TWO CHECKMATE

     Getting Sirius Black to betray his best friend was harder than Victor thought it was, but he and Maeve were determined as they all but camped out in the Gryffindor common room trying to catch him alone. However,  Sirius Black was never alone. When he wasn't with James, he was with Remus, and Peter was always with Remus, and James was always with Peter, so it was eternally hopeless.

"Oi!" Victor shouted at the four boys who were currently head to head in a match of wizard chess between James and Remus. Remus was winning, but not by a lot. Then again, Remus was the one that taught them all how to play in the first place. "Some of us are actually trying to do work!"

"That's what the library's for, you git," Sirius fired back with a shit-eating grin on his face. He stood and stalked over to them with his hands shoved in his pockets as he nudged Maeve on the shoulder. "Are we being too loud?"

"So you'll respect her wishes and not mine? Arsehole," the boy muttered, but it was all teasing as Sirius shot him a sly smile.

Maeve rolled her eyes at the two boys as her nose was buried in her book, trying to write an essay for potions. "Let me know when the prick measuring contest is over."

They heard Marlene Mckinnon snort from her position in front of the fire. Victor left the couple alone, grabbing his essay and going to sit next to the blonde who welcomed him with open arms.

"Hello, dear friend, you tired of the men as well?" Marlene asked with a smile as she sat up against the couch, wrapping her arms around her knees as she stared into the fire. She had cut her bangs again over the summer, but they were growing out now.

"When am I not tired of them?" Victor replied effortlessly as he rests his head on her shoulder, staring into the flames as well. They flickered orange, the light reflecting on both of their faces. "I do kind of want to watch Remus kick James's arse though."

"Hey!" James exclaimed, somehow overhearing the remark.

Victor snickered as he turned around to look at the boy, "All right then, win it. Bet you can't."

"You'd be absolutely right, Vic," Remus smarted off as he made his move, "Checkmate, James."

"Oh, Merlin!" James exclaimed, "We're playing again!"

Peter piped up, saying, "Nope, I called next."

Beside him, Marlene was chuckling to herself softly, "We're gonna miss him once we leave, you know. Only a couple years left."

"Don't remind me," Victor sighed, leaning his head against the seat of the couch as he stared up at the ceiling, "I have no idea what I'm gonna do with my life. Might run off and join the muggles, they seem to have so much more fun."

Marlene shrugged, "Might as well. I'm gonna be a healer, I know it. I just wanna help people."

"You're a better person than I," the brunet mused as he nudged the girl with his shoulder before standing and walking back over to his abandoned friend who was still being bothered by her boyfriend. Well, bothered probably wasn't the right word when Maeve loved to tease Sirius by not paying attention to him. She was probably deriving great joy from this.

"Maeve, darling, the light of my life," Sirius was drawling on as he hung on the arm of the chair she was sitting in. When Victor sat back down, Sirius turned to him, "She won't talk to me!"

Victor just shook his head and got back to work, earning a groan from Sirius. He was about to say something when James stood up and yawned, "I'm gonna go up to bed, anyone else?"

"No need to announce yourself, James, just go upstairs," Lily Evans spoke up from her corner of the room where she was reading some muggle book. James gasped at her statement, but she didn't mind. Victor knew it was fake offense because James practically floated on air anytime Lily spoke to him.

Still, the boy grumbled and went up the stairs without another word. Sirius looked as though he would follow for a moment before he relaxed into his position on Maeve's chair. She rolled her eyes but adjusted her position so she could lean into him anyway. Victor forced himself to look away as he instead leaned as close to the table as he could without his nose smearing the ink just so he wouldn't have to look at them. He wrote as quickly as he could so he could simply finish this off and leave them alone.

"Hey, remember how James threw poor Victor in the lake the other day?" Maeve began in a whisper and the boy realized exactly what she was doing. He furrowed his brow at her, figuring there were too many people in the room to have this discussion right now, but she brushed him off with a flick of the hand.

"How could I forget? It was hilarious," Sirius chuckled before turning to Victor, "Sorry, mate, but it looked pretty funny."

"Oh, piss off."

Maeve scoffed, interrupting them, "Oh, enough of that. Anyway, Sirius, we want revenge. We just don't know where to start, that's where you come in—"

"I'll be no help, I reckon," Sirius cut her off with a small scoff, "Moony plans all our pranks, honest, I'm just along for the ride most o' the time. I like that you guys think I'm the mastermind, though, I'm honored."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself now," Victor scoffed, lifting his gaze up from his essay, "We don't think you're anything, you're just our closest in with you guys. Remus likes me, but I'm not gonna go asking him for any favors now, am I?"

Remus's ears somehow perked up at the mention of his name as he called over, "Oi, you guys talkin' about me?"

"Just about how Peter stands no chance against you," Maeve responded with an effortless lie, "Can I get next game, or are you two off to bed after that?"

"I think I've got a chance," Peter mumbled sadly to himself.

"I'll play one more with ya' Maeve," Remus replied with a smile before he went back to the game. Looking at the pieces, Victor could already tell Remus would win again but it wasn't going to be as close as his game with James. Peter had never excelled at chess.

They returned to the conversation at hand as Sirius said, "Still, I'm no help to you guys. Besides, I wouldn't do that to James. I won't tell him you're planning anything, though. I think it's rather funny when he gets a taste of his own medicine, I just don't wanna be the one giving it to him."

"Sirius," was all Maeve said as she pouted up at him, "Please? Victor's best friend in the whole world."

"I'm touched," Victor spoke in a deadpan — the girl's only response being to flip him the bird to which he simply laughed.

"I love you but no," Sirius said and Victor stopped. Since when we're Sirius and Maeve on l word level? When had that happened? Victor's heart beat faster as he heard those words and not in a good way.

Maeve groaned, "You're useless, love you, too."

"I think I'm gonna go to bed," Victor stood abruptly, the drumbeat of his heart being the background music to his sharp words. "Goodnight, Maeve, Sirius."

He didn't let them get another word in as he took the steps two at a time, entering his dorm where thankfully only one of his two roommates was already in bed. Frank Sakai was up reading a book, but he didn't bug Victor as he came in. Without any words, Victor got ready for bed before pulling the curtains shut on his four-poster bed and shoving himself under the covers. They loved each other. Of course, they did. They had been dating for a year, Victor should have known this, should have seen this coming. So why did it hit him so hard?