The Slytherin Common Room was silent but for the scratching of a quill. A thin-framed boy bent closely over a book at one of the polished mahogany tables, his lank black hair almost obscuring all facial features but for an unusually large nose, which was almost brushing the page as he wrote.
At precisely 112 degrees Fahrenheit, add two sprigs of Wormwood, thinly sliced. Remove Allium bulb. For a delayed reaction stir potion in a slow anti-clockwise direction three times with an aluminium spoon for three hours' delay, four times for four hours, and so on… If a tasteless undetectable solution is preferred, the addition of three Mermaid's tears at this point is recommended.
The boy smirked and straightened up, his eyes glittering triumphantly. Reaching for his wand he muttered a charm to make the text illegible to none but him.
One trial brewing and his newly invented Potion would be ready.
"Pass the carrots will you, Padfoot?"
Padfoot stuffed half a Cumberland sausage in his mouth and scowled. "Get them yourself, Wormtail. Accio's not that hard."
Wormtail put on a pathetic face and a wheedly whine. "Prongs…will you-"
Abruptly the large bowl of steaming carrots lifted from its place on the table, flew across and dumped its entire contents on top of the whining boy's dinner.
Wormtail's mouth twisted. "Well, I like carrots, but…" He trailed off as he looked at the steaming orange mountain on his plate, and the gravy oozing all over the tablecloth.
"-you are too lazy to get them yourself," finished James coolly. "Time and time again."
A frown gathered above Wormtail's eyes. "What's with you two today?" He turned toward his last friend sitting diagonally across from him at the table, (or rather, where his last friend should have been – as in his place appeared to be a large open copy of the Daily Prophet, and two sets of fingers.)
"Moony…?"
There was a swift rustling sound as the newspaper was lifted up even higher.
Wormtail pouted. "Why isn't anyone speaking to me? What have I done?"
Sirius put down his fork with a clatter and looked back at his friend strangely. "You don't know what you've done? Moony told me earlier that he saw you slipping something into my drink this morning. What the hell was it?"
Wormtail's mouth hung open, his little eyes widened with shock. "No I never!" He squeaked.
James looked haughtily down his nose. "Like you always deny leaving the soap and towels on the shower room floor, Peter. Yeah, we believe you."
"But…but…" Wormtail's eyes goggled and he looked away speechless. He didn't put anything in anyone's drink at breakfast time!
Come to think about it, he couldn't even remember breakfast time…
Frowning, his eyes wandered over to the Slytherin table and fixed on the skinniest, ugliest boy there, who currently seemed to be staring back across at the Gryffindor table. Their eyes met. Even from that distance Wormtail caught the slight twitch of the boy's eyebrow.
"Snivellus made me do it!" Rushed Wormtail at once, looking pleadingly at his friends. "I know he did!"
Sirius snorted. "We haven't been near the Greaseball all day, stop trying to worm out of it."
"Ha ha," scowled Wormtail. "But…" his eyes shot back to the Slytherin, who proceeded to give him a huge smirk.
"Look…Prongs…Padfoot he's smirking! There, he did it!"
Sirius yawned and added finishing touches to his mashed potato volcano, James rolled his eyes. "The little bastard is always smirking Wormy. When does he ever not smirk?"
Wormtail gave his most pleading look. "Well…he didn't smirk when you zapped him with one of his own hexes did he Prongs…?"
James cocked his head to one side, a reminiscent gleam in his eye.
"Well…no…but…"
"We'll get him later anyway, whatever," growled Padfoot. "But we're still not talking to you until you own up."
"If you are going to get him later, Sirius, don't forget you have detention with Professor Sprout at eight," reminded the newspaper loudly.
"Oh…crap."
James smirked. "Tut, tut, Padfoot; what did you do to upset old Brussels Sprout this time? It wouldn't be a certain little doggy digging up her vegetable gardens again, would it?"
Sirius shrugged nonchalantly and raked his fingers through his hair. "No. I don't know. Some girl passed me a love letter and I got caught with it."
"It wasn't an ordinary love letter, Sirius," commented the newspaper mildly.
"A noisy love letter?" James smirked evilly. "Come on, tell me!"
Sirius frowned. "No way!"
"Aw, come on…" With a lazy flick of his wand a grinning James had Sirius's drinking glass hovering some ten feet up in the air.
"Get stuffed Prongs! And give me my juice back!"
As Sirius grabbed hold of the end of James's wand, the glass wobbled mid air, and dribbled juice all over Lupin's newspaper.
"Guys…do you mind…?" sighed Remus wearily. "For your information James, Samantha Lacey sent that love letter."
"Ayyyy…whooo, Luscious Lacey!" Jeered Prongs playfully, poking Padfoot in the ribs. Wormtail sniggered.
"I don't even fancy her," huffed Sirius. "Don't bloody know why she keeps trying!"
"I know why she keeps trying," sniggered Wormtail.
Sirius scowled at him. "Shut up. And I'm still not speaking to you." He stuck his spoon into the centre of his mashed potato volcano and stood up. "Come on Prongs, let's go back to the Common Room."
Prongs frowned. "But we haven't had pudding yet!"
"Yeah, well I'm not that hungry," he replied vaguely. "I might go outside actually, get some fresh air. It's a bit stuffy in here."
Prongs shrugged. "Yeah fine, whatever. See you in the Common Room later then."
Wormtail watched Sirius leave the hall and then turned his gaze back on his friends. James wasn't even looking at him, and Remus was still buried in his soggy newspaper. Twirling his dessertspoon, Peter let out a long sigh and glanced back across to the Slytherin table to notice an empty space. Snape had disappeared.
Someone else obviously wasn't hungry enough for pudding either.
Sirius walked purposefully along the corridors, nothing on his mind but getting outside for some fresh air. He had a really weird headache, and he was sure that bit of Cumberland sausage hadn't agreed with him…
He reached the main Entrance Hall and stopped dead. There was the door to the outside.
And there was the door to the Slytherin Dungeons.
Sirius frowned and shook his head. No, it was outside he wanted. Outside. Why the hell did he want to go into the dungeons? The dungeons were even stuffier and stank of a thousand sweaty potions ingredients. Like Snivellus.
Sirius breathed in very slowly, his eyes dilating.
Snivellus.
Smirking Snivellus
Unbidden and unwanted, Sirius felt a pleasurable tingle run all up his back in thinking of the name, and then abruptly about something else less innocent, which he instantly countered by an outward exclamation of disgust.
"Ugh! Merlin's bollocks, I'm going mad!"
There was a dry snicker behind him. "Are you really, Black?"
Sirius spun on the spot to come face to face with the very person he least wanted to see right then.
"Speak of the devil…" He growled, but even as he said these words he could feel an undeniable sense of excitement coiling around in his stomach…and as it was coiling, it was growing…
"And he shall…come?" sneered back Severus Snape.
Sirius closed his eyes and groaned as the coiling in his stomach was increasingly joined by the thudding of his heart, and then finally, scarily, a certain movement in his trousers.
"I'm going to absolutely kill you for this Snape," moaned Black.
Snape quirked an eyebrow, his eyes agleam with obvious amusement. "I daresay you would, Black, but unfortunately this particular potion tends to have the unfortunate side effect of memory loss…"
Sirius fought to control himself. That voice. That voice…it was so sarcastic….sexy… Undeniable, irresistible….
His eyes snapped open and looked straight back into the eyes of his tricker. And as he stared, and the boy stared back he recognised the look in his eyes for what it was.
Passion.
Oh horror of horrors, was it possible that Snivellus Snape fancied him?
"So…" whispered Snape. "Now we are on the same wavelength…where would you like to go tonight?"
In spite of all, Sirius found himself finding the question rather funny. "Go? Go where!" He barked.
Snape sneered. "Well, seeing as you are currently so…helplessly infatuated with a queer…" he spat out this word as if he hated it, "it won't do for us to loiter anywhere too public, would it? Imagine what would happen, Black, say, a certain pack of Gryffindors roved past…?"
"Outside then …" groaned Sirius, trying his best to quell the ridiculously hot passion, which was bearing down on him like a herd of stampeding Hippogriffs.
Snape smirked and essayed a mock bow. "After me."
Snape turned abruptly toward the main doors forcing Sirius to follow, and deal with the murderous task of fighting the urge to take a run and jump at the boy's sexy arse.
The huge main door creaked open a crack, and a spatter of autumn rain slanted in, wetting the floor tiles. Snape scowled.
"It's still raining."
Sirius cocked an eyebrow and shrugged. "So?"
Snape stared back at him uncertainly, then, at noticing Sirius's obvious disappointment, his smirk returned.
Sirius managed to follow Snape outside a short way down the side of the castle wall before he could hold back no longer, with a quiet moan he closed the gap between them and outstretched an arm. Snape jumped slightly as Black's fingers touched his shoulder, but he didn't pull away. Sirius circled him and moved closer.
"Take my hands," he breathed quietly. Snape did.
The two boys stood face to face, their chests touching, their arms entwined. Nothing but the dull lamplight in the darkness. No sound but the pouring rain.
"How long have you wanted me?" breathed Sirius finally.
The other boy was silent a moment, almost hesitant. "A year."
"A year!" Sirius didn't know whether to be astounded or horrified. He looked down at the Slytherin, his hair even lanker looking than ever now it was getting wet. The raindrops, snaking slowly down his arched nose. They stared at one another again.
Suddenly and unpredictably Snape grabbed hold of him and hugged him tightly, so tightly in fact that Sirius felt the very breath was knocked out of his lungs.
He reeled in a sort of shock and wonder. It was unbelievable. The skinny little Slytherin everyone hated was in love with him. Yet for all his dirty innuendo he was hesitant, almost afraid.
Well, Sirius knew for sure, with the Potion raging through his senses, that he was not. Bending his head down, he placed his hand gently on the side of Severus's face and guided him into their first rain-soaked kiss.
Sirius discovered that Snape was neither a great kisser nor a passionate kisser, but the hardness pressing against his upper thigh told him it was due to a lack of practice and confidence, rather than desire. Sirius began to feel the boy's shoulders with his other hand, bony and angular under the soaked robes, and then gradually slid his hand right down his back to his arse, feeling Snape shiver excitedly under his touch. Sirius felt his excitement mounting still more as the other boy pressed forward and began to rub against him. And then even more as the other boy began to breathe more and more heavily.
And then finally…
"Black…" gasped out Snape.
Sirius broke off the kiss for a moment as a breath of excitement caught in his throat. Snape stood back, panting shakily and began to fumble with his robes. Sirius copied him.
This was it.
Sirius closed his eyes and waited, listening to his pounding heart and the pattering of the falling rain.
And waited.
And waited.
"Snape…?"
No reply.
Sirius opened his eyes just as the castle door thudded shut.
A/N: Please review or comment - this is my first bit of SS.SB slash ever, so slightly nervous and I would love to know how I did! I am planning a sequel already, called "About a Boy." :o)