From the Beginning..

"Dammit, Sirius," James said closing the door on the couple quickly. "Only you would cause a mess like this."

He walked back downstairs to the common room to wait.

Not long afterwards, Sirius and Ariadne came downstairs hand in hand. They both flushed when they noticed James sitting on the couch.

"Oh, James! I'm sorry, we didn't know you were here." Sirius said quickly. James gave a small smile and quirked an eyebrow. "I wonder why?"

Sirius could tell that James was waiting to tell him something. "Ari," he said, "go get some sleep love. I'll see you in the morning." Ariadne nodded and gave him a quick kiss before leaving.

They both watched to make sure she was completely out of earshot before speaking.

"What's up?" Sirius said. "Is it Moony?"

James shook his head. "No, it's Snape. What in the bloody hell where you thinking to send him into the Whomping Willow?"

Sirius shrugged. "It was a joke! I just wanted to keep him out of my hair for awhile."

"It's lucky I caught him when I did! He had almost reached Remus while he was changing! He could have been hurt, or worse, killed."

"I didn't mean for him to get hurt, actually! I didn't think the idiot could find his way through." He walked over towards the fire. "Would it have really been a loss it something had happened?" he said quietly.

James walked over to him. "You know you don't mean that. You're just saying that because you know he wants Ariadne. And you're scared that he stands a chance with her." He shook his head. "Don't you see she doesn't love him, it's you!"

Sirius hung his head and sighed. "You're right. All I kept picturing was the expression on his face when he saw Remus. I'm sorry."

James patted him on the back. "There's no harm done, but of course we he thinks Remus was in on it, too. It's going to be a hell of a year. But on a bright note," James smiled, "he's now indebted to me for saving his life."

Ariadne was working late in the library one night when Snape came in and sat beside her. "I guess you're all very satisfied with your little joke. I thought you were different, but I suppose it's a Gryffindor trait!" he snarled.

Her head snapped up in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Like you don't know," he whispered. "Your boyfriend almost got me killed. Did he perchance think that he couldn't hold on to you any other way?"

"Severus, I swear to you, I had nothing to do with anything! I don't know what you're talking about."

He sat back for a moment, scanning her face. "Sirius tried to have me accidentally run into a werewolf."

Her mouth worked several times before she could form any words. "You're saying he wanted to kill you."

Snape stood up abruptly. "You figure it out," he said walking briskly away. Ariadne gathered up her books and walked back to Gryffindor Tower in a daze.

Stepping through the portrait hole, she noticed that Sirius was there waiting for her. Before he could speak, she asked, "What did you do to Severus?" The smile faded from his face and he shrugged. "I didn't do anything to him. Why do you ask?"

Ariadne opened her mind slightly to read him.

Sirius felt the tingling sensation he felt before when she read his mind. "What are you doing, Ari?" he whispered.

She stepped back from him. "You're lying to me."

"Ari, it wasn't done on purpose, you have to understand. I just wanted to teach him a lesson. It wasn't intentional."

"What I'd like to know is how did you know the werewolf was there?" she said walking closer.

"I can't tell you," he said.

"You can't or you won't?"

"I can't! It's not for me to tell!" he stalked away towards the stairs. She was still standing there when Remus walked in. "What's the matter, Ari?"

"Sirius."

Remus nodded. "He can be difficult and stubborn." She looked down at her hands. "Remus, who is the werewolf?" she asked.

He looked at her for a moment. "I am," he replied quietly.

He proceeded to explain everything to her. His transformation as a young boy, how Dumbledore still accepted him to the school and had the shrieking shack built with an entrance to it under the Whomping Willow. And the transformations of his friends so that they could keep him company on the nights of the full moon.

"That's a lot of information to take in," she said sighing.

He nodded. "I know."

"My problem is, what does Snape have to do with this, and why does Sirius hate him so much."

"You," he said sadly. "In all the years I've been here, I've never seen Sirius with so much as a crush on anyone. He never mentions his family and the only person who can usually talk some sense into him is James."

"So," she said slowly, "since I've been here everything is worse between them?"

"Well, since you two admitted your feelings for each other anyway." He shrugged. "If I didn't know better, I'd think Snape was doing it just to get back at Sirius."

She hung her head. "The sad thing is, he's not."