Work Text:
When Sirius told him he'd sent Snape after Remus, James gave an aloof chuckle, not bothering to look up from the book he was reading. It sounded like he'd had another fight with his little brother. He savagely ignored Regulus at school, but nothing set him off worse than seeing him hang out with Snape, and he always went overboard with his tricks afterwards.
"I told Remus to take a bite out of him if he makes it to the Shack," Sirius went on, sprawled over the library desk and half of his Potions homework, the picture of graceful indolence. A few of the girls in the other tables around them darted glances at him and giggled behind their hands. "It'd serve him right for snooping around like the slimy little creep he is."
He sat up suddenly and swung his arm around Peter's shoulders, who started and accidentally scrawled his quill across his Transfiguration essay. "You think so too, don't you, little Peter?" he asked, ruffling his blond hair roughly.
Peter gave a distracted giggle as he furtively tried to erase the smudge, all while under Sirius' attention. "Yeah," he said, flicking glances up at them through his fringe.
"So Snape's been trying to find out what we're up to," James said in a casual, bored voice and turned a page in the book, "and you led him right to it."
There was a pause before Sirius said, in an entirely different tone, "What the hell's been wrong with you lately? I thought you'd find it funny."
He scoffed in disgust and stood up so suddenly that his chair scraped against the floor. He threw his things carelessly in his bag and stormed off. Peter glanced between them before nervously gathering his things and darting after him.
James stared at the words on the page sightlessly after they were gone. It wasn't that he hadn't found Sirius' trick amusing. It was just - lately, messing with Snape hadn't been as fun as it used to. Maybe because they'd already done so many things: changed his robes into women's clothes, humiliated him in front of Lily and the school, tricked him and got him into trouble more than once. And still Snape refused to bend and break, glaring at them with that same arrogant spite he always did.
He was just a Slytherin, from a poor, half-Muggle family. He shouldn't even have the impudence to meet James' eyes.
He suddenly thought about Lily. He'd seen her the other day, sitting outside in one of the secluded courtyards with one of her friends and telling her in a soft, low voice that she was worried about Snape, about the friends he was hanging out with in Slytherin.
It disgusted him, how she wasted her time worrying about that git when she wouldn't even give James a glance.
He wanted - He wanted something more. Something that'd ease the stifling, dark pressure in his chest.
He glanced out the window. The moon was full, a silver pool of light in the sky. As James stared at it, he slowly realised that Sirius had given him the perfect opportunity.
He'd sent Snape after Remus.
If James saved him, Snape would have to hear about it for the rest of his life, and Lily would have to look at him. Nothing would humiliate Snivellus more. It was brilliant.
James stood up quickly. As he rushed out of the library, he made a note to apologise to Sirius later.