Fic: Charming Our Hearts
Mar. 29th, 2014 09:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starduchessThis is my newest Veela fic from this year's ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
do_me_veela Valentine's fest:
Title: Charming Our Hearts
Creator:starduchess
Pairing: Severus/Remus/Sirius
Rating: R
Length: ~8900
Summary: Sirius accidentally touches a Greek artifact at the National Museum that awakens his creature inheritance. Remus wants him. Problem is Remus is already in a relationship with Snape.
Warnings/Content: Veela creature fic, some language, underage sex (all are 16)
“Oh, come on, Moony, aren’t you going to tell us who the bloke is?” asked Sirius as the Marauders broke off from the rest of the sixth years after entering the National Museum. There was no set curriculum for the class field trip, just a chance to view magical artifacts from history. Luckily, Binns as a ghost wasn’t able to accompany the group, and therefore, they were all spared his tedious and boring lectures. That didn’t stop him from assigning topics for research, but at least the students got to pursue those at their leisure. And of course Sirius took this as an ample opportunity to hound Remus about his new crush.
“Who says it’s a bloke? Could very well be a bird,” Remus said, trying to steer the conversation away, but to no avail. He really didn’t want to talk about it.
“Nah, can’t be,” said James, “‘cause you never look at those. Tits don’t interest you at all.” Sporting a devilish grin, he winked at Remus.
Remus cringed. So he’d been found out about his inclinations, but at least they didn’t know who held sway over his mind and body. He wasn’t so sure about his heart just yet. He did feel something was missing in that department. Ah, well, he was still a teenager and had plenty of time to figure it out, if only his friends would let him.
Sirius snickered. “Oh, so it IS a bloke! Wonderful, Moony. You have to introduce us.”
Remus rubbed the back of his neck. “I … I don’t know about that.”
“Nonsense. We’re your best friends,” said James with a slight scowl. It was unheard of for a Marauder to keep secrets from his friends. “We won’t tell and we’ll support you. So who is it?”
Remus pleaded with his friends to understand. “Look, I just … feel uncomfortable. It’s too soon, okay?”
A smile broke out on Sirius’ face. “Awww, he’s still in the crush stage.” He placed a hand over his heart and raised his face to the ceiling. “Oh, to have young love again. I quite miss it.”
James gave him an exasperated snort. “Save it, Pads. You were with Mary just last week.”
Sirius appeared affronted. “And a week is just too long! All the past is beyond our reach.”
Remus’ eyebrows scrunched up. “Waxing philosophical isn’t your thing, Siri.”
Sirius huffed, but before he said anything further, his attention was caught by movement off to the side. “Hey, isn’t that Snivellus? We should prank him and leave him unconscious in the museum so he misses the portkey home and loses Slytherin more points.”
James grinned. “Great idea, Pads. Got any ideas for the prank?”
Remus looked nervous. “I don’t think we should do this. We don’t want to get in trouble with the authorities.”
“Ah, spoil sport,” said Peter. He was hoping for more fun on this trip. It was a chance for them to shine in the students’ eyes.
Remus attempted to make them see reason. “It’s one thing to do it at Hogwarts, which is private and deals with rule-breaking on its own terms, but to do it out in public, with real laws in place, is just asking for an expulsion and maybe even a jail sentence. You don’t want to end up in the Ministry’s holding cells, do you?”
James rolled his eyes. “I doubt they’d do anything that drastic, and our families would get us out quick, even Padfoot’s.”
“Yeah, it might even be worth it to embarrass them.” Sirius got another wicked look in his eyes, wondering how he could turn a friendly prank into a family scandal and still get out of it unscathed.
“So let’s get to it,” said Peter, urging the others down the hall into the Greek artifacts rooms. He’d watched Snape go in the same direction, probably with a similar assignment to theirs to study Greek magic and technology. It would be the perfect place for a setup.
Remus followed the others slowly, his guts twisting in agitation. He didn’t want to get in trouble and he certainly didn’t want anything to happen to his lover.
--
They looked all around the room, observing and noting the various works by ancient wizards -- oracloscopes for telling fortunes, astrological clocks, harvesters and artificial suns for improved farming, jewelry that changed the wearer’s beauty, and even enchanted masks that made one’s face into gruesome beasts. Peter snickered with a whispered joke. “Maybe we should make Snape wear one of those. His looks couldn’t get any worse; it might be an improvement.” Sirius and James had to cover their mouths to keep from laughing out loud, while Remus closed his eyes and prayed for deliverance.
“I think that’s a perfect idea, Wormtail. Let’s grab that screeching bird one.” Within the space of a second Sirius had banished the glass and grabbed the mask in question before the others could protest. As soon as his hand touched the mask, a white light flared from it and ran up his arm, sparking across his chest and vanishing into his heart. Sirius gave out a yell and let go of the mask. It dropped to the floor just as Sirius’ eyes rolled back in his head and he, too, fell to the ground.
“Sirius!” they all shouted and rushed to his side. They checked him for injuries but could see nothing wrong other than being unconscious.
Within a minute museum guards showed up along with a curator. “What happened here, kids?”
Remus looked sick, but he faced the authorities and told them a brief version. “We were doing research for school and Sirius wanted to take a better look at the masks, maybe even try one on and see if it really worked. We couldn’t stop him before he touched it. There was a light and then he just collapsed.”
“We’re sorry,” said Peter, looking small and frightened for their fates.
“Is he going to be okay?” asked James, who was better at putting on a brave face, though he was concerned for his best friend.
The curator looked over at the bird mask. “You say there was a bright light just as he touched it?”
They nodded confirmation.
He shrugged, then picked up the mask. The Marauders tensed as he reached for it, but he did not seem to have any misgivings about touching it, and sure enough, it did nothing as he grabbed it. “That’s odd. We’ve never had any problems with any of the masks before. This is one of the three Graces, or so we were told -- the one for Charm. You can see the other two for Beauty and Joy there.” He pointed to two other masks still sitting in the display block, one wolf-like and the other lizard-like. All three were pretty gruesome.
“Hm.” He cast a quick diagnosis charm on the mask. “The magic is still intact on this one and it will work as proclaimed, though I don’t think we need any birdmen running around these corridors, now do we sons?”
The three boys shook their heads. “No, sir.”
He examined it further and finally placed it back on its perch. “Well, it’s not damaged, thank goodness, but this sort of mischief will not be tolerated. I will have to tell your teacher and you all are to vacate the premises immediately. Understood?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. We’re sorry for the trouble,” said Remus for all of them.
The curator nodded and pointed his wand at Sirius’ prone form. “Renervate.”
Blinking his eyes and groaning, Sirius looked around at all the extra people and grimaced. He got up with help from Peter and looked sheepishly at the curator. “Sorry.”
“Let this be a lesson not to touch things you don’t understand and are not prepared to deal with. Now, off with you all.” He waved them all to go home.
The Marauders didn’t stick around, but Remus did glance back once to see Snape watching them from a corner.
--
“Had a bit of fun today?” Snape sneered at Remus as they met that night in an unused classroom. It wasn’t quite curfew yet, and both of them had managed to shake off their respective friends for a quick rendezvous.
Remus shook his head in frustration. “Sirius is an idiot.”
“What else don’t I know about Black?” Snape said with utter disgust. He was still incensed about the prank last year and Remus couldn’t blame him, although it had led to him and Snape getting together over the summer.
Remus sighed. “What he meant to do was give you the mask to put on, or rather was going to put it on you, and watch you turn into a bird creature. He thought it would be quite the laugh.”
Snape smirked. “Did he? Looks like it backfired, since he’s the one in trouble.”
Remus looked upset at the thirty house points Sirius had lost them, not to mention it was going to be harder to finish the essay on Greek artifacts. “Yeah, he touched it and this light flickered and he blacked out -- no pun intended. The curator didn’t understand what happened, assuring us everything would be fine.”
“Other than an incapacitated excuse for a monkey.”
“Sirius seemed fine after waking. Look, can we not talk about this? I tried to get them to stop.” Remus looked earnestly at Snape, willing him to understand that it was difficult keeping their relationship secret from his friends. They were notorious at pointing their wands where they didn’t belong and their curiosity knew no bounds.
Snape held his gaze for a minute before acquiescing. “Fine, as there are much better activities at hand.” He stalked up to Remus, grabbed the scraggly brown hair, and pulled him into a fierce kiss, dominating with teeth and tongue.
Remus sank into bliss as he let Snape have his way with him over a desk, both of them releasing pent-up anxiety from the day’s activities.
--
Sirius tossed and turned all night, groaning and whimpering in his sleep, much to the annoyance of all the others in the room. He seemed to be in pain but didn’t wake up.
“Gods, Sirius, would you let a bloke get some sleep?” whinged Peter. He turned over and stuffed his pillow on top of his head. “Somebody cast a silencing spell on him.”
James got up and prodded Sirius. “Come on, Siri, wake up. Snap out of it already.”
Sirius whimpered some more and turned away from James, but he didn’t wake up and he didn’t stop twitching. James rolled his eyes, cast a quick volume-down spell they had learned in herbology for dealing with adult mandrakes, and then went back to bed, closing the curtain of his four-poster. After a few minutes Peter was snoring in his sleep, and Remus lay awake, frowning. A few more minutes passed and Sirius whimpered again and started clawing at his back.
Remus didn’t want Sirius to hurt himself, so he got out of his own bed and went to Sirius’. He tried shaking him awake. “Hey, Padfoot, come on, wake up.” No response other than more whimpering, which was very unnerving since it was completely out of character for him. “You’re really scaring me, Sirius.” He pried the hands away from doing harm to their owner’s back, only to be suddenly grabbed and pulled down into an embrace. Sirius groaned at the full body contact and snuggled in closer. Remus tried to extricate himself to no avail. “Dammit, Sirius. What is going on with you?”
Remus received his answer when a moment later Sirius clutched him more tightly, screamed, although it was muted, and bucked as the back of his shirt ripped open at the violent force of huge, white, feathered wings breaking forth. Remus stared in shock. How had this happened?
Sirius calmed down afterward, falling into a deeper, more contented sleep, ignoring the blood trickling down his back and seemingly more relaxed, yet still clutching firmly to Remus.
They were going to have to have a long talk about this in the morning.
--
The talk consisted mostly of Sirius freaking out -- “I have wings! Shit, shit, shit, and double shit!” -- and the others guessing at this new development.
“Maybe it was the mask,” said James.
“Maybe it was a curse,” said Peter.
“Maybe it was Snape,” returned James, this time with a grimace on his face.
“Maybe it’s a creature inheritance,” suggested Peter.
“Impossible,” said Remus. “The Blacks are all pure-bloods. They wouldn’t soil their line with creature blood.”
“Then it had to be that light from the mask,” said James. It was the most logical explanation. They would have to tell McGonagall and Dumbledore and maybe contact that curator before this news got out to the rest of the school. This was turning into a bigger fiasco than they’d thought.
“Let’s head to the Headmaster’s office before all the school goes to breakfast.” Remus took Sirius’ upper arm and started for the door.
“But I have wings!”
Remus rolled his eyes. “All the more reason to go now, Siri, before everyone is up.” Sirius gave him a put-upon look but obeyed with no more resistance. That stirred wariness in Remus as it was strange behavior for Sirius, but at least it was helping them now. James and Peter followed close behind.
They made it to Dumbledore’s office without incident and James sent up the message through the gargoyle that they urgently needed to see the Headmaster. They only had to wait a minute before the gate opened and the stairs began revolving up to the office door.
“Good morning, my boys.” Dumbledore greeted them, jovial and alert with that damn twinkle in his eyes. He took in Sirius’ new form without batting an eyelash and motioned them all to sit down. “Lemon drop?” The boys shook their heads. “I take it this is a result of yesterday’s activities?”
James spoke up first. “We don’t know what it is, sir. It could be a result of that light flash from the mask, but how would we know? Could we contact the guy from the museum?”
“It could just be a prank curse,” said Peter, hoping they wouldn’t get detention over this.
Remus shook his head. “No spells hit us yesterday, except for that light. It has to be the mask. It did look bird-like, so the feathered wings make sense.”
Sirius’ eyes had been flitting back and forth and he was growing agitated. Finally he snapped. “Who cares how it happened; change it back! I can’t go to classes like this!”
Remus rubbed Sirius’ arms and shoulders, instinctively granting comfort and trying to get Sirius to calm down. They both looked beseechingly at the Headmaster.
“Well, my boys, I can certainly talk to the National Museum curator about this possible side effect. Mr. Black, I’m also going to have to contact your parents as you have not yet turned seventeen.”
“Blimey,” Sirius muttered. Just what he needed -- one more thing for them to be disgusted over. Good thing he’d already left home this past summer or there would have been consequences to pay.
“What about right now?” James asked.
“Nothing to be done about it. Just go on with your days. I’m sure the student body will believe it to be a triumph of transformation. Take advantage of the day. Just be careful of the wings. They look strong and healthy, but your balance might be off for a while until you get used to them.” Dumbledore got up and herded the boys to his office door. “I’ll let you know when I hear something. Make it a splendid day.”
They left the Headmaster’s tower with shocked and horrified faces.
--
The rest of the day proved to be as trying as they felt it would be. Jeers and sniggers followed Sirius from class to class and he bumped into all kinds of obstacles previously ignored, such as the iron statues guarding the hallways. Sirius believed himself to be bruised black and blue by the end of the day, although Remus examined him before dinner and assured him everything looked alright. Even the skin around the wing eruption, torn and bleeding that morning, had healed nicely. Still, Sirius took it easy sitting down at the Gryffindor table that evening, folding his wings under the bench. He’d had enough of others stepping on the tips during lunch.
Remus chanced a glance at the Slytherin table, noting the whisperings and pointings of the students all a buzz with the day’s antics. He caught Snape’s gaze and gave a slight shrug to communicate that he didn’t really know what was up. Turning back to his friends, he caught sight of a note dropped onto Sirius’ plate. “What’s it say?”
Sirius opened it and read it. “The Headmaster says to come back to his office after dinner. Guess he found out something.”
“We don’t all need to go, do we?” asked Peter. “I have a lot of homework for Divination.”
Sirius shook his head. “He only addressed it to me, so I don’t think the rest of you need to be there. I’ll tell you all when I get back, ‘kay?”
“Sure,” they all said and nodded.
But as they all headed back, Sirius pulled Remus aside. “Would … you come with me?”
Remus had never heard Sirius so timid before, his eyes pleading and unsure. “Of course.” He was feeling a strange pull toward Siri, a general wish to see him safe and happy. Maybe it was all the awkwardness of the wings; after all, it had been a trying day. So they went together to see Dumbledore, who wasn’t surprised to see them both.
“Well, my boys, I do have some news for you. Seems the curator researched more into the masks, and although they do work as stated on normal witches and wizards, they also bring out dormant traits and creature inheritances in those afflicted. The bird one you touched, Mr. Black, brings out Veela features, most notably the wings and the allure, hence the devotion to the Grace Charm.”
“Huh?” said Sirius, stunned.
“Charm is one of the three Graces, and natural charm can be turned on others to lure them into a circle of influence. Congratulations, Mr. Black. You are now a Veela.”
Sirius fainted out of his chair. Only Remus’ quick reflexes saved him from knocking his head on the floor. Remus looked up at Dumbledore, puzzled by something. “You said it brought out dormant traits. But the Blacks are all pure-bloods.”
Dumbledore put his hands together. “It would appear that they are not as pure as they wish to portray. Mrs. Black shut the floo in my face at mention of Sirius’ new condition, but I did see a flash of recognition in her eyes. Just know this is natural for him and he will have to live with it.”
Remus nodded. “I’ll help him. If anyone can understand his predicament, it’s me.”
“I agree. Good luck, Mr. Lupin.”
--
Remus helped Sirius down the stairs after reviving him. He still looked pale and in a bit of a shock, so Remus kept a firm grip on one arm.
“How can this be?” he muttered, more to himself than to Remus. “What’s my mother going to say?”
“Nothing good, apparently. The Headmaster already tried to talk to her and she closed the floo in his face. I think they may all be ashamed of the Veela blood.”
Sirius shook his head in bewilderment. “I never knew. I wonder if Regulus knows. What are we going to do?” His eyes found Remus’ and he looked so vulnerable and lost, completely out of his depth in unknown territory.
Remus hugged him. “You’re right about Regulus; we should tell him. I’ll set up a meeting.”
Grateful for the contact but unsure of Remus’ actions, Sirius pulled back from the embrace. “How? The Slytherins don’t like us much and Regulus and I haven’t talked in the last year.”
Remus gave him a reassuring squeeze in the shoulders. “I’ll find a way.”
Sirius nodded and the two continued up to Gryffindor Tower. They were assaulted with questions and exclamations as soon as they walked through the Fat Lady’s portrait. All those whisperings throughout the day and then his absence after dinner had fueled the gossip mongers.
“What happened?”
“How cool is it to have wings!”
“Can you fly?”
“How do they feel?”
“Was it a curse? Are you going to get back at the one who did this?”
“Who did do this?”
“You look awesome!”
“You mean he looks ridiculous.”
“You’re just jealous. Are you going to keep them, Sirius?”
Sirius began hyperventilating. It was too much for one day, and although Sirius usually liked being the center of attention, it was always under his own plans and machinations, not this sudden broadsiding from an outside force. Remus didn’t like seeing Sirius lose it like this. So he growled. He actually growled at the crowd. Their eyes widened in surprise since Remus was usually so mild-mannered, but everyone was acting strange today. Must be the wings.
Remus jerked his head to James and Peter, who got the message to follow him and Sirius up the stairs to their dormitory. Once in the room, he locked and warded it. Then he forced Sirius to sit down before he could collapse.
James put his hands on his hips. “So what did the Headmaster say? Did he learn anything?”
Remus answered for Sirius. “The curator did find out that the mask will unearth a hidden creature inheritance, which the Blacks seemed to have acquired. It must lie dormant in their blood. Mrs. Black shut the floo on the Headmaster when he mentioned Sirius’ condition.”
“What kind of creature?” asked Peter, tilting his head to the side to get a different angle on Sirius and his feathered appendages.
“Veela,” said Sirius in a low, flat tone. He still looked stunned.
“There’s no cure. He’ll just have to live with it.” Remus looked away. “His mother’s reaction may well be a glimpse of what the rest of Wizarding society will do when this gets around.”
“But Veelas are prized, aren’t they?” asked James, confused.
Peter answered, shaking his head. “They can be, but the Blacks have lorded it over others about their pure-blood status for so many years that this will be a big stain on their reputation. It was bad enough having the first Gryffindor in the family. Now this.”
“Well, my parents aren’t going to care one way or the other, Sirius, so don’t you worry about where you will be staying. You’ll always be welcome at our house,” James said.
“Thanks, James.” Sirius gave him a small smile, glad to have such good friends. He yawned. “Well, maybe I should get some sleep. I’m starting to feel sore.” He rubbed at his lower back but couldn’t get a firm enough grip to do much good.
“That’s not surprising,” said Remus. “You have new limbs that your back and stomach muscles have to get used to supporting and using. It will probably take a few days for them to shore up.” He moved to stand at the side of the Sirius’ bed just behind him. Placing his hands on Sirius, he began kneading the muscles, working out the knots and kinks.
Sirius slowly relaxed into the massage, his wings fluttering a little when Remus touched the base of them adjoining to the back. “Hm, that’s nice, Remi.”
“You’re going to have to sleep on your stomach for a few days to give your back a rest. I know how much you hate that.” Remus smirked.
Sirius grimaced at the thought. “Of course I don’t like it. It’s hard to wank that way.” That was a mental image the others didn’t need. James winced. Peter squeaked. Remus groaned.
A thought came to James’ head, so he altered the topic. “We should adjust all your clothing now, do it all uniform so you’re not having to rush to do each piece later.”
“Good idea. Get to it, Prongs. I’m about …,” Sirius yawned again, “... to fall asleep.”
James snorted. “Yeah, we see that. Goodnight, Princess.”
“Hey! It’s not my fault I’ve got better and more delicate looks than you now.” Sirius fake-pouted and then rolled over onto his stomach to go to sleep.
Remus continued to rub Sirius, from his neck down each arm and back up, then down each leg and back up, and finally returning to the back, while James and Peter transfigured all of Sirius’ shirts, robes and overcoat, putting slits in the back for the wings. By the time they were done, Sirius had been long asleep.
Crawling into his own bed later, Remus found a crumpled note under his pillow. Meet me in Greenhouse Five tomorrow evening. It wasn’t signed, but Remus knew from whom it came.
--
Sirius seemed more his usual self the next day, not quite jumping around the room planning the next prank, but at least he wasn’t moping. Sleep had done him good and he seemed more accepting of his lot in life. The student body still made quite a fuss over it, but Sirius took it in better stride. He tried catching his brother’s attention, but Regulus looked away every time. Remus vowed again to get them together.
Remus met with Snape at the appointed time and place, although walking out on his friends as they wanted to experiment with the wings was tough. Luckily he was a prefect and could make an excuse to go do “prefect stuff.” But it was extra hard leaving Sirius today for some reason. Maybe he was just looking tired, his wings starting to droop a bit as evening progressed.
“So what’s the real scoop with Black?” Snape asked a bit sternly.
Remus rubbed his neck in a nervous habit. “Looks like it’s definitely a creature inheritance. Veela. We think the Blacks might be ashamed of it. Speaking of which, we need to tell Regulus. Can you arrange a meeting?”
Snape smirked. “Perhaps. You’ll have to pay for my efforts, though.” His black eyes glittered with mischief tinged with lust.
Remus fell to his knees before Snape, ready to oblige but somehow reluctant to comply. He didn’t move forward into Snape’s crotch.
“Problems, Lupin?” Snape ran a hand through Remus’ hair, catching it in the back and tilting his head up.
Their gazes met and they stared at each other expectantly, Snape demanding an answer and Remus begging for understanding. Eventually, Remus felt well enough in his submission to mention what was plaguing him. “I just have an odd feeling around Siri now. Like I want to hold him and protect him.”
“Probably just the newness of the wings. Veela do have an allure, you know. It could be underdeveloped right now until he gets used to it, but he could be giving off small signals and you are within proximity to pick those up.” He shrugged. “Ignore it.”
Remus wasn’t sure he could do that. Sirius was his best friend and could really use his support right now.
“Well? Are you planning on killing your joints by kneeling on the floor all night, or are you going to suck me off?” Snape was quite imperious in his questioning. He enjoyed having control over Remus, and Remus enjoyed relinquishing that control. He didn’t have to be the perfect student, hiding his wolf form from the school. Snape already knew.
He proceeded to suck Snape off, who then laid him down on the stones and snogged him until he moaned in need. Snape’s handjobs were always the best, those long fingers wrapping gloriously around him. He shuddered through an orgasm, then smiled at Snape in thanks.
“When do you think we can talk to Regulus?”
Snape shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’ll message you once I convince him to give Black the time of day.”
Remus nodded his thanks. They rearranged their clothing and parted ways, until next time.
--
Snape took two weeks to arrange the meeting. First it was Regulus’ outright refusal to talk to his brother that was the hold-up. Then it was a stream of howlers and letters Sirius received from all sides -- including solicitations for interviews with the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly -- discussions in the Quidditch lockers if he would be allowed to play, and check-ups with Madam Pomfrey.
When the affliction did not leave Sirius as all other parties thought it would, Regulus finally wrote home about the whole thing and received his own howler from his mother. According to her, no one was supposed to be talking about this. She was appalled it would come out in polite society and in the company of so many impressionable minors. Remus was glad Gryffindor table was on the opposite side of the Great Hall; most of the Slytherins had to cover their ears. After that, Regulus agreed to the talk and then it was a matter of comparing schedules.
“All right. What did you do, brother? You haven’t managed to lose the wings and Mother is in an uproar,” said Regulus without preamble, striding into the unused classroom where they had agreed to their meeting. The Marauders were already there and waiting.
Snape walked in with him and sat on a side desk. Remus gave him a slight dip of the head to acknowledge his presence, while the other Gryffindors ignored him, thinking he was there as backup support for Regulus. Snape allowed them to believe that and set up the privacy spells.
Sirius looked sheepish. “I didn’t really do anything ….”
“Oh, yes, you did,” said Peter, giving Sirius a hope-this-doesn’t-happen-to-me look.
Sirius frowned at him, then he turned back to his brother. “Truth is I touched this cursed object at the museum a few weeks ago and it made my -- our -- creature nature show up.”
Regulus’ eyes narrowed. “Our? What are you talking about? We’re pure-bloods, as much as you want to deny it.”
Sirius got mad, his wings opening a little in aggravation, attempting to look bigger against an enemy. “I don’t know what’s going on, but Mother shut out the Headmaster when he tried to ask about it, and the curator is pretty sure that the mask only brought out what was already in my blood to begin with. Our blood!”
James cut in to diffuse Sirius. “We think your mother is upset because this was supposed to stay a secret in your family. Maybe you would have been told later; maybe not.”
“And dear Sirius went and ruined the surprise.” Regulus gave them a haughty look. “Well, if you hadn’t already run away, you definitely would have needed to now. She’s not going to let you back in the house.”
“Good,” said Sirius. “I don’t want to go near her anyway. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t Veela as well.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that each time I wake up without wings.” Regulus turned on his heels and walked out.
“That went about as well as expected,” said James. “Come on, Peter, we have a charms project to finish. You gonna be alright, Siri?”
Sirius had been longingly looking after his brother, desperate to mend the rift between them but not knowing how when there was always such tension between them. When James prodded him a second time, he finally turned his head and answered, “Yeah. Give me a mo’, okay?”
James nodded and walked out with Peter. Snape and Remus were still in the room, one sitting, one standing, both looking expectantly at Sirius. Sirius finally noticed.
“What are you staring at, Snivellus?”
Snape smirked. “Just someone who became infinitely more interesting.” With that parting shot, he jumped off the desk and walked out of the room.
“What’s up with him?”
Remus shook his head. “Come on, Padfoot. Let’s -- hey! Can you transform anymore?” They hadn’t even discussed what might become of his animagus ability.
So Sirius tried. One second he was Veela and the next he was Grim, then he was Veela again. “Yeah, guess that worked. So now I can run or fly!”
Remus rolled his eyes. “Let’s get back to the common room before your ego becomes larger.”
Sirius just grinned at him.
--
Over the next few weeks the talk amongst the student body lessened a degree. All the newness wore off and everyone became accustomed to seeing the raven-haired boy with wings prance about the school. And prance he did. Sirius realised after talking with Regulus that this was just another way to embarrass and harass his family, another way to taunt them with his differentness, another reason to fling the ‘ugliness of heritage’ -- as he put it -- back in their faces.
Remus wasn’t sure that was going to work the way Sirius claimed it would, but Sirius was getting howlers from his mother on a daily basis, and that had only happened once before, in their first year when Sirius was placed in Gryffindor. So maybe he had a point. He certainly acted confident as well.
And smug. He practiced with his wing muscles every day and by the time a month had passed he could hover in the Great Hall for five minutes ten feet up in the air. People weren’t mocking him anymore and in fact most of them seemed in awe of his new attachments. His eyes twinkled in delight.
And he was smarmy, too! Remus growled as Sirius cast a beaming smile at Mary McDonald and then winked at Jonathan Strange. As his confidence and acceptance had grown, so, too, had his flattery. It seemed he really had become the Grace Charm with how much attention he was paying to their fellow witches and wizards and laying it on. By the end of that month there wasn’t a single classmate who hadn’t felt Sirius’ gaze turned their way, and they were all suffering from some sort of enthrallment while in his presence but came out of it as soon as he walked off.
Remus finally found a book in the library with a bit more information about Veelas. He’d had to get permission from the Headmaster to search the Restricted Section, since none of the standard creature compendiums mentioned anything about them. Once found and read, it was obvious to Remus that Sirius had come into his allure. He was already attracting half the student body. At this rate all of England would come under his influence within a couple of decades.
Remus couldn’t have that. It was bad enough watching him fawn over and be fawned at by a few students; the whole Wizarding world would be torture. So it was up to Remus to educate him and get him to back off on the allure.
"Sirius, stop that, " he said, when he caught Sirius yet again grinning lovingly at Jonathan.
"Stop what?"
"Stop teasing everybody."
"I'm not teasing anyone."
"Yes, you are. You're Veela now and you're casting an allure. You need to stop it." Remus gave him a stern look.
"Aww, Moony, you know how it is. Flaunt it if you got it." Sirius posed with one hand on his hip, bent a little forward, and stuck his chin out in a seductive pout.
This infuriated Remus. He grabbed hold of Sirius' upper arms and shook him a little. "No, Sirius, enough. Stop this! You aren't seeing the devastation you've left in your wake."
Sirius scoffed. "Really, Remus? You're worried about a string of heartaches? Don't bother. They'll get over it. It's just our teenage years." He gave Remus the cockiest smile imaginable, carefree and unconcerned.
"You little shit," said Remus. His wolf was enraged. How dare he strut about this school and not care about the effect he was having on everyone, how their eyes all followed him, how Snape’s gaze speculated on him, how Remus’ own heart beat faster and wanted to protect him? And his wolf! Remus hadn't acknowledged it before, but he did now. His wolf wanted to claim Padfoot.
"Remus, don't take things so seriously. It'll be fine." Sirius tried to shrug him off.
But Remus did want to take Sirius seriously, and that was the problem. Sirius just couldn't see the consequences of his actions. Remus shook him to try to get some sense into him. "It won't be fine. People are going to get frustrated and then angry at you!"
"Much like yourself?" Sirius said, a bit offended. "What is it with you lately? Can't you just back off?"
This pushed Remus over the edge. With a growl, he pulled Sirius to him and latched his mouth to Sirius’ in a possessive kiss. It was hard and brutal and fierce. And completely unexpected by both of them.
Sirius melted into the kiss, pressing into Remus’ form. The slide of Sirius’ leg cut through the possessive fog and Remus pushed away from him. "I … shoot."
With emotions roiling through him, Remus fled the classroom, his head swimming in confusion.
--
Snape found him later that evening out by the Black Lake. "Wallowing in self pity? Had a falling out with Black over creature rights?"
Remus frowned up at him. "That's rather cruel of you, Severus. Sirius can't help what he is now."
"So this affects you how?"
Remus felt his wording was appropriate. Affect indeed. "He's so reckless, but I feel responsible."
Snape’s eyes grew questioning. "That makes no logical sense."
Remus shook his head, not at Snape, but at his own feckless situation. "When I'm near him, I just want to protect him -- when I'm not wanting to throttle him, that is." He cringed a little in uncertainty. He didn't know if he really wanted Sirius or if it was a product of the Veela allure. And what was he going to do about his relationship with Snape?
Snape read the quiet confusion warring inside Remus, but he didn't know what to make of it. "What happened?" he demanded.
"I … I kissed him." Remus looked devastated as well as fearful of Snape’s reaction. His eyes pleaded for forgiveness, for understanding, heck, even for guidance as to what to do next.
Snape’s usual sneer dropped from his face, the biggest outward sign of his surprise. Confusion and speculation both flared in his eyes while staring at Remus. Finally, after a minute’s tense silence, he asked, "Do you want to fuck him?"
Remus’ eyes grew wide with shock. He hadn’t expected Snape to be so blunt. He gulped and looked down, not able to look at his lover with this betrayal. "I ..." He couldn't even finish the sentence to admit to a ‘yes,’ but he thought Snape could read the desire in his face. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Pain shot through his heart at the idea of losing Snape, of trading the certainty of someone who could control him for the uncertainty of control over Sirius. Both possibilities were fighting inside him for dominance, and he didn’t know which one he preferred.
A hand gently touched his shoulder and he looked up into the eyes of a smirking Severus Snape.
“Get to know him intimately, then next time bring him along.”
Remus stared at him, completely baffled. “You want me to bring Sirius? Here? To us?” At Snape’s simple nod, he said, “But you hate him!”
Snape shrugged. “He’s an irritating poser, I’ll grant you that, but I think he’ll become much more tame under your sexual leadership.” Snape took Remus’ thick brown hair into his fists and pulled Remus closer, just as he leant in. “And you will remain under mine.” He laid a fierce kiss on Remus’ lips, but it wasn’t angry like Remus had been expecting, just possessive.
Suddenly Remus understood what Snape was suggesting, and although the concept of a threesome was ludicrous, Remus thought it could work, and it was exactly what he wanted. He returned the kiss with abandon, letting Snape know that he agreed with the plan, that he thought it was a good one. The rest of the evening was spent in submission to Snape’s will, which mostly consisted of mutual handjobs.
--
When Remus finally made it back to the dormitory that night, all the others were asleep except for Sirius, who was huddled up in his bed, knees held to his chest, looking dejected. “Where have you been?” he asked in a small, sad voice.
“Sirius, I … you know I have a boyfriend, right?” Remus paused to wait for Sirius’ confirmation. “Then you should be able to guess I was with him, right?” Again, Sirius nodded. “Then why are you upset?”
Sirius’ eyes flashed. “Because I wanted that to be me!” He looked down at his quilt and drew himself in tighter. “I needed that to be me,” he mumbled, almost too quiet to hear.
Remus crossed the room in a heartbeat and took Sirius into his arms. “I want that, too. And we think it can work.”
Sirius looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean ‘we’?”
“I mean I think the three of us could work together, with me taking care of you and him taking care of me.”
Sirius thought about it for a minute. “A threesome? Moony, that’s brilliant!” His face broke into a huge grin. “So tell me who this love bloke is so we can get started!”
Remus grimaced. “That’s not as easy as it sounds, as I think you’d still want to hex the guy right now. But anyway he wants us to become closer first. Then I’ll tell you who it is, okay? And you have to trust me, alright? I don’t want to … spoil the surprise.” He wasn’t at all sure how to tell Sirius the truth without Sirius blowing up and outright rejecting the both of them. Maybe Snape was right that he needed to bond with Sirius first, prepare him so as to soften the blow.
Sirius let out a small laugh. “Oh, Moony. Still trying to keep secrets. Okay, I’ll bite. Or maybe not as I don’t want to become a werewolf Veela hybrid.” He shuddered. “Now, how do we do this?”
“Like this,” he said, placing both hands on the sides of Sirius’ head and leaning in to kiss him. Sirius moaned in appreciation and gave himself over to Remus.
--
Remus and Sirius spent the next couple of weeks getting to know each other on a physical and intimate level. They stole time during the day for make-out sessions -- in the greenhouses, the Quidditch locker rooms, empty alcoves, even the unused classroom that was normally Remus and Snape’s -- but it was easier to get it on in their dormitory since they shared a room.
James and Peter noticed what they were up to and generally left them alone. Of course, they also teased the young couple, but that would happen anyway. Peter and James wondered if Remus had broken up with his other boyfriend, but it didn’t bother them much. And truthfully they were glad Remus and Sirius were mating, as it cut down in Sirius’ flirtations across the school and in Remus’ worry about said flirtations.
Remus would occasionally catch Snape’s eyes while crossing paths in the hallway, wondering if it was time to join the three of them. But Snape just gave him an imperceptible shake of the head -- not yet. Remus would look away and sigh, feeling caught between two worlds.
Finally, Remus opened his potions book a few weeks later to find a single word in the text highlight itself while he read it: tonight. He didn’t know how Snape had managed it, but seeing the note made him sigh in relief and become anxious with anticipation all at the same time.
“Sirius,” he whispered to his companion, trying not to draw attention to themselves during class. When Sirius gave him the ‘go on’ hand gesture, he continued. “We need a clear schedule for tonight.”
Sirius nodded once in understanding, then gave him a small smile. All during the rest of class Remus’ stomach was tied in knots, while Sirius’ wings fluttered non-stop. It seemed he was anticipating the rendezvous as well.
“So are you finally going to tell me who it is?” Sirius asked as soon as they’d left the potions classroom. He was so giddy he was bouncing on air.
Remus was a little sad to have to break Sirius’ mood, but needs be, so he quickly marched him into the hidden passage around the corner from their classroom before the rest of the students had filed out. As he did so, he glanced behind them and gave a quick ‘go on’ jerk of his head to James and Peter, who both smirked back at him and Sirius and continued on their way.
“Siri, you know how I’ve been reluctant to tell you? Well, there was a good possibility that you weren’t going to like the answer, and you might still not. But you have to trust me that he is a better bloke than you’ve given him credit for. Yes, he tends to dabble in the Dark Arts, but he’s not evil.”
Sirius had gone from pleased and excited to alarmed and horrified. “Goodness, Moony, who have you been seeing!”
“Whom,” Remus corrected him. “It’s Snape.”
Sirius’ eyes went wide and he shrieked, “Snivellus!”
Remus shoved Sirius against the wall and snogged him to shut him up. Rubbing their bodies together produced a wonderful groan, and those students in the corridor who heard snickered.
When he sensed Sirius had calmed down, Remus pulled back. “He’s not as bad as you think. Please, give this a try.” His eyes pleaded, all yearning and earnest.
Sirius stared at him for a long moment, trying to decide if this was a joke or not, if this was real or not, if he could trust Remus. The silence was palpable, but eventually the tension bled out of the air as nothing untoward happened. “Okay.”
Remus smiled at him. “Good. We’ll meet him tonight after dinner. Try to let the past go.”
“But he hates me, Moony, and I’m not too fond of him.”
Remus pursed his mouth. “It’s true that you have fought like kneazles, but ever since you got your Veela inheritance, he’s been considering you.”
Sirius puffed up, a little affronted. “So it’s just my Veela. Big deal. He can go get his own.”
Remus shook his head. “But he doesn’t want his own. He wants me, and he wants me to have you, and I think he wants me and you. Just come tonight and you’ll see.”
“This had better be worth it, Moony.”
“I hope it will be.”
--
All day long Sirius was casting not-so-covert glances over at Snape, glaring and thinking and pondering. Occasionally, Snape would catch his gaze and return it with predatory lust. Sirius would then pull back in alarm and confusion, and Snape’s expression would change to a smiling smirk. He was enjoying the game.
By dinner, Sirius was a nervous wreck and Remus was irritated with both of them.
“Would you stop fidgeting?”
“I can’t help it. I’m just so nervous.”
Remus rolled his eyes. “Yes, well this is going to be awkward for all of us, so maybe you and I should start early.”
Sirius’s eyes turned questioning.
“What if we left now and got the party started early? That way you could relax some.” Remus’s own eyes glinted with mischief.
Sirius caught on to his meaning and readily agreed. “Well, I’m knackered,” he announced to the whole table, “but Remus and I have an essay for potions that we haven’t started yet, so we’ll head out early.”
James frowned. “But we just got that assignment today.”
“And there’s no time like the present to do it, right, Remus?” Sirius winked at him.
Trying not to roll his eyes, Remus said, “Yes, we should get it done early.” He gave James a significant look, who instantly caught the joke and smiled.
“You two have fun studying.”
Peter, who had cottoned on to it as well, snickered. “Yeah, don’t make the essay too long. Wouldn’t want to outshine the rest of us.”
The others at their table just shook their heads at the Marauders’ antics. Honestly, they were like this all the time, so it didn’t really pique anyone else’s interest. Remus put down his utensils and picked up his books and left the Great Hall with as little ceremony as possible, with Sirius following right behind him.
When they got to the unused classroom, Remus placed powerful warding spells on the door, ones that would allow just one other to enter the room. Then he turned his attentions on Sirius, kissing and licking and touching everywhere. Sirius moaned his pleasure.
Outer robes were removed and shirts were unbuttoned and within no time, they were undoing each other’s trousers. Remus got his hand in first, which caused Sirius to lean back and groan. “Like that, do you?” Remus growled, then he nipped at Sirius’ exposed throat. Sirius could only writhe and whimper in his arms as an answer.
Two chuckles followed that. One was Remus’. The other Sirius had never heard before, and it was quite amused.
“I knew the bravado was just an act, Black. And so here you are, a submissive little slut.”
Sirius’ eyes flew open and he pushed back from Remus, though the werewolf kept hold of him. “I am not, you little sh--”
“Hush,” Remus whispered in his ear, nuzzling it and making Sirius’ senses blur with a spike of want. “You are, you know. My little slut.” He kept licking and touching everywhere to drive Sirius mad, to distract him from the hate and mistrust that had always been there between Snape and Sirius, the hate and mistrust that Remus now wanted gone from their lives.
He felt Snape’s presence come up behind him, and he moaned, too, at the feel of Snape’s callused hands on his flesh.
Sirius opened his eyes to find Snape practically in front of him, with only Remus for a shield. He tensed, but Remus held him long enough for Sirius to get a good look. Remus turned his head and let Snape kiss him, their tongues dancing together, while Snape’s hands roamed all over Remus’ body. They were comfortable with each other -- no shyness, no taunting, no spite, only peaceful heat.
They broke the kiss and looked at Sirius. “Don’t you see? It’ll be fine. It’s okay.” Remus was gentle, trying to get Sirius to see how brilliant this could be, but Sirius just kept staring.
“Turn him around,” said Snape.
Remus complied. He kissed Sirius very firmly on the mouth then turned him around. This had the desired effect of removing Snape from Sirius’ immediate view so he would be less inclined to hex the other and it allowed both Remus and Snape access to Sirius’ beautiful wings. Remus licked and caressed the area where they joined the back, causing them to flutter wildly in excitement as well as speed up Sirius’ breathing.
Snape took that opportunity to divest all of them of their clothes. He stationed himself behind Remus, touching them both on their hips and chests and backs. He licked and bit Remus’ neck, eliciting a howl.
Sirius shuddered. “Merlin, that’s sexy. Do it again, Moony.”
Remus growled in Sirius’ ear. Sirius turned his head in submission, and Remus took the opportunity to mark his mate.
“Over that desk,” Snape said. He directed the proceedings, joining himself to Remus and then setting the pace between the three of them. Sirius whimpered and moaned and begged. Remus growled and groaned and panted. Snape remained silent except for his harsher breathing and soon he was ramming Remus into Sirius. They all climaxed together, Snape grunting, Sirius screaming, and Remus howling out their combined pleasures.
They all lay together in a panting mess, come running down their legs and bliss suffusing their features.
When they had regained some semblance of normalcy, Sirius looked back over his shoulder at a sleepy Moony and a contented Snape. “How come you don’t hate me anymore?”
Snape opened his eyes and there was such warmth and contentment in the blackness that before had been always cold. “Perhaps you’ve gained more Charm of late.” His eyes actually sparkled with mirth.
Remus snorted. “Yeah, but if you’re Beauty, I fail to see how I’m Joy.”
Sirius smirked. “And it doesn’t seem to work the other way around, either.” He knew Snape was going to curse him for that, but he just couldn’t resist.
Surprise, surprise, Snape began to laugh. “That is all too true, Black. You’ll just have to be all three Graces for us.”
“Me?” he squawked. “Why do I have to do all the work? Why don’t you be Joy, I’ll be Beauty -- thank you very much -- and Remus can be Charm?”
Snape chuckled again. “I think that sounds fair, don’t you, Remus?”
Remus tried to stay out of the debate. He simply smiled and lay back, revelling in their new togetherness. This was fulfillment. This was completion.
The End.
--
do_me_veela Valentine's fest:Title: Charming Our Hearts
Creator:
starduchessPairing: Severus/Remus/Sirius
Rating: R
Length: ~8900
Summary: Sirius accidentally touches a Greek artifact at the National Museum that awakens his creature inheritance. Remus wants him. Problem is Remus is already in a relationship with Snape.
Warnings/Content: Veela creature fic, some language, underage sex (all are 16)
“Oh, come on, Moony, aren’t you going to tell us who the bloke is?” asked Sirius as the Marauders broke off from the rest of the sixth years after entering the National Museum. There was no set curriculum for the class field trip, just a chance to view magical artifacts from history. Luckily, Binns as a ghost wasn’t able to accompany the group, and therefore, they were all spared his tedious and boring lectures. That didn’t stop him from assigning topics for research, but at least the students got to pursue those at their leisure. And of course Sirius took this as an ample opportunity to hound Remus about his new crush.
“Who says it’s a bloke? Could very well be a bird,” Remus said, trying to steer the conversation away, but to no avail. He really didn’t want to talk about it.
“Nah, can’t be,” said James, “‘cause you never look at those. Tits don’t interest you at all.” Sporting a devilish grin, he winked at Remus.
Remus cringed. So he’d been found out about his inclinations, but at least they didn’t know who held sway over his mind and body. He wasn’t so sure about his heart just yet. He did feel something was missing in that department. Ah, well, he was still a teenager and had plenty of time to figure it out, if only his friends would let him.
Sirius snickered. “Oh, so it IS a bloke! Wonderful, Moony. You have to introduce us.”
Remus rubbed the back of his neck. “I … I don’t know about that.”
“Nonsense. We’re your best friends,” said James with a slight scowl. It was unheard of for a Marauder to keep secrets from his friends. “We won’t tell and we’ll support you. So who is it?”
Remus pleaded with his friends to understand. “Look, I just … feel uncomfortable. It’s too soon, okay?”
A smile broke out on Sirius’ face. “Awww, he’s still in the crush stage.” He placed a hand over his heart and raised his face to the ceiling. “Oh, to have young love again. I quite miss it.”
James gave him an exasperated snort. “Save it, Pads. You were with Mary just last week.”
Sirius appeared affronted. “And a week is just too long! All the past is beyond our reach.”
Remus’ eyebrows scrunched up. “Waxing philosophical isn’t your thing, Siri.”
Sirius huffed, but before he said anything further, his attention was caught by movement off to the side. “Hey, isn’t that Snivellus? We should prank him and leave him unconscious in the museum so he misses the portkey home and loses Slytherin more points.”
James grinned. “Great idea, Pads. Got any ideas for the prank?”
Remus looked nervous. “I don’t think we should do this. We don’t want to get in trouble with the authorities.”
“Ah, spoil sport,” said Peter. He was hoping for more fun on this trip. It was a chance for them to shine in the students’ eyes.
Remus attempted to make them see reason. “It’s one thing to do it at Hogwarts, which is private and deals with rule-breaking on its own terms, but to do it out in public, with real laws in place, is just asking for an expulsion and maybe even a jail sentence. You don’t want to end up in the Ministry’s holding cells, do you?”
James rolled his eyes. “I doubt they’d do anything that drastic, and our families would get us out quick, even Padfoot’s.”
“Yeah, it might even be worth it to embarrass them.” Sirius got another wicked look in his eyes, wondering how he could turn a friendly prank into a family scandal and still get out of it unscathed.
“So let’s get to it,” said Peter, urging the others down the hall into the Greek artifacts rooms. He’d watched Snape go in the same direction, probably with a similar assignment to theirs to study Greek magic and technology. It would be the perfect place for a setup.
Remus followed the others slowly, his guts twisting in agitation. He didn’t want to get in trouble and he certainly didn’t want anything to happen to his lover.
--
They looked all around the room, observing and noting the various works by ancient wizards -- oracloscopes for telling fortunes, astrological clocks, harvesters and artificial suns for improved farming, jewelry that changed the wearer’s beauty, and even enchanted masks that made one’s face into gruesome beasts. Peter snickered with a whispered joke. “Maybe we should make Snape wear one of those. His looks couldn’t get any worse; it might be an improvement.” Sirius and James had to cover their mouths to keep from laughing out loud, while Remus closed his eyes and prayed for deliverance.
“I think that’s a perfect idea, Wormtail. Let’s grab that screeching bird one.” Within the space of a second Sirius had banished the glass and grabbed the mask in question before the others could protest. As soon as his hand touched the mask, a white light flared from it and ran up his arm, sparking across his chest and vanishing into his heart. Sirius gave out a yell and let go of the mask. It dropped to the floor just as Sirius’ eyes rolled back in his head and he, too, fell to the ground.
“Sirius!” they all shouted and rushed to his side. They checked him for injuries but could see nothing wrong other than being unconscious.
Within a minute museum guards showed up along with a curator. “What happened here, kids?”
Remus looked sick, but he faced the authorities and told them a brief version. “We were doing research for school and Sirius wanted to take a better look at the masks, maybe even try one on and see if it really worked. We couldn’t stop him before he touched it. There was a light and then he just collapsed.”
“We’re sorry,” said Peter, looking small and frightened for their fates.
“Is he going to be okay?” asked James, who was better at putting on a brave face, though he was concerned for his best friend.
The curator looked over at the bird mask. “You say there was a bright light just as he touched it?”
They nodded confirmation.
He shrugged, then picked up the mask. The Marauders tensed as he reached for it, but he did not seem to have any misgivings about touching it, and sure enough, it did nothing as he grabbed it. “That’s odd. We’ve never had any problems with any of the masks before. This is one of the three Graces, or so we were told -- the one for Charm. You can see the other two for Beauty and Joy there.” He pointed to two other masks still sitting in the display block, one wolf-like and the other lizard-like. All three were pretty gruesome.
“Hm.” He cast a quick diagnosis charm on the mask. “The magic is still intact on this one and it will work as proclaimed, though I don’t think we need any birdmen running around these corridors, now do we sons?”
The three boys shook their heads. “No, sir.”
He examined it further and finally placed it back on its perch. “Well, it’s not damaged, thank goodness, but this sort of mischief will not be tolerated. I will have to tell your teacher and you all are to vacate the premises immediately. Understood?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. We’re sorry for the trouble,” said Remus for all of them.
The curator nodded and pointed his wand at Sirius’ prone form. “Renervate.”
Blinking his eyes and groaning, Sirius looked around at all the extra people and grimaced. He got up with help from Peter and looked sheepishly at the curator. “Sorry.”
“Let this be a lesson not to touch things you don’t understand and are not prepared to deal with. Now, off with you all.” He waved them all to go home.
The Marauders didn’t stick around, but Remus did glance back once to see Snape watching them from a corner.
--
“Had a bit of fun today?” Snape sneered at Remus as they met that night in an unused classroom. It wasn’t quite curfew yet, and both of them had managed to shake off their respective friends for a quick rendezvous.
Remus shook his head in frustration. “Sirius is an idiot.”
“What else don’t I know about Black?” Snape said with utter disgust. He was still incensed about the prank last year and Remus couldn’t blame him, although it had led to him and Snape getting together over the summer.
Remus sighed. “What he meant to do was give you the mask to put on, or rather was going to put it on you, and watch you turn into a bird creature. He thought it would be quite the laugh.”
Snape smirked. “Did he? Looks like it backfired, since he’s the one in trouble.”
Remus looked upset at the thirty house points Sirius had lost them, not to mention it was going to be harder to finish the essay on Greek artifacts. “Yeah, he touched it and this light flickered and he blacked out -- no pun intended. The curator didn’t understand what happened, assuring us everything would be fine.”
“Other than an incapacitated excuse for a monkey.”
“Sirius seemed fine after waking. Look, can we not talk about this? I tried to get them to stop.” Remus looked earnestly at Snape, willing him to understand that it was difficult keeping their relationship secret from his friends. They were notorious at pointing their wands where they didn’t belong and their curiosity knew no bounds.
Snape held his gaze for a minute before acquiescing. “Fine, as there are much better activities at hand.” He stalked up to Remus, grabbed the scraggly brown hair, and pulled him into a fierce kiss, dominating with teeth and tongue.
Remus sank into bliss as he let Snape have his way with him over a desk, both of them releasing pent-up anxiety from the day’s activities.
--
Sirius tossed and turned all night, groaning and whimpering in his sleep, much to the annoyance of all the others in the room. He seemed to be in pain but didn’t wake up.
“Gods, Sirius, would you let a bloke get some sleep?” whinged Peter. He turned over and stuffed his pillow on top of his head. “Somebody cast a silencing spell on him.”
James got up and prodded Sirius. “Come on, Siri, wake up. Snap out of it already.”
Sirius whimpered some more and turned away from James, but he didn’t wake up and he didn’t stop twitching. James rolled his eyes, cast a quick volume-down spell they had learned in herbology for dealing with adult mandrakes, and then went back to bed, closing the curtain of his four-poster. After a few minutes Peter was snoring in his sleep, and Remus lay awake, frowning. A few more minutes passed and Sirius whimpered again and started clawing at his back.
Remus didn’t want Sirius to hurt himself, so he got out of his own bed and went to Sirius’. He tried shaking him awake. “Hey, Padfoot, come on, wake up.” No response other than more whimpering, which was very unnerving since it was completely out of character for him. “You’re really scaring me, Sirius.” He pried the hands away from doing harm to their owner’s back, only to be suddenly grabbed and pulled down into an embrace. Sirius groaned at the full body contact and snuggled in closer. Remus tried to extricate himself to no avail. “Dammit, Sirius. What is going on with you?”
Remus received his answer when a moment later Sirius clutched him more tightly, screamed, although it was muted, and bucked as the back of his shirt ripped open at the violent force of huge, white, feathered wings breaking forth. Remus stared in shock. How had this happened?
Sirius calmed down afterward, falling into a deeper, more contented sleep, ignoring the blood trickling down his back and seemingly more relaxed, yet still clutching firmly to Remus.
They were going to have to have a long talk about this in the morning.
--
The talk consisted mostly of Sirius freaking out -- “I have wings! Shit, shit, shit, and double shit!” -- and the others guessing at this new development.
“Maybe it was the mask,” said James.
“Maybe it was a curse,” said Peter.
“Maybe it was Snape,” returned James, this time with a grimace on his face.
“Maybe it’s a creature inheritance,” suggested Peter.
“Impossible,” said Remus. “The Blacks are all pure-bloods. They wouldn’t soil their line with creature blood.”
“Then it had to be that light from the mask,” said James. It was the most logical explanation. They would have to tell McGonagall and Dumbledore and maybe contact that curator before this news got out to the rest of the school. This was turning into a bigger fiasco than they’d thought.
“Let’s head to the Headmaster’s office before all the school goes to breakfast.” Remus took Sirius’ upper arm and started for the door.
“But I have wings!”
Remus rolled his eyes. “All the more reason to go now, Siri, before everyone is up.” Sirius gave him a put-upon look but obeyed with no more resistance. That stirred wariness in Remus as it was strange behavior for Sirius, but at least it was helping them now. James and Peter followed close behind.
They made it to Dumbledore’s office without incident and James sent up the message through the gargoyle that they urgently needed to see the Headmaster. They only had to wait a minute before the gate opened and the stairs began revolving up to the office door.
“Good morning, my boys.” Dumbledore greeted them, jovial and alert with that damn twinkle in his eyes. He took in Sirius’ new form without batting an eyelash and motioned them all to sit down. “Lemon drop?” The boys shook their heads. “I take it this is a result of yesterday’s activities?”
James spoke up first. “We don’t know what it is, sir. It could be a result of that light flash from the mask, but how would we know? Could we contact the guy from the museum?”
“It could just be a prank curse,” said Peter, hoping they wouldn’t get detention over this.
Remus shook his head. “No spells hit us yesterday, except for that light. It has to be the mask. It did look bird-like, so the feathered wings make sense.”
Sirius’ eyes had been flitting back and forth and he was growing agitated. Finally he snapped. “Who cares how it happened; change it back! I can’t go to classes like this!”
Remus rubbed Sirius’ arms and shoulders, instinctively granting comfort and trying to get Sirius to calm down. They both looked beseechingly at the Headmaster.
“Well, my boys, I can certainly talk to the National Museum curator about this possible side effect. Mr. Black, I’m also going to have to contact your parents as you have not yet turned seventeen.”
“Blimey,” Sirius muttered. Just what he needed -- one more thing for them to be disgusted over. Good thing he’d already left home this past summer or there would have been consequences to pay.
“What about right now?” James asked.
“Nothing to be done about it. Just go on with your days. I’m sure the student body will believe it to be a triumph of transformation. Take advantage of the day. Just be careful of the wings. They look strong and healthy, but your balance might be off for a while until you get used to them.” Dumbledore got up and herded the boys to his office door. “I’ll let you know when I hear something. Make it a splendid day.”
They left the Headmaster’s tower with shocked and horrified faces.
--
The rest of the day proved to be as trying as they felt it would be. Jeers and sniggers followed Sirius from class to class and he bumped into all kinds of obstacles previously ignored, such as the iron statues guarding the hallways. Sirius believed himself to be bruised black and blue by the end of the day, although Remus examined him before dinner and assured him everything looked alright. Even the skin around the wing eruption, torn and bleeding that morning, had healed nicely. Still, Sirius took it easy sitting down at the Gryffindor table that evening, folding his wings under the bench. He’d had enough of others stepping on the tips during lunch.
Remus chanced a glance at the Slytherin table, noting the whisperings and pointings of the students all a buzz with the day’s antics. He caught Snape’s gaze and gave a slight shrug to communicate that he didn’t really know what was up. Turning back to his friends, he caught sight of a note dropped onto Sirius’ plate. “What’s it say?”
Sirius opened it and read it. “The Headmaster says to come back to his office after dinner. Guess he found out something.”
“We don’t all need to go, do we?” asked Peter. “I have a lot of homework for Divination.”
Sirius shook his head. “He only addressed it to me, so I don’t think the rest of you need to be there. I’ll tell you all when I get back, ‘kay?”
“Sure,” they all said and nodded.
But as they all headed back, Sirius pulled Remus aside. “Would … you come with me?”
Remus had never heard Sirius so timid before, his eyes pleading and unsure. “Of course.” He was feeling a strange pull toward Siri, a general wish to see him safe and happy. Maybe it was all the awkwardness of the wings; after all, it had been a trying day. So they went together to see Dumbledore, who wasn’t surprised to see them both.
“Well, my boys, I do have some news for you. Seems the curator researched more into the masks, and although they do work as stated on normal witches and wizards, they also bring out dormant traits and creature inheritances in those afflicted. The bird one you touched, Mr. Black, brings out Veela features, most notably the wings and the allure, hence the devotion to the Grace Charm.”
“Huh?” said Sirius, stunned.
“Charm is one of the three Graces, and natural charm can be turned on others to lure them into a circle of influence. Congratulations, Mr. Black. You are now a Veela.”
Sirius fainted out of his chair. Only Remus’ quick reflexes saved him from knocking his head on the floor. Remus looked up at Dumbledore, puzzled by something. “You said it brought out dormant traits. But the Blacks are all pure-bloods.”
Dumbledore put his hands together. “It would appear that they are not as pure as they wish to portray. Mrs. Black shut the floo in my face at mention of Sirius’ new condition, but I did see a flash of recognition in her eyes. Just know this is natural for him and he will have to live with it.”
Remus nodded. “I’ll help him. If anyone can understand his predicament, it’s me.”
“I agree. Good luck, Mr. Lupin.”
--
Remus helped Sirius down the stairs after reviving him. He still looked pale and in a bit of a shock, so Remus kept a firm grip on one arm.
“How can this be?” he muttered, more to himself than to Remus. “What’s my mother going to say?”
“Nothing good, apparently. The Headmaster already tried to talk to her and she closed the floo in his face. I think they may all be ashamed of the Veela blood.”
Sirius shook his head in bewilderment. “I never knew. I wonder if Regulus knows. What are we going to do?” His eyes found Remus’ and he looked so vulnerable and lost, completely out of his depth in unknown territory.
Remus hugged him. “You’re right about Regulus; we should tell him. I’ll set up a meeting.”
Grateful for the contact but unsure of Remus’ actions, Sirius pulled back from the embrace. “How? The Slytherins don’t like us much and Regulus and I haven’t talked in the last year.”
Remus gave him a reassuring squeeze in the shoulders. “I’ll find a way.”
Sirius nodded and the two continued up to Gryffindor Tower. They were assaulted with questions and exclamations as soon as they walked through the Fat Lady’s portrait. All those whisperings throughout the day and then his absence after dinner had fueled the gossip mongers.
“What happened?”
“How cool is it to have wings!”
“Can you fly?”
“How do they feel?”
“Was it a curse? Are you going to get back at the one who did this?”
“Who did do this?”
“You look awesome!”
“You mean he looks ridiculous.”
“You’re just jealous. Are you going to keep them, Sirius?”
Sirius began hyperventilating. It was too much for one day, and although Sirius usually liked being the center of attention, it was always under his own plans and machinations, not this sudden broadsiding from an outside force. Remus didn’t like seeing Sirius lose it like this. So he growled. He actually growled at the crowd. Their eyes widened in surprise since Remus was usually so mild-mannered, but everyone was acting strange today. Must be the wings.
Remus jerked his head to James and Peter, who got the message to follow him and Sirius up the stairs to their dormitory. Once in the room, he locked and warded it. Then he forced Sirius to sit down before he could collapse.
James put his hands on his hips. “So what did the Headmaster say? Did he learn anything?”
Remus answered for Sirius. “The curator did find out that the mask will unearth a hidden creature inheritance, which the Blacks seemed to have acquired. It must lie dormant in their blood. Mrs. Black shut the floo on the Headmaster when he mentioned Sirius’ condition.”
“What kind of creature?” asked Peter, tilting his head to the side to get a different angle on Sirius and his feathered appendages.
“Veela,” said Sirius in a low, flat tone. He still looked stunned.
“There’s no cure. He’ll just have to live with it.” Remus looked away. “His mother’s reaction may well be a glimpse of what the rest of Wizarding society will do when this gets around.”
“But Veelas are prized, aren’t they?” asked James, confused.
Peter answered, shaking his head. “They can be, but the Blacks have lorded it over others about their pure-blood status for so many years that this will be a big stain on their reputation. It was bad enough having the first Gryffindor in the family. Now this.”
“Well, my parents aren’t going to care one way or the other, Sirius, so don’t you worry about where you will be staying. You’ll always be welcome at our house,” James said.
“Thanks, James.” Sirius gave him a small smile, glad to have such good friends. He yawned. “Well, maybe I should get some sleep. I’m starting to feel sore.” He rubbed at his lower back but couldn’t get a firm enough grip to do much good.
“That’s not surprising,” said Remus. “You have new limbs that your back and stomach muscles have to get used to supporting and using. It will probably take a few days for them to shore up.” He moved to stand at the side of the Sirius’ bed just behind him. Placing his hands on Sirius, he began kneading the muscles, working out the knots and kinks.
Sirius slowly relaxed into the massage, his wings fluttering a little when Remus touched the base of them adjoining to the back. “Hm, that’s nice, Remi.”
“You’re going to have to sleep on your stomach for a few days to give your back a rest. I know how much you hate that.” Remus smirked.
Sirius grimaced at the thought. “Of course I don’t like it. It’s hard to wank that way.” That was a mental image the others didn’t need. James winced. Peter squeaked. Remus groaned.
A thought came to James’ head, so he altered the topic. “We should adjust all your clothing now, do it all uniform so you’re not having to rush to do each piece later.”
“Good idea. Get to it, Prongs. I’m about …,” Sirius yawned again, “... to fall asleep.”
James snorted. “Yeah, we see that. Goodnight, Princess.”
“Hey! It’s not my fault I’ve got better and more delicate looks than you now.” Sirius fake-pouted and then rolled over onto his stomach to go to sleep.
Remus continued to rub Sirius, from his neck down each arm and back up, then down each leg and back up, and finally returning to the back, while James and Peter transfigured all of Sirius’ shirts, robes and overcoat, putting slits in the back for the wings. By the time they were done, Sirius had been long asleep.
Crawling into his own bed later, Remus found a crumpled note under his pillow. Meet me in Greenhouse Five tomorrow evening. It wasn’t signed, but Remus knew from whom it came.
--
Sirius seemed more his usual self the next day, not quite jumping around the room planning the next prank, but at least he wasn’t moping. Sleep had done him good and he seemed more accepting of his lot in life. The student body still made quite a fuss over it, but Sirius took it in better stride. He tried catching his brother’s attention, but Regulus looked away every time. Remus vowed again to get them together.
Remus met with Snape at the appointed time and place, although walking out on his friends as they wanted to experiment with the wings was tough. Luckily he was a prefect and could make an excuse to go do “prefect stuff.” But it was extra hard leaving Sirius today for some reason. Maybe he was just looking tired, his wings starting to droop a bit as evening progressed.
“So what’s the real scoop with Black?” Snape asked a bit sternly.
Remus rubbed his neck in a nervous habit. “Looks like it’s definitely a creature inheritance. Veela. We think the Blacks might be ashamed of it. Speaking of which, we need to tell Regulus. Can you arrange a meeting?”
Snape smirked. “Perhaps. You’ll have to pay for my efforts, though.” His black eyes glittered with mischief tinged with lust.
Remus fell to his knees before Snape, ready to oblige but somehow reluctant to comply. He didn’t move forward into Snape’s crotch.
“Problems, Lupin?” Snape ran a hand through Remus’ hair, catching it in the back and tilting his head up.
Their gazes met and they stared at each other expectantly, Snape demanding an answer and Remus begging for understanding. Eventually, Remus felt well enough in his submission to mention what was plaguing him. “I just have an odd feeling around Siri now. Like I want to hold him and protect him.”
“Probably just the newness of the wings. Veela do have an allure, you know. It could be underdeveloped right now until he gets used to it, but he could be giving off small signals and you are within proximity to pick those up.” He shrugged. “Ignore it.”
Remus wasn’t sure he could do that. Sirius was his best friend and could really use his support right now.
“Well? Are you planning on killing your joints by kneeling on the floor all night, or are you going to suck me off?” Snape was quite imperious in his questioning. He enjoyed having control over Remus, and Remus enjoyed relinquishing that control. He didn’t have to be the perfect student, hiding his wolf form from the school. Snape already knew.
He proceeded to suck Snape off, who then laid him down on the stones and snogged him until he moaned in need. Snape’s handjobs were always the best, those long fingers wrapping gloriously around him. He shuddered through an orgasm, then smiled at Snape in thanks.
“When do you think we can talk to Regulus?”
Snape shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’ll message you once I convince him to give Black the time of day.”
Remus nodded his thanks. They rearranged their clothing and parted ways, until next time.
--
Snape took two weeks to arrange the meeting. First it was Regulus’ outright refusal to talk to his brother that was the hold-up. Then it was a stream of howlers and letters Sirius received from all sides -- including solicitations for interviews with the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly -- discussions in the Quidditch lockers if he would be allowed to play, and check-ups with Madam Pomfrey.
When the affliction did not leave Sirius as all other parties thought it would, Regulus finally wrote home about the whole thing and received his own howler from his mother. According to her, no one was supposed to be talking about this. She was appalled it would come out in polite society and in the company of so many impressionable minors. Remus was glad Gryffindor table was on the opposite side of the Great Hall; most of the Slytherins had to cover their ears. After that, Regulus agreed to the talk and then it was a matter of comparing schedules.
“All right. What did you do, brother? You haven’t managed to lose the wings and Mother is in an uproar,” said Regulus without preamble, striding into the unused classroom where they had agreed to their meeting. The Marauders were already there and waiting.
Snape walked in with him and sat on a side desk. Remus gave him a slight dip of the head to acknowledge his presence, while the other Gryffindors ignored him, thinking he was there as backup support for Regulus. Snape allowed them to believe that and set up the privacy spells.
Sirius looked sheepish. “I didn’t really do anything ….”
“Oh, yes, you did,” said Peter, giving Sirius a hope-this-doesn’t-happen-to-me look.
Sirius frowned at him, then he turned back to his brother. “Truth is I touched this cursed object at the museum a few weeks ago and it made my -- our -- creature nature show up.”
Regulus’ eyes narrowed. “Our? What are you talking about? We’re pure-bloods, as much as you want to deny it.”
Sirius got mad, his wings opening a little in aggravation, attempting to look bigger against an enemy. “I don’t know what’s going on, but Mother shut out the Headmaster when he tried to ask about it, and the curator is pretty sure that the mask only brought out what was already in my blood to begin with. Our blood!”
James cut in to diffuse Sirius. “We think your mother is upset because this was supposed to stay a secret in your family. Maybe you would have been told later; maybe not.”
“And dear Sirius went and ruined the surprise.” Regulus gave them a haughty look. “Well, if you hadn’t already run away, you definitely would have needed to now. She’s not going to let you back in the house.”
“Good,” said Sirius. “I don’t want to go near her anyway. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t Veela as well.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that each time I wake up without wings.” Regulus turned on his heels and walked out.
“That went about as well as expected,” said James. “Come on, Peter, we have a charms project to finish. You gonna be alright, Siri?”
Sirius had been longingly looking after his brother, desperate to mend the rift between them but not knowing how when there was always such tension between them. When James prodded him a second time, he finally turned his head and answered, “Yeah. Give me a mo’, okay?”
James nodded and walked out with Peter. Snape and Remus were still in the room, one sitting, one standing, both looking expectantly at Sirius. Sirius finally noticed.
“What are you staring at, Snivellus?”
Snape smirked. “Just someone who became infinitely more interesting.” With that parting shot, he jumped off the desk and walked out of the room.
“What’s up with him?”
Remus shook his head. “Come on, Padfoot. Let’s -- hey! Can you transform anymore?” They hadn’t even discussed what might become of his animagus ability.
So Sirius tried. One second he was Veela and the next he was Grim, then he was Veela again. “Yeah, guess that worked. So now I can run or fly!”
Remus rolled his eyes. “Let’s get back to the common room before your ego becomes larger.”
Sirius just grinned at him.
--
Over the next few weeks the talk amongst the student body lessened a degree. All the newness wore off and everyone became accustomed to seeing the raven-haired boy with wings prance about the school. And prance he did. Sirius realised after talking with Regulus that this was just another way to embarrass and harass his family, another way to taunt them with his differentness, another reason to fling the ‘ugliness of heritage’ -- as he put it -- back in their faces.
Remus wasn’t sure that was going to work the way Sirius claimed it would, but Sirius was getting howlers from his mother on a daily basis, and that had only happened once before, in their first year when Sirius was placed in Gryffindor. So maybe he had a point. He certainly acted confident as well.
And smug. He practiced with his wing muscles every day and by the time a month had passed he could hover in the Great Hall for five minutes ten feet up in the air. People weren’t mocking him anymore and in fact most of them seemed in awe of his new attachments. His eyes twinkled in delight.
And he was smarmy, too! Remus growled as Sirius cast a beaming smile at Mary McDonald and then winked at Jonathan Strange. As his confidence and acceptance had grown, so, too, had his flattery. It seemed he really had become the Grace Charm with how much attention he was paying to their fellow witches and wizards and laying it on. By the end of that month there wasn’t a single classmate who hadn’t felt Sirius’ gaze turned their way, and they were all suffering from some sort of enthrallment while in his presence but came out of it as soon as he walked off.
Remus finally found a book in the library with a bit more information about Veelas. He’d had to get permission from the Headmaster to search the Restricted Section, since none of the standard creature compendiums mentioned anything about them. Once found and read, it was obvious to Remus that Sirius had come into his allure. He was already attracting half the student body. At this rate all of England would come under his influence within a couple of decades.
Remus couldn’t have that. It was bad enough watching him fawn over and be fawned at by a few students; the whole Wizarding world would be torture. So it was up to Remus to educate him and get him to back off on the allure.
"Sirius, stop that, " he said, when he caught Sirius yet again grinning lovingly at Jonathan.
"Stop what?"
"Stop teasing everybody."
"I'm not teasing anyone."
"Yes, you are. You're Veela now and you're casting an allure. You need to stop it." Remus gave him a stern look.
"Aww, Moony, you know how it is. Flaunt it if you got it." Sirius posed with one hand on his hip, bent a little forward, and stuck his chin out in a seductive pout.
This infuriated Remus. He grabbed hold of Sirius' upper arms and shook him a little. "No, Sirius, enough. Stop this! You aren't seeing the devastation you've left in your wake."
Sirius scoffed. "Really, Remus? You're worried about a string of heartaches? Don't bother. They'll get over it. It's just our teenage years." He gave Remus the cockiest smile imaginable, carefree and unconcerned.
"You little shit," said Remus. His wolf was enraged. How dare he strut about this school and not care about the effect he was having on everyone, how their eyes all followed him, how Snape’s gaze speculated on him, how Remus’ own heart beat faster and wanted to protect him? And his wolf! Remus hadn't acknowledged it before, but he did now. His wolf wanted to claim Padfoot.
"Remus, don't take things so seriously. It'll be fine." Sirius tried to shrug him off.
But Remus did want to take Sirius seriously, and that was the problem. Sirius just couldn't see the consequences of his actions. Remus shook him to try to get some sense into him. "It won't be fine. People are going to get frustrated and then angry at you!"
"Much like yourself?" Sirius said, a bit offended. "What is it with you lately? Can't you just back off?"
This pushed Remus over the edge. With a growl, he pulled Sirius to him and latched his mouth to Sirius’ in a possessive kiss. It was hard and brutal and fierce. And completely unexpected by both of them.
Sirius melted into the kiss, pressing into Remus’ form. The slide of Sirius’ leg cut through the possessive fog and Remus pushed away from him. "I … shoot."
With emotions roiling through him, Remus fled the classroom, his head swimming in confusion.
--
Snape found him later that evening out by the Black Lake. "Wallowing in self pity? Had a falling out with Black over creature rights?"
Remus frowned up at him. "That's rather cruel of you, Severus. Sirius can't help what he is now."
"So this affects you how?"
Remus felt his wording was appropriate. Affect indeed. "He's so reckless, but I feel responsible."
Snape’s eyes grew questioning. "That makes no logical sense."
Remus shook his head, not at Snape, but at his own feckless situation. "When I'm near him, I just want to protect him -- when I'm not wanting to throttle him, that is." He cringed a little in uncertainty. He didn't know if he really wanted Sirius or if it was a product of the Veela allure. And what was he going to do about his relationship with Snape?
Snape read the quiet confusion warring inside Remus, but he didn't know what to make of it. "What happened?" he demanded.
"I … I kissed him." Remus looked devastated as well as fearful of Snape’s reaction. His eyes pleaded for forgiveness, for understanding, heck, even for guidance as to what to do next.
Snape’s usual sneer dropped from his face, the biggest outward sign of his surprise. Confusion and speculation both flared in his eyes while staring at Remus. Finally, after a minute’s tense silence, he asked, "Do you want to fuck him?"
Remus’ eyes grew wide with shock. He hadn’t expected Snape to be so blunt. He gulped and looked down, not able to look at his lover with this betrayal. "I ..." He couldn't even finish the sentence to admit to a ‘yes,’ but he thought Snape could read the desire in his face. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Pain shot through his heart at the idea of losing Snape, of trading the certainty of someone who could control him for the uncertainty of control over Sirius. Both possibilities were fighting inside him for dominance, and he didn’t know which one he preferred.
A hand gently touched his shoulder and he looked up into the eyes of a smirking Severus Snape.
“Get to know him intimately, then next time bring him along.”
Remus stared at him, completely baffled. “You want me to bring Sirius? Here? To us?” At Snape’s simple nod, he said, “But you hate him!”
Snape shrugged. “He’s an irritating poser, I’ll grant you that, but I think he’ll become much more tame under your sexual leadership.” Snape took Remus’ thick brown hair into his fists and pulled Remus closer, just as he leant in. “And you will remain under mine.” He laid a fierce kiss on Remus’ lips, but it wasn’t angry like Remus had been expecting, just possessive.
Suddenly Remus understood what Snape was suggesting, and although the concept of a threesome was ludicrous, Remus thought it could work, and it was exactly what he wanted. He returned the kiss with abandon, letting Snape know that he agreed with the plan, that he thought it was a good one. The rest of the evening was spent in submission to Snape’s will, which mostly consisted of mutual handjobs.
--
When Remus finally made it back to the dormitory that night, all the others were asleep except for Sirius, who was huddled up in his bed, knees held to his chest, looking dejected. “Where have you been?” he asked in a small, sad voice.
“Sirius, I … you know I have a boyfriend, right?” Remus paused to wait for Sirius’ confirmation. “Then you should be able to guess I was with him, right?” Again, Sirius nodded. “Then why are you upset?”
Sirius’ eyes flashed. “Because I wanted that to be me!” He looked down at his quilt and drew himself in tighter. “I needed that to be me,” he mumbled, almost too quiet to hear.
Remus crossed the room in a heartbeat and took Sirius into his arms. “I want that, too. And we think it can work.”
Sirius looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean ‘we’?”
“I mean I think the three of us could work together, with me taking care of you and him taking care of me.”
Sirius thought about it for a minute. “A threesome? Moony, that’s brilliant!” His face broke into a huge grin. “So tell me who this love bloke is so we can get started!”
Remus grimaced. “That’s not as easy as it sounds, as I think you’d still want to hex the guy right now. But anyway he wants us to become closer first. Then I’ll tell you who it is, okay? And you have to trust me, alright? I don’t want to … spoil the surprise.” He wasn’t at all sure how to tell Sirius the truth without Sirius blowing up and outright rejecting the both of them. Maybe Snape was right that he needed to bond with Sirius first, prepare him so as to soften the blow.
Sirius let out a small laugh. “Oh, Moony. Still trying to keep secrets. Okay, I’ll bite. Or maybe not as I don’t want to become a werewolf Veela hybrid.” He shuddered. “Now, how do we do this?”
“Like this,” he said, placing both hands on the sides of Sirius’ head and leaning in to kiss him. Sirius moaned in appreciation and gave himself over to Remus.
--
Remus and Sirius spent the next couple of weeks getting to know each other on a physical and intimate level. They stole time during the day for make-out sessions -- in the greenhouses, the Quidditch locker rooms, empty alcoves, even the unused classroom that was normally Remus and Snape’s -- but it was easier to get it on in their dormitory since they shared a room.
James and Peter noticed what they were up to and generally left them alone. Of course, they also teased the young couple, but that would happen anyway. Peter and James wondered if Remus had broken up with his other boyfriend, but it didn’t bother them much. And truthfully they were glad Remus and Sirius were mating, as it cut down in Sirius’ flirtations across the school and in Remus’ worry about said flirtations.
Remus would occasionally catch Snape’s eyes while crossing paths in the hallway, wondering if it was time to join the three of them. But Snape just gave him an imperceptible shake of the head -- not yet. Remus would look away and sigh, feeling caught between two worlds.
Finally, Remus opened his potions book a few weeks later to find a single word in the text highlight itself while he read it: tonight. He didn’t know how Snape had managed it, but seeing the note made him sigh in relief and become anxious with anticipation all at the same time.
“Sirius,” he whispered to his companion, trying not to draw attention to themselves during class. When Sirius gave him the ‘go on’ hand gesture, he continued. “We need a clear schedule for tonight.”
Sirius nodded once in understanding, then gave him a small smile. All during the rest of class Remus’ stomach was tied in knots, while Sirius’ wings fluttered non-stop. It seemed he was anticipating the rendezvous as well.
“So are you finally going to tell me who it is?” Sirius asked as soon as they’d left the potions classroom. He was so giddy he was bouncing on air.
Remus was a little sad to have to break Sirius’ mood, but needs be, so he quickly marched him into the hidden passage around the corner from their classroom before the rest of the students had filed out. As he did so, he glanced behind them and gave a quick ‘go on’ jerk of his head to James and Peter, who both smirked back at him and Sirius and continued on their way.
“Siri, you know how I’ve been reluctant to tell you? Well, there was a good possibility that you weren’t going to like the answer, and you might still not. But you have to trust me that he is a better bloke than you’ve given him credit for. Yes, he tends to dabble in the Dark Arts, but he’s not evil.”
Sirius had gone from pleased and excited to alarmed and horrified. “Goodness, Moony, who have you been seeing!”
“Whom,” Remus corrected him. “It’s Snape.”
Sirius’ eyes went wide and he shrieked, “Snivellus!”
Remus shoved Sirius against the wall and snogged him to shut him up. Rubbing their bodies together produced a wonderful groan, and those students in the corridor who heard snickered.
When he sensed Sirius had calmed down, Remus pulled back. “He’s not as bad as you think. Please, give this a try.” His eyes pleaded, all yearning and earnest.
Sirius stared at him for a long moment, trying to decide if this was a joke or not, if this was real or not, if he could trust Remus. The silence was palpable, but eventually the tension bled out of the air as nothing untoward happened. “Okay.”
Remus smiled at him. “Good. We’ll meet him tonight after dinner. Try to let the past go.”
“But he hates me, Moony, and I’m not too fond of him.”
Remus pursed his mouth. “It’s true that you have fought like kneazles, but ever since you got your Veela inheritance, he’s been considering you.”
Sirius puffed up, a little affronted. “So it’s just my Veela. Big deal. He can go get his own.”
Remus shook his head. “But he doesn’t want his own. He wants me, and he wants me to have you, and I think he wants me and you. Just come tonight and you’ll see.”
“This had better be worth it, Moony.”
“I hope it will be.”
--
All day long Sirius was casting not-so-covert glances over at Snape, glaring and thinking and pondering. Occasionally, Snape would catch his gaze and return it with predatory lust. Sirius would then pull back in alarm and confusion, and Snape’s expression would change to a smiling smirk. He was enjoying the game.
By dinner, Sirius was a nervous wreck and Remus was irritated with both of them.
“Would you stop fidgeting?”
“I can’t help it. I’m just so nervous.”
Remus rolled his eyes. “Yes, well this is going to be awkward for all of us, so maybe you and I should start early.”
Sirius’s eyes turned questioning.
“What if we left now and got the party started early? That way you could relax some.” Remus’s own eyes glinted with mischief.
Sirius caught on to his meaning and readily agreed. “Well, I’m knackered,” he announced to the whole table, “but Remus and I have an essay for potions that we haven’t started yet, so we’ll head out early.”
James frowned. “But we just got that assignment today.”
“And there’s no time like the present to do it, right, Remus?” Sirius winked at him.
Trying not to roll his eyes, Remus said, “Yes, we should get it done early.” He gave James a significant look, who instantly caught the joke and smiled.
“You two have fun studying.”
Peter, who had cottoned on to it as well, snickered. “Yeah, don’t make the essay too long. Wouldn’t want to outshine the rest of us.”
The others at their table just shook their heads at the Marauders’ antics. Honestly, they were like this all the time, so it didn’t really pique anyone else’s interest. Remus put down his utensils and picked up his books and left the Great Hall with as little ceremony as possible, with Sirius following right behind him.
When they got to the unused classroom, Remus placed powerful warding spells on the door, ones that would allow just one other to enter the room. Then he turned his attentions on Sirius, kissing and licking and touching everywhere. Sirius moaned his pleasure.
Outer robes were removed and shirts were unbuttoned and within no time, they were undoing each other’s trousers. Remus got his hand in first, which caused Sirius to lean back and groan. “Like that, do you?” Remus growled, then he nipped at Sirius’ exposed throat. Sirius could only writhe and whimper in his arms as an answer.
Two chuckles followed that. One was Remus’. The other Sirius had never heard before, and it was quite amused.
“I knew the bravado was just an act, Black. And so here you are, a submissive little slut.”
Sirius’ eyes flew open and he pushed back from Remus, though the werewolf kept hold of him. “I am not, you little sh--”
“Hush,” Remus whispered in his ear, nuzzling it and making Sirius’ senses blur with a spike of want. “You are, you know. My little slut.” He kept licking and touching everywhere to drive Sirius mad, to distract him from the hate and mistrust that had always been there between Snape and Sirius, the hate and mistrust that Remus now wanted gone from their lives.
He felt Snape’s presence come up behind him, and he moaned, too, at the feel of Snape’s callused hands on his flesh.
Sirius opened his eyes to find Snape practically in front of him, with only Remus for a shield. He tensed, but Remus held him long enough for Sirius to get a good look. Remus turned his head and let Snape kiss him, their tongues dancing together, while Snape’s hands roamed all over Remus’ body. They were comfortable with each other -- no shyness, no taunting, no spite, only peaceful heat.
They broke the kiss and looked at Sirius. “Don’t you see? It’ll be fine. It’s okay.” Remus was gentle, trying to get Sirius to see how brilliant this could be, but Sirius just kept staring.
“Turn him around,” said Snape.
Remus complied. He kissed Sirius very firmly on the mouth then turned him around. This had the desired effect of removing Snape from Sirius’ immediate view so he would be less inclined to hex the other and it allowed both Remus and Snape access to Sirius’ beautiful wings. Remus licked and caressed the area where they joined the back, causing them to flutter wildly in excitement as well as speed up Sirius’ breathing.
Snape took that opportunity to divest all of them of their clothes. He stationed himself behind Remus, touching them both on their hips and chests and backs. He licked and bit Remus’ neck, eliciting a howl.
Sirius shuddered. “Merlin, that’s sexy. Do it again, Moony.”
Remus growled in Sirius’ ear. Sirius turned his head in submission, and Remus took the opportunity to mark his mate.
“Over that desk,” Snape said. He directed the proceedings, joining himself to Remus and then setting the pace between the three of them. Sirius whimpered and moaned and begged. Remus growled and groaned and panted. Snape remained silent except for his harsher breathing and soon he was ramming Remus into Sirius. They all climaxed together, Snape grunting, Sirius screaming, and Remus howling out their combined pleasures.
They all lay together in a panting mess, come running down their legs and bliss suffusing their features.
When they had regained some semblance of normalcy, Sirius looked back over his shoulder at a sleepy Moony and a contented Snape. “How come you don’t hate me anymore?”
Snape opened his eyes and there was such warmth and contentment in the blackness that before had been always cold. “Perhaps you’ve gained more Charm of late.” His eyes actually sparkled with mirth.
Remus snorted. “Yeah, but if you’re Beauty, I fail to see how I’m Joy.”
Sirius smirked. “And it doesn’t seem to work the other way around, either.” He knew Snape was going to curse him for that, but he just couldn’t resist.
Surprise, surprise, Snape began to laugh. “That is all too true, Black. You’ll just have to be all three Graces for us.”
“Me?” he squawked. “Why do I have to do all the work? Why don’t you be Joy, I’ll be Beauty -- thank you very much -- and Remus can be Charm?”
Snape chuckled again. “I think that sounds fair, don’t you, Remus?”
Remus tried to stay out of the debate. He simply smiled and lay back, revelling in their new togetherness. This was fulfillment. This was completion.
The End.
--