Second Chances

TITLE: Second Chances

AUTHOR: Lady Sirius

PAIRING: SB/RL

RATING: NC17

FEEDBACK: darklove_zorg@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: Of course all rights to Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling

- I would claim Sirius if I could (but alas this is not meant to be!)

DEDICATION: To my glorious, talented, wondrous and everlastingly sexy

inspiration - Gary Oldman. And it is also dedicated to my good friend

Kitty - she is the Remus to my Sirius in our rpgs, and has inspired me

to write about their love. To Kitty, also, I owe the description of Remus\' transformation - nobody understands him as well as she does, and I am grateful for her guidance.

Chapter Four - A Serious Case of Deja Vu, cont.

Tonks rose suddenly, as if she had just remembered a pressing engagement. \"Um... I think I\'m going to leave you two alone now, catch you later!\" And as suddenly as she had appeared, she was gone, leaving a confused Sirius and an amused Remus.

Sirius narrowed his eyes as he began to realize what she had said. \"Tonks!\" he screamed after her. \"What have you been doing?\" He turned his eyes back to Remus, who was regarding him with bemusement glinting in his grey eyes.

\"So, Sirius, tell me about this diary of yours,\" he said, lifting an eyebrow, laughing as Sirius began to splutter.

\"Diary? What diary?\" Sirius feigned innocence, gazing at Remus, his dark eyes wide.

\"You know very well what diary, Sirius Black!\" Remus gazed at him in a no-nonsense kind of way, as Sirius rolled his eyes.

\"Oh, THAT diary!\"

\"Yes, THAT diary!\" Remus mimicked him.

\"It\'s a diary, what more is there to tell?\" Sirius tried to distract his lover by playing with his fingers, twining them in his own and kissing them, but Remus would have none of that.

\"A diary that talks about you and me, perhaps?\" he persisted.

\"Well, mayyyybeee..........\" Sirius dragged out the word as if it were several syllables long instead of two.

\"About our love life, possibly?\"

\"It miiiiiiiiiight......\"

\"Sirius!\" Remus\' voice was stern.

Sirius sighed. He was in for it now and he knew it. \"Okay, I wrote about each and every time we made love,\" he admitted.

\"Each... and every.. time?\" Remus asked in disbelief.

Sirius only nodded in reply.

\"In how much detail?\"

\"Um.... in very... great... detail?\" Sirius looked at Remus with his little boy lost eyes. And Remus couldn\'t help but laugh.

\"Sirius, whatever am I going to do with you?\"

\"I have a few suggestions.\"

\"I\'m sure you do!\" Remus chuckled.



Severus sulked in his room for a bit before deciding to venture forth. Gods, he was a glutton for punishment, wasn\'t he? But he was hoping to get even a glimpse of Sirius, hopefully without the werewolf present, if he could.

He ran into Kreacher in one of the hallways, scowled at the house elf. \"Would it be too much to ask for some wine?\" he said. He suddenly felt the need to get quite drunk.

Kreacher replied impudently, \"The wine is in the cellar!\" before disappearing into one of the rooms.

Snape snarled, but it was too late - the house elf was already gone. He turned when he heard a soft giggle behind him, only to find Tonks. \"Yes, Nymphadora?\" he asked sarcastically.

Tonks started to say something equally sarcastic, but decided to give the irate potions master a break - for the moment anyway. \"If it\'s wine you want, I can get you a bottle without going to the basement,\" she said.

\"Where would that be?\" he asked.

\"In the dining room,\" was her simple reply. \"Come along, I\'ll show you.\" She turned without waiting to see if he followed, leading the way downstairs to the musty room that passed as a dining room. In one corner was a large breakfront - rickety and cobwebbed. She opened up one of the glass doors, peered inside. \"What kind do you want?\" she asked.

\"What kind is there?\" he wanted to know.

Tonks looked a little more closely, before looking back at him. \"Red and white,\" was her response.

Snape sighed. Not quite a connoisseur, was she? \"Never mind, let me look.\"

Which, of course, was what she had in mind the whole time. Grinning, she stood aside and watched him approach. He looked into the dark cabinet. Not much of a selection. Apparently Sirius had been here before him, gotten the best of what there was. He found an innocuous looking merlot - supposed it wasn\'t to the animagus\' taste - and appropriated that.

Tonks looked at the bottle in his hand, shook her head.

\"Don\'t worry, I wasn\'t going to ask you to join me!\" he snapped, and before she could respond he had flounced out of the room, black robes billowing a him him, the sound of Tonks\' laughter floating after him. Which was where he stayed until an under house elf came to inform him that dinner was served. At which he groaned. But there was no way he was going to stay away.

Dinner was a strange affair at best. Severus sat, sullen and quiet, drinking himself into a stupor. Tonks was loud and boisterous - her usual self. Remus did his best to play host and put everyone at ease, but even he could see that it was a losing battle. And he had to contend with Sirius, who was not helping matters by playing silly games as excuses to touch his wolf - dropping things in his vicinity and getting up to find non-existent items so he could rub against Remus as he passed by him, or simply kissing him. Which did everything to contribute to Snape\'s foul mood, and brought gales of laughter from Tonks.

But all good things must come to an end. Not that Snape found this to be a good thing, other than for the fact that Sirius was enchantingly handsome and Remus was determined to keep him looking nice. His dark curls were tied into a tail at the nape of his neck, held by a burgundy-coloured ribbon. He wore a white ruffled shirt and tight leather trousers. Like a fucking Barbie doll, Snape growled to himself even as he noticed how enticing the package was indeed. He could barely keep himself in check and was grateful for the billowing robes he wore which concealed his aching hardness. At the same time he found Tonks\' shrill girlish laughter most annoying and he wished for her imminent death at the hands of a particularly nasty Death Eater.

Remus noticed that the potions master was out of sorts, but he put it down to his enforced residence at Grimmauld Place, although the wolf within was beginning to growl a bit. So he gave Sirius a knowing look, interrupting a game of footsies which he was attempting to wage. Sirius grew serious at once, nodded his understanding. He jumped up from the table, pretending to yawn, stretching.

\"Come on, Remy, let\'s go to bed!\" he said, which earned more giggles from Tonks and an eye roll from Snape. Remus merely smiled at him indulgently, and rose as well.

\"Good night, Tonks, dear,\" he said, smiling warmly at his lover\'s cousin, \"and you, Severus,\" with another smile for the surly professor, who barely mumbled out something that could have been mistaken for a good night.

The two wizards made a show of heading to their room, but instead beelined for the basement, where Sirius had already brought a few provisions. The food and drink he could understand, but he he saw the jar of lube, Remus raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his lover.

\"Well, you never know,\" Sirius spluttered, as Remus shook his head. \"I don\'t think we have time tonight, love,\" he grinned in amusement.



Back in the dining room, Tonks rested her elbows on the table and regarded Severus quizzically.

\"Yes, Nymphadora?\" he sneered sarcastically.

\"Just trying to figure you out, Sevvy,\" she replied. Before her sat a huge bowl of strawberry ice cream which she was about to devour.

Snape merely regarded her with one of his more enigmatical looks, said nothing.

Tonks continued as if he had expressed an interest in hearing her thoughts. \"You act like you have this terrible chip on your shoulder and that you hate the whole world and everyone in it. Especially Sirius and Remus. But deep inside, I know there\'s a heart beating - a living, breathing, feeling heart. And that somewhere there is SOMEONE that you care about, that makes your heart beat faster just for existing.\" She shook her head with an exaggerated sigh. \"Give it up Sevvy, whisper that special someone\'s name and get it over with!\" she urged dramatically.

Snape growled at her as he rose unsteadily from the table. \"My dear Nymphadora, DO get over yourself!\" he snapped. \"If you must play these sort of games, play them with your cousin and his werewolf, but leave me out of it, if you don\'t mind!\" As he spoke he stepped backward and almost ran into the breakfront, which set Tonks to giggling, but he managed to recover himself with some aplomb. And he stalked off with as much dignity as he could possibly muster.

Tonks watched him, trying not to laugh too loudly. Once he had disappeared from view, she grabbed her bowl of ice cream, and stole off to her own room. She knew there was no use in knocking on her cousin\'s door and seeing what he and Remus were up to - tonight of all nights especially. She decided to let them be. They could play another time. She trusted that Severus had the common sense to stay out of their way tonight as well.



Remus could feel the full moon approaching, nearer and nearer, whether or not he could actually see the lustrous orb in the hidden nighttime sky. It was inexorable and inevitable, and a part of his life for as long as he could remember now - one which he could not change, and which he could only ameliorate with the wolfsbane. He was grateful for the presence of his lover - for too many years now he had gone through the change alone, and though he had accepted it, he had never learned to like it. Tonight would be like old times again - happier times when he and Sirius had been young bucks. The change had gotten harder as he grew older, but with his lover here by his side, he would be able to endure it better he knew.

He went to the bed to get comfortable, looking over Sirius\' provisions and laughing again, shaking his head. He certainly had a one track mind, didn\'t he? But then he realized something, and he frowned slightly. \"Sirius?\"

\"Yes, love?\" Sirius looked up from the edge of the bed, where he was just taking off his shoes.

\"Where is the wolfsbane?\" Remus looked at him.

\"The wolfsbane? It\'s right there, isn\'t it?\" But when he looked, he realized it wasn\'t there at all. \"It\'s upstairs,\" he said, his mouth dropping open slightly. \"I\'m sorry, Remy, I\'ll go get it right away. I know right where it is.\" He stood up and started for the stairs.

\"You forgot your shoes,\" Remus reminded him softly.

\"Don\'t need \'em, Remy, I\'m only going upstairs. I\'ll be right back.\" And he set off for the kitchen.



Snape had finished off the bottle of merlot some time ago, and upon perusing the rest of the contents of the breakfront he had come to the conclusion that it wasn\'t fit to wash his feet in. Then he remembered what the testy old house elf had said - there was wine in the basement. Well, what Black didn\'t know, couldn\'t hurt him. He had been on the verge of going to bed himself, and had stripped off his robes and his shirt, so now he was clad only in a pair of black pants. But he decided against re-dressing just to run down to the basement - Sirius and his wolf were shut up in their room, playing their little games, and Tonks was probably talking to herself in hers - or whatever else she did for amusement.

Not bothering to find his shoes, he left the bedroom, lest the two across the hallway hear him, and headed down toward the basement. He was unaware that he was swaying a bit - or a whole lot - as he stepped lightly down the stairs. As he moved, his thoughts returned to Sirius and to what was undoubtedly going on at this very minute behind that closed door - and his heart was eaten by an intense jealousy, and he was filled with a sudden desire that took his breath away.

He reached the first floor, heading in the general direction of the basement, so intent on what he was doing that it was with some surprise that he found that he was not alone. His first thought was that it was that miserable Kreacher - and he swore to himself that he would make that malovolent miscreant fetch him wine if it were the last thing he ever did. But it wasn\'t him, not at at all.


When he saw who it was, his dark eyes grew wide and began to gleam, and something that actually passed for a smile began to creep across his thin lips. So, he wasn\'t with the wolf after all, maybe there was hope for Snape yet! He watched Sirius move toward him - as yet unaware of his presence - watched the tight leather pants, the way they clung and moved with his purposeful strides. He could only imagine what was beneath them, but he was determined to find out - and find out now he would.

Sirius reached the kitchen and grabbed the wolfsbane without incident. It was right where he had inadvertently left it. At least Remus had realized it in time, but he knew he had to hurry, they wouldn\'t have much time left. He was heading back toward the stairs when he saw him. At first he thought Remus had followed him up, and he chuckled. \"Remy, I said I\'d be right back,\" but then he came closer to the figure and he saw that it was actually Snape.

Before he even had a chance to ask him what the hell the potions master was doing roaming through his house in the middle of the damn night, Severus had made his move. He swooped Sirius up into his arms, backing him up against the wall, his lips pressed tightly against the other man\'s as his fingers stroked his long hair fiercely. Gods, he tasted so good, Snape thought, moaning into Sirius\' mouth.

Sirius was so startled at this unexpected turn of events that he damn near dropped the potion from his hand, but quick thinking and quicker reflexes kept it safely within his grasp. His first thought was along the lines of what the hell, but his second was to note the distinctly heavy odour of wine which was overwhelming him and wafting from Snape. Drunken bastard, he thought angrily as he tried to push him away. He had to get back to Remus - he didn\'t have time for this Mickey Mouse bullshit.

\"Dammit, Snape,\" he managed to tear his face free long enough to gasp, \"get your fucking paws off of me, you moron, and let me out of here. I don\'t have time for this right now.... I....\" as he struggled to elude the drunken potions master\'s strong hands. \"I\'ll kill you later.... just let me go....\"

And then they both heard it.......the hoarse sound of ragged breathing. Snape stopped mauling Sirius for a moment, and he took advantage of his distraction to push him completely off of him, still keeping the wolfsbane safe from harm. They both turned their heads to behold the sight of Remus Lupin - he had obviously gotten worried that Sirius find the potion in time - standing there, his eyes glittering dangerously as he watched Snape touching his mate.

Snape had never seen Lupin just before the transformation, but Sirius certainly had, he knew the signs very well, even after all these years. And more importantly, he knew he was standing there with the wolfsbane in his hand - untouched - and that that drunken idiot Snape had no clue as to what he had just done.

\"Snape,\" he said in quiet voice - not wishing to worsen the situation - \"get the fuck out of here NOW, while you still can!\"

When the snarky professor did not move, Sirius turned his eyes toward him, only to find him transfixed by the sight of Remus - Remus advancing upon him, a yellowish gleam in his normally gentle eyes - the sign of the ascendant wolf. And Remus was growling - not a soft lustladen growl or a playful growl, no - this an an animalistic growl, a possessive growl - a growl which clearly said get your fucking hands off what is mine.

\"MINE!\" The wolf in Remus howled as he came toward Snape - and then the transformation began.

Sirius saw it coming, and he moved quickly to interject himself between his lover and the bewitched Snape, who still hadn\'t the sense to move from the spot where he was rooted. \"RUN!\" he yelled at him, even as he clutched Remus tightly - not in any attempt to ward off the transformation, of course, nothing could stop that - but to keep him from instantly killing Snape where he stood.

Already he could see the change in Remus beginning as his lover threw back his head, his beautiful mouth stretching in pain as the bones in his face were rearranged - as if they were being stretched and bent by a powerful unseen force, his strong jaw elongating, his nose morphing into a muzzle, his ears into that of the wolf. His whole body seemed to quiver and stretch beneath Sirius\' very touch, growing, becoming more muscular, more feral. Remus\' sensitive hands were replaced by the rigid paf thf the wolf. Sirius could feel the intense pain as it coursed through Remus\' body, and he ached for him.

\"I\'m here, I\'m here, Remy!\" he cried out to him as he continued to hold him tight. He had no further thought nor consideration for Snape, only for the man in his arms, for without the potion the transformation would be more difficult. Almost done now, he could feel it - there was a tail growing from Lupin\'s own tailbone, which caused him to raise his lupine head and howl as his body became furcovered and shaggy - and no longer was Remus J. Lupin standing there - this was the wolf in all his glory - and he was pissed!

Severus Snape stood transfixed - as drunk as he was, he knew what was happening, and myriad unpleasant memories flooded through his mind, causing him to grow weak in the knees, afraid to move. It was just the way he had remembered it before - same situation, different location. Lupin was a wolf. A potentially dangerous wolf. But if he took his potion, Snape knew he was manageable - that was why he made them, for merlin\'s sake. But when he saw the full bottle in Sirius\' hand he realized that Lupin was NOT under control at this moment, and that he himself was in deadly peril.

The wolf continued to growl in a most unpleasant manner, angry eyes fixed on Snape. Sirius felt the muscles in the powerful body tense and he realized what was about to happen. Thinking quickly he transfigured himself into Padfoot and leapt between Remus and Snape even as the wolf made his leap, taking the wolf\'s claws into his own chest and diverting the intended attack. Snape fell back onto the floor with an oompf of surprise, as Padfoot pushed the lycanthrope aside, as the two animals fell to the ground together heavily.

In her room, Tonks was singing her favourite Weird Sisters song, eyes closed, fingers snapping, getting into the groove - a muggle expression she particularly liked - when she felt the vibrations of something going on. Her eyes snapped open, and she emerged from her room quickly, heading downstairs, almost tripping in her haste to get there.

The wolf recovered from the fall first, shaking its shaggy head as if to clear it. Relentlessly, it moved back toward its target, which was now supine on the ground. Snape watched in morbid fascination as the beast came clearer. He was beyond the capacity for rational thought at this point, and could not even command his muscles to move - all he could do was to watch its approach, feel the warmth of its breath upon him, the saliva which dripped from its terrible maw. This was it - what had begun so many years ago was to be finished and he would die here in Sirius\' own house - how was that for irony? The head was growing closer now, the teeth bared, and the animal was growling in a rising crescendo. Snape held his breath and waited.....

The wolf was interrupted by a sharp bark. It turned its head at the sound of Padfoot who, having risen from the floor as well, was shaking off the pain in his chest, and was trying to get the wolf\'s attention, barking and nipping playfully at its hindquarters. The wolf put his head up, detected the dog\'s scent, and its mind registered, \'Mate\'. Forgetting the almost comatose potions master, it turned toward the dog, watching it carefully.

Padfoot continued to bark, backing up, drawing the wolf away from Snape. In Sirius\' mind, he wasn\'t even sure why he was doing this, other than for Remus - his lover would never forgive himself if he actually harmed Snape, even if it wasn\'t his fault. And it was Snape\'s fault for being such a stupid git when he was trying to get Remy his potion. There would be more to be said on the subject of what the obnoxious twit thought he had been doing later, but first things first. He barked again, to show his willingness to play, and was pleased to see the wolf\'s attention turning to him, following him. He knew this wouldn\'t last - the wolf would take over and dominate, after all the wolf was the alpha and would not brook anything less than the dog\'s submission, but as long as he left Snape alone, that was what mattered. Now, if he could only get him down into the basement, they\'d be fine - but how to lock the door behind them?

Tonks stumbled into the hallway at that moment, almost falling over Severus in the process. Her eyes opened wide as she took in the strange tableau before her - the prone Professor, the feral wolf and the barking dog. But she understood right away what needed to be done. It was obvious to her that Snape had to be gotten out of there, and that he was in no condition to cooperate. Unfortunately, she had left her wand in the room - as she had been using it to conduct her Weird Sisters music - so had to content herself with grabbing the hapless professor under his arms and dragging him out of harm\'s way.

Padfoot barked at the wolf, wagging his tail playfully. The wolf barked back, louder, coming to stand beside the dog, posturing - clearly showing his dominance. Padfoot raised his head higher than the wolf, who gently swatted at it, putting him back into his place. Padfoot responded by gently nuzzling at the wolf\'s quarters, before heading toward the basement. He turned his head to see if the ploy had worked - yes, the wolf was following. Good. He barked once at his cousin, sharply, before leading the wolf down the stairs and out of sight.

Tonks dropped Snape where he was and dashed toward the door, locking it quickly behind the retreating animals. She leaned against it, breathing a huge sigh of relief, before looking back at Snape. His eyes were closed, and his complexion pasty. Well, pastier than usual. She knelt down beside him, putting her head to his still chest. She could feel the shallow up and down motions of his breathing. At least he was still alive. She pulled back one eyelid, and was rewarded with only the whites of his eyes. Ah, passed out, was he? She let go of him and debated within herself whether she should leave him to lay there or actually attempt to haul his carcass up to his bedroom. She knew Sirius would find it amusing to let him lie, but Remus would look at her reproachfully and tell her she knew better. Oh well, she shrugged, maybe some other time. She went up to her room, retrieved her wand/baton and waved it over him,\" Corpus mobilum,\" she muttered. Snape stiffened, and then she levitated his body so that she could maneuver it up the stairs. She accidentally bumped his head on the wall a couple of times in the process, to her chagrin, but he never woke, for which she was grateful, although he might well wonder in the morning where he had gotten those bumps.

In the basement, the dog and the wolf were playing at chase, heedless of the things they ran over, on or through. Sirius hoped that he could get the wolf to settle down soon - his chest was beginning to ache, and he was afraid it might be bleeding. He rolled over onto the floor, his legs dangling in the air, a bemused expression on his puppy face. The wolf yipped at him, nipping lightly to tell him to get up again, which he did. The wolf took the lead, expecting the pup to follow. Around and around the basement they ran, zigzagging here there and everywhere. And they kept this up for a good couple of hours, until Padfoot could detect a touch of weariness in the lycanthrope, and he maneuvered him toward the bed, where he began to nuzzle him gently onto it.

The wolf allowed himself to be nudged, licked the dog\'s muzzle, dropped onto the bed at last. Padfoot this his position beside him, and laid his head on the wolf\'s chest, looking up into the feral eyes, and yipping. The wolf yipped back, grooming the canine\'s head softly and gently. \'Mine,\' the wolf thought. Padfoot sighed contentedly, in the fashion in which dogs sigh, and felt a drowsiness overtaking him, which he fought. He had to make sure the wolf was taken care of first.

When he was done grooming the dog, the wolf growled once, putting one paw on the dog as if to tell to to stay. Then he settled down, his golden eyes beginning to glaze over, as sleep began to claim him. Padfoot was satisfied at this, and curled up tighter again him, relaxing himself into a deep slumber, as their night finally ended and sleep claimed them both.