention, which he missed, and meeting up with his cousin Bellatrix. He claims to have no clue how he ended up where he did."
"I've got to… Wait a second." Remus could barely believe what he was hearing. "How do you know all this?"
"Because I was with his cousin when she was found and Black accused the girl of hexing him. He, of course, pulled me in on it, saying that I was there too."
"Where are they?"
"Hospital wing, where else? Merlin, Lupin, you'd think you of all people would know where injured people are supposed to go."
"Is he okay?"
"I couldn't care less." Snape's sneer returned. "I expect you and Potter will be crying at your beloved Black's bedside until he remembers how the evil Slytherin Snakes hurt him?"
Remus stood at once, throwing his books back in his bag. "Coming?" Snape raised an eyebrow. "To find out what really happened. And you said I'm the slow one. We all know you didn't do anything. Bellatrix probably did, they hate each other. But you never hex without being provoked. I can attest to that. Come on."
Snape rose and grabbed his bag once more. Slinging his own bag over his shoulder, Remus took off toward the Hospital Wing. Sirius couldn't possibly blame Snape for this.
Entering the Infirmary at a run, Remus collided with James. Snape, forced to run to keep up with Remus, slammed into the two friends, and the three landed on the ground.
Rising, Remus looked around at the hospital beds surrounding him. Sirius was in the bed farthest from the door, and appeared to be asleep.
"What happened to Padfoot?"
"His cousin and Snively." James fixed a glare onto Snape, who had just gotten to his feet.
"Prongs. It wasn't Sev… Snape. And if it was, Sirius started it. You know that as well as I…"
A door slammed behind them, and a furious Madame Pomfrey entered, followed by Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore.
"Yelling in the Infirmary? Lupin, as a Prefect, I would have expected better of you. Potter, Snape, what are the two of you doing in here?" Madame Pomfrey looked irate at the scene before her.
"Sirius is here, so I came to see him!" James was beside himself. "He's the one who doesn't belong. Peter should be here. Not him!"
Snape opened his mouth to answer, but Remus beat him to it. "Severus is here because he's the one who told me what was going on." James stared at the werewolf in surprise. "I had him come with me, because I know that whatever happened to Sirius, it was no doubt his cousin, not Severus, who is to blame." He said it all as fast as he could manage past his still gasping for breath; he knew that James or one of the professors would interrupt if he paused.
"The three of you may visit your friend," Professor McGonagall ignored James' glare in her direction, "only if you keep it down. There are other patients, and we will not tolerate any further disruption. From any of you," she added as an afterthought.
The three boys walked slowly toward Sirius' bed, James glaring into the back of Snape's head the whole way. According to Sirius, Snape was to blame for this. Remus knew better, but James believed his friend. Why would Sirius lie about this?
James sat on the bed beside his lover, stroking his dark hair. Snape looked on, but Remus couldn't tell if the look he was giving was surprise at the lovingness from James or at Professor McGonagall calling Sirius and Severus friends.
Snape sat on a bed to Sirius' left and Remus, circling the bed, joined him. They sat like this in silence for close to a half-hour, watching to see if Sirius would awaken. Eventually, Remus lay back on the bed, and was surprised when he was shaken awake an hour later by Snape. They had to go back to their dormitories. Sirius was still unconscious as the three left the Hospital Wing.
James walked slightly ahead of Remus and Snape. He knew something was going on, but would wait until later to ambush Moony about it.
Snape made to part with the other two, but Remus stopped him. "Sorry about all that. I mean… I guess we still have time to figure out stuff about the potion, right? Free period before potions tomorrow?"
"I don't have a free period until after potions tomorrow. I've got Ancient Runes." He turned again to leave, but was stopped again by Remus.
"Oh. Right. Another time then?"
Snape shook his head with… was that sadness? "You should be with Black."
He turned and, before Remus could stop him, had started down the staircase toward the Slytherin Dungeons. The werewolf watched him go, and then joined James on the staircase.
"Um… Moony? What the bloody hell was all that about?"
"What would 'all that' refer to, Prongs?"
"You and… you and Snively."
"Me and Snape what?"
"He… You… I don't know, why don't you just tell me what's going on, Moony. Something's been off for a while. You haven't said anything. But something's up. Don't try denying it. Something's going on between you and Snape."
"You're mental."
"He fancies you, I think. Why else would he have stayed?"
"He doesn't."
"He does! Moony, I'm telling you. The bloody git fancies…"
"James! He doesn't fancy me. I bloody well fancy him. Okay? Happy? I, Remus Lupin, am in love with Severus Snape. Happy?"
James stopped dead in his tracks. "You… You fancy him? Moony, are you okay?"
Remus fixed James with the darkest glare he could muster.
"Holy shit. This changes things."
The two friends walked in silence back up to Gryffindor Tower. Neither realized that their fourth friend had not been seen since he left James to go to bed straight from dinner. The boy was not in the Dormitory when the others went to bed.
Special thanks to trooperx for an idea with this one. And sorry to any Sirius fans out there, but he was starting to irritate me. Any ideas, let me know! Please review!