The Challenge

Title: The Challenge
Author: Madilayn
Summary: SLASH When Severus Snape manages inadvertently to find his way behind the veil, he discovers that Sirius Black can be more useful to the order than he would have imagined. And Sirius Black decides to take up a challenge that Remus sets (via Snape)
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s):Snape/Sirius; Snape/Lupin; Sirius/Remus
Feedback: desired.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
AUTHORS NOTES Part of the Severus Snape Fuh-Q Fest Scenario 10 – It\'s only safe to
meet in the magic space in-between

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He wouldn\'t be here if he weren\'t so exhausted, tired as he was in both mind and body to be grateful for the wards and charms protecting this house.


Tired enough to be grateful tha cou could be hidden here, without the need to erect his own wards.


Tired enough not to care that he had let his guard down. Exhausted enough to be thankful for Molly Weasley\'s fussing. Exhausted enough to thank Lupin for the supporting shoulder.


And exhausted enough that he did not realize he had let the mask slip to both Molly and Lupin, and they saw Severus Snape the man, rather than Severus Snape the Potions Master.


He collapsed into the soft bed, and was asleep immediately, his mind, for once, open. Receptive.


And his skills as a Legilimens and an Occlumens making him a beacon for somebody who had been trying to contact a friend. Somebody who was accepted by the wards and the Charm.


Somebody *trapped*.


Snape\'s eyes snapped open and he bolted upright. A quick glance around told him this was a place unfamiliar to him. It was bleak, grey. He stood and surveyed his surroundings and was surprised when a figure came towards him,
a figure taller than himself, but by no means menacing when he realized it was someone he knew.


Black.


*Great*, thought Snape. *I\'m dreaming of Sirius Black.*


\"No, you\'re not dreaming, Snape.\"


\"No, I don\'t suppose I am. I agree with you on mat matter. This is a nightmare, no doubt brought on by exhaustion.\"


Black moved towards him, grabbing his upper arm pinching him hard enough to leave a red mark, even through the thick fabric. \"If it were a dream, I wouldn\'t be able to do that.\"


\"Who knows? Do you know that you\'ve died? A conversation with a spirit, especially one as yourself, is usually an indication of some sort of terrible nightmare.\"


Sirius shook his head, his long hair whipping about his face. \"That\'s just it. I\'m not dead. I wasn\'t dead when I went through the veil. I went through as a live body, and so have been stuck here ever since.\"


\"And just where is *here*?\" Snape was at his most sarcastic. As dreams went, this one lacked a certain something. Sex, for example. He preferred his dreams to include sex. Lots of it. Naked women were good, as well, as long as there was some sort of penetration resulting in his own orgasm.


Sirius Black was not welcome in the nighttime wanderings of Snape\'s subconscious. *Ever*.


\"Limbo, Snape. We\'re both in Limbo.\" Ss was waved his hand and a large couch appeared. He flung himself down upon it and stretched out. \"I\'ve been trying to reach anybody ever since I found myself here. I was hoping that I could contact Remus. How is he? I worry about him. He\'s more fragile than anybody knows. And what about Harry? Is he all right?\"


The hunger in Sirius face was apparennd Snd Snape realized he had inquired about the people he had loved most. Neither was a surprise to Snape. He relented, knowing what it was like to hunger for information about loved
ones, and then be denied it. He knew the pain, and could not inflict it upon anyone – even Sirius Black.


He sat down on the edge of the couch, shifting Black\'s feet to do so.


\"Harry is not coping very well, nor is Lupin, although they both try to hide it. Your godson has become the most annoying little shit is has ever been my displeasure to have the misfortune of having to teach. And Lupin is quiet. Very quiet. And he\'s become a bit of a recluse. Only leaves your
house on business for the Order, or to see Harry.\"


Tears were clearly visible in Sirius\'s eyes. \"So why has nobody tried to get me back? What are you all doing about Harry and Remus?\"


\"The Weasleys are living in your house, and Molly is keeping a very close eye on both Harry and Lupin. She\'s not happy with either of them, but they have both erected barriers that won\'t let anybody through. Not even each
other. As for coming to get you, we thought you were dead. *Are* dead,\" he immediately corrected himself. \"Whatever.\"


\"I\'m not dead. Surely Dumbledore knows that.\"


Snape looked at him thoughtfully. \"I honestly don\'t know. But I can see the advantages of your demise. The Dark Lord was able to lure Harry to the Department of Mysteries by using you as a sort of bait. With you dead, he\'s deprived of that bait. I suspect that the only reasou hau have been able to contact me is because of my training – and the fact that for once tonight I was too exhausted mentally to erect my usual barriers.\"


Sirius nodded. \"I thought as much when I saw you appear here. But listen, Snape, I\'ve got information. Information that will help the Order. Here in Limbo, I can easily access many places – and in some of them I\'ve found Voldemort. Using them to hide his plans.\"


Snape looked sharply at him. \"You\'ve not lany any traces of yourself?\"


\"I do have some sense, thank you very much. Of *course* I haven\'t. There are so many displaced souls in Limbo that it\'s very easy to blend in. I\'ve learned a trick or two here, too, not to mention what I learned from listening to you.\"


Snape was surprised. \"Flattery?\"


\"No. Truth. You are very good at what you do, and even *I* have to admit that.\"


\"So, what sort of information have you found?\"


\'ve \'ve stumbled on a plan of Voldemort\'s to subvert the Unspeakables and the Aurors. He believes that they are both fed up with the Ministry\'s fumblings and are ripe for rebellion.\"


\"I\'ve discovered that, as well. And he\'s quite accurate in his thinking. I must admit, I\'ve not been able to get details, though.\"

\"I have. Remember, I\'ve been peeping right into his subconscious.\" Sirius then explained quickly what he had learned.


Snape was most impressed. \"Excellent. This will help the Order in our fight.\" He looked somewhat abased, then, a most unfamiliar expression upon his normally stoic face. \"I\'m sorry that nobody has realized you\'re not
dead,\" he said, \"and I have a feeling that Dumbledore is going to want you to stay dead for a while.\"


\"Yes. He\'s going to want to keep this source of information. I\'m not too happy about it, though.\"


\"I can understand. But I\'ll do all I can to hasten your eipatipation.\"


Sirius looked at him, \"Thank you, Severus. I appreciate that. Can you tell anybody else about me? Harry? Remus? I don\'t want them to worry and mope about.\"


\"I cannot. Surely you can see that.\" He held up a hand as Sirius started to speak again. \"I know you want Lupin at least to know. If I can find a way to do so discreetly, and if Dumbledore gives his assent, I will. But I can\'t tell Harry. Unfortunately, he\'s too indiscreet,and the Dark Lord is
still using him.\"


\"I definitely want Remus to know I\'m alive. I can understand about Harry, though. Is there no way you could….\"


\"Young Potter hates me, Black. Almost as much as you do. There is no way I could even get him to believe me. And even if he did, then he\'d tell the other two, and then the world would know. It\'s better for the moment he
remains ignorant, despite your wi. H. He\'s still not learned anything, and I\'ve not been able to teach him Occlumency with any success. And I *shan\'t* be able to until he allows himself to be taught.\"


Sirius nodded. He could see the sense in that, especially from Snape\'s last remark about Harry refusing to learn Occlumency.


\"If Harry won\'t be taught Occlumency, then he is acting like an fool. He\'s got to learn, Severus! Voldemort is determined to destroy the Order through Harry. He\'s been using Harry and his dreams to get information. That has got to be *stopped*.\"


\"And we all agree, Black. Unfortunatelour our godson seems to be the one person who does not see the sense.\"


\"Has Dumbledore spoken to him?\"


\"Yes. But Harry Potter, as usual, seems to think he knows better than his elders.\"


Snape rose and began to pace, his face twisted and angry. Sirius knew him well enough to know that the pacing and the showing of emotions meant that he was deeply disturbed. He rose and placed his hand on the shoulder of the other man.


\"What is it that you are afraid of?\"


Snape whirled. \"That he\'ll be caught the same way I was. That he won\'t be able to resist Voldemort when he starts to offer promises that can\'t be kept, promises that offer the hope of your deepest wishes. That when he realizes the truth, he\'ll become *me*. I wouldn\'t wish that on anybody.\"


Sirius started. He had never heard Snape allude to his reasons for becoming a Death Eater, and what was revealed showed a greater insight into Severus Snape than he felt anybody else had ever had (with the possible exception of Dumbledore, of course).


\"So when did you learn Legilimency and Occlumency?\"


\"You don\'t exactly *learn* Legilimency. It\'s something you are born with or not. I was born with it. So was Harry. Occlumency, Dumbledore taught me, and I soon surpassed him – not surprising when you think what I was using it for. Which is why he wanted me to teach Harry.\"


\"I know Harry was not happy about it.\"


\"Of course not! Not with you behaving like a boar when I came to inform him. Not with you encouraging him to behave with as much foolhardiness as you. And then he showed himself completely untrustworthy by prying into
places he should not have. And lying to me.\"


Sirius grimaced. \"I\'ve heard this before. From Remus. He was furious when he found out what Harry was playing at. Come to that, he was furious with you and I both.\"


\"I heard all Lupin\'s opinions on the subject, thank you very much. Unfortunately, he could not guarantee young Potter would actually work at his lessons, and …\"


\"And it\'s hard to face somebody who has seen you humiliated?\"


\"It certainly decreases my authority over him.\"


\"Have you actually spoken to Harry about it? You might be surprised. His oons ons of James and my actions that day were low. Very low. He actually sympathizes with you, because he knows what it\'s like to be humiliated. Ask him about Voldemort and the graveyard.\"


\"*Nobody*, Black, *nobody*, knows how I felt. And you haven\'t changed. Haven\'t grown up at all. Still trying to impress everybody with your antics.\"


\"And failing miserably, Severus. I know I\'ve been and probably still am a complete idiot. I regret my actions more than you could know. But I also know that dwelling on the past is not the way to change the future. You\'re right. Harry had absolutely no right ty iny into the Penseive, and, frankly, I think he deserves to be thrashed for doing it. I would have. But you don\'t do that. Your sarcasm is more feared than any thrashing. I can\'t understand why you ……\"


\"Shut up Black. Just shut up. It was not *you* forced to suffer this humiliation. It wasn\'t *you* who was so frightened he hurt the feelings of a good friend, hurt them so badly she refused to have anything to do with me. But it was you that caused it, and caused me to loose another friend. And that\'s something I can never forgive or forget. Potter betrayed the trust that I placed in him. Trust that he would not pry into the Penseive. That I *cannot* forgive.\"


Snape flung himself down on the couch. \"The greater pity is that Harry has the makings of a fine Occlumens. He actually broke through my barriers once. In a lesson when he was actually making an effort. I was surprised
because he shouldn\'t have been able at thatnt int in his training. And, Sirius, I know more about Harry\'s life than you do.I\'ve seen the hell of his so-called family. And it makes yours and mine look loving and normal. At least we weren\'t deliberately starved of both love and food. At least we were treated as family. Not as some sort of slave.\"


\"I know the Dursleys treat Harry badly, but I can\'t understand why Dumbledore kept sending him back there.\"


\"Because of the bloody protection spells his mother used to save his life. He has to go back to her blood relative to live – to call home – so that it can be renewed.\"


Snape felt himself being pulled. \"I must be waking up. Black, I don\'t know when I can next come here. Keep trying each night. I will stay at the house again on the weekend and try. By then, I will have devised some means of communication between the two of us.\"


\"Thank you, Severus,\" Sir Sirius, but it was too late. The other man was gone.


Sirius Black curled up in the corner of the couch. He was alone again. Very alone, and very afraid.