The Taming

Well, that could’ve gone worse. It also could’ve gone better. Sirius was disappointed that his self-sacrifice fell flat on its face. He tried to heroically take the fall for the both of them, but what resulted was Snape getting his property taken from him and Sirius losing the marauders’ map. Sure, they both got out of getting detention, but at what cost? 

He then remembered what Filch implied. He couldn’t believe that the old bag of bones thought that the two of them were shagging in the astronomy tower! That was ridiculous! Him and Snape? Really?! Sure, he finds some qualities about him to not be too repulsive, but it was Snape for bloody sakes! 

A shiver ran up his spine as unwanted images of the two of them flashed in his mind. Like hell that would happen! 

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As he neared the portrait of the fat lady, he began to feel slightly nauseous. For the first time in his life, Sirius felt apprehensive about entering his dorm room. He knew that his mates were going to be pissed off at him for losing the marauders’ map. But at that moment, there was nothing he could do. If he had resisted Filch, he would’ve been in bigger trouble. 

His stomach twisted along with the doorknob as he made his way into their shared room. Prongs, Wormtail, and Moony were all up, sitting on their respective beds. They seemed to be in the middle of a serious conversation. The looks on their faces and the way that they all went silent clued Sirius in on the fact that they were talking about him. 

James decided to be the one to break the awkward silence. “Hey Pads, trouble sleeping?” he asked. 

Sirius ran his hand through his hair as he walked over to his bed. “Yeah, something like that,” he mumbled before deciding to cut to the chase. It was better to let the bandage rip in one go. “Filch took the map…”   

All the marauder’s eyes widened, James jumped up, “What?! H-how?!” He asked in disbelief. “Weren’t you under the cloak?” 

Sirius stared down at his shoes, unable to look his best mate’s in the eye. "Well, I ran into Snape in the astronomy tower; we ended up arguing, and Filch caught us,” he shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole ordeal. The situation was not as casual as he described, however. He had felt confused about the whole thing, but what was most perplexing were the feelings he felt after Snape’s confession. 

James frowned. “You are still going to the party together, though, right?” he asked. 

Sirius tried to suppress an eye roll; of course, that was his first question. While he loved James like a brother, one thing that had always gotten on his nerves was his obsession with Evans. If Sirius was completely honest, he found the witch rather annoying; he had no clue why everyone seemed to be so obsessed with her. What made her so special to everybody? 

“Yeah, we are,” Sirius said.  

“You don’t think he’ll stand you up?” Peter asked. 

Sirius flopped down on his bed. “Of course not; who would ditch this?” he said, gesturing to himself and wiggling his eyebrows. Luckily, no one stated the obvious fact that Snape was able to resist his charms multiple times. 

Remus, who was quietly listening to the conversation, finally spoke up, “So what are we going to do about the map? Are we going to go under the invisibility cloak and sneak into his office?” he asked sarcastically. 

That’s right, the cloak! All he had to do was sneak into Filch’s office and take back what was rightfully theirs. He could also retrieve Snape’s cigarettes as well. Not that he cared or anything; no, he could just use it to get back in his good graces and closer to helping James get with Evans. Sirius jumped up. “That’s a brilliant idea, Moony!” he said before grabbing Remus’s arm and pulling him towards the door. 

“Wait! I don’t mean right now!” he protested. 

“Why not? I need it!” Sirius said. 

“For what?” Remus asked. 

Sirius hesitated for a moment. He didn’t want the marauders to know about what Snape told him or what he planned to do to find out what exactly those bastards were doing. They wouldn’t understand; they’d think that he liked him or something. He didn’t fancy Snape at all; he was just annoyed at the Slytherin’s and their blood purity bullshite! That’s why he hated the idea of someone putting their hands on him!

Remus gave him a strange look before letting out a reluctant “fine.”  

“Wait, why are you only taking Moony with you?” James asked, slightly pouting like a jealous child. 

Sirius quickly grasped for an excuse. “Well, Slughorn’s party is tomorrow; you need your beauty sleep for Evans, right?” he said. 

That seemed to be the right thing to say as James’s expression morphed into a mixture of nervousness and delight. “You’re right! I don’t know if I can fall asleep. I’m too excited!” 

“I have some dreamless sleep in my drawer; just grab a vial of that,” Sirius said, unfolding the cloak and throwing it over his shoulders. Back in his earlier years, Sirius relied on the potion like a lifeline, not getting any sleep unless he downed some. Now, sleep was still difficult for the Gryffindor, but he tried to not depend on it too much, only limiting himself to one per week. 

A look of surprise washed over James’s face, “Oh, thanks, Pads! I’ll replace it.” 

Sirius waved him off, signalling for Remus to follow him. The lycanthrope joined him under the cloak, and the two left the room, making sure to close the door as light as they possibly could. They had to make sure to be more careful than they usually were, as they didn’t have the luxury of the map to warn them when someone was near. 

Silence stretched on between the two of them as they traversed the halls of Hogwarts. They broke into the caretaker’s office so many times throughout their years at the magical school that they relied on muscle memory alone to lead them. 

Sirius shifted occasionally as they walked. He wanted to ask Remus something, that was the whole reason he chose the lycanthrope over his best mate, but he kept getting cold feet, closing his mouth the moment he opened it. 

“What is it?” Remus whispered, ever the observant. 

“Nothing,” Sirius replied quickly—too quickly, and it seemed that Remus noticed that as well. 

Remus let out a tired sigh. “Bollocks, tell me,” he pushed. 

Sirius pressed his lips firmly together before spilling, “I need the map so I can interrogate some snakes.” 

“Sirius! You're supposed to be on Snape’s good side, remember? I don’t think James will appreciate you–” 

“No, not him. I... I think something bad is happening to him, and I want to find out,” his cheeks reddened after saying that. Merlin, it sounded even more embarrassing when said out loud; it made it seem like he almost cared for the bastard! 

Remus blinked at him in surprise. 

“What?” Sirius asked defensively.

“Nothing just– Wasn’t expecting that response... What makes you think that?” He asked, immediately going into mother-hen mode after overcoming his shock. 

Sirius would never admit it to the bloke but he was jealous of Remus’s empathy. He always knew what words to say, he could always so easily put himself in the shoes of others and rationalise their behaviours. Sirius wasn’t like that. He would constantly speak before thinking and come off as a prat. He was also extremely bullheaded; once he painted someone as something, he was unable to look at them in any other light. 

Though Snape seemed to be challenging that, the nasty portrait he had of the Slytherin was slowly cracking, revealing something else underneath—something that equally scared and fascinated the Gryffindor. Confronting the other Slytherins was his way of impatiently peeling back the layers of paint and taking a peek inside at the real Snape. 

“When I ran into him earlier, he looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in days,” Sirius said. 

“Maybe he was studying for the NEWTs?” Remus suggested. 

Sirius shook his head. “No, he was different... Defeated? I don’t know how to explain it, Moony, but I just have a really bad feeling.”  

Remus was quiet for a moment; the only sound present was their quiet footsteps and the ruffling of their clothes. “I believe you,” the lycanthrope finally spoke up. “If you think something’s wrong, then something’s wrong. Just, don’t do anything stupid.” 

Putting his hand to his chest, Sirius let out an offended huff, “When have I ever done something stupid?” 

The lycanthrope rolled his eyes. “Just promise me you won’t hurt anyone or get yourself in detention.”  

Sirius raised his free hand in the air as much as he could without disrupting the cloak. “I solemnly swear to not cause bodily harm to any snakes, unlesstheydeserveit,” he added quickly at the end, hoping that Remus wouldn't catch on. 

“Sirius no–” 

“Hey look! We made it to Filch’s office!” Sirius interrupted, pulling Remus along with him. 

He never knew why Dumbledore decided to hire Filch. Him being a squib made breaking into his office so much easier, as he was unable to place any fancy defence or security charms. Praying that the caretaker wasn’t in his office, Sirius quietly cast an unlocking spell. He knew he was successful once he heard a small ‘clicking’ noise and proceeded to slowly open the door. 

The two Gryffindors peaked their heads in, making sure there wasn’t anyone inside before quickly sneaking in and closing the door. Once fully inside, Sirius peeled off the cloak and made a beeline to Filch’s desk. He already knew where the caretaker kept the confiscated goods, as they’ve broken into his office plenty of times. 

Performing the same unlocking spell on the desk drawer he swiftly rummaged through, pushing aside the screaming yoyos and unused dung bombs. He wasn’t worried about accidentally setting them off, as he knew that they were all fakes, decoys that they used to replace the real ones that they stole back from Filch. After a good minute, he finally found the map. He handed it to Moony, who had the invisibility cloak around his shoulders, ready to quickly hide back under it should anyone come in. 

Remus grabbed the parchment and clutched it close to his chest. “Okay, let’s go now,” he hissed out as he looked over nervously at the chains displayed on Filch’s wall. 

“Hold on,” Sirius mumbled as he pushed past a couple items until he finally found the other item he was looking for. He retrieved the cigarette box out of the drawer and took two parchments from Filch’s desk, transfiguring them into the stolen items. He threw the duplicates into the drawer and placed a relocking spell. 

“What’s that?” Remus asked, gesturing to the box in Sirius’s hand. 

“Nothing,” Sirius quickly replied, shoving the box into the pocket of his robes. “Check the map, we need to make sure no one’s by the door before we leave.” 

Nodding, Remus opened the map. Sirius watched as his friend’s eyes scanned the parchment before they widened and did a double take on one spot in particular. 

“What’s wrong?” Sirius asked, becoming slightly nervous at his mate’s reaction. 

“N-nothing,” Remus quickly stammered out, raising Sirius’s suspension more. 

Sirius got up, which made the lycanthrope take a step back. “Let me see,” he said. 

The Gryffindor hid the parchment behind his back. “It’s nothing, seriously.” 

“Remus, hand it over, now,” Sirius said darkly. 

Looking slightly horrified, the Lycanthrope complied, giving the parchment to Sirius. His blue-grey eyes scanned over the map in confusion, not knowing what possibly could have perturbed his mate. Until his eyes landed on his name. Like always, the name was bolder than all the others. Bold, and in the same bed as his brother. 

The parchment nearly tore in his hands.