Chapter 2
Whoever is talking in their obnoxiously loud voice needs to shut it. Black can't handle anything over his already pounding head.
" what is the right course of action then….."
Oh! That's easy how about shutting the hell up. Thought Black. 'why can't they just shut their mouth'. Their voices were like sharp needles pricking his brain.
" but we have to consider all the factors. We cannot just move ahead with what you think is right. It could affect their life. Being bonded with someone at such a young age without knowledge and consent at that…". -
Now Black doesn't want them to keep it quite. This part of the conversation has certainly piqued his interest.
" yes. I am aware of all the factors and the repercussions it brings."
Interrupted the other person in his scratchy voice. A man this time Black realized.
" all we can do for now is await their consciousness, and brief them about the magnitudes this whole event has brought upon them." the person sounded so emphathetic. It almost seemed as if he was pitying the misfortunate soul.
There were noises of people moving about. Some were the footsteps of people exiting the room. " b-but.." came a wary noise. " give it a rest for now Minerva. Poppy is going to handle the accidental heat situation from here on now." Black recognized the voice this time, it was Dumbledore talking.
But what are they doing here in the hospital wing. He was in a bed in the hospital wing, Sirius established that much. The factors that led to the conclusion were first, he knows what the hospital wing beds felt like, given the amount of time he frequented this place to tend to the injuries because of quidditch. Second, there was the mention of madam Pomfrey in the conversation and last but not the least the distinct smell of the disinfectants used to keep the environment clean and sterile and all the smell of the medicinal potions.
By the sound of it the people surrounding his bed had the impression that Black was still unconscious. So he decided to keep it like that. Maybe because he didn't want to see the Hogwarts headmaster the first person he sees upon opening his eyes. That wouldn't be appealing.
At last the professors decided to leave the place. Black laid there pondering just how he ended up here in the first place. For a moment he came up with nothing, His deductive skills were terrible to say the least his brain felt too foggy. He felt out of place, he felt something was missing. But he couldn't fathom what this longing was for. He took a shacky inhale, but ended up scrunching his nose when he was hit with the strong scent of all the disinfectants and medicines. That did nothing to sooth him and clear his head.
He heard people talking in hushed voices. The voices became a bit clear as the people neared his bed. They were his friends he concluded. He slowly opened his eyes, the light of the room torturing his eyes. "you don’t know what yo-- " "shhh… look he is awake". Black took in the faces of his friends. All wearing a look of concern. Black went to say something but couldn’t form a coherent word. His throat was too scratchy . He needed water. As though understanding his thoughts Remus forwarded a goblet of water towards him. Black gladly accepted the liquid offered to him and took greedy gulps. As he finished soothing his scratchy throat Remus re-placed the goblet back on the side table and stood near his bed. All were looking at Sirius with an expectant look. " what happened" asked Black with rough voice. All three of the occupants of the room, there were only them four by the time, looked at each other a questioning confusion on their faces. At last seemed to have a silent conversation between them. Then their attention was back on Black " we were going to ask you the same question mate. What happened?" asked James incredulously, his tone has a hint of accusation. At Blacks confusion, Remus ever the voice of reason stepped up and began with a low but matter of fact of voice,
" you fainted back during the potions class" at this Black remained ever the confused one " but how" he asked running a hand across his face. He was sweating all of a sudden. " we would like to ask the same thing" barked James. This earned him Remus's glare " be quiet prongs, this is the hospital wing not our dorm". At this Black also joined in " yeah James, and
Why are you talking to me in that tone".
" what tone"
" you are accusing me of something as though I did something wrong."
James felt betrayed by his best friends reply " as though he says- are you…" he took a shacky breath steadying himself. Why was he so angry Black couldn't comprehend. " what were you doing protecting Snivellus. Being his body shield and all. And on top of all of that - the main question - what were you doing growling about on anyone trying to come close to you or more specifically Snape" at the end of his angry speech James had reddened significantly.
This has certainly rendered Black speechless. He has done all that. Disbelief was spread all over Black's face. " got anything to say for yourself Black" countered James. Black looked over at James opened his mouth and closed it for a second. Then opened it again " I am well gutted I did that ." deadpanned Black. Remus heaved a tired sigh fed up with his friends antics. " we are all incredulous at you behavior. But honestly padfoot what happened. And don’t give me that look I am asking about all of it. What happened with all your potion blasting and that…. That- all of that."
At Remus's question Black appeared to be mulling over the facts presented and trying to come up with an answer. Mhmm yes! What really went wrong with the potion back then. As he recalled all of the events he opened his mouth and turned towards his friend, and suddenly he had utmost undivided attention of all his best mates on him. " I don’t know what really happened back there. One moment Snape was prepping the ingredients for the potion and then….." all three of the boys came closer to the hospital bed expectantly " and then " questioned the three all wide eyes, ears at attention, prepared to hear whatever Black was going to tell them. This seemed to make Sirius a bit flustered. He leaned backwards making himself comfortable on the pillows, and began. " there was a significant occurrence. Snape seemed almost sick when he smelled the veilroot. So sick to the point of abandoning the potion and took off the other side of the table. As if a mere herb root was enough to put him into St. Mungo's for months. He couldn’t seem to handle the smell of it. And then…."
" and then.."
" I haven't an idea what came over me but, when a boy, precisely an alpha by the smell of him walked by Snape … I had this urge to protect him and …."
"and…." drawled on the others. Black looked at them incredulously.
" and I might have done something, like …."
"well go on.." impatient much.
" I drew a blank" said Black shrugging his shoulders faced turned away.
The other three marauders were bewildered. Truthfully Sirius was embarrassed to tell that he used his pheromones to calm Snape down. As embarrassing as that was to admit but he can't deny the fact that he had done the very action as an alpha does for his mated omega. He absolutely cannot tell this to his friends, because, first, they will never let him live that down and secondly he does not have the slightest idea why he did what he did. Blimey this was too complex for his meek brain to process.
He chanced a glance at his friends and they all appeared to be mulling over their own theory to reason with the statement of facts provided by Black. Black can let them work their brain on that and meanwhile he can take a nap. All that story narration has worn him out. Just as he was on the brink of dozing off it occurred to him he hadn't asked the crucial question on the plot. " hey what exactly happened after I fainted", they all looked at him as if he should be knowing this, but then again he was unconscious for the most part. " after you fainted with Snivellus in your arms-" Sirius glared at James, but he didn’t seem fazed by the slightest and continued " you were taken and brought to the hospital wing."
" what happened with Snape?" enquired Black.
James and Remus shared a glanced and Remus answered " while the professors and madam pomprey were trying to separate the two of you, S-Snape was..- was reluctant to leave side your side. And he seemed torn at the aspect of separating from you." Black was taken aback by this piece of information, would be an understatement. He was flabbergasted. In his gruff voice Remus continued " it got so bad when the professors tried their best to separate the two of y-you… that he wailed at the prospect. An--and, he was releasing potent distressed pheromones. And the atmosphere got so unsettled everyone had to leave the room. So we don't know what happened after that."
Black felt he was hit by stupefy hundreds of times. He couldn't form a single thought, stunned. Couldn’t move a single muscle. That were some extreme reactions from the boy at the idea of being apart from … from Black. But then again he also gave unintelligible reactions at the other boys discomfort. All the boys fell silent. There were sound of footsteps approaching and in an instance Madam pomfrey appeared beside his bed. " it is good you have woken up Mr. Black. How are feeling? " Sirius thought for a second about how he is feeling. And about few minutes of dwelling he answered "not bad, a bit knackered really" he said giving her a cheeky smile. Madam pomfrey narrowed her eyes at him she was well versed with the boy's antics. " hmm I see, not much to worry about. I am going to perform a little checkup just to make sure all your pheromone levels are stable." pomfrey went ahead and took his rudimentary vitals. At last she procured her wand, made some motions over his head and then the result showed itself in the thin air.
Black looked at it they were incomprehensible, but madam pomfrey looked satisfied and nodded to herself. " your pheromone levels are just a little high than what is considered normal, but you shan't worry nothing that couldn't be treated. In fact it will drop down to normal level on its own." madam pomfrey gave him a polite professional smile and began putting medicines on the table besides his bed. He shared a glance with his friends and found them looking at him expectantly and Black gave a barely noticeable nod and with a new resolve turned to the nurse " hurgh huh… madam pomfrey, I would like to know what happened after I fainted back in the classroom. And …uh what.. h-how is Snape doing and what happened to him?". Madam pomfrey looked startled by his sudden question but quickly steadied herself and with a professional look and a no nonsense voice began " to answer your question as to what has happened with Mr. Snape- he had gone into an unexpected heat, and it seems it's the first time Mr. Snape is experiencing it. But it is a displeasure to inform you while Mr. Snape was on the very edge of going into a heat, for some unfortunate reason you both appear to have bonded."
Black stared at her dumbfounded. His mouth fell open, nervous perspiration forming on his forehead. His hands started feeling clammy. Closing his mouth he gave a nervous laugh. " I am sorry madam pomfrey, but it seems there's a problem with my hearing. My …my ears, they seem a bit clogged. Would you mind checking them up?"
" yes I think I might be having the same issue. Would you mind clearing them up for as well?" asked James. He said it in such a way as though his ears might really not be working properly. He stuck his pinky finger in his ear began shacking it vigorously attempting to shake out the said ear dirt.
Madam pomfrey internally rolled her eyes, her professional ethics preventing her from doing it physically. Some patients had the tendency to act poorly to the news being delivered. And not to mention the current patients in question are just a bunch of teenagers. With all the experience of a calm and collected medical professional she addressed the teenager in front of her " your hearing ability are exceptional Mr. Black. It does not seem to require any medical attention. And same goes for you as well Mr. potter" she said looking at James.
Merlin's beard. Him, bonded to Snape, going into heat. His brain seemed to have short circuited. Because what in the name of merlin's bollocks was happening. How is that even possible in the first place. To bond to someone one has to give the mating bite. Done by preferably an alpha and on the receiving end an omega. And in their situation the conditions have not been met. He his certain he hasn't given Snape a mating bite. Then how in the world did that happen. The face he was making must have spoken for itself, because madam pomfrey began fulfilling his unspoken questionnaire, " there is still no evidence that prove as to how yourself and Mr. Snape have found yourselves in this predicament." at pomfrey's words black sagged deeper into the bed and looked dejected. Pomfrey must have taken pity on him, she carefully lifted her hand and put it on his shoulder, and looked at him with soft kind eyes " you mustn't worry yourself over this -" but how could he not lose his head over this new life changing revelation. Pomfrey removed her hand from the boy's shoulder, straightened herself and spoke " I suggest you take a rest and not fret over this matter, there is already so much to deal with at the moment. And I am not trying to be harsh, but Mr. Snape is having a time a lot harder than what this piece of information has done to you." madam pomfrey completely sympathized with the omega boy it seems. Handing him a vial of vigourmist elixir with a firm motion she motioned her head for him to drink it " this will help you with your sluggishness and clear your head" and with that she removed herself from his side went on to tend to her other duties. Black stared at the vial blankly. Clear his head she says- and in one smooth quick motion downed the entire potion down his throat. Felt nothing. Maybe he need something stronger like obliviation charm. That might actually clear his head without a trace.
All of the four boys appeared dumbstruck. Bonded to the enemy. Without knowledge. With no clarification to reverse the situation. His life was absolutely done for.