The Immeasurable Marauder

War

I wondered away from where I left Sirius deeper into the castle toward the dungeons. I couldn't very well walk past him again, to correct my path after what I'd just done, so I determinedly walked the long way around. I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach, it was very extreme behaviour after all but I had my own experience with bullies, I grew up with them. I had to be tough, I had to be ruthless, or else no one would ever take me seriously. 

I was small and pretty and people routinely underestimated me or thought I wouldn't stand up for myself. The fury was rising in my stomach as I stomped around the dark castle in a temper.

Sirius was fickle and more irritating than anyone had a right to be. I was determined that I would meet him and his Marauders with everything they wouldn't be expecting. I rounded a corner and collided with Severus.

"Yves?" He asked, looking very surprised.

"Severus." I said impatiently. I just wanted to get back to the Common Room before I anything else happened tonight.

"What are you doing here?" He said, his hands still on my arms from where he had steadied me moments ago.

"I'm throwing a tantrum." I said, realizing that that was exactly what I was doing.

"Oh Merlin, you were just about to fling yourself to the ground screaming weren't you?" He said playfully. I was getting used to this Severus.

"Yeah! Move out of the way because any moment now, I'll be stomping my feet..." I said with a smile and he laughed a genuine, belly-reaching laugh that was so unlike him.

"Are you ok though?" He said looking at me through smiling eyes sobering.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just trying to get away from Sirius."

"Ah... I see... Black." he said shaking his head knowingly, "Personally, I don't know why people don't try get away from him more. He is repugnant." I knew he was serious, he hated Sirius, but there was humour in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm beginning to see your point." I said turning away from him. No matter how hard I focused on my fury, I knew it would eventually ebb away and I would be left with guilt for doing what I did, whether he deserved it or not.

"Did he hurt you?" Sev asked, suddenly standing in front of me, his face severe in the dim light.

"No, I hurt him." I said dropping my head. And right on cue, there it was, my stupid, good for nothing guilt.

"You?" He asked, surprise in his voice but when I met his eyes his face was stern and intense.

"You sound surprised." I said annoyed.

"No," He said, pausing, "Not surprised, I don't doubt that you could hurt him, it's that you should have need to do so. What did he do?" and I thought back to the contents of our argument and I looked at Snape, really looked at him. He stood close, but not too close, not like Sirius always did, and he was intense but not like Sirius, he didn't quite smolder but there was something else alluring about him. It suddenly dawned on me that Severus was actually quite sexy, not in the Oh-my-god-I-can't-breathe kind of way Sirius was but more in the, You're-not-going-to-take-me-home-to-mother kind of way.