Some Day | Wolfstar

Twenty-five

Sirius had no choice but to attend dinner, knowing that McGonagall might notice if he was missing. He was the last to enter the dining hall, having stalled for as long as he could. He usually sat between James and Lily. But on that night, all three of his best friends had moved so that next to Lily sat Remus, then James, and then Peter. They had obviously tried to create as much distance as possible between Remus and himself.

Leave it to his friends to be subtle.

Sirius sat down next to Peter. He looked to his right where everyone was seated. No one made eye contact with him except for Lily, who gave him an apologetic smile. Sirius looked away. She'd never smile at him if she knew. Sitting in a different place after years of sitting somewhere else felt uncomfortable. The view was different, and he didn't have James by his side.

Sirius couldn't remember a time he didn't have James by his side, at least figuratively. Well, he could. If he tried. But he preferred not to.

He looked at the staff table. McGonagall was looking at her Gryffindor students, while Dumbledore was staring right at him. Sirius blushed when McGonagall nudged the headmaster, who immediately put on a great show of being immersed in conversation with her.

Sirius looked away. He didn't help himself to any food, knowing he wouldn't eat it either way. He just wanted to get out of the accursed place and start working on the cure with Severus.

Sirius shook his head, staring at his empty plate. Who would've thought there would ever come a day where he wanted to leave his friends to spend time with Severus Snape?

When the students started leaving in twos and threes and occasionally singly, he stood up. He looked at Remus, who caught his eye and immediately looked the other way. James glared at him, as if protecting Remus from his very presence.

Nothing had hurt him like that look. He could've handled it from anyone but him. Even Remus. But not James.

Sirius walked straight to the third floor. He entered the usual classroom, and settled in a corner by a window. He didn't bother producing any light or warmth. None of it would've made a difference.

For Regulus. I have to keep myself together for Regulus. He has no one but me.

Sirius rolled his sleeves up before Severus arrived. He had tried concealing the new burns. But it took so much concentration to focus on just the burns, and not the surrounding skin. Sirius was too tired and his mind was too busy for that kind of exertion.

Severus appeared sharp at midnight, clad in his dark, billowing robes. They gave his lean frame a more rigid appearance.

"Trouble in not-so paradise?"

Sirius looked at him, surprised. "Potter seemed quite excited to talk to you at dinner. What did you do? Erase his memory?" Severus took out a thick book from under his massive cloak, and slipped it off of his shoulders. He draped it on a chair and looked at Sirius.

He hadn't expected Sirius to look so terrible. If Severus had held a snowy owl next to him, the owl would've looked darker. The silky black curls framing his face only worked to enhance the unbecoming pallor of his skin.

He looked dead.

Ssverus held his hand out, and Sirius gave him his left hand. Sure enough, there were more marks on his white skin. Red and angry.

"I tried concealing them but..." his voice was thick with what seemed to be a cold. Severus gave him a vial of Pepper-Up and set to work on his arm. Sirius hissed in pain when the tip of the wand touched the mutilated skin but Severus held his arm in a tight grip, not allowing him to pull it back. He was done soon enough.

"You burnt yourself because you had a fight with your friend?" Severus smirked. "I was always aware of the fondness you had for drama, but I must admit I never thought it this great."

Sirius only said, "You don't understand."

Severus shrugged, "Try me, Black. You might change your mind." He set up the cauldron and added a dark liquid into it.

The invitation to get everything off his chest was too tempting to be refused. With Severus, there were no repercussions. They were strangers at day, and slightly expressive strangers at night. Severus didn't ask. He only listened.

"You really did erase someone's memory." Was all Severus said after he had told him what had happened. Sirius shrugged in response. "The potion won't be done for at least one more hour. Have some rest," Severus said, producing another vial from his pocket.

How many potions does he carry around?

"Just one drop," he advised. Sirius took a drop of it and gave the bottle back. He laid his head on the table and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

***

There were four chair-men, each cursed with Nigrae radicae, laid out on the floor. It was a rather morbid sight, only made bearable by the fact that they were not sentient beings. Each was given a different potion.

Sirius and Severus were firing all sorts of spells at them. It was like searching for a needle in a stack of needles. There were few obvious spells they could eliminate, like Expeliarmus and Suspendo momentum, but there were still so many to tes.

But so far, nothing had worked at all.

Sirius was tiring fast. He had had no lunch or dinner, and he wasn't running on good sleep.

"Need a break?" Severus asked when he saw him stumble forward after casting a jet of red sparks, to no effect.

Sirius shook his head stubbornly. Rolling his eyes, Severus grabbed his arm and practially threw him on to a chair. He conjured a cup. "Aguamenti!" A a clear stream of water flowed from the tip of his wand and into the cup, which he then handed over to Sirius.

"Thank you," Sirius mumbled. "Wait here. I will be back soon." Severus left.

"Looks like it's just gonna be us," Sirius sighed, raising his cup towards the bodies on the floor. "Cheers." He emptied the cup in just one go.