The Supposed Tale Of Unrequited Love

First There Were Three

James/Remus/Sirius

NC-17

Summary: James, Remus, and Sirius ‘find’ each other after a Quidditch match against Slytherin which they win. Sirius and James are in the shower after the game and Remus walks in. They get a little busy after the rest of the team leaves. A long relationship ensues. It takes place in their sixth year, which means the Shrieking Shack incident happens in this story. It leads to some very interesting situations.

Disclaimer: I do not, nor do I claim to, own any of these characters or locations. They belong to J.K. Rowling and I just give them my own little spin. They have entered the world of Deirdra and I just let them stay for a bit and experience life on my side of the reality line.


“So, you think we’ll win the match then?” A handsome dark haired boy asked his best friend. His hair was down to his shoulders and his eyes were dark. His friend grinned and continued dressing in his uniform. “Of course we will Sirius.” The other boy, with shorter hair though just as dark, answered as if there were no question in the matter. “Alright James, of course we will.” Sirius laughed along with his friend and pulled his Quidditch pads on over his pants. James watched him and smiled. A strand of hair fell into Sirius’s face as he dressed and James reached over, pushing it behind his ear. He caught himself and pulled his hand back. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” His face flushed and he turned back to his own pads, fastening the last one in place as Sirius finished and began walking to the door. The captain, James, gave his speech and the whole team walked out onto the d. d.

Up in the stands, a brown haired boy waved to his friends walking out onto the field. James waved back. “Siri, wave back to Remus.” He elbowed his friend in the side and pointed to the stands. Sirius waved back and flung his leg over his broom. “He always waves.” Sirius said with a grin. James mounted his broom as well and they kicked off simultaneously. The wind felt wonderful in their hair and they played quite a good game. Slytherin didn’t even stand a chance against Gryffindor and they were more than 150 points behind when the match ended. The team headed back to the locker room and began to shower and dress.

“How long do you think we could rub this in their faces before it’s too much?” Sirius asked with a grin. James chuckled and swatted his friend with a towmakimaking him yelp. All their teammates were showered and dressed before either of them even had a chance to think about showering. The door opened and the brown haired boy they had seen in the stands walked in. “Hey Remus.” James said without looking up, knowing it was their friend coming to congratulate them as always. “Hello James, Sirius.” He sm war warmly and hugged his friends. “Wonderful game, guys. I don’t think Slytherin is going to recover anytime soon.” A sly grin formed on his lips momentarily then disappeared. “Oh Moony. It’s not like you to think such things.” Sirius said sarcastically. They all knew Remus was against the house feuds, but he would occasionally make comments about Slytherin. “Well, I still don’t approve of you torturing Severus.” He paused to give Sirius a stern look when Sirius snickered. “But I do think they deserve a little bit of mud in their faces.” Referring to the Slytherin Quidditch team and the fact that they did deserve to lose.

They watched the last team member leave and grinned to each other. “James and I have to shower. We’ll be out in a few minutes, Moony.” Sirius smirked and grabbed a towel then headed to the showers. “Alright, Padfoot!mus mus yelled as his friend disappeared around the corner. James laughed and grabbed a towel as well. “Few minutes.” He said as he followed Sirius. Remus grinned and sat down on one of the benches. He heard the water running and smelled soap, nosenose twitching as he sniffed the air. He stood and wandered around the corner toward the sound of the water. He watched his friends showering and a weird feeling came over him. He felt something new. A feeling he had never felt before when thinking about his friends. He saw them soaping up and laughing. They may not have been touching each other or themselves, save for washing, but nothing sexual. He still felt overcome with arousal as he watched his two best friends under the hot running water.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was naked and walking toward them. They looked up and saw the feral look in his eyes, wondering what was going on. The full moon wasn’t for another week and a half. James spoke first, his tone questioning. “Moony, what’s going on?” Remus reached out his hand and lightly caressed James’s chest while looking into his eyes, then turned to look at Sirius while his hand still ran over the smooth skin of his friend’s pecs. “Yeah Remus, what’s going on?” Sirius asked as he backed away slightly. Remus rushed forward and captured Sirius’s lips, forcing him back against the wall as he kissed him. The dark haired boy began to protest then gave in and kissed back, his hands roaming over the werewolf’s back. James watched in awe as his two friends made out and found himself becoming aroused as well. He pulled Remus to him and began to kiss him, his hands roaming over both of his friendsesh.esh. The hot water steamed up the locker room and the only sound passersby would hear beside the running water were the soft moans and cries of passion coming from the three best friends who had finally found each other.

A few days later they were sitting in the library studying. None of them had really said anything about what had happened in the locker room, but then again who needs talking when you can just be physical? They had relived that fateful afternoon every night since and regretted nothing. The three of them just grinned at eacher her and their friend who had not been involved, Peter, just sat there dumbfounded. Well, he was pretty stupid as it was. “What are you three grinning about? Did you come up with a new plan to torture the Slytherins? Or maybe Snivellus?” He sounded eager and rat like, not surprising seeing as his Animagus form was none other than a rat. His beady little eyes gleamed with enthusiasm as he spoke, hoping they would have something good for him to do. Unlike last time where he had to play the bait for Slytherin and had gotten hurt in the process. That was nothing new. They always treated him like a third wheel. He felt like they never liked him. Which may be the reason he later betrays them all.

“Pettigrew, there is nothing going on and I don’t have a plan. Prongs here was supposed to think the next one up seeing as I thought of the last one.” He smirked, his eyes laughing because he knew damn well James would kill him for making it up to him to appease Peter’s curiosity with what was going on. “Actually, Padfoot. I was hoping Moony would take this one.” He grinned to Remus who scowled at him. “I figured after what he told us in the locker room the other day that he may like to join in on our prank this time. Possibly even think one up.” James snickered because now they also had Remus to torture with Peter’s irritating attitude. He had always been their friend, true. But he had never taken part in one of their plans to torture any of the Slytherins. Especially Severus Snape. There may be an outside reason why he never gets involved in how they treat Severus.

He smiled apologetically at Peter after scowling at both of his friends, giving them a ‘wait until I get you both alone’ look. They just smirked at him while he spoke to their small, beady eyed friend. “Sorry Peter. I don’t plan on taking part in any pranks. You’ll just have to keep boing ing Prongs and Padfoot if you want something to do.” It was now his turn to smirk as his lovers gave him hurt looks. He knew they didn’t hate Peter. But he also knew they didn’t like him very much either. They hated having to hang around with him, especially when he wouldn’t shut up. Like now. “Look, Wormtail. We’re not planning anything. And we probably won’t be for a long while. We need to give them time to wallow in their defeat on the Quidditch pitch before we give them something else to cry about.” James said logically. “Yeah. We don’t want them doing anything stupid like hurting themselves or us, for that matter.” Sirius added. Peter fell silent, finally understanding that they just weren’t going to have any plans to torture the Slytherins for at least another week. “Fine.” He said grudgingly and bu his his nose in his book. Remus, who was across from his two lovers, gave them a seductive look once Peter wasn’t paying attention. They just grinned and went on with their studies.

Peter, though not very bright, began to notice things when over a week passed and his friends still hadn’t began to discuss what their latest prank was going to involve. He was suspicious, but he would never ask. They would rip him to shreds. He had woken up a few times in the middle of the night and noticed James and Sirius’s beds empty, with Remus’s curtains drawn and absolutely no noise whatsoever in the room. The noiselessness went on every night. The reason it was odd, was James and Sirius snored. But hver ver heard any snoring, nor the gentle breathing which had usually come from Remus’s bed. His friends never knew he normally woke up in the middle of the night, seeing as none of them ever did. He always fell back asleep about an hour later. He found it odd, and had an idea as to what was going on, but he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to make his friends mad at him.

Sirius glanced over to Peter’s bed, where he lay sleeping. “Do you think he knows anything?” He said as he got his pajamas on one night. James looked over as well and shook his head. “Nah. You know Wormtail. He could sleep through anything. I don’t even think he knows which beds we sleep in, seeing as he’s always asleep before we even get in bed.” He laughed and turned to Remus who was already in bed and yawning. “I personally couldn’t care less what the rat thinks.” He said in a bored tone of voice. Watching his lovers change was his favorite past time. When he noticed Sirius and James staring at him like they had no idea who he was, he replied with. “What? I can’t be a little mean without someone wondering if I’ve been drugged?” He said in a sarcastic voice. Sirius and James pounced on his bed and both began kissing him. “No, it’s not that Moony.” Sirius said as he pulled away from him and began to draw the curtains closed. “It’s just that we’ve never heard you speak that way about anyone. That’s all.” James finished as Sirius cast the sound proof spell on the curtains surrounding the bed. “But we love you anyway.” Sirius said with a mischievous grin. James nodded and his hands began to work over Remus’s body as Sirius began massaging him. Being that there are three of them, all of them always get equal attention.

They woke up the next morning to have Peter staring down at their naked bodies which were tangled not only in sheets, but each other’s limbs as well. They flushed and hurried to cover themselves with something. “You better not repeat what you saw, Pettigrew.” Sirius threatened. He wasn’t exactly the nicest person you could ever meet at Hogwarts. It may be because he came from a long line of Slytherins and was the very first, and most likely, the very last Gryffindor the Black family had ever seen. To this day people still wonder how he made it into that house instead. Peter just shook his head and bit his lip. “N-no. Of c-course, Sirius. I won’t r-repeat anything.” He stuttered and attempted to mind his business from then on, avoiding their beds in the morning to see if they had indeed continued to share one between the three of them every night. He figured if he knew nothing, then he couldn’t repeat what he didn’t know.

Afthatthat they made sure to keep more to themselves and only show attention to each other in ‘that way’ while in private. The public displays of affection tapered off and they made sure there was no one around when they even stole the smallest of kisses. They continued to tease and torture Snivellus when they could, though Remus hung back as usual and didn’t participate. He only smiled apologetically at Severus but never stopped his friends from doing their worst.

As Christmas drew near, the three of them began to discuss what they were going to do for the holidays. James usually went home and Sirius always went with him. Remus on the other hand, always stayed behind. James’s parents weren’t too keen on having a werewolf at their house for Christmas and Sirius was practically living with James as it was. Peter just did what his other friends did, being the natural follower that he was. Since this was the first Christmas that they were ‘together’, they wanted to spend the holidays with each other. James wrote his parents and told them he would be staying at Hogwarts. Sirius didn’t bother telling his family anything. Peter went home, not wanting to be in the way and knowing it would be easier for them to spend all their time together if he weren’t there. He didn’t mind much, seeing as he would rather spend it with his family. He was very quiet and reserved, keeping to himself.

Dumbledore had no problem with them staying behind. Very few students did, but he always had a few that stayed every Christmas. Like Remus and Severus. A handful of others stayed every once in a while, but mostly it was just those two. He was more than happy to have James and Sirius as well. Severus was more than surprised when they avoided him during the holidays. He figured they would stay behind to torture him more than usual. But he rarely saw them the whole time. Those two weeks they were practically the only ones in the school, they spent most of the time in their dorm room. Save for meals when they were expected to dine with the remaining professors and Severus. A few other students had stayed as well, but none of them personally knew the marauders or Severus.

He had no idea what they did, but he assumed they spent the whole time planning new ways to embarrass him and were waiting until their fourth conspirator came back to carry out any of the plans. He followed them around when they weren’t holed up in their room, but they didn’t seem to notice. He was quite disturbed that they weren’t even talking to him, let alone throwing snide remarks his way. In fact, the few times the three boys addressed him, they were nothing short of pleasant. He almost had a heart attack before the thought occurred to him that this may be a new plan of theirs to be so nice to him that he began to trust them, then humiliate him in front of the whole school. After that he decided to keep a safe distance from them, continuing to spy as long as they didn’t see him.

The three Marauders had no idea they were being followed or watched. Each of them was too involved with the other boys that they noticed nothing else, even Snape who they took more pleasure than they should from making him feel worthless. Even though that was their favorite past time, they found themselves being nice to him without realizing it, but then again, that made him more suspicious than what they usually did. Had they known that, they would have done it more often. The time they weren’t in their dorm, they were either in the Great Hall for meals or outside throwing snowballs or making snowmen. The full moon was scheduled to rise over the holiday break and they were more than prepared. Peter may not be there, but the werewolf didn’t need anyone but his dog and his stag. The three of them would run around alone that night, unaware that the headmaster was watching with a twinkle in his eye.

The time they spent in their dorm, which took up most of the vacation, was not spent being idle. They were constantly in bed, learning new things about each other and experiencing more than they could when Peter was present. The night before the full moon, the three boys made their way down to the Great Hall for dinner, mooning over each other, but no one seemed to notice. Either that or they were purposely avoiding it. The headmaster had set up one table in the middle of the hall which was just big enough for all the professors and the students who had stayed behind. He figured ‘What’s the point of everyone sitting at separate tables when there are only enough of us to occupy one table?’ The staff humored him and the students had no choice. So they shrugged it off and took a seat as they had every morning, afternoon and evening since the holidays began.

In an attempt to keep their ‘relationship’ secret, they tried to act as only friends while in the company of others. The only one, who knew their act to be false, was Dumbledore because the man knows everything. He has his ways, as odd as it is. They filled their plates with food and began to eat, carrying on a friendly conversation about regretting that classes would resume soon and the excitement of the Quidditch season which would also be resuming shortly after the holidays were over. Severus kept quiet, as he always did. The other students talked with the Marauders as if they had been friends their whole lives, never knowing they were lovers.

“I can’t wait for Quidditch to start up again.” James said with enthusiasm, forgetting the most obvious problem with his statement, which Sirius gladly pointed out. “Yeah, but for Quidditch to start up again, classes also have to resume. I don’t know if I want to sacrifice having to attend class just to play Quidditch.” Sirius was an excellent Quidditch player, but a horrible student. James was in the top of his class, and seeker for Gryffindor to boot. Sirius was a chaser, fast and agile on his broom. Remus had never liked playing the sport, but he had always enjoyed watching his friends play. He had a nostalgic gleam in his eye every time they talked about a particular play or the game in general. He could recall every instance they spoke of, having been at every match he could have possibly attended. There were a small handful of games he hadn’t been abo ato attend, due to his lycanthropy. “Mmm. Very true Sirius.” Remus said as he laughed. “And we all know how much you love classes.” He ducked out of the way as Sirius playfully swung at him, leaning into James and laughing.

In the heat of the moment they almost forgot they were in the presence of professors and fellow students, pausing to look into each others eyes before pulling away. They shook it off and went back to eating, laughing and talking about their most favorite matches.

“I think my favorite, is when James caught the snitch right before the Slytherin seeker could grab it.” Sirius said fondly, turning to Remus and telling him like he hadn’t been there to see it for himself. “We were tied for points with Slytherin and their seeker was just about to grab the snitch when James spotted him and knocked him off his broom to get to it.” He laughed and Remus just shook his head, not bothering to remind Sirius that he had been there. “Well I’m sure Jamie has a few more intriguing moves up his sleeve for the coming season.” Remus replied as Sirius ignored him and dove right into another story. He and James were telling a few excited first years about another amazing match where Sirius had pulled a maneuver which had caused the whole Slytherin team to stop mid air and drop from the sky, brooms and all.

As the children laughed at the Gryffindors’ stories, Severus Snape was scowling over his plate of food. ‘Why do they have to brag about everything?’ He thought to himself. But indeed, why did they? He would have said something, but there were professors present and it just would have caused more trouble than it was worth. He continued scowling at the Marauders, wishing they would drop off the face of the earth like the Slytherins had dropped from the sky. He snickered slightly as the thought crossed his mind. The mental picture of Sirius and James falling over an edge into a never ending abyss below was pure bliss. The fact that Remus hadn’t also fallen over the edge hadn’t occurred to him, but his thoughts were interrupted when Sirius saw his malicious grin.

“What are you snickering at, you greasy git?” Sirius sneered at him as the table grew completely quiet. James voiced his opinion as well. “Yeah, what do you find so funny, Snivelly?” He laughed along with Sirius, but no one else was laughing. In fact, the professors were staring in shock at the two marauders, and the rest of the students, save Remus, were all stopped mid bite, forks hovering just outside their mouths. “Why must you say things like that?” The third marauder spoke with conviction, as if he were completely ashamed that the other two were his friends. “How would you feel if someone said things like that to you?” He was enraged, but keeping his calm as much as he could. The look on James’s face turned from happy to shocked. Sirius dropped his fork and stared at Remus as if he had never seen him before. “No one would ever say those things to us, Remmy. We’re not greasy haired gits who have no friends and would rather brew potions than have a life.” The sound of his friend’s voice grated on his nerves but he ignored them and went on eating.

The black haired Slytherin stared at the three Gryffindors as his face twisted with anger. “I don’t need you defending me, Gryffindor.” He sneered at Remus who gave him a slightly hurt look then shook his head. “And as for you,” He turned to Sirius and James. “Maybe the reason I spend my time alone is because there are more important things than having friends to torture others with.” He was breathing heavily as the rage coursed through him. “I don’t need someone taking up my time when it can be better spent learning more about things.” Sirius snorted and stared at Snape. “Oh, learning about things. By that you mean….Hmm….Dark arts?” He said sarcastically. Everyone knew the Snape family, not unlike the Malfoy family, was into the dark arts and was well versed in it even before ever setting foot inside Hogwarts. Snape went to say something but he was cut off.

“Mr. Potter, Mr. Black.” She turned to face Severus. “Mr. Snape. I would prefer if you didn’t say those things. 10 points from Gryffindor and 5 from Slytherin.” McGonagall looked furious but she huffed slightly and settled back into her seat, pushing her food around her plate. “Quite true, Minerva dear. “ Dumbledore had a twinkle in his eye, which would have irritated her further had she been looking at him. “And if I hear you speaking like that again…” He never finished the sentence but his finger waved at them and he had a slightly threatening tone in his voice. The boys took the hint and clamped their mouths shut, shooting furious glances at each other whenever they could manage without being caught.

After dinner ended the Marauders headed out onto the grounds for a late night stroll. The headmaster had refrained from saying anything about the three of them taking their moonlight stroll, a knowing twinkle in his eye as he watched them walk through the large oak doors. Severus watched from the shadows as the three boys walked across the grounds, hand in hand. He blinked, thinking he must have been seeing things. It was quite dark outside and it could have just been…..No. There. He saw it again. They were most definitely holding hands. He stood shocked at first, then a sly smirk passed over his lips. He was forming a plan, and it was going to be perfect…

Ever since the incident the year before when James Potter had humiliated him just for Sirius Black’s pleasure, he had promised himself he would get revenge. He remembered that day like it had happened yesterday. It was just after they had finished taking their D.A.D.A. O.W.L. and he was minding his own business, walking across the grounds near the lake when out of nowhere the Marauders had decided to have some fun….

“All right, Snivellus?” said James loudly.

He was reaching for his wand when James shouted “Expelliarmus!” He went flying backwards and his wand flew out of his hand and hit the ground. He heard Sirius’s laughter and he silently cursed. He had no way to hex either of them or defend himself. He spotted his wand and dove for it, but before he could reach it, he heard Sirius. What he said didn’t register in Severus’s head, but he was in the air when the hex hit him. “Impedimenta!” He was knocked to the ground and stared at them like they were the most loathed things on this earth. He watched James look to where Lily was and smirked, knowing she couldn’t stand him. His eyes snapped back to James face when he spoke.

“How’d the exam go, Snivelly?” said James.

Then he turned to look at Sirius, scowling under his breath. “I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment,” said Sirius viciously. “There’ll be great grease marks all over it; they won’t be able to read a word.”

He was pushing back into his own mind more and more to try and ignore everything they were saying, but hearing his gathered peers laughing at what Sirius had said made him snap back to reality and his face twisted in anger. He tried to stand but the effects of the jinx wouldn’t let him. “You – wait,” he panted, staring up at James with an expression of purest loathing. “You – wait….”

“Wait for what?” said Sirius coolly. “What’re you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?”

He began cursing and hexing them, but his wand was nowhere near his hand. “You filthy fucking pieces of dirt.” He struggled more. “You’ll rot in hell you mangy beasts!” His voice and his body shook with rage. James snickered and pointed his wand at Snap once more. “Wash out your mouth,” said James coldly, “Scourgify!”

The bubbles from the cleansing spell poured from his mouth and he gagged, spitted furiously and trying not to choke on the foul taste in his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lily approach and yell at Potter. “Leave him ALONE!” As his attackers turned in shock to look at her he began to shake off the curse and crawl to his fallen wand. He snickered to himself again as the red head turned him down rather rudely, thinking he deserved that and more. No one was paying attention to him as James flirted with Lily so he took advantage. Unfortunately, Sirius turned around. “Bad luck, Prongs,” said Sirius briskly, turning back to Snape. “OY!”

He pointed his wand straight at James’s back and as he turned back, he fired a hex at him which skimmed his face and left a red gash. He laughed, but his semi-good mood was interrupted when a flash of light flew toward him and he was upside down with half the school watching. His robes fell over his head and his graying underpants were exposed to everyone. His attackers howled with laughter. Lily was furious and yelled at James. “Let him down!”

James, who found the whole situation hilarious, replied in an amused way. “Certainly,” said James and he jerked his wand upward. As he fell to the ground in a heap, he muttered more curses under his breath and held his wand firmly in his hand as he struggled to stand. He pointed his wand, but Sirius turned and said, “Locomotor mortis!” and he keeled over. Lily screamed at them once again with her wand out, “LEAVE HIM ALONE!” James and Sirius looked like they weren’t about to go up against her.

“Ah, Evans, don’t make me hex you,” James said earnestly.

“Take the curse off him then!”

Snape fell to the ground once more after Potter turned and muttered the countercurse at him. He stood while cursing under his breath. “They’ll fucking pay those goddamn assholes. I’ll rip their fucking dicks off with my own hands and feed it to them.” He began to slowly inch forward, his hands clenched at his side as if he would drop his wand at any moment and wring their necks.

“There you go,” he said then turned to look at Snape. “You’re lucky Evans was here, Snivellus –“

His face contorted with rage and disgust. “I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!” He didn’t even hear what she said to him, knowing she was just insulting him. He smirked as she went off on James, catching every word she said. It was the only worth while moment of the whole episode.

“I don’t want *you* to make him apologize,” Lily shouted, rounding on James. “You’re as bad as he is….”

“What?” yelped James. “I’d NEVER call you a – you-know-what!”

“Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you’ve just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down the corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can – I’m surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK.” She turned and stalked away, not turning back as he called after her. He had a brief conversation with Sirius then became enraged again when he saw Severus laughing. In another flash of light Snape was hanging upside down once more with his robes over his head again. “Now, who wants to see me take of Snivelly’s pants?” He asked the crowd, who cheered, for the most part.

Severus shuddered and came back to reality, not wanting to remember what happened next. He had to get them back for that day. His body shook as he remembered. His thoughts briefly went to the memory of Remus’s face, remembering that he hadn’t taken part in what they had done, that day or ever. But then again, he had never said anything to make them stop either.

He looked up and realized they had walked out of sight while he had been reminiscing. Severus cursed to himself and turned to walk back to the dungeon. He figured he may as well curl up with a book if he had lost view of them and wandered through the corridors, finding himself at the entrance to the Slytherin common room. After muttering the password he walked in, passing the few students on the leather couches and heading straight to his room. The Slytherin threw his robes on the trunk at the foot of his four poster bed and pulled back the emerald green curtains then stripped down, folding his clothes neatly and placing them on top of his robe. He dressed in his pajamas and settled into bed, pulling a very old looking book out from under his pillow and opening it carefully. Snape pulled the curtains closed and hovered a candle over the book with a wingardium leviosa charm then began reading. The candle burned out a few hours after he fell asleep, the book resting in his lap.

The three of the boys walked slowly while holding hands. They figured no one would see, and if anyone was watching, it was too dark outside for anyone to notice. Stealing quick kisses and glances under the star filled sky. The Marauders were so engrossed in each other that they forgot the time. Remus looked up at the castle and noticed the lights in the windows began to extinguish. “We should go in, Loves,” he said affectionately. The two other boys looked at him and nodded, holding hands until they got closer to the castle then breaking the connection before anyone could witness it.

The walk through the corridors to the Gryffindor common room was so uneventful, it was actually quite odd. They saw no one, and nothing. No ghosts, no professors, no Filch. But of course they didn’t notice the lack of company. As they reached the portrait hole, which hid the entrance to the common room, they paused. “Butterbeer!” Sirius said absentmindedly and the portrait of the Fat Lady voiced her opinion. “And what are you three doing out of the common room so late?” Her brow quirked in suspicion as they looked at each other and tried to think of an excuse. “Well, ma’am, we were just taking a stroll after dinner and we lost track of time,” James replied as herehere were no question as to why they were roaming the halls. They were so busy mooning over each other they barely heard her huff as she swung open.

They stumbled through the portrait hone and fell onto one of the comfortable couches in the common room, groping each other and moaning quite loudly. Seeing as they were the only Gryffindors who had stayed behind for the winter hols, they weren’t afraid of anyone hearing their encounter. Within minutes, and without knowing exactly how, they were all naked with their limbs tangled in each other’s. If anyone were to walk in, they would have gotten quite a spectacular show. Two dark heads and one light. Mouths slacked open with moans and passionate cries slipping from between those parted lips. A combination of brown, black, and amber eyes heavily lidded with lust. Slim but muscular backs arching into the pleasurable touches. Heads bobbing ever so slightly while fingers tangled in hair. Cries of orgasmic passion as each of them reached their peaks. They all collapsed into a heap in front of the roaring finot not bothering to wake and move themselves to their own beds.

In the morning they wandered down to the Great Hall for breakfast where they were greeted by the other students and the professors. They had completely forgotten about the impending full moon that night, but sensing this, Dumbledore nonchalantly pointed it out to one of the professors. The boys shared a pointed look between them and Remus nodded conspicuously at Dumbledore, letting him know he understood what Albus was saying. His twinkling eyes winked in acknowledgement and the young Gryffindor turned back to his friends. He gave them a knowing look, which had they seen it, they would have flushed a deep shade of red. Apparently, the headmaster knew everything that went on in the castle, no matter where or when it had happened.

Breakfast carried on in its usual way and the boys spent the rest of the day in the library. Remus was quite weak because of pull of the moon, and he could barely concentrate on anything, so they soon gave up on trying to finish their homework. The day passed slowly and they began to notice that Severus was not spying on them from some dark corner like he had every other day of the Christmas break. They shrugged and made their way to the common room, talking about Quidditch, classes, and various other things until Dumbledore came through the portrait hole near dusk and told Remus it was time to go. He waved to his friends, who grinned back, knowing he would see them soon enough. They would meet him in the Shrieking Shack in 30 minutes after the headmaster locked him in and it was safe for them to sneak out. Little did they know that the white haired wizard not only knew they were unregistered animagi, but he had made it easier for them to sneak out every full moon to be with Remus. He knew it made the change a little easier on the boy.

The two dark haired boys watched from a window in the Gryffindor tower as their friend made way to the Whomping Willow under the protection of the headmaster, then disappear through a passageway near the base of the trunk. After Dumbledore had returned to the castle a quarter of an hour later, they made their way down to the tree as well, prodding the knot near the base and scrambling through the passageway as well. At the end of a corridor, they greeted Remus who was near changing and huddled in a ball in the corner. They walked over and hugged him gently, giving him a loving kiss before changing into their animagi forms and watching their friend’s flesh bend and tear when he transformed into his monthly wolf form.

That night they did what they did every month. They rolled around and played with the wolf, finally tiring and snuggling into a huge ball of different colored furs and falling asleep. The next morning, James and Sirius left before Dumbledore showed up to move Remus to the hospital wing as he did every morning after the full moon so Pomfrey could heal his wounds before he woke. They met him in the common room and stayed in bed with him all day napping and talking lazily about nothing in particular or about how in love they all were.

As the end of the break drew nearer, the three Gryffindors spent their time holed up in their dorm, taking advantage of the peace and quiet of the castle. They knew once everyone else returned, it would be hard for them to find time alone to be intimate. The morning everyone returned, they greeted their friends with less than enthusiasm but of course, no one noticed but Peter. Severus went back to stalking them, but this time, they noticed.

They would walk down the corridors of the castle, stealing glances at each other as if to confirm the others knew Snape was following them. One day, Sirius got tired of him spying on them and had a most wonderful idea. He knew Severus would never leave them alone until they did something to make him. James remembered the incident last year where Lily had turned him down in front of Severus, and although he had found it an amusing joke, he figured Snape actually believed he had a thing for the red haired witch. He pointed this out to his lovers that night and they formed a plan which involved Lily. If anything, they needed to get him to think they were not lovers, just friends. Unfortunately, their plan would eventually backfire and there was nothing any of them could do about it.

The next day, James went about trying to woo Lily, under the watchful eye of the sly Slytherin. The dark haired boy was still plotting, but he had a wonderful idea of how to split the three of them up. He knew no matter what James pretended to do, he was no more in love with Lily, no more interested in her, than Severus was in Sirius. He decided in a euphoric moment what his revenge would be, then set about making it happen. It took him about a month to find and brew the correct potion. His plot was this; brew the ‘Everlasting Love’ potion and somehow get Lily and James to ingest it, then get them alone together for the potion to take effect. The result would be one less Marauder to get away from Lupin. Wait…When did this plot for revenge become a plot to seduce the shy, brown haired and amber eyed Gryffindor? He couldn’t remember when he began to have feelings for him, and he certainly didn’t know when he stopped wanting revenge and began wanting to press his lips to those sweet, supple looking lips that belonged to Remus Lupin.

He knew he had to somehow get them to ingest it, but he hadn’t quite figured out how. One night, during dinner in the Great Hall, he had an epiphany. He stalked over to the Gryffindor table and began throwing snide remarks at the Marauders, in hopes that he would be able to divert enough eyes from the pitcher of pumpkin juice long enough to slip the potion into it. A thought then occurred to him; if he poured it into the pitcher, other people would drink from it and the potion would also affect them. The only reason this disturbed him was that if Remus drank from it, and he had an encounter with Sirius later, they would be bound to love only each other for eternity. He had come across the potion in a book from the restricted section of the library and not only was it complicated to make, but it was also very complicated to understand.

Once ingested, the potion would act like an aphrodisiac between two people who flirted or showed interest in each other, even if that interest was false. It would then cause them to want to become intimate. But this was the interesting part of the whole potion. Unless the two people had sex, it wouldn’t cause them to fall madly in love with each other. But once it actually got physical, the potion took its full effect and those two people would forever be in love with only each other.

He had to find a way to get only Lily and James to swallow it. He then had a brilliant idea. It happened in a period of time so small that no one would have seen it, even if they had been watching. James, as well as Remus, Sirius and Peter, had all sat down with Lily and her friends. Part of their little plan to make Severus think James was in love with Lily instead of Remus and Sirius. A smirked ghosted across his lips as he poured the concoction into only their goblets, threw a few more slanted remarks, then went back to his spot at the Slytherin table to finish his dinner with a grin on his face.

After the food was gone and the plates had been cleared, he watched James and Lily rise with their friends and share a heated look. He could see the sparks flying between the two and almost squealed. He was excited that his plan was working so far. The first stage was in effect, the aphrodisiac was making them hornier than cats on a hot tin roof. They left their friends behind with confused looks on their faces and disappeared out the doors into the Entrance Hall. James didn’t show up in his dorm room until the wee hours of the morning. A worried Remus and Sirius waited up for him on Remus’s bed, too confused and concerned to have done anything with each other. The Gryffindor seeker walked in with a look of pure bliss on his face. He sighed contentedly and fell onto his bed. His two friends looked at each other then back at him, as if asking each other what the hell was going on. As if reading their minds, he began to tell them what had happened…

James stood and made to walk to Gryffindor Tower when he felt like something stopped him. He turned and when his eyes focused, he saw he was face to face with Lily Evans. Their faces were inches apart and he was becoming very aroused. He had never quite been interested in girls, but for some reason, the thought of her, naked and submitting to his very touch, made him groan under his breath. Apparently she felt the same, because she grabbed his hand and led him out into the corridor. Where exactly they ended up, he doesn’t know, but within minutes of arriving their clothes were balled on the floor and they were feverishly kissing. They found themselves on the cold, flagged stone floor and were too caught up in the throws of passion to realize what was happening. When they were both spent, they lay in each other’s arms, exchanging sweet nothings and loving kisses.

A few hours later they dressed and made their way back to the Gryffindor common room, parting at the stairs to the dorms with a passionate kiss. Which brought him back to the present. He looked up into his lovers’ faces with an apologetic look. “Sorry guys. But I’m in love with Lily and I don’t think the three of us is going to work anymore…..”

He trailed off as if embarrassed and looked down at his feet. The other two boys were shocked and devastated, silent tears flowing from their eyes. They couldn’t think of anything to say. All they had ever really known was the love and touch of each other. Remus and Sirius didn’t know how they would be able to handle being in this together without James. But obviously, they were going to have to figure it out quickly, seeing as he had just broken up with them.

Finally, Remus looked up at James and spoke quietly. “If this is what you want, then I’m happy for you.” He wasn’t exactly lying. He did want James to be happy. And if this was what made James happy, then Remus was happy for him. Sirius on the other hand, wasn’t taking it so well and his temper flared as he stood up, his hands balled into fists at his sides and his cheeks wet with tears as he said in a very angry and hurt voice. “I can’t believe you’d choose that slut over us.” He slumped onto the bed again, dejected when he saw the look of anger on James’s face after calling Lily a slut. “I just don’t understand what we did wrong.” He looked into the other boy’s eyes. “Why are you leaving us? I thought we just said the other day that we would be together forever and we were making plans for after next year when we graduate…” He couldn’t quite finish his thoughts. Sirius fell into Remus’s waiting arms. The werewolf held him close, rubbing his back and saying soothing things in his ear as James watched.

The dark haired seeker couldn’t for the life of him remember why he was giving this up. He felt a fleeting moment of doubt at his choice to leave his lovers for the red haired witch, then he remembered how beautiful her face was. Especially when she was moaning his name. A smirk came to his lips at the thought of her and he wiped it off his face quickly when he saw amber eyes staring at him. He felt like he had killed the soul behind those gentle eyes, and he would never be able to forgive himself. He knew now, more than ever, that he would never find forgiveness in himself for what he had done to his two closest friends.

Sirius and Remus fell asleep in each other’s arms while James slept in his own bed. It was quite strange. He hadn’t slept in his bed since the beginning of the year. They had all been sleeping in Remus’s bed, together. Now, he was sleeping alone and his two friends still had each other. It wasn’t that he didn’t have someone, he did. But he couldn’t sleep in the same bed as her. He would lay awake at night and think about the choice he had made, wondering why on earth he had chose Lily, a female, over his two best friends when he had always thought he was gay.

The air that surrounded the three of them was filled with tenseness for the next few weeks. After about a month, the two other boys got a little more used to the idea of James and Lily being a couple and actually got to know and like her. They invited her to hang out with them, and knowing that she had taken James away from them, she humored them and spent as much time with all three as she could stand. She grew to love Sirius and Remus and came to trust them with her own life.

One day, Sirius was in the library with Remus and Peter while James and Lwerewere off snogging somewhere. The Gryffindors were doing homework and studying when Sirius realized he needed another book. He ventured into the stacks and was looking for said book when he heard someone talking from the other side of the shelves. He immediately recognized one of the voices as Severus Snape’s. As the conversation continued, Sirius’s face twisted in anger and his fists balled at his side.

Severus’s voice, with a hint of pride and amusement, said. “Of course it was me. I used the Endless Love potion. Worked out better than I thought it would.” Sirius could just imagine the smirk on the slimy Slytherin’s face as he spoke those s ans and almost lost it.

“But, why did you do it, Severus?” The unknown voice of the person Snape was speaking to responded. “Well,” he continued. “I just wanted to get them back for what they did to me last year.” He paused and seemed to be considering something. “Oh, and I had a feeling the three of them were getting a bit…. closer than friends.” He said in a sarcastic, but curious tone. The other boy seemed to take this as enough of an excuse and laughed. “Well, it seems to have worked well. James is now with Lily and the other two seem to be miserable without their friend constantly by their side to play pranks with.”

Sirius was about to charge around to the other side of the stacks and pummel the ever living shit out of the Slytherins when he got an even better idea. It was as if a light bulb went off over his head and a sly smirk plastered itself on his lips. He grabbed the book he had been looking for and walked back over to the table where Remus and Peter were sitting. Remus glanced up as he walked over and looked at him curiously. “What are you smirking about?” He knew that look. It was the look Sirius got when he was plotting his most terrible pranks. He got a bit nervous and said in a slightly fearful tone. “Padfoot, what are you planning?” Sirius just grinned and leaned back in his chair. “Well, Love. I heard something that may change how we feel about our new situation.” Remus looked at him curiously and Peter just had his usual blank look on his face. Sirius rolled his eyes and leaned in, whispering just loud enough for his friends to hear him. “I know why James fell in love with Lily…” Remus went to speak and Sirius held his hand up, stopping him then continued. “I overheard Snape talking to someone about something he did.” He said the name Snape as if it were the foulest thing to ever leave his mouth. Remus now quirked a brow and waited for him to continue.

Sirius told them about everything he had overheard and mentioned he had heard of this particular potion from family members who hadn’t realized he was eavesdropping on a conversation. He explained how it worked and Remus’s eyes went wide with disbelief. “Severus did that to break us up?” He sounded shocked and hurt. He had never thought Snape would do something like that to him…. He hadn’t realized he started calling Snape ‘Severus’. He had also not realized that he would find it hurtful if Snape did something to hurt him, or that he expected Snape not to hurt him. He shook his head slightly to clear his mind loo looked at Sirius once more. “Well, Padfoot. What are you planning?” He sounded tired as if he wanted nothing to do with it but knew he would be included somehow. “Well,” Sirius paused thoughtfully then smirked. “I haven’t quite figured it out yet. But when I do, you’ll know.”

Remus shook his head in disbelief as he stood and gathered his books, heading out of the library and through the corridors. He would have just enough time to set his things in his dorm before dinner and he wanted to see if James and Lily were in the common room. Maybe they would like to walk down with him. It was a bit disturbing. Ever since James had left the relationship, he found it harder to deal with Sirius’s childish behavior. It was almost as if James was the only thing holding them all together. He set his books down and thought for a moment. He knew it wasn’t because he didn’t love Sirius, he did. But he wasn’t sure if the love he felt for his friend was just that. Love for a friend. The werewolf was getting to the point that he just wanted to be single. ‘No,’ he thought. ‘I don’t want to be single. I want him…’ His mind wandered to a dark haired, dark eyed, tall boy with pale skin. A slightly hooked nose and a wiry body. He felt his groin stirring slightly and attempted to push the thought from his mind.

He knew he could never be with the Slytherin. After all, Severus hated him. Most likely because of the fact that he was a Gryffindor, not to mention the fact of who his friends are. He, of course, never thought he was good looking. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror, letting his robes fall to the floor so he could get a better look at himself. He was wearing his grey school slacks, a white button down shirt with a red and gold tie, under a grey pullover sweater. He turned to look at himself from behind. Remus knew he had a nice arse, and he had caught a few boys staring at it as he walked away when he wasn’t wearing his robes. He turned back to look at himself, pulling his sweater up over his head then loosening his tie and opening the top few buttons on his shirt. His amber eyes stared at him through his honey brown hair which fell just above his shoulders. He had realized long ago that it made him look a bit more mysterious, making it the main reason why he never tied his hair back. Unlike Sirius, whose hair was always slightly messy, and James, whose hair looked like he never brushed it., his hair was always neat and combed. It had a slight wave to it and shined golden in the sunlight.

For a brief moment, he began to fantasize about a dark figure, slightly taller than him, walking up behind him and wrapping strong arms around his waist. The dark head would bow and nuzzle his neck from behind. His head would tilt to the side to give the other boy better access to the sensitive skin there and he would take in a sharp breath as teeth gently nibbled at the junction of his shoulder and neck. He would reach behind him and firmly grab the tight arse, pulling the warm body against him to feel a hard prick which was aching to bury itself in his tight warmth. His eyes would close and his tongue would pass over his lips as he let out a soft moan and pushed back on the bulge, so rudely constricted inside tight trousers instead of up against his bare arse. He felt his own erection throbbing in his trousers and let one of his hands snake down his chest, lift up his shirt, and play with the waistband. Remus let out a gasp as his own hand unzipped his trousers and found ity doy down them and his boxers. Of course, it wasn’t his hand he was imagining, but the hand of the dark haired boy behind him. It didn’t take much, a feather light touch, his thumb gently caressing the head of his swollen prick, and a slight tug, then he was moaning and cumming in his pants.

He snapped back into reality when he saw his reflection in the mirror and realized he was alone. There was no dark haired boy behind him, and it had been his hand, not Severus’s. He jumped slightly when he came to the realization that he had been fantasizing about the Slytherin. A slight blush formed on his cheeks and he reached for his wand, casting a quick cleaning spell and buttoning his trousers back up. He put his robes back on and went down to the common room, seeing James and Lily. “Hello, Remus.” Lily said most politely. He smiled, a bit flustered, and greeted her as well. “Lily. ‘Llo, James.” He said almost hastily. “Shall we go down to dinner, then?” James looked at him with a brow quirked and nodded. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go.”

He took Lily by the hand and led her to the portrait hole, stepping out and holding it open for her then waiting for Remus to follow. He let her walk a little ahead and pulled Remus back, saying in a low voice. “Are you alright, Mate?” Remus looked at him and said honestly. “I’m not sure. But I do know that I am now completely ok with you and Lily.” James sensed there was more, but didn’t want to press the issue. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, Moony. But remember, I’m here for you no matter what. That’s what friends are for.” Remus smiled and whispered. “There is more, and I will tell you, but don’t you think we should go? Lily looks as if she’s getting a bit impatient.” He motioned to Lily who was standing there with her arms crossed and tapping her foot. James smiled and laughed. “Yeah, we should go. Alright, Lily?” He walked over and took her hand again, waiting for Remus to catch up, then heading down the corridor to the Great Hall for dinner. They met Sirius and Peter there, taking their normal seats and filling their plates. Remus never noticed the object of his earlier fantasy watching him from the Slytherin table.

Sirius thought for days how he could get Severus back for what he had done. He knew it had to be drastic and life changing. Something that would make the Slytherin stay away from them for the rest of his life. Something that would scare him… His eyes lit up and he gasped. Of course! He knew what he would do, but he had to wait. The full moon wasn’t for another two weeks….

Severus had been steering clear of the Marauders, watching from afar how his plot was unfolding. He felt a slight pang of guilt when he saw the miserable look on Remus’s face, but he wouldn’t acknowledge that he was sorry he had hurt the Gryffindor. Slytherins don’t feel guilty about anything they do. They revel in the damage and destruction they cause. Of course, he had to eventually start acting like he always had. Stalking them, playing pranks, throwing hexes. But he wasn’t quite into it. He had done the worst thing he could possibly imagine. He broke their hearts. He knew one thing for sure. He definitely had to get Remus Lupin out of his head, and soon. He was starting to have very vivid dreams about him and he knew his roommates were getting suspicious. They all knew he preferred his own sex, but he couldn’t let them know who he was fantasizing about when they heard his moans at night. He made a promise to try and clear his mind before bed every night, but somehow, the beautiful eyes of the Gryffindor always found their way into his dreams.

The day of the full moon, Remus was absent from classes. James, Sirius and Peter all knew where he was. But of course, the rest of the school thought he was sick. He was in bed, resting. The change always took a lot out of him, and even though he hadn’t changed yet, the closer the full moon got, the more wore out he felt. The pull of the moon made him weak in human form, and he could barely eat, let alone walk around and pay attention in classes. So, house elfs brought him food in his dorm and Madam Pomfrey checked on him every few hours. Dumbledore walked into his dorm a few hours before moonrise and sat on the edge of his bed,ttintting for a bit about nothing in particular. The headmaster did this just about every full moon. Remus enjoyed his company. He felt almost like Dumbledore was his father. After all, his own father had tried to turn him in to the Ministry of Magic when he had gotten bitten. His mother just stood there and let his father insult him with sad eyes. The only family he really had was James, Peter, Sirius and Dumbledore.

After the headmaster left, James and Sirius came up to let him know they would meet him down in the Shrieking Shack fifteen minutes before moonrise. Peter wasn’t going to be able to join them tonight, he had to catch up on homework and study for a test, and James said he may be a little late. Sirius smirked when no one was paying attention. He remembered earlier that day when he had run into Snape…

“What’s up, Snivelly?” Sirius said in a mocking tone when he spotted Severus standing by himself, watching James talk and laugh with Lily. Severus jumped and turned to face Sirius, sneering as he said. “Why don’t you go find someone else to bother with your stench, Black.” The Gryffindor snorted and took his wand out of his robes, not really threatening to hex him, but wanting Snape to think he would anyhow. “Well, I was just wondering why you seem to be so interested in us.” He said as he twisted his wand between his fingers, looking quite smug. Severus looked as if he were about to explode. But he calmed himself before responding.

“I don’t kwhatwhat you’re talking about, Black. Go away and for god’s sake, brush your hair.” He sneered as he turned to go. Sirius let out a half snort, half laugh, then said. “My hair? Well, if I’m to brush mine, you should consider washing yours.” He pointed to Snape’s greasy hair and smirked. The Slytherin smirked and moved closer to Sirius, his nose inches from the other boy’s. “Oh, insulting me without the protection of your precious friend Potter?” He let out a bitter laugh then added. “Oh, I almost forgot. Potter doesn’t have time for you anymore, now that he has a girlfriend.” Severus sneered and Sirius looked as if he was going to pound the living daylights out of the boy before him. Instead, he smiled sweetly. “Well, at least I still have Moony. He and I are still very close.” He knew Severus would get what he meant, and grinned when he saw the look of hurt in those black eyes.

A thought occurred to Severus when Sirius so rudely pointed out he and Remus were still together, Remus had been absent the whole day. No one had seen him. He laughed and said in the silky tone he would one day be known for. “Ahh, yes. You still have one of your pathetic friends. But what of Remus? Hmm? He’s been absent all day. Rumor is he’s deathly ill. Aren’t you worried?” Severus couldn’t help but feel a momentary jolt of glee when he saw he had angered the other boy and mentally jumped up and down.

“Remus is fine.” Sirius said through clenched teeth. His expression turned to that of someone who had just had a brilliant idea. “But, if you would like to see for yourself where he goes every month when he’s sick, I can tell you…” His eyes were shining with mischief. Although Sirius had planned to tell Severus this, he had to make the Slytherin think it was a spontaneous idea. The other boy looked at him suspiciously for a moment then gave in.

“You can, hmm?” He was most curious. He had been wondering if Remus was alright, and he was curious about where he went every month. He nodded as if silently agreeing. “Tell me.” His tone was even, flat. As it always had been. It showed no emotion and neither did any part of his face. His father had trained him years ago to hold back anything he felt inside. The smirk on Sirius’s face broadened and he began to speak in a low whisper. “You know where the Whomping Willow is, Snape?” Severus looked at him and said sarcastically. “No, Black. I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.” Sirius was taken aback a bit by Snape’s attempt at humor and continued. “Well, if you go out there around 7:55 pm. There’s a knot on the base of the tree, if you prod it, the tree will stop moving and a passageway will open. Crawl down into it and Remus will be at the end of it waiting for you.”

Severus was a bit skeptical. He knew the tree, and he also had reservations about getting close enough to it to prod this so-called knot. He looked at the Gryffindor with even more suspicion. “And you expect me to believe this and risk my life to get past that damned tree?” His brow was quirked and if Sirius had looked close enough, he would have seen the signature look of the future Potions Master behind those eyes. “Well, if you don’t want to risk your life.” He said sarcastically. That pushed Snape over the edge. “Fine.” He replied curtly. “I’ll be there.” He stalked off leaving a laughing Sirius behind.

The dark haired boy slipped out of his memory and looked to Remus. “I’ll be down there before you change. Promise.” He said in a kind and loving voice just before Dumbledore came in to safely escort Remus to the passageway and into the hiding place where he changed every month. The weak boy smiled and nodded, having no idea Sirius wouldn’t be there at all.

Remus waited in the Shrieking Shack nervously. He always went there an hour before moonrise and his friends would meet him there a half hour later. They would spend the last half hour before the change talking and laughing, ultimately trying to lighten the mood and make Remus feel better. This month, Peter would be absent, James would be late, and it would appear, seeing as it was only moments before complete moonrise, that Sirius wasn’t keeping his promise. Remus wondered where his friend and lover was, had he known, he would have been absolutely furious.

Sirius was standing just out of sight by the Willow. He wanted to get a good view of what was about to happen. He bounced on the balls of his feet with excitement as he saw Severus’s dark form approaching from the castle. He knew he had promised Remus he would be there fifteen minutes ago, but he knew this would be so worth breaking the promise. He watched as Snape picked a large stick and prodded the knot. A look of surprise crossed his features. Obviously the Slytherin had expected that not to happen. He shrugged and Sirius saw him disappear into the passageway, eagerly awaited the noises of Severus’s frightened screams he was sure he would hear.

Severus muttered curse words under his breath as he walked out into the cool night air. He looked around as he neared the tree, wondering if this were just a prank. He gave a defeated sigh and found a long stick, prodding the knot that Sirius had told him about. He knew that asshole was most likely watching from somewhere in the shadows. He snorted as he thought to himself that Sirius is probably getting off on the idea of tricking Severus into thinking he would come across Remus in the passageway beyond the tree. He bent down and looked in. It was quite dark, and although he wasn’t afraid of the dark, there was a strange feeling of danger coming from the darkness. He shook his head and disappeared through the opening.

What he saw shocked him beyond belief. Remus was standing at the other end of the passageway. He looked tired and older than his 16 years. He was hunched slightly and looked as though he were in pain. Severus began to walk forward a bit when Remus looked up and caught his eye. The Gryffindor’s eyes were sad, loving. As though they were seeing him as he always wanted to be seen, not the way people usually perceived him. He felt loved, wanted. He let his eyes show the same thing, making the boy at the other end of the dark space smile slightly and nod.

A strip of moonlight fell across the floor and reached Remus just as he doubled over and began to scream in pain. Sev wat watched as his body changed. His bones cracking while his skin stretched. He let out a horrified gasp as he saw the crouching form of a wolf stand up where Remus had been. He blinked, as if trying to refocus. As the wolf began to move toward him, elt elt someone pull him back by his robes and out of the passageway. A startled Severus looked up into the concerned eyes of James Potter. “Good.” James sighed. “I got here just in time.” Severus looked back at the passageway and saw amber eyes getting closer as the opening closed.

James had shown up at the entrance at the Willow a bit earlier than he thought he would. As he was about to prod the knot, he saw Sirius lurking in the shadows smirking. Curious as to why his friend was out here instead of with Remus, he walked over to question him. Sirius called out as he got nearer. “James.” He hissed. “Hurry, come here!” He looked like he was trying his hardest to stifle laughter as the dark haired seeker got closer. “Siri, what are you up to?” He was suspicious now. Sirius never looked like that unless he had done something. And it was usually something very bad…

Sirius told James the whole story, getting excited more and more as he mentioned Severus’s name. James was mortified as Sirius finished. “And where is Snape now?” He said anxiously. Sirius laughed. “He’s down in the passageway now. Remus should be changing any second and he’ll get the scare of his life...” Sirius seemed to find this whole situation hilarious. James, on the other hand, didn’t even give Sirius time to protest before he was prodding the knot and looking into the darkness with a look of sheer horror on his face. He saw Severus watching Remus change, then the wolf slowly making his way toward them. Without thinking, he grabbed Severus by the back of his robes and yanked him out of the corridor, pulling him to safety as Remus got nearer and the opening shut with a click.

“What on earth were you thinking?!” James turned on Sirius and began to scream at him. “You could have gotten Severus killed! You could have go Rem Remus killed!” Sirius looked sick. He had never thought of it that way. Of course, he knew that if Remus attacked anyone and was reported, he would be ‘put down’ by the Ministry. But he had never thought that would happen. He thought Severus would either fail to show up or he would have had enough sense to run for his life out of the passageway and to the safety of the castle grounds before Remus could reach him. He couldn’t find any words to explain, he just sat there, shaking and looking extremely pale with a blank look in his eyes. “I...I don’t know...” He fell completely silent as another figure approached. Through slightly watery eyes he saw Dumbledore coming near.

“What’s happened?” He asked them with concern in his voice. He walked over and knelt by Severus who was still in James’s arms and hadn’t fought to get away. He was still in too much shock. He looked up into the headmaster’s eyes, his features blank and slightly fearful. James spoke for them all. “Sirius thought it funny to lure Severus to the Whomping Willow durthe the full moon, Headmaster.” He looked to his friend and shook his head. He had never been more disappointed of anyone in his life. Sirius just looked away, ashamed. Dumbledore nodded and helped Severus stand. The two of them took Snape to the castle with Sirius trailing behind.

The boys settled in chairs in the headmaster’s office while he slowly sat down behind his desk. “Now, tell me everything once more.” Sirius found his voice and finally told Albus what had happened, conveniently leaving out the part about what Severus had actually done to ‘deserve’ punishment. James shook his head and scowled at his friend and Severus just sat there with a dazed expression on his face. When he had finally stopped talking, he looked up into Dumbledore’s eyes. He was so used to seeing them sparkle and shine with kindness. But all he saw was shame, distrust, betrayal, and disappointment.

He hung his head in shame as Dumbledore spoke softly, but sternly. “Sirius. What you have done may well have ruined Remus’s life if James hadn’t pulled Severus out in time.” James nodded. He had already pointed that fact out to his friend. “And Severus could have died.” Severus looked up at this comment, his eyes wide. “I don’t think you thought things through before you acted.” He looked over his half moon glasses. “And I certainly don’t think your actions were very noble.” His voice was filled with regret. Of course, the headmaster felt this was partially his fault. Had he been able to sense this, which he should have, he would have been able to put a stop to it before it had ever happened. He sighed and rubbed his temples. “Sirius. You will apologize to both Severus and Remus. You will also serve detention for what you’ve done.” His voice deepened as he continued. “And you will think before you act and speak from now on. Do you understand Mr. Black?”

Dumbledore had never called him that before. He had always used his given name. He shuddered slightly and nodded in acknowledgement. He knew there was no way out of this and didn’t want to push his luck by asking what his detention was. He was lucky enough to not have gotten expelled. Albus turned to Severus. “Severus, do you know what could have possibly caused Mr. Black to do this?” His voice was soft and caring. Severus shook his head and a few silent tears fell, but he caught them before anyone besides Dumbledore saw. “Well, I think Sirius and I should go u bed bed.” James said as he shot a nasty look at his friend. The headmaster nodded and excused them, asking Snape to stay behind for a moment. “Severus, I would like you to take it easy for a few days. And of course, you now know that Remus is a werewolf. That can most certainly never be repeated.” The Slytherin nodded. He knew he could never tell anyone, but the funny thing was; he didn’t want to tell anyone. Now, more than ever, he realized just how he felt about Remus Lupin.

He left the office and walked down to the dungeons. He didn’t remember walking into his dorm, nor did he remember changing into his night clothes. He lay in bed awake for hours, going over everything in his head that had happened. The look in Remus’s eyes right before he changed when he had seen Severus. The way he had doubled over in pain during the change made Snape cringe. He wished he could prevent the werewolf from ever having to feel that pain again. The Slytherin wished to hold him close and love him. To kiss away all the tears and pain. Right before he fell asleep, he decided that tomorrow he would find Remus and go talk to him. Maybe they could be friends, even if they could be nothing more.

Severus began to think about those eyes again. The way they had looked at him. He shivered a bit, but it wasn’t from being cold. He felt his prick growing beneath his pajama pants. His hands moved over his torso and fingered the waistband. The vision of moonlight shining on the honey brown hair. Those beautiful lips and the way they curved into a smile. And what a smile it was. The way his smile reached his eyes which laughed with him. Severus let his head fall back as he closed his eyes. He wanted Remus so badly. All he could think about was the way he looked at him.

With his eyes closed he could almost see Remus’s face as if it were right in front of him. But the look in his eyes was no longer that of loving friendship or acceptance. Now the look became feral and full of lust. The Slytherin could almost hear the faint whisper of the husky voice he wished was in his ear. ‘I want you…’ it would say. Gods, he wished he could have him. His hand ghosted over the fabric which trapped his throbbing erection. He teased at it as he moaned, trying to hold back and not touch himself. Finally, after gasping for fifteen minutes and teasing his fingers over the fabric which was holding his erection captive, he gave in and pulled his pants down over his hips, freeing his swollen, leaking prick. He slid a finger up the bottom of his erection, causing it to twitch and a gasp to pass through his slightly parted lips. He slid his other hand up his shirt and tweaked a nipple, biting down on his lips as his fingers coned ted to tease. After a few more minutes, he couldn’t take it any longer. His hand grasped his prick and began to move up and don ion it while the fingers of his other hand kept playing with his erect nipples. A few strokes and moans later, he was cumming while whispering Remus’s name. He cleaned him self up then began to drift off with a content smile on his face.

The next day, Remus was informed as to what Sirius had done. He was disgusted that his friend, his lover, could have done something that horrible to another human being. Remus felt sick. If Sirius’s plan had worked, Severus would either be dead or he would be a werewolf. And he would be as good as dead when the Ministry found out. The Gryffindor sighed. He was lying in his usual bed in the hospital wing, like he did every morning after the full moon. He had spent the whole night alone. None of his friends had been with him in their animagi forms while he was the wolf. When he had woken up, he had been informed that James, Sirius and Severus had been in the headmaster’s office for a good part of the night. After they had left, James had all but ripped Sirius a new arsehole.

Remus was worried about Severus. They had shared a brief look right before the change and he was hoping if anything had changed, it would be for the better. He was most definitely glad that he hadn’t injured Snape. He would have been heartbroken if he had even gotten close enough to him. He would have to thank James profusely when he saw him for pulling Severus out of the passageway before he could reach him. Remus whimpered and whined as quietly as he could, his heart felt like it was crumbling at the mere thought of having lost Severus. Finally, Madam Pomfrey made him get some rest and gave him a potion which would make him sleep for a few hours.

In the Slytherin dorms, Severus woke from a restless sleep which was accompanied by very vivid dreams. His actions and thoughts before he drifted off had caused him to dream about Remus. He sat up in bed at once and realized what he had to do; he had to go see Remus. Severus rushed to the Great Hall for breakfast but didn’t see the Gryffindor with his friends. As he looked at the headmaster, he saw a slight twinkle in the old man’s The The same twinkle that would irritate him to no end later in life. Dumbledore walked over to him as he was about to leave and whispered in his ear as if he was reading his mind and knew Severus was looking for Remus. “If you would like to talk to Remus, you would find him in the hospital wing under the care of Madam Pomfrey.” The twinkle in his eyes suddenly flared. “And I’m sure he would be more than happy to speak with you.” He smiled and walked off, leaving Severus to wonder if the headmaster had actually been speaking to him or to someone near him. But when he looked around, he was the only one near enough to have heard the old man.

Snape then made his way, as quickly as he could, to the hospital wing where he saw Remus, looking tired and bout five years older, lying in bed. It looked as if he were sleeping. His chest was rising and falling slowly and he looked so peaceful. Severus slowly crossed to the bed and sat on the edge. His hand moved to cover one of Remus’s and the other boy stirred. He opened his eyes and smiled up at the Slytherin. “I was hoping you would stop by.” He said in a slightly groggy voice. Remus struggled to sit up. Snape quickly moved to help him and smiled as well. “Do you really think something like almost killing me could keep me away from you?” He said with the same snarky and sarcastic tone he always used, but somehow it was softer than usual.

Snape looked at him seriously for a moment before he began to speak. “I know you didn’t have anything to do with your moronic friend’s plan to get me killed.” He said softly but with ep bep bitterness in his voice. Remus looked at him with kindness and love, knowing he must be hurting a great deal. It’s one thing to hate someone or play pranks, even throw hexes. But to plot something that could cause another person’s death…. It was most unlike Sirius to think of something so malicious, but it was also very scary that someone would have the idea to do something like he had.

Remus’s hand reached up caressed Snape’s cheek. He pushed his hair behind his ear and smiled again. “I’m glad you know that. And I would hope that we could be friends.” His cheeks began to flush as he went on. “We shared something in the few seconds before the change...” He cringed as he said the word. “And I was just hoping it meant as much to you as it did to me.” He had been avoiding looking at Severus while he was speaking and now looked up into his eyes.

Snape was shocked. He was amazed that Remus felt thee ase as he did… “Of course we can be friends.” His throat felt as if it were closing up as he spoke. “I would like nothing more than to be considered your friend.” He smiled and leaned his face into the gentle touch of the other boy’s hand. They sat there and talked for a few hours. Both of them had been excused from classes for the day and they were more than happy to spend it together. At one point, Sirius had ghosted the doorway but neither of them had noticed. He was going to apologize to Remus, but thought better of it when he saw Severus sitting on Remus’s bed and the both of them were laughing. He walked away muttering about greasy gits and slimy Slytherins.

The end of term was quickly approaching. With only a little more than a month and a half left, Severus and Remus barely had enough time to build on their new found friendship. But what little time they had, they spent as well as they possibly could. A few weeks after the incident, Remus had begun to speak to Sirius normally again. He still had a slightly strained expression on his face and his voice was careful, but it was almost like the way they had been before. Sirius knew better than to bring up Severus’s name or say anything against his friend spending time with him. Obviously, their relationship was strained and they hadn’t been intimate in quite some time. He knew Remus wasn’t doing anything with anyone else because he could hear soft whimpering at night from his lover’s bed. The day Remus had gone back to the dorm, he had told Sirius to sleep in his own bed until he felt comfortable inviting him back into his. Sirius, having no other choice, complied and had been sleeping by himself for over a fortnight.

The few short days they had left were close bliss. Severus and Remus spent their free time in the library studying and chatting quietly. Sirius wasn’t too thrilled and Remus never invited him back into his bed before the end of term. James spent more time with Lily and Sirius was left spending most of his time wietereter. The Slytherin sat with the Marauders in their usual compartment on the train ride home. Lily also joined them and she and James spent most of the trip nuzzling and being affectionate. Sirius scowled and sneered at Snape between exchanging meaningless dribble with Peter. Across from them Remus and Severus werepilypily talking about everything that had gone on that year and making plans to do things together when they got back to Hogwarts for their seventh and final year.

When the train finally pulled into the station Severus hugged Remus and bid farewell to the others as nicely as he could manage, which wasn’t exactly sweet seeing as it was Snape, then got off the train to find his father waiting for him on the platform. Sirius went home with James, who made plans with Lily for her to join them later in the summer before kissing her goodbye. Remus went home to his little cottage with his parents, who weren’t exactly thrilled to have him back.

As Severus and his father pulled up to Snape Manor, his father turned to him and said in a very sarcastic tone. “What’s got you so happy, Son? Some girl finally spread her legs for you?” Severus cringed at his father’s crudeness and replied without emotion. “No father, nothing like that. I made a new friend, that’s all.” His father watched him curiously for a moment then began speaking in a malicious tone that could burn the hair off your skin. “Friends? A Snape doesn’t have need for friends. Who is this friend you’ve grown so close to?” Severus shivered at the thought of his father finding out about Remus. He knew his family was very against anyone who wasn’t Slytherin and feared what would happen if they found out that Remus was not only a Gryffindor but also a werewolf. He did the only thing he could do. He lied. “Oh, someone from my house that I ended up studying with, Father. That’s all.”

Unfortunateis fis father saw through him and sneered. “This person is more than a friend to you, isn’t he?” His face twisted in disgust and he spat the words out as if they were poison. “You’re in love with this boy…” It was more a statement than a question, but Severus knew better than to say anything back to him. “Well? Aren’t you going to defend yourself?” All he could do was sit there and not not to let him know that his words were having an effect. “Ahh, I see. You’re not going to defend yourself because it’s true. You’re in love with a boy who you became friends with. And you say he’s a Slytherin?” Severus cringed slightly and his father’s temper raged. “He’s not, is he?” His eyes widened as his son visibly became uncomfortable. “A Gryffindor?”

Once more, the dark haired Slytherin cringed and his father knew he had made a correct assumption. “I cannot believe this. You’re the heir of the Snape fortune and you’re not only pissing it away to be in love with someone of the same sex, but you’re disgracing the family even more by being in love with a Gryffindor.” His father backhanded him when he didn’t answer and he fell to the ground. “Father, I didn’t mean for this to happen. I swear. We just got to talking and….” The rage on his father’s face deepened as the words spilled from Severus’s mouth. “You didn’t mean for it to happen? You didn’t mean to be gay? Pfft. No son of mine is gay. You will stop this nonsense and marry a nice Slytherin girl then produce an heir.”

There was no arguing with him. It was not a request, it was an order. Severus was to forget about his sexual tendencies and become a bitter old man married to some heartless wench who would only lovs mos money. Before walking away into the manor, his father turned back, and with a well placed smirk he sneered at his son. “Oh, and if I find out that you pursue this Gryffindor…” He thought for a moment and his eyes became dark and stormy. The look was quite horrible and Severus could never remember seeing his father look so evil. “Your mother will be the one to suffer.” He looked at the man who had given him life with shock. He loved his mother more than anything and the thought of her dying and suffering by his father’s hand just so he could be with the man he loved didn’t seem worth it.

After his father went inside, he stood there for a moment thinking about what he had said. He definitely didn’t want his mother hurt. And as much as he loved Remus, he couldn’t let his father hurt her. He had to find some way to get away from Remus and make the Gryffindor hate him. It was the only way he would be able to survive their last year at Hogwarts. He wouldn’t be able to handle having the boy not hate him when he couldn’t be friends with him at all. There was just no way. Not after what his father had threatened. Severus knew he would be spending his summer devising new ways to torture the Marauders and make them his enemies once more.

To Be Continued….