Love Among the Marauders

Chapter Three

Malfoy finds Sirius in Hogsmeade, illegally, drinking firewhisky and repelling the advances of a pretty barmaid. Malfoy waves her off, orders another round, and slides into the booth next to Sirius. He leans back and lets his thigh press against Sirius's leg. "I have a proposition for you."

"Go away, Lucius."

"I want two things. I'm willing to accept one."

"Strong bargaining position."

"Come to one of our meetings."

"I'm not interested in your blue-blooded bigots."

"You're one of us, Sirius. Stop fighting it."

"I'm hardly a bigot. My best friend is a werewolf, for god's sake."
"Lupin is a special case. But Evans, for instance. You must admit your life would be significantly better if she, ah, suddenly ceased to exist." Malfoy raises his eyebrows suggestively.

Sirius turns to face him, his expression hostile and his black eyes narrow and hot. "If you so much as look at Lily Evans, I will beat you until you can't talk."

Malfoy has never been so turned on. He grabs Sirius's head in both his hands and kisses him, hard. Sirius doesn't exactly resist and Malfoy runs his tongue between Sirius's sharp teeth, half-expecting to have it bitten off. Instead he feels Sirius's tongue meet his, for just a moment, and then he is flying out of the booth and hitting the stone floor. He sits up, bruised and laughing. "So. You are interested."

Sirius stands and looks down at him, says, "Don't make me kill you, Lucius," and walks out of the bar.

Malfoy gets up slowly, rubbing the lump on the back of his head, grins wolfishly at the barmaid, and drops a handful of gold on the table.

*

Some days later, glancing out the castle windows, Remus sees Sirius and Malfoy walk into the Forbidden Forest together. Their heads, black and silver blond, are unmistakable. He sets down his book to watch, waits ten minutes and then ten more, but they do not reappear. Finally, slightly worried, he grabs James's invisibility cloak and goes after them.

They are not far under the cover of the trees. Sirius is lounging on a beech root, one leg bent at the knee and the other stretched out in front of him. He has his head tipped back against the trunk, eyes half-lidded. Malfoy, standing, looks like he wants to eat him. Holy hell, thinks Remus, this I do not want to see... But then Malfoy speaks and Remus realizes that this may not be a tryst at all but some kind of conversion attempt.

Malfoy says, "You belong with us."

Sirius shrugs, glances sideways, and fiddles with the wildflower he is holding in one hand.

"Sirius. Listen to me."

"Did my mother put you up to this?"

"The tide is turning, Sirius. Pretty soon, I won't be able to protect you." He crouches in front of Sirius and puts one hand on his bent knee. "But now I can. Right now." His voice is a silky purr. Remus feels sick. Sirius seems unmoved.

"Your politics revolt me, Lucius. You already know that. I have no idea why you dragged me out here."

Malfoy reaches out his other hand, turns Sirius's head to face him, and asks, a little thickly, "None?" Then he leans in. Without thinking, Remus lets out a low, hair-raising wolf growl and Malfoy is immediately back on his feet, looking around. "What in the bloody hell was that?"

Sirius is laughing, glancing sideways with raised brows that Remus knows are meant for him. Sirius turns back to Malfoy with an expression of exaggerated innocence and says, "Haven't a clue."

"Hmmm," says Malfoy, still looking around. "We should probably get back." He reaches his hand down. Sirius grasps it and stands. They are very close together. Sirius can feel Malfoy's cool breath on his mouth. His pale gray irises are clear as water and his skin and eyelashes glow like white metal. Sirius has heard that Lucius is part veela, and he can feel it right now, this close to him, and there is no question that knowing Moony is standing there, invisible, watching, is kind of a turn on. But he also knows how much Remus would not approve and abruptly he steps back.

Malfoy, startled, jerks away and sneers to hide his flash of disappointment. Sirius forgets about Remus for a minute, looking at Malfoy, and runs his hands through his hair. He feels flushed, confused, a little bit sorry. He throws an arm around Malfoy's shoulders and says, "Come on, Lucius. Let's get out of here. There's no telling what might creep up on us." Then, not sure whom he wants to please, he throws a blinding smile over his shoulder, in the direction of the invisible Remus. Remus, watching them walk out of the woods arm in arm, is not mollified.

*

That night in the Gryffindor common room, Sirius looks up from a game of wizard chess with a girl whose name Remus can't remember and says, "So. Moony. Enjoying those woodland constitutionals?"

Remus sets aside his paper and says mildly, "I find them rather bracing. The woods are so often full of loathsome creatures."

"No threat to you, I'm sure."

"They're often more focused on each other. Today, for instance, I believe I dissuaded one from, er, attacking another one."

Sirius lets out a bark of laughter and feels James's eyes on him. "You're quite the peace-maker."

"I like to think diplomacy is one of my skills."

"God, I'm sick of politics."

"So I've heard."

"And you think I should take more of an interest. Or more of a stand."

"Actually, Sirius, I realized today that I'm done giving you advice."

"Remus! But I live for your advice! That strikes me to my very soul."

"I'm flattered of course, but advice is a little like sex, in a way."

"And exactly as you planned, you cagey bastard, you now have my full attention. How is advice like sex?"

"You can't make a gift of it to the unwilling."

Sirius laughs out loud and several people around them chuckle. James looks mystified and Lily looks furious. Good, thinks Sirius, bonus points for upsetting the irritating redhead. He turns back to his game, checkmates his opponent, and swiftly exits the portrait hole.

He has no idea where he is going, is just walking as fast as he can away from the sight of James, stretched out on the couch, all rumpled hair and sleepy eyes and lazy, Quidditch-hard limbs, with Lily curled next to him like she owns him.

James catches up with him halfway up the staircase to the owlery. "Sirius..."

Sirius turns around so fast their chests smack together. "What?"

"I, uh... What was that all about? With Remus?"

"That was fast."

"What was?"

"Falling out of love with me. I must be losing my touch."

"No. I just---"

"Need some time. I know. I'm giving it to you. Why are you following me?"

"Why were you in the Forbidden Forest today?"

"You're spying on me now?"

"I'm...worried."

"I have Remus for that."

"I thought you wanted things to go back to normal."

"I lied before, about Lily. It's not all right. You can't have both of us."

"Sirius. I never wanted this to be so...terminal."

"It's unfortunate, but there you are." Sirius turns around and starts climbing again. James follows. When Sirius pushes open the door at the top of the stairs, a tall figure turns from the far window to face them, his pale hair glowing in the moonlight. Sirius laughs. "Lucius."

Malfoy smiles and runs his thumb along his lower lip. "I had no idea you were bringing a friend. Probably not my first choice, but," his eyes glide slowly along James's frame. James feels irritated and also sort of dirty, "it's possible he looks better naked."

"Shut up, Lucius." Sirius's voice is devoid of malice but somehow James can tell that this is an accidental meeting.

"Yes," Malfoy murmurs, drifting toward them, "in a moment, I will."

Sirius grabs Malfoy's wrists and says, "Not a good time. All right?" And something about the intimacy of this gesture gives James pause. Maybe tonight was an accident, but there is a history here, or maybe a future, that he does not want to understand. He sees Malfoy watching him, looking pleased, and knows that his surprise and alarm and anger are all over his face.

Then Sirius is saying, "James, for god's sake---" But it is already too late. James is halfway down the stairs, putting all the distance between himself and Sirius that he can. Sirius hurtles after him but comes to a stop in the hall, closing his eyes and trying to breathe. He feels Malfoy's hands on his shoulders, his soft breath in his ear, and thinks, it doesn't even matter what I do.

*

When Sirius wakes up in the Slytherin dorm the next morning, he realizes that he has gone too far. Part of him is pleased by this, but most of him wishes he were dead. He slips out of Malfoy's bed, yanks his robe over his head, and creeps out the dungeon door. Halfway down the outer passage, he runs into Julian.

"My, my," says Julian.

"Shut up."

"I can think of several people who will be extremely interested to hear about this."

Sirius looks at him murderously and then slams him up against the stone wall.

"Mmmm," murmurs Julian. "I guess you already know I like it rough."

Disgusted, Sirius steps away from him, collects himself, and laughs. "Say what you like, Julian. I've got nothing to be ashamed of. Perhaps you should be a little concerned that Lucius's attention is wandering."

"Yes. I suppose it is," Julian's voice is soft, his eyes narrow and evil. "He's not the only one."

"No?" Sirius drawls, pretending to boredom and examining his hands. "And I should be interested in these other, ah, wanderers?"

"Let's just say that I'm not the only fickle redhead in our year."

Sirius' eyes snap up. "What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"The lovely Lily has not quite parted ways with Corwyn Ambring. She's cheating on the light of your, er, loins."

Before he can stop himself, Sirius has decked Julian, whom he outweighs by at least two stone, and is staring at his limp body on the dungeon floor. After a moment, he picks him up, uses the password he heard Malfoy mutter the previous night to slip back into the Slytherin common room, deposits him on a couch, stares down two appalled and curious fifth years, and departs at a run for Gryffindor.

When Sirius bursts into his room, James is pawing through his trunk, hunting for a lost textbook. He looks up to see Sirius flushed, disheveled, and panting, his hair disarrayed in the distinctive manner that means he has recently had sex. James is too angry to speak.

Sirius's voice is low and oddly earnest as he asks, "Are you all right?"

James makes a Herculean effort to control himself and says coldly, "I know it's no longer my place to tell you whom to sleep with, but I would have thought---"

Sirius immediately protests, "Not about me..."

James would be mystified if he weren't so furious. "Get the hell out of here, Sirius."

Sirius backs into the door. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come."