He sat by the fire. At the counter, a woman was baking meticulously, and across from him was a face he had thought he would never see again. The room was dark, as was usual, the only light coming from the flickers emanating from the dancing fire. The table was sticky beneath his exposed palms. All of these were surroundings he was used to – dark, dank and slightly depressing – but this room was not as cramped as what he had grown accustomed. He was in the cavernous kitchen that had recently become the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. He was used to secluded dungeons that lacked windows and any chance of sunlight. This room had no sunlight either, but at least it had warmth. He had never lit a fire in the dungeons, and he never would.
This place was someone’s home that he had never thought he would set foot in, but his feet were definitely here now, planted firmly on the ground beneath the worn, ebony table.
He had frequented this house over the past few weeks, bouncing between here and his home at Spinner’s End. He couldn’t say which he preferred more: this place, which was full of people but echoed with silence, or his own, which lacked people but resounded with noise – noise that might not touch every ear, but it was noise to him.
“So, Snivellus, how’s the teaching?” the man in front of him asked. “I presume you’re still torturing young, innocent children with your dreadful, greasy voice,” he continued in a voice low enough so the busy woman at the counter wouldn’t hear him.
Letting out a slow sneer, Severus replied, “Teaching is fine, Black. Thank you for your kind words, as unfamiliar as they are to my ears.”
“Astonishing,” Sirius said, his voice just above a whisper. He clasped the glass tightly in his hand, and Severus noticed the whiteness of his knuckles.
“Quite. How are all these… rooms? I hope the cleaning is going well, since it is the only thing you’ve been able to do for the Order,” Severus retorted, knowing that he was about to touch a soft spot in his childhood enemy.
Indeed, he did. The snide smile slid from Sirius’ face and was replaced with a look of revulsion that was all too familiar to Severus. It was the look that he had seen upon Sirius’ face throughout his years at Hogwarts, and it was almost comforting to see it again. He liked knowing he could still strike the same emotions in the man across from him, even if the cause was different.
In response to the silence, Severus prodded, “Yes, you really have made such a difference in the war. Who knows how we could have gotten along without clean curtains?”
“You know there is no way I could have left this house without getting myself killed or possibly giving up our hide out, if you haven’t reported our whereabouts to your master already,” Sirius hissed through gritted teeth, his hands grasping even harder around his glass until it seemed he was near shattering it.
“And you would know so much about that since your involvement with the outside world is so magnanimous.”
Sirius stood suddenly, jolting the long kitchen table with his thighs. It bounced and skidded across the floor, but only enough that it jabbed Severus in the stomach. Pushing the table slowly from his quickly bruising abdomen, Severus stood as well. He placed his palms flat on the sticky surface of the table once again and leaned towards Sirius. In turn, Sirius mirrored Severus’ motions. Bent as they were, Severus still towered above Sirius, giving him, in his mind, the upper hand. He was looking down upon the man that had caused him so much anguish as an adolescent.
“Yes, Severus, and how is Voldemort? Seen him and your Death Eater pals lately?” Sirius asked, just loud enough for Molly Weasley to jump in fright at the sound of the name. Severus ignored her, leaning further over the table towards Sirius. His face was now mere centimetres from Sirius’.
“My services to the Order are none of your business, Black,” Severus hissed, his voice venomous. “At least I can say I did something for the greater good, instead of wallowing in self pity as you seem to do. Tell me Black, how is the hippogriff for your only friend?”
“You know perfectly well I’ve got Harry—”
“A mere teenage boy as your closest companion? Resulting to the closest thing you can find since James is no longer with us?”
“How dare you even utter James’ name you filthy, low life coward,” Sirius said as a flash of pain sliced through his eyes, only to be covered by the same austere expression that had occupied them moments before.
The sneer that had become molded to Severus’ lips was replaced by a scowl. “And I am the one who is able to say I have actually done something for this world, when all you manage to do is sit and wallow, you pathetic dog.”
A sneer appeared on Sirius’ face, contorting his usually suave features and turning them as dark as his name. His sangfroid was thrown aside, and a wand tip appeared dauntingly close to Severus’ face. Slowly, Severus pushed himself into standing position, throwing his shoulders into a calculated stance. He obliged Sirius’ silent invitation and drew his own wand.
As they stood there, each wand pointed directly at the other’s chest, the world seemed to cease motion. Severus stared down into Sirius’ eyes, allowing his lip to curl. He silently forced Sirius’ body into sitting position, training his arched wand on him, and holding him down as he struggled against invisible hands. After sweat broke on Sirius’ forehead, and the noise he was making from the scuffle with the invisible hex became unbearable to Severus, he broke the spell. Sirius exhaled deeply in response, before he instantly stood back up to match the man in front of him.
Severus bowed to Sirius, flourishing his rigid arms out before standing straight. He visibly stowed his wand within the depths of his robes, making sure to show his vulnerability to Sirius. He watched in hidden joy as Sirius faltered, his stiff arm bending at the elbow in defeat. But it straightened again, jabbing the thin stick at Severus’ face, before Sirius could calculate Severus’ seemingly obvious manipulation. Sirius seemed so bent on getting Severus back that he didn’t notice the lack of movement by the counter.
Severus had just won by default, due to Sirius’ lack of observation and Severus’ skill at unconscious control. Sirius stared at Severus, the silent acknowledgment final as they glared at each other. In turn, Severus calmed his abilities, forcing himself to see only Sirius’ eyes, not his soul. It was usually easy for Severus to control himself as such, but as he looked upon Sirius, he wished to cause him the suffering he had caused Severus so many years ago by pulling forth his memories and setting them free. But still, he refrained.
In the next moment, the woman at the counter had turned around to face the opposing men. A look of infuriated shock overcame her features as she saw their stance.
“Sirius Black! Put that thing away!” she said, her voice shrill as she bustled over to the table. “There is no need for wands to be pulled out in the kitchen.”
His eyes never leaving Severus’, Sirius stowed his wand slowly and obviously before replying, “Of course, Molly. So sorry. Didn’t mean to cause a disruption.”
“Oh, not a disruption at all,” she replied, her voice laced with accusation. “I just wish you boys would get along better. We are all fighting for the same cause, after all…”
“I highly doubt he is fighting for the same reasons as—” Sirius replied, his voice almost drowned out by a scowl, but he was cut off by the witch before him.
“That is simply enough, Sirius! Severus is here, I’m sure, for the same reasons as you, if you could just understand that,” she finished, her eyes bouncing between the two.
“Thank you, Molly, but I’m not in need of a defender here. It is merely a tried and worn argument that petty juveniles will not let pass,” Severus murmured slickly, his words slicing across Molly’s attempted reconciliation. Sirius remained silent, his pupils indiscernible from their irises and fury coating his face.
“If that’s so, then it ought to be dropped at least.” Shaking her head when she didn’t receive so much as a glance from either man since they were so focused on each other, she wiped the table off and turned to Severus. “Dinner tonight, Severus?”
His eyes, too, stayed locked on Sirius’. “Not tonight, Molly, thank you.” He turned from the table, breaking the stare between himself and the other man and swept towards the door. Placing one hand on the frame and the other on the knob, he turned back to the kitchen. Sirius was staring after him, a look upon his face that surprised Severus. It seemed it was one of sadness and regret.
The actions behind these exposed emotions were not what mattered to Severus now. Next time he would not allowed such a petty individual an attack as this one. Pity was not a thing he deserved to see in the eyes of someone who knew nothing but what he saw on the surface. Sirius Black knew nothing of what Severus did for the wizarding world nor would he ever; his eyes were too blinded by revenge and insanity to see the bigger picture.