A Moment Alone (Tag;; Sirius)

[severus]

Severus didn’t really like Hogsmeade. It was cold, loud, crowded and there were too few adults to keep track of all the crazy ass children running around like chickens with their heads cut off. That meant too much potential for something to go horribly wrong. It wasn’t uncommon that some band of Gryffindors, Marauder or no, try to make a fool out of him while they were completely free to do so. Maybe it was some kind of Hogsmeade trip tradition he simply wasn’t aware of- like a right of passage or something to make the trip complete. Annoying, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.

Except try to hide and wait for the day to be over.

So, that begged the question: if he hated Hogsmeade so much, why go? Why not stay back at the school and let all the idiots run off? It would be bliss there, with all the rowdy folk out and about in the small town. The simple fact remained- as much as he hated Hogsmeade, he also loved it. Damned that he found it appealing, just like all the other students. He hated when he was on the same wavelength as the rest of them.

But he did love the place. There were quiet corners, and places the other students didn’t explore. There was the bar, which he knew was a great place to learn some interesting things. There were also a few shops he actually didn’t hate going in and perusing, though he never had any money to buy the really nice things he wanted. There was a lovely cauldron he longed to buy, but it would take years just to save up half the money for it, and buy that time another model would have come out that he’d want even more. A cycle he could never break free from, it seemed.

He just didn’t have any money, in the wizarding world and the muggle world.

Still, the shops were nice and the bar was an awesome bonus. All he had to do was make sure no one saw him slip in when he visited. Even the bar keep was getting used to him turning up, though he still wasn’t interested in serving him any drinks. No matter, Severus wasn’t that interested in drinking anyway. Just the culture was interesting.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the right time of day for a visit to the pub, leaving Severus in the bad phase of the trip- trying to stay out of harm’s way. In the end, the cost was worth the reward, but that didn’t make it any more enjoyable while it was occurring. He found himself sitting in front of a small fountain, having himself a slight rest before he shifted off to the next area. He found keeping moving was the best way to keep from being spotted, though he was not a machine. He needed to rest every once in a while.

It was about three in the afternoon, and the place was still quite active with students shopping and having their own versions of fun. It was good that they were enjoying themselves- maybe they only turned to beating on him when they ran out of other things to do.

In any case, he didn’t feel too threatened at that moment, and was almost enjoying his little moment of peace. However long it would last, though, was anyone’s guess.

[madie]

Sirius Black was a social being, one rarely found outside the presence of his friends. The boy, for the most part, relied on them to keep him sane. They were his confidence, his common sense, his conscience. Without his friends to keep him together, Sirius could fester into a rather dark, twisted individual. Try as he might to deny his lineage, Black blood flowed through his veins. He was his father's son, his mother's heir. Now, whilst for the most part, the boy was able to hide his darker tendencies beneath his play boy persona; beneath pranks and sarcastic remarks... there were times when his heritage seemed to get the better of him. He was absolutely nothing like his family-he knew- but sometimes habit would override his better instincts. Sometimes he would lash out and hit someone, throw vials off the table in potions, scream at something minute. Sometimes his temper simply got the better of him. As much as the lion wanted to fight on the opposite side of the war, join the order, see the end of Lord Voldemorts rein... he slipped up sometimes. He was human... and his childhood had left his brain completely fried.

Wandering through Hogsmade alone after one of his ‘slip ups’, the boy felt right about ready to punch a wall. Whilst his friends were all for his troublemaking ways, Sirius had the tendency to take things a little too far. This time, the Gryffindor had decked a rival chaser after he’d badmouthed James’ captaincy skills... despite the fact ‘it had all been in good fun’. Padfoot had seen the boy’s friends sneering though, he knew better than to think they had been joking around. The marauders had believed him of course- they always believed him... but the others had thought him an aggressive ass.

In a spit of rage, Sirius had stormed out of the quidditch store, knocking over a display in the process. Though that action had no means helped his case, he figured his friends would deal with the aftermath of his actions- they were good like that. James, Moony and Peter always cleaned up after him... fixed his messes. They were his brother, in absolutely every way but blood. He loved them like brothers too, truth be told. Sirius loved them like one would love their family... because they were the closest thing he’d ever had to a loving family.

Muttering profanities beneath his breath, the boy headed off towards a fountain near the Hogs Head. Sirius often found himself gravitating to the ill paved area, many a late night wandering beneath the invisibility cloak leaving him too drunk to make his way back to school. He’d passed out on the little park bench more times than he would care to admit.

Pulling a small flask from his pocket, the boy shot back a swig of firewhisky. Cringing slightly as the liquid burned his throat, Sirius could not help but frown. The usually desired fountain on the outskirts of Hogsmeade seemed scarily occupied.

Had the occupant been anyone but Snape, Sirius could have let it go. It seemed however, that karma had thrown another blockade in his path. Punch a kid- receive a Snivellus. Apparently, Karma had it out for him today. ”Get out of my seat you git” He snarled, fighting the urge to throw another colossal tantrum.

[severus]

So much for his moment of peace.

The Slytherin had just been starting to think that he might get away without any real trouble when he heard someone snarling about his current position on the fountain bench. It annoyed him that someone thought he somehow owned the spot. Short of the person who commissioned the work, he was pretty sure it had no owner, and thus anyone could sit there whenever they damn well wanted to.

He would have told the trespasser as much, but he happened to look up before he managed to say anything. The sight of Sirius Black shut him up before anything slipped out, the boy dodging a bullet by not saying something incredibly snotty. Normally he wasn’t that frightened of anyone, but when it came to the marauders, well, it was never a fair fight. He couldn’t fight back when it was four, well mostly three, on one.

However, for once it didn’t seem like the other Gryffindors were in the area.

Did something happen? Had he been granted a smile miracle of some kind, or were they just around the corner, waiting for him to slip up so they could leap in and kick the crap out of him again? Sirius certainly looked unhappy, though normally that was just from seeing Severus. Nothing really out of sorts there. If they had been anything closer than complete enemies, he might have noticed just how angry the boy really was. It would have been clear that it didn’t have much to do with him.

He was just going to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Frowning, he shifted on the bench, though made no move to get up. Alone or with friends in hiding, Severus didn’t feel much like giving Sirius what he wanted. If he was going to get tormented anyway, maybe it could at least be on his terms.

What a bitter consolation prize.

“I don’t have to move- shove off,” he grunted, flicking his fingers in a motion to shoo the other away. “don’t you have some girls to sniff after or something? Seems you’re on the wrong side of town: gryffindors don’t really come this way much. Less you’re thinking of giving your Slytherin roots a bit of a dusting.” He tilted his head, watching the other curiously. Was the asshole there because of some game, or did the darker natures of his blood line prompt him to linger in darkened corners like the rest of the Blacks?

Blood traitor or not, he was still an evil son of a bitch. All the cat-calls and stupid pranks in the world weren’t going to change that about him, and Severus knew it. Of course, he didn’t care to think that Sirius had motivations behind his cruel actions. He didn’t care about his want to break away from his family.

He was the victim- it didn’t matter what justifications his attacker had.

[madie]

((baahhh I’m so sorry this took so long to get up, first I had a pile of homework, hospital visits and other such drama... THEN my computer decides to be a brat -_-))

Severus Snape was an absolutely irksome human being, greasy haired and rude- the embodiment of everything Sirius hated in an individual. His intentions were questionable at best, his Slytherin tendencies tending to override any genuine concern for his fellow human being. The only person he ever seemed to give two rats about was Lily Evans... and he’d gone and screwed her right over now, hadn’t he? He was just so... Snape like. It really was no wonder their feud was so long running, it was like he was asking for it, begging for it even. Their tousles was the closest thing he seemed to get to human interaction.

Sirius couldn’t quite put his finger on what made Snape so ‘special’, what made him such an easy target. He and James had never really gotten along, it was no secret, not by any means... and at first, that had been all he’d needed. Any enemy of James Potter’s was an enemy of Sirius Black’s, the entire school knew it. The disowned heir stood by his friend through and through, no matter the circumstances or consequences. It had soon festered into more than that though, a hatred in itself. For the longest while, he couldn’t place it- it was just a feeling. Sirius Black had hated Snape just because he’d felt like it, as horrible as it sounded.

When Sirius finally had placed the feeling however, he wished beyond anything that he hadn’t. Not only did Snape remind him of his family... but of himself. It was a realization he’d rather not have come to. The boy was in Slytherin like them, hung around the same crowds and partook in the same activities. He hated him for that. More so that that however, it was the link Snape represented that he despised- the likeness between himself and his family. The boy presented the same ‘I don’t give a damn’ attitude as he did, the same mistrust of certain people, the same skepticism about the world as a whole. Severus Snape seemed on the opposite side of the war, and yet, he reminded Sirius so much of himself. It was enough to make him want to hurl.

“No need to kick up a fuss Snivelly” he huffed, dropping his book bag to the ground indignantly. If Severus thought his stubbornness was enough to make him leave... he had another thing coming, that much was for certain. “You’ll move whether it’s on your own accord or not” Tracing his fingers along the handle of his wand, the boy raised a threatening eyebrow. Although he had no real intentions of starting a duel, his patience was wearing thin. The boys comment about ‘slytherin roots’ had been enough to piss him right off, after all, he was nothing like the rest of his family. Right?

”How about YOU shove of Snape... before I show you just how deeply my Slytherin roots really do run. Where I spend my spare time is none of your business really, is it now?”

[severus]

Severus frowned, watching the Gryffindor. It seemed he was itching for a fight, though perhaps he was just trying to appear that way. Severus imagined Sirius like to puff a lot of smoke, but on most days he wasn’t the type to attack with anything more than a silly prank charm or jinx. He was annoying and made his life a living hell, but he wasn’t a threat. Not like some of the Slytherins might have been, if he ever managed to piss one off. They would hurt him for him. Sirius… Sirius would tie him to a tree naked and humiliate him to death. Really, it was hard to know which was worse in the moment, but when he was reflecting on it, he knew Sirius was the lesser of the evils he had to deal with. Just the most annoying, by far. How he loathed the boy, and his friends, for their constant attempts to embarrass him. What did they have against him, anyway? Just because he had gotten on that train with a pretty girl way back before first year? Because his hair was greasy? Because he was different? He couldn’t imagine what had set them off against him, but he knew the ‘because he was in Slytherin’ excuse was just a load of crap. There was no way they could have known, getting on that train way back when, that he would be in Slytherin.

They had hated him before that, and for no reason. That was probably the main reason Severus hated them right back. He wouldn’t feel any guilt if he ended up landing one of them in the hospital wing somewhere down the line. It would probably feel really satisfying, detention and punishments notwithstanding.

All would be worth it on that day- the day he finally snapped.

However, he wasn’t sure this day was going to be the one. Though he was annoyed with Sirius, nothing had really happened between them to spark that unrelenting rage in his chest. He looked up and saw someone who was giving him a hard time that he wanted to go away, not someone he wanted to make bleed and watch suffer. Maybe he wasn’t as good at being a Slytherin as he would have liked.

“Look, I’m not moving buddy,” he snapped darkly, gripping his wand to return the threat made against him, “there’s plenty of town to go around here, so why don’t you find somewhere else to sit?” He pointed his wand at the other, thought remained fairly relaxed in his seat all things considered.

“You’re not a threat to me without your buddies around, and you know it, so why don’t you do yourself a favor and leave now? I’d hate for you to end up hurt because you were too stupid to know when to give up.” Gryffindors seemed to have that problem a lot- they never knew when to back down. Did it make them brave? Severus didn’t think so.

Just made them stupid.