Determination

LXVII: Climax

1977

Remus raced down the hallways toward where he'd just seen Snape disappear.

 He had to ask him about Mason and Gideon.

Sirius had been right in this instance; if anyone knew what was really going on and how Mason truly felt, it would be Severus. Remus loathed to admit that Sirius could be smart when he wanted to be. The fact that the man was just sneaking behind him and Lily in grades without ever really trying was frustrating to no end. He could admit to himself that his friends were smart when they wanted to be. Sirius scored better than him in DADA, and James was top of their class in Potions. 'A Natural, ' Slughorn always said.  

But Remus, well, Remus worked hard for what he got. Overall, his scores were better than all his friends', but if you took that out and looked at them individually, you'd find the hidden intelligence in each one. 

So this endeavor he was on, yeah, he trusted that Sirius knew what he was talking about. He just hoped he'd be able to hold up his end of the plan. 

Remus wasn't as confident in himself that he'd be able to get Severus to tell him anything. As of late, the whole school noticed that Severus and Mason were drifting apart. There had been rumors that Remus and his friends had been trying to steal her away, as she'd been seen hanging out with them more. But the truth of it really seemed to be that Severus was leaving her to hang out with his Slytherin friends more and more, a group that Mason wanted no part of and didn't have a place in. Instead, she'd been coming to the Gryffindor table to spend more time with Lily and the boys, and wherever Mason went nowadays, Gideon wasn't far behind.

It'd been sort of a sore subject for James as well. Remus would see the joy and excitement of his friend as the person of his affections would come near and spend time with them, laugh with them. Then Remus would see that joy falter and subdue itself as Gideon would inevitably come near with his group of seventh-year friends, so he could sit next to Mason and take her hand in his. Remus had seen the glares sent to the couple's interlocked fingers, as if James could start a small fire between them and make them dislodge. Jealousy was never a good color on James. 

Remus could feel the fire in his lungs as he finally neared the sixth-year Slytherin. 

"Severus!" Remus gasped loudly. 

The black-haired boy stopped only a little ways from him and glanced at the Gryffindor with suspicion. 

"I need to talk to you," Remus said. He glanced briefly around the hallway to make sure no one was listening in too closely. 

"I don't. Tell Meae this was the shittiest way to apologize she's thought of yet." He answered. 

Remus paused in confusion for a moment before brushing it aside and continuing with what he had come for. 

"What, No. I need to ask you about Meae, because, well, frankly, if she was going to tell anyone, anything, it would be you," he continued. 

"Ask her yourself." Severus turned to continue down the hallway. 

"Is she serious about Gideon!?" Remus blurted out.

The Slytherin stopped again, and the two stared at each other. 

"He loves her," Remus stated.

"Seems that way," Severus responded. 

"What do you think about that?" Remus asked 

Severus raised an eyebrow as he squinted in deeper suspicion over where this conversation was going.

The Slytherin shrugged, "It doesn't really matter what I think. He likes her and treats her fairly, though I think it to be a waste of her time. I don't control her, unlike what some have come to think." He said sharply. 

"You think she's wasting her time? If she loves him, then that time wouldn't be a waste."

"What do you want, Lupin?" 

Remus could feel his hopes rising as the boy deflected his insinuation. "Does she like someone else?"

Severus sneered. "If you want to know about her, ask her yourself," he growled out. 

Remus nearly jumped for joy at the likely unconscious reaction. "Oh, you don't approve!" Remus pointed an accusing finger at Severus as he made his deductions. "She does like someone else!"

Severus scoffed. 

"Is it James?!" Remus asked excitedly

Severus turned around and started to walk away. 

"WAIT! SEVERUS! IS IT JAMES?!" Remus yelled after him. 

The Slytherin boy never stopped as he continued his way down the hallway before disappearing down a hall out of sight. 

Remus couldn't believe it. 

Meae liked James. 

He knew it!

Thank God! Remus was actually slightly worried on the way here; he wasn't sure if he'd be able to decipher all that was Severus Snape. The Slytherin could be pretty hard to read sometimes. Moreover, what if even he couldn't decipher the other boy? Or Severus told him Mason was in love with Gideon?! That could have been a nightmare.  

No problem, though everything worked the way Sirius expected. Remus groaned to himself. Sirius was going to be so smug about this, he knew. The boy was going to wear a cocky smirk on his handsome face, igniting the lonely hearts around him for years. 

Remus sighed in pre-emptive exhaustion before chuckling to himself. 

"What a bastard..." He whispered, "can't believe he was right about this."

He groaned as he turned himself around and began hurrying his way back to Gryffindor Tower. 

He needed to tell the boys what he learned.