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Strong hands wrapped around his waist, pulling him close against a wide chest painted with several tattoos, each telling a story. Severus would recognise anytime, anywhere whose body it belonged to without even having to gaze upon the person’s face. The hard on pressing against his backside was also a pretty clear indicator.
“ Hello there, lovely “ A deep, musky voice left a trail of hot breath against his neck, bringing out a blazing heat, spreading it towards his high cheeks. Wandering hands massaged his bony hips, once in a while venturing lower until the ghostly presence of the man’s hands surrounded his thighs.
“ What are you doing here, all alone in the dark? “
It was easy to notice Sirius was pissed drunk. He and Remus had gone out to celebrate the werewolf’s recent promotion at the ministry. They had arrived ten minutes ago, from what Severus could hear from the basement. He had made the room his own work area, it reminded him of his own potion room back at Hogwarts. Though, this one he had all the freedom to do as he pleased.
Severus put the last of his batch of essence of dittany aside with a preservation charm on them. He had delivered his latest order to St.Mungos that morning and was already working ahead of time for when their next request was put. He had thought of getting ready for bed when Sirius showed up, wobbly, with a adorable flush on his face and giving horrible attempts at filtration.
“ Working but I was going to bed now “ Severus somehow turned around in the tight embrace Sirius had on him. Grey met onyx as he wrapped his arms around the man’s shoulder. Sirius had to incline his head upwards slightly for their difference in height.
It wasn’t much, just a few centimetres. Severus sure as hell wasn’t giraffe-height like Lupin but it was enough to be noticed on closer inspection. Neither minded it. Actually, Sirius found it to be an attractive feature of his. Finding fascinating how Severus’s long, beautiful legs rested beautifully on his shoulders while Sirius thrusted into him like a mad beast.
Anyways.
“ I didn’t hear Lupin leaving. Is he sleeping upstairs? “ Sirius groaned, clearly not enjoying the mood he was trying to set being interrupted by the mentioning of his best friend.
“ Yes, yes. Upstairs on the sofa, couldn’t exactly drag him through up the stairs in the state he’s in “
Great, another drunkard in his home. Severus would make them both miserable tomorrow morning. A simple price for spending a night alone and now having to deal with Sirius's charming seduction.
“ Now can we go back to focusing on what’s important? “ Sirius pointed at his very obvious hard-on, now pressing against the front of Severus, softly rutting once in a while against the old potion master and getting the man himself hard in turn.
“ I shouldn’t even be letting you do this, especially with Lupin upstairs “ The following groan made Severus smirk. How he loved provoking this man.
“ Can’t we please stop talking about Remus while I’m trying to shag you “
“ Why? I thought the risk of being seen was exciting for you or do you simply enjoy the naturalistic view when we do it outsid- “
Sirius shut him up with a fervent kiss to the lips, hands now a solid grip on his wrists as he pushed the taller man against his desk. Severus couldn’t help the moans leaving his body, caught by Sirius’s mouth and exploring tongue. His long nails pressed against the scared back, the shirt Sirius’s only protection from a blood-red trail being formed.
Then it happened.
Sirius pushed him further against the desk and the wall, where a couple of shelves filled with various potions he had been preparing for orders and some for experimental uses. He felt one of the selves pressing against his right shoulder and he tried to separate from Sirius’s lips to warn the man but Black just persisted and before long a crack was heard.
Before another and another and another.
It all happened so quickly, only a couple of seconds. Neither had time to properly react and soon around twenty different liquids fell onto them, crashing against their bodies. Severus couldn’t even murmur a word before darkness surrounded him.
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It had been a potion accident , Remus had explained with a fake calmness. His eyes, too expressive for his own good, showed an uncertainty and growing worriedness. His voice shaky since this morning’s floo call, Harry’s brain was still trying to wake up but hearing his uncle’s trembling tone had burst the tiredness of his brain.
He had never gotten dressed as fast as in that moment. Ginny had managed to drag herself out of bed, fiery red hair a mess from all sides. They had gone on a dinner date yesterday and had found themselves tangled on his bedsheets by the end of it. He had been thinking of spending a lazy morning cuddling with his girlfriend but then again nothing in his life goes according to his wants.
Get to Grimmauld Place as quickly as possible. Remus’s introductions were as clear as day and Harry wasted no time in following. That day, at seven in the morning, he gave Ginny a quick kiss goodbye before flooing to Sirius’s place.
Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. It wasn’t the most horrible situation possible, Lord Snake-Face certainly took the cake on that, but it wasn’t exactly good .
Padfoot had been awaiting him at the floo’s entrance, tail wagging from side to side in excitement. Padfoot was always happy to greet anyone who didn’t fit in his radar as suspicious. During Voldemort’s return these types of happy greetings were rare and scarce but now that they could finally live in some sort of resemblance of peace, Harry was relieved to see a much more carefree animagus.
Still, it didn’t explain why Sirius was in his dog form or whose cat it was that was sitting beside Padfoot. Silky black fur shiny with the first few rays of sunlight. It looked like it could belong to those rich purebloods, always having an exotic or expensive breed of pet. It was tall, taller than he thought a cat should be but nothing too much to make Harry worry it wasn’t a cat at all.
His yellow eyes with a hint of red were chilling, though. It was as if the feline could stare into his soul and discover all his hidden truths.
He gave Padfoot a pat on his head as if greeting back to the canine before making his way to the kitchen, from where he could hear Remus’s voice along with a couple others. It appears that Minerva too had been called to this urgent meeting. The headmistress was still in her nightgown with only her purple robes covering her figure, in a fervent discussion with the werewolf.
Alongside her, he found Nymphadora holding an agitated four-year-old Teddy. Her hair was turning between a neon pink and ocean blue. Remus had once told him she did it whenever nervous. Seeing it happening now in front of him didn’t ease his worries. Quite the opposite really .
“ So, what happened? “ Better to rip off the bandage in one swift move, no use tip-toeing around the issue. Remus seemed to be trying to gather his thoughts to find the best way to reveal the current problem. Harry frowned and silently pitied him, he looked like he hadn’t had a good night sleep. He was rocking the tired look. Dark bags under his eyes and skin three shades paler than usual.
Minerva too went silent, the frown still present on her ageing face. The years after Voldemort’s defeat hadn’t been easy and having to lead Hogwarts into a new age exhausted anyone. That didn’t mean the woman was backing down as she was a Gryffindor for a reason.
Nymphadora, though, at times had too much of Sirius in her and so had no problem saying what needed to be said. Harry would never admit it in front of the other two as a sign of respect but he much preferred this method of hers. After years of being deceived as a pig for slaughter by a man he greatly admired, he now preferred the raw truth first above anything else.
“ My idiot cousin is what happened “ The woman huffed, finally relenting and letting her son down. Teddy gave his godfather a hug on his leg, causing Harry to chuckle in reply, before disappearing into the front parlour where Padfoot and the mysterious cat had stayed. A bark was heard in the distance but was ignored for now. “ He somehow managed to get himself and Severus stuck in their animagus forms “
“ I’m sure Sirius isn’t to blame, maybe this was all an accident… “ Remus tried to defend but only got a harsh look from his wife.
“ Severus is a potion master, he would never allow an accident like this to happen, Remus “ she grunted. “ This was very likely my cousin’s fault. Probably one of his pranks, if I were to guess “ she pointed out, arms crossed in front of her chest.
Meanwhile Harry was still trying to process the information while the couple bickered back and forth. Professor McGonagall, bless her , took pity on him and hurried him aside to a corner of the kitchen to better explain the situation.
“ Remus found Sirius and Severus in their forms two hours ago. From what he could find downstairs in Severus’s potion room, there were multiple bottles broken and spilled on the floor “ She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “ No matter what spell we use, their forms aren’t changing “
Oh
Wait!
“ So that cat is Professor Snape?! “ He couldn’t help asking. He knew Sirius had an animagus form nearly since he first met the man. Not counting when he was a baby . But he would never expect Professor Snape to have one too.
Minerva’s frown deepened and a look of disappointment crossed her face. “ Is that all you took from this conversation, Mister Potter? “ Harry had the decency to blush and look properly ashamed. Minerva let out another sigh before continuing. “ Yes, the black cat in the parlour is Severus and I shall remind you that he is no longer neither a professor or called Snape “
Right.
It was easy to fall back into old habits, especially when a lot had changed after the war. Too rapidly for Harry to keep up to date but one of the biggest changes in his life was that of Severus and his godfather.
They were married.
It had come as a shock at the time, only a year after the war ended and they had revealed their relationship with the world. It had even made it to the front page of the Prophet, much to Sirius’s amusement and Severus’s annoyance. Everyone had been shocked but out of good manners and not waiting to irritate the potion master, they had congratulated the couple. Harry too, after he had been pushed towards the two of them by Ron and no longer staring in bewilderment at them.
Remus had been the only one not surprised in the least, much to Harry’s confusion. He had cornered his uncle later that day and got an even more confusing explanation.
‘ Sirius has been crazy about Snape for years, he has just never been good at dealing with his emotions ‘ he chuckled in amusement ‘ I’m glad he finally got his head out of his ass and properly dealt with his crush ‘
Harry decided not to try and find some logic in that statement. If Sirius had wanted to be in a relationship with his old potion professor, then so be it. Harry would support him and even try to befriend Snape.
Their relationship, if they even had that, had been full of turmoil since Harry’s first year at Hogwarts but after learning the truth, he had made an effort to not villainize the man as much as before. Severus for his part, he too had been civilised and well mannered whenever Harry had come to visit them or go out with Sirius for some rare godfather-godson bonding time.
They weren’t friends but they also weren’t enemies either.
Four months after their announcement, they married in a small, private ceremony in which Harry had the pleasure of being invited. He had to admit it was very sweet and oddly beautiful and for the first time since he found out they were together, he could finally see the two of them were truly in love.
It was a relief for Harry that his uncle could now have some sort of normality in his life after twelve years in prison and Harry would happily accept that, even if the happiness was from one Severus Snape, or as he was now called , Severus Black.
They had finalised remodelling Grimmauld Place two months after their wedding, now it looked much more welcoming and alive. They even got rid of Kretcher and sent him to Lady Malfoy, who was still under house arrest by the ministry and auror orders. Sirius had taken the position of Lord Black, something he had to fight with the goblins about for nearly a year and spent the rest of his time with friends and family and trying to reform his father’s business.
Sirius would probably never admit it but he enjoyed the lordship. He had been trained since he could walk and talk to take his father’s role after his passing. Lots had happened meanwhile but he could finally take the role given to him since his birth. He wasn’t Lord Orion Black. No, he was much better and less of a blood purist maniac.
Meanwhile, Severus no longer had a teaching position in Hogwarts, even if he wished. Apparently parents all over the United Kingdom weren’t too keen on letting an ex-death eater turned spy and one of the war-heros, be allowed to teach their children. Professor McGonagall, who had been made headmistress after Severus was admitted into St.Mungo's to recover his neck injury, had been forced by the public and the pressure at the ministry to end Severus’s contract with the school.
Everyone would have thought Severus would be furious with the outcome but they all had been very wrong. He had taken the news gracefully and decided to go on a much needed vacation all over Europe, for which Sirius had followed him. Only coming back to Britain a couple of times to deal with securing the Black lordship.
In retrospect, Harry shouldn’t have been as surprised with their relationship announcement.
Afterwards, Severus had managed to get a job for St.Mungos as a provider of potions, his title as the youngest potion master in Europe and new hero of the wizarding world helping him out. It would seem people tended to ignore the death eater and dark wizard accusations when it was convenient for them.
In the end, the two seemed happier. Freedom and being no longer at war did wonders for people. Counselling too , Sirius had admitted one night when they were out at the pub. Sirius struggled a lot at times after the harsh years in Azkaban, the guilt of not being able to stop James and Lily’s deaths, along with his brother’s.
He had also let out to Harry that Severus too was being followed by a mind healer, or a psychologist in muggle terms . He didn’t say much else but Harry could only imagine what years of being a spy and pawn for two leaders of the opposite sides of the war could do to a person.
They had lived in harmony for almost three years as a married couple, until this most recent problem.
“ So what can we do? “
“ Right now? Not much but I will talk to Madam Pomfrey and Miss Lupin stated she may have a few connections in the auror department. Mister Lupin himself said he would talk with his friends at the ministry in hopes of finding a solution “
Harry let out a sigh of relief before frowning in confusion. “ Well, it seems you all have this under control…so, why am I here? “
Now was Professor McGonagall’s turn to look ashamed and wasn’t that a sight. Ron would never believe him if he told him.
“ To take care of him, of course “ Nymphadora’s voice was like a sudden thunder, proclaiming a forming storm on a calm sea. She still looked pissed, probably being suddenly woken up by her husband and put in this situation, along with taking care of an energetic toddler so early in the morning didn’t help “ Headmistress McGonagall needs to go back to Hogwarts. Both me and Remus have jobs and a child to take care of. You are close to Sirius and Severus, currently not working or have a family to take care of. Seems like you’re the best option “
Her stance and voice left no room for argument, it strangely reminded him of Severus during his teaching days. Remus, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here, came forward before things started to become ugly.
“ I know it’s not ideal, Harry, and I’m sorry for suddenly putting you into this position but we can’t really leave those two alone. We tried to get an elf here but the wards have to be changed by the current Lord Black to be allowed inside “ And Sirius was currently unavailable.
Harry sighed, this was not how he wanted to spend his Saturday morning.
“ We promise to help you out with whatever we can, Mister Potter and all and any expenses will be paid fully by Lord Black “ Headmistress calmly added. “ If everything goes alright, this will only be for a couple of days and then everything will be back to normal “
Harry wanted to argue, say he had a life and they couldn’t just put him in this position because they themselves had other things to do, but he found himself unable to. Both Sirius and Severus had helped him out a lot during the war and afterwards, he didn’t have the heart to abandon them when they most needed someone. Remus, Nymphadora and Professor McGonagall also wouldn’t just be leaving him to deal with whatever this was. They would be investigating and talking with other flocks to see how they could solve this issue.
“ Alright, I guess I can do it “
Both Remus and Minerva beamed at his response and he couldn’t help but give a tiny smile in return.
“ Great! We promise to try and visit as much as possible, Harry “
What?
“ Wait, what? Visit? What do you mean by that? “
Nymphadora had left them to go gather her son, who had been too occupied following Padfoot around to try and grab his tail. Remus sighed and Minerva’s exhausted look deepend ten fold.
“ It would probably be for the best if you stayed sleeping here for the next few nights, Mister Potter “
“ But why? You just told me to take care of them, you didn’t say that I had to live here “ He knows he sounded childish but he had just finally gotten his first flat in London. A sign of his new independence for which the ministry's money, more like compensation for being their promised hero , had helped pay for. He didn’t want to leave it now that he had finally gotten it.
“ We know but more accidents can happen and we still don’t know the full side effects the potion could have “
Harry’s frown got worse. “ What do you mean? “
Remus sighed, looking more than ready to go to his bed and sleep a full ten hours.
“ It would seem whatever they took as… amplified their more animalistic traits “
A beat of silence fell on the three of them before Harry inquired further.
“ So, they are more animal than human? “
“ In a way but Sirius and Severus are definitely still there. I mean Severus nearly clawed my hand off when I tried to touch one of his potions “ Remus supplied, caressing his hand as if injured. Yeah, that did sound like his old professor.
“ They just have their moments in which they act more like their animal counterparts “
Great.
“ Okay, fine. I can stay here for a few days but I want daily updates on the investigation “
Remus and Minerva were back to shining with happiness.
“ We promise! Thank you so much, Harry “
“ Yes, you have our word, Mister Potter. Thank you for your help “
After that, there wasn’t much else to talk about. Harry went back to his flat to gather his things and explained to Ginny, who had been preparing breakfast for the two of them, radiating nervousness, tiring her head trying to come up with what could have possibly happened so early in the morning. Ginny, the incredible woman that she was , was more than understanding and even helped him prepare his bag. They had a quick breakfast together before parting ways with a chaste kiss on the lips.
Ginny had been in her final year of studying to be a primary school teacher for young wixen, between the ages of five to eight, the school having recently opened less than six months ago and growing in popularity. Harry had been very proud of her and wondered how something as simple as a school for younger witches and wizards may have helped him out during his childhood, instead of being dragged from an abusive home to a chaotic, hormonal school life. From muggle to wixen.
Harry himself, while not working, was studying and training to take his deceased grandfather’s role as Lord Potter. A job that had been for his father, had times been different and only in a distant future would Harry be made Lord Potter. Now he had to get to know his rightful birth title and rights as a half-blood from a pureblooded family.
He had once seeked the help of Severus on this particular issue, having been told by Severus himself how he was a half-blood as well. His mother, a pureblood witch of a notorious house. However, the man couldn’t be of much help. His mother’s house was nothing like the Potters. The Princes had disowned his mother and, in turn, him too and to this day had refused to either try to contact the old professor or to register him into the family tree as a descendent of the Prince House.
Harry hadn’t been able to stop himself and asked if it ever bothered the man but Severus had just shrugged.
‘ I’ve moved on and now have my own life to worry about. I no longer hold any patience for pesty purebloods ‘
Harry stopped himself from pointing out how he married one of those purebloods. He liked to live, thank you very much.
So, here he was now. Alone in a fourth storey house, which once held so many dark, cursed artefacts that took months to get rid of all of them, with an overexcited, wolf sized dog and a black cat who looked more annoyed as the seconds passed by.
Fuck.
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A week had passed since he first began his role as the babysitter to two grown ass men turned animals. Much more than the promised few nights . Two of Remus’s ministry connections, alongside the man himself, were still researching ways to invert the potion. No positive developments had been made but Remus was never one to lose hope or let others lose it.
He visited Harry as many times as he possibly could with a job and family to juggle. Even played with Padfoot and kept him distracted whenever Harry needed a break or wished to spend some time with Ginny. Severus, thankfully, still wasn’t much of one to freely socialise, even now as a cat.
In a way, it had been amusing seeing the stark differences between the two men. While they were quite obvious when they were still human, now as animals they were undeniable.
Padfoot was full of energy from morning to night, with the expectation of an afternoon power nap of which Harry was pretty sure was because of his ‘advanced’ age. Not that he was going to mention it in front of the man . If this had been Sirius at twenty, or Merlin forbid, teenager Sirius Black, Harry was more than sure no one would be getting any rest in that house.
He had taken a liking to sleeping beside Harry in the guest room, or has he called his babysitter ‘headquarters’. He wouldn’t have minded if Sirius hadn’t insisted on sleeping on the bed. Waking up with dog breath right on his face wasn’t pleasant, to say the least. It wasn’t every night, though.
Thank Godric .
Most nights he slept somewhere in the house. Harry didn’t give it much thought, he had left the couple’s bedroom’s door open, if they wished to rest there and had just assumed he went to sleep there from time to time.
Other than that Padfoot wasn’t much of an annoyance. He was a very playful and happy dog, a very cute ‘pup’ to have around. Harry, at some point, had noticed some suspicious, dog shaped bite marks on a few chairs' legs and had decided to make the conscious decision to buy some chew toys for the canine.
The problem was swiftly solved and Padfoot became a happy overgrown puppy who loved following anyone around the house and didn’t chew the furniture anymore .
Though, his problem of following anyone, meant it included his own husband.
Harry was pretty sure Padfoot’s second favourite thing to do right now, after his morning run for which he dragged Harry out of bed by his shirt, at the first ray of sunlight. Insistently barking until the man dressed and went outside in the cold morning, with the giant dog in front of him, who was only stopped from running away by a charmed leash.
Harry was pretty sure some neighbours had seen them at some point., for he gets stopped nearly every time he goes out to get groceries and questioned on what kind of breed his dog was.
No, other than that, his second favourite thing was annoying the living daylights out of Severus. Why? Harry couldn’t be sure, he had always assumed it was normal between them. They had always started bickering with each other whenever they spent a minute in the same space.
A weird sort of flirting , he had once heard Ginny comment to Hermione, both women displaying knowing smirks. Harry preferred not to read too much into it but he also couldn’t help but think of it as some sort of free entertainment for himself.
Severus would be sitting on the sofa, all proper and elegant, attentively watching whatever was showing on the telly while Padfoot would be laying on the ground by Severus’s feet, paws , and started to basically try to munch on his tail, letting out huffs of annoyance whenever it moved out of his reach.
Whenever he did manage to catch him, what Harry could only describe as a no-claw punch was directed against the canine’s head, along with a couple of hisses for good measurement. Harry once snorted at the scene but a glare from Severus, because of course he could still glare so efficiently even as a cat , was enough to shut him up.
Padfoot would whine and give up for a bit, furry cheek against the sofa’s cushion and puppy eyes looking up at the feline but his husband didn’t relent. Severus would just go back to watching the television like nothing had transpired. The room would go back into a comfortable silence. That was before Padfoot had enough of respecting others’ spaces and, once again, started his mission of catching Severus’s tail.
A weird cat and mouse chase, very entertaining and oddly familiar between the two. As if an old married couple bickering , Harry supposed it fitted them perfectly.
Cat and mouse. Gryffindor and Slytherin. Light and Dark. Mayhaps Harry was starting to see a pattern here.
Meanwhile, Severus himself hadn’t changed much, with the expectation of his current appearance. Much like human Severus, the cat version was a loner at heart. Spending most of his day roaming around the house, whenever Sirius decided to leave him alone for a bit. Harry had tried to keep the potion master some company, back in the early days of his babysitting career. A couple of murderous hisses and killer glares were enough to destroy the idea within seconds.
The only people Severus didn’t try to kill right away were professor McGonaball and Ginny, who Harry had brought over after four days of enduring a tiresome dog and a cat who would claw at him whenever he got too close or put his plate too much to the left.
Harry had been apprehensive at first but he really needed human contact which was more than an hour and a half long. Plus, his relationship with Ginny was still new and he desperately missed her. He knew Sirius was gonna be good, perhaps a bit clumsy with his excitement but happy nonetheless. Severus, however .
He had expected hisses, punches, bites, clawing. Everything and anything on what a feral cat could do. What he wasn’t prepared for was purring. Actual purring . Even Padfoot had looked at the feline in shock or what Harry presumed was shock in a canine’s furry face.
Professor McGonagall, he could understand. Severus and she had been colleagues for years and their friendship was strong after many hardships. Plus, she herself was a cat animagus. Cat Severus allowing her to touch him wasn’t such a foreign idea. What was strange was his reaction with the youngest Weasley.
Harry had no idea what Ginny did. He had asked her, insisting she must have used a spell or charm to trick the venomous Severus Black but all his claims were denied. She had just let Severus sniff her hand for a second before the cat deemed her worthy enough to touch his pelt. She too had been as surprised as everyone else in the room.
From that moment on, Ginny became Severus’s favourite human. Harry was too relieved to feel any type of jealousy. He would rather their old professor enjoy the presence of his beloved girlfriend than hate her. Ginny always had a soft spot for animals, the number of times he had to stop her from adopting every single animal she found on the streets was evidence enough.
The same could not be said for Padfoot.
Sirius was a jealous man, or well, a jealous dog . While Harry was more of a dog person and Ginny loved all little creatures in general, she was more inclined to a cat’s natural quietness. So, whenever she visited, Harry kept Padfoot occupied while Ginny did the same for Severus.
It was one Sunday afternoon that the jealousy was brought to their attention.
Ginny had been sitting on the porch, Severus laying on her lap as she calmly brushed his pelt. Harry had been getting ready to go on what was supposed to be his morning run, but that day, because he had spent the morning lazily cuddling Ginny on ‘his’ new bed, had turned into an afternoon run.
Harry had just gone outside to tell his girlfriend he would be back in a few minutes, Padfoot already with his leash on when the dog saw them. Even if Harry wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to stop the dog from sprinting towards Severus, barking like mad. Ginny was only saved because Severus jumped out of her lap fast enough to run away further into the garden, Padfoot right behind him.
Harry was not so lucky.
He had come face to face with the hard wooden floor and processed to break his nose.
The rest of the day was spent painfully fixing his nose with some of the healing potions Ginny found in Severus’s basement and Padfoot didn’t get his long awaited jog. Not that he missed it much. Afterwards he had stayed glued to Severus’s side, even curling around the feline in the dog bed Harry had purchased three days into taking care of them.
Severus clearly hadn’t been pleased with the dog’s actions. He had thrown a couple of punches which Padfoot wasn’t even fazed, giving his ear a warning bite before letting Sirius just follow him around like usual.
After that incident, everyone learned not to test Sirius’s jealousy. Unless they wanted a broken nose, of course.
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The investigation still hadn’t reached any results, positive or negative. Whatever happened to Sirius and Severus in that basement, it had been complex enough to the point they were now trying to get help from a well known potioneer in Marseille and a charm expert somewhere in the north of Italy, who Minerva was still trying to locate.
This meant another week of pet-sitting and Harry just prayed this week’s adventures were much calmer. No hissing, no biting and, for Merlin’s sake , no broken noses.
Severus, or Midnight , as Ginny has been calling him because of a simple reason.
‘ If Sirius’s animagus form is called Padfoot, then why shouldn’t Severus’s form be called something else? ‘
Harry didn’t have the heart to tell her that Severus would probably hate being called anything else but his name. He already didn’t enjoy whenever Sirius called him ‘Sev’ or, Godric forbid , some sort of affectionate nickname, and he had married the guy. Severus, though, didn’t protest much besides putting his ears in what Ginny called ‘aeroplane mode’.
Midnight didn’t get the memo of starting the week as peaceful as possible because the first thing Harry encountered Monday morning was the cat laying on top of his chest when he woke up. Harry had started to feel a constant pressure on his chest while dreaming, having some difficulty breathing comfortably and the moment he opened his eyes, he was met with a yellow pair.
This was dangerous territory, to say the least.
Midnight never made first contact and the few times Harry was able to sneak a pet was when the feline was distracted by Padfoot or had been asleep on the sofa. The moment he felt Harry’s presence too close to him, he would either move to a different spot or hiss until the man backed away.
This was different. New. Very fucking terrifying .
Midnight wasn’t even doing anything, he was just watching Harry menacingly. Padfoot was sleeping beside him, belly upwards and tongue out. Once in a while he would move his right hind leg as if he was chasing after pigeons in his sleep but nothing else. He hadn’t even noticed the present of his husband in the room.
Harry had decided to give him some time until the cat got enough and got off of his chest but the minutes passed by and Midnight didn’t seem bored by this weird activity. At some point he had started licking his paws and that’s when Harry had to get Padfoot to intervene.
He nudged the dog with his elbow while always keeping an eye on Severus, in case he suddenly decided that clawing his face was much more productive of his time than giving himself a bath on top of the man. Sirius whined a few times, Harry hating at the moment that both the dog and human version of his godfather were heavy sleepers, but he ended up waking up anyways.
Padfoot’s ears perked up, looking from side to side in search of what or who woke him up from his wonderful dream. When his eyes landed on Midnight, though, his demeanour changed. Padfoot immediately got up and began licking the cat all over his furry face. Harry grimaced at the scene but it did the job and Severus jumped out of the bed and out of the door, a happy Sirius following behind him like a duckling did to his mother duck.
Harry could only sigh in relief but this wasn’t the last of this strange new development in Severus’s personality.
Harry began to notice that, while Midnight still didn’t enjoy Padfoot's constant need of his attention, the cat wasn’t as grumpy as in the previous week. Now whenever Padfoot began nipping at his pelt, trying to provoke him for some playtime. Midnight would just either ignore him or, on the rare occasion, actually respond to it with positive feedback.
In other words, Harry now had the opportunity to witness a playful nature coming from the ‘always-serious’ Severus Black. A sight he never thought to be able to see and live afterwards.
He would be preparing tea in the kitchen when grunts and whines would be heard from the living room. Harry would silently peek inside and watch as Padfoot would be with his mouth opened, displaying all his sharp teeth, and trying to get Midnight’s paw. Meanwhile Midnight would be trying to touch Padfoot’s head with said paw and just move it away right before the dog could grab it.
They would be laying in front of each other doing this odd game for hours until Midnight got bored and went Merlin knows where. They had once done it when Ron and Hermione had finally managed to visit Harry and the couple had been as in disbelief as Harry himself.
‘ Maybe they’re finally going crazy, mate. It would have to happen sooner or later ‘ Ron had commented, causing both Harry and Hermione to frown. The auror-in-train just put his hands up in surrender before he got blasted for his opinion. ‘ Just saying ‘
Hermione, however, got a different, much more positive outtake of the whole thing.
‘ I think this could be good, Harry. It could be a sign their human consciousness is coming back more frequently ‘ The golden trio watched as Padfoot used his nose to push his tennis ball towards Midnight, the cat catching it quickly, eyes blown wide. As if the ball was a mouse running away from its demise. It moved the ball from left to right with his paws a few times before pushing it back towards the dog. ‘ They’re realising who they are and who is around them, maybe that’s why Severus isn’t as irritable as before ‘
Harry still wasn’t sure but he was already doing his part in this whole thing, now it was all left to the Lupins and Headmistress McGonagall. He didn’t want to over analyse personality changes when he already got too much on his plate to deal with.
Time went on.
These new changes of Midnight continued to happen but not at an alarming rate. He was still pretty unhappy in the presence of others and kept mostly to himself. Doing his own thing at his own pace. However, he now accompanied Harry and Padfoot from time to time on their morning run. Not to run, obviously, but to take a stroll in the neighbourhood.
He would walk with an unnerving calmness, stopping from time to time to smell some flowers, making his husband, who completely forgot that this was supposed to be a morning run and not a walk at the crack of dawn, stop alongside him. Subsequently, Harry too would be forced to stop and rethink his life choices, as he greeted some of the neighbours leaving for their jobs or ignoring drunkards on the streets, who could barely keep themselves standing, much less take a step forward.
It was clear his old professor had taken a liking to the outside world, not that Harry blamed him. If he could, he too would be out of 12 Grimmauld Place, going out on a lovely date with Ginny and having outdoor lessons on how to properly mount a abraxan with his pureblood tutor, Mr. Dawson. Apparently purebloods had a need to teach themselves and their heirs how to ride a winged horse when, in Harry’s humble opinion, there were other much better options of travelling.
At the time Sirius had assured him it was normal, that he too had been forced to learn by his own parents. It had been fun , his godfather had laughed. I was amazing at it but Reggie was almost thrown off one time. A distant look on his face which Harry associated with a time before it all went to shit. Before Hogwarts, perhaps. When dad and his brother were still alive…
Anyways, Midnight now began to demand to have the backward’s door open on his demand and that was when the meowing started. Severus normally didn’t make a sound. He was a silent cat who suddenly dashed by you while you were making your way up the stairs and you just had to hold onto the railing for your dear life, in order to not fall.
A little assassin, Harry would think whenever it did happen to him.
He would scratch at the door, looking into the direction of Harry with an expectant look, sometimes his ears pinned back against his head until Harry stopped doing whatever he was doing and went to open it. His ‘ thank you ‘ would come in the form of a bite on his ankle, for taking too long to do as told, or completely ignored while Midnight strolled into the gardens.
Harry preferred the latter.
These little escortions to the outside world sometimes came at a price Harry didn’t know he was willing to pay. He never bothered seeing where Midnight went, Sirius did a fine job at that but perhaps he should have. Maybe then he wouldn’t have fallen victim to certain gifts being dropped at his shoes.
At first Harry hadn’t been paying proper attention, too busy focusing on studying about the differences between who he must and who he should invite into important events related to the Potter House. His tutor had wanted him to write a four page essay about it until Thursday and while it was only Tuesday, he just wanted to solve it as quickly as possible before something else required his attention.
That was when he heard some steps from his right and then, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a mass of black sitting beside his feet. He arched a brow at Midnight, still not used to the feline being so close to him. He had wanted to ask what the cat wanted, knowing full well the other couldn’t articulate his needs in English as before, but he went quiet when a dead mouse fell out of Midnight’s mouth.
The bastard had the audacity to look proud at his accomplishment as a hunter, tail flickering from side to side and if he had been human, Harry was sure he would be smirking. Harry didn’t have time to vanish it away from his view, Midnight just picked it back up and went to Sirius, who had woken up from his nap near the fireplace to see what Severus was up to.
Unfortunately, Harry had to watch as the black cat dropped the dead prey between the dog’s paws, who looked at it just a confused tilt of his head, tail wagging lazily before he ate it . Harry barely stopped himself from puking right there and then and decided to do his work in the kitchen.
It wasn’t the only time that happened, as much as Harry hoped it would be. A dead mouse turned into an emperor moth, to a baby bunny and, the last one, a garden spider. Alive . From there on, Harry took away Midnight’s outdoor privileges, much to the anger of the feline. He could deal with bite and scratch marks, if it meant he wouldn’t have a huge spider crawling around the house.
Things went back to their quiet normal for a bit and as the week was coming to an end, Professor McGonagall had shared some interesting news with the group. It seemed like her contact in France was willing to help and might actually have a solution already ready. By Monday, if everything went well, Padfoot and Midnight would be turned back to Sirius and Severus Black.
Though, during one of these last days that Harry witnessed something that felt a bit too personal for him to watch, yet it was astonishing. It truly made him remember that these weren’t just some random pets. They were Sirius Black, his beloved godfather who tried his best to act as an active father figure and teacher to him and showed him the wonders of both muggle and wizarding world, and Severus Black, who he had a tremulous relationship with but had, at many times, saved his life and kept his promise to watch over him. Even now when he was out of Hogwarts and a proper adult, he would still, a bit reluctantly, come to Severus for whatever he needed. Severus never turned him away. Sneered at him? Yes but never pushed him back.
Sirius used to joke with him, and in ways teasing his husband, that in another lifetime Harry would be their son since they already act like a family of sorts. Once, Harry replied with ‘ Well, you guys are, though. Can’t I have two pairs of parents? James and Lily, you and Severus.. ‘
His godfather engulfed him in a bone crushing hug and buried his face into Harry’s bird nest of hair. Harry didn’t didn’t say anything but he was pretty sure he felt a couple of tears drop into his hair strands.
That Friday they had been expecting a storm to hit London, weirdly Sirius had been very reckless. Moving from room to room like a wanted man, his tail which was usually always wagging, was now tucked between his hind legs. His ears would move from side to side, expecting any sudden noise as he tried to hide from under the kitchen table to the living room’s sofa.
No matter what Harry did to try and distract Padfoot from the weather, nothing worked. Not his chew toys or doggie treats or even some chicken from their earlier lunch. The canine was too on guard to what was happening, making Harry even more intrigued by this unusual behaviour. Harry would never have guessed Sirius was afraid of thunderstorms but something told him it was more than that.
Midnight had sat by the window, observing the rain fall against the window with force. Whenever it was particularly loud or the wind picked up, Sirius would let out a pitiful howl and was only in those moments Severus would look at his husband before going back to watching the rain.
It all went to shit when a sudden bolt of thunder was heard throughout the house, the power being immediately cut down by it. Padfoot had let out what could only be described as a wolfish scream before running upstairs like a mad man and Midnight, for a change, followed him as fast as he could.
Harry had just stayed in the dark room, Daily Prophet still in his hands, blinking in confusion by what just happened before deciding that maybe he should see if the couple was alright. He had used his wand to cast a lumos as he made his way up the stairs with careful, precise steps, afraid of accidentally stepping on one of them. At the end of the hall, he noticed the door to the famous Black library opened and calmly made his way to the door, peeking inside without uttering a word.
Harry’s eyes widened at the scene before him and he even had to cover his mouth to keep quiet, so as not to disturb the duo. Inside, the window of the library partially covered by dark curtains, sacredly allowed the young wizard to have a visual on what was happening.
Padfoot had somehow managed to get himself under the white sofa. His tail still hidden between his legs, ears flat against his skull and using his paws to try and cover his muzzle. It was a sad scene and Harry just wanted to run to his godfather and hug him, promising that everything was okay. That he was safe and with people who loved him. Harry stopped himself from doing so.
For Padfoot wasn’t alone. Midnight was with him, laying right in front of him, gently groomed the dog’s face and, if Harry paid close attention, he would be able to hear a constant, calm purr. Whenever the sounds from outside would slightly increase in volume for a bit and Padfoot would begin to whine, Midnight just purred a bit more loudly, trying to block out the other sounds, and would cuddle closer to his husband.
It was beautiful, in a way, but Harry only watched for a few moments before leaving the two of them alone.
They would be fine.
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When the big day came, the whole ordeal was a bit anticlimactic. The french wizard had sent three potions to test on them and two spells to cast before and after soaking their pelts in the mysterious liquids. He had explained in great detail which ingredients the potions consisted of and why they had to rub it into the pelts and what the spells would do. Every single step was explained, much to everyone’s relief.
So, Monday night, when Headmistress McGonagall was finally free from staff meetings and late detentions. She, Remus and Nymphadora had come to Grimmauld Place and did as instructed. Harry just got to watch in a safe distance, trying to muffle his laughter as Padfoot played tug-of-war with Remus with Dora applied the potion on him and Minerve scolded Midnight from trying to lick the liquid off his smooth pelt.
It didn’t take long, maybe around five minutes before they were back in the presence of the smirking Sirius and the frowning Severus. Minerva gave them both a quick check-up before giving them one of her famous scoldings. Remus, Dora and Harry were smirking as the two grown men flushed in embarrassment.
In the end, they all had dinner together. Sirius and Severus thanked everyone for their help, especially Harry who was given a strong hug by his godfather and a firm handshake by Severus, with the promise to come to them with anything he needed. Harry thought it was a bit of a useless promise since he already did that but he appreciated the sentiment behind it.
However one thing they refused to explain was exactly how they first got into that situation. Whenever they were asked, Severus would look away, using his hair to hide his face but the tips of his ears would go bright red. Meanwhile Sirius would chuckle and grin like he knew a very good secret. He would wrap his arm around his husband’s waist and just assure everyone it had been a simple accident. They just broke a couple of potions when organising them and before they knew it, they had four legs instead of two.
Obviously no one believed him . Severus was a professional with potions and such a scenario was completely unrealistic but they stopped asking when they realised no actual answer would be given.
Professor McGonagall was the first to leave, promising Severus to come back next weekend for their usual cafe meetings. Apparently, even with Severus no longer being employed at Hogwarts, Minerva still held his opinion to a high regard. Especially when it involved delicious staff gossip and Severus had just lost two weeks of important information, for which he definitely needed to catch up on.
Remus and Nymphadora were next. Remus hugged Sirius and reminded him that tomorrow night he would come get him for their usual night out at the pub. Dora, while she did hug her uncle-cousin, glad to see him back to normal, gave him a fierce kick that made both Harry and Remus grimace.
‘ Next time don’t be such a fucking idiot, please ‘
And then it was just Harry left. He had gone to the guest room, where he had been sleeping there for the last two weeks, and put his stuff back in his truck before making his way downstairs. He was going to say his goodbyes and tell them to please not contact him for an entire week. He needed his own space desperately for a while.
He stopped at the entrance, adjusting his robes before he had to go through the floo. The door to the living room was slightly ajar and there he could make out the shapes of Severus and Sirius standing in the middle of the room, arms wrapped around each other tightly, as if afraid the other would vanish. Severus had his face hidden against Sirius’s hair, his hands gripping the man’s shoulders while Sirius had his arms around the taller man, face against the pale neck.
The words ‘ I love you ‘ and ‘ I missed you ‘ were whispered into the air.
Harry realised that while they had still been together, even in their animagus forms, they probably had been terrified of no longer being close like this.
The young wizard smiled, contemplating interrupting this sweet moment between the two of them before just shrugging and making a straight line towards the entrance floo, trunk in hand. They needed some peace of their own right now and Harry needed his. He would send Sirius a letter later, anyways.
For now, his flat called him and he hoped Ginny was still awake for a midnight visit.
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Extra scene:
Severus should be ashamed of himself for allowing his husband to do this to him. Last time, they got turned into house pets. It was embarrassing for a potion master, the youngest potion master in Europe to be humiliated like that because he couldn’t keep it in his pants when around dangerous potions. He should punish Sirius, if he hadn’t gone bothering him that night, then that would have never happened but no.
Here they are now . Cuddling in bed during a misty Wednesday’s morning, his husband’s hands resting against his bottom while he pressed kisses all over his white chest, a nasty bite mark already over one of his nipples from last night’s session. Severus’s own hands were pushing and pulling dark, wavy strands, guiding Sirius towards where he wanted those lips to land.
“ I’m sorry for that night, Severus “ Sirius’s voice was deep, dusky from having just woken up mere moments ago. “ Let me make it up to you “
Severus didn’t know if whatever Sirius did would earn his forgiveness but he was more than happy to allow the man to try. Truth be told, that accident was as much Sirius’s fault as was his. If he had been more insistent on snogging up in their bedroom and not in the middle of his potion-making room, then they wouldn’t have needed to go through those two weeks.
“ What do you have in mind? “
Sirius gave him his wolfish grin that just promised trouble. He began leaving a trail of wet kisses as he moved towards his neck. There he began nipping at his most sensitive area. Kisses, hickeys, licking.
Licking?
“ How about I eat you out? Get you nice and wet for me “ Severus shuddered at the words. Even after so long together, Sirius’s direct and abrupt approach at dirty-talking still got a blush out of him.
“ Seems manageable “
Sirius laughed, hot breath against his marked neck before pressing a kiss on those red bitten lips. Severus’s eyes fluttered shut, flush intensifying as he titled his head a bit to the right, so their noses didn’t crash. A purr could be heard escaping his lips as Sirius went back to licking his neck, a path of saliva soaking the sensitive skin.
Wait, purring?!
In a second, both pairs of eyes opened in wide shock, silently staring at one another, as if they weren’t sure this was really happening. However, Sirius still had his tongue hanging out of his mouth, drool dropping down onto his husband’s chest, his canines looking particularly sharp while Severus was still purring in content, claw-like nails brushing against his husband’s neck.
Severus’s face brightened up like a christmas tree, and he didn’t waste a second and pushed Sirius off of him and to the ground. Getting up from the bed in record time and putting on his robes as he made his way out of their bedroom.
“ NO MORE SEX! “
He urgently needed a cold shower and a good book and to desperately write that french wizard a letter about those potions . He could still hear Sirius whine from the floor as he closed the bathroom’s door.
“ That’s not fair! We didn’t even get to the good part! “
And he also needed to plan out his husband’s punishment.
This was his fault.
Definitely his fault!