Stonathan ❤️

83

NOT MINE!! 

all credits go to freakwithacamera on ao3

A/N: I'm pretty sure this is a ST x Harry Potter universe

It was late and Steve was prowling around the castle, looking to prank Filch or something equally as childish and stupid. He knew he'd get away with it, Peeves would gladly take the blame just to watch McGonagall's head explode when she found out. They had an odd friendship, he and Peeves, born out of mutual boredom and a desire to watch authority figures in distress. It wasn't malicious in intent, more mischievous than anything. His most recent act of rebellion was to transfigure Snape's cup to turn into a live hamster whenever he poured liquid in it. Sure, it was probably cruel to the hamster to be bathed in pumpkin juice so many times in a day, but it was hilarious to watch Snape yank his fingers away as if he'd been bitten, and judging by the bandages he wore the last time Steve had Potions, that was exactly what had happened. It had taken all of his self control not to burst out laughing, but because of it, he'd added too much eye of newt to his potion and caused a minor explosion that had singed his partner's hair and left him with no eyebrows. Needless to say, he'd needed a new partner, so he'd gotten stuck with Nancy Wheeler, a Ravenclaw who'd managed to skip a year of potions and thus, was Snape's favorite student, much to her displeasure.

Maybe Snape had thought that if he put them together, they'd balance out, but he'd spent the whole time doing his best to impress her with tales of his glory and she, in return, told him of the horror stories she had of working with Snape after classes. He was rude to everyone but her, but his praise made her want to gag. Steve couldn't blame her, he was greasy and old, and everyone suspected he was really a Death Eater in disguise. Steve could confirm it, too, he'd seen the tattoo, but he'd kept that to himself, thinking it'd be better blackmail than gossip. He wondered if Dumbledore knew, but he reckoned he did. Something about the Headmaster didn't sit right with Steve. It was like he was always planning something, always keeping secrets and telling you exactly what you asked to know and not a bit more, leading you to believe you could trust him, when in reality he was more than willing to let you fall to save himself. Or maybe it was just Steve's aversion to authority talking.

But even with all his pranks, Steve was missing something. He wasn't sure what, exactly, as he had everything he could want, save for parents that cared, but he'd convinced himself he was over caring about that, at least, for the most part. He felt an emptiness, and he couldn't quite fill it with anything. He had friends, sure, they weren't the greatest, but they kept him from being lonely, and he had girls, anyone he wanted, even if they weren't quite what he wanted. He liked them, sure, but he'd noticed himself noticing the guys, as well, which wasn't as big of a revelation as it should have been. Steve took it in stride, like he did everything, and didn't let it shake him. Nothing could shake him, nobody could get to him, and that was how he liked it. Or so he'd convinced himself.

But dwelling on things he couldn't, or really, wasn't willing to change wouldn't help anything. He had to look for that stupid cat. If he found the cat, he could put the bell on it and keep it from chasing away the rats, which would annoy Filch, but if he didn't know it was a bell, if he thought it was, say, a bow, then he'd never take it off. He'd even handwritten a note to attach to the collar for when Filch noticed it. Nothing special, a simple 'I think you're purrfect. From your secret admirer.' Not his best work, but he figured it would do well enough. Filch wasn't going to criticize the lack of originality.

Steve finally found Mrs. Norris in the fourth hallway he checked. He did his best to sneak up on her, but she noticed him when he was less than a foot away and jumped away from his outstretched hands.