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.

Chapter 5 - Aftermath

The morning was already far advanced before Remus began to rouse from his deep slumber. His muscles ached terribly, as did every other part of his body - the normal aftermath of a transformation - and he tried to stretch his limbs gingerly, but looked down to find Sirius sprawled across him, his dark curls a messy disarray over the werewolf\'s chest. Remus smiled at the sight. He reached out one hand and gently caressed his lover\'s hair, watching him peacefully sleep. No nightmares this time. Good.

Sirius mumbled in his sleep, turning on his side slightly, throwing his leg over Remus\'. And then Remus caught his breath in dismay as he caught sight of what appeared to be dried blood on his chest where Sirius had been laying. Flaking it off with his finger, he realized he had no cuts or abrasions in that area, so it wasn\'t his blood. Therefore, it had to be...

Softly, he rolled Sirius onto his back. His lover never woke, merely continued to mumble, as Remus\' eyes grew wide at the sight which met them - obvious claw marks across Sirius\' chest, jagged looking and fierce, not bleeding at the moment but obviously the source of the dried blood he\'d seen. The occurrences of the night before began to replay themselves in his mind in vivid living colour, and he blanched at what he had done, albeit inadvertently. He blamed himself for not taking the potion sooner. It was his responsibility, not Sirius\'.

As he watched, Sirius\' eyes fluttered open. His gaze turned up to Remus, and a soft smile lit his face. \"Morning, love,\" he said. \"I thought it was me that was supposed to be watching you?\" He started to roll over, but Remus stopped him.

\"Lay still, love, just for a moment.\" He wanted to make sure that any sudden movement wouldn\'t tear open the wounds. He would have to take care of them himself. Luckily this was something he could do. Although his knowledge of healing was limited, he had had to care for his own wounds at times, and knew enough to take care of his lover\'s needs.

Sirius smiled lazily up at him, his dark eyes glittering. \"Remy, what a surprise,\" he purred, \"what do you have in mind?\"

\"Not that, love,\" Remus couldn\'t keep from smiling, although his grey eyes were filled with concern. \"I want you to roll over onto your back, but slowly, please......don\'t argue with me...... there\'s a good boy...\"

Sirius did as he was told, obediently for once, wincing at the pain. Then making light of it for his lover\'s benefit. \"Guess Padfoot is getting slow in his old age,\" he joked.

\"Sirius, it\'s not funny, I hurt you.\" Remus bit his lip, as he saw the pain his Sirius was in.

\"No, you didn\'t, it was my fault for getting in the way,\" Sirius insisted.

\"Which wouldn\'t have happened if the wolf hadn\'t been attacking Snape.\"

\"Which wouldn\'t have happened if I had brought the wolfsbane down when I should have. And actually, if you come down to it, it\'s Snape\'s fault for pawing me like a fucking piece of fresh meat, the obnoxious git!\"

Remus growled at this, the wolf within flashing in his eyes for a moment. They were both possessive, but even more so around the time of the full moon. Then he took control again. \"I have something in my things, let me get it, and I\'ll take care of that for you, love.\" He made a move as if to get up, but Sirius put out one hand.

\"Not right now, it can wait.\"

\"No, Sirius, now,\" Remus insisted softly, concern for his mate in his movements.

\"Then accio it down.\"

\"Love, I can\'t accio it through the door.\" Remus couldn\'t help but smile at the idea.

\"Fine, then,\" Sirius sighed, as he rolled over and began to sit up, gingerly.

\"What are you doing?\" Remus crawled over to his lover on his knees, in an attempt to stop him.

\"Getting dressed, of course. I can\'t very well go running around in the nude, can I, with Tonks and Snivellus up there somewhere?\" He reached for his pants, began to pull them on.

Remus decided that it wasn\'t worth the breath to argue with Sirius at the moment - he was too tired and too sore himself, and it would be just as easy to take care of him in their room, easier in fact, and more comfortable. He would make him lay still for a while, even if it meant sitting on top of him to do it. Which, of course, Sirius would not object to.

When he saw his lover flinch a little as he tried to pull his arms through the sleeves of the ruffled white shirt, Remus took matters into his own hands. \"Here, love, let me help,\" he insisted, and very carefully he eased the shirt into place and buttoned it up enough so that the claw marks didn\'t show. It had to come off upstairs anyway.

Sirius smiled at him gratefully, allowing his wolf to fuss over him. \"What did I ever do to deserve you?\" he asked.

\"More than you\'ll ever know, love,\" Remus kissed the tip of his nose softly, then reached for his own clothes. While he was staying at Grimmauld Place, his attire became more casual - at Sirius\' urging - and the professorial suit had given way to corduruoy jeans and a tshirt.

\"Remy?\"

\"Yes, love?\"

\"You know I\'m going to kill him, don\'t you?\"

\"Shush, love...\"



Severus Snape awoke to a splitting headache and not just from the quantity of alcohol he had consumed - putting his hand to his skull he could feel bumps he was sure were not there before. He blamed the vile wine, of course - leave it to Black to drink all of the good stuff and leave the dregs for everyone else! It was good for him that he had a castiron stomach and never got ill, or he could imagine himself heaving the foul stuff up before too long. Moaning and groaning, he raised himself to a sitting position, and noted with some surprise that he was only half dressed - not like him at all. What the hell had happened the night before? The last thing he vaguely remembered was watching Black and Lupin traipse blatantly off to bed together - after that things got rather fuzzy. He assumed they had spent the night fucking, of course. But then he remembered that it had been the full moon, his whole reason for being here originally. Did the wolf and the dog fuck, he wondered idly as he slowly pulled himself out of the bed, finished dressing and headed toward the bathroom.

When he stepped into the hallway, he noticed that their door was still closed, and he was tempted to listen for a moment, to see if there were any sign of habitation, but thought better of it and pushed on instead. He had almost gained the security of the bathroom, when another door along the hall opened, and a tousled pink head emerged, followed by the Auror herself, garbed in outrageously pink bunny pajamas, complete with feet and ears. Gods, it was too early in the morning for such a sight! Snape groaned.

\"Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as always, I see!\" Tonks greeted him with a grin that was far too sunny to suit Snape\'s disposition. Before she hightailed it into the bathroom and slammed the door in his face, causing his head to ache even more.

Snape sighed. If it wasn\'t for the fact that he had direct orders to stay where he was, he would return to Hogwarts immediately. Maybe there was another bathroom downstairs, but somehow he doubted that. He would just go down to the kitchen and see if there were any coffee, even if he had to prepare it himself. Asking that cretinous house elf, of course, not being an option.



When Remus and Sirius came upstairs, easily unlocking the door that Tonks had so thoughtfully locked for them, the smell of coffee was the first thing that met their nostrils. They looked at one another in amazement.

\"Kreacher, do you think?\" Remus asked skeptically, even as Sirius snorted in derision.

\"Not without a direct order, and even then not without threats!\"

Entering the kitchen, they were met with the sight of Severus Snape huddled over a cup of coffee and looking thoroughly miserable. Sirius\' eyes widened at the nerve of the man - how dare he sit there so calmly after what he had tried to do the night before? Not to mention almost getting himself killed through his own stupidity. He made a move toward the oblivious potions master, but found Remus\' restraining hand on his arm.

Snape looked up just then, saw the two of them. Oh goody, just what he needed, he groaned to himself. Damn, but Sirius was cute in the morning, his hair all tousled and soft-looking - how he longed to run his fingers through those dark curls. He did seem a little paler than usual today. He forced himself to turn his head from the sight of the two of them, his face impassive.

Remus regarded Snape with narrowed eyes, frowning at him, before he realized something, stopping Sirius as he began to splutter, \"Snape, you sonofabitch.......\" He caught Sirius\' eye, shook his head, causing his lover to look back and forth from Remus to Snape.

\"Morning, Severus,\" Remus said in his normal friendly tone, \"excuse us a moment, will you,\" before guiding Sirius into the hallway and out of earshot.

\"Seriously Remus, let me at him, don\'t stop me. After last night, he deserves everything I have in mind for him,\" Sirius began, but Remus put a finger up to his lips. \"Did you see his eyes, love?\" he asked. \"When he saw it was us? Bloodshot, yes - annoyed, yes - but embarrassed? No. I don\'t think he remembers a thing, to tell you the truth.\"

\"Doesn\'t remember a thing?\" Sirius hissed. \"How can he not remember fondling me like a piece of fresh fruit and then having you pounce at him? The man is deathly afraid of wolves, and you know it, ever since.......well, ever since.......\" And he broke off, for there he was on shaky ground himself, and he knew it.

\"Yes, love, ever since....\" Remus said thoughtfully, frowning slightly before pushing the thought away. \"But apparently he was drunker last night than we realized, and at least for the moment he doesn\'t seem to remember a thing. Course I can see that he still has a thing for you.\" And the former DADA professor\'s voice took on a slight edge, which he tried to conceal.

\"Oh please, make me ill,\" Sirius growled. And then his face took on a mischievous look, which Remus recognized as Sirius being up to no good.

\"Oh oh, what are you thinking?\" he asked him.

\"Nothing Remus, whatever do you mean?\" Sirius wore a look of complete innocence. But it failed to fool his lover.

\"Nope, not buying that. Peddle it somewhere else,\" he said, \"and tell me what you\'re up to, love?\"

\"Want some coffee?\" Sirius asked, ignoring the question for the moment and returning to the kitchen, a sighing werewolf close behind. \"Sirius, we don\'t have time for this,\" he tried to lead his lover upstairs, but to no avail.

Sirius breezed back into the kitchen, headed toward the stove. Remus stood by the table, resigned and keeping an unobtrusive but watchful eye on the hungover potions master. Whose eyes were apparently glued on Sirius and his swaying hips. How the animagus worked it! He sashayed across the room like a chorus girl stepping out on the stage. Remus rolled his eyes quietly to himself at his energetic drama queen. Listening carefully, he thought he detected a hitch in Snape\'s breath, caught a whiff of naked desire, and he had to fight the wolf inside to keep him from growling. Sirius did believe in living dangerously, didn\'t he?

Sirius made up two cups of coffee, one of which he handed to his lover, winking at him behind Snape\'s back, while he made a big production out of drinking his, running his tongue along the rim of the cup and making deep noises of satisfaction over the hot liquid. He could tell he was getting to Snape and he took a perverse pleasure in doing it, although he would much rather be upstairs, being babied by Remus. But he was damned if he wasn\'t going to get back at the git in some way first.

In the middle of all his theatrics, in walked his cousin, freshly dressed in her favourite Weird Sisters tshirt and torn jeans. Tonks looked from one man to another, utterly confused. Of all the possibilities she had prepared to find this morning, she had to admit that this scenario hadn\'t been one of them. First that the three of them would be in the same room and not yelling at one another. Secondly, that Sirius hadn\'t killed Snape. And third that Snape wasn\'t whining about the werewolf attack. Rather, she found a rather pale, not very happy Remus, a definitely drug-out potions master, and strangest of all - her cousin making love to his coffee cup. Wotcher!

Remus seemed almost relieved to see Tonks, and took the opportunity to take Sirius firmly but gently by the arm and propel him upstairs, out of sight of the enraptured potions master, before the wolf did something the former professor would regret. \"Sirius!\" he hissed, once they were out of earshot, \"what game are you playing at?\"

\"Just making his fucking life miserable, that\'s all,\" he said, opening the door to their bedroom, and dropping onto the bed in relief, letting out a pentup moan that he had been holding since they left the sanctuary of the basement.

Remus had been on the verge of saying something else, but became distracted by the pain of his lover, his kind nature overtaking the possessive jealouness of the wolf and controlling it for now. He made cooing noises over Sirius as he helped him to take off his shirt, and winced again at the sight of the claw marks, forgetting everything else for the moment but nursing him. \"My poor brave baby,\" he murmured as he took the salve from his things, and gently and lovingly soothed it over the injuries. Sirius just laid back and enjoyed his ministrations, smiling.


Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Tonks had brewed herself a cup of tea, dumped lots of sugar into it and was sitting at the table regarding the hungover Snape. She was trying to add up certain facts in her mind, make some sense of what she had seen. It was apparent to her that Severus had no memory of the night before whatsoever - probably due to being blitzed out of his mind. It was equally apparent to her that he seemed to be watching her cousin Sirius with something akin to lust. Was that even possible? Severus Snape having the hots for Sirius Black? It was too funny for words! And she also figured out that Sirius was playing some sort of game with him, perhaps to make up for the night before, whatever had happened to bring that about? She would have to take him aside and ask him, or hope that he wrote about it in his diary. And what was Remus\' part in all this? She giggled to herself at the idea.

Snape snarled at the sound. \"Don\'t make that noise, Nymphadora, or I shall reach across this table and simply choke you,\" he said.

\"Would you like me to get you some wine, Sevvy? You know what they say about the hair of the dog that bit you?\" she asked solicitously.

Snape winced at the word dog, connotations of Padfoot being brought to mind, with equally disturbing images of a naked Sirius Black being impaled upon the potions master\'s stiff cock. \"Don\'t you have Order business to attend to?\" he snapped.

\"Nope, since they\'re all coming here!\" she answered cheerfully. \"I\'m all yours, Sevvy!\"

It was on the tip of his tongue to say something very rude and very snarky, but at just the precise moment, the front door to #12 Grimmauld Place could be heard to open and voices began to fill the house. Prominent among them was Molly Weasley as she herded in the rest.

\"Here, here, you lot stay quiet!\" she admonished them, \"or else....\" But it was too late, the sudden inundation of sound had awakened the shrewish Mrs. Black and her screams could be heard reverberating into the kitchen. Tonks looked up with a grin, as Snape groaned louder. Just what he needed.

Harry Potter made his way to the kitchen, caught sight of Tonks at the kitchen table. \"Where\'s Sirius?\" he asked breathlessly. And before the auror could say a word, Snape raised his head, his eyes gleaming suddenly. \"In his room,\" he answered quickly. And Harry ran out of the room before Tonks could say a word, or discourage him from going upstairs to where she knew Remus and Sirius were together in that same bedroom. What would the poor child think if he saw them together, assuming what they must be up to, what they were always up to? She reached out and whacked Severus upside his head. \"Wotcher, Sevvy!\"

Sirius still lay on their bed, while Remus straddled him, gently tending to his wounds. His loving fingers were quite soothing to the touch, and Sirius moaned aloud, perhaps exaggerating a bit in order to gain his lover\'s sympathy. But Remus was playing along, nursing his big baby to the best of his abilities, both of them getting caught up in what they were doing and oblivious to what was happening in the rest of the house.....

.......until the door to their room was suddenly thrown open, and one startled Harry Potter stood in the doorway, looking at them both.