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Best Savoured Cold by Scaranda [Reviews - 1]

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‘How much will it take?’ Lucius said to the man who sat opposite him in his library.

‘I can’t do it, Lucius, even you haven’t got that much money.’

‘Try me,’ Lucius replied blandly, shifting his position slightly, where he sat in a leather wing chair behind a huge desk littered with ancient texts and odd artefacts. He toyed absently with a small black crystal ball, as though the negligent gesture would make him appear less ill at ease than he clearly was.

‘No deal, Malfoy. Snape takes his medicine or stays on the run for the rest of his natural, which, given the interest in the case, won’t be too long. Anyway, he’ll only get a couple of years, three at the most if he’s a good boy when he’s inside. I can do that much for him.’

‘You don’t want him locked away any more than I do,’ Lucius flared. ‘What is the point of this?’

‘How do you know what I want?’

‘Let us call it an educated guess,’ Lucius replied, stifling his temper to deliver his coup de grace. ‘Or perhaps you would like me to let slip, in certain circles, just what deal we cut five years ago to allow you out of Azkaban?’

‘Fuck you, Malfoy.’ Sirius Black stood up.

Both men turned at the same time as the door opened.

*****

Snape had already dropped the Charms he’d cast to go to Gringotts when he pushed open the drawing room door, and it was too late.

‘Well, well, Black,’ he said, trying to cover his shock. ‘Come to claim your petty revenge, have you?’ He threw Lucius a look and turned his attention back to the man opposite him. ‘It is as they say after all; every dog has his day, even you. Forget it, Lucius; even you haven’t got enough money to buy him. I blame Godric Gryffindor myself; he filled their heads with noble intentions instead of brains. No wonder Salazar walked.’

Lucius looked from one man to the other. He hadn’t intended this, damnit; it was in fact the last thing he wanted. He’d worked so hard to keep them apart. ‘I’m sure that Black can find it somewhere in his heart to forget that he saw you, Severus, without you taking recourse to the more unpleasant methods you have at your disposal.’ Malfoy knew neither man had noticed that he’d lifted his wand and had the business end pointed below his vast desk, at Sirius’s balls. ‘Let us behave like the gentlemen we all are, Black,’ he said with his teeth admirably un-gritted, ‘and let this pass. I’m sure if Severus were to leave the room that you would forget he was here at all.’

‘Behave, Lucius,’ Sirius said in a low dangerous voice. ‘You know as well as I do that everyone knows he’s here. One more thing, you arrogant fuck, don’t ever point a wand at me again unless you intend to use it.’ He smiled his cold smile as Lupin appeared in a cloud of dust from behind the curtains, grabbed Lucius’s wand arm and sent the weapon skittering across the wooden floor. ‘Especially not at my balls.’ Sirius stood up and walked towards the door. ‘And don’t forget to ward your windows; you never know what’s hanging about outside.’

Sirius stopped at Snape on the way out. ‘You’d be better off doing your stint than staying with that, Snape.’ He nodded to where Lucius still sat behind his desk. ‘You’re a disappointment; I thought you had more guts. Come on, Moony, let’s go.’

*****

Snape watched the library door close behind Black and Lupin. He said nothing until the cold fury had subsided along with the cold hardness in his cock. He turned slowly to Lucius once he had some sort of command over himself. ‘Are you insane?’ he whispered. ‘No, don’t answer that; let me assure you the question was rhetorical.’

‘Calm down, Severus. Black is only interested in money; he is, after all, a bounty hunter,’ Malfoy replied. ‘He will be back once he works out what he thinks I can afford to pay. He will ask for double and I will pay him quarter.’

‘He isn’t interested in money, you idiot,’ Snape snarled back. ‘He doesn’t need money any more than you do; he throws his scraps to the wolf. Black is only interested in whatever scalp has the biggest price of the day so that he can cover himself in pathetic glory.’

‘Everybody is interested in money, Severus,’ Lucius said coolly. ‘Now stop making a fuss. If Black really wanted you he wouldn’t have left without you.’

Snape didn’t reply. It was the story of his life to date; if Black had really wanted him, he wouldn’t have left without him. He wasn’t sure that Lucius hadn’t meant the double-entendre. He turned away, sickened … by Lucius, by Black’s presence, but most of all by his own weakness.

‘Severus,’ Lucius called after him, but he didn’t turn. He didn’t want to have to lie to the question in the grey eyes; he’d more important things on his mind.

*****

‘Just leave it, Moony. Let the bastard serve his sentence where he is. It’ll be ten times worse than anything Azkaban could ever hope to dish up. Malfoy’s toady.’ Sirius spat the words out across the kitchen table in Grimmauld Place in disgust to where Lupin sat. ‘Pathetic.’

Remus watched him; he couldn’t remember ever seeing Sirius so angry. ‘What were you going to do with him anyway?’ he asked as he lit one of Sirius’s cigarettes. ‘Keep him a prisoner here?’

‘I was going to collect the bounty and hand him over of course. What do you think?’

‘Of course.’ Lupin nodded. ‘As if.’

Sirius uncorked the Glenmorangie and splashed a heavy slug into the tumbler he’d been glaring at. He tossed it back before pouring another and wetting the bottom of Lupin’s glass.

‘Sure you can spare it?’ The werewolf raised his eyebrow.

‘Not entirely,’ Sirius snapped back. ‘I’m not good company tonight, Old Wolf. Malfoy really got on my tits.’

‘I’ll just go then,’ Lupin said unenthusiastically as he looked at the rain battering on the grimy window. ‘We’ll sort something.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘It means that I’m fed up walking on eggshells every time Snape’s name is mentioned, every time his name appears in the papers, every time anything that might associate itself with Snape comes up. In short Sirius, if you can’t get over him, do something about it.’ Lupin grabbed his worn old travelling cloak. ‘But don’t blame me or Lucius or anyone else; you did it all by yourself.’

Sirius glared at him as he pulled on the cloak. He’d given Lupin a new one a few weeks ago and Sirius knew it hung on the back of the door; he’d only worn the old one to Malfoy Manor to stay in character. ‘Is that supposed to be some sort of fucking statement?’ he snarled.

‘Yeah,’ Lupin replied, over his shoulder. ‘It’s supposed to say that you’re not the only one who can be stubborn.’

*****

‘Fifteen thousand Galleons,’ Sirius said. He blew a couple of smoke rings and sat back, pushing his chair onto the two back legs so that it rocked dangerously.

‘Don’t be absurd,’ Malfoy retorted.

‘Plus I collect the bounty from the Ministry, and your boy’s off the hook,’ Sirius added, holding Malfoy’s cold grey eyes.

‘And how, may I ask, do you intend to work all that?’ Lucius smiled with the charm of a scorpion with its stinger raised. ‘Doesn’t one require a body for a bounty, or did they change the rules when I wasn’t looking?’

‘Leave the logistics up to me, Shirley; I wouldn’t want to tax your mind. After all, it’s got your hair to hold up.’

Lucius flared his nostrils at Sirius’s use of the nickname the Gryffindors had used behind his back at Hogwarts. ‘I need a bit more than your smart words, Black. As I recall your plans have a remarkable knack of falling apart, just at the tickly bit.’

‘I’ve cut a deal with someone at the Ministry. The charges will be dropped; they were spurious anyway.’ Sirius smiled. ‘But we both knew that.’

Lucius stood up; as though he refused to act the mad Malfoy any longer. ‘You may send me an owl when you have a sensible offer, Mr Black. Good day.’

‘Sit down, Lucius, or I’ll blow the gaff.’ Sirius didn’t look up; he sat smoking and looking at the space Malfoy had vacated. ‘There are two Aurors standing at the door. On my word they’ll lift you for harbouring a criminal with intent to pervert the course of justice, the current penalty for which is three years in Azkaban, without a hair dryer.’

‘You wouldn’t dare,’ Lucius replied in a low hiss of fury as he sat back down. ‘I could have left you to rot, you ungrateful bastard.’

‘Maybe you should have, for all I came out to.’

‘That’s what this is all about?’ Lucius looked at him as though comprehension was dawning. ‘The charges, the price on his head, everything?’

‘Payback time, sport.’ Sirius grinned. ‘Or maybe I’ll just tell Severus instead.’

‘Five thousand,’ Lucius said without further preamble.

‘Did you have problem with the number fifteen, Malfoy? Can’t you count that high?’ Sirius let his cold smile twitch his lips. ‘Just count out five thousand then. Do it three times.’

‘Seven.’

Sirius stood up and nodded to the two men at the door. ‘I’m out of here, see ya.’

‘All right, Black, fifteen.’

Sirius sat back down, relieved; he hadn’t a clue who the two punters standing at he door were. ‘Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?’ he said, taking a Muggle ballpoint pen from his pocket and scribbling a few numbers on the linen napkin below the crest of Lucius’s London Club. ‘That’s my Gringotts account number,’ he said. ‘See the money’s in there tomorrow.’

‘Leave him alone, Black,’ Lucius said quietly as Sirius stood up again. ‘Leave us both alone now. You’ve got what you wanted.’

‘If I didn’t hate you as much as I do I’d feel sorry for you, Lucius.’ Sirius smiled his cold smile again. ‘Have Severus ready for me to interview tomorrow afternoon, after the money’s in my account.’

‘That wasn’t part of the deal,’ Lucius flared.

‘It is now.’ Sirius began to walk away. ‘Make sure he’s there, Lucius, or I might just let it slip to the “Prophet” certain irregularities about the origins of the charges against him in the first place. You might think you’re a great actor, but you don’t fool me.’

If Lucius had had a heart he would have felt it turn over in his chest.

*****

‘Why should he need to interview me?’

‘Just do it, Severus,’ Lucius snapped back, ’and let us put this business behind us.’

‘This is lunacy,’ Snape replied with heat. ‘He’s a ruddy bounty hunter. He has no authority in the Ministry. I refuse to explain my whereabouts on the day he probably trumped up the fictitious charges against me anyway. I should never have listened to you in the first place, Lucius; I had nothing to hide. I should have gone to Kingsley Shacklebolt immediately this nonsense reared its ugly head.’ Snape didn’t add that he had other things on his mind at the time; he’d been quite happy to let Lucius play his stupid game; it kept him occupied.

‘But you didn’t and your silence and absence from the wizarding community was taken as an admission of you guilt.’

‘On your advice, if I recall, although I must admit to the guilt of momentary madness for ever listening to it,’ Severus snapped back. ‘Why were you dealing with Black anyway? Why didn’t you go to Kingsley?’

‘Why don’t you get yourself off the hook, next time?’ Lucius snarled and began attacking the food on his plate again. ‘Anyway, I shall be with you. There will be no problems; I have dealt with it.’

‘How comforting.’ Snape pushed his plate away; the lamb was overdone anyway.

*****


Sirius had taken his time shedding his cloak and sitting down at the fire in Lucius‘s drawing room; he hadn‘t been invited to do either, but such trifles didn‘t bother him. Lucius had been alone in the room at first, and as neither man had anything in the way of pleasantries to exchange with one another they had sat in hostile silence until the door opened again.

‘If you would be so kind as to excuse us now, Lucius,’ Black said, settling back into his seat. ‘I need to speak to Severus alone.’ He had just been becoming concerned that Snape wasn’t going to show up and that Malfoy had some trick or other up his expensive sleeve.

‘Not under my roof,’ Lucius replied smoothly.

‘Suit yourself. I had thought you wanted this kept private but we can do it just as well at the Ministry.’ Black nodded to himself and began to tuck the documents he had spread on the table at his side back into his pocket.

‘Don’t push your luck, Black.’ Lucius stood up and removed his pocket watch; he didn’t like this. ‘You have fifteen minutes.’

Sirius waited until the door had closed and turned to the pale unforgiving man who was standing looking out of the window. He had felt his cock stir as Snape had come into the room and he’d smelt the arousal on Severus; he wondered what he was going to do with the fifteen minutes he’d bought himself.

He had a few options. He could tell Severus that he’d done a deal to get out of Azkaban by promising Lucius he would stay away from him and keep quiet about the fact that Lucius had been with Peter Pettigrew when Sirius had all but dispatched him. On the other hand that would mean admitting that Lucius had let him get banged up for Peter’s non-death in the first place, not for the supposed crime of the aforementioned Peter, but as revenge for Sirius shagging Narcissa and James, both at the same time. He didn’t think that explanation would take less than an hour. He could even tell Snape that he’d found out that the charges levied against him emanated from none other than redoubtable Lucius himself in some mad attempt to keep Snape under his power; that one might take even longer.

It was Snape who startled him from his reverie. ‘What, in the name of all that is sacred, is this about?’ he asked.

‘It’s about you explaining how you got into this stupid mess,’ Sirius replied. ‘I have paperwork to do.’

‘I didn’t know you could write.’

‘Just shut up and strip, Snape. I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me here.’

‘Strip? Are you mad?’

‘I don’t intend to find myself at the business end of any wand you’ve stored about your person.’ Sirius gave him as hard a look as he could manage without keeping too much eye contact. ‘Shed your kit, Snape.’

‘Very well.’ Severus began to take off his black frock coat. ‘Let me assure you, however, that if you seek to humiliate me as you have sought to in the past, you have once again picked the wrong target.’

‘Just get a move on; the clock’s ticking. We wouldn’t want Lucius to come in and find you naked. I’m sure even he would find it difficult to believe the charges he raised against you were untrue if he did.’ Sirius watched Snape for a reaction, but it either seemed that he knew that it was Lucius who had set him up in the first place, or he didn’t care.

Severus threw the coat onto a chair and began unbuttoning his silk undershirt, his hair hanging over his face as he pulled himself free of it and tossed it after the coat. The black shoes came next, followed by the socks. He began unbuttoning his trousers and Sirius wished he could follow suit; it was becoming warm in the room. Severus let the trousers drop to the floor and stepped out of them, and Sirius had to stifle his gasp; the last person he’d expected to go commando was Snape.

‘Now what?’ Snape raised his black eyebrow. ‘Or have you had enough free thrills for the day?’

Sirius didn’t allow his eyes to drop; it took a manful effort not to let them fall to where Snape’s cock nestled in the thatch of thick silky hair. ‘Pass over your clothes and redress as I hand them back to you.’ Sirius kept his voice low and calm.

Snape turned and helped himself to a cigarette from the silver box on the coffee table before picking up his silk shirt first and handing it to Sirius. He bent over the fire to light a taper and Sirius let his eyes slide over him quickly. He’d filled out a little; he was still slim, but the boyish angles had all been padded lightly with a layer of fine muscle and a mat of fine hair, all over his back and arse and the backs of his legs to his white feet. Sirius felt the physical jolt as Severus turned with the lit cigarette dangling from his lips, and his eyes slightly squinted against the first smoke. He took the cigarette from his mouth, leaving it open, and let the smoke drift from his parted lips as he raised his damn eyebrow.

‘Pass over the trousers, Snape,’ Sirius breathed.

Snape threw them across the space between them without letting go of Sirius’s eyes. ‘I can assure you that you will not find anything you’re looking for.’

The arrogant fuck was laughing at him. Sirius fumed as he checked the trousers for the wand he’d always known wasn’t there; they were still warm and the dog in him could scent the man. He had to get himself out of this insanity into which he’d landed himself. He found he was still fingering the soft alpaca; no cheap stuff now, Severus Snape had come up in the world. Sirius wondered if that was why he’d succumbed to Malfoy’s dubious charms, but he doubted that; he didn’t think Snape was that shallow.

‘What are you looking for, Black?’

Fuck it, Sirius thought to himself; he’d lost the place anyway. He was the one who was supposed to be in control, the one who was dealing out the humiliation here. ‘I was just wondering where the hard on you had a while back went,’ he said. ‘I thought maybe you’d put it in your pocket.’

‘Ahhh, perhaps the fuel of my fantasies left the room.’

‘I don’t believe that for a second.’ Sirius wished he’d shut that fucking mouth instead of leaving it open like a fucking invitation. For a man as unarguably ugly as Snape was, he packed an unfair amount of sex appeal.

‘Why did you leave without me?’ Snape asked.

‘What?’ Sirius blinked as the question caught him off guard.

‘The shelter, why did you leave without me?’

‘Someone told me you’d already left.’ Sirius looked away.

‘Is that the best you can do?’

‘Yes.’ Sirius gave him a hard look, one he suspected was sadly off the mark; it was better than telling him it had been Lucius who’d told him Snape was safe. Something was going on under the surface here and it intrigued him. He handed Snape the trousers. ‘Get dressed before Lucius comes in.’

‘He’s not coming in,’ Snape replied and drew on the remains of the cigarette and threw it onto the fire. ‘Not until I let him.’

Sirius frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean that I know just who set me up as a wanted man. I know exactly why he did so, just as I also know that he is right now standing behind that door, fast asleep, and will remain that way until I lift the restraints from his mind. It seems his pocket watch has stopped as well.’ Snape let a smirk curl his mouth. ‘Now all I need to know is whether it was Lucius who told you I had left the shelter and abandoned me to what could quite easily have been my death, only to stage his own daring rescue once the heat was off.’

‘Why do you stay with him?’ Sirius frowned.

‘Do I take that as a “yes”, then?’ Snape replied. ‘Don’t bother to answer. I, however, shall answer you in part. I stay here for a few reasons, mainly because the lifestyle is good without the drudgery which attaches itself to real employment. And I am waiting.’

‘For what?’

‘I’m not entirely sure, but I feel that I shall recognise it when it comes along.’ Severus raised his eyebrow again. ‘Do not underestimate Lucius, Black. He is very dangerous and even more powerful than I had suspected. His wealth, contrary to current opinion, is so vast that there are few doors he cannot open or silences he cannot buy. In fact there is possibly nothing that Lucius cannot buy.’

‘Except for what he really wants?’

‘Converse to the charges laid at my door, I am not for sale.’ Snape turned again. ‘Now are you going to take off your clothes or do I have to rip them from you and throw you over that settee and fuck the living daylights out of you to see if your technique has improved over the past twenty years? I already know your foreplay hasn’t.’

‘I haven’t been practicing much.’ Sirius grinned weakly.

*****

Lucius found himself standing in the middle of the hall. For a moment he couldn’t remember whether he was on his way to the drawing room or the way back, he shouldn’t have drunk so much at lunchtime. He pulled out his pocket watch: fourteen minutes. He walked silently to the door, pressed his ear to it and heard nothing; he didn’t like that. The doors in Malfoy Manor opened automatically on Lucius’s unspoken command and the drawing room door was no different; he held his breath as it swung into the room.

Snape was sitting at the fire smoking and Black was scribbling something on a scroll; he stood up and crossed to Snape, handing him a quill to sign the document.

‘I hope you didn’t pay this impostor, Lucius,’ Severus said as he nodded to the scroll. ‘Any idiot could have done that, yourself included.’

‘Watch your mouth, Snape,’ Black said in a flat tone, ‘or I might forget to hand this in.’

Lucius let the relief slip through him; there was nothing but animosity between the two of them. He shouldn’t have worried; he shouldn’t have paid the Animagus so much money either but that was past. ‘I would ask you to stay for dinner, Black, but the tin opener’s broken,’ he said as he held the door open as though it couldn’t manage itself. ‘Do I require to have you frisked before you leave the premises?’

‘Not unless you want your neck broken, Malfoy.’ Sirius stood back up with a cold smile. ‘I’ll try not to lift my leg against the furnishings on my way out.’

*****

Best Savoured Cold by Scaranda [Reviews - 1]

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