FIC: In Cruciatu Veritas - Part II, HP, SS/SB, R

[kleio_the_muse]

Part II

Easily enough, the black dog picked up Wormtail's scent and raced through the dungeons. At least some good will come from this, Sirius thought as he made yet another sharp turn in the dark, banging his side painfully against the stone wall. That rat would finally pay for his crimes and Sirius would get his revenge; a much more justified one than what Snape had attempted.

The thought of Snape touching him, kissing him, still lingered on in his mind. No matter which way he looked at it, the whole thing made absolutely no sense at all. What the hell was he up to? First acting as if he had returned to the Dark Side, then humiliating Sirius by digging up that old load of rubbish, and then - the most disturbing thing of all - snogging him and saying those words... And finally coming up with this far-fetched story about a plan, with Mad-Eye Moody conveniently under the Invisibility Cloak so that he couldn't be seen! It was all a heap of lies. Of course, it was. Never trust a Slytherin.

Sirius came to a halt. He was suddenly picking up more than one scent, all unmistakably rats, and as trained as his nose was, it proved impossible to distinguish one rat from the next.

"Fuck!" he cursed as he turned back into a man. "Lumos."

The archways continued in every direction and he had no idea where to go. There had to be a way out of this maze and he would bloody well better find it before Wormtail would reach Malfoy, who, in turn, would send the Death Eaters after him, one of them in particular probably rather pissed off.

Sirius wandered from one room into the next, all of them dark and empty, and leading to new, identical rooms. The cold was starting to get to him again and made him miss his T-shirt.

After a while of aimless roaming, he saw a light up ahead and picked up his pace. But as he approached the light, Sirius suddenly realised it was moving and hurried to turn out his own. As quietly as he could, he sneaked towards it and saw the figures of four men walking quickly through the dark rooms. Sirius followed them until they reached a lighted space, which he soon recognised as the one he had left Snape in. He eased himself as close to the archway as he could without being seen.

"Severus, this truly is a disappointment."

"This is embarrassing enough as it is, Lucius." Snape's voice was harsh. "That bastard Black caught me off guard. We must find him and make him pay."

Hearing this, Sirius flinched. So, Snape had indeed picked his side; it had all been a mere charade. Sirius squeezed the wand in his hand. Calling him a bastard! Oh, no-no-no, he thought, Snape was gravely mistaken, for it would most certainly be he who would pay.

"Oh, we will," Malfoy said coldly. "Crabbe, Goyle, search the dungeons. Since only I am able to find the door, he must still be here."

Sirius pulled deeper into the shadows as the two large men marched past him. Malfoy and Wormtail were still standing by the table Snape was tied to, the latter looking a whole lot more confident than he had done only a while ago. Evidently standing in the shadow of men more powerful than himself suited the likes of Wormtail.

"If you'll just untie me, Lucius, I will gladly help..."

"That won't be necessary, Severus," Malfoy interrupted him. "You have failed, and you do know what that means, don't you?" It sounded as if Malfoy had known to expect this and perhaps even wished for it.

"Yes, Lucius."

Sirius saw the ropes untangle and, holding his breath, he watched Snape get up and calmly take off his leather coat and sweater. Submissively he bent over the table, propping his arms against it, and stood there, motionless, waiting.

"You know, Severus, I feared something such as this might occur," Malfoy continued as he strode behind Snape. "You always were somewhat soft on Black, weren't you?"

"Yes, Lucius."

"Pray, tell me you at least managed to have your way with him?" Malfoy said scornfully. "That is what you had intended, wasn't it, Sodomus?"

Sirius heard Wormtail snigger at the name, but somehow he saw nothing funny about the fact that Snape had indeed planned to rape him.

But in that case, why the fuck had he let him go? Why had he not just shagged him? Surely it would have been far satisfying to 'have his way with him' when Sirius was still in chains, and not to offer him a chance to escape, which Sirius had, in fact, made use of. Or had Snape been so convinced that Sirius would consent to whatever he had in mind, that... But that made no bloody sense at all! His consent meant nothing to Snape; it was not what he was after. But then, why had Snape kissed him and said...?

"You poor sod! Yet again fooled by that bastard Black!" Malfoy laughed. "You are such a sad little man, aren't you, Severus? And you always will be."

Sirius could not believe his eyes. Snape stood quite still, listening quietly to Malfoy's insults. Not once had he objected or talked back the way Sirius would have expected. Had he no pride?

"I believe ten would suffice."

"Yes, Lucius."

Sirius jumped as the Flamgellum hit Snape's back.

There was no scream, no other sound than that of the whip and the burning flesh. One minute the cut on Snape's back blazed bright red, and the next minute it was gone, the skin as white as ever and seemingly uninjured. Sirius couldn't see Snape's expression from where he was standing, but the malicious smile on Malfoy's face broadened with every lash. He clearly enjoyed causing Snape pain, and Sirius wondered how many times had this been done before.

But the scene was not as entertaining as Sirius would have anticipated. Somehow, watching Snape suffer gave him no satisfaction at all and, instead, he found himself oddly uncomfortable, almost disgusted by the sight.

Without realising it, Sirius started to count the lashes: TWO - he suddenly remembered the smell of leather in the air right before Snape had kissed him - THREE - the kiss had been so passionate, far too much so to be given by a man about to kill him - FOUR - 'you mean I could have been doing this all these years' - FIVE - he had tasted so sweet and the leather had smelled so sexy and those words had sounded so... - SIX - oh-bloody-bugger-shit-fucking-hell-no!

"Stupefy!"

Malfoy collapsed to the floor, still holding his wand, for a brief moment the Flamgellum burning at the end of it and then disappearing. But Wormtail proved quicker once more, and Sirius only caught a glimpse of the rat as it ran through one of the archways.

Snape's wand was shaking in Sirius's hand, pointing at its owner who lay panting on the table. Cautiously, Sirius closed on him, still not quite certain whether Malfoy and Wormtail had been his only enemies in the room.

"Six? You waited until six before coming to my rescue?" Snape's voice was furious, and yet Sirius thought he saw a trace of smile when he reached the table.

"Hey, I'm not even sure you deserve to be rescued!" Sirius said but, nevertheless, offered his support to help him stand up. "I don't give a toss about you, but I want to know what all that bollocks about Moody..."

"Fuck!" Snape cried out and startled Sirius, who had never heard him use such foul language. "We must hide, now!"

Staggering slightly, Snape hurried to grab his sweater from the floor and ran through one of the archways. His T-shirt seeming to have disappeared from the corner he had thrown it into, Sirius slipped into the leather coat Snape had left behind and followed the man out of the room. But just as he reached the next room, he felt a pull on his sleeve and was hurled against the wall.

"We mustn't go far," Snape whispered as he pulled the turtleneck over his head. "This is where Moody expects to find us, but this is also where Crabbe and Goyle will eventually return. We should be able to Stun them from here."

"And why should I believe anything you say? You know, I still don't quite understand why..."

Snape's one hand covered his mouth, the other snatched the wand from him, and he whispered, "We don't have time for this, Black. You will just have to trust me. I assure you, that I have picked my side years ago."

For some reason, that did not put Sirius at ease. He wanted to scream and shout and swear and get the answers he needed, but there was something stopping him, something other than Snape's hand. Perhaps he had banged his head a bit too hard.

They stood in the dark for a good while, sometimes hearing a clank here and a thump there, but seeing no one. Snape was not looking satisfied and his uneasiness was contagious. Sirius found it extremely hard to stay put when there were Death Eaters on the loose, and especially one particular rat. He couldn't understand what they were waiting for, why they didn't go looking for Moody - that is, if he really was there at all - and, with any luck, kill a few bastards along the way. But instead, they just stood there and waited.

Finally Sirius could not hold his tongue any longer.

"Shouldn't we split up and go search for..."

Snape's hand silenced him once more, but this time it pressed harder against Sirius's mouth and Sirius could feel it shake slightly. The torchlight reflected in Snape's eyes and for a moment Sirius just stared at him, unable to take his eyes off of his. The man was so close to him that Sirius could feel his heart beat, faster and faster, the hand now juddering over his mouth. Without the faintest idea of what he was doing, Sirius reached to pull the hand slowly away, letting the fingertips brush gently over his lips. Snape's mouth opened as if to talk, but no sound seemed to be coming out. The light was still glowing in his eyes and Sirius could simply no longer stop himself. He pulled Snape into a soft kiss just to have a taste of his lips once more before the end and know that he had not imagined it all.

But Snape's respond was much stronger, violent even, as his tongue forced its way into Sirius's mouth and his teeth bruised Sirius's lips. Snape pushed him hard against the wall, capturing him between himself and the cold stones, and kissed his breath away.

"Did you hear that?" Snape asked abruptly, pulling away from Sirius, but he might as well have asked Sirius his name and would have received the same reply.

"Dunno."

Sirius honestly did not know anything anymore.

"Moody!" Snape exclaimed and stormed back into the lighted room.

Trying hard to get his breath back, Sirius followed him but stopped under the archway, unable to believe his eyes.

There was Mad-Eye Moody, or more accurately, Moody's head, hovering in mid-air and looking rather cross.

"You two!" Moody growled. "Where the hell have you been? Hurry before it's..."

And the head disappeared.

"Too late." Snape stared at the pocket watch in his hand and let out a muffled roar. "We missed the Portkey!"

Sirius had regained the use of his legs and slowly he strode into the room.

"That was the Portkey that was supposed to get us out of here, right?" he asked and waited for Snape to nod. "And now we're stuck in here with the Death Eaters?"

"Yes."

"And I remember Malfoy mentioning something about the door being bewitched," Sirius continued. "So, no chance of getting out through that, either?"

"No."

"I see."

All that had happened, all that he had done, was flashing before Sirius's eyes. Had he believed Snape from the start and had he not tied him to the table and gone after Wormtail, or had he at least caught the bleeding rat, they would not be here now.

"That paranoid fool! Why the hell did he have to wait until the last minute to take his hood off, so that we could see him?" Snape muttered to himself as he paced around the room.

Or perhaps he had, Sirius thought, but they had been otherwise engaged at the very moment. He did not think it necessary to point this out to Snape, though.

Snape stopped, leant his head against the wall and closed his eyes, the silent curses almost audible to Sirius, whose name, along with Moody's, undoubtedly popped up quite a few times.

"I suppose, making a new Portkey isn't a possibility?" Sirius asked cautiously.

Snape gave a hollow laugh, obviously far past caring about the Death Eaters, still lurking somewhere in the dungeons.

"One does not merely 'make' a Portkey out of Malfoy Manor, " he said scornfully. "This place is nearly as well protected as Hogwarts. Only Lucius can penetrate the shields, and thus he was the one to 'make' the Portkey. As for me, I simply modified it; turned it into a return ticket, if you please." Snape paused, opening his eyes. "In fact, I made two Portkeys out of here, in the event that something such as this should occur."

"Two?" Sirius had a sudden urge to snatch the wand from Snape's hand and turn him into a slug. "So, what the fuck are we waiting for?"

"Waiting?" Snape repeated, his voice now ice cold. "Let me see... Moody just transported himself out of here, so it is safe to assume that the Portkey is with him and rather far away from us, is it not?" Snape waited for Sirius to nod, evidently not noticing that he was now considering resorting to Muggle means and giving Snape a good, hard thrashing. "However, Moody should have left part of that paper behind, namely the Backup Portkey, which is set to activate two hours after the first one. Now, I wonder if you can spot it?"

Grinding his teeth, Sirius glanced around. Apart from the torturing table and the Stunned Malfoy lying next to it, the room was as empty as before. Shaking his head he turned back to Snape, who was just standing there, so bloody cool and unconcerned. Sirius felt a fist growing where his hand had used to be.

"Precisely." But Snape's coolness was starting to wear off and instead he was shaking as if ready to burst into flames at any moment. "That bloody oaf! That pillock! That..."

"So," Sirius cut in, trying to quieten him down, "Moody screwed up."

"Indeed." Snape pressed his head back against the wall, his eyes closed once more.

Sirius let his fist open, deciding to apply it to someone else instead; provided, of course, he would ever get back to Grimmauld Place and get his hands on Moody. Strangely enough, he found himself homesick for the first time in his entire life.

"And now we just stand here and wait to be butchered?"

"To put it vulgarly, yes."

"Well, if we're going to get killed anyhow," Sirius said, picking up Malfoy's wand from the floor, "then I intend at least to put up a bit of a fight. Lumos."

Sirius walked straight out of the room and into the darkness, holding the wand up to light the way. He could hear Snape hiss something after him but there was nothing he could do to stop himself. There was still a slight chance of killing Wormtail, and even though he would probably get killed in the process, Sirius considered it to be well worth the risk.

He did not get far, however, before he came across a body, lying limp on the floor; the man had been Stunned, no question about it. Sirius grabbed him by his feet and started dragging him.

"Looks like Moody managed to do something right, after all," he said, when he returned to the lighted room and heaved Crabbe's heavy body on top of Malfoy's.

But there was no answer. The room was empty.

Sirius was just about to let out a roar of anger for trusting a Slytherin against his better knowledge when Snape appeared from an archway, likewise dragging someone after him.

"Goyle's Stunned as well," he said, panting. "And I'm quite certain I past Pettigrew on my way. Third room in that direction."

Sirius ran to the archway Snape was pointing at and returned not long after with Wormtail's unconscious body and a broad smile.

"Some man, that Moody - he even got the rat! Must be that eye of his," said Sirius triumphantly as he shoved him to join the rest of the Death Eaters. He stooped down to take a good look at the traitor and spat into his face, "Rot in Azkaban, mate."

As he turned his head from Wormtail, Sirius caught a glimpse of his T-shirt under the table and crawled to retrieve it. But when he straightened himself again, the shirt was not the only thing he was holding.

"I take it, this is the Backup Portkey," he said, handing Snape the Sports section of what he recognised as the same Muggle paper that had whisked them there in the first place.

"That, that..." Evidently Snape had run out of insults to throw at Moody. "What is this, a game of hide and seek?! Did that imbecile honestly think I would go crawling under tables on my hands and knees?" Snape was shaking the Sports section as if picturing it to be Moody, and yet he seemed more pleased than he had been a short while ago. After all, Moody had managed to Stun all the Death Eaters and to leave the Backup Portkey behind, so there was still a chance that they would get out of there in one piece. Sirius was actually feeling rather cheerful.

"This is quite disturbing, I must say," Sirius said, still staring at the paper Snape was mishandling. "I mean, Sports? Why, Snape, is this a whole new side of you that's opening up before my eyes?"

Snape grimaced at him and Sirius knew better than to pursue the subject.

"How the hell didn't anyone hear that peg leg of his?" he asked quickly, sitting down on the edge of the table.

"I cast a very powerful silencing spell on it, no one would have heard a thing." Snape said as he paced back and forth, the Sports section clenched in his hand. "Including us, as it appears."

"So, I take it, Dumbledore was in on this?"

"Yes," Snape said uneasily, "but as far as he knew, you agreed to this."

"Oh, did I? Well, I bloody well might have, if you'd bothered to ask!" Sirius exclaimed, though knowing quite well why he had not been told. He could not help but wonder, just how much of an idiot did Dumbledore take him for, if he had thought that Sirius would actually agree to be tortured by Snape?

"I have been trying to get into Lucius's favour since last summer," Snape continued, "but when I came close to succeeding, he demanded a token of my loyalty - namely you. Handing you over to the Ministry would have increased both the Ministry's and Malfoy's power, since that nitwit Fudge still maintains that the Dark Lord is gone. But since Dumbledore so stubbornly refused to sacrifice you, Moody came up with this." Snape stopped by the table and threw the crumbled paper onto it. "Dumbledore did not like it, but something had to be done, with Weasley being attacked and the Death Eaters escaping from Azkaban. "

"So, you would have been quite willing to hand me over to Malfoy, eh?"

"On a platter."

Snape was leaning over the table with his back to Sirius, who felt a sudden urge to kick him in the arse but swallowed his anger, thinking that, most likely, he would have done exactly the same.

The plan itself, however, had not been half as bad as Snape seemed to think. Only the part about Sirius being chained and tortured could have used some polishing.

"I just hope Moody found something useful," Sirius said, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his voice. "I'd hate to think this was all for nothing."

"As do I. This was my last visit to Malfoy Manor," Snape said quietly.

Sirius could not see his face behind the black hair, but the disappointment in Snape's voice was clear enough.

"It was bound to happen in any case," Snape continued, "Lucius was always wary, and even more so as things progressed. I seriously doubt whether he ever believed my not being a member of the Order, particularly after I refused to tell him where to find you. I even had to resort to Muggle transport today to get rid of those two." Snape pointed at Crabbe and Goyle.

Stroking the black leather coat he was still wearing, Sirius now understood why Snape had appeared on his doorstep in such unusual attire. He was strangely reluctant to take the coat off, and as long as Snape did not specifically ask for it, he was more than happy to keep wearing it, fiddling with the T-shirt in his hands as if about to put it on but never quite managing it.

"Never set your foot inside anything red with two decks," Snape added gravely and seemed to shudder from the mere memory. "Horrendous."

He paused and Sirius heard him swallow hard, but judging by the bitter tone in which he continued, it was not due to the omnibus ordeal.

"I am no longer of any use to the Order. Utterly useless, quite like you."

"Oi!"

But Sirius knew he was simply stating the truth. For over six months he had been lurking in his mother's house, cleaning Doxies off the curtains, whereas Snape had been risking his life repeatedly, doing something meaningful for the Order. Sirius could only guess how many lies he had been forced to come up with to delude the Death Eaters, having been forced to cover up for such wastes of space as he was. For a brief moment, Sirius wished that he had indeed been sacrificed for the good of the Order.

The two men stood in silence for a good while, looking in opposite directions to keep an eye on the archways.

"So, I guess it's now quite clear it was all a plan, and I should have trusted..." Sirius started awkwardly, not being used to admitting that he had actually been wrong. "I mean, I sort of owe you an... um..."

"There is no need for that," Snape said quickly, not looking at him. "I, if anyone, ought to... Perhaps I took a bit too much pleasure in torturing you, considering a lot less would have sufficed..."

"Yes, it would have," Sirius interrupted him in turn. "But I think Malfoy there" - Sirius pointed at the Death Eaters - "levelled the score already. And I admit it wasn't altogether undeserved. I was such a twat back then, at Hogwarts, and I'm, y'know..."

"As you put it, that was a lifetime ago," Snape continued. "But what I did to you today, in addition to the whipping..."

"Yeah, but..." Sirius started but realised he had no idea what Snape meant. "What?"

Snape turned around, giving Sirius an awkward look, and leant against the side of the table.

"Naturally you lied, as it became evident when you tied me to this..." Snape ran his hand along the wooden surface. "But I believed you all the same, the twit that I am..."

"Lied about what exactly?" Sirius asked, staring bewildered at the man standing next to him.

"Don't toy with me, Black, you know perfectly well what I'm referring to," Snape said, irritated. "All that touching, it was hardly pleasant for you to lie there in chains and have me..." Snape swallowed the rest, but Sirius knew what he was after.

"I didn't lie," Sirius said quietly, not looking at Snape.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Snape turn his head to him, but Sirius kept his gaze fixed on the floor.

"Or I wouldn't have done, y'know, what I did, there, in the other room, would I?" Sirius said, pointing at each of the four archways in turn, not being able to remember which one of them it had been.

"So, that was not just you going slightly mad?"

"No. Yes. That too." Sirius had never realised just how fascinating the dust on the floor could be. "Actually, what you did when I was here," - Sirius tried to pat the table he was sitting on but missed - "That... the touching bit..."

"Yes?"

Never in his life had Sirius felt more uncomfortable. He had always been so sure of himself, but Snape had turned everything upside down with a couple of kisses and a few words, probably spoken in haste. 'You mean I could have been doing this all these years?' Sirius would have to lay it on the line, no matter how badly he might get hurt, or he would spend the rest of his measly life wondering what might have been.

"I sort of liked it."

There, he had said, it was out there and he could never take it back. Sirius closed his eyes, not wanting to see even a glimpse of Snape's face, and held his breath as he waited to hear the sardonic laughter.

"Did you now?" Snape said, not laughing, but there was a touch of smile, definitely audible, in his voice.

"Yeah, and the snogging... It wasn't rubbish." Sirius found it increasingly hard to sit still and he hopped down from the table. "I mean, I'm sure it was better than what the Dementors... Not that I have ever experienced the other, but still..."

Only now did Sirius dare to raise his gaze and meet Snape's smiling eyes.

"Well, we do have over an hour to kill," Snape said, smirking. He lifted his hand but seemed to hesitate for a moment, the hand stopping in mid-air. Then, slowly, he brushed Sirius's cheek, very gently and careful not the touch the cut. "That is, if you would care for some not-so-rubbish snogging."

That was all the encouragement Sirius needed. Like a beast he attacked his prey and pushed Snape onto the table. Sirius was kissing him and biting him wherever he could reach, trying to get as much of Snape inside him as he possibly could.

Snape's sweater was already off, but Sirius was still reluctant to let go of his leather coat.

"It does look nicer on you," Snape breathed as he tried to tear the coat off him. "But 'nice' simply doesn't describe the things I'm going to do to you."

The coat went flying and Sirius landed on his back with Snape on top of him. His hungry mouth moved from Sirius's lips to his ear, down his neck to circle around his nipples and back up again. Sirius dug his teeth deep into Snape's shoulder and reached his hand to grab his arse. He wanted to hurt Snape, to leave his mark on the man, to make him wear nothing but turtlenecks after he was done with him.

"Blimey!" he gasped as he felt Snape's hardness pressing against his own. "Just as I remembered - hung like a donkey!"

"You can't even begin to grasp how much I wanted you when you were lying there chained, that exquisite arse of yours in front of me," Snape whispered, out of breath. "I wanted to have you right there, to tear away those filthy jeans and just take you by force, but I couldn't, I could never do that..."

"I thought you liked my jeans," Sirius muttered between kisses.

"I lied." Snape smiled and Sirius was sure the room lit up. He had forgotten how handsome the man looked when he smiled. Dark, terrifying and incredibly handsome.

"Then do it now," Sirius hissed. "Chain me."

Sirius waited for the surprise to pass over Snape's face before turning onto his stomach and extending his arms over his head. Snape was still not moving and Sirius began to fear he was having second thoughts about the whole thing, but with his cock ready to burst at any moment, Sirius had no pride left.

"Chain me," he repeated. "Please."

To his relief, Sirius felt Snape reach slowly for the chains, snapping them onto his wrists. Then, returning to the other end of the table, Snape pulled down his jeans, and when Sirius felt the warm skin rub against his buttocks, he knew Snape was naked as well. Sirius's back was covered in kisses that grew harder and harder, until Snape bit his teeth into Sirius's arse, making him moan.

Finally the mouth pulled away from him and Sirius's hands clutched at the chains as he prepared to take Snape in. But to his surprise the man leant over him and reached for his wand, which lay on the table right in front of Sirius's frightened eyes.

Black, you twat, he thought, you bloody twat! Snape had done it before, betrayed him before, so what the fuck had made him think this time was any different? Just how thick could you get? His stupidity had certainly earned him the Cruciatus.

"What's that for?" he asked, though knowing the answer. He couldn't stop his voice from trembling slightly.

But Snape stayed quiet, allowing Sirius time to rail at himself some more. He had actually asked the man to chain him. He had asked for it! He was lying there tied up and naked with a Death Eater behind him, who was preparing to kill him in probably quite an excruciating way, and he had no one but himself to blame.

Then Snape pulled away from Sirius and strode around the table to face him. Sirius just stared at the man, standing there with the wand clenched in his fist, not a trace left of that beautiful smile. Finally Snape bent over and started removing the chains.

"What the...?"

"I can't do this," Snape said quietly. "You don't trust me and I can hardly blame you for that. I can't do this if you're still expecting me to kill you."

"Don't be daft, I'm not..." Sirius paused. "Well, it did cross my mind that you might... But I promise to trust you from now on! Please, don't stop, you can't stop now..."

Snape seemed to be weighing it for a while, until he said, "I will not kill you, Black."

"I know, I know," Sirius replied eagerly, putting the chains back onto his wrists himself. "I trust you... believe me, I do." The chains locked onto place. "I trust you, Severus. You can do what you like with me."

The frown started to fade away from Snape's face as he leant down to kiss him.

"Sirius."

His name would never sound the same, Sirius thought and closed his eyes as the kisses moved on to his neck. There would definitely be marks for him to conceal, as well, in the days to come, but none of that meant anything at the moment.

"Fuck me, Severus," he whispered.

Snape pulled back and Sirius watched him hold out his wand and tap his hardened cock with it.

"Lubricio," he mumbled and a clear, thick liquid poured from the tip of the wand and onto his flesh.

"Ah. Right."

So, that was what the wand had been for, Sirius thought and decided to conjure up his own Flamgellum and give himself a good hard whipping when all this was over.

Snape was now behind him again, massaging his arse with both hands, preparing Sirius to take him in. Thinking he would lose his mind if he had to wait a second longer, Sirius wriggled in the chains, pushing his arse against Snape.

"Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?" Snape asked, his cock moving teasingly between Sirius's buttocks. "You never know, this might be just another clever scheme of mine to take your sorry life. Say the word and..."

"I'll say plenty of words if you don't get that cock of yours up my arse *now*!"

With one hard push Snape was inside him and Sirius thought he would simply explode from the sensation. There was more pain than he had remembered, but Sirius would have been willing to endure a whole lot more for the pleasure that followed.

Snape was shagging him with long, slow pushes that seemed to spear his entire body. Sirius's nails dug deep into the wooden table as Snape pushed deeper and deeper into him. Snape gripped his hair, pulling his head back, and as the grip tightened, Sirius felt the flesh pulsate inside him, and Snape let out a stifled groan. His limp body fell on top of Sirius's and for a moment, he feared that the man had fainted.

"That was utterly embarrassing," Snape muttered, lying face down on Sirius's back. "And mind you, I held it back."

"I shudder to think what would have happened if you hadn't," Sirius said, smirking. "So, how about letting me loose so I can try to beat your time?"

Snape straightened up but instead of opening the chains, he grabbed Sirius's legs and rolled him onto his back.

"I recall you saying something about letting me do what I want with you," Snape said, looking more evil than ever. He strolled around the table and stopped right next to Sirius. "And this is something I have wanted to do for longer than I care to remember."

Sirius opened his mouth to speak but was quickly silenced by Snape bending down over his body, his head disappearing somewhere below Sirius's waist.

"For fuck's sake, be careful," breathed Sirius. "You literally need but to blow."

But Snape did not appear too keen to listen as his mouth found Sirius's cock. Sirius couldn't see what was going on down there, but the pleasure was enough to drive him mad. He wanted to grab something, squeeze something, and although Snape's arse was right in front of his face, begging for him to touch it, the chains would not allow it.

With great effort, he managed to lift his head and caught a glimpse of Snape, licking his cock up and down, letting it slide into his mouth and out again. Sirius could not believe his eyes. Severus Snape, licking him, sucking him, and what's more, appearing to enjoy every minute of it.

Noticing he was being watched, Snape turned his head and smiled. The sight of him, rubbing his face with Sirius's cock, was more than Sirius could handle and he let his head fall down with a bang. As Snape's mouth engulfed him yet again, Sirius's entire body tensed, his hips rising off the table, his mouth gasping for air, his hands clutching at the chains, his every muscle quivering in anticipation, until finally he came with a low moan, emptying his lungs until the world blackened in his eyes.

"Black?"

Sirius heard the chains being opened and felt a hand brushing the hair off his face.

"I'm here, I think," Sirius said feebly as he opened his eyes and saw Snape's dark eyes looking down at him. "Told you I could beat you."

"Fourteen years, was it?" Snape asked as he bent down to kiss Sirius, but the taste of himself on Snape's lips was still too strong and Sirius had to pull away.

Snape was evidently a little offended and without a word he started putting his clothes back on. Watching him dress, Sirius was also starting to feel the coldness of the room, which he had been blissfully oblivious only a few minutes ago. Yet he lay there in complete silence for a while, staring at the ceiling, enjoying the smell of sex and leather that was in the air.

Severus Snape had just shagged him! Sirius wanted to shout out the words to make them sink in. It was already starting to feel like a dream, unreal and unbelievable. After all those years he had found out that Severus Snape had fancied him, too. Maybe not to the extent Sirius had, but enough to get it up for him, to shag him, to suck him. Sirius had to control himself not to laugh out loud.

"Look here, Black," Snape said and pulled Sirius back from his thoughts, "there's no need for anyone to know about this, is there?"

"No, of course not," Sirius said quickly.

The easy feeling was gone and he felt awkward, lying there naked in front of Snape. 'No need for anyone to know...' What the hell did the man think? That he was going start parading through the streets with a sign saying 'I shagged Severus Snape'? Grimacing at Snape's back, Sirius pushed himself up and started putting on his clothes quite hastily.

"We got trapped in here and spent two hours glaring at each other, probably throwing a few derogatory remarks every now and then," Sirius said and yanked the T-shirt over his head, only to find he had it on backwards. In his mind he was cursing both Snape and himself; the former for being the twat that he was and the latter for thinking the man could ever be anything else. "Nothing worth shouting from the rooftops, eh?"

"It would scarcely be in my favour were it known that I have abandoned a lifelong habit of hating you," Snape said coldly. "Nor in yours, I expect."

"Who says I don't hate you?" Sirius snapped. In fact, he did not think he had ever hated Snape more than at that very moment. Having regrets was one thing, but worrying that this little indiscretion of his would tarnish his good reputation was quite another. "No, I don't think it would be in your favour if I told everyone that you chained me to a table, whipped me with a Flamgellum and then shagged me."

Snape still had his back turned to him, but Sirius could hear his heavy breathing and knew he had managed to hit the spot. Slowly Snape turned around, his dark eyes burning with more than anger.

"So, that is how you see it?" Snape asked between his clenched teeth. "Why, of course you do. And that is precisely how everyone else will see it. No one will ever believe that you willingly..." Snape cleared his throat. "I suppose you are pleased that you now have this power over me? Just one word to Dumbledore and..."

"Fucking hell!" Sirius shouted. "I asked for it, didn't I? I wanted it and I thought you did, too! But obviously it was all just bollocks! Sorry, mate, you can't take it back, but you can bloody well trust me to keep quiet about your fornications!"

"Do correct me if I'm wrong, but was it not you who suddenly felt so disgusted?"

Sirius stared at him, unable to speak. So, that's what was eating Snape; that he had pulled away from him after the sex. Sirius still maintained that the man was a twat.

"For your information, I don't particularly enjoy the taste of my own... y'know," Sirius said, taking his shirt off to turn it over. "But don't you worry. No need to tell anyone anything, because *nothing happened*!" he spat out the last words straight in Snape's face. If he had only been twenty years younger, Sirius would have given him the finger.

Sulking, Sirius turned away, but from the corner of his eye, he could see Snape standing there, glaring at him. Determined not to give a toss about the man anymore, Sirius kept fiddling with the shirt, pretending to search for the neck.

Then he heard Snape clear his throat and defiantly Sirius turned to face him.

"How odd," said Snape, his lip curving slightly. "I could have sworn something did, and I even recall it being rather enjoyable."

Hearing this, Sirius knew what was needed. In fact, Snape was practically begging for it.

"What time is it?" he asked casually, holding the shirt up as if to check whether it had any neck at all.

"We still have a quarter of an hour," Snape said and pocketed his watch.

"That should be enough," Sirius said, grinning, and tossed the shirt to the floor.

Without warning, Sirius grabbed Snape's head between his hands and pressed his mouth over his, rubbing himself shamelessly against Snape's body and growing harder by the minute. After the initial surprise, Snape responded to the kiss and Sirius felt his hands move down his bare back, pulling him into deeper embrace.

But there was no time to waste and with one swift move, Snape was face down on the table and Sirius was pulling his jeans down once more.

"No need to mention this, either, eh?" Sirius whispered wryly and, pointing the wand at his cock, he added, "Lubricio."

There was a tiny drop of something, glistening at the end of the wand, but nothing more.

"Lubricio!" Sirius tried again, with even poorer results.

As he was just about to try once more, another wand appeared in front of him.

"Lubricio," came Snape's voice and the liquid poured out of his wand tip. Sirius caught a glimpse of a smirk before Snape turned his back to him.

With a vengeance Sirius pushed him hard onto the table, shoved his coat aside and tore down his trousers. Grabbing his arse with one hand, Sirius thrust himself straight into Snape, and there was a part of him that enjoyed hearing the man groan from the pain. Wanting to savour the moment, Sirius just stood there for a while, enjoying the tightness around his flesh for the first time in years. Then, with short, quick pushes he banged himself against Snape, faster and faster, until he felt his muscles tightening, his legs shaking, and then he was the one groaning.

"Sorry, mate, couldn't help myself," Sirius whispered, pulling out of Snape. "I tell you, it's that bloody coat of yours, makes you so fucking irresistible."

"Just the coat?" Snape mumbled, still face down on the table.

"Or it could be your charming personality," Sirius said, buttoning his jeans. "I owe you one."

"You most certainly do," Snape said, getting up, his face burning red. He grabbed Sirius by the arm and pulled him closer. "I expect you feel that."

Sirius nodded gravely and pressed harder against Snape's groin. The dark eyes bored into his, begging him to touch the hardened cock. The urge to just kneel down and suck him was overpowering, but Sirius knew better and almost wished Snape had never been inside him.

"Give me half an hour to have a go at Moody and to bribe Buckbeak to guard the door, and meet me in the shower," Sirius whispered, his lips only inches away from Snape's. "I'll give your cock a cleansing you couldn't even imagine."

"Make that an hour," Snape said, out of breath. "There are a few sentiments I need to share with Moody, as well."

With a wicked grin on his face, Sirius pulled away and bent over to pick up his shirt. But as he lowered himself, he felt Snape move behind him and, consequently, it took Sirius rather long to lift the shirt.

"On second thought, perhaps half an hour will suffice," Snape said, his hands starting to caress Sirius's arse. In a low voice he mumbled, "Exquisite, simply exquisite..."

As Sirius straightened himself, Snape pressed harder against his back, his breath burning Sirius's neck. It took him every ounce of self-control to keep him from tearing his jeans off and letting Snape shag him one last time. But painfully aware that their time was running up, he spun around and gave Snape a kiss so violent that he tasted blood.

"Half an hour," Sirius repeated. "Bathroom."

Snape nodded and reluctantly Sirius let him out of his hold. He reached for the Portkey, lying on the table, and handed it over to Snape. In silence, they waited for the last minutes to pass.

Then, suddenly, Sirius let out a curse and rushed to the heap of Death Eaters.

"Quick, help me! We can't leave him here," Sirius said as he dragged Wormtail away from the others. "He's not getting away from me again."

"No, Black," Snape said firmly. "Dumbledore specifically forbade that. We mustn't touch him."

"Of course we must!" Sirius shouted, amazed. "He's my ticket to freedom! We'll turn him in and..."

"And then what? The Ministry will be nothing but pleased for his miraculous survival and in a blink of an eye you will be back in Azkaban. The law is not on our side, not anymore. And we cannot kill Stunned wizards, either."

"But..." Sirius was staring down at Peter Pettigrew, the man that had murdered his best friends and stolen twelve years of his life. "I can't just..."

"We will catch him, and when we do, he will be made to pay dearly," said Snape calmly, "but for now, there's nothing we can do."

Sirius lifted Wormtail's head and glared at the lifeless face. He never should have let him go, should have killed him almost a year ago when he had had the chance. Juddering with fury he raised his foot and aimed a good, hard kick straight into Wormtail's groins.

"You just wait, you bastard, you just wait," he hissed and let Wormtail's head drop to the floor.

"Sirius," Snape said softly. "Come."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Sirius walked back to Snape who was holding out the Sports section.

"I'm not a dog, you know," he snarled. "I may be able to turn myself into one, but I'm not one." Sirius took a hold of the Portkey and added emphatically, "Severus."

"Of course you're not, Sirius." Snape's grin was more evil than ever. "But if you are a good boy, I might teach you the Lubricatus Spell, and perhaps a few other tricks."

Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but right at that moment the time ran out and the Portkey hurled them back to the back alley of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

THE END

('Flamgellum' is my unimaginative combination of the words flamma, -ae (a flame; fire) and flagellum, - (a whip, lash). And I think 'Lubricatus' is obvious enough...;)