Title: Scorned

Beta(s): CleopatraIsMyName and maybewesortoosoon.

Challenge/Prompt: Written for The Quidditch League Competition, the Your Favorite Hogwarts House and Slash/Femmslash Boot Camps/prompts chosen: "Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you." ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones; optional prompts: breathless and counting backwards; 26, common room; 5, curse.

Rating: T

Warning(s): Language

Word Count: 2,571

Characters/Pairings: Regulus/Snape, sunk by Sirius.

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is in no way connected to the author of Harry Potter, JK Rowling. Harry Potter is owned by her, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Summary: In which Regulus notices Severus, and Sirius feels betrayed.

The first time Regulus had noticed Severus, the latter had been pranked by Regulus' brother, Sirius. It came as a surprise to Regulus that it had taken so much time to finally look outside of his own head, or inner circle.

The boy – that is, Snivellus, as Regulus' moronic brother had dubbed him – was scratching furiously at his clothing, trembling slightly. The surrounding students in the Great Hall were struck dumb at his motions, though the Gryffindor table was the only table to ring with laughter. After a few minutes, the rest of the Hall seemed to catch up with the Gryffindors and joined in.

Well, Regulus thought, arms crossed in front of his chest. That wouldn't be particularly fair to the Ravenclaws. Most of their tables aren't laughing, at all.

And it was true. The pranks never seemed to really amuse the Ravenclaws. The immaturity was of the young Gryffindor boys seemed to become more and more noticeable, as the number of pranks they pulled grew higher and higher.

Severus finally seemed to become aware of his surroundings, and realised that about half of the Hall was in hysterics, at the sight of his scratching rampage. A steely glare was sent towards Regulus' older brother, but the git merely smirked and stuck out his tongue.

'Mother would've been so proud… Alas, his schemes are always loud and with a trademark reminiscent of a Gryffindor,' thought Regulus.

Regulus glanced back towards the boy, in time to see him pick up his wand and stalk towards the group of Lions. Regulus stood up silently, his own wand in his holster.

"Black!" the ebony-haired boy hissed, grabbing Sirius' collar and pulling him in closer. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Out of the corner of his mind, Regulus could see McGonagall rising to her feet, mouth pursed disapprovingly. He shook his head, and turned back towards Severus and Sirius' direction.

The position was too awkward for the Slytherin to be able to properly cast a spell, yet Sirius could be seen in the same predicament. A gasp sounded throughout the hall and Severus finally seemed to be able to get it right and cast a nonverbal hex. When Sirius tried to open his mouth, he seemed to be unable to.

His lips appeared to be sown together, and a pained, yet muffled yell signalled the Gryffindor's peril.

Regulus nodded his head, obviously impressed by the boy's ability. The hex bordered on being Dark, but it wasn't bad enough to get Severus into serious trouble for performing such a spell.

McGonagall was already standing before the two teenagers and reprimanded Mister Snape for using magic on a fellow student, took a substantial amount of points away from both Slytherin and Gryffindor, and gave Severus Snape three weeks of detention.

Snape seemed to be completely unconcerned by the entire situation, though he still scratched himself. Once McGonagall was out of his sight-range, he smirked slyly at Sirius and sashayed away, robes billowing behind him.

The second time Regulus noticed Severus, it was a few years later after the aforementioned prank. All of Regulus' professors had all gotten it in them that assigning homework, and having it all due next week, was a smart idea; and, for that reason, his weekend plans had all been sucked in, seeming to be a vague memory in the distance. They were all like Dementors, preying on their every happy thought and desire, especially that utter bitch, McGonagall.

Regulus had collapsed in an armchair near the fireplace, green fire illuminating the common room in its customary eerie way. A few younger years – most likely ranging from first to third years – were spread throughout the room. Some were on the floor reviewing for tests, and others were reading, playing Wizarding Chess, or even talking to some of the portraits.

Severus had walked smoothly into the common room, dumping himself into the chair directly across from the younger Black. His attention and interest simultaneously perked, Regulus realised he had found himself some entertainment for the evening.

Regulus spoke up and asked, "Is it something to do with Sirius?"

Snape seemed to be surprised at his polite tone, dark eyes widening. After a few moments of silence, the dark-haired teen nodded his head.

"Black managed to convince Professor Flitwick that I had stolen his work, which is completely ridiculous. I had all of the right answers, why would I lower my grades by using that dunderhead's work?"

Regulus chuckled at Snape's petulant tone, before remarking, "Sirius isn't very intelligent, at all. I am surprise he was able to survive in this school for so long, but I guess he gets by, by doing exactly what you've been accused of."

The brunet noticed a slight twitch of Severus' lips, which gave him a peculiar twinge of happiness, deep in his stomach. A silence descended upon them, and Regulus dove back into his sea of homework, cursing his professors to the fiery depths of the underworld.

And, all at once, it only escalated from there. A conversation here, a shared smirk over the table there, and it slowly evolved into something more. A few Slytherins arched their brows at them in amusement, as the months went by.

It continued in a completely oblivious manner, until Severus had come back completely out-of-sorts one night.

Pulling the shaking teen onto the other cushion of the couch, Regulus slung an arm around his shoulders and simply asked, "What did he do this time?"

The ebony-haired teen's eyes, when they turned towards Regulus, were encased in fear. It took a few seconds for him to gather his bearings, and when he did, the simple word he muttered had him seething with rage.

"Werewolf?" Regulus questioned mouth downturned in a grimace. "You mean to tell me he… sent you to nearly get mauled by a half-breed beast?"

Severus nodded slowly, taking concentrated breaths in order to calm himself. "Yes."

"Does the Headmaster know about this?"

Severus glanced away and took a very deep breath, and met Regulus' gaze with undisguised fury. "He merely reprimanded them, gave them a dressing down, and let them go."

"That barmy old codger," the brunet muttered heatedly under his breath. "How does he just let the attempted murder of a student… go?"

"I think it's because they are the Gryffindor Golden Boys, and it wouldn't do to upset the 'balance'." Severus answered, frowning at the thought. Regulus noticed that his earlier panic was nearly gone, as the silence settled around them.

However, there was certain shiftiness in his movements that made Regulus want to curse his older brother, or just do generally unpleasant things to his relation. What gave him the right to strike at someone, for no reason other than…?

Well, Regulus had no idea why Sirius chose to target and victimise Severus.

Sweeping his eyes from Severus' hair, over his dishevelled robes, and down to his muddy shoes, the brunet felt a wave of possessiveness take hold of him. He felt the compulsion to take the younger teen into his arms and never let go, and promise to protect him with all he had.

Which he did… partially. Wrapping his arms around Severus, he brought the struggling teen closer to his body – despite his protests that he shouldn't be seen in such a position - and sat him on his lap. With a slight heat in his cheeks, Regulus placed a kiss upon his soft hair, and they relaxed.

The next day, Regulus waited outside of the Gryffindor common room and swiftly accosted his older brother, a sneer on his face as he looked on at his friends.

"You and I… we need to have a… discussion," Regulus said, wand trained on his older brother. Sirius bobbed his head and waved off his friends' concerns, especially the vocal exclamations of the Potter heir about 'Slytherin scum'.

When Regulus and Sirius stepped inside of an abandoned classroom, the younger sibling closed it shut behind him and disarmed Sirius.

The other teen growled low in his throat, but Regulus merely arched an eyebrow, completely unimpressed. Sirius promptly shut his mouth, though he still looked unsettled and annoyed.

"What do you want, Regulus?" Sirius growled stance defensive.

"Well, you see… I'm just wondering why you're targeting members of my House… to be more specific, I mean Severus Snape."

Sirius snorted and shook his head, "Snivellus is a pain in the arse. He looks down at us just because we're Gryffindors, and that pisses me off."

Regulus nodded his head, as if he completely understood what Sirius meant. Truth be told, he didn't. Regulus never had that problem within his House, nor outside of it. It just wasn't something he ever thought about.

"And why not just ignore him?"

"And pull the 'passive aggressive' move? No, that's not how it works with us. You see, we don't like Snivellus, and he doesn't like us. As Professor Dumbledore said yesterday, 'Boys will be boys.'"

Regulus grew quiet and began to contemplate what he should do. On the one side, he was a Slytherin. Slytherins were nothing if not capable of exacting revenge without their actions being traced back to them.

But then he was a Black. Blacks were notorious for holding grudges, but getting their revenge when they felt they were wronged. It was a swift and quiet vengeance, but with the finesse of any of the proud Dark Pure Blood families of their time.

Deciding on the humiliation route, though he was displeased about the need to teach his brother an important life lesson, he stayed his hand for now.

Regulus squeezed his eyes shut, and said, "I'm warning you, Sirius… if you continue to harm Severus anymore, you will feel the full weight of the Slytherins upon you."

Sirius merely laughed at the mere mention of the Slytherins and waved his hand in clear dismissal, "Oh, by the way, tell Mother and Father I will be staying at the Potters' this summer, Reg."

Regulus growled at the random change of topic, and lamented his older brother's Gryffindor traits. Such a shame, though… he could've been so much more, had he been Sorted into Slytherin House.

A few hours later, Regulus twisted his wrist in a carefully practiced motion, and set to pile his plate up with food. He ignored the shrieks and tears that signalled the effectiveness of Severus' Toenail-Growing Hex.

When he looked up, Severus was staring at him in shocked amusement, and Regulus felt that warmth of happiness curl up within his stomach.

However, he never noticed the eyes boring holes into his skull at the other side of the Great Hall.

The months leading up to the next year were filled with breathless encounters, and snogs in random cupboards. As uncivilised as it seemed to Regulus, they were exciting, all the same. Surprises, counting backwards, and even the most quiet of moments.

He felt he would never tire of trailing his fingers through the older Slytherin's ebony hair, or holding him closely whenever nightmares plagued his sleep.

Until, one day, he realised that he was utterly and completely in love with the sod.

A year later, it felt as if the time spent with Severus was for nothing… as if it had never existed.

He seemed to be more interested in Lily Evans, the sodding Mudblood. She was a Gryffindor, to boot. Snape's attention had gradually shifted from Regulus, and he always seemed to be staring off into the distance during the couple's 'alone time'.

And while it had hurt Regulus, to the point where he felt as if he had been rendered senseless, there was nothing to it. Especially when it seemed that the world as he had known it was fraying at the edges. The world he had been taught about seemed to grow less and less comprehensible as the days went on.

If he was a weaker man, he would've broken underneath the intense pressure. Being a Death Eater was everything he had imagined, yet it was simultaneously everything he had thought it would not be.

He was proclaimed Lord Voldemort's most staunch supporter, and he was, up to a certain point.

That was, until the Dark Lord had called on Kreacher, one of their house elves, and it had gotten worse. The Blacks weren't didn't need to assert their authority over lowly creatures – at least, that is how Regulus saw it. So, why had his Lord felt the need to do so?

Horcruxes, apparently. Kreacher had spoken of the travesties, of the evils, and Regulus felt himself feeling revolted. This is the wizard he had worshipped? The man had the most pathetic of goals, all hidden behind bravado and the destruction of the Wizarding World. There wasn't anything supremacist about the way he was handling things.

And now he felt conflicted and confused. However, there was one thing which was clear in his mind; it was time to correct his mistakes.

He only wished that Severus were at his side. After all, his true last words should be said to the face of the man he had loved for years.

Despite what Severus had done to his heart, he couldn't hate the man he had loved, and spent time with, and he still couldn't imagine living life without him.

Regulus commanded Kreacher to take him to the hiding place of the Horcrux.

Sirius was pissed at his younger brother. Dammit, he was family, one of the only family members that he felt he could speak to without the feeling of disgust welling up within him, and Regulus had turned on him, just like that. And not only had he done so, but for Snivellus, of all the people.

Okay, maybe it wasn't just that, as they hadn't been on any sort of good terms since Sirius' own Sorting, and his parents had been very vehement that Regulus was a better son than he was.

Snivellus was the centre of his newest problems, though. The git-faced prat had probably cried to his brother, the snivelling little whinger that he was, and complained that Sirius had been mean to him again.

But the werewolf thing had been intended to be a prank, and if Remus was going to stay angry at him, it wasn't entirely his fault. No matter how many times James could claim it was, while Lily stood off to the side, fuming at the slight towards Snivellus.

The Black part of him took over and Sirius did some research on hexes and curses used for long-term vengeance. While Sirius was a bit of an idiot, at times, he performed better when doing things for himself.

It was an ancient curse, but it would do. After all, Snivellus' constant attachment to his younger brother wasn't one that he supported, genders aside, and he had no want to see the bastard happy.

So, a month later, Sirius struck.

At first, he hadn't been sure that it had worked. But, as the days went by, there seemed to be a rift forming between Regulus and Snape. Snape was glancing at Lily a lot more lately, and Regulus seemed to be getting frustrated.

But it had been Snivellus' fault to begin with, and Sirius would only regret his actions if Regulus got seriously hurt.

Because Regulus deserved better, though Sirius would never say that aloud, and Severus Snape wasn't it.

Author's Note:

Hey, I think I actually like the way this came out...