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Severus looked around, a little worried, but always very aware of any suspicious movements. It was enough that he had to deal with the constant bullying coming from the Marauders, but it was even worse to be harassed inside the communal hall of his house, because when that happened, he had nowhere to run. But if he thought about it, Severus would surely rather deal a thousand times with Avery and his pathetic insults than with the Gryffindor students who would surely one day find a way to kill him.

It wasn't the first time he'd ventured into the castle after curfew. When you have some objectives, you have to take risks, and Severus was a boy of many objectives. He might not be the typical Slytherin, at least not in the sense of wealth and prestige, but he was headstrong and had a stubbornness that could rival that of many Hogwarts students. So it was no surprise that he knew how to get around, even if he didn't have all the dexterity in the world and constantly came close to getting caught.

But Severus wouldn't have been exposing himself like that that day if he hadn't been coerced—no, threatened! Regulus, a person who should be easily accessible to him considering they were from the same house, didn't stop pestering Severus for a week until he agreed to meet him after curfew. Regulus hinted that no one could know about what the two of them were doing, even his fellow slytherins. If Severus didn't know him, he would be afraid of some sort of ambush.

Though it wasn't crazy to think that this could be some kind of prank by the Marauders. Regulus was not a hard-to-reach boy, and who was to assure Severus that Sirius Black somehow didn't take a strand of his hair, make some polyjuice potion, and impersonate Regulus? If Severus didn't doubt the Marauders' intellect, he would have returned to the Slytherin communal hall that very moment, but he still believed that there was no possibility of any of those four making a polyjuice potion that worked that well.

It was only because of that that Severus continued. And really, how fortunate that he held firm, because Regulus wouldn't be kind at all if Severus didn't show up.

"Ah, finally!" Regulus Black was a funny boy, but in a good way. Severus thought he could be a model since he was that tall and creative, but all the muggles would probably fear him.

The room they had arranged to meet in was dusty, probably hadn't been used in years. Severus wished he could know how Regulus found a place like that, but maybe he didn't really want to know. While they didn't have the same level of friendship Severus had with Lily, he knew Regulus' habits, as well as knowing about his nightly meetings.

"Well, I promised I'd be here, didn't I?" Severus grumbled, crossing his arms "What do you want?"

Regulus smiled in an almost devilish way, and to Severus that didn't look good at all.

"I needed a person brave enough to be my... Helper."

Severus frowned, "Brave? I am the perfect slytherin. I will run away as soon as you come close to poisoning me."

"Stop being pessimistic, I would never poison you." Regulus rolled his eyes, approaching Severus with a lightness in his step "I have been testing some spells, and I think you would benefit from some of them."

"Spells?" Severus repeated, a little surprised. Regulus, despite his good grades, really didn't like studying, let alone developing anything outside of class. He, curious as it seemed, was quite fond of Quidditch.

"Silly stuff, but some stuff that I really think makes a difference." Regulus explained, guiding Severus to a single pulled up chair in the middle of the room, sitting him there with ease "I promise it's nothing dangerous."

"If it's nothing dangerous, why don't you test it only on yourself?" Severus grumbled, suspicious.

Regulus looked at him as if Severus was behaving like a little six-year-old, which wasn't so off. 

"Sev, trust me, okay?"

Severus shouldn't, he knew that well, but it wasn't possible for Regulus to do something incapable of being undone, and he really didn't want to discourage his friend like that. Although a little apprehensive, Severus found himself agreeing, and Regulus cracked a big smile.

By the time Regulus finished, Severus was sure it must have been a few hours past curfew, but he didn't really feel any different. If anything, Severus felt that absolutely nothing had happened during those hours that Regulus had stood pointing his wand at him and muttering incomprehensible spells.

"See, nothing happened!" Regulus said, still smiling.

Severus stared at him with some irritation, "And that's a good thing?"

"Nothing bad happened, Sev." Regulus corrected, rolling his eyes, "All the spells worked, and I mentioned they're small things, so you won't see the effects until a few days from now, I imagine."

"What did you do, anyway?" Severus asked, getting to his feet. He really didn't feel any different.

"Well, I've been brewing a lot of potions recently, and I've found that my hair gets terribly greasy because of the steam from the cauldron. It's terrible." Severus agreed. He knew that well. "So I developed a spell that helps block this overproduction of oil, and it's worked quite well for me, so I figured you'd like it too."

"Ah... You kept me here for hours for that?"

"Of course not!" Regulus complained, frowning "I've also developed a few other spells related to silly stuff, and one of them increases your chance of whitening your teeth after every brush, you know, it's quite useful for you, who survives on caffeine! And others that have a tranquilizing effect so you can sleep like a baby, and another spell that helps the better absorption of vitamins... You'll feel better in the coming days, I promise!"

Severus sighed, certain that there wouldn't be a spell that could stop him from stressing himself out, not while he was studying at Hogwarts.

"You know, as long as I don't get strangled to death out there, I don't care." Severus said wearily "I want to go to sleep. Can we leave?"

Regulus seemed to have heard exactly what he wanted, because he agreed without hesitation.

"To the dungeons!”

The passing days proved surprising to Severus. He actually felt lighter, and his hair actually no longer seemed to try to compensate in oil production like before, which made it lighter and shinier, healthier. And Severus noticed that his skin, naturally prone to acne because of this overproduction, had cleared up quite a bit as well, something new to him, who dealt with pimples constantly. But perhaps the biggest change was the fact that Severus could sleep peacefully now, for an entire night without being interrupted by nightmares.

Severus thought that no one but Regulus would notice these changes, but his dorm mates had commented that Severus seemed more cheerful — even though he didn't remember smiling at any point. Narcisa even seemed delighted with the new softness of Severus' hair, and began playing with his hair as if Severus were a doll, trying out new hairstyles, laughing softly with Lucius, who encouraged her to continue despite Severus' protests.

After Narcisa pinned Severus's hair in a half ponytail, she looked right into his face, widened her eyes and said,

“Oh my, Severus, you are quite handsome when you are not hiding behind your hair!” 

Severus knew he had to go or he would never be left alone again, and that's what he did.

He never cared about his appearance. No matter what he did, Severus would never be like some other boys who were conveniently attractive, and he had already learned to deal with that. Still, Severus wasn't made of iron, and he didn't want to have to hear anything about his own appearance, even if it was something positive, because it aroused feelings in him that Severus didn't want to deal with. Therefore, he bid Narcisa a quick farewell and flew away from there.

Unfortunately he ran into Regulus soon after, and he seemed terribly pleased to see him, which wasn't always a good thing.

"Sev, I like what you've done with your hair!" Regulus complimented, but soon frowned "But I think so— Wait— Ah, perfect!" he muttered, smoothing Severus' hair despite the latter's protests, bringing his fringes forward. It fell gently under Severus' eyes, not as severely as before.

"This is your fault." Severus complained, slapping Regulus' hand away. He continued walking, and Regulus obviously followed him.

"I wouldn't thank someone in that way, but since you said it so kindly—! "

"You're an idiot." Severus hissed.

Regulus, despite his offense, laughed, patting Severus on the back.

"Ah, but don't you see that this is actually a good thing? Our mates haven't been bothering you anymore, have they? I haven't seen anyone from Slytherin speak ill of you this weekend."

Severus could not deny that fact. It was no surprise to him that people from Slytherin cared that much about someone's appearance, but he always figured that no matter what he did, he would never be accepted by them anyway. Severus soon discovered, then, that those few things actually mattered a great deal, and he had in fact not been so troubled in recent days.

"And Lucius gave you his old school uniforms too, didn't he? Which are in great condition, by the way." Regulus said, tugging at Severus' uniform, who, irritated, tried to pull away from him. Regulus laughed "I knew it would help you, Sev. At least now the people of our house won't bother you as much."

"Well, that doesn't change much." Severus grumbled, a little embarrassed. He really wasn't good at thanking people "The rest of the school still hates me."

Regulus sighed. He couldn't say that was a lie.

"At least inside the communal hall you'll have peace." He muttered, and Severus felt a little bad that he couldn't openly tell Regulus how much he appreciated the gesture.

"Yeah." Severus huffed, terribly embarrassed.

They made their way in silence through the halls of the school, and then parted with silent nods. Regulus had other classes for being a year behind Severus. Sometimes, even if that wasn't really a good thing for his curriculum, Severus wished he could delay a year of his studies just so he could spend more time with Regulus. After he and Lily started to drift apart a bit, that desire only intensified, but the two of them were fine now, so Severus was able to ignore it much better recently. 

And unfortunately, since Severus was still very conscious of needing a good curriculum to survive, he was still a good student, which meant taking classes with people he disliked. Most of them weren't that terrible, but the ones he had with the gryffindors were really obnoxious. After such a quiet weekend, Severus almost didn't want to remember what it was like to be completely hated.

To Severus' surprise, however, when he entered the Potions classroom, he was not immediately cursed. In fact, because he had arrived earlier than necessary trying to get away from Narcisa, few students were there. Most of them were from Slytherin, of course, but the Gryffindor students made no mention of attacking him. In fact, most of them looked... Charmed? Or was that expression one of fright?

"S-Snape?" one of the girls asked, wide-eyed.

Severus restrained the urge to growl at her, just rolling his eyes and heading to his seat. For some reason, everyone's stares were really annoying and embarrassing for Severus, and he couldn't help but blush.

He almost huffed as he sat up and noticed that people were still staring at him. He was used to getting attention, but not like that. People usually couldn't stand to stare at him for so long, quickly ignoring him after jinxing him. That kind of good attention was almost impossible to handle, probably because Severus never expected to have it.

"I didn't know the school accepted new students in the middle of the year!" And then Severus heard the voice he perhaps hated most in the world, perhaps even more than Tobias' voice, and he knew the day could only get worse from there.

Sirius Black.

Severus braced himself to be jinxed and cussed, but as always, he also turned around with a countenance that exuded confidence, because as much as he couldn't defend himself very well against the Marauders, not because of a lack of skill, but because Severus knew it usually never ended well for him, he at least wouldn't go down without showing something. But when he turned around and found himself facing Sirius and his other friends, Severus wasn't immediately jinxed. In fact, much like his other classmates, Sirius and the Marauders stared at him wide-eyed.

"S-Snivellus?" Sirius choked, surprised "What the fuck —"

"What's the matter, Black, cat got your tongue?" Severus grumbled, frustrated. He could handle the immediate jinxing and swearing, but all that hesitation made him anxious.

"What the hell happened—" 

"Students, I see you're all here!" Slughorn entered the room, smiling as always, cutting off what Sirius was about to say "Please, everyone in their seats."

Severus didn't bother to continue looking at Sirius and the Marauders , but soon noticed, behind James Potter, Lily, who was staring at him with the same surprise stamped on her other classmates' faces. Severus frowned at her, and Lily seemed to awaken from the trance she was in, but because of Slughorn's presence, neither of them said anything. Lily just gave him an awkward smile and went to sit with a Gryffindor girl.

Sirius Black decided to take the seat next to Severus, becoming his partner for the class. Normally he would only choose to do this to upset Severus even more, but to the surprise of not only Snape, but also the rest of the class who were used to his little pranks, Sirius behaved perfectly. Sure, he was still staring at Severus as if something was very wrong, but he didn't do anything beyond that, and Severus found that he coped much better with this quiet Sirius, even if he still got nervous about his unusual silence.

Because of Sirius' inability to stop staring at him in that odd way, Severus was left in charge of making the class potion pretty much by himself, which didn't genuinely annoy him. Still, every time he looked at Sirius and caught him staring at him with that strained, weird expression, Severus couldn't help but clench his jaw, a little annoyed. He could at least pretend he was doing something!

"By Merlin, you really are worthless." Severus grumbled, nervously tucking his fringes behind his ears, trying to calm himself down.

“ Watch it, Snivellus.” Sirius finally decided to react, frowning, irritated "It's not because you're like this now— Well, like—, it's not because you're like this that I'm going to be nice!"

It was Severus' turn to frown, staring at Sirius as if he had grown a second head.

"What are you talking about, you imbecile?" Severus hissed, but soon decided to ignore it, turning to the potion "You know what, never mind. I prefer you to be quiet."

And Sirius did indeed remain quiet for the remainder of the class, and when it was over, he was the first to leave, letting even his own friends behind, who stared at Severus with different expressions of anger and confusion. Remus actually looked strangely resigned to something, but Severus had always assumed he was the most controlled of the gryffindors.

Lily approached after the Marauders had gone after Sirius, staring at Severus with a certain glint in her eyes that made him shiver from head to toe. It was the same gleam in Narcisa's eyes earlier.

"Sev, you look amazing! I love what you've done with your hair!" She complimented, touching his fringes with an almost childlike admiration.

Severus sighed. He was going to kill Regulus.

The weirdness with Sirius Black didn't stop there, let alone the girls' sudden female obsession with Severus' hair, to his complete horror. Regulus, meanwhile, seemed to be having a great time, and Lucius also seemed to be smiling a little too much.

At least he could tell he was no longer the target of constant bullying, even if James Potter did try to jinx him a few times here and there for no reason — as always, in fact. But Lily soon shooed him away, much more firmly than she normally would be, and Potter left mumbling something about growing his hair out too and how stupid Sirius was, which Severus agreed with, as terrible as it sounded to agree with James Potter of all people.

The constant attention still wasn't good, and Severus really couldn't handle compliments. Apparently his face wasn't so bad when it wasn't obscured by his formerly greasy hair, and the spell that helped whiten his teeth with every brush also seemed to help his appearance a little. But Severus was still the same grumpy slytherin he always was, and that was still a problem for certain people. Other people, however, started talking about fixing him, and Severus, while not knowing what that meant, certainly didn't want to be around to be anyone's target.

So he was still hiding around the halls of the school, this time out of an entirely different fear. Severus honestly didn't know if he would one day be able to deal with what was happening, and really considered going back to his old appearance and undoing the spells. Not that he thought Lily or Narcisa would allow it, however, and despite the two of them disliking each other terribly, they seemed genuinely interested recently in sharing him, as if he were a life-sized doll. Every day one of them would terrify him into being able to tinker with his hair, to do something different.

That day he had his hair pinned up in that usual half ponytail, but Lily had braided two small braids up the sides of his hair, letting the fringes again fall a little over Severus' face. It wasn't anything too unusual, but he still felt uncomfortable and a little vulnerable. But he wouldn't mess with that hairstyle, not anymore, really. After he tried and was threatened by Lily and Narcisa, Severus decided to let them do as they pleased.

The good part about being talented at hiding, after years of practice, was that Severus knew a few places in Hogwarts with little presence of people, and as surprising as it seemed, the library had one corner in particular that no students really ventured into. Many books in that small area were useless, basically, and Severus had never seen a student even go there, which quickly became a good thing for him. 

Severus could sit by the window and read any book he wanted without being disturbed, which was genuinely one of the best things he could do, especially at that odd time. And that was exactly what Severus decided to do, collecting a book on potions under his arm and heading towards his particular corner. The only problem was that, for some reason, just after sitting down to read, he was disturbed by none other than Sirius Black!

"It's not bloody possible that you are here to bother me right now." Severus grumbled "What do you want, Black?"

"You—!" Sirius said too loudly, soon looking around in fear of being scolded for his tone. When he wasn't, he turned to Severus with his index finger pointing at him, but much quieter now "It's all your fault!"

"Oh, yes, terrible me!" Severus sneered, closing the book "Tell me, Black, what have I done now?"

Sirius, however, looked genuinely frustrated and, honestly, a little insane. Severus noticed how he was looking at him again in that strange way, but this time the combination of that look with the accentuated dark circles under his eyes and messy hair gave him the image of a madman. 

"Don't pretend you don't know!" Sirius moved closer, trapping Severus in a corner against the window. This close, Severus could see every detail of Sirius Black, and it was annoying how right people were when they talked about how attractive he was "It's been days since I— People at school have been talking— Ah!" Sirius trailed off, bringing his hands to his head. 

Severus swallowed dryly. He could handle the normal Sirius Black, the one who irritated and frustrated him. This unpredictable and honestly slightly deranged Sirius Black wasn't really ideal.

"By Merlin, Black, what the hell happened to you." Severus muttered, frowning.

Sirius turned quickly to him, again pointing out "You happened!"

"I can't understand how I could have done anything to you being that I barely stay near you!"

My life would be so much simpler if that was the problem!" Sirius almost shouted "If you were just your usual self who walks around with your shoulders in and greasy hair, I could ignore you! I could jinx you! I could ignore that I for some reason am really apa—"

"Sirius!" Remus appeared as well, sighing in relief at finding his friend. He held him by the shoulder, and Sirius immediately shut up. "Severus, I'm sorry, he ran off after arguing with James and—"

"I don't really care." Severus grumbled, turning away from the two "Just get him out of here."

Remus winced, but agreed, pulling Sirius away from Severus. When the two of them were finally gone, Severus realised he wasn't going to be able to read anymore. His peace had totally gone with that strange visit from Sirius Black.

Severus hadn't expected to see Sirus Black so soon after what had happened, but to his surprise, Sirius appeared very early the next day in front of the dungeons. A few slytherins who passed by mocked him, but Sirius just stared at them in that confident and slightly annoyed way and they eventually dispersed. When he saw Severus, however, Sirius quickly suppressed his expression into something more neutral.

"Sni— Snape." He huffed, looking down at the ground.

"What do you want?" Severus muttered, not really getting very close.

Sirius swallowed dryly, still not looking him in the eye, looking tense and nervous. Severus kind of liked it. It was nice not to see him emitting all that usual confidence for once.

"I came to apologise for yesterday." Sirius whispered, so low that Severus thought he had heard wrong.

"What?" 

"I came to apologize!" Sirius repeated, louder now, clearly frustrated, looking Severus in the eye. The slytherins still exiting the dungeon looked at him with disdain, but Sirius didn't cower "Not just for yesterday, but for the other times too... When I bothered you."

"When you bullied me, you mean."

Sirius flinched, but nodded. Severus closed his hands into fists, a little angry.

"What kind of prank are you guys up to now, I wonder." Severus said, irritated.

"It's not a prank! I swear on James' life, I just—" he made a sound of frustration, not looking into Severus' eyes again "I just— Well, Remus said that— It doesn't matter now! I just came to apologize not only for yesterday, but also for everything I did to you, okay? You can accept it or not." he mumbled the last part, seeming to hate the idea of Severus denying him this forgiveness.

Not that Severus knew what the hell to do with an apology coming from Sirius Black, especially when he didn't really fully believe in that apology. But he honestly didn't have much more time to waste there, and it was best not to take seriously any nonsense Sirius might have spoken recently because he was acting strange, after all. Severus thought he might have been cursed.

"Okay, fine." Severus decided to say eventually, and Sirius seemed genuinely pleased to hear him accept the apology. Severus almost believed him. "That was all? I need to get to class now."

Sirius, however, seemed not to have really liked this dismissal, clearly disappointed, as if he expected something else. Severus almost scoffed — did he think that it was like that? That he was going to apologise and Severus was going to smile and thank him? 

"Yeah, that was it." Sirius muttered, and Severus just nodded before walking away, not bothering to say goodbye to him.

For Severus, that year at Hogwarts couldn't have gotten any weirder than it already was, but the next few weeks really proved inexplicable for him. None of the Marauders bothered him anymore after the day Sirius Black apologised, even though Potter still stared at him angrily here and there. Some students from other houses still bothered Severus, but without the four main antagonists chasing him through the corridors, people quickly forgot about Severus.

If someone had told him that eventually life at Hogwarts was going to be peaceful, Severus would have laughed, but now that he was living for the first time since he started studying there the closest thing to a normal experience, Severus couldn't deny that this was a good oddity. If only these strange facts had remained just that, he would be much happier and less confused. As it turned out, something even stranger happened.

Despite having very few social skills, Severus could still recognise when someone wanted to approach him. He wasn't that inept. And Sirius Black, of all people, spent weeks trying to approach him relentlessly. He acted a lot like Regulus at first, trying to use humour, trying to get a reaction out of Severus, but Sirius was so clumsy that he could barely really complete any joke without getting frustrated and walking away in anger.

Severus should be finding this all very funny, but the truth was that as the weeks went by he was becoming more and more confused — and worse than that, he was more and more susceptible to simply accepting Sirius Black's presence. At first he had worked tirelessly to keep the boy away from him, even threatening to jinx him, but Sirius had proved even more stubborn, insisting on at least talking to Severus once a day. Remus, too, seemed somehow involved in this crazy plan, but Severus tolerated him far better than Sirius did.

Even if Remus was a coward unable to stop his friends from bullying him before, Severus admired his intelligence, which was already much more than he thought of Sirius Black, James Potter or Peter Pettigrew. 

Still, maybe Severus really did have a heart after all, because Black's insistence eventually won him over, and now Severus wouldn't even try to chase him away anymore. He still didn't really entertain Sirius, but he also didn't stare at him like he was the scum of the world anymore. And Sirius also seemed to have learned to be less chaotic around Severus, keeping more still, which really helped his case. Severus suspected that Lily had helped him, somehow, because overnight, Sirius had become much more tolerable.

Which still didn't change the fact that Severus kind of hated him — maybe?

"Snape!" Sirius nodded, and Severus thought about ignoring him, but Lily was also with him and Severus wasn't strong enough to ignore her yet.

"What do you want?" Severus muttered, not without first directing a brief smile at Lily. Sirius' eyes followed the movement, and he spoke only after Severus stared at him with some impatience.

"You should go to Hogsmead with me." Sirius said, and Lily gave him a not at all discreet elbow, making Sirius groan softly in pain "Please?"

Severus frowned, "No."

"But—!"

"Sev." Lily scolded him, but Severus just rolled his eyes.

"Why on earth would I go to Hogsmead with him?" 

"Well, Sirius asked gently."

"You literally just hurt him to remind him to say please."

"Why are you people talking about me like I'm not here?" Black whined.

Severus rolled his eyes.

"I won't. I bet this is the final part of your plan and you and your little friends will pull a prank that will probably get me killed or, worse, leave me alive long enough to deal with the consequences."

"Sev, I promise, Sirius isn't planning anything." Lily touched Severus' arm, looking at him in that way that made him give in very quickly "Not him, nor his idiot friends."

"Then why does he want me—"

"I just want to spend time with you!" Sirius, impatient and frustrated, interrupted him. Severus noted with some delight that he was blushing "Please?"

Lily stared at Severus with a smile, "See, he asked please on his own this time."

Severus rolled his eyes, but he had already accepted it the moment Lily looked at him in that way that told him she knew exactly what was best for him.

"Whatever." Severus muttered, also a little embarrassed "You want to go tomorrow?"

Sirius smiled, that big, attractive smile full of confidence.

"Yes, right after breakfast. Will you meet me at the school entrance?"

"That's fine." Severus said, trying to ignore the weird tingling sensation in his fingertips, that weird nervousness he hadn't felt in years — maybe since he and Lily had entered Hogwarts.

As agreed, Severus went to meet Sirius at the castle entrance. He was alone, which wasn't really a surprise, but Severus still looked around expecting any of the other Marauders to jump on him with some magical net to trap him or a spray bottle full of poison, but of course none of that happened. He found only a seemingly nervous Sirius Black.

"Ah, you're here!" 

"I told you I'd come." Severus grumbled, and despite his grumpy tone, Sirius smiled briefly, nodding.

"Well, let's go." Sirius began to lead them into Hogsmeade.

They didn't really talk. Sirius looked like he wanted to say something, but every time he opened his mouth, he immediately gave up right away. Severus simply wasn't good with words, and he didn't really have anything to say to Sirius. They didn't have a common subject, apparently. Severus was much more into his studies, and Sirius liked Quidditch and playing pranks around the school. If anything, they could even talk about Regulus, but Severus knew that he and Sirius weren't really close, not anymore at least, so it was pointless to try.

Severus didn't know exactly what to expect from Sirius Black. He never mentioned what they were going to do in Hogsmead, and while there weren't that many options, Severus couldn't help but be nervous. He didn't trust Sirius Black one bit, or any gryffindor besides Lily, to be honest. None of them had ever been nice before, and Severus couldn't understand exactly why they were trying now — or rather, why Sirius was trying. Peter and James were still as insufferable as ever, staring him down the corridors, and Remus had always been distant.

Not that it mattered. Severus was actually glad to no longer be the constant target of bullying, but he was also afraid, because a change too abrupt wasn't always welcome when you can't predict what it's going to cause, especially when it comes from people as hard to deal with as Sirius Black. He could predict Black better when the only reason for his existence appeared to be to annoy Severus, but now that that was out of the equation, he wasn't sure what to do.

"I thought we could have tea?" Sirius said, interrupting Severus' thoughts. He turned to face him "Evans told me you like tea."

Severus frowned, "Well, who doesn't?"

"James hates it." Sirius replied without caring about Severus' tone, smiling a little "He and Moony argue about it a lot."

"Moony?" 

"Remus." Sirius explained, and Severus just nodded, not really interested in the nickname "So, tea?"

"Why not, we're already right here."

Snape ignored the happy expression Sirius opened at having his invitation accepted. What did Black expect, anyway? Severus had agreed to come with him to Hogsmead, the difficult part had theoretically passed, because there wasn't much point in Severus continuing to play hard to get and them hanging around the village aimlessly all day. Sirius didn't seem to be thinking much about the details, but Severus supposed he didn't actually think much anyway.

They sat outside, taking in the fact that the day was sunny and comfortable. Severus liked his tea with milk, and Sirius honestly didn't seem like much of a fan of tea at all, because he ordered anything that looked good after running his eye over the menu. Severus preferred coffee, but he wasn't willing to let Sirius know that. For some reason, he thought Black would use that to try and make him more pliable.

"I like what you did to the hair." Sirius said suddenly, and Severus lifted his face to watch him, a little confused "The hairstyle, ah— It looks... Um— It looks nice!" he huffed, embarrassed.

Severus brought his hand to his hair, and indeed it looked a little different that day, because Narcisa had tired of the half ponytail and pinned his hair into a bun, leaving only the fringe loose, even though the wind messed up his hair on the way. 

"I suppose you should forward that compliment to Regulus, this change in my look is all his fault, after all." Severus grumbled, unable to thank Sirius.

"Reg?" 

"Yeah." Severus grimaced "He invented those spells, and one of them improved my hair, because, well, I do a lot of potions, and the fumes— Anyway, it was him."

"Do the potions affect your hair?" Sirius muttered, confused.

"The fumes from them, yes. It leaves the roots of it dry, and because of that— Well, you know." Severus said, a nasty smile on his lips "You always made a point of commenting on how greasy my hair was, after all."

Sirius looked genuinely embarrassed.

"I had no idea it was because of the potions." He grumbled, his shoulders slightly shrugging.

"Because thinking I didn't bathe was far more plausible, I imagine." Severus rolled his eyes, irritated.

"I never said I was clever." Sirius muttered, avoiding looking Snape in the eye.

"I never thought you were, anyway." Severus shrugged.

They were silent after that, and tea was soon served, which served as an excuse for them to remain silent. Severus noticed that Sirius looked tense, but he was unwilling to do anything to change that. It wasn't his fault that things were the way they were, and it wasn't his fault that talking to Sirius was difficult either. They weren't close, they knew almost nothing about each other, and even though Sirius had tried to get closer during those weeks, he hadn't even come near the real Severus. 

With a sigh, Severus left his cup of tea on the saucer. Although he took a sadistic delight in seeing that crestfallen Sirius Black, he didn't really feel entirely pleased to bother him. Despite being branded as cruel, Severus didn't really have the ambition to be the worst boy in the world — most of the time, he just wanted to be left alone. Getting into Hogwarts seemed like a dream at first, because he saw the school as a refuge, as a place to open new doors and have opportunities to get away from home. Now older, that dream seemed almost bittersweet.

And Sirius was part of the reason that dream had festered, and though Severus didn't really feel satisfied when it caused him the same pain, a part of him wanted to humiliate Sirius. A part of him that always lusted for revenge, that never liked being scorned for futile reasons. Still, it was almost as if the previous weeks had made him see how truly pathetic what they were doing was. Bullying always seemed unfounded to Severus, but hearing from Sirius' mouth that they really hadn't even considered why his hair was greasy genuinely made him frustrated.

Because it didn't have to be that way. The feud between Gryffindor and Slytherin didn't have to stop, but he didn't have to be the chosen one either, he didn't have to be chased for all these years for no reason. His life at Hogwarts could have actually been fruitful, or at least better than at home. But instead, Severus had to deal with these four idiots and the rest of the school hating him for idiotic reasons.

Well, he supposed they were all kids still, and that in a way that was reason enough. Children are idiots by nature.

"Severus— I—" Sirius muttered after a while, also setting his own cup of tea aside "I'm sorry."

Severus frowned, "You already apologised, and anyway, they don't change anything now. I always knew you hated me for very few reasons."

"I don't hate you." Sirius grumbled, frowning as well "And James is jealous of you, because of Evans. And Remus certainly doesn't hate you, and Peter, well, Peter— he just does what we do."

"You hate me." Severus retorted, genuinely confused "You have to hate me, because if you don't— If you don't hate me, then why have I spent all these years— You hate me. And Potter is an idiot, a complete, absolute, unimaginable idiot, as if I would like Lily in that way! I don't even like— Anyway, he's an idiot!"

"I don't, wait, you don't like bo— Hey, wait a second, don't talk about James like that!"

"And Lupin is a coward, a bloody coward. He might disagree with everything you guys did to me, but he'd never say anything. And Pettigrew is disgusting, he stalks the Ravenclaw girls." Severus finished, taking a quick breath, nervous but also embarrassed.

"Remus is sweet, but he— He prefers to avoid conflict. And Peter, well, he may have his moments, but he really does what he does without much thought." Sirius, ever loyal to his friends, couldn't help but defend them "And I don't hate you." Sirius repeated, more quietly. He too looked embarrassed now "I don't know if I— Well, I guess I must have hated you, in the first year, maybe. But even then I wasn't— What matters is that now, well, now I don't hate you. And I don't want you to think I hate you."

Severus clenched his eyes shut, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"You spent all the years I studied here bullying me."

"I know."

"You told me, countless times, to my face, that you hated me to death."

"Yes, I did, but—"

"I'm sure you've spoken spitefully about all the things I have, and also pointed out all my defects. There isn't a part of me that hasn't been cussed at by Sirius Black, and all of them are disgusting and grotesque, apparently. Tell me, Black, how do you expect me to stand here and believe that what you feel for me is not hate?"

Sirius swallowed dryly, staring at his own hands.

"Well, you're right, it's not easy to believe."

"Finally something we both agree on."

"But—!" Sirius lifted his face, staring at Severus with that damned determination "But I swear, I swear on James' life, I don't hate you, Snape. I don't hate you. And I want to prove to you that I don't hate you, that's why— Well, that's why we're here."

"Having tea."

He nodded, and Severus almost felt like laughing, because the situation was too absurd to even process.

"Having tea." Sirius agreed.

Sirius, for all his faults, kept his promises.

He didn't give up on proving to Severus that he didn't hate him even when Severus threatened to blast him — which, considering the track record of other Slytherin students, didn't really need to stay just in the threat. Much like had happened with Lily and Potter, he found himself slowly giving in to the pressure, perhaps just so he wouldn't have to deal with the constant insistence, perhaps because after a while some words said by Sirius started to come true, but Severus found himself tolerating Sirius' presence much better, sometimes even smiling at the things he spoke.

That, however, did not mean that he did not feel anger towards Sirius Black. Quite the opposite, in fact. All it took was for Sirius to show some slightly idiotic behaviour that Severus would already be determined to destroy that entire friendship they had formed. The current discussion, for example, was about Sirius' irritation with Severus' uniform.

"You don't have to wear Malfoy's uniforms! I ordered brand new uniforms for you! They have your name on them!" Sirius grunted, his face red in what Severus thought was anger and a little embarrassment, because now everyone around knew why they were fighting, and the reason was nothing but idiotic.

"Well, I told you that the uniforms Lucius gave me are in perfect condition and that it was silly of you to spend money on it, but you didn't listen to me and bought them anyway!" 

This argument between the two of them had been going on for a while, ever since Sirius found out that the clothes Severus was wearing were old Malfoy uniforms, and even when they had the holiday break and Sirius went to the Potter house, it didn't really stop. On the contrary, Sirius remained stubborn even through letters, claiming to have ordered new robes for Severus.

Lily found the discussion very funny, but she seemed to be laughing for a reason Severus couldn't understand. Somehow, even Potter seemed to be finding Sirius' behaviour very funny. The only person who was genuinely suffering from the whole thing was Severus, who couldn't walk through the castle without feeling Sirius' judgmental eyes on his back.

He even threatened to set fire to his uniform, and only gave up on the idea when Lily pointed out that he might hurt Severus if he did that, and Sirius swore that he would never hurt him again.

Severus almost blushed at that — at Sirius' confidence in saying he no longer intended to do anything to him. But he soon pulled himself together, because worse than dealing with Sirius Black, was believing the lies he told.

"It's a gift, couldn't you accept it?" Black hissed, pulling Severus by the sleeves of his robes. He almost thought Sirius wanted to rip the sleeves off just to give him reason to wear the new uniforms he had bought.

"I think it would be easier to accept as a gift if you didn't reinforce that you only did it out of a grudge that you have with Lucius!"

Sirius stopped, staring at him with a strange look.

"Sev, you don’t—"

"Don't call me that." 

"It's not because of Malfoy." Sirius muttered "Or— In a way, maybe it is, but— Well, it's not just about him."

"Then why?"

It took a while, and Severus didn't think Sirius would answer him, but eventually he managed to formulate a sentence, even though she didn't answer the question.

"I only care about you, is it a crime now? Oh no, don't answer, you don't know how to take me seriously" Sirius cut him off before Severus could say anything, looking frustrated "And, well, it is— Could you wear the uniform I gave you? For once?"

Severus took a deep breath, but nodded, defeated. Sirius cracked a shy smile, a reaction Severus honestly didn't expect from him. Sirius was over the top, and when he won some sort of argument between them, he always celebrated eccentrically, making a point of shouting to everyone that he had beaten Severus Snape. That time, however, Sirius just looked genuinely pleased.

"Since you're in a good mood—"

"Absolutely not." Severus muttered.

"You might as well come and watch me play against Ravenclaw, eh?"

"I hate Quidditch." 

"But you like me!"

"I possibly hate you more than anything in this world."

Sirius' shoulders slumped, and Severus almost felt angry with himself for taking pity on him.

"Oh, please—" Severus grumbled, frustrated. Sirius stared at him curiously, but he saw something in Severus' expression that probably cheered him up, because he quickly smiled "Right, whatever, I'll go. Happy? But don't think I'll be cheering for you."

Sirius, perhaps without much thought, hugged Severus, looking genuinely happy.

"Thanks, Sev." he murmured against Severus' ear, and he couldn't hold back the shiver. Severus really did hate him more than anything in the world, that was a fact now.

Sirius played as the beater, which honestly was no surprise at all to Severus. It suited him, in fact. What was a surprise to Severus was the fact that Remus had no interest in Quidditch much like he did, and that Peter had too much interest but was too clumsy to play. 

"I think it's a bit silly." Remus muttered, standing next to Severus. They were the only ones sitting in the stands, the rest of the Gryffindor crowd were standing, following James Potter with their eyes. Apparently he had almost caught the golden snitch a few times already "And I don't know any of the rules either."

"Then why are you coming?" Severus asked, confused, and a wave of people began to shout. On instinct, they both turned to the game, but Potter didn't take the golden snitch yet.

"Because my best friends are playing." Remus shrugged, smiling.

Severus nodded, and they didn't talk beyond that. He tried to pay attention to the game, but it was all too fast and confusing. Regulus usually made Severus attend some Slytherin games, but he was still unable to recognize most of the rules, much like Remus. One thing Sirius could understand, however, was that Sirius' job was basic and straightforward: rebound bludgers away and try to score goals. 

He was fast and agile, but more than that, he was strong. From what Remus had said, Sirius didn't need to be as good as he was — apparently, Sirius just wasn't better than Potter — but that there were advantages to having someone as versatile as him on the pitch. But being the beater was indeed his best position, and Severus could see why. There was a very attractive gleam in Sirius' eyes when he played, an almost enviable confidence.

Ravenclaw didn't stand a chance against Gryffindor's fine performance. Severus still didn't understand what all the enthusiasm was about to watch the games, but he had to confess that there and here he got a little on edge, especially when the audience started to get agitated about something. Remus seemed to feel the same way, because when his housemates started shouting excitedly, he would stand up too, almost nervously, as if he was pretending before that he didn't care.

Eventually, Potter took the golden snitch. The game ended at that very moment, and the audience erupted in shouts of celebration. Severus found himself in the middle of all those people and almost went into despair at the thought of someone else thinking it was bad that he wasn't celebrating too, but no one said anything. People didn't even seem to have noticed him there.

Remus touched Severus's shoulder, and in the midst of the celebration it was hard to tell what he was talking about. After a few failed attempts to communicate, Remus simply rolled his eyes and started pulling Severus away.

Severus immediately tensed, and Remus noticed, looking at him as if to apologise. It was natural, Severus usually didn't like being touched, and even if Remus hadn't been the one to bully him directly, he was still always there. Even if they had apologised, though the apology coming from Potter sounded oddly forced, Severus still couldn't fully trust them. Remus seemed to understand that, and didn't get angry.

"Follow me." Remus shouted, letting go of Severus and following through the crowd. This was much better.

They walked for a few minutes, heading down towards the locker rooms. Most of the players were already leaving, and they greeted Remus with smiles. None of them paid any attention to Severus, which calmed him down a bit. Apparently after the games, as was the case with Slytherin, they had a party in the communal hall to celebrate. Severus wondered what they would be doing there, until he realised they still had players in the changing room: Sirius and James, of course.

"You guys played well!" Remus congratulated them, hugging them both. Severus grimaced — they were sweaty! "Wormtail has already started directing the party, we're just here to pick you two up."

"Ah, Moony, you're our personal escort!" Potter grinned, tugging lightly on Remus' ear. He finally seemed to notice Severus' presence, however "Oh, Snape, I didn't know you'd come to watch us play."

Sirius had been looking at him for a while now, always with that expression full of expectation. Severus swallowed dryly, suddenly nervous, but nodded.

"Black asked, so..." he muttered.

Somehow, that made Sirius crack a big smile. Remus just laughed, and Potter made an expression of disgust, but also of conformation. Severus felt like he had missed something, but he wasn't that intrigued to know what.

" Padfoot asked. " Potter repeated, nodding, and turned to face his best friend. Sirius blushed. "Well, Padfoot played better than usual today, Snape, so maybe you're his lucky charm?"

"James—" Sirius was ready to scold, but Severus interrupted him.

"If anything, he really must be a good player. I spent the whole game trying to knock him off his broom with my wits, but he didn't fall once."

The three of them were silent at his reply, but suddenly Remus started to laugh.

"Padfoot, you were right!" he patted Sirius on the back, who was turning increasingly red "Snape really is a character!"

Potter smiled, very much as if he had accepted Snape among them, and Severus thought that was horrible — and yet he almost felt grateful too.

The first time Severus wore the uniform Sirius bought for him, Sirius immediately pulled him by the wrist into a deserted room and pressed him against the door.

It all happened very quickly. One moment Severus was talking to Lily, and the next he had been dragged away as if he had just apparated. He was used to Sirius Black's touches now — in fact, perhaps Severus had already fully accepted Sirius Black into his life. Still, he couldn't help but be surprised at a situation as sudden as this.

"What the hell do you think you're—"

"You're wearing the uniform I gave you." Sirius muttered with wide eyes and flushed face.

Severus frowned, "Yes, you asked me to wear it, didn't you?"

"Since when do you listen to what I ask?"

"Sirius, what the fuck is your—"

"I didn't mean that as an offence! I am surprised, actually. Very happy too. You look amazing." Sirius said quickly, looking as delighted as Lily as soon as Severus let her mess with his hair.

"I look no different at all from when I was wearing Lucius'." Severus grumbled, embarrassed.

"No, you're wearing the clothes I gave you. That makes all the difference." Sirius whispered, and Severus immediately wanted to rebut him, to say he was an idiot, but from the way Sirius said it, he didn't seem to be making fun of Severus. No, Sirius seemed hungry for something.

"Well— You told me to wear it, and it seemed a waste to leave the uniform in the trunk, it was brand new, so—" Severus tried to explain himself, but Sirius didn't seem to be listening.

In fact, once Severus started babbling whatever nonsense was coming into his brain, Sirius only had eyes for his mouth and how it moved in a very interesting way when Severus got nervous. And suddenly that was too much for Sirius, who had always been impulsive. By the time he realized what he was doing, his mouth was glued to Severus', who had completely frozen.

Sirius turned away from him immediately, fearing he would be cursed, but Severus stood there wide-eyed, staring at him as if he had seen a ghost. Sirius opened his mouth to explain himself, but Severus' expression quickly tightened.

"Very funny, Black."

"Severus—"

"I knew there was something wrong— I— By Merlin, that was the most idiotic prank— No, I don't even know why I let myself— Why I fell for it!" Severus started to say, irritated, almost shouting. He immediately opened the door to the room they were in, and only then did Sirius notice how much he was shaking.

"Severus, I don— no, wait, where are you going?" Sirius shouted, running after him, but Severus didn't stop even when Sirius asked.

As clumsy as he was, Severus was still more agile than expected. He disappeared so quickly between the halls of the school that Sirius could barely see where he ran.

Of all the people Severus thought would try to talk to him after what happened, Remus certainly wasn't one of them. And how he found him, Severus honestly didn't know either.

"Chocolate?" Remus offered, sitting down next to Severus. He denied it, and Remus shrugged, "I love chocolate."

The two were silent for quite a while, watching the sky through the astronomy tower. Severus wasn't bothered by Remus' presence, but he doubted it was just exhaustion. Ever since Sirius had kissed him, Severus had been dealing with several feelings that already existed, but that he simply didn't want to have to deal with. Worse than that was thinking it was just a joke, something silly to Sirius, because after all, someone like Black could never like someone like Snape.

Lily had tried to get Severus to talk to Sirius, but he was really indisposed. Just the thought of seeing Sirius made him sick and sad. It wasn't the first time Severus had been like this over something, but over the course of the last year, he had really started to like Black, which was terrible, of course, but Severus was willing to ignore it. He didn't need to deal with those feelings, or even acknowledge them. But it was clear that Sirius needed to do something stupid and put them both in that position.

By Merlin, Sirius didn't even like boys! Two weeks before he was kissed, Severus heard from some Ravenclaw boys that Sirius had a date with one of the prettiest girls in their house. 

"Snape, I know you hate me—"

"I don't hate you."

"Right, but you don't like me very much." Remus corrected, and Severus couldn't deny that he was right "Well, I know you don't like me very much, but I know you absolutely adore Sirius."

Severus made mention of getting out of there, of running away from that conversation, but Remus held him back, and Severus was surprised at how it didn't bring him panic like before.

"Listen, I don't want to piss you off. I know you absolutely adore Sirius, I think everyone knows. You two have become quite close in the last year, so close that even James was jealous! He went from being jealous of you and Lily, to being jealous of you and Sirius." Remus laughed, as if that was actually quite funny "What I mean is... This— Um, this adoration, this feeling— You're not the only one who feels that way, you know?"

"Sirius likes girls." Severus grumbled.

"Yes, he does, I think." Remus huffed "He's been with women, that's a fact."

"Lupin—"

"But he likes boys too. He likes you."

Severus almost laughed, "He was until recently dating girls from all over the school, Lupin, forgive me if I can't believe this isn't just a big joke from Black, who just wants to see me hurt in every way."

Remus sighed.

"I never said Sirius is smart." he grumbled, letting go of Severus, who no longer looked like he was about to run away "And he's only been on one date in the last year, just one, a fortnight ago. A Ravenclaw girl. He had promised her that they could meet because she said she could help him find the perfect cauldron or something."

"He could have asked me." Severus said, with an almost stupid jealousy eating him up inside. But it made sense, didn't it? He was the best Potions student in the school, and they were.. Closer now. Almost friends, maybe!

"He wanted to buy you a cauldron as a present, Snape." Remus smiled, laughing softly as he saw the expression of complete shock on Severus "That and all the other presents he's already bought for you, but that he doesn't have the guts to give. I told you, Sirius is—" Remus sighed, suddenly exhausted "Difficult. He's bloody difficult."

"Lupin?" Severus whispered, confused.

With a slightly sad smile, Remus continued "You're friends with Regulus, you know how Sirius' family is." Severus nodded "I'm not saying that Sirius isn't to blame for the way he is, or that he's not responsible for his own actions, or that, I don't know, he deserves to be forgiven, but Sirius— He, well, I think before he moved in with the Potters, he didn't really know what love was, you know— To really love, I guess."

Severus remained silent, not confident enough to say anything. That conversation had not yet shaped itself enough for him to understand what Remus meant.

"He knew about our love, friendship, and loyalty. Those things. But that he already had at home, with Regulus. They might not be close, but they would do anything for each other." Severus agreed. Regulus had said something similar before. He might hate Sirius, but he would sacrifice himself for him, because that's what brothers do "And even with us, Sirius still had those moments. He's a little eccentric, a little crazy, it's true. But I think even then, people always liked him. Everyone, except his mother, of course. His mother always looked down on him."

Severus knew a little about the Black family, especially what Walburga was doing with Regulus, but not much about her relationship with Sirius.

"I think when he came to Hogwarts, Sirius thought it would be like always. Everyone would love him, and he could ignore the fact that his mother never loved him. One love for another, you know? But you, Snape, Merlin, you hated him at first glance."

"He was a jerk to me!" Severus defended himself immediately, and Remus laughed, nodding.

"Yeah, and I think he expected you to, I don't know, like him anyway." Remus shrugged "Sirius' first year here was really weird. He was way too confident for a kid, you know? Almost like he was faking it. Can you imagine his shock when a boy from Slytherin, the house he absolutely hated because of his family, treated him badly? I don't even know why he was surprised, to be honest. I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? We always had a regular rivalry. Gryffindor and Slytherin. But with you it was always so... Personal."

"I don't know where you're going with this, Lupin." Severus grumbled.

Remus sighed, "I'm not sure either. I just wanted to show you that, well— My friend really likes you. I think he always has. You were a challenge, but then you became this kid who always had an answer for everything he was going to say. You didn't hate him because his mother hated him, you know? You hated him because you saw Sirius, you knew who he was. And maybe that's one reason he always wanted your attention. To be seen. To be seen in full, even the worst part."

The two remained silent for a moment. Severus couldn't look at Remus, so he stared up at the sky. After a few seconds, Remus spoke again.

"He's impulsive, and Merlin save us if Sirius puts something in his head. He never gives up. Too stubborn, irresponsible..."

"And you're best friends! If you talk about him like this…" Severus couldn't help but interrupt, Remus laughed.

"That's the truth." he shrugged "I have my faults too, as he should know very well. Sirius has always been like that, Snape, and it doesn't surprise me that he's been rushing you. Even that day in the library, he already wanted to say right there that he thought he liked you."

"What?" Severus widened his eyes.

"That's right." Remus laughed again "I'd been talking about it with him for a while, because Sirius just wouldn't shut up about you. He wanted to stalk you all the time, make pranks on you every day. Even James thought it was weird. And then you showed up with your hair up, more relaxed, looking like you slept, and people started talking... Sirius overheard a boy from Gryffindor say that you were actually kind of cute, and he kind of realized that—"

"That other people might pay attention to me too." Severus completed, and Remus nodded.

"I think Sirius needs to mature, Snape. No, I don't, I know he does. And more than that, he needs to learn to love, and I think he was trying, for you. He and Lily met almost every day to talk about you, and he would get the most embarrassing love advice in the world, but he listened in silence, because Lily was willing to help him."

"Lily?"

"Yes." Remus smiled "She didn't want to give in, you know. She told Sirius several times that he didn't deserve you at all. He spent weeks trying to convince her, and even when she agreed, Lily made him promise never to hurt you again."

Severus remained silent, taking in everything he had heard. It didn't make much sense to him, but he didn't think everything related to feelings needed to have a certain thread of logic. No, in fact, Severus thought that exactly that sort of thing didn't need logic at all.

"I really thought he was just toying with me, Lupin."

"I know, and I don't blame you." Remus nodded, standing up. "We were never kind to you, and Sirius was always especially cruel around James. Even if you were cruel back, it doesn't seem fair, you know? And you've only recently grown close, so it's not abnormal for you to have your fears. I only came here to talk to you because, well, Sirius isn't coming. He's feeling terrible, he doesn't even know how he's going to face you, and James and Peter aren't patient enough."

"Sirius has really gotten that bad?" Severus frowned.

Remus nodded, "He thinks he forced you— Well, that's not exactly the term, but he's feeling especially icky."

"It wasn't— Well, it's not that I didn't want to kiss him, but I didn't ask for it at the time—"

"I know, Snape. Sirius owes you an apology anyway." Remus smiled.

"Yes, he does." Severus nodded, and turned his face away, embarrassed "Do you think he... would come here to talk to me?"

"Today?" Remus arched his eyebrows.

"Now."

He smiled, nodding.

"I'll let him know there's someone waiting for him. Good night, Severus."

"Good night, Remus."

Sirius, much as Severus expected, ran up the astronomy tower, almost tripping over the steps. Severus had to collect his feet out of the way, fearing he was going to trip over them.

"Sev— Snape, ah, well— Severus, anyway!" Sirius said between large gulps of air "Severus, Moony told me— He didn't tell me much, really, but he said you'd be willing to talk to me, but I'm so— I'm so— Oh, you know, I'm not good with this, but— Merlin, Severus, I'm sorry!" he sat down across from Severus, appearing to be exhausted as well "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you without your permission, I shouldn't even have— I'm sorry!"

"Sirius—"

"But I won't say I didn't want to! Because I wanted to, and I really wanted to— It's even ridiculous, I've never felt this way about anyone before, but I really— Really, really, I really like you, Severus!"

"Sirius, I already—"

"And I've already apologised for the other things too, but I wanted to apologise again and again, if I could go back in time, I would change everything! I'd be your friend— your best friend! Then you wouldn't need that twat Malfoy, and then you'd be— I, well, maybe I'd be a twat anyway, but Severus— I like you. I think Remus made me realise that I've always had feelings for you!" Sirius almost screamed, and he looked about to cry too. Severus was a little surprised by the confession, but pleased too.

In the silence of words between them, only the heavy breathing of someone who had run the entire castle could be heard. Sirius didn't stare Severus in the eye, which was a bit funny, because out of the two of them, it was Snape who had a habit of looking away. 

"You're an idiot." Severus whispered, and Sirius nodded without hesitation "But I must be an even bigger idiot, because despite everything, I like you, don't I?"

If possible, Sirius raised his head to look at Severus faster than a gold snitch, his eyes wide and his cheeks red.

"You like me?" he really looked about to cry now.

Severus rolled his eyes, "The whole reason for my anger was because I thought you had purposefully made me fall in love with you to then break my heart, you idiot."

"I-I figured you had thought— It doesn't matter, really, but— Merlin, Sev, do you really like me?" Sirius asked, moving so close that the only space he could find that apparently satisfied him was between Severus' legs.

"I do." Severus replied, suddenly confident. Or maybe Sirius was just very nervous "Despite everything, Sirius Black, I like you."

Sirius' eyes widened comically like that of a cartoon character. He moistened his lips, bringing his hands up to Severus' neck.

“Can I kiss you?”

"Um... You could at least ask nicely."

Sirius swallowed dryly. Severus could feel his breath hitching against his face.

"Sev, please, can I kiss you?"

Severus craned his head, making a dissatisfied expression "You can do better than that."

"Sev—" Sirius whined, and Severus really loved seeing him like this, confused and nervous, desperate "Sev, please, can I kiss you? I will make it good, you will love it so much, please, let me—"

It was Severus' turn to interrupt him with a kiss, and, to Snape's delight, Sirius moaned slyly against his lips, melting completely into his arms.

"You can stop announcing to the school that we're together now." Severus grumbled, annoyed and embarrassed.

Sirius, on the other hand, was grinning from ear to ear, and nothing could apparently break his good mood. It was really satisfying to see people acknowledging that they were together! Even if very few people had any interest in Severus, Sirius really didn't like hearing people talk about him the way they did. Besides, it also showed that he wasn't single himself, and that way Severus wouldn't have to worry about people hitting on him anymore either!

"You opened a Pandora's box, Severus, he's not going to shut up anymore." Remus groaned softly, already tired.

"At least he won't just be talking to us!" Potter grumbled, appearing not too happy either. Severus didn't blame him — if what Remus had said was true, they had hoped that Sirius might not be spending all his time talking about Severus anymore, but apparently they thought wrong.

Now that they were together, Sirius simply couldn't shut up about it. He was talking so much that Severus suspected that even the teachers already knew!

"Merlin, leave him alone!" Lily complained, crossing her arms "Black spent a lot of time trying to win Sev over, he should be able to talk about it all he wants!"

"You're only saying that because now Sirius won't have to drag you into a corner every night asking you things about Snape!" Peter hissed, and Lily had the decency to look guilty.

"Eventually he gets tired of it." Severus sighed, and Sirius, who had so far been playing with the fingers on his hand, lifted his face as if he'd had an idea "No. We're not going to do anything."

Sirius pouted, "Sev!" he whined, throwing himself on top of Severus.

The rest of the Marauders groaned, and Lily started laughing. Without realizing it, Severus cracked a smile.