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Legacy-Part Two: Thanks to all those who have taken the time to read.
It was a strange sort of ritual Sirius adopted since his return from Azkaban. Every morning he would rummage through box upon box filled with relics from his Hogwarts days. Remus had caught him at it once and graced Sirius with his trademark thoughtful look.
"You can't go back, Sirius. None of us can, no matter how much we wish it."
Remus had been convinced that Sirius was longing for the carefree days of his youth. A small part of the Animagus still longed for that gloriously simple time and always would. However, Sirius had been forced to call somewhat of a truce with himself during his stay in Azkaban. He would have gone mad from the grief otherwise. It would have been quite a disappointment for the Dementors...
He doubted he could convince Remus that his reasons were anything else. Everyone assumed that Sirius was the stubborn one. Sirius knew from past experience that attempting to persuade the aging lycanthrope of anything after he had already made up his mind was damn near impossible.
"I don't want to, Remus. I just want to make sure it happened. That it wasn't just a dream."
Remus opened his mouth to say something and then snapped it shut. He was eyeing the battered piece of paper that the Animagus was holding onto for dear life.
"What's that, Sirius? May I have a look?"
Sirius debated for a moment and then handed it over. He felt a little self-conscious. He spent a great deal of time staring at this particular doodle. He just wasn't sure why.
Remus chuckled when he glimpsed the contents of the parchment.
"I remember when you drew this of Snape. It was after you and James hung him up from that tree. You passed this around Charms class for all to see. Severus was furious about it."
Remus studied the crude drawing of a teenaged Snape, naked from the waist down and suspended from an aged oak.
"The anatomy is not quite right, if memory serves me correctly..."
Sirius snatched the parchment back and put forth his best effort at an angry glare.
"I don't know Remy, it's not like I was memorising him, for Merlin's sake!"
Remus sighed and wisely stayed silent as Sirius calmed down. The ex-Professor was keenly aware that he was about to thread into dangerous territory. In his opinion, his old friend was wasting a second chance at his life and he could not let it happen without a fight.
"Look, Padfoot."
Sirius seemed taken aback at the old nickname. At least Moony could be sure he had the Animagus' full attention now.
Pointing at the parchment clutched in Sirius hands, Remus finally said what he had been holding in for almost twenty years.
"This is your problem, right here. You were the one that always wanted to bully Severus, not James. Prongs just thought it was all a game, but you...you took it to the next level. The less response, or should I say, attention, you got from Severus; the more you instigated things with him. I think you have some sort of fascination, or crush, or something with him and you are just too hard headed to admit to it."
"How dare you...Why would I want him, of all people! I could have had anyone, Moony, and you know..."
"Yes, yes. I know, Sirius. Nevertheless, you wanted him just the bloody same. That's why you attacked him so much; it wasn't as if he was the easiest target. He knew more dangerous spells than half the school put together. If he didn't remind you so much of the family you spent your whole life trying to escape, you would have made a move on him all those years ago. You nearly got him killed over this.”
"Not this again!" Sirius groaned loudly. "I've told you and everyone else a million times that I didn't want to hurt him! I just wanted to scare him a little! I wasn't thinking...”
Remus lunged forward with no warning and ripped the drawing from Sirius' hands. Holding it up in plain sight, he fixed his amber eyes dead set on Sirius' own.
"No, you weren't, were you Padfoot? That's the problem, Sirius! Don't you see? You fail to see Severus as more than a caricature. In your eyes, he is an eternal and omnipresent sketch of a person. Believe it or not, Severus is an actual person. He won't be here forever, and with the rise of You-Know-Who, time may be very short for us all. I suggest you let go of your preconceived notions of the world and grow up, Sirius. Before it's too late."
Remus had turned and left of the room before Sirius could even form a response. He began to mentally list all the things he would say to Remus the next time he came to visit.
Of all the ridiculous things...Snape, you've got to be joking...Greasy haired, ugly, hooked nose git...
The knowing look Remus gave him at the next Order meeting when he failed to bring up their prior conversation nearly drove him insane. Luckily, Snape was detained and was not present or Sirius would have been sent back to Azkaban for the murder of one middle-aged werewolf.
There was nothing for Sirius to do most of the time but think in his private prison. Unfortunately for him, the more he thought, the more he wondered if there was not a hint of truth to what his oldest friend had said. A small voice in the back of Sirius head began to insist he try to talk to Snape. The more he ignored it, the more annoying it became.
All right, all right, I'll do it. I'll talk to him. If nothing, at least I can prove Remus wrong for once. Remus had to wrong about this, doesn't he?
For once in his life, he wasn't so sure...
Sirius nervously awaited the Potions Master's arrival. Snape had come early to the last few Order meetings, sulking in the shadows until the others began to appear. As each minute passed, Sirius felt his resolve to make things civil between the two begin to fade. The telltale creaking of the door and barely perceptible footsteps headed in the direction of the kitchen made Sirius heart race. He dared to glance up and found himself staring directly into coal black eyes-a deviation from the usual routine of reading the Prophet and acting like the other man didn't exist.
"Do you have some sort of problem, Black?"
Amazing. He can sound exactly like a snake without speaking in Parseltongue. Come on, Sirius . Enough stalling already…it’s time to lay your cards out on the table.
"I would like to have a word with you, Snape. Preferably without us hexing each other into oblivion."
"If this is about your godson, I assure you..."
Sirius quickly raised up his hands in the universal gesture of defeat.
"No, no, it's not Harry. This is about the two of us."
He paused briefly to see if the Slytherin would allow him to continue. A slight nod of the head was all the encouragement Sirius expected to get. He took a deep breath and hoped he sounded as sincere as he felt.
"Look, I was...when we were young, I was kind of impulsive, I guess. I'm trying to say that...I...."
Great, I’ve become a babbling idiot. Way to go, Sirius. He’ll love that…
"I do not wish to spend the remainder of my existence standing in your kitchen, Black."
"I'm sorry, all right? You don't believe me, do you? I can see it all over your face. Do it, then."
When Snape raised a questioning eyebrow at this, Sirius decided he was in too deep to back out now.
"You're a trained Occulmens, right? Go on in, I won't stop you. See if I'm lying to you or hiding anything."
Sirus counted the seconds as they ticked by to keep him from going mad at the absence of sound. He thought he felt an unfamiliar presence brush against his mind for a moment. The odd sensation passed so quickly that he dismissed it as pure imagination.
"Very well then, Black. Consider your apology, as poorly articulated as it was, accepted."
A thousand things flooded through the Animagus' mind at these words. What came out of his mouth next was a surprise even to him.
"You know, you can call me Sirius."
A grimace seized Snape's face, and Sirius felt his small victory dissipate until he noticed that the Syltherin's slender hand was clutching at his forearm.
"Please tell Albus that I had urgent business to attend to and that I will speak with him as soon as possible."
Snape gilded toward the door, but paused for a brief moment and regarded Sirius with something that bore a vague resemblance to a smile.
"Until next time, Sirius."
The battered door groaned in protest as Snape made his way into the night. An old structure such as 12 Grimmauld Place was an ideal place for an echo effect. Snape was certain he heard a raspy whisper follow him out into the cold.
"Good night, Severus."
A great deal of arguments (sprinkled with the occasional civil conversation) later, and Sirius found himself able to call Severus a friend.
The entire Order-with the noted exception of Alastor, of course-was quite pleased at the turnabout. Molly Weasley had even taken him aside to thank him for putting old grudges to rest in the name of the Order. Only Remus seemed to have a different opinion about it, but he kept that to himself. Everything was perfect, with the exception of one tiny thing.
Remus, his most trusted friend, was correct.
The more time Sirius spent with him, the more he noticed the attraction he harbored. He was positive Severus felt it, too. However, all the Veritaserum in the world wouldn't pry it out of the Potions Master.
In the end, Sirius elected to channel his inner Slytherin. Fight fire with fire, so to speak.
Sirius took Severus aside right before the commencement of a meeting and asked him to remain behind after the others had left. He used the pretense that it was extremely urgent to ensure that Severus would agree. Sirius nearly threw everyone out of the house after the meeting was over. He thanked Merlin that Severus failed to notice the pleased look from Dumbledore Sirius received when he was shooing the other Order members out the door.
He led Severus to a comfortable sitting room located in one of the unused wings he cleaned the day before. A bottle of Firewhiskey, two glasses, and an antique chess set that was a Black family heirloom adorned a polished table set in the middle of the room.
Sirius had to choke back his laughter at the incredulous face staring back at him.
"This is what is so important, Sirius? Has anyone ever talked to you about your priorities in life?"
"Many times, Severus. I just choose not to listen. Come on, just one game. My brain has been wasting away since I’ve been stuck here day and night."
"It was already wasted long before...oh, bloody hell. It will be far easier to placate you rather than argue about it half of the night."
"So you have learned a few things in your old age. Prepare to be trounced, Severus."
"By a Gryffindor? Never."
It was about halfway through the game when Sirius recalled that Severus had been a chess champion at school, and rightfully so.
As Severus pondered his next move, he noticed the Animagus was staring at him.
"Could you scream a bit, Sirius? I rather liked those wanted posters..."
"You know your snide remarks don't affect me anymore, Severus."
"I am well aware of that. Where has all the magic gone?"
"You, using a Muggle phrase? I'm speechless over here."
"What in the devil are you babbling on about, Black? I meant my knight. It's no longer moving."
Severus' hand rested on his now still piece. Sirius seized his opportunity and reached for the knight as well, his hand now covering Severus’ own.
The Potions Master jerked his hand back as if he had been stung. He quickly stood up and announced that it was late.
"We will have to continue this another time, Sirius."
"Yes, of course. Good night to you, Severus."
"Good night."
As soon as he was alone, Sirius pounded his fist on the table in pure frustration. The disruptive movement caused Severus' knight to look up in annoyance.
"I did what you asked me to. 'Stay silent and don't move' you said, 'Make sure we're about halfway through the game' you said. It's not my fault you scared the poor fellow. 'Tis a shame, he was an excellent chess player."
The other pieces on the board murmured their agreement.
"What do you mean, I scared him? I assumed he just wasn't interested."
"Always the same thing with you humans. You only see the worst when you're not confident of yourselves. I think I can safely speak for this chess set when I say you unnerved the man. He might be interested yet uncertain of your intentions. Have you tried talking to him about it?"
"Do you really think...wait a minute. I'm taking advice from a game. What do you guys know of this sort of thing?"
"Plenty, thank you very much." the knight said, haughtily. He gestured for Sirius to come closer and whispered:
"I've got a thing for your Queen over there." The miniature piece pointed at the Queen at the opposite end of the board, who in turn waved and winked at them both. "She used to completely ignore me, but now we talk all the time."
"How long did it take you to get that far?" Sirius inquired.
"Only five hundred and twenty two years." the knight beamed.
The resounding thud as Sirius' head hit the table caused all the chess pieces to screech at the knight.
"What? What did I say?"