Subtlety was not a Sirius Black quality.
He was exaggerated in every way, even in those that required discretion. Staying silent for too long could sometimes be a punishment for him — as it had often been at home, for example, when Walburga would tight his lips shut with a spell. And when he looked, it wasn't just a glance, but a stare. When he spoke, it wasn't just the projection of his own voice in order to communicate with his friends or family, but a loud and clear speech. When he touched people, it wasn't with shyness, and although Sirius had been taught from an early age never to do this, he had always been extremely tactile. Often, in fact, people complained about the intensity with which Sirius simply squeezed them between his fingers, as if he could contain the entire contents of a person in the palm of his hands.
That's why when he liked something, or someone, Sirius didn't just feel it. Oh, no. That would be too easy and not at all Sirius Black of him. When Sirius liked something or someone, he felt an avalanche of other feelings that didn't always go together with love. Sometimes, as in Remus' case, liking him was directly linked to desperation, because Sirius wasn't the best, but he was an older brother, and looking after the people who mattered to him was simply an instinct at that point. So when Remus went through the changes that the full moon brought, when the pain was visceral and his agonised cries filled the battered house on that empty hill near Hogsmeade, Sirius felt like it was his fault — because he loved Remus, and therefore he should heal his pain, all of it, and if he was suffering, then Sirius was failing.
With Severus, the feeling accompanied by liking was initially anger. Or maybe it was something like an obsession, because Sirius honestly could never leave him alone like he normally did with Remus. When Severus was too quiet, Sirius needed his attention, no matter what, even if it meant Sirius annoying him until Severus would hex him away. And even now that they were okay, even now that they were together, part of Sirius still calmed down immensely only when Severus was around, to be able to keep an eye on him and make sure everything was okay, much like he used to do when the two of them hated each other, even though back then Sirius didn't have the same intentions as he did now. Sirius thought it had something to do with Severus's stubbornness, how he refused to be taken care of, which inflamed Sirius's big-brother personality and made him even more clingy than usual.
Remus, on the other hand, liked people in a different way. Remus was always nice. Behavioural, studious, respectful. Every mother's dream son-in-law, oh yes. Sirius wasn't at all surprised to have fallen in love with him, in fact, he was surprised that the rest of the world wasn't a little bit in love with Remus Lupin. He was charming, with kind eyes, a smile that on the brightest days could be a sweet pot of honey, and on the coldest days an unusual but very nice warmth in every part of the body. And there was, of course, a firmer, more mature part of him: it was as if inside Remus there was a slightly unhinged version of him, which Sirius and Severus agreed made him even sexier. Remus loved exactly the way he existed: with affection and tenderness, but with a firmness, with a certain control, with a harder hand and with orders ready on the tip of his tongue. Giving in to him was always a pleasure apart from the relationship itself.
Severus was their most different creature, which was by no means a bad thing. He loved protectively, but not like Sirius, who tried to fuse himself to the protected person in order to guarantee that they would be safe. Severus, unlike him, was a distant and responsible protector, sometimes even cold when necessary. Extremely rational, he hardly let his feelings take over at critical moments. And unlike Remus and Sirius, they discovered that Severus was much more submissive, at least when it came to the people he loved. With other people, he could honestly be terrible and bossy, but with those Severus held close to his heart, he didn't mind obeying, as long as it didn't affect his pride too much. But submission was beautiful on him, because it relaxed him, made him more comfortable within his own existence, and Sirius and Remus loved putting him in a state of pure pleasure just to see Severus' handsome face soften and his lips open in a small, satisfied smile.
Somehow, the three of them worked. Not always, of course. Sometimes Sirius had trouble respecting their space because he felt lonely, and sometimes Remus was a little too jealous because of his insecurities or Severus a little too rude because of his trust issues, but they understood each other. And when the rest of the school found out about the three of them, things had surprisingly become easier, because the instinct to automatically hide who they were had turned into a desire to show everyone who was curious exactly how they behaved when they were together, and the constant affection put the three of them in a good mood. Even Severus, who was the most introverted of the three, indulged in quick hugs and kisses every now and then, even if these things left him extremely embarrassed afterwards. It didn't matter that he had become a Slytherin outcast, because in exchange for the loyalty of his house, he had received Remus and Sirius.
And then came the end of their classes at Hogwarts, and with that, the future. Severus never imagined when he entered Hogwarts that he would graduate with two boyfriends and go to live somewhere other than Cokeworth, but weeks after the end of school he was lying next to Sirius on the floor while Remus finished packing his clothes in the wardrobe, in their spacious room in a flat in the middle of London that Sirius's uncle had given him as a birthday present. When he'd entered Hogwarts, Severus had liked to think that he'd at least be able to leave school with a future job, with some promise related to magic, and part of him had been mourning a future he couldn't yet have because of the dangers of war, but being there with them, Severus was honestly more than satisfied.
It didn't matter how hard they were going to have it from now on, because they were together and they would find a way to stay that way. Severus planned to keep them all alive and well, whatever happened. His only real problem was that, like it or not, they needed to team up with Dumbledore, because the man was intelligent and had knowledge they didn't have, as well as knowing how to destroy the horcruxes, which they hadn't yet figured out how to do. The Order of the Phoenix was formed in this way, with several recent Gryffindor graduates and some braver ones from other houses, such as Severus, as well as other participants who were older but apparently equally dedicated to the cause. The good thing about having two protective boyfriends like Sirius and Remus was that when Dumbledore suggested uncomfortable things, like making Severus a spy, they were the first to stand up against it, which gave him a greater guarantee of escaping the old man's plans.
Besides, Severus had his own spy. Not that the other people in the Order knew this, because not even Sirius and Remus did, but it had to be that way. For Regulus' safety, Severus had promised to keep quiet and use the information he received strategically. Instead of reporting all of Voldemort's plans, Regulus told him only the most important things, especially tips that could tell them where the other horcruxes were hidden, so that they could kill the evil at its root. At this rate, it was clear that they were risking the lives of many people when Regulus refused to report to Severus if there was going to be an attack in any village, magical or not, but it was the difficult decision they made after analysing the possibilities in their hands.
Not only that, Severus and Regulus had also discovered that there was someone passing information to Voldemort about all the Order's plans. When they realised that he seemed to know too much about Dumbledore's advances, Severus and Regulus immediately searched within their circle for someone who might be informing Voldemort, finding no evidence to blame anyone. Some months passed, and then the Order had also begun to realise that Voldemort seemed to predict their movements with a certain frightening ease, which created an uncomfortable internal tension, because now everyone was looking for a spy out there, accusing each other without thinking rationally. It even led to friction between Remus and Sirius, and Severus honestly hated every moment they looked at each other suspiciously, especially since he knew that neither of them was the traitor.
In the midst of all this confusion, finger pointing and back whispering, Lily and Potter announced their pregnancy. Soon after them, Frank and Alice also announced that they were expecting a baby. They would be born around the same time, apparently. This aligned perfectly with a prophecy that Regulus reported to Severus a few days before Lily and Alice announced their pregnancy, one that he had only heard because Pettigrew had started bragging too much about having discovered a way to make Voldemort even more powerful, and soon Severus and Regulus realised that the prophecy would automatically cause Voldemort to come after the Potters or the Longbottoms — something Pettigrew had also suggested, because according to him, the two children would be born at the end of the month under the same conditions as the prophecy indicated, so the prophecy could only be about them.
That was the moment when Severus had to reveal, at least to a select group of people, that Regulus was his spy. For the safety of the Potters and the Longbottoms, they promised to tell everything they knew, because otherwise no one would believe Severus' words, especially when he demanded that the two families go into hiding. Even if Lily trusted him and would probably obey him without asking questions, convincing the rest of the Order without support would be difficult. Not everyone was happy to discover the secret Severus was keeping, especially Sirius, who graduated from Hogwarts thinking with horror that Regulus' sudden departure and later the news that he had joined Voldemort was a sign that he had lost him forever. Dumbledore also didn't seem to be happy at being left out of these special plans between Regulus and Severus.
But that's how they ended up there, at Lily and James' house, in what was honestly a rather dreadful atmosphere. Severus looked around cautiously, trying to appear distracted enough to disguise the discomfort he was feeling, which seemed to go beyond the situation itself, like an old wound that insisted on hurting even after months. Although the Potters' house elves had cooked a feast that would make anyone salivate, the atmosphere was clearly too tense for any kind of occasion and none of them seemed interested in the food, which made everything a little worse than it usually was.
They had been invited there for an important reason, all three of them knew. A war was hardly a good time for celebratory dinners, as the invitation had sounded like. Even when Lily and James had got married, the party had been small and restrained, almost like a simple get-together between friends. They had promised that they would marry properly when they were finally free of the burden of war, but the thought of not knowing exactly when it would end tormented all of them, not just the two newlyweds. Sirius, Severus and Remus also had dreams of their own, they also wanted to get married and have that peaceful life, but they couldn't even do as Lily and James did and tie the knot even in the midst of this chaos.
"We were thinking—" Potter snorted, looking at the three of them. Apparently he was tired of waiting for someone to show interest in eating and decided to speak up. Lily held his hand on the table in a clear sign of comfort "Lily and I, well, after what Severus reported—" he glanced at Severus, who nodded, as if asking him to continue, "We've decided to accept Dumbledore's proposal about the Fidelius Charm."
Remus and Sirius looked at each other from behind Severus, and Severus immediately stared at Lily. The suggestion of the Fidelius had been the first made by Dumbledore, who claimed it was the safest alternative for them, because that way, no one would know where they were hiding, not even Voldemort and his apparent spy. Frank and Alice accepted almost automatically, and since the spell had been cast, neither of them had seen from the two of them for a few weeks now. And it wasn't really a surprise to any of the three that the Lily and James accepted Dumbledore's proposal, even more so considering that it really was the most efficient of all the other options — moving constantly to other countries, especially with Lily pregnant, was too dangerous, and staying in one place with the confidence that no one could see them seemed like a much more pleasant idea.
"I think that's the best decision." Remus decided to say after a short silence, and, as always, he had a slightly reassuring smile on his lips, "How are the preparations going to be?"
"We're going to perform the spell as soon as possible." Lily explained, still looking tense. Potter didn't seem any more relaxed with their positive response either. Severus frowned.
"Lils?" Severus asked.
"James and I couldn't agree on who would be chosen to keep the secret between the three of you," she murmured, and Potter nodded.
"I'd like it to be Sirius or Remus," he said, and gave his friends a tender look before turning to Severus, "Nothing against you, Snape, but—"
"Well, I'd like it to be Sev." Lily interrupted, visibly frustrated, "I think he's the best option."
The discussion seemed to have already taken place between the two of them, from the way they looked at each other and continued arguing without speaking a word. Remus decided to sniffle, drawing attention to himself.
"I have to say that I also think Severus is... the best option." Remus said quietly, and Sirius quickly looked at him.
Severus didn't need to stare at his face to know the look on Sirius' face. Ever since they had discovered the presence of a possible spy in the Order, the two of them had been acting strangely. At first, they also behaved like that towards Severus, with suspicious looks and cautious movements, but he constantly reprimanded them because after everything he'd been through at Hogwarts, joining Voldemort now seemed stupid, which didn't suit Severus's personality at all, because he was too intelligent to put himself at risk like that, so eventually they both stopped behaving like that towards him. But between the two of them, the tension was sometimes palpable — and Severus didn't know why. They weren't suspects, neither of them would ever betray Lily and Potter, but just the idea that one of them could be the spy was making them paranoid.
Besides, their safety was also compromised as a whole. Severus knew that none of them was really safe as long as a spy was in the midst of the Order, and the worry made them especially anxious, because any one of them could be killed at any moment, which made them paranoid to an unbearable degree, because it was clear that none of them wanted the other to die, and this created a horrifying tension that was almost impossible to deal with, because it was mixed with fear and grief and despair. People more moved by feelings like Sirius and Potter were clearly reaching their limits with the whole situation. And, as surprising as it seemed, even the controlled and patient Remus had recently been acting more irrationally. This only caused more arguments between them.
"Why, do you think I'd betray them?" Sirius hissed, frowning.
"No, Padfoot, I just think Severus is the best choice because—" Remus tried to justify himself, already looking tired of the fight before it had even started.
"I also believe that out of the three of us, he should be the one! Or at least between him and me!" Sirius cut him off, and Remus made a sound of frustration.
"Between you and him?"
"Both of you—" Severus tried to calm them down, but it was useless.
"You know, Moony, that when it comes to keeping a secret like this, one has to have courage, one has to be willing to die! And I know you probably couldn't handle it—" Sirius spoke over Severus. Sitting there under that yellowish light, he looked as if he hadn't slept for a few days, his eyes reddened and his beard unshaven. All of them, in fact, looked rather terrible.
"Sirius!" Severus gasped.
"Are you implying that if fucking Voldemort came to me and tortured me— that if he threatened to kill me, I'd tell him where Lily and James are? That I'd tell him because I'm afraid to die?" Remus' voice rose a few octaves, "Of the two of us, I'm not the one who has a problem with secrets! And besides that, I experience death a little more each month, Sirius, I assure you I don’t fear shit."
Everyone was aware that neither of them could be capable of something like that. Severus knew that neither Remus nor Sirius could ever betray Lily or Potter, that it was a completely crazy idea. Just as he himself wouldn't give in, even if he were tortured. He would never put Lily in danger, and he had to confess that he now felt slightly responsible for keeping Potter safe too, since they were almost friends. And, in reality, this whole situation went far beyond just protecting Lily and Potter, it was about the prophecy and the future of the magical world as well. Severus didn't know why Sirius had started this discussion, but he suspected that it didn't have much to do with who the Secret Keeper would be, but rather other things between them, more personal problems.
Sirius stood up from the chair, "Let's face it, Remus, neither you nor I trust each other at the moment! You haven't really trusted me since— since fifth year!"
"I have reason to be suspicious of you, Sirius!" Remus stood up as well, even though Severus tried to hold him back, "You used me to try to kill Severus—"
Severus tried to look at Lily and Potter to ask for help, but they looked equally clueless of what to do, staring at the two with wide eyes. Ever since they had announced the pregnancy, Severus, Remus and Sirius had been trying to keep the worst news hidden from Lily and James, because they knew that the two of them were too worried about the safety of their family and didn't need to hear any more terrible news that they couldn't change the outcome of. Because of this, the three of them were shielding them from these tensions, or at least the tensions between them, which explained the surprise on both of their faces.
"How many times do I have to apologise for this?" Sirius shouted, his voice cracking with the weight of resentment and guilt, "Severus has already forgiven me—"
"Maybe I'll never be able to forgive you!" Remus shouted back, "Maybe I'll always resent the fact that you almost made me a murderer!"
"Remus—!" Severus muttered, his eyes wide.
Sirius let out a strangled, pain-filled laugh, as if Remus had punched him in the face. It was a laugh that scratched Severus' ears, made his stomach lurch as if he were about to vomit.
"If you can't even trust me, then why are you with me? Because of Severus? Because without me, you can't have him?" Sirius accused.
Severus suddenly felt dizzy. Just the idea of something like that— just that brief mention of a break between them was capable of making him want to faint. It was almost abominable to think something like that. After so long together, after so many moments they had shared, Severus couldn't see himself without them. To think then that Remus was only with them because he wanted Severus and didn't love Sirius anymore— No— They were a trio. They had spent years trying to understand each other as a couple of three, and they would remain that way as long as they were mutual. There was no one loving more than the other, or one loving only one other or—no, impossible. Severus knew perfectly well that the three of them loved each other too much.
"Funny you should say that, Sirius, because sometimes I think you're only with me so you can have him too!" Remus retorted, with an almost maniacal laugh in his voice.
"No—" Severus gasped. He wanted to cover his ears, wanted to ignore the loud voices of his two lovers. Despair began to grow inside him, and the situation suddenly seemed very familiar to him. "You don't mean that—"
It was almost like his parents' fights. When Eileen and Tobias would sit at the dinner table almost as if to include Severus in the discussions, because they never ate, really. They just argued and argued and in the end Severus always ended up hurt in one way or another, if not psychologically, then physically. Remus and Sirius, even when they argued, didn't raise their voices in front of him, and they didn't use Severus as a reason to fight, they didn't use him as a motive to fight and hate each other just like his parents did.
Perhaps Severus was really the reason for their quarrel after all. Or maybe he was just the reason for their disagreement since fifth year. Because Severus was very curious, and he always ended up chasing them around Hogwarts. And Severus let himself get too close, let himself feel love and reciprocate everything he felt— because he had always been that creature who craved love, craved human touch. And he was among them, because both Sirius and Remus always ended up putting him there, so of course it was his fault.
Had he destroyed everything between them? Had he built a barrier between them and isolated Sirius and Remus from each other? If he stopped to think, Severus couldn't remember seeing the two of them together without him recently. Could that be the reason for their lack of trust? But Severus never— he never wanted to isolate Remus and Sirius. If anything, he always wanted them together— all three of them. But perhaps it was Severus's fault, because he also found himself wishing that sometimes they didn't argue so much, so maybe he did separate them a bit, huh.
So it was plausible that he was the reason, wasn't it? Even if unconsciously, Severus must have done something that led them there, to that argument, that fight. Perhaps keeping Regulus a secret was a bad decision after all. Ah, Severus should have thought of that before. If he hadn't kept Regulus a secret, then maybe they could have another kind of situation now, maybe they—
"Stop it!" Lily shouted, and Severus was immediately startled by the sound, finally realising what was happening. His face was wet, and Severus's whole body was shaking. Instinctively he shrank back in his chair, trying to hide his most sensitive areas in case someone tried to attack him.
The silence became tense again. The only thing Severus could hear apart from his own heart was the heavy breathing of Remus and Sirius.
"Snape, is everything all right?" Potter asked in a gentle tone, almost as if Severus were an animal in need of comfort.
Severus suppressed the instinct to snap, as he usually did when he felt vulnerable, and nodded, even though he wasn't feeling well at all. His wide, reddened eyes indicated a panic that James had never seen on his face before, not even during that terrible event in fifth year, when Severus almost died.
It was instinctive how Remus and Sirius seemed to finally realise the situation and approached Severus, each with a different expression of concern on their face. Remus touched Severus' face, trying to calm him down, and Sirius kissed his temple, whispering words of comfort.
"We didn't mean— Sev, I'm sorry, I—" Remus murmured, but Severus denied it.
He disentangled himself from the two of them, and was almost pleased by Remus and Sirius's worried expressions, but eventually took both of their hands. If neither of them would behave and be rational, then it was up to him to be that more mature part of their relationship. Severus stared at Lily and Potter.
"Can we use the guest room for a few minutes?" Severus asked.
Lily, though clearly worried, nodded, "Of course, Sev. If anything happens, don't hesitate to call me!"
Sitting on the edge of the bed, the three of them side by side, they seemed to be preparing for a punishment.
The uncomfortable silence seemed to scratch at Severus' bones, and part of him almost wished that Sirius and Remus were shouting just so he could have a reason to sink into his own pain and panic and forget about everything. But Severus took a deep breath, tried to control his trembling hands and thought of ways to solve the problem between the three of them once and for all. Sirius was very proud and found it hard to apologise even when he was wrong, and Remus was very focused on justice and would never open his mouth to say anything until Sirius showed that he was truly sorry. If you added Severus into the mix, equally stubborn, this whole situation would probably never be resolved without one side giving in or someone from the outside stepping in and trying to get them to talk, but fortunately Severus wasn't, for once, involved in the fight, so he could help.
"I know you love each other very much." Severus murmured, unsure exactly what to say, staring at his hands. In the middle of the two, he felt almost pressured to start with sentimentality before rationality, "Even without me in the middle, I know you love each other. What I don't know is why you're suddenly doubting it."
Severus looked up just to check how the two of them had reacted, almost rolling his eyes when he saw that, almost equally, Sirius and Remus had turned their faces away, as if they intended to cling to their stubbornness instead of seeing the obvious. He sighed.
"You loved each other even before I arrived," he said, a little louder, "Sirius was absolutely obsessed with you, Remus." Severus nudged him, seeing Remus turn his face slightly to stare at Sirius before returning to his previous position. Severus tried to do the same to Sirius, "And Remus— gods, it didn't matter that you tried to feed me to the evil, hairy version of him, because Remus always talked about you as if you held all the stars in his universe, Sirius."
Sirius didn't turn round, but his ears were reddening. Severus smiled slightly.
"Things are difficult now, I know that. I wish they were better, I wish Lily and James and Alice and Frank didn't have to hide. If I could choose, none of us would be in this war. And I know we're all terrified, I don't want any of you to get hurt, I don't even want Potter to get hurt!" Severus said, exasperated, and noticed that they both seemed to smile, albeit in a restrained way, "But we can't turn against each other. We're already so few in numbers, and now this? I know you'd never hurt Lily or James, I know you'd rather die than put them in danger, so I can't understand how you can suspect each other!"
Remus and Sirius looked ashamed at the confrontation of reality with rational logic, but refused to speak, seeming too embarrassed to admit it yet. Well, that didn't matter. Severus was willing to stay in that room until they finally understood each other once and for all.
"Which makes me think there's another reason for this. Or, at least, there are some things that have built up that haven't been resolved properly, and you're taking it out on each other." Severus said, more cautiously now, entering territory they hadn't yet explored, "And to prove my point, I don't even need to go very far. Today you two accused each other of very serious things. Things that I know aren't true, but that for some reason you can't see. Remus, I'll start with you."
At the mention of his name, Remus seemed startled, but he turned to Severus and, consequently, to Sirius, looking crestfallen.
"Sirius— What Sirius did to us in fifth year was terrible." Severus grasped his hand, noticing the strength with which Remus returned the touch, "He was immature and irresponsible and terrible. The three of us know that, the three of us have talked about it before." Severus turned to Sirius, taking his hand too, "And Sirius has apologised, he's made amends. He spent who knows how many summers cleaning up poop from the poisonous plants that Fleamont grew, and I feel quite vindicated about that." Severus muttered, making Sirius and Remus laugh a little, "And I know you've forgiven him for that, Remus. I know you forgave him the moment Sirius apologised. So that can't be the real reason you're questioning him."
Remus blushed, but nodded slightly. Severus smiled slightly, turning to Sirius.
"And you— how could you think that Remus only likes me in this relationship, Sirius? He's completely in love with you, and him forgiving you about the whole fifth year thing just proves how much he loves you, because me? I would have killed you immediately, and then there wouldn't be time for anyone to forgive a dead man." Severus said, pulling Sirius closer. He turned and approached, but kept his gaze trained on the floor, "I thought we'd sorted this out at school, that you'd realised Remus and I aren't with you out of pity or anything. I know, we're all insecure, we all have our moments, but this isn't the time for you to act like this and point fingers at each other. Two seconds, I'm just asking you to stop for two seconds and think: does anything you've said to each other today make sense?"
Despite their annoyance, they both denied it. Severus sighed, relieved. At least they were seeing reason. He let go of both their hands and stood up, facing them.
"Gather round." Severus murmured, gesturing. Sirius and Remus looked at each other for a few seconds and, embarrassed, moved closer until their bodies were touching. Severus smiled, satisfied, "Perfect. Now you'll apologise, understand what you are feeling and explain yourselves to each other once and for all."
As Severus headed for the door, Sirius caught his eye, looking a little afraid, "What about you?"
"I'm going to go downstairs and talk to Lily and James about something." Severus shrugged, because he had other things he wanted help with, and before Remus could intervene, as he seemed to want to do, Severus continued speaking, "Don't worry. I know you love me dearly. I have no doubt about that." He nodded as he reached the door, and smiled, "Talk, please. Then you can do whatever you want and meet us downstairs afterwards."
They both blushed and opened their mouths to protest, but Severus closed the door before they could say anything. With another sigh, Severus went downstairs, finding Lily and James where they had been left, eating with a slowness that indicated their hunger hadn't really returned. When they saw him, they both immediately straightened up, looking curious and fearful at the same time. Severus smiled.
"I left the two of them talking, but everything will be fine." Severus assured them, taking a seat opposite them. Lily gave him a worried look, but Severus just shook his head, "It really is all right, Lily. It was a mistake earlier, and I know they won't do it again. They won't shout in front of me anymore, and, honestly—" Severus sighed, "One day I'm going to have to face up to the problems my parents left me. Just not now. My old mind healer told me I'd see her again, even after I'd demanded of Fleamont that it was no longer necessary. Apparently, Sirius is going to see his mind healer again too," he joked, seeing James smile slightly.
"Sev." she shook her head, but smiled, looking relieved, "You've changed."
"It was bound to happen, the sentimentality got to me too." he raised his arms in surrender, but then his expression fell, "And I need you two's help, actually. I know we have a serious matter to discuss today, about the Fidelius, but I— I've been talking to Regulus about some possibilities, and we both think that Pettigrew has delivered something to you and that through this, he may be spying on you."
James blinked, looking confused, "Gave us something? But Peter—he never gave us anything, or at least nothing that I carry with me. To spy on us, that thing would have to be with us constantly, wouldn't it?"
"Don't you have something that belonged to you guys as a whole, something of the Marauders? It needs to be easy to carry, because we don't have a fixed base, and Pettigrew probably knew that very well. Something, anything, that belonged to you and that he had access to." Severus explained, sounding a little desperate, "I've been looking through Remus' and Sirius' things, but everything looks very normal and I can't find any traces of magic in anything they normally use."
Lily looked at James, frowning, "There is one thing. But I— it wasn't Pettigrew who gave it to them, it was us, Sev."
"Us?" Severus frowned too, confused, "What we—"
"At Christmas, our last year at Hogwarts." Lily explained, and suddenly Severus widened his eyes, understanding. She turned to James, "The necklaces we gave you for Christmas, I left them on the tree in the Gryffindor Common Room. Pettigrew could have tampered with them without any of us noticing."
James grimaced, reaching inside his shirt and pulling out the necklace. His had a deer pendant, painted in red and gold colours. Sirius's was a Padfoot-like dog, black with golden eyes, and Remus's was a book with a red cover. Lily and Severus had agreed to deliver presents for them at Christmas after they found the pendants in Hogsmeade, thinking they were too much of a match for the three of them to pass up. Since Lily and James were dating and Severus, Remus and Sirius were too, it seemed like a nice present, as well as a cheap one. Lily had left it under the Christmas tree to keep with tradition, and none of them even thought that Pettigrew might do something with them.
"Let me see." Severus held out his hand, and James handed him the necklace. The cord was made of sturdy black rope, almost rubbery, and even the years hadn't worn it down yet. When Severus pointed his wand at the necklace and said the spell to find out if there were any traces of magic there, it glowed red, indicating that someone had indeed put a spell on it. "Bloody hell, Lily, you're right. It's the necklaces."
"That arsehole." Lily hissed, visibly annoyed, "He—He knew the boys wouldn't take or throw the necklaces away, because we're the ones who gave them as presents."
Severus nodded, visibly shaken as well. He knew that Pettigrew had already gone where they couldn’t reach him and bring him back to Light, and that he should be angry with him and Lily for having told the three of them about his true face, but Severus would never have imagined that he would go this far while still at school.
"I have a spell that can undo what Pettigrew did." Severus sighed, clutching the necklace in his hands, "I'll do the same with Remus and Sirius necklaces, and we can warn Dumbledore what we found. I wouldn't have thought it—" Severus's voice suddenly choked with anger and also guilt, even though he knew logically that it wasn't really his fault.
"Hey, Sev." Lily caught his eye, raising her hand across the table to her friend, who didn't hesitate to take it, "It'll be alright. We've found where the problem is, and we'll sort it out."
"What if that's not the only way he can spy on us? Pettigrew still had access to several other things while at Hogwarts!" Severus grumbled, uncomfortable with the idea of being spied on so closely.
"If there's anything else he's touched, we'll find it, Snape, don't start freaking out now." James said, firm but gentle, smiling.
"Right, I, well—" Severus rolled his eyes, embarrassed to be comforted by James Potter, of all people.
But Remus and Sirius came down the stairs, interrupting anything he might try to say, both of them looking terribly pleased. From the way Remus's hair was messed up and Sirius's face was a few different colours of red, anyone could assume what exactly they'd been doing after they'd sorted themselves out. James groaned at the sight of the two, causing Lily to let out a little giggle. Embarrassed, the two sat down next to Severus, each on one side, kissing his face and mouth affectionately while James' complaints only intensified, as did Lily's giggles, who was revelling in their husband's despair.
"By the Gods, we've got a baby right here!" James complained, throwing a piece of tomato at Sirius, who glared at him.
"Your child hasn't even been born yet." Sirius retorted.
James practically threw himself into Lily's arms, still moaning and complaining about their excessive affection, "Who says I'm talking about my baby? I'm talking about me!" he grumbled, making Lily laugh even harder. Along with her, Severus and the other two also started laughing.
"We're sorry, but Severus— Severus deserved a few kisses after what he did for us." Remus explained, pulling away from his boyfriend slightly, "And I promise, James, Sirius and I didn't do anything too bad in your guest room."
"Nothing that wasn't magically cleaned up, anyway." Sirius added, getting a quick slap from Remus to keep him quiet. Not that it helped, because James started complaining again.
"More important than your steamy reconciliation, I think I've discovered how Pettigrew was spying on us." Severus said, drawing their attention. He opened his hand, showing James' necklace, and explained what they had concluded. By the end of the explanation, Sirius and Remus were both equally annoyed, "And there may be other things as well, we need to check if destroying the spell on the necklaces is really going to be enough."
"Filthy rat." Sirius grumbled, looking disgusted, "That was the first present you gave us and he—"
"It's all right, Sirius. I'll remove the spell and the necklace will remain perfectly intact." Severus assured him, holding his hand.
"That's not all, Sev! Apart from being a special gift, if we hadn't found out what was leaking information before the Fidelius spell, he'd know where Lily and James are anyway!" Sirius said, visibly annoyed, "That—That arsehole! We would have done all this for nothing!"
Severus suddenly went quiet, not having thought of that possibility. A feeling of dread gripped him internally, and Severus felt nauseous at the thought that they had come so close to sentencing Lily and James to death.
"How long have you and Regulus been looking for what could be the source of the leaks?" Remus decided to ask, probably to dispel this horrible feeling, frowning, "I did notice that my books were in different places from the last time I organised them."
"Ever since we discovered that Voldemort was receiving information from the Order." Severus shrugged, "With so much going on, especially between the two of you, I didn't want to— I didn't want to give you any more reason to fight. But I didn't find anything, so I thought asking Lily and Potter would be a good idea, because they might have some ideas of what Pettigrew might have touched. I'm glad I did," he smiled at Lily, who returned the greeting.
Sirius and Remus, on the other hand, moved a little, looking guilty.
"You've been looking after us all this time, and all we do is fight in front of you." Sirius muttered, his eyes sad, "You should have cursed us, Sev."
"Definitely." Remus muttered, with the same feeling of guilt on his face, "We're terrible boyfriends."
Severus rolled his eyes, but eventually sighed, "I'll forgive you, because as Lily said, I'm a changed man now. Of course, this will be the last time you'll have my patience. Next time, I'll make sure neither of you can sleep without having nightmares." He smiled sweetly, noticing the trembling in Sirius, Remus and, for some reason, James. "Are we clear?"
Lily laughed again as the two murmured that they were going to be better from that moment on, causing Severus to smile a little at their terrified expression.
"Now that that's settled, let's discuss the other important point." Severus took the reins of the conversation once more, looking at Lily and James, "I think the secret keeper should be—"
"It'll be you, Sev." Remus said, interrupting him. Sirius nodded.
"Rem and I agree that it's best if it's you. No offence, you're one of the best duellists I know, but you're much better at potions, and if you hide out with Lily and James, which will just ensure that no one can really find any of you three, you can use their lab and send everything we need by owl." Sirius explained.
"But Reg—"
"Let him contact me with his informations, it would be less suspicious and easier, really." Sirius asked, smiling, "My brother and I may not seem like a very good pair, but trust me, together we can do more interesting things, especially when it comes to the Dark Arts. I'm sure that between the two of us, we can figure out all the horcruxes."
"And I'll need to help with the werewolves, as Dumbledore had already suggested. Sirius and I are exposed for too long, which makes it easier for us to be captured. You, on the other hand, can do things from here." Remus smiled, stroking Severus's head.
Severus quickly realised that they had indeed discussed this in length, because he couldn't find any loopholes to refute them. When he turned to Lily and James, they both looked decided too. Severus sighed, certain that this was a battle that had already been won.
"All right." he agreed, more easily than anyone expected, "Let's call Dumbledore and do the spell."