Sirius scowled at James, who at the moment was too busy laughing his head off to even notice the angry look.

“James? Shut it! I swear, mate, your laugh is like a bloody foghorn!”

“Sorry, sorry,” James said, still laughing, his upper body bent over as he heaved for breath. “It’s just that . . . I can’t see you playing the piano, ever! Wearing all those poncy looking dress robes at recitals . . . that’s just fucking brilliant. I bet you looked like a right stiff in those!”

“The dress robes were not poncy looking!”

“Don’t lie! I’ve seen your dress robes before, the ones your mum made you wear. They were quite horrid, with all those frills, so I’m imagining the recital ones to be even worse!”

Sirius groaned and banged his head on the closed cover of the piano keys, ignoring his pounding headache and wondering why he was an idiot to tell James about his piano skills. He hadn’t meant to tell James this. In fact, he’d never wanted to tell any of his friends, but it’d just accidentally come out when he and James had discovered a rather dusty and neglected piano in the back of the Potter family’s house.

As James continued to laugh like a twit, Sirius took a seat on the hard, cold bench and turned his glare at the piano. It was a grand piano, black, looking forlorn and unused, but he could see that it was majestic back in the day when it was still being played. The upright piano at his former home was nothing compared to this beauty in front of him. It just needed some cleaning to be grand once more.

Wordlessly, he lifted the cover up, and he stared at the ivory keys, impressed that they hadn’t yellowed with age, and the black keys that punctuated the overall appearance. He glided his fingers over the smooth and cold keys, and he mentally began to hum a song, a Beethoven sonata he loved, and he could see the notes arrange themselves in front of him as his fingers moved on their own to their starting positions. His right foot found the pedal it automatically sought out, and he began to play.

He could no longer hear James’ loud laughter; he only heard the song that was coming from the piano, the song he was playing from memory and from his heart. Yes, he’d always hated those recital outfits, and he didn’t want to admit he could play since it was something his parents had forced him into, but despite everything, he loved the piano. It was an outlet for him and it was something that allowed him to be him.

When he came to the end of the song, he stilled his hands, his fingers still curved, and he opened his eyes. He glanced at James, whose mouth was opened wide, whose eyes were large behind his spectacles.

Sirius broke the silence. “Well?”

James closed his mouth and a slow smirk came onto his lips. “Well, poncy or not, I’m impressed!”

“Only impressed?” Sirius raised his eyebrow, moved the bench back a bit, and pulled James in front of him. He tugged James’ head close to his and said, “How about I show you another use for a piano . . . which will leave you not only impressed, but it will be a concerto for you to remember?”

“You seem too cocky about that,” James quipped back.

“Cocky? Why, Prongs, my boy, that’s an excellent choice of word.” Sirius moved until only a hair separated his and James’ lips. “An excellent choice.”

“Well, Padfoot, will you just fucking snog me already?”

Sirius pushed James back, ignoring the loud cacophony James’ arse made on the key. “I will, but I want to hear you serenade me . . . with your arse. And then I want you to give me a wonderful cantata of how much you worship me when I suck that gorgeous cock of yours.”

He heard James’ breath hitch. “Fine, Sirius, fine. If it’s a sexy symphony you want, then I’ll give you one hell of a show.”

Sirius let out a sigh and kicked the chair in front of him. “Damn the Wizarding and the Muggle world!” He paced around the sitting room of the flat he shared with his lover, Remus. “Them and their damned homophobic views!”

Remus, who was sitting in an armchair, rubbed his own forehead. “Sirius, calm down. There is nothing we can do about it. If we cannot legalise our relationship, then we just have to let it go.”

“But Remus!” Sirius wailed in frustration. “I wanna get married to you! I love you!”

“So do I, Sirius, but no can do.”

Harry, Sirius’ godson, looked up from the couch he was sharing with Hermione. “This really isn’t fair. You two contributed so much to the Order and the war against Voldemort.” He let out a sigh. “There must be a way.”

Harry stood up and went to the front of the fireplace, studying the pictures that were hung above there. He looked and smiled. One of them portrayed the Marauders with Lily; all of them looked happy and carefree. Harry frowned as he noticed that something was missing. Peter was missing. He looked closer and saw that the place where Peter used to be was replaced with a stuffed pink bunny. He sniggered to himself knowing that Sirius had hexed it there.

Harry looked around the room. Hermione was bent over on the couch with a huge book in her lap. Ron, who had been standing behind his girlfriend, took Harry’s spot on the couch. “Hermione, can’t you ever stop reading for once?”

“Hush, Ron.” She glanced up at her lover and smiled. “I am trying to see if there is a way to bypass those stupid laws which are just wholly unjust.”

“Hermione, give it up.” Sirius breathed out in resignation. “Remus already looked, and there is no way to bypass it.”

Hermione stood up and glared. “Well, you never know. You said it yourself during the war that I was the best researcher the Order ever had, so I’m putting the same use into this situation, and it is all for you and Remus.”

“That’s not what I meant, Hermione,” said Sirius, trying to amend the comment he made previously.

“Okay. Understood.” Her glare lessened a bit. “However, I will continue my research at home.” She nodded to Ron. “Come on. We are leaving.”

Ron groaned. “That means no sex for the next few weeks until she gets to the bottom of this.”

“With that comment, make that a few months, Ronald Weasley!” Hermione Apparated away.

Ron grumbled under his breath, “Exaggerator.” He nodded his goodbyes to the other three and disappeared as well.

Harry smiled as his best friend left the usual way. “Those two are unbelievable.”

Remus chuckled. “Yeah. From the sitcoms I’ve seen, those two will be perfect.” Remus was born into a family of half and half. His father a Wizard and his mother a Muggle, Remus had the privilege of growing up in both realms. He respected both worlds, but at times like this, he hated both.

He glanced at his lover. Sirius, who grew up in a Wizarding world, had a fascination for the Muggle world. Because of growing up in a Pureblood family, he rather disliked the Wizarding world and preferred to be in the Muggle one. However, once he found out that the Muggles were just as homophobic as the former, he was crushed.

Harry stretched and hugged Sirius. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Hermione will find a way to go around the damned laws.” He embraced Remus as well. “In the meantime though, I have to go.”

Remus smiled gently. “Got a date?”

“Yeah I do.”

Scowling, Sirius stared at the wall in front of him. “With that ‘greasy bastard’, I’m guessing.”

“Oh, Sirius.” Harry laughed. “You will never change and neither will he. Like when I said I was going to see you, he said ‘With the dirty old mutt, I presume’.”

Remus stifled a laugh as Sirius’ scowled deepened. With a wave, Harry left.

“Damned Snape,” grumbled Sirius.

Remus walked over and kissed the back of his lover’s neck while his arms wrapped around the firm body. “Don’t let that get to you, love.”

“What if I do?”

“Then no sex for the next few weeks,” Remus deadpanned.

“You wouldn’t, and what is with all this ‘no sex’ crap?” exclaimed Sirius, his face paling. “Plus you’re hornier than I am!”

“But I have a stronger willpower.” Remus swatted his arse and walked away.

“You’re going to get it!” Sirius chased after his lover, all the way to their room. Upon reaching there, Sirius pounced on Remus, causing both of them to fall on their bed. Sirius started tickling the nimble body beneath him.

“Sirius!” Remus gasped out, laughing at the same time. “Stop!”

Amused, Sirius let go and nuzzled the neck. Slowly, he started to kiss and suck the soft skin. He felt Remus’ arms going around him, and they tightened their hold on him. “Love you, Sirius.”

Looking up at his lover’s face, he bent down to kiss the supple, inviting lips. “Love you too.”

“I’ve found a solution,” said Hermione, with a huge smile on her face.

A week had passed since the small gathering. Everyone else was back, with the addition of Severus, who had come because of Harry’s pleading. They were all in the sitting room and lounging around when Hermione bought up the subject of marriage.

“It’s bloody brilliant, in my own opinion,” stated Ron with a serious expression. “And I think it’ll work out as well.” Ron and Hermione were both sharing the couch again, and Hermione’s lap was free of books this time.

Harry grinned widely and took Severus’ hand. They were both standing, leaning against the wall. “Well don’t keep us all in suspense! Do tell.”

“Well,” Hermione began. “Basically what we need to do is have those two separate. Then the man of the relationship will pretend to be going out with a new woman, but instead, that woman will be Remus or Sirius. Whoever decides to be a woman will be glamorised, and he will be posing as a woman for the next few months in public to show that Sirius or Remus has a new lover. The two of them will get married as a heterosexual couple, and once the Ministry finds out the truth, they have no say in it whatsoever. The only way the marriage can be cancelled by any method is for them to have a divorce. Of course, there is the issue where Remus will be known as something else on the marriage certificate, but we can work that out later.”

Everyone stared at Hermione, except for Ron and Severus, with their mouth opened. The silence was deafening. Hermione and Ron became uncomfortable by the quietness of the situation and had worried looks on their face.

“Sirius? Remus? Are you all okay with this?” Hermione asked, wringing her hands together.

Sirius spoke up first. “As strange as the idea is, I think this will work!”

Harry started laughing. “This is absurd!” His laughter dimmed and from the way his shoulders were shaking, it was not over. “It will work!”

“And I think –” Sirius started walking around the room, waving his arms around excitedly. “–that Remus should be the bride.” He turned to look at his mate. “Don’t you think so, Remus?”

Everyone turned to look at Remus. He was sitting in an armchair with a blank expression on his face. Slowly, he turned to glare at Sirius. He stood up swiftly and walked to the bedroom and slammed the door ceremoniously. Everyone gawked at the scene that just happened except for Severus, who snorted and muttered, “Figured.”

All the stares went straight to Severus with a questioning look. He ignored them and asked a bored, “What? As if you all couldn’t tell why he got annoyed.”

“Then enlighten us,” said Harry, wasting no time, not wanting to deal with another row between his lover and his godfather.

The Potion Master rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. “Dumb Gryffindors . . . why do I let myself suffer so . . . ”

Before Sirius could comment, Severus went on. “Are you blind, Black? It is plain to see that Lupin did not like being referred to as the ‘woman’ of the relationship. You quickly assumed that he would be the one to dress up in a bridal gown and be the one to prepare to look like a lady for a day. Have you not thought that you might have been the one to be in that role instead?”

As realisation dawned on the rest of the group, Severus went on in his lecturing voice. “Also considering the fact that Lupin is a werewolf and I’m guessing he’s an alpha, the alpha in him probably reacted strongly to the assumption of being something lesser. But no, Black. You forgot about who he was and decided to automatically place him as the female role. Thinking before acting obviously does not work for you at all.”

Sirius glowered at his nemesis. “Okay, maybe for a change you’re right. I’ll go talk to him and see what he wants.”

Hermione nodded. “That’s for the best. You guys have plenty of time, so go talk about it.” She stood and pulled her boyfriend along. “In fact, we are leaving now.”

Ron blinked. “We are?”

“Yes, Ron, we are.” Without another word, the two Apparated out of sight.

Harry clasped his godfather comfortingly. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Remus will understand.” He smiled. “I’ll see you later.”

The last remaining couple Apparated; Severus did so without saying anything else to Sirius. Sirius frowned at the spot where Severus was remaining a few seconds before.

He turned towards the bedroom and started to walk there, wondering if Remus was really that mad, and if he was, that meant no sex tonight. At that knowledge, Sirius groaned.

Sirius knocked on the room and received no answer. He decided to enter anyway. He looked around the small, but cosy bedroom. There was a small fireplace right across from the foot of the bed. It wasn’t lit at the moment. The weather was too warm for a fire to be burning in a hearth. The huge four-poster bed, decorated in red and gold, Gryffindor colours, was made neatly. Remus was sitting in front of the window, which was situated on the left of the bed. The window had a padded window seat, and Remus sat there, looking outside at the bustling, busy streets of London.

Sirius smiled to himself and thought that Remus looked so ravishingly fuckable just sitting there. His smile disappeared as he looked closely at his lover. A frown was etched on Remus’ face, and Sirius remembered that he had to confront him.

He walked up slowly to him, the footsteps echoing in the silent room. “Remus? Can I join you?”

Automatically, Remus answered, “It is ‘may’, not ‘can’. And yes you may join me.”

Making a face, Sirius bit back his retort. “Okay, Professor.” He sat next to his lover on the window seat and stared downward. Next to him, Remus stiffened. Sirius paid attention to a lover’s quarrel below.

“Why can’t I get a job?” screamed the woman.

“Because, I expect anyone that’s going to be my wife to stay home and take care of the house!” The man growled out.

The woman recoiled as if she had been slapped. “I respect your views, but honestly that is so fucking old fashioned! It’s bollocks if you think women nowadays are going to be satisfied with being good housewives!”

Sirius looked back up to Remus. “Blimey. Is that how you felt when I suggested you to be the bride?”

Remus rose up and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed in front of him. “Pretty much. But I should not have overreacted.”

“No. You’ve had every right to do so. I shouldn’t have jumped to a conclusion about you taking the female role so quickly.” Sirius stood up and went to hug his mate. “I’m sorry, Remus.”

Remus snuggled into Sirius neck and stayed there comfortably. “It’s okay. I forgive you.”

Sirius kissed the top of Remus’ head and deeply breathed in the aroma called Remus. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” Remus reached and planted a gentle kiss on the lips of his lover in which he started to tease. Sirius groaned and deepened the kiss. The two tongues were fighting for domination until Sirius finally gave in, and Remus took over. He slowly manoeuvred them toward the bed, and Sirius fell back on it with Remus on top. As Remus explored the sweet cavern, his hands slipped under the shirt and started their adventure of roaming over Sirius’ torso.

Sirius forced himself to come to sense and stopped the kiss. “Remus? So what are we gonna to do about the dress thing . . . ?”

“Shh.” Remus went back to kissing his mate beneath him. “Worry about that later . . . I . . . just . . . want . . . you . . . now.”

“Yes,” groaned Sirius. “Later.”

Remus shushed him with another kiss. “Quit talking. Did anyone ever tell you that you talk too much during sex?”

Grinning, Sirius replied back, “So do you.” He wrapped his arms tighter around the lithe body on top of his and started kissing his lover’s neck. “But talking’s good.”

“So how are we doing this, Hermione?” asked Remus.

Everyone was gathered at the flat again later on in the week. After the make up sex, Sirius and Remus talked about the subject amongst themselves. Sirius had offered to be the woman of the two, but Remus said he would do it. He said that after thinking about it to himself, he couldn’t ever see Sirius as a female. Sirius was taller and buffer compared to Remus, who was shorter with a figure that was slender and lithe.

The catch was that Sirius was not to expect Remus to take the role further after the wedding, or he’d be in trouble. Sirius agreed.

Hermione still doubted Remus’ decision and therefore explained the process tentatively.

“Well, I read up on glamour spells, and there are ways to change one’s appearance with it. Sirius can cast it since the spells are similar to Transfiguration in nature. For at least the next few months, whenever you are in public, Remus, have Sirius enchant you as a woman, and Severus offered to make a potion that will make your voice become higher. You will not feel anything of the glamour, such as you would not feel the long hair, make up, or etcetera. The only thing you will feel is the clothes. You just have to wear female clothes along with your glamour. That is basically it. And I know I said before that you are to only look like a woman for one day, but the few times you go out in public, will be more convincing if you were a woman. Not to mention, you will know how it feels by the time you get married. Oh, yes, and the person who cast the spell is the only one who can undo it.”

Incredulously, Sirius asked, “Snape offered? Since when does he offer anything?”

“I would be careful on what you say, Black, or otherwise good luck in finding some other potion brewer to concoct the voice potion without them becoming too curious and suspicious.” Severus looked up with his classroom glare. “Do not abuse my current act of goodwill.”

Wisely, Sirius didn’t say anything, but he certainly grumbled!

“So shall we try the glamour spell out?” Hermione asked.

Sirius nodded, and she proceeded to tell him the list of spells.

“Damn, Hermione. How many are there?”

“Well . . . there is one for the facial structures in which you get rid of Remus’ facial hair and then change other parts of the face to your liking. Also, that same spell can change his eye colour and hair colour. Then there is one for the hair, to make it longer. Another to get rid of the excess body hair on the arms, legs, and chest. Finally, we have the one to change the body structure, in which he takes a more curvy shape of the woman and get breasts. And then of course it renders changes down in the crotch area.”

Sirius gawked at her and so did Remus.

“Oh, please,” said Hermione, rolling her eyes. “Sirius, you are the Transfiguration expert, so after doing this a couple time, it will become easier as you go along.”

Determinedly, he turned to Remus. “Well, love, what do you want to look like?”

Everyone turned to look at Remus. They were all curious to how he wanted to look like as a woman.

“You choose for me, Sirius.”

“Remus,” Sirius gave an exasperated sigh. “You’re the one who’s turning into a woman for at least the next couple months, so you tell me how you want to look.”

Remus sighed as well. “Sirius. You are going to be the one casting the spell on me. If I described every single detail I’d want as a woman, it’s going to drive you nuts, and you are going to forget minor details along the way, and I will end up looking different every time. So to make this easier on both of us, I suggest you create an image of me and stick with it.”

Everyone was silent as Remus’ explanation sunk in his or her minds.

“He does have a point,” Hermione agreed. “So Sirius, do you have a mental image of Remus as a woman?”

“I do, believe it or not.”

“Then cast the spells.”

With a deep breath, Sirius flicked his wand and said the incantations. Everyone watched Remus slowly changed.

First noticeable change was that his shaggy hair grew longer and reached the middle of his back. The hair was slightly wavy and the colour changed from light brown to medium brown. The excessive hairs on his arms, legs, chest, and face disappeared, just to be replaced by smooth, pale skin. The amber eyes became green, not as bright as Harry’s, but just as vivid. There were dimples in his cheek, and his nose shrunk in size a bit to fit his newly shaped face. His height remained the same, but the build took more of the female curves than the hard, masculine look before. Even the fingers looked softer and more feminine than the strong male hands. His broad shoulders became slighter. Finally his breasts were formed. They were not too flat or huge but were normal sized.

Sirius put his wand down and studied his lover in front of him. Before the glamour process, Remus was wearing a tee shirt and shorts. Now his shirt neatly came off his shoulders. Remus had to hold up his shorts to prevent it from falling. He was blushing deeply as everyone stared at him again.

Harry swallowed. “Blimey, if I didn’t know that was Remus, and if I wasn’t gay, I’d definitely hit on you. That is if I wasn’t taken as well.” He amended quickly after glancing at Severus. “Remus you look like Kate Winslet.”

“No, I say you look more like Nicole Kidman,” said Hermione, studying him critically.

Sirius laughed sheepishly. “Actually, I was aiming more for Julia Roberts . . . ”

Remus went to the nearest mirror and stared at his reflection.

“Sirius, if you were aiming for Julia Roberts, your aim is very off. I feel like Helen Hunt with dark hair,” he deadpanned.

Severus stepped up and handed him a vial. “This is the voice changing potion. The effects will last about three hours. So if time runs out and you got no extras, then keep your mouth shut.”

“Thank you, Severus.” Remus took the cap off the vial and drank. “Yuck. Tastes almost as bad as the Wolfsbane potion.”

After about a minute, Remus spoke again. “How do I sound?” His low tenor was replaced with a very high alto. Remus winced.

“Well, it sounds more girly that’s for sure.” Hermione looked at his clothes. “Let us go shopping now, Remus.”

Before Remus started protesting, Hermione butted in. “Relax. We are just buying a few blouses, couple of slacks and skirts, with shoes, and undergarments. Just the work. In fact, this can be our first outing!” She glanced at Remus’ bra-less chest. “Wear a jacket. It is a bit chilly.” It was late spring, but the weather decided to be a bit wet and clammy that particular day.

Remus went to the bedroom and grabbed a jacket and changed into a pair of jeans that was now big for him. He snatched one of Sirius’ belts and buckled himself snugly. “I’m ready to go.”

Hermione linked an arm into Remus’ and smiled. “Oh, yes, what are we going to call you now?”

“Linda?” suggested Ron.

“Ann?” Harry piped in.

Sirius looked into his lover’s eyes. “How about Vivian?”

“First you intend Lupin to look like Julia Roberts, and now you take one of her character and name him that? How original can you get, Black?” drawled Severus. Nobody was stupid enough to ask how Severus knew about “Pretty Woman.”

“I think it will work,” Remus smoothly interrupted. “Let’s go, Hermione. Let’s go shopping. Maybe I’ll finally understand you ladies’ love for such excursions.”

“Yes, Vivian, let’s leave the ‘men’ alone to their business. And we shall come back and show them the real ‘Vivian’.” The two of them Apparated away and left the others behind.

The remaining men looked at each other.

“Chess anyone?” Ron pulled out his portable chessboard and glanced at someone hopefully.

Severus thought to himself. The idea of socialising with Sirius left him feeling disgusted, so he decided to play chess. Besides, he wanted to defeat a Weasley and prove their incompetence. “I’ll play you, Weasley.”

Harry took this opportunity to start a game of Exploding Snap with Sirius, and the four spent the next few hours amusing themselves.

After a long day of shopping, Remus realised why men like him avoided such activity. How in Godric’s name women lived on this was a mystery to him. He was tired; his feet and his arms were sore from walking from stores to stores and from carrying the purchases.

Hermione made him try on item after item. He went into the dressing room, and he hated it. The cramped space bought him back memories of being locked up in a cage during his change when he was younger. However, he had no choice, so he had to endure the small area or face changing in front of other people. He never considered himself an exhibitionist except to his lover.

“‘The work’, eh? Seems more like a whole new wardrobe,” he muttered to himself when he was in the dressing room trying on underwear.

He did not like it when Hermione was looking at his glamorised breasts. Even though Hermione hadn’t meant the action to be a sexual one, he now knew how some women felt when men were ogling their breasts. After trying on couple bras, Hermione had declared that he was a 34 C.

Remus was grateful that he didn’t have to learn how to apply makeup. Wearing the clothes was good enough, or maybe bad enough for him. But nevertheless, he was still thankful.

After five hours of shopping, they came back to the flat. Everyone’s mouth, including Severus’, dropped open.

“Holy shite, Hermione. What’d you do?” Ron managed to ask, barely moving his mouth.

Everyone’s eyes were on Remus’ form. He was wearing blue jean flairs that made his legs seem longer. He had on top a white peasant shirt, and it was revealing the top part of his chest. He had on shoes with no heels. Remus had drawn the line about wearing shoes with heels. He said he was not going to learn how to walk in those while he was a female. Hermione reluctantly agreed.

Sirius walked up to his mate with an undecipherable look on his face. He took Remus’ face in his hand and looked into his eyes. “You look beautiful. If you were a real woman and I wasn’t gay, I’d go after you in a heartbeat.”

Blushing, Remus was too tongue-tied to say anything.

Harry shook himself out of his reverie. “Well . . . Hermione. You certainly know how to dress anyone up.” Everyone except for Severus nodded to Harry’s assessment.

“Yes. I have to agree with Harry on this sudden turn of event. I reckon.” Severus stood up from where he was sitting. “Harry, we should leave now.” He turned to Remus. “I’ll owl you more voice changing potion later.”

Harry said his goodbyes and Apparated with Severus. Ron and Hermione left as well, not before reminding Remus to go out in public with Sirius often so people know that Sirius and Remus “broke up”.

After they left, Remus talked. “Damn it feels weird to hear my voice as a man when I look like a woman.”

Laughing, Sirius said, “I still like your original body better.”

“If you do, take this glamour off, please?”

“Will do.” Sirius smirked. “How about changing out of the clothes first. Wouldn’t want them to get ripped after just buying them.”

Remus nodded and picked up the packages and walked toward the bedroom. When he noticed Sirius was not following him, he stopped and turned around. “Sirius, I am not going to become butt naked here. I am not that much of an exhibitionist.”

“Aw, Remus. No one is here.”

“Then you will sleep out here tonight since you seem to like this place so much,” Remus deadpanned.

Sirius pouted very cutely and walked behind Remus. Upon entering their room, Sirius closed the door and turned around. He saw Remus throwing the packages on the floor and quickly took off his clothes. Sirius pulled out his wand and said “Finite Incantatem”.

Remus got his normal body back and sighed in relief. “I think this is a bad idea.”

“But it’s the only way . . . unless you want me to do it.”

“No,” said Remus, shaking his head. “I said I will do it, and I will stick with it.”

Sirius crossed the short distance and wrapped his arms around Remus’ nude body. “I love you so much, Remus.”

“So do I,” Remus replied, hugging him back. “Now, though . . . I think you should take some clothes off as well. You have an unfair advantage of me.” He smirked and started to lift up Sirius’ tee shirt.

Sirius raised his arms up so Remus could take the shirt of easily. Sirius was about to unzip his jean when Remus attacked his mouth. Good thing Sirius was standing by the bed, or he would have fallen straight to the floor. His back hit the bed, and he started to kiss back.

Sirius pushed Remus back gently and said, “Make love to me, Remus.”

Remus groaned a yes and started to kiss Sirius’ neck. He nibbled and sucked gently. Sirius moaned at the attention he was getting. Remus stopped and looked down. “Of course I will. Just don’t talk.” He went back to ravishing his lover and made love to him.

“I hardly think this was a good idea to come to Hogsmeade . . . ” Remus looked around nervously. He was in one of his new outfit he bought with Hermione. Sirius and Remus decided to do their first outing at the Three Broomsticks on a Saturday.

Sirius glanced incredulously at Remus. “But Re–, I mean Vivian, you wanted to come here. You said you wanted some butterbeer!”

“Yeah, but I am nervous.”

Three weeks had passed for the two men. They figured that three weeks was good enough to make everything seem as if Sirius and Remus had broken up, and Sirius found a new lover. Remus’ exact words were “You have a reputation that you kept at school as a studboy before you and I got together, so it is not going to be too much of a surprise when people see you with a new a lover. Three weeks should do it.” They even planned a public argument at the Leaky Cauldron. Remus pretended to be really mad and said that he was going to go to Scotland until Sirius mended his ways and said that they were through. The people at the Leaky Cauldron were so shocked to see two of their war heroes being split up that the rumour mill went around fast.

“Don’t be. I’m with you,” Sirius took Remus’ hand and walked into the Three Broomsticks. “Hey, Rosmerta!”

Rosmerta turned around and looked at Sirius with an amazed expression. “Sirius, so good to see you once more, and . . . ” she trailed off. “Where’s Remus?”

“We split up.” Sirius answered hastily. “But here, I’d like you to meet Vivian.” Sirius smiled and indicated the woman next to him. “Vivian, this is Rosmerta. She’s the owner of the Three Broomsticks.”

Rosmerta gave “Vivian” a guarded look. “Pleased to meet you.” She turned and looked at Sirius. “So the rumours were true? I couldn’t believe them at all. But now . . . it looks like I am seeing them for myself.”

Remus felt bad for deceiving Rosmerta, but he knew this was needed. “Enjoy your stay here, gentl — I mean, Sirius and Vivian.” She walked away.

Sirius grinned and led them to an empty table. “What do you want to drink?”

“Get me a . . . ” Remus hesitated, ” . . . a butterbeer.”

Sirius walked up to the bar and ordered their drinks. Remus looked around and saw Minerva walking past him, giving him a suspicious look. He almost called out to her and remembered that he was supposed to be “Vivian”, not Remus. Sirius came back a few minutes later, carrying their drinks. He handed Remus the butterbeer and drank his own.

“So how do you like this place?” Sirius asked, trying to start a conversation.

Remus remembered to have an accent since “Vivian” was not from England. “Very nice. This place is cosier than the place I went to near Beauxbatons.” Remus forced a smile and put his hand on Sirius’ arm. “So this the infamous place I have heard so much about where you went as a student.”

Sirius grinned happily. “Yes. All the memories, good or bad, resides around this area the most.”

Remus secretly agreed to himself and was about to say something when a cheery voice interrupted.

“Well, well, who do we have here? Sirius? And who is this lovely lady next to you?” Albus Dumbledore with his benign smile, walked over to the couple.

Sirius choked on his drink and looked up at the revered wizard. “Oh, Albus, it’s you.” He and Remus stood up quickly.

“Albus, I’d like you to meet the new love of my life, Vivian. And Vivian, this is Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. I’ve told you all about him a lot.”

Eyes twinkling, Albus took Remus’ hand and brought it up to his lips. “Pleased to meet such a lovely lady.”

“Pleased to meet you too, Professor Dumbledore,” said Remus.

“Well, Sirius, my boy, I must return back to Hogwarts. I do wish you and Miss Vivian here lots of luck. I do hope your plans all work out.” Humming, Albus walked out.

Remus leaned over to Sirius, “Let’s leave. I’m tired.”

Sirius nodded, and they both Apparated to their flat. Remus sat down on the couch noisily and sighed. “I think Albus suspects.”

“Oh great . . . ”

“Yes. Nothing ever gets passed that man. I don’t think he will tell anyone though. In fact, knowing him, he probably thinks our plan is very hilarious.”

“It is ingenious,” said Sirius, grinning madly. “I mean after all, it’s like we are acting in a play and succeeding.”

“I cannot wait till this is over. I do not like this, but such sacrifices must be made.” Remus sighed and started to take off his clothes. “I do not enjoy being a woman. No I do not.”

Sirius smiled and began to help. “I know, Remus. But it’ll be over soon before you know it and then after all this is done, you are gonna wish you were still a woman.”

Dryly, Remus said, “Sure. When Lord Voldemort dresses in a pink tutu and dances to the Swan Lake music, then that will happen.”

The next few weeks were either heaven or hell for Remus. He went out in public with Sirius often to prove that Sirius and “Vivian” were going out and are in love. Most of the other wizards and witches were getting used to seeing Sirius without Remus. Remus would come out as himself once in a while to prove that. Others had seen him with another woman, a friend of Hermione’s. The woman was an advocate for werewolves’ rights, so those two were seen together frequently.

After those few weeks, Sirius and Remus finally decided that it was time to propose to “Vivian”. Sirius dragged Hermione with him to the jewellery store saying he needed help with this ring-buying thing. Hermione agreed and came.

“How about that one?” Sirius pointed at a lovely platinum ring that had sapphires around the diamonds.

Hermione glanced at it quickly and answered, “Sure. If you are willing to pay an arm and a leg.”

That had been the tenth ring Hermione shrugged off at. Sirius was getting a bit frustrated. The previous rings were too feminine, too gold, too silver, or too this and that.

“Well, then you choose!” Sirius threw his hands up in the air in defeat. “What would you suggest?”

“Get a simple platinum band.”

“Hermione. Have you forgotten this is for a woman?”

“No, I have not forgotten, Sirius. Just choose a simple band for now Rowena’s sake!”

Sirius chose a simple platinum ring and asked for the price. The ring wasn’t too cheap or expensive. Sirius paid for it, and got it in a lovely box, with a strange look from the saleswoman of the store. But wisely, she didn’t say anything. Hermione stepped out of the store with satisfaction.

“Let’s go to my flat. It’s not very far from here.” Hermione started to walk down the street with Sirius following her.

As soon as they reached the flat, Sirius turned to her. “So what’s the deal?”

“Sirius. Sometimes I think your obsession with Muggles are making you forget you’re a wizard,” said Hermione turning on the lights with a flick of her wand. “We can charm not only for it to fit whoever’s wearing it, but charm it so it looks like a woman’s wedding ring.”

“Oh . . . ” Sirius blushed. “I knew that.”

Hermione asked for the box that held the ring and opened it. She said the incantation that charmed the ring to fit on anyone’s finger and made it look more feminine. She handed it back to Sirius.

“Beautiful . . . at times like this it’s a shame Remus is not a woman,” Sirius laughed out a loud. “Thanks a lot, Hermione.”

She smiled. “Now shoo. You have a dinner date to keep and have proposing to do!”

Laughing Sirius Apparated to his and Remus’ flat.

Remus was not comfortable. Hermione had talked him into wearing heels. They were low heels, but he still did not like them period. At least they aren’t too difficult to walk in. Today was a big day, so Remus had to dress up. Unfortunately, he had to dress up as a woman. Hermione had made reservations at a nice Muggle restaurant, saying that this was like a five-star restaurant for Sirius to propose in. So they both had to be on the formal side.

Sirius was wearing black slacks with a white button down shirt with a black jacket over it. Remus thought Sirius had it easier, while he had to wear some kind of cocktail dress, as Hermione called it, with painful open-toed shoes with heels. He admitted he looked nice, but considered this dress not for comfort. Hermione chose a black dress saying it went with everything and matched his date. Remus dutifully followed along and wished he hadn’t now. He came to a conclusion: Women definitely did not have it easier than men.

“How’s the food?” Sirius asked, breaking Remus’ deep concentration.

Remus smiled. “The food is delicious.” That was the only good thing in this entire ordeal.

“Yeah. Hermione said this place really got great food.” Sirius grinned. “And a good wine selection!”

“You and your obsession for alcohol.” Remus laughed and shook his head. “You are so predictable, in a delightful way.”

Sirius sheepishly raised his glass and said, “Cheers.”

Remus followed along. Sirius got a solemn expression on his face, and Remus knew what was coming next.

Sirius got up and kneeled down next to Remus. He dug through his pockets and pulled out a box, he opened it and there in the middle was a beautiful ring. An enchanted ring but a ring nonetheless. He raised the box and started on his speech.

“Vivian, we haven’t known each other as long as we should know, but I feel like we’ve known each other for a long time. I love you very much. Love you more than life can take. Vivian, will you marry me?”

Blushing, Remus actually thought this was a sentimental moment, and tears came to his eyes. “Oh, Sirius, yes!”

Remus raised Sirius up from the ground and kissed him fully on the lips. Parting, he said, “I love you, Sirius Black.”

Taking the ring out of the box, Sirius gently slipped it on Remus’ finger. They looked at each other in the eyes, and it seemed like time had stopped for both of them. Despite all the troubles Remus went through, and yet more troubles were coming, he knew all this was worth “marrying” Sirius Black.

Sirius broke the moment by saying, “Now for the wedding plans.” Remus silently groaned at the assessment and nodded.

A couple weeks later, Sirius and Remus invited everyone who were in the plot and were lounging in the sitting room once again.

Remus was his usual self. The only visible feminine object on Remus was the ring. It looked odd, but once the ordeal was done with, the ring would return to its original ambiguous form. They were here to discuss what was supposed to happen now.

“So now what?” Ron asked the obvious.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I always forget how dense he can be. Ron, the most apparent thing to do now is for them to get married.”

“I know that, Hermione. What I mean is what’s happening next? Like what’s the next step?”

Hermione smiled widely, which gave Remus bad feelings. “Outfit shopping!”

All the men turned and gawked at her, except for Severus who glowered in the side. “Huh?”

“We can dress them up in Muggle or Wizarding style. Which would you prefer, Remus? Sirius?” Hermione jumped ahead.

The two in question looked at each other. “Er . . . ” Sirius rubbed the back of his head. “Not sure. What would you suggest, Herm?”

“Oh for . . . ” Hermione rolled her eyes. “Whichever you choose, it won’t matter because you are going to have to have the Minister of Magic there to verify.”

“Damn, Fudge,” Sirius muttered under his breath. “I’m surprised he’s still in there.”

“Yes, yes.” She waved her hands impatiently. “Hopefully he’ll be sacked one day, but it doesn’t look like any time soon. Let’s just deal with him for a few minutes while he gives you his blessing or whatever.”

“Sirius?” Remus turned to his lover. “What do you prefer? Muggles or Wizarding?”

Sirius pondered for a minute before he answered. “Wizarding. All you have to do is wear a robe, and the robes are not gender-specific.”

“Smart answer considering that if we go with the plan, changing Remus back to his original form would be problematic if he was wearing those wedding gowns.” Severus drawled from where he stood.

“I didn’t ask for your comments, Snape!” Sirius snapped.

“I think Wizarding style will be good,” Remus said, wanting to avoid any confrontations. “Besides, I am tired of wearing all these feminine clothes.”

Harry and Ron both laughed while Hermione covered her smile with her hand.

“I don’t blame you, Remus. It must be uncomfortable to say the least,” Ron said between his laughter.

“Anyway, all we have to do now is purchase the robes. The one Remus will wear will be baggier, so that after the transformations, he’ll be comfortable.” Hermione clapped her hands, happy that the plan was going so well. “So, ‘Vivian’, let’s go shopping.”

Remus groaned, while everyone minus Severus sniggered. He then sighed, wanting this to be over with.

Sirius and Remus waited in a room at the Ministry along with Harry, Severus, Ron and Hermione who were going to be their witnesses. Remus was posing as “Vivian” again. Only this time, he wore a generic white robe. Hermione had helped choose the robe, and even if it was a generic kind, it still had a soft, feminine approach to it. After purchasing the robe, they made sure it would fit him even after he transformed back to his original form.

While Remus wore a white one, Sirius wore a navy-blue one. Hermione chose that colour on purpose for it brought out the blue colour of Sirius’ eyes. Remus secretly agreed on that. And he was thankful to Hermione and everyone involved with the plan. Now he and Sirius could legally be married. Even if it was taking a long time.

“What’s taking so long? Do the Ministry honestly believe that we want to spend our lives in this room?” Sirius grumbled. “How long does it take for someone like Fudge to say the legal stuff, the couples to sign the documents, and poof, they are done?”

“Sirius,” Remus inwardly grimaced at the high sound of his own voice. “Be patient. They will soon call all of us in.”

“Yes, Sirius. A lot of couples are opting for this style of marriage instead of the old-fashioned ones at the churches. Going to see the Minister of Magic, getting his approval on the legal documents is a lot cheaper than the older ways. Saves a lot of the couples’ money, so I’m sure there are a lot of them ahead of us.” Hermione said, trying to rationalise Sirius’ edginess

Ron jumped up from his chair when he saw that the door was being opened. A Ministry official entered and said, “Sirius? Vivian? Minister Fudge is ready for you now.”

Everyone stood up. On the outside, everyone except Severus looked happy, but inside, they were nervous, worried that the plans wouldn’t go through. Sirius grabbed Remus’ hand and held onto it with his life as they walked stiffly through the hallway to Fudge’s office.

They all soon entered the office, and Fudge stood up from his desk. “Ah, Sirius Black is finally getting married to . . . ” he glanced at the documents, “Vivian. I’m sure you two will be happy together.”

Sirius nodded.

“Shall we carry on with the procedure?” Fudge didn’t wait for any answers as he went on with the legal oath that would bind the two together. After he completed the oath, he pushed forward the document. “Sign here, and then give your bride the ring.”

Sirius signed first. Then Remus did so as well, feeling uncomfortable using a name that wasn’t his. The documents were then signed by the others as proof of witnesses.

“I now can call you two husband and wife.” Fudge clapped his hands. “Now the rings.”

Sirius gently slipped the ring on Remus’ finger. The two shared a poignant kiss. As soon as they separated, Hermione stepped forward and handed Fudge the name-changing certificate. “Minister, sir, Vivian here wants to change her name to something else, and we need your signature here.”

“Ah, not a problem, my dear.” Without looking at the entire form, he signed his name. Then he looked at it closely. “Remus Lupin?”

“That would be correct.” As soon as Sirius said that, he took out his wand and undid the glamorising spells. Remus went back to his original body.

Fudge stared at them in shock, his mouth wide opened. “How, how . . . what in Merlin?!”

“You see, Minister,” Hermione continued, acting as a spokesperson for the group. “We do realise that same-sex marriage is not allowed in the Wizarding world, but we did find a loophole through it. And this was it. Remus here pretended to be a woman just so he could marry his true love. Once that’s done, all we had left was to change Sirius’ bride’s name to Remus Lupin.”

Fudge went red in his entire face. “You cannot do that! It’s not allowed at all!”

“Ah, on the contrary, Minister,” Severus said in his quiet, dangerous voice, making the Minister shrink back down in fear. “It is done, and the only way to cancel out the marriage is if these two ever want to separate. At the moment, the Ministry has no say on it.”

Sirius at that point grabbed the name-changing certificate off of Fudge’s desk, and Remus clutched the marriage certificate tightly in his hands. They all sighed in relief, especially Remus, as they walked out of the office, leaving behind an irate Fudge.

Before they closed the door, they heard Fudge scream out, “The public will know about this!”

“Oh, let them know! I could care less at the moment!” Sirius snapped out.

As they walked through the Ministry to get out of there, other people stared at the group. The ones who had seen them earlier remembered seeing Vivian with Sirius. Now they saw Remus instead, and the whispers of gossip went flying around them. The group ignored everyone, and soon they came outside.

“Wow. We got away with it.” Ron was having trouble breathing as Hermione tried to calm him down.

“For Merlin’s sake, Ron. Sirius and Remus should be the one having a seizure instead of you!” Harry exclaimed.

“But then again, he’s a Weasley, Harry. Weasleys tend to overdo things,” Severus said, ignoring the glare coming from Ron.

“Sirius, Remus, you are going to your honeymoon now, right? Wasn’t it Greece?” Hermione changed the subject quickly.

“Yeah. We have our floo connected to the Greek’s version of the Leaky Cauldron. We’re all packed now, so we can go there now if we want. After I change out of this robe.” Remus stated. “I am not wearing anything feminine for the rest of my life!”

“That reminds me.” Hermione waved her wand and the ring went back to its original form. “Almost forgot. Anyway, Remus, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad being a woman.”

“I guess,” he admitted. “I sure respect them more. That’s for sure.”

They all laughed with the exception of Severus.

“Well, enjoy your honeymoon, newlyweds.” Harry hugged his godfather. “So does that mean I call you godmother now, Remus?”

“Bloody hell, Harry. You call me that, I’ll hex you!” Remus exclaimed as he hugged Harry.

“Okay, okay.”

“So what’s our agenda tomorrow?” Sirius asked, as they lazed around in the bed of the hotel they were staying at.

“I figure seeing the Temple of Athena would be interesting. And other historical places.”

Sirius pretended to groan. “This is what I get for letting you choose Greece of all place. You and your Greek mythology.”

“Shut up, Sirius,” Remus said, playfully hitting his husband on the side of the head. “You wanted to come here too, remember?”

“Only because you wanted to, Remus.” Sirius rested against the headboard and sighed. “I wonder if the Daily Prophet is having a good time writing our ‘scandal’?”

“Who knows. They probably are. All I know is that I’m sure we gave other gay couples an idea on how to get married now. Unless the Ministry changes the loophole. Even if they did, it will take forever to get it through.”

Sirius tackled his lover and straddled him. Remus gasped out loud. “Sirius?”

“Sod the talking. It’s our honeymoon. And we all know what honeymooners do!” Sirius started to kiss and sucked the tender flesh on Remus’ neck.

“Of course I do; they put honey on their arse and moon it to their lovers.” Remus’ wide smile brought sparkles out of his eyes. “That’s why the name honeymoon came to be.”

Sirius paused in his movement. “That actually makes sense. Should I go get some honey just for that?”

“Don’t you dare!” Remus nudged his hips into Sirius’. “Finish what you started!”

“Your wish is my command. I love you.” Sirius kissed Remus deeply, and they soon forgot all about the Ministry, Vivian, and even the honey.

The final battle was over.

Through dragons, hexes, goblins, sword fighting, giants, and the unforgivables, Voldemort had finally been vanquished.

Through past experiences, Albus and Severus knew that the Avada Kedavra curse wouldn’t work against the Dark Lord, so Severus had researched and found an answer. The answer was that of an old spell – so ancient that even Voldemort himself hadn’t known about it. Despite Sirius’ complaint about the “greasy git” teaching him a “DARK spell”, Severus trained Harry and he succeeded.

After Voldemort’s fall, the remaining Death Eaters tried to escape, but the aurors and the members of the Order captured many. One of them was Peter Pettigrew. Arthur Weasley took over Cornelius Fudge’s position and became the new Minister of Magic. He pardoned Sirius and now the Animagus was able to know the joy of being a free man once again.

A few days after the final battle, Sirius, Severus, Remus, and several aurors went to scope out the Riddles’ manor. They were told to look for dark artefacts and other objects in the old house. During the assignment, the aurors had the honour of seeing another infamous Snape and Black dispute.

“Why the hell did you ever let Harry learn something like that?!” Sirius glared at Severus, still not forgiving him for what he had forced Harry to do or for his past treatment of the boy.

Severus rolled his eyes. “Please, Black. Spare me the melodrama of an idiotic Gryffindor.” He continued to make his way to the entrance of the manor. “We killed Voldemort and that’s all that matters in this ridiculous situation, isn’t it?”

Sirius fumed. “You greasy git, you are a good for nothing. Nothing at all.”

Severus ignored him and continued to make his way toward the front door. They all entered and started their search.

Sirius searched through several rooms of the house, finding nothing. Finally, he came to the last area he had been assigned to: Voldemort’s private rooms.

Sirius looked around. Like its predecessors, this room was also dark and gloomy. The space was large. In its centre stood an enormous four-post bed, covered with velvet and satin sheets, blankets and heavy bed curtains in dark Slytherin colours. An oriental rug was spread out beneath the bed. Shelves upon shelves of books lined the western wall, and a green armchair and small table were positioned in front of the fireplace. Lastly, on both sides of the bed were night tables, each with a single drawer.

After flipping through book after book, looking under the chairs and bed, and searching inside the fireplace, he paused at the night tables. The drawer on the right revealed nothing, but when he opened the one on the left, he discovered a pensieve.

“Unbelievable. Even he needed one?” Sirius raised his wand and checked for any curses. There weren’t any. He was about to leave the room to show the others what he had acquired when he paused in curiosity.

“Hm . . . if I look into the pensieve, I wonder if I’ll find proof that Snape truly was a traitor and that he joined Voldemort of his own free will to torture us Marauders, minus Peter. With his extensive knowledge in the Dark Arts, I think it’s appropriate that the others and I make sure he doesn’t become ambitious enough to be the next Dark Lord,” thought Sirius.

Sirius continued to stare at the pensieve in his hands. On its own, the object appeared innocent enough, but knowing whom it belonged to made him shudder, both with apprehension and intense curiosity.

He glanced around to make sure that no one was around to see him, and then shrunk the pensieve and pocketed it. He walked out with a smug expression on his face.

“I finally get to sack him with this pensieve as evidence.” With that thought in mind, he left, never knowing that Severus was hidden in the corner, with an expressionless look on his face.

As soon as he got to his rooms at Hogwarts, provided kindly by Albus, he slammed the door and spelled it locked. He walked up to the bed and fell back on it in exhaustion, sprawling out lazily. In that position, he dug through his robe’s pockets to find the mini-pensieve. After growing it back to its original size, Sirius once again stared at it.

After a while, he set the object down next to him on the bed and gazed around the room. His quarters weren’t very large, but they were big enough to accommodate Sirius, and it was cosy due to the warm, steadily burning fireplace. As for contents, the room itself was nearly bare. Sirius really didn’t have time to settle down – he’d only been a free man for a few days, and had been busy hunting down the Death Eaters and dark artefacts.

Sirius sighed to himself. While Arthur did pardon him, he knew that many still didn’t believe he was innocent. Especially Severus. He scowled. Severus would never believe him innocent, even if the truth were written on his beaky nose, for Merlin’s sake!

Grabbing the pensieve, he sat up quickly and decided to get this over with. As much as he wanted proof that Severus was guilty, he shuddered at the thought of going through Voldemort’s mind.

With a deep breath, he brought his wand to the pensieve and looked into the supposedly harmless bowl.

In the glassy surface of the pensieve, he saw trees. Looking closely, he noticed that those trees were part of the Forbidden Forest. The moon was full, but it was beginning its waning stages. He saw a figure hunched on the ground, its back against a tree. Gazing closely, he was surprised to see that the form was Severus.

Sirius grimaced and lowered his face to touch the contents of the pensieve so that he might get a closer look. He felt the expected pull, and then the sensation of passing through an icy cold vortex before eventually landing a few feet away from Severus.

He glanced around. The trees looked ominous in the dark night, making him shiver involuntarily. Strange. When he was in his Animagus form, he didn’t feel the fear, but as a human, he realised he was more vulnerable. He knew he wasn’t going to get hurt in this realm, at least he hoped he wouldn’t.

Sirius’ gaze went back to the slight form. With his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs, and his head bent as if he was crying, Sirius could tell he was off in his own world.

He was mumbling to himself.

Sirius couldn’t hear a word, so he walked up closer to the Slytherin.

“Damn, Dumbledore,” said Severus, breathing out in frustration. “He always favours the Gryffindorks. We Slytherins are always the bad ones. So if one of us is nearly murdered, he just makes us promise not to tell a soul, and gives the culprits detentions.”

The onlooker snorted. “So the prat is having a little self-pitying party. Funny. I suppose with an attitude like his, the only sympathy he’ll ever get is his own.” Sirius listened on.

“Black deserves more. Murderers like him ought to be sent to Azkaban. But no, he’s the kind-hearted boy everyone loves, Potter’s sidekick.”

Ironically, Sirius wondered whether or not Severus knew back then that his declaration was going to be fulfilled.

“Why was he able to get off so freely? I know if anyone from my house had tried to do what Black did, we’d be expelled and get sent to Azkaban at best. Other houses would have gotten off easily also. This whole predicament, and Dumbledore’s unfairness is an unjustifiable -”

” – act.” The pensieve Severus and the real Sirius both jumped at the sound, as a new voice interrupted Severus’ monologue. “I very much agree, Mr. Snape.”

Severus jumped up from his position on the ground and pulled his wand out. He snarled, “Who are you?! How dare you eavesdrop on me?”

A tall man came into view from behind the shelter of a cluster of trees not far away from where Severus stood. He had his hands spread out in front of him to indicate he meant no harm.

Severus put his arm down, his shoulders sagging in relief, yet his expression remained guarded. “Oh, good evening, Mr. Riddle.”

“Riddle?” Sirius whispered unbelievingly. “That’s Riddle? You mean Voldie, the ugly, was actually shaggable back then?” He gawked at the man who had to be Voldemort’s younger self. Sirius swallowed and studied the future Dark Lord. “Mr. Riddle” was dressed in an elegant forest green robe, and from the way it was shining in the moonlight, Sirius could tell that it was made of an expensive brand of silk. The man was taller than Severus by a few inches and was about the same height as himself. Sirius knew that he was closer to about fifty years old, but looked as if he wasn’t a day over thirty. His black hair was cut short and looked luxuriously healthy. His eyes, however, captured Sirius’ attention. He was so used to seeing the deformed Voldemort’s red eyes that discovering the brilliant and shadowy dark-green surprised him.

Voldemort, or in actuality, Tom Riddle, smiled at Severus and shook his head to get the bangs out of his eyes. “Haven’t seen you for a while, Severus. You were supposed to visit Lucius this winter holiday.”

Without looking at Tom, Severus answered coldly. “I was busy. I felt like staying back this year.” He sat back down on the ground and stared at the dirt.

“I see,” Tom nodded. “Shame though. We all missed you.”

Severus didn’t say anything.

Tom let out a sigh. “Okay, Severus, enough with this attempt at a conversation. What happened?”

“None of your business,” was the curt answer.

“Okay. You are right. This really isn’t any of my business. But I do care about you, Severus, and I’d like to see if I can help.”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Right. He’s going to offer Snape a chance to get back at the Marauders and all he has to do is to join the Death Eaters.”

“What can you do? Dumbledore, that idiot of a Headmaster, has the final say in whatever happens here.”

Tom smiled. “True. But what I meant was that perhaps you’d like someone to talk this over with.” Stretching himself out, he sat down on the ground in front of Severus. “You can talk to me. I won’t bite. Last time I checked, I wasn’t a cannibal.”

Severus stiffened at the last comment. “I see.”

A round of silence passed before Severus asked, “What are you doing here? This place is far from the Malfoy’s manor.”

“I had some business to do in the Forbidden Forest. After doing so, I decided to walk around here and came upon you talking to yourself.” Tom paused. “So what happened?”

Severus muttered something that sounded like “persistent bastard” before going on, “Nothing. Just a prank that went a bit far.”

“Oh?” Tom raised an eyebrow. “How far?”

“Far enough that I nearly died last night,” Severus snarled. “Does that answer your question?”

Tom nodded slightly. “Pretty much.”

“Then kindly go away.”

“If that’s what you want, then I’ll do so.” Tom got up and dusted himself off. “But first, let me accompany you out of here. You are still a minor, so if you get hurt or something were to happen to you, it would be my responsibility.”

Glaring, Severus reluctantly stood up. They both started walking back toward the castle, and Sirius followed them. No one said anything until they reached the end of the forest. Severus was about to turn to make his way to the entrance when Tom called out something.

“You are free to owl me sometimes, Severus. I’ll be willing to listen and talk with you. You are truly an interesting person.”

Severus stopped and turned around. “Thank you.”

Tom smiled handsomely and walked off.

“Thank you for saying I’m interesting . . . you are the first to say so to me, ever,” Severus said this so softly that Sirius almost didn’t catch it.

Blinking, Sirius gazed at his new surroundings. He glanced around the room and immediately noticed the elaborate decorations and designs. This must’ve been a guest room in the Malfoy manor. He saw Tom sitting at a desk. Moving in to get a closer look, he discovered that there were two sheets of parchment on the desk. Sirius quickly read over the one nearest him.

Mr. Riddle,

Remember your generous request of lending an ear? If you aren’t busy this upcoming weekend, could you come up to Hogsmeade? It is Hogsmeade weekend for us students, and I figured this would be the best time to meet outside of Hogwarts. If you’ve got other business to attend to, then I understand.

Cordially,
Severus Snape

After reading that, Sirius briefly remembered Severus receiving an owl at the Slytherin’s table. He thought quickly and noted that Severus did indeed get that particular owl a couple of days before the Hogsmeade weekend, and it shocked those that were paying attention to see him get an owl. Of their six years together, that was the first time Sirius and the other Marauders witnessed such an incident.

After pulling himself back from memory lane, he glanced at the other parchment and saw that Tom had finished his letter and was now reading what he had written. Mystified, Sirius read along.

Severus,

Of course it wouldn’t be a hassle for me to meet you this weekend. I always can make time for someone like you. Now how about meeting me at Hog’s Head, about four o’ clock. That shall give you plenty of time to do your excursions. I’ll be waiting.

Tom

PS – Don’t call me “Mr. Riddle”. Tom will do.

The settings changed again immediately. Sirius recognised the place as Hog’s Head, the familiar grimy, murky bar that attracted strange folks

He saw Severus entered and look around for Tom. When Severus finally located him, he walked into the darkest corner of the room and sat across from the older man. Sirius stalked over to the area and eavesdropped.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Rid -, I mean Tom.”

Tom let out a great big smile before answering, “Good afternoon to you, Severus. What would you like to drink?”

“Butterbeer, please.”

Tom signalled a man over to their table and asked for one butterbeer and firewhiskey for himself. After they got their drinks, and Tom made sure they were in clean glasses, he initiated the conversation.

“So what do I have the pleasure of your company today, Severus?”

Uncomfortably he shifted his posture, but never once his bland expression wavering. “I just wanted to talk to someone. Someone who would listen. I hope you don’t mind me for making you come out for no particular reasons . . . ”

With a wave of his hand, he brushed off Severus’ subtle apology. “No reason to be sorry. I told you that I am available for you anytime, and being with you is most certainly not a waste at all. But honestly, don’t you have any other people to talk to? Like a fellow Slytherin?”

“I am not open with many people my age. The other Slytherins view me ask a weak figure, just because I can’t defend myself from the Marauder’s pranks. And of course we all know I am not friends with the students from the other houses -” Sirius chortled in the background.” – so I have no one else really. I am a loner by nature.”

“What about your parents?” Tom asked, leaning forward with his hands in front of his face, clutched together. “Aren’t you close with your father? From what I’ve seen and heard, he seems to value you.”

A bitter look came upon Severus’ face. “When we are in public, he acts so proud of me, but really, at home, he despises me. He says I am nothing but a disgrace to the Snapes.”

“How so?”

“Because of my skills.”

“What of your skills?”

Severus glared at Tom. “With all due respect, sir, you never relent, do you?”

Tom smirked. “No, I don’t.” His smirk disappeared and a serious look replaced his face. “I don’t care if I have to tell you this a hundred of times, but I really do care and even if I have to force you to say something to prove I do, I will.”

Still scowling, Severus didn’t say anything.

“So, what of your skills, Severus?”

” . . . He just doesn’t like my interest in potion making . . . ”

“Why not? Potion making is an art. A skill that requires more than just mixing up ingredients together.”

Severus relaxed his posture a bit, glad that he found someone who understood the precise meaning of potions. “My father doesn’t see it that way. He prefers me to delve into the Dark Arts. Ever since I was young, he made me read books on the subject and when I finally got my wand the summer before going to Hogwarts, he made me practise the spells constantly.”

“I see. So you aren’t into the Dark Arts, then?”

Severus shook his head. “I like learning about them. It’s an interesting concept. But I prefer potions, a procedure that I can be infallible with. Potion allows me to do that.”

“So does the Dark Arts,” Tom interjected.

“Yes. They do. But the subject just isn’t . . . me.”

Nodding understandingly, he reached over to touch Severus’ shoulder. “I understand. No offence to you, but potion never was fascinating to me as it is to you.”

“Potion really isn’t for anybody, just like the Dark Arts not being for everyone either,” Severus said this wisely.

“So your father would rather see you do something like Dark Arts because he’s into it?”

He nodded. “He’d rather see me be into anything but potions. He claims that anyone can brew something simple as a calming potion. He’d rather see me interested in something as Transfigurations.” He sipped his butterbeer and scowled. “Something he claims that Black is excellent at.”

Sirius jumped at the sudden mention of his name.

“Black . . . ? You mean Sirius? The great-great-grandson of Phineas Nigellus?”

Severus nodded. “I believe so, yes. You know they are related?”

Tom laughed heartily. “I read Hogwarts: A History enough to remember he was the least popular headmaster. And I do keep updates on pureblood families. Families like yours, Severus.”

“Unfortunately for me, my father and Black’s mother are real good friends. I hear so many things about him from father, even though his mother seems to be rather edgy with him these days. But my father seems to respect him enough.”

Tom studied him intently. “So are you jealous of that respect?”

He didn’t say anything. Instead he stared down into his drink.

“There are so many reasons why I’m jealous of Black, but . . . ” Severus hesitated, “I guess that’s one of the reasons why.”

Neither of the men said anything. Both sipping their drinks and staring off into space peacefully. As the evening drew near, more and more people, who looked dodgier than the two sitting in the corner, came in. Severus glanced at the clock above Tom’s head and realised it was already six-thirty. Tom saw where his companion was looking at and smiled.

“I guess you should be heading back now.” He stood up, and Severus followed his actions. “This has been an enjoyable time for me, Severus. I do hope we do this more often. Remember, I am free whenever you need me. Oh and don’t bother about the drinks. They are my treats.”

A small smile played on Severus’ lips. “Thank you for the drinks, Tom. And I really did appreciate the time we spent together as well.”

Tom walked Severus to the exit of the bar, “Feel free to owl me to schedule another time, alright?”

Severus nodded and walked off. After watching him stride away to Hogwarts, Tom turned and went back into Hog’s Head. Walking back into the corner, Sirius saw that a new person was occupying the space, Lucius Malfoy.

Sirius growled to himself. Turmoil of emotion was going through him once again. He wasn’t very happy at seeing Malfoy at all. He was also confused by Tom’s actions and by Severus’ enigmatic words.

“What in the bloody name does he mean by being jealous of me? I bet you he has no reasons. In fact, I probably have more reasons to be jealous and resentful of him! Not surprising the way my mum would always gush about Mr. Snape’s only son!” Sirius muttered under his breath.

His reverie was cut off by Tom’s laughter.

“Yes, Lucius. Severus does show potential. He will be a great asset to our circle of Death Eaters. His potion expertise will come in handy and so will his curses. After hearing about what his father made him do, I can see that the rumours about him knowing more curses and hexes than any other first years is true.”

Lucius bowed his head. “Yes, my Lord. I was rather surprised to see him be so intimate with his wand and the spells. Surprised me immensely.”

“Yes, yes. I’ve got my work to cut out for me though. Apparently that boy needs a friend and a father figure that will treat him with respect. I will give him that.” Tom’s eyes became shadowed. “In fact, I think that even if I didn’t have an ulterior motive in this whole event, I’d still try to be a friend to him. He reminds me of myself when I was younger . . . ”

“You are too kind, my Lord.”

Tom smiled not so benevolently. “I am, Lucius. I am.”

Before Sirius had enough time to contemplate on what he had just heard, the scenery changed once again. He found himself back at the Malfoy’s manor once again, in Tom’s room. In front of him, was the fireplace with two comfortable looking armchairs. The fire wasn’t lit, and the chairs were occupied. Tom sat on the right, while Severus was in the left.

“I am glad you accepted the Malfoy’s invitation to come here for the summer holidays,” Tom sipped his tea and set it back down on the small tea table in front of him.

Severus had a cup of tea also, sipped his and held it in his hand, concentrating on the warm colour of the milky brown substance. “I’m glad as well.”

“Are you looking forward to going back to Hogwarts for your last year?”

“I guess . . . ” He trailed off and shrugged. “School is no longer a place I consider a blissful sanctuary anymore.”

Tom nodded supportively. “Simply amazing how someone who’s supposedly a good person can ruin his students, whom he supposedly cares.”

Sirius noticed that Severus looked uncomfortable about the subject of Albus, and Tom changed the subjects quickly.

“Anyways, Severus, I have something that might interest you.” Reaching over on the other side of the armchair, furthest away from Severus, he picked up a book that Sirius had somehow missed seeing. He handed it over to Severus. “Here. I think you will enjoy making experimental potions, and since Professor Singh highly favours your skills and allows you to use the spare lab near the dorm, you will have no problem doing this project.”

Severus’ mouth dropped open and that eased away his “permanent” scowl and made him look more human. He was so shocked that he didn’t accept the book. “That’s . . . that’s . . . ” He swallowed and found his tongue again. “That’s the fifteenth century book about rare potions from everything to love potions to distress potions!”

Smiling, Tom shoved the book into the offered hands. “Use it well. I found this book during my travels in the earlier days and kept it. But since I lack the skills you have, I figured that passing this book along to you will be more beneficial.”

Severus’ fingers closed over the books, holding them without any ounce of pressure, for the fear that it will get damaged if handled not so gently. “Thank you . . .  I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t thank me, Severus.” Tom had a peaceful look on his face. “This gesture is the same one I would have done if my son, which I haven’t had yet, was dedicated to potions, just like you.”

Feeling the proverbial shift, Sirius found himself at a new place. A place he doesn’t recognised. He looked around and saw that he was at some sort of a graveyard. He looked straight ahead and saw many robed bodies. Their backs were to Sirius and they were bent as if they were bowing to someone. Walking up to the front, he saw Tom as Voldemort and two people that were dressed as Muggles.

Sirius winced as he heard the well-known demonic, cold voice spoken coolly. Strange how after seeing the “nice” Voldemort, hearing the melodic, husky voice, he couldn’t help but see why people were drawn to him. Apparently there were two sides to that man. The decent side was probably used to recruit followers and then the immoral side was used during Death Eater’s businesses. He couldn’t help but remember Lily talking about Hitler and how his speeches and his voice drew people to him. Similar things seemed to apply to Voldemort as well.

“Walden and Lucius, show me your loyalty to me. Torture these good for nothing, Muggles.”

The two spoken men came up from the group and bowed even lower. “Yes, my lord,” they both replied. They sneered at the trembling Muggles and each went to their jobs.

Walden took the female and immediately cast the Cruciatus Curse. Lucius used Imperio on the remaining Muggle and ordered the man to start ripping off the clothes of the female. He then ordered the man to pick up the knife that Lucius threw on the ground and start slashing the woman, after Walden petrified the woman. She couldn’t move or scream, but Sirius saw that she was struggling against the Petrificus Totalus spell and was draining of her energy.

Sirius felt sick. The other Death Eaters around him and Voldemort looked amused. The Death Eaters were laughing and screaming in delight. Occasional shouts of encouragement cheered out.

The woman slowly bled to death, her own blood seeping out from the many wounds was blending into the dark soil. Walden neutralised the petrifying spell and the woman took her last breath and died. Lucius stopped the Imperio curse and the man fell to his knees, sobbing and muttering incoherently about how he killed his own wife. At this point, Voldemort stepped up and said the two most feared words.

With a bored expression, he waved his wand and said “Avada Kedavra.” The man slumped to the ground and was dead on the spot.

Voldemort motioned for the bodies to be moved somewhere else. He spoke up again. “Now that’s one ways to get rid of Muggles.”

All the Death Eaters laughed and bowed their head.

“We are slowly gaining more followers. But we still aren’t enough to take on larger attacks. And with that miserable fool Dumbledore around, the Muggle-loving bastard, we can’t do much yet.”

One extremely stupid Death Eater piped up. “So it is true? The only person you are afraid of confronting right now is Dumbeldore? The same renowned wizard that defeated Grindenwald over thirty years ago?”

Voldemort’s eyes blazed with anger as he walked to the front of the doomed Death Eater who said that. “Are you comparing me to that disgusting wizard who has no right to be called a wizard with such outlandish beliefs?”

Realising his mistake, the Death Eater swallowed and cowered. “No, my Lord. That’s not what I meant. It was a slip of the tongue, sir!”

His eyes narrowing, he hissed, “Didn’t sound like a slip of the tongue, you miserable wretch. CRUCIO!”

The new victim screamed as Voldemort repeatedly cast the Crucio spell. Screaming till his throat was raw, Voldemort gave him one last look before walking back to his place at the front.

“Anyone else dare to question my abilities and compare me to Dumbeldore?” The remaining Death Eaters were as silent as the night surrounding them and Voldemort smirked. “Then the meeting is adjourned till next time.” He apparated and Sirius went with him to another memory.

Snow was gently falling on the ground. Sirius looked and saw that they were back in Hogsmeade and the place looked like a Winter Wonderland. There were younger students having snowballs fights and making snowmen. In fact, he saw himself with James throwing snowballs at each other. He was surprised to see how young he looked, how carefree both of them were.

He forced himself not to look and followed Tom, who was his other self again, was heading toward Hog’s Head.

Severus was already waiting for Tom at the entrance. The young Slytherin had a pleased look on his face. Sirius noticed that Tom had a hood over him, so no one could really tell who it was. “Trying to be careful . . . ” Sirius briefly remembered that during October of his seventh year, Albus had announced at Halloween that they were to watch out for Voldemort and the Death Eaters. James was making fun of the name, calling him “Voldie and the Death Eaters”. Sirius remembered that the rest of the Gryffindor table members who overheard the statement, were laughing. Lily had mentioned that James’ rendition of the name sounded like a Rock band, rather than some group of people attacking and causing havoc.

Sirius’ memories were cut off short when he saw that Tom had ushered Severus into the Hog’s Head rather quickly. Once settled in the area that they claimed as their own corner earlier in the year, Tom took his hood off.

“Hello, Severus. You seem well and happy.”

Severus smiled an actual smile. “Yes.”

“I’m glad we’ve been regularly keeping in contact via owls. Each time I get a letter, it brightens my day.”

“Same here.”

Tom pulled out a package and from somewhere in his robe, enlarged it and handed it to him. “I know that Christmas isn’t until another week and a half, but I figure that you can use this before then.”

Severus accepted the package, which was roughly the size of a medium telly. He opened it and gasped. Tom had gotten him the cauldron he’d wanted to have ever since his first year. The cauldron was a simple, silver cauldron, but whatever he brewed would always come out pure, never diluted, unless he just made a big mistake while making the batch. Silver cauldrons were very expensive and rare. The price was what had prevented Severus from getting one, and now he had one.

“Salazar’s Serpent . . . this is wonderful!” Severus handled the cauldron carefully and bought it to the front of his face, a mere millilitres away. “I can’t believe it. I asked my father for one of those during the winter holidays of my first year and he said such supplies are rubbish and waste of money. I never had imagined I’d be an owner of this . . . ”

Tom chuckled at Severus’ oblivious happiness. “You deserve it.”

“Oh my. Forgive me. I can’t believe I forgot my manners.” Severus put it down and looked at Tom, straight in the eyes. “Thank you so much for this wonderful gift. This is the best Christmas gift. Ever.”

“You’re wel -” Severus cut him off.

“And I value you deeply. You are like the father I never had. Thank you for being there for me and showing me you care.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrapped vial and handed it to Tom. “Here’s your Christmas gift,” he rambled on. “It’s my rendition of Dreamless Sleep potion. Only I think that it should be named Sweet Dreams potion, considering its effects.”

Tom was surprised. He knew Severus was a good potion maker, but most people his age wasn’t that good to make their own version of certain potions. He unwrapped it and stared at the clear liquid in the container. Severus animatedly continued on. “I’ve even enhanced the taste. It should taste sweeter.”

Tom held up the vial and carefully put it in the inner pocket of his robe. “Thank you, Severus. This truly is the nicest gift I’ve ever received. And considering how I do get plagued by nightmares on occasion, this is wonderful.”

Sirius could not believe it. Tom aka Voldemort had nightmares? When he was the bloody cause of many people’s nightmares, especially Harry?

Severus’ sallow skin flushed slightly at the compliment and went even pinker at what Tom said next.

“I think you should try to become a Potion master. I hear that it’s rather gruelling, but it’s worth it. You will be one of the few Potion master here in Britain, and will be sought after a lot.”

Severus didn’t say anything, but his eyes were calm and had a pleasing note to them.

“Like I said, Severus, this really is a nice gift, but I think the best gift was the part you telling me that I am like a father to you. For a bachelor like me, that really warms me up.” Tom smiled and before Severus could say anything, he stood up and walked Severus to the door.

“Go back now. It’s already dark. I’ll see you at the Malfoy’s Manor during the holidays.” Tom had pulled up his hood before leaving the corner and quickly gave Severus a hug before shooing him back toward the direction of the castle.

“My loyal followers, this is a grand day for us.” Sirius jumped about ten feet in the air when he heard Voldemort’s voice instead of Tom’s. “Hogwarts completed its last term a few days ago, and thus new members have joined our circle. We have a total of thirty new followers and three-fourths of them are Hogwarts’ previous students.”

Sirius looked around and saw Severus, Bellatrix, LeStrange himself, Regulus, and then he didn’t recognised the rest. He didn’t see Peter, so he guessed that he came to the Dark Lord’s side much later. That bloody bastard . . .

His attention was diverted as he watched Voldemort cast “Morsmorde” on Bellatrix. His cousin, who he knew was a tough bitch, couldn’t even stand the obvious pain from getting the Dark Mark. He heard the awful screams and nearly threw up as he saw the skin surrounding the Dark Mark. It was twitching and soon the entire arm looked as if there were worms crawling right beneath the skin. He saw that soon the area burst and blood gushed out. With an invisible hand, it looked as if someone was using her blood to trace the pattern of the Dark Mark on the arm.

Sirius knew that he was curious about how one got the Dark Mark, but now he wished he didn’t have to see the vivid detailed process of it.

Severus was the last one to receive the treatment. Amazingly, he was the only one who hadn’t screamed. Sure, his facial expression was in the form of pain, but scream, no. Then again, Sirius recalled Severus not screaming in fright during the Shrieking Shack incident, so this really shouldn’t have been a surprise.

He looked up and saw that Voldemort had a proud expression on his face. The beaming was directed toward Severus.

Sirius blinked as the pensieve world shifted again and this time he was in Tom’s private room at Malfoy’s manor. Tom was speaking seriously to Severus.

“Well tomorrow is the big initiation day and I want you to join. You will be a great asset to us. Your potions will help us and you can train for your Potion master degree, just come when I summon you. And I’ll fund your apprenticeship.”

Severus looked hesitant. “The whole point of this is to make the other wizards and witches understand that Muggles are useless people that should be destroyed?”

“Yes. Purebloods, which means you and I, and other followers, are the true rulers of the wizarding world. We don’t want to be overrun by Muggles-coddler, Mudbloods, and so on.”

Severus didn’t say anything for a long moment. He sipped his tea and was frowning as he contemplated on what had just been given to him.

“I . . . I’ll follow you, Tom. I trust you.”

Looking around at his new surroundings, Sirius saw that he was in a lab of some sort. He saw cauldrons on the table with potion ingredients next to it. There were other supplies, such as the cutter. There were shelves and Sirius saw vials and bottles of many potions, labelled neatly. Surprisingly, he didn’t see any of the cauldrons in use. No potions were being brewed.

Tom walked in and saw that Severus wasn’t doing anything, but rather was sitting there, doing nothing but staring into space.

“Something wrong, Severus? I know you are enjoying the apprenticeship and Master Connelly tells me that you are moving along well beyond most apprentices’ level.”

There wasn’t a reply from the other man.

“Severus, get your act together. I need those potions I’ve requested of you, and then after that we have a mission to go on.”

Hoarsely, Severus asked, “Why am I expected to do this?”

“This is your destiny and you chose to follow this road,” Tom said not so kindly.

“But why are we also using these on our own people? Some of the ones who joined us?”

“Because sacrifices are necessary within our group and the wizards and witches need discipline. They need to be shown who’s in charge.”

Severus didn’t say thing, but he looked thoughtful. Sirius wondered if Severus had began to suspect Voldemort’s true nature.

“Tom . . .”

“Don’t call me that anymore. Refer to me as ‘my Lord’ or ‘Lord Voldemort,” snapped Tom.

“Even when it’s just the two of us?” His eyes held a pleading note to them. Tom might not have seen it, but Sirius saw confusion in his eyes.

Coldy, he asked, “Are you questioning my orders?” He pulled out his wand. “Crucio.”

Severus screamed at the unexpected attack and collapsed off the chair onto the floor, twitching madly. After a minute of the curse, Tom stopped it. “Now. You have given your life to me, and you have said you will follow me wherever I go, so start on the potions, Snape. And after that, I’ve got a new assignment for you. You are to become a spy for me and spy on Dumbledore.” Severus’ name was sneered out and he majestically turned around, robes flowing behind him, walking toward the exit. Before he walked out, he said one last thing.

“We are Slytherins, and I am the heir of Slytherin. We are known for our cunningness and ambition. Only a lovesick fool of a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor would put their feelings before their ambitions. Slytherins don’t. Never forget that.”

Sirius briefly wondered if that’s where Severus had gotten the dramatic exit from, before the memory ended.

“You are back to join us, I see.”

Sirius recoiled back at seeing the ugly figure he was used to seeing in more recent times. He still can’t believe that the monster in front of him right now was such a handsome brute back then. He swallowed back the nausea as he forced himself to look. The red eyes really freaked him out. “How did I get so used to the green eyes so quickly? The transition of Tom to Voldemort was too huge and different. I bet his old followers were shocked to see the great, charismatic man reduced to skins and bones.”

Severus bowed. “Yes, master, I live to only serve you.”

“If you lived to serve me, Snape, then why didn’t you come when I summoned you the night I came back fully?”

“I am a professor at Hogwarts, Sir, my strange disappearance would raise the suspicions of many people, since it coincided with the same time that Potter was portkeyed. I have an image to protect. A professor, in the middle of chaos, is known to stay around and help, Sir. He looked up. “I did show up this time, haven’t I? Please allow me to resume my old job back. I will be of an asset for you.”

“Hm. Well, you are going to be useful. You are at the place where Dumbledore resides and that will give you the perfect opportunity to spy on him and his upcoming moves.”

Severus nodded and kissed Voldemort’s hems. “Thank you, Master. Thank you for allowing me to prove myself to you and to serve you.”

He smirked. “Yes, Snape. But still I am going to punish you. Crucio!” He laughed maniacally while Severus screamed. “Yes, like I told you many years before, discipline is needed, even amongst my most loyal followers.” Voldemort looked down at his side and looked at a cowering Peter. “Isn’t that right, Wormtail?”

Sirius gagged as he saw Peter kissing the hems of the robe and praised his lord. “Disgusting bastard.”

Severus stopped screaming when Voldemort stopped the Cruciatus Curse. “Get up, now. And go brew the torture potions for me at your labs in Hogwarts now.”

“Dammit!” Voldemort threw the bottle of firewhiskey into his fireplace. Watching the glass break and the alcohol making the flames dance around excitedly, he rubbed his forehead and sighed. “How did I let something so obvious slip past me?”

He motioned Wormtail over, who was as usual shivering and wincing at his master’s actions. “Yes, my Lord?” His voice had a shrill edge to it.

“Get out of my sight. Go socialise with Lucius or something.”

“But, my Lord -”

“NOW!” Wormtail wasted no time and got out of the room on his short, stubby legs.

Nagini slithered over.

“Why was I so stupid?” he asked Nagini, in Parseltongue. Sirius was surprised that he understood what Voldemort was saying. Then again this was a memory from the pensieve, so Sirius figured it was some kind of an enhanced side effect. However he didn’t understand what the snake was saying at all.

Sirius listened to the snake hiss in a language far beyond him and realised that he could follow along the conversation.

“How did I find out?” Voldemort petted his beloved serpent. “Tonight’s mission, which you weren’t there for, proved it. I had Harry Potter right in my grasp again, and I knew that in my bones, this was the chance for me to kill him. However, HE, interfered and ruined everything.

“No, I don’t blame the boy. I was the one who pushed him away. I treated him like I treated all my other followers. I guess that showed that I was no different from his father or Dumbledore. And I guess after he realised that I was just the same as everyone else he learned to respect, he decided that the bumbling headmaster was more trustworthy than me.

“Sad. Doesn’t he know that the renowned headmaster is no different than any true evil person out there? That man manipulates people just as much as a true Slytherin does. He claims he’s doing the best of his judgement, but he’s wrong. His judgement is not as good as mine.

“Strange, how that boy is connected with all our lives. It’s as if he makes a greater impact than Dumbledore and I put together. He really is special, but once someone betrays him, he holds grudges strongly. The only person he doesn’t seem to view this way is that damn Black. It’s so bloody obvious that he had some sort of an infatuation with that boy back then. It’s been dampened down, but those two have a history that surpassed even the one I share with Severus.

“But knowing him, he probably wants to confront that idiotic Black about his feelings, but he never will do that. His grudge is stronger than his love.”

Sirius’ mouth dropped in astonishment. “No bloody way . . . ”

“He mastered Occlumency. He secretly did that, somehow. That would explain why I could never get the information I wanted from him. And that’s why he was able to hide his true loyalties so long.”

He summoned another bottle of firewhiskey and chugged down on it. “Ambitions . . . I love mine. But it made me lose someone precious, someone who was like a son to me. I really am an idiot.” His eyes darkened, and he gripped the bottleneck of his drink and stared into the fireplace. “And those who make such a fool of me will die.”

Sirius felt someone grabbing his arm, and pulling him out. He was back in his room, on the floor, and he was surprised to see Severus standing there.

“How . . . what . . . ?”

Severus glared at him. “You are truly an moron. Only a typical Gryffindor like you would take a Dark Lord’s pensieve and go into it to see proof that your worst enemy is truly evil.” He crossed his arms. “And before you ask, I saw you sneak that into you robes. I wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but I guessed, and was apparently correct. And subtleness was never your forte, Black. You let all your emotions show outwardly and seeing that triumphant look on your face made me put two and two together that you wanted to sack me somehow.”

“So, do I want to know what memories you saw?” He sneered. “Did you get any proof of my allegiance?”

Sirius numbly nodded, still in shock to know what he found out. Struggling to speak, in a raspy voice he asked, “You liked me?”

Severus went pale. “What did you say?”

“I asked if you liked me back then.”

Eyes burning with fury, he turned around and Sirius saw the dramatic exit. “Running away? So unlike you, Severus.”

Severus stopped and didn’t turn around. His arms were by his sides and his fists were clenched. “Obviously pensieve don’t lie, so I’ll tell you this. Whatever I felt then has now been deteriorated.”

“Bullshite.” Sirius stood up and used the wall for support. “Not according to Voldemort and that memory was probably one of the most recent ones.”

“Believe whatever the hell you want, Black.” He started walking again. “You had better take that damn pensieve to Albus or the Ministry. And Black, don’t call me Severus. You have no right to do so.”

Sirius called out desperately, slowly understanding the memories and putting them together bits by bit. “You went to Voldemort because of me, right?” He walked closer to Severus, whom had stopped walking again. “If I hadn’t been such a prat back then, and just left you alone, you probably wouldn’t have met Voldemort the night after the Shrieking Shack incident.” He swallowed hard. “But I did and that started everything . . . ”

Sirius stopped an arm length behind Severus. “I’m sorry . . . ”

Severus turned around quickly in a furious manner. He was so angry that his breathing was hard and fast, causing his chest to move rapidly. “Don’t you dare apologise! I don’t want your pity, dammit!”

“But I truly am!”

He hissed out, “You think saying ‘sorry’ will solve every single thing in this world? If you think that, Black, you are seriously demented.”

Sirius opened his mouth to say something and than noticed that Severus had a point. When he was younger and even now at occasions, he’d automatically ask for forgiveness and think all was well.

“Besides, Black, not everything revolves around you. Even if you hadn’t played that damn prank, I might have still be lured to Voldemort in one way or another, so do me a favour, and keep your apologies to yourself!” He turned around and this time left the room for good.

Sirius asked Remus to return the pensieve for him at the Ministry. Remus had a questioning look, but he forced himself not to ask anything and figured that Sirius would tell him what happened later.

With the arrest of the last Death Eater, they were free to celebrate. And celebrate the wizarding world did for the next week. Sirius went to so many festivities that he lost count. However he did notice that one person never showed up to any, and that was Severus.

Thoughts of Severus would not leave his mind. He told himself that he was only thinking of him out of pity. But then he had wet dreams about the infuriating man. Sirius tried to convince himself that this was all lust. He tried thinking of Severus in a French Maid outfit with a polka-dotted apron, but that just made his feelings more intense. When he pictured that outfit on Severus, he actually thought that he looked sexy.

So after another week of telling himself that he’s not falling for Severus, and those two always avoiding each other, Sirius came to a conclusion.

He recalled Voldemort’s comment about how members of Gryffindor and other houses but Slytherin, put their feelings before their ambitions. He slowly came to a conclusion that when he was younger, he did act upon his feelings, but they were the wrong feelings. He acted petty toward Severus because his parents favoured him instead of their own sons. And since he hated everything about his family, he started to treat Severus the way he did, all because he was sorted into Slytherin. And then him teasing Severus became so much part of his daily routine that he didn’t bother to note that he actually did like the boy. He respected the boy whom he had known since childhood, but hated everything Severus represented when they got into Hogwarts.

Sirius determinedly walked towards Severus’ dungeon rooms.

“I did follow the wrong feelings then, and now, just to prove ole’ Voldie’s point, I will follow my feelings once again. But this time, I’ll follow the right ones,” he muttered to himself.

He knocked on Severus doors and waited.

Severus opened the door with an annoyed look on his face. “Black, what do you want. And it better be good.”

Sirius quickly manoeuvred around Severus and got into his private rooms. He spelled the door shut and locked it. Before Severus could say anything, Sirius went up to him, grabbed him and kissed him.

The tense, thin lips that were pressed against his didn’t move. However the object of his affection wasn’t making any move to push him off. Sirius started caressing Severus’ back and gently pushed the shorter man against the wall. He felt Severus’ hand against his hips. That gave Sirius the initiative to go further and he did so by licking Severus’ lips, which opened in shock, and Sirius took the advantage and started exploring the sweet yet snarky mouth. He felt Severus kissing him back hesitantly. Sirius moaned against Severus’ mouth, and that awoke Severus from his shocked stupor.

Severus shoved Sirius away, whom at that moment was dazed. Severus looked murderous. “Get out, Black. You’ve had your fun, now get the hell out of my rooms.”

Sirius became clear-headed and smiled softly. “I will. You wouldn’t be the man I know if you suddenly accepted me.” He walked to the door, unspelled it and opened it. He turned before leaving. “I know what I want, Severus, and I have Voldemort to thank for that.”

He walked off. On the outside he was calm, but inside he was giddy. “He kissed me back!” He thought. “And I sound like an hormonal teenager. But fuck that. I have a man to conquer with the first stages of love . . . ” Sirius let out a smile. “I am ready for this challenge. I am a Gryffindor, after all.”

Amidst the crowded airport, two days before Christmas, stood two exasperated wizards. Their two companions had passed exasperation and were simply pissed off to all hell. The common people, on the other hand, had no clue that they were any different from themselves. To anyone passing by, these four men were just trying to get on their plane for a vacation. Make that four VERY impatient men.

“Harry, Moony, tell me again WHY we couldn’t just floo to our hotel?” Sirius asked dejectedly.

Harry, in frustration, pushed his dishevelled hair out of his face. “Sirius, you know very well that in most Muggle hotels the fireplaces are not connected to the floo system.”

“Then why can’t we just apparate?!”

Severus glared at Sirius. “As much as I agree with you that this ‘airplane’ business is unnecessary, you forget that we are going to Jamaica and that is not part of the British Isles. Other nations’ Ministries have put up an anti-apparation spell up so that people that aren’t from their countries cannot apparate into theirs. I know for a fact it’s for security measures, but there are times when it’s a nuisance.”

Sirius returned Severus a dirty look of his own. “Shut up, you greasy git. I didn’t ask for your opinion here!”

Remus sighed very loudly. “Let’s go now. We have to go to the baggage department and have them check our bags.”

The other two wizards grumbled and grabbed their bags. Harry and Remus looked at each other and just rolled their eyes. They walked through the crowded airport with their luggage and soon reach their destination. The clerks at the counter told them to write their names on the tag and so they did. After that, the clerks put the tags on the bag and then put them through the machines to scan them. Satisfied that they didn’t find any illegal materials, they told them that everything was all right. Having all the big ones out of the way, now each only had a regular-sized backpacks with them.

“Well now that we got our luggage checked in, we just have to wait two hours for our flight. Everyone got their tickets right?” Remus asked with forced cheerfulness.

“Two bloody hours?! Why does it take that long? Are Muggles always this slow?” Sirius exclaimed.

“Muggles have ALWAYS been slow, Black. Where have you been all this time?” Severus sullenly interjected.

“Again, have I asked you, slimy, good for nothing, prick?”

“You two, stuff it.” The Boy-Who-Lived gave them a glare that would match Lord Voldemort’s. He grabbed the Potions Master’s hand and dragged him over to the nearest restaurant to relax, or at least attempted to. Remus did the same to Sirius. They soon reached McDonald’s.

“So what do you want to order?” Remus asked his mate. “Harry and I can vouch that the Big Mac is the best to get here.”

“Then get me that,” Sirius grumbled.

“Come on. Be happy. We are going on a vacation, Padfoot.”

“Not the way I want too.”

Remus rolled his eyes again and just went to the counter and ordered his and Sirius’ foods. Harry turned to his lover. “So a Big Mac?”

” . . . ” Severus just glared.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Harry said, not the least perturbed. Harry went up to the counter and ordered like Remus did. Soon, Remus and Harry came to the table where the two grouchy wizards were. The atmosphere between the four of them was so tense that the other customers felt that something was not right. After they finished their food, Harry got up and dumped their garbage out. He came back and stretched his leg. He turned to them and looked at Severus with a hopeful expression.

“Care to walk around with me? I feel too cooped up and after we get on the airplane we’ll be stuck in there for ten hours at least.”

Sirius gave Harry a stricken look. “T-t-ten hours?” He looked pleadingly at Moony. “Please tell me I did not hear that.”

“Sorry, Paddy. You did. The flight is ten hours long.” Remus inwardly groaned, expecting another rant coming up.

“What am I supposed to do for ten hours on the fairplane?”

“Airplane,” Severus said dryly. “I know you weren’t raised by Muggles, but at least get the names right so you don’t sound like a dunderhead.”

Sirius turned and glowered at the one person he still truly couldn’t tolerate. “Bloody hell! Why won’t you just bugger off and just don’t do it with my godson!”

There was a dangerous glint in Severus’ eyes as his hand went for his wand that was in the inner pocket of his leather jacket. Harry recognised the look and grabbed his lover before Severus could hex Sirius. Remus, knowing that those two needed some time away from each other, decided to drag Sirius and go to some other part of the airport.

“I’ll meet you at our waiting area in about a hour. Got that, Harry?” Remus hastily grabbed Sirius up to his feet and started to lead him away.

“Yeah, I got you, Remus,” Harry turned to the snarky Potion Master and glared at him. “We are going to have a little talk, Sev.”

“About what? The fact that your godfather got absolutely no brain at all?” Severus sulkily walked past Harry. The younger man sighed and ran to catch up with the taller man. Harry smirked.

“You know, you’re cute when you sulk.” Harry chuckled lightly as he saw the back stiffened up. Severus turned slowly to face Harry. “Insolent brat.”

“I know, but you still love me.” Harry sighed. “Sevvy, I’m sorry for choosing this way to travel, but . . . I thought we’d all enjoy it. Remus and I thought it ‘d be romantic for us to snuggle through the long plane ride. To appreciate each other’s company or in yours and Sirius’ case, not appreciate each other companies, through the Muggle ways.”

Severus looked intently at his young lover through his hair. Through the curtain of hair, Harry couldn’t see the mesmerising, coal-black eyes. However, if he could have, he would have seen many emotions conflicting each other. Love, annoyance, frustration, and tenderness were a few of the emotions that were flying through the Potions Master’s eyes. Severus straightened up and gave Harry a cold look. “Gryffindors, once one, always one. Are all of you that much of a hopeless romantic?”

Harry brightened up. Severus couldn’t help but think how predictable the young man tended to be. “You are acting sarcastic. That’s a good sign.” He reached and grabbed the Slytherin’s hand. “Let’s go for that walk now.”

Severus growled slightly, and grabbed the other man by the waist. He brought the lithe body closer to his and kissed him fervently. A few moments later, he let go. “Now we can go for a walk. And do not call me ‘Sevvy’.” Harry nodded and followed with a dreamy look.

Remus continued to drag the ex-convicted murderer through the crowds. Upon reaching the men’s toilets, he shoved Sirius into an empty stall, lock the door, both magically and manually, and then cast a silencing charm around them. He then turn around and glared at him. Sirius couldn’t help but think that the glare looked a whole lot like Snape’s.

Tentatively, he reached over and touches Mooy’s cheek. “Did anyone tell you that you are starting rival the greasy git when it comes to giving angry looks?”

“I do not!” Remus indignantly cried out. “Speaking of that ‘greasy git’, who not only is my colleague, but also is your godson’s lover, you need to calm down in front of him! Especially when we are in a crowded place that is full of Muggles.” He wanted to say that Sirius acted in a juvenile manner, but then closed his mouth in time. He decided that if he said that, then he’d be calling himself a hypocrite, for that’s one of the traits that he has come to love the other man.

Sirius slouched a bit and pouted. “I’m sorry, Remus. But . . .  he’s so infuriating! But not only that, this airpane travelling method is weird!

“Airplane, not ‘airpane’,” Remus corrected Sirius. “And I’m sure Harry is explaining the same thing to Severus right now, but really, he and I chose this method because we thought it’d be a romantic way to travel. Apparently we were both wrong and it’s a mistake on both of us.”

Sirius solemnly stared at his lover. “You really think it’s romantic? Honestly, Moony, I see nothing romantic about being on that airflane for ten hours.”

Remus groaned and rubbed his face in his hands. “I give up. You will never call it by the right name. Truly though, think about it. Talking and looking out the window, provided we get the window seats, holding hands, and just being next to each other for the longest time. Harry and I really didn’t mean to choose it as an inconvenience. ”

Sirius smirked. “There are toilets on there, right? Please tell me there is.”

“Yes, there are. Why?” Remus gave him a calculating look, as Sirius just smiled wider. “Paddy, I do not like that scheming look on your face.”

Sirius grabbed Remus by the arse and brought him closer to him. He leaned over and Remus felt the warmth of Sirius’ breath on his neck. “Me? Scheming? Never. Although I was thinking about how it would be more romantic if we shagged 10,000 metres up from the ground.”

Unintentionally, Remus let out a soft growl and quickly had Sirius pinned against the stall’s door. All his train of thoughts were gone as Remus began ravishing his mouth. He wasn’t about to complain as he returned the action.

An hour later, the two couples met up with each other at the waiting area. Sirius glared at Severus, and Severus didn’t even acknowledge the other man. Harry and Remus just gave each other knowing smiles and sat down. The two adversaries sat and just talked with their respective partners. When their flight was announced, they stood up. After confirming that each of them has their tickets, they got on the plane.

They had a little trouble finding their seats, but then a flight attendance lent them a hand. After getting settled in their seats, Sirius looked around.

“Remy, what is that big flat thing up there?” Sirius pointed toward the movie screen.

“It’s the movie screen, Sirius. It’s where you can watch the movie during the flight. However, you have to wear these earphones. That’s where the sounds come out. Does that make sense?” Remus turned to the man next to him. Instead of seeing a looking of understanding, he got a very cute looking Sirius, all perplexed. He smiled gently. “Don’t worry about it. You will see what I mean later. Hopefully the movie will be a good on . . . it says that Titanic is being played.”

On the other side of Remus, Severus gave a surprised look. “Isn’t that the ship that sank in the Atlantic?”

Remus nodded. “But do not ask why they made it into a movie. Muggles tend to think of some weird stuff.”

Everyone buckled their seatbelts as the plane started. Since Remus and Harry forgot to tell the other two about the ear pressure, Severus grimaced in pain and Sirius let out a loud profanity. Remus gave Sirius an apologetic look, and gave him some gum. “Here. Chew this and the pain will lessen a bit.” Sirius takes it and shoves it in his mouth and start chewing severely. Remus handed one to Severus, but he declined.

“This is nothing like the Cruciatus. I can live.” Harry gripped the Slytherin’s hand comfortingly.

Thankfully the entire trip went well. Well the loud noise from the toilet scared Sirius out of his wit, but he brushed it off, after asking them why it was necessary to make the flushing noise so loud. The others shook their heads and Remus tried to explain, but after realising that he couldn’t explain why, he just told Sirius to forget it.

They ate the dinner that was provided, and they all agreed that the food at Hogwarts was much better. When the movie came on, no one was interested in it. In fact Sirius and Remus decided to take this time now to get a quick shag in the bathroom, with all the precautions set up as well. Harry and Severus stared at each other. “Are you sure you want to be related to them, Harry?” Harry nodded very slowly, pretending to look uncertain. Then he burst out laughing. Severus just gave a smirk.

When the two completely, satiated wizards came back, Harry and his lover were both sleeping peacefully, with Harry’s head on Severus’ shoulder. Remus felt the sudden urge to coo, but didn’t. He told Sirius, and he got a weird look. He pretended to be offended and sat down in a huff. “Aw, Moony.” Sirius sat down and wrapped his arms around the slender man. “You know I didn’t mean that.” Remus smirked and brushed his lips gently across his. “I know. I’m sleepy now.”

Sirius yawned. “Same here. I guess a nap would be good.” Both of them fell asleep quickly.

The next time any of them woke up was when the announcement of nearing arrival was blaring across the plane. Severus looked disgruntled from being woken up rudely, in his opinions. Harry yawned and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. “We’re almost there.”

“I certainly hope so,” muttered Severus.

The landing hurt Sirius, as much as the takeoff did. Remus gave him another stick of gum and Sirius chewed it furiously. It was painful, but he agreed with Snape, that nothing was more painful than the Cruciatus. For once he thought of something reasonable. They got off the plane and gratefully stretched their legs. They waited till they got their luggages and then went to catch the Banana Bus, which was equivalent to the Knight Bus. Sirius and Severus both sighed. “Now this is the definite way of travelling.” Sirius snuggled into the seat.

They almost reached the resort, till Harry broke the silence. “So do you think it was a mistake travelling by the airplane?”

“Naw. It wasn’t all that bad. Just the part that it takes forever to get here.” Sirius brought Remus close to him. “However, you guys didn’t do it maliciously, so I don’t mind much.”

“I agree with Black, once again.” Severus planted a kiss on Harry’s out of control hair. “However, you should learn from your mistakes, and this is one of them.”

The Banana Bus continued to ride and at the same time the sun was setting, and everything was peaceful amongst the four again.

Harry woke up suddenly with the sounds of honking outside his and Sirius’ flat. He blinked twice, grabbed his wand from the night table, cast a silencing charm around the bed, and then snuggled back into the arms of his lover.

Unfortunately, he was wide-awake now. He went through all the trouble of getting rid of the noise so he could sleep more, and now he was awake.

How bloody ironic.

He groaned and lay still to reflect on the past couple weeks of his life. Make that the last six months of his life.

Ever since the news of Harry and Sirius being lovers went public six months ago, life had been a hassle for them. Almost the entire wizarding world seemed to be against their relationship from the beginning and things hadn’t changed. Many of the younger – and sometimes, the older – women were upset that Harry hadn’t chosen one of them to be his wife. Tears were shed over the Daily Prophet article about him coming out and being in love. Everyone had thought he was single and they had all wanted their paws – er hands – on the Boy-Who-Lived.

Some believed since Harry was the heir of Gryffindor that he should continue his lineage, which wasn’t possible if he was dating a man. Of course, many still considered Sirius to be a homicidal maniac, and they believed that he would kill their saviour in the near future. Some went to extremes and believed that Sirius had raped the poor soul. And lastly, some just found homosexuality disgusting.

In conclusion, the majority of the wizarding world hated the fact that Harry Potter was a queer.

Oh, his friends did stick by him, but not very many. Hermione was appalled at first, but after seeing how happy her friend was, she decided to accept the relationship. Unfortunately, her husband, Ron, didn’t see things that way. Ron, in his narrow-minded manner, blew up at his friend. He didn’t seem to mind that Harry was seeing Sirius, but rather that Harry had kept a very important secret from him for a long time. In Ron’s defence, Harry hadn’t told him until a year after they had graduated from Hogwarts.

Remus was supportive, but his lover wasn’t. He wasn’t able to comprehend what Harry saw in the “mutt” as he called Sirius. Unsurprising, since Remus’ lover was none other than Severus Snape. During the war against Voldemort, which ended during Harry’s seventh year, Severus and Sirius worked together, but they still hated each other’s guts. The feelings had always been mutual and would remain that way for the rest of their lives.

Harry’s train of thought was suddenly interrupted by incoherent mumblings from his lover. Sirius hugged Harry closer and said something about bunnies.

A smirk tugged at the corner of Harry’s mouth as Sirius said that. Merlin knew why, Sirius had a fascination for rabbits. Harry mused that the fixation was a side effect from being a dog in his Animagus form. “His inner-Padfoot coming out in his normal form”, he had stated after finding out about the obsession.

Harry was so glad that this was a Saturday morning. After deciding to leave the wizarding society, with Hermione’s help, they both got Muggle jobs. Sirius, who was helpless in everything Muggle-related, fortunately understood one Muggle concept, which happened to be motorbikes. With that fact in mind, Hermione helped Sirius get a job at the local motorbike shop. Due to great interest in Quidditch and the similarities with football, Harry took up coaching at a local public school. Sirius, regardless of being a Chaser in his Hogwarts years, wasn’t able to see why Harry was interested in football. Like Ron, he didn’t understand how anything so dull could be as exciting as Quidditch. Both of them liked their new jobs, but the stress of their occupations left them, nevertheless, craving for the weekend, which had finally come.

Besides starting their new jobs, Harry slowly introduced Sirius to Muggle society. Sirius came from a pureblood family of several generations and his family had chosen not to merge their wizarding life with the Muggles. Sirius was a clueless git in the Muggle world. If it weren’t for Harry, he’d have gone nuts by now.

Today’s plan was to take Sirius bowling. Hermione introduced the game to Harry a few months earlier and he’d taken a liking to the unique sport. Nothing could be compared to Quidditch, but trying to keep the bloody ball out of the gutters was challenging enough. He figured that Sirius might enjoy bowling as well, and would understand the concept of throwing the ball down a lane.

Sirius opened his sleepy eyes to find them staring straight into the emerald eyes of his lover. He loved his first sight in the morning to be anything belonging to Harry in his focus. After so many mornings in Azkaban, after nights full of nightmares, this was definitely a better way of waking up.

“Good morning, love.” Harry smiled. “Sleep well? Last night’s activities must’ve tired you out.”

Sirius groaned. “Don’t mention it, it was the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“Oh?” Harry raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean that the previous sessions weren’t up to par?”

With eyes wide open, Sirius sat up quickly. “Oh no, Harry! That’s not what I meant.”

Harry’s voice lowered huskily. “Relax, Siri. I’m just joking. Besides, every time we make love is the best ‘sex’ we ever have.”

The effect of Harry’s voice was most obvious at a certain appendage of Sirius’ body. He groaned as he pressed his morning erection against the sheet. Harry flipped him and straddled him. “Harry, you got too much stamina. Haven’t you had enough?”

“So? I’m twenty, what do you expect?” He kissed him thoroughly and let him go after several minutes of intense snogging. He grinned impishly. “Still not up for it?”

With a growl, Sirius flipped him over so he could be on top, and started attacking his mate passionately.

After their serious lovemaking, both fully satiated and content, Sirius decided to ask Harry what the plan was for the day.

“Bowling.”

“What in Godric’s name is that?”

Smirking, Harry got out of bed. “Well you won’t find out if we stay here all day, now will you?”

“While the idea sounds tempting, I know you will force me out sooner or later, so I have no choice,” Sirius grumbled.

“Of course.” Harry sniggered and went to take a shower.

After two hot, steamy showers and platefuls of late breakfast, both men were in a cab taking them to the nearest Bowling Alley. The ride there was uneventful. Sirius was bored in the cab. He hated cars. He very much preferred his motorbike, but unfortunately his bike was in the shop for repairs, which he planned to do the following Monday. Since Sirius loved the exhilarating feeling he got from riding his motorbike, Harry planned to take him to an amusement park sometime in the near future.

They entered the building, and the minute they opened the door, all that could be heard were different cacophonies. Groups of people were talking and yelling, announcements were being heard on the intercom, balls were crashing down the gutters, and the pins falling added much to the chaos.

Both of them stumbled through the crowds and got to the sign-in to rent a lane and shoes.

“Excuse me, we’d like a lane and two pairs of shoes, please,” said Harry, very politely.

“Yes, sir,” said the counter clerk. “May I have your names, and what are your shoe sizes?”

Harry answered and paid for the shoe rental. They walked over to their lane, sat down, and put on their shoes.

“How come we need these funny shoes?”

“These bowling shoes help you slide when you bowl. Our regular shoes don’t have the padding at the bottom to support that, and well, if we were to bowl in our socks it’d be too slippery and we’d be falling down a lot or slide right into the lane itself.”

After tying his shoelaces, Harry got up and led Sirius to the rack of balls. Sirius picked up one of the balls and held it in his hands.

“Wow, these are light. So do I use this?”

Harry glanced at the ball and smirked. “Unless you want to throw that ball into the ceiling and fancy having people think you are a weak little kid, I think not.”

Sirius put the ball back. “So I should use a heavier ball?”

Harry nodded and gave him one. “Here, is it too heavy for you? It should be heavy enough for you to be comfortable with it, but not too heavy for you to have to release the ball with two hands.”

As Harry said that, Sirius’ upper body nearly fell over from the extra weight. Harry quickly took the ball and gave him another ball. Sirius held it and nodded to confirm that this was just right.

“By the way, what are the holes for?”

Harry paused. “That sounded just so wrong… but anyway, you stick you fingers in there.”

Sirius quickly stuck in his thumb, index, and middle finger. “Like this?”

“No. Use your thumb, middle, and ring finger.” Harry demonstrated it on his chosen ball.

Sirius copied Harry’s example. “Ah, got it.”

“Are the holes too small or big for your fingers?”

Sirius paused and tested it. “Fine.” Harry took Sirius to the ball return and sat down to put their names into the computerised scoreboard.

Sirius sat down in one of the chairs and looked at his lover. “I never knew this, but this sport sure has a lot of innuendo.”

Harry blushed and let the comment slide. After finishing with the scoreboard, he pressed “start” and got up.

“Let’s bowl the house down!”

“Okay. You see those arrows on the ground? I usually step on the second from the right, on the top row. But since you have longer legs, I think you should start from the bottom row. Here, step up.”

Sirius stepped up and stood where Harry pointed. “Now, professionally, four steps are the minimum and maximum.” Harry positioned himself, and took four large steps and pretended he was bowling. “Pretend you are kind of running and walking at the same time and slide a little bit at the end of the fourth step. The speed adds to the strength of your throw. Since you are right-handed, your right foot should go first and end with the left foot and stick your right leg out to an angle. It’s all about the pose. Try it.”

He did, and Harry’s calculation was right. Sirius, with his long legs, had to start at the bottom row. Yet, he had forgotten to tell the older wizard not to slide too much or he’d go over the foul line. And he did, causing a loud buzzer noise to go off and giving Sirius his first ball score area a huge F.

“What was that?!” Sirius exclaimed.

“Um, a foul. Don’t go over that line, Siri, even if you get a strike, it won’t count with that. That’s one thing you got to be careful of.”

“Now you tell me,” Sirius smiled good-naturedly. “What’s a strike?”

“In bowling, you have something called a frame.” Harry brought Sirius in front of the scoreboard. Those boxes represent a frame. In a frame you have technically two balls to roll. But if you get a strike, which means you knock all ten pins down on the first ball, then it’s only one ball and then it’s the next person’s turn. On the first ball, if you don’t get a strike, and for an example, get an eight, you get to bowl one more time for that frame to get a spare. A spare means that you had knocked all the pins down on the second ball. Yet if you miss, well then it’s a no pointer.”

“I understand.” Sirius went up and grabbed his ball.

Harry walked up with him. “To hold the ball, stick your fingers in the designated holes, and then hold the ball up with your right hand facing the bottom and have your other hand somewhere else on the ball. As you go up there, pull the arm with the ball back for some leverage, release it, don’t throw it, but release it gently with power.” Harry walked back down and motioned him to go.

Sirius concentrated and then took off. He was about to release the ball, when it slipped off in mid-air and bounced behind him. It bounced twice, loudly, and Harry caught the ball before it fell off the raised area so it wouldn’t bounce again. Obviously Sirius wasn’t really paying attention about whether the holes were too big or too small.

They looked at each other and Harry took the ball back and waved him over.

Dryly, he said, “I think we need to find one with smaller holes so it doesn’t slip off like that.”

Sirius took his hands. “I just noticed that you sounded like Hermione when you gave out that bowling lecture.”

Harry gently leaned upward and kissed him. “Of course. She’s the one who taught me. She’s better than me, but she’s a good teacher to have in cases like this. She rubbed off on me.”

With that, it was ball hunting all over again.

“Bloody hell!”

Sirius was about to throw the ball at the floor when he thought better of it. He was frustrated. Bowling looked so easy to him. It should have been another simple Muggle activity that he could overcome, but it wasn’t.

He had thrown more gutter balls than he’d intended. When he finally released the ball properly it didn’t hit any pins, but rather went straight into the gutter. He didn’t understand why the ball turned so oddly. Harry had explained to him about how even the slightest turn of a wrist or fingers when releasing the ball will make the ball curve on the lane. No matter how he tried to keep his wrist and fingers straight, it didn’t work. It was as if some magnetic force was always drawing his ball toward the doomed area.

What was worse was that Harry was ahead by seventy points. Harry had gotten a few strikes and spares. Sirius had none of those. He did manage to hit one pin on occasion or two, but other than that it was the gutter.

Meanwhile, Harry was thinking of another tactic for Sirius to try. He noticed that Sirius’ ball tended to curve to the left relentlessly. Judging by the way Sirius was standing, he was probably going to do the same thing again

“Sirius? This time start at the second to the last from the left arrow and do it from there.”

He grumbled to himself as he did Harry’s request. With suppressed anger, he went up and threw the ball. He watched it go to the edge of the right side, and then it curved hard toward the left. The ball hit the left side of the middle pin and he got himself a strike.

Harry started clapping and Sirius was standing there, catching Bertie Bott’s jellybeans in his opened mouth.

Harry got up to where Sirius was standing and gave him a hug. “You finally got one! Siri, good throw!”

Sirius turned around in Harry’s embrace and swung the lithe man in the air. “Yes. All thanks to you, Mr. Potter!”

“And you are very much welcome, Mr. Black.” Harry smiled widely. “Now you have two more balls to roll, get with it.”

Puzzled he let go of Harry. “But I got a strike? That filled the frame.”

“Oh! I forgot to tell you that in the tenth and last frame, if you get a strike or a spare, you get a total of three balls to roll. Consider it a bonus.”

With an impish look, he went and got his ball.

“Let’s see if I can do it again, Coach!”

And he got a nine on the first ball and a spare on the last one. That certainly boosted his score.

The two lovers were lying in bed fully dressed. They were too tired from the long day to take their clothes off just now. Their bowling escapade ended on a fairly good note. Sirius admitted that he enjoyed the experience and asked if they could go back next weekend. His new goal was to see if he could at least hit a hundred points game. He had ended up with a score of a sixty. He claimed that his challenge now was to keep the ball out of the gutter as much as possible.

As they were leaving, they ran into Hermione and Ron. Ron still acted like a prat, but he did grudgingly challenge Harry to a bowling game the week after. Harry accepted hesitantly, but knew that this was a giant step in Ron and his friendship. Since Ron started talking to him, Harry took it as a good sign.

“Don’t worry about Ron, Harry.” Sirius brushed his messy hair out of his eyes. “He’s coming around. I got a feeling that Hermione is probably blackmailing him by not having sex.” His eyes gleamed mischievously.

Harry gave Sirius a look and burst out laughing. “Perhaps. I can imagine her doing that, too. Getting into her S.P.E.W stance mode and giving Ron her ‘Don’t-argue-with-me’ look.”

Sirius grinned and yawned. “Thank you, Harry, for taking me bowling. It was annoying at first, but I think I might be able to get a handle on it now.”

“That’s what I love about you, Siri. You don’t give up easily.” He kissed Sirius and both fell into a peaceful slumber.

“Snape!”

-What have I done?-

“Snape, you bastard, get out of there!”

-What have I condemned him to?-

The werewolf, driven by its hunger and madness, jumped onto the frightened victim. He howled once, and to James’ and Sirius’ horror, ripped right into the throat of Severus Snape. Blood was gushing and soon the red liquid covered the wooden floor.

“Remus! No! Stop!”

James transformed into Prongs, hoping to stabilise his friend and to save Snape. Sirius stood there, dumbstruck and already knowing that Snape was dead.

-Is this what I wanted, truly? To see my most-hated enemy killed by the hands of my best friend?-

Sirius looked up and saw Prongs trying to convince Moony to calm down. Moony looked different . . .  other nights he looked playful, yet strained at the same time. Tonight he looked murderous.

-I never knew he could be like this. I thought all of those stories about werewolves were myths. Remus doesn’t look like he’d harm a fly.-

Prongs gave up, realising that Moony was far too gone to even comprehend his usual company of friends. He ushered Sirius out and transformed back to his original self. He quickly turned around and bolted the door. He grabbed Sirius’ arm and ran out of the tunnel. They reached the other end in a record of time and James, with a wild look started to scream at his best friend.

“Do you realise what just happened?!”

Sirius numbly shook his head.

-What? Other than the fact that the greasy git is dead? No . . . –

“Remus just killed, in his werewolf form!”

Sirius continued to stare with a glazed look.

With a strangled yell, James grabbed the front of Sirius’ shirt and shook him hard. “You idiot! Remus will be punished for this!”

“No he won’t, the Headmaster will protect him . . . ”

James started crying, hard. “Nononono! He can’t! No one can protect him now! Sirius, why? Why did you send Snape?!”

-To keep that bastard away from MY Remus. To keep him away . . . because I love Remus and I don’t want anyone else near him.-

” . . . It . . . was a prank . . . ”

“Prank my fucking arse!” James let go of him and gave him a hard look through his tears. “You were jealous. You did this out of petty spites. You thought that once Snape saw who Remus really was, he’d be leaving Remus alone, but no! That didn’t turn out that way did it?”

” . . . ”

“Sirius, are you really that blind?”

“Maybe.” He clenched his fists. “Do tell me what I am NOT seeing.”

James shook his head and laughed bitterly.

-That laugh . . . it sounds so strange coming from James of all people.-

“You had no reasons to be jealous, Sirius. Remus . . . loved you. But you were blind to see that bloody fact. You thought that Remus and Snape were seeing each other when really Snape was tutoring Remus in Potions.”

Sirius paled. “I . . . ”

“Don’t deny it, Sirius. You screwed up big time . . . and now Remus will pay for it. Not you nor I, but Remus.”

Salvatore Malfoy looked at Dumbledore coolly.

“I knew you were eccentric, Albus, but allowing a dangerous, dark creature to come into Hogwarts? That’s out of the line for you.”

“Salvatore . . . ” Dumbledore was cut off.

“Enough. The School Board had unanimously decided to fire you. And the Ministry acknowledged that the Lupin boy is to be executed.”

“Surely you can give him a chance?”

The grey eyes stared into the non-twinkling blue ones. “Only God, if there is one, can save that damned boy now, Albus. He has killed and he will be punished for it. You have no say in it whatsoever.”

It was two hours before the execution. Remus was chained to the wall. He was beaten and tortured by the Ministry officials. Never mind that he was still a teen. He was now seen as a creature that should be banned from the face of the Earth.

The door opened and Sirius came in hesitantly.

-Merlin . . . what did they do to him? I can barely recognise him.-

Remus opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure. He could tell though by the smell that it was Sirius.

“Hey,” he croaked, his voice nearly gone from screaming so much.

“Hi Remus . . . ”

An uncomfortable silence passed between them.

“Well, yell at me, curse at me. Do something, Remus. Get angry. I deserve it.”

Remus said nothing.

-Why isn’t he yelling? This silence is so much worse than the admonishing I should be getting.-

“There is no point in being angry now, Sirius. No point. I’ll be dead soon, so there really is no point.”

Sirius felt even worse than before. “Remus . . . ”

“Don’t give me your pity. I always knew I’d kill someone one day and it finally happened. Being cursed with lycanthropy makes you realise that it’s inevitable that you will kill someone.”

“Remus . . . please . . . I’m sorry.”

The other boy looked up with sad eyes. “No I’m sorry. Perhaps, if I’d admitted my love for you sooner, this wouldn’t have happened. But maybe even after admitting it, it still would have happened. Who knows? Life works in a strange manner.”

“Please . . . I got James’ Invisibility Cloak, you can escape . . . ”

“And what? Live like a fugitive?” Remus glared at him. “Thanks, but no. I’d rather pay the consequences for my actions.”

Sirius looked down at his feet. Few minutes later he turned around and was about to exit when Remus said one last thing.

“I do love you, Sirius. I do. Please don’t do anything stupid. At least try not too okay? And tell James and Peter that I loved them like brothers.”

Sirius stifled a cry and turned back around and went to his lover. “I love you too.” With that, he kissed Remus softly. A few moments later, Remus kissed him back.

After kissing for what seemed like an eternity, Sirius broke the kiss and ran out the door.

Remus looked at the retreating figure and smiled sadly. “I do love you . . . and I forgive you . . . ”

The execution went on and it took place in Hogsmeade. The Ministry had decided, in their own cruel way, to use a silver knife on Remus. The executioner stabbed him through the heart and the silver slowly poisoned his system. The next fifteen minutes were the most painful Remus ever endured. What made it worse was that he was conscious throughout the whole procedure. The crowd of wizards and witches that came to view the execution were entertained and were deriving pleasure from his pains. Those that were close to Remus, didn’t show up.

It was two-thirty in the afternoon, when Remus Lupin took his final breath. He was officially dead.

Sirius couldn’t stand being at Hogwarts. He decided to take his motorbike, which he’d hidden in the Forbidden Forest, and ride off on it.

-What have I done? Why? Why couldn’t I get punished? Why him?-

His mind was screaming throughout the whole day. He couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d done to Remus. He couldn’t stop imagining what the pain must have been like. He was going insane.

He rode through the Scottish countryside. Everything looked so peaceful, but the man on the motorbike wasn’t.

-Why?! How could I ruin his life?!-

Sirius, too busy berating himself and being remorseful, didn’t see a truck coming in front of him. The last thing he recalled was bright light shining in his face and his world turning upside down. Everything slowly went black and he told himself that he’d see Remus now and be with him forever . . .

“Sirius? Sirius?! Sirius! Wake up!”

Remus shook his lover, trying to get him out of the nightmare. “Sirius, shhh.” He caressed Sirius’ forehead, feeling the sweat on there. “It’s okay, Sirius. I’m here. It’s only a nightmare. Please. Wake up.”

Slowly, he opened his eyes. They were unfocused.

“It was only a dream?” His voice so low that Remus almost didn’t catch it.

“Yes, Sirius. It was only a dream, well more like a nightmare.”

He shot up in the bed and stared at his mate. He touched him to make sure he wasn’t an apparition. “Thank Merlin . . . ” Sirius kissed him and started to cry.

Remus was comforting him. “Shh . . . Sirius. It’s okay. I’m here, I will not go anywhere.”

“Yes. Don’t go anywhere, never leave me.”

“I won’t, love. I won’t.”

Sirius Black was ecstatic. Today was Christmas Eve and it was his and Remus’ anniversary. It was their first Christmas Eve after the defeat of Lord. Voldemort. And he insanely decided that he wanted to bake a cake. Never mind the fact he had never cooked in his entire life, but he wanted to try and make the best cake for his lover. Harry decided to help out by dragging Remus out of the house for the whole day. Hermione helped out by giving him cookbooks and getting the ingredients for him. Now, Sirius had the whole flat to himself and he planned to bake the World’s Yummiest Chocolate Cake for his lover.

Sirius looked through the cookbook and read it out loud. “Preheat the oven, crack three eggs, pour flour, tut, tut.” Sirius tutted. “This looks so easy. And Snape had the bloody nerve to accuse me of not being able to cook. We’ll see about that!” A week before, another infamous Black/Snape war had broken out and one reason or another, they got into a dispute on who could cook better or what not. Severus Snape, who could actually cook like a gourmet chef, knew that Sirius had never cooked in his life. Sirius, being Sirius, didn’t want Snape to have the last word, so he denied everything and claimed he could at least bake a cake. That was the reason why Sirius was now standing in his kitchen, looking rather confused by some of the cooking terminology.

“What the bloody hell does it mean to ‘shift’ the damn flour?” Sirius dumped out the content of flour into the bowl. “Shift? These Muggles come up with some weird stuff . . . ”

“Well that looks shifted enough for me, now onto the other stuff.” The next few minutes were full of silent as Sirius measured out the baking powder, salt, sugar, cocoa, and vanilla.

“Crisco shortening eh?” Sirius measured out the shortening and then put it into the bowl. He then tried to mix them up. “For Godric’s sake! How am I supposed to mix this when this shortening thing is a huge lump? It certainly isn’t getting any softer . . . ”

After thirty minutes, Sirius figured out that he had to soften it up in the microwave. Then he took him another good ten minutes to figure out how the microwave worked. “Arthur Weasley is a brainless git for thinking that Muggles’ objects are fascinating,” Sirius grumbled. Once he figured out how to work the microwave, he put the cup of shortening in there and waited. When it was done 3 minutes later, the shortening was burnt to crisp. Out of frustration, he kicked the counter and got a sore foot. “Bloody hell!”

After he realised that he was supposed to soften the shortening up for less than a minute, he started all over again. After mixing up the ingredients together, he poured them into the pan as the cookbook directed. He then popped it in the oven and decided to go outside and work on his motorbike till the cake was done.

2 hours later . . .

“Blast it! Remind me to make a mental note to myself to never work on my motorbike when I am cooking!” Sirius dejectedly pouted at the cake that was all burnt and crispy. Sirius sighed and looked at the clock. “Man and I only got 3 more hours to bake this bloody thing.” He looked around the kitchen. “Oh man, Moony is going to kill me when he sees the kitchen in this state.”

“BBRRRING!” Sirius jumped at the sound of the phone ringing. “Why did we ever decide to get a phone?” He ran to the living room and answered it. “Hello?”

“So, Black. How’s the cake coming along?” Snape’s usual sneer was heard through the phone.

Sirius groaned. “What do you want Snape. I am busy baking right now!”

“Just calling to see if you burn the flat down yet. Apparently you haven’t since you are still alive and kicking.”

“Yes. Sorry to disappoint you.” Sirius scowled at the wall. “How in Merlin’s world did you know I was baking a cake?”

“Your precious Godson told me. He figured that you might need a little help, so he asked me to check up on you.”

“Harry did that? Remind me to kill the little bugger!” Sirius felt betrayed.

Snape rolled his eyes on the other side. “Oh, quit being so melodramatic. I know you want to bake the cake yourself, so I’ll just come over there and give you a little guidance.”

Sirius’ shoulders fell in defeat. “Fine!” he growled. “But be civil!”

“You too.” With that, Severus hung up.

Few minutes later, Severus appeared in the middle of the kitchen with a loud “Pop”. He looked around disgustedly. There were pots and pans everywhere and smell of burnt bakery was in the air. “No wonder you never did too well in Potions.”

Sirius glared. “Shut up and do what you came here to do!”

With a bored expression, Severus looked through the recipe. “For Salazar’s sake. This is the easiest recipe for chocolate cake out there and you can’t even make this?”

“Just shut up and tell me what to do!”

The Slytherin sighed and started to guide the Gryffindor step by step. As Sirius started everything again, he gradually understood what went wrong. An hour later, the cake was done and all that was left to do was to frost it.

“I don’t think I need to guide you through this, do I?” Severus drawled.

Sirius concentrated on getting the frosting on the cake and didn’t say anything to the other man. Thirty minutes later, the cake was all done. Sirius proudly looked at it. It was a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting on it. On the top it had a picture of a dog and a werewolf and the words ‘Happy Anniversary, Moony!’ were written on it in vanilla frosting.

“Wonderful accomplishment, Black. Now let’s clean up.” Both Severus and Sirius cleaned with their wand and that was a breezy clean up.

Sirius was about to go upstairs and change when the front door opened. Harry, Remus, Hermione, and Ron all came in laughing. Remus sniffed the air and realised that someone has been cooking. He sniffed again and felt overwhelmed by the smell of chocolate. He walked into the kitchen and saw Sirius looking very messy. His clothes were rumpled up and he had a little bit of frosting on his face. He then looked at the countertop and saw the cake.

With a surprised expression, he looked at the cake and back to Sirius. He put two and two together and realised that Sirius went through all the trouble to bake this. He tried to talk, but his throat refused to cooperate. “Paddy . . .  the cake . . . you . . . for us . . . ?”

Sirius nodded happily. “For our anniversary, love. I know it’s not much, but I know you love chocolate and I figured I’d have to learn how to make something sooner or later . . . ”

He never got to finish the sentence as Remus launched himself onto his mate and kissed him passionately. Harry grinned like an idiot. Ron and Hermione both smiled politely. Severus just looked bored. Sirius didn’t care about that and kissed Moony back.

After a few minutes of intense snogging, they both broke apart. “Paddy, this is the best present I could ever receive from you. Thank you so much.”

Sirius stared into the intense eyes. “Anything for you love. Anything.”

Ron stared at the cake hungrily. “Let’s eat this now? I’m so starving!”

Everyone laughed and Sirius got out the plates and forks for the cake. Ten minutes later, the cake was no more and everyone was satisfied.

“Happy Christmas, everyone,” said Remus

“Yes. I agree. And I am glad to see that the cake didn’t poison anyone!” Sirius laughed gaily.

“Yes. I admit you did well, Black,” Snape grudgingly admitted.

Harry learned and kissed his lover on the cheek. “There. Giving him a compliment wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

Severus glared him and Harry just glared back. Everyone around them laughed and the gaiety just went on.

It’s Christmas Eve, and I am walking around the city of London at night. The lights from the passing cars and the streetlamps are glaringly bright as I walk down the streets. The noisy cars driving by leave a cacophonic atmosphere.

People pass by me; I never acknowledge them, and they never acknowledge me.

The fog this late at night is making the scenery look ominous. The weather is frigid, but I do not feel the coldness at all.

Even in a big city, I feel alone and immune to the sights and events around me.

I miss you, Sirius. The world seems so different without your presence. Ever since you went to another realm when you passed through that veil, I realise how much you mean to me.

Click on the image for the larger version. Fanart by Tokki-Chan.

As I breathe out, the smoky aftermath reminds me of your smoking habits. I’ve always badgered you about quitting the disgusting habit, but now I even miss that.

I see couples holding hands together and kissing, and I recall all the affections we shared and the times we made love.

And now you are gone.

Why did you leave me?

I look at the empty space in front of me, and it really hurts for me to say this:

Happy Christmas, Sirius, wherever you are now.