A/N: It's been ages since I've written a fanfic, but I've decided to give it a go once again. I know this is a super cliché story idea, but what can I say? I love tropes with a passion!

Reviews are appreciated!

Chapter 1: The Bet

The first Thursday of October was an uncharacteristically sunny day. Autumn had already begun, and the leaves were starting to fall from the trees. Yet, that day, summer seemed to have returned for a quick visit, making the air hot and dry. The Great Hall was sweltering as the students packed themselves in, and most were already dripping with sweat, their robes discarded and their ties hanging loose around their necks.

In an instant, the tables were filled with delicious food, the smell drifting through the humid air, and the students and staff loaded up their plates, eager to begin eating. Only three people in the entire castle were absent from the room, and only one person noticed.

"Where do you think they are, Wormtail?" Sirius asked, craning his neck to look down the Gryffindor table, wondering if perhaps he'd somehow overlooked two of his best friends.

"Dunno," Peter said absentmindedly, his eyes devouring the food before him. He reached for a few rolls to add to his already-full plate. "Could be in the library? We've got that quiz in Binn's later that Remus keeps bugging us about."

"McGonagall's gone, too," Sirius noted with a disgusted glance as the chubby boy beside him stuffed his face. "Think they got caught?"

"Of course, not," Peter dismissed, raising a chicken leg to his mouth. He paused and put it down. "Probably not," he said less confidently. Another pause. "Oh, no, they got caught, didn't they?"

Sirius shook his head in disappointment before finally turning to the food and filling his plate.

A moment later, the large, oak doors opened, and Professor McGonagall marched up the main aisle, her lips pursed in annoyance and a disapproving frown creased at her eyebrows. Behind her, two boys slunk into the room and headed for their seats.

"Well, boys, looks like we'll be cancelling our plans for the weekend," Remus said with a sigh, plopping his bag down and taking his seat. James sat down angrily beside him.

"What? Why?" Peter asked, crestfallen as he dropped his fork onto his nearly-empty plate.

"Don't tell me you couldn't get the pipes," Sirius said, putting his fork down and looking at his friends with a frown. "Mate, that was literally your only job."

"I got the bloody pipes," James snapped, slopping a small heap of mashed potatoes on his plate and splattering some of the spuds on the table.

"So, what?" Sirius asked impatiently, his eyes going from one boy to the next.

"Would you like to tell them, or should I?" Remus asked with a raised brow.

James sighed. "I got detention."

"When for?" Peter asked with a frown.

A pause. "Saturday at noon," James muttered.

"What?!" Peter and Sirius exclaimed at once.

"But James! That's the only time we can do it!" Peter said, his eyes round with disappointment.

"What did you do?" Sirius asked with a disappointed glare. He was so looking forward to flooding the dungeons, and it had taken ages to come up with the perfect plan — a plan that required all four boys.

"I didn't do anything!" James said defensively.

Remus snorted. "You literally lit half the grounds on fire."

"You did what?" Sirius asked incredulously as Peter choked in disbelief.

"He's blowing it way out of proportion," James said with a flippant wave of his hand.

"Explain," Peter said, barely able to control his glee. He always loved hearing about the things James did. It was one of the reasons why he loved hanging around the boy so much — to witness it all first-hand.

James hesitated a moment, glancing at Remus' scrutinising glare. "I was just trying to create a controlled fire," he said with a pointed look at his disapproving friend. "And it may have been a bit bigger than expected."

Remus scoffed. "Understatement of the century," he muttered.

Sirius looked ready to cry. "Why didn't I know about this?" He asked with puppy-dog eyes, crushed at not being included in his plan. "What were you even trying to do?"

"Take a guess," Remus mumbled, cutting into his chicken.

"Lily?" Peter asked, his eyes flicking to each of his friends.

"Please, Wormy," Sirius said with a scoff. "How is lighting a fire going to impress Evans?" At James' silence, he let out a bark of laughter. "You're joking!"

"I was trying to be romantic!" James exclaimed as he threw his head back in exasperation. It seemed as though he had already gone over his logic with Remus and was not thrilled about having to go over it all once again.

"How is a wildfire romantic?" Sirius said through fits of laughter.

"Apparently," Remus began with a smirk. "He was trying to write a 'romantic message' in the grass."

"It was romantic!" James glared at his friends, making them laugh even harder.

"Wait, wait, wait," Sirius said, holding out his hands to silence his companions. "Let me guess. 'Dear Evans, you are the light of my life, and, to prove it, I'm going to burn down the school.'"

"Yeah, yeah, real funny," James grumbled as the boys sniggered around him.

"But really, what did it say?" Peter said with a smile full of anticipation.

"It doesn't really —"

"It was a poem," Remus jumped in when he saw James dodging the question.

"It wasn't a poem," James snapped.

"Oh, yes, you're right. A haiku."

Peter let out a guffaw. Sirius was practically overflowing with joy at his best friend's obvious embarrassment. "Go on, Prongs, tell us what it said."

"I don't —"

"Don't remember? Don't worry; I've got it right here," Remus said as he pulled out a scrap of paper from his robes.

"Moony!" James said, snatching at the paper. Sirius, however, was quicker and seized the paper. He cleared his throat and began to read dramatically.

"Hair like flames, eyes like

Spring. You have set my heart ablaze

Like I do right here."

There was a pause before the three boys burst out laughing, much to the dismay of a red-faced James.

"How long did that take you, eh?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"What did she say?" Peter asked, delighted.

"She didn't even see it. She was in potions on the other side of the castle." Remus chuckled.

"Mate, you didn't even do it when she was around?" Sirius cringed, his amusement quickly changing to secondhand embarrassment for his friend.

"I got my days mixed up," James muttered into his food. A new wave of laughter rippled through the group, and he crossed his arms over his chest and glared. "Har, har. Yuck it up, boys," he said sarcastically.

"Oh, come on, James," Remus said, laying a hand on James' shoulder, who immediately twisted his body, causing the offending hand to drop to the bench. "We're just messing with you."

"Yeah, Prongs, we're just messing," Peter sniggered behind his hand.

"But seriously," Sirius said, his laughter dying down to a small chuckle. "What made you think that would even work?"

"I don't know," James said dejectedly as he moved around the food on his plate with his fork. "I figured I needed a big, grand gesture."

"What, another one?" Peter asked with raised brows as he resumed eating.

"You should really try changing your approach," Remus said thoughtfully. "Clearly, the big gestures aren't working."

"And they're ruining our genius plans," Sirius added with a glare that was immediately returned.

"If you really like her," Remus continued. "You might want to try just being honest with her."

Sirius scoffed. "He's been more than honest. He's practically confessed his undying love already."

"He has," Peter said excitedly. "Remember the 12 days of Christmas fiasco?"

Sirius laughed. "Oh, I forgot! That was epic, mate."

James groaned and let his head fall into his hands. "I can't help it." He said, forlorn, his eyes drifting over to the red-head sitting a ways down the table. "She just drives me mental with how perfect she is."

"No one's perfect, James," Remus remarked.

"She is," James said glumly.

"Prongsy," Sirius said, levelling James with a look. "She hangs around Snivellus, for Merlin's sake! She clearly has terrible taste in men."

"She doesn't have terrible taste!" James cried. "Snivellus has just manipulated her, and she's too kind and trusting and beautiful to realise it."

"Well, if she's so easily manipulated, why hasn't she been swayed by you, then?" Remus pointed out.

"Because I'm not trying to manipulate her! I'm trying to show her that I'm the one for her! She just can't see it yet."

"You have asked this girl out in every way imaginable, and she has said no every single time," Remus replied, rolling his eyes. "Like I said, change your methods."

"My methods are fine," James snapped.

"So, why hasn't she said yes yet?" Remus retorted.

"Moony's right, Prongs," Sirius said seriously when James failed to find a reason. "You've been doing the grand gesture thing for five years now, and it hasn't worked."

"Oh, like you're one to talk." James rolled his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius asked, affronted.

"You don't even have a method," James scoffed.

"I do so have a method!" Sirius snapped. Beside him, Peter watched the exchange as though watching a tennis match, his eyes snapping from one boy to another.

"You've only dated two girls, and both of them asked you out."

"Exactly. I get them to do the hard work."

"That's not a method; that's just laziness."

"Oi, don't shit on my methods! They clearly work better than yours!"

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Wanna bet?"

"Oh, here we go," Remus muttered running a hand over his face. Of all the plans they came up with, the stupidest always came about when James and Sirius were trying to one-up each other.

"What did you have in mind?" Sirius smirked, intrigued.

James thought for a moment, his forefinger pressed to his lips as he looked up at the ceiling. Finally, with a smack of his lips, he said, "If you can get a girl to agree to a date with you before I can get Lily to agree to one with me, you win."

"Easy," Sirius said with a shrug.

"But, you have to ask her," James clarified, wagging a finger in Sirius' face. "No getting her to ask you."

"Is that all?" Sirius raised an overconfident brow.

"And not just any girl," James continued. "We pick the girl."

"Like that'll make a difference," Sirius rolled his eyes. "What do I get when I win?"

"When I win," James corrected. "You have to…" He faltered once again, trying to come up with a suitable idea.

"Go streaking?" Peter chimed in.

"Ha!" James laughed. "Perfect. Loser has to go streaking."

"You've already gone streaking at least three times. It's hardly a revolutionary idea," Remus pointed out.

"In the middle of Transfiguration class," James added.

A devilish grin spread across Sirius' face. "Perfect."

"Do we have a deal, then?" James asked, holding his hand out to Sirius.

"Deal," Sirius said, taking James' hand and giving it a firm shake. "On the condition that Remus picks the girl. He's the only one I trust to be impartial to this."

"Fair enough," James said with a smirk.

"Why not me?" Peter asked with an offended frown.

"Do you even know any girls, Peter?" James asked with an amused grin.

"I know some!" Peter said with a glare.

"Name 10," Sirius deadpanned.

"Lily, Mary, Alice…" He said, listing off all of the girls he knew. He stopped after three.

"Exactly," James snorted.

"You can pick the girl, Peter," Remus said, causing the other boys to frown in confusion. "I don't want any part in this."

"What? Why?" James asked.

"Asking a girl out for a bet — it's mean."

"Oh, come on, Moony," Sirius laughed. "I'm only asking for a date. I'm not trying to make her fall in love with me, or anything. That said, I can't promise she won't fall for me during our date." His face broke out into a dashing smile. Remus looked unimpressed.

"Regardless, I don't like the idea of it," Remus said.

"You're right," Sirius said with a smirk. "Now that I think about it, Moony knows about as many girls as Peter."

Remus ignored Peter's sniggering and narrowed his eyes at the black-haired boy. "Not that it matters, as actually knowing the girl is irrelevant for this bet, but I know plenty of girls."

"Sure you do, Moons," Sirius said, patting Remus' hand with a condescending smile.

"Fine," Remus snapped, snatching his hand away petulantly. "I will pick the girl."

"Excellent," James said with a grin.

"And I already know the perfect one."

"Go on, then. And make it a challenge, will you? Wouldn't want this to be unfair to Jamesy, here." Sirius smirked.

"Sarah Hughes."

The four boys looked over to the Hufflepuff table with all the subtlety of a heard of elephants, each one craning their necks to get a better look. The girl in question was sitting at the far end of the table, chatting away with her friends as she munched at her sandwich. Her eyes caught with Sirius', and, startled, she looked away hurriedly.

"A Hufflepuff?" Sirius scoffed. "I thought I asked for a challenge."

"Just let him win, why don't you," James exclaimed indignantly.

Remus nudged him in the ribs. "You asked me to pick, and I pick her."

"Very well, then," Sirius said, turning back to his friends. "May the best man win."

"Don't worry; I will," James glared.

Sirius stood from his seat.

"Wait, you're asking her now?" Peter asked with wide eyes.

"No time like the present," Sirius gave his most charming smile. "Besides," he turned to James. "I'm just itching to see McGonagall's face when you go streaking in the middle of her class."

As the three boys watched Sirius saunter over to the Hufflepuff table, James huffed in his seat, his confidence in winning all but gone. "You could have at least picked a Slytherin. He's going to win before I've even had a chance to say Hi to Evans."

"I probably should have mentioned…" Remus said slyly. "She despises him."

This perked James up immediately, and he and Peter shared a delighted look before standing slightly to get a better view of their cocky friend's imminent rejection.

On the other side of the Great Hall, the chatter from the Hufflepuff table was quickly turning into a soft buzz as Sirius made his way over to his target.

Sarah watched him from the corner of her eye, doing her best to ignore him. Trouble always seemed to follow him around, and she had no interest in getting wrapped up in one of his stupid schemes. Her friends, on the other hand, seemed antsy in anticipation.

"He's coming over here," Anna, her roommate, whispered.

"What do you think he wants?" Gretchen, another roommate, leaned forward to ask Sarah.

"Something stupid, I'm sure," Sarah mumbled as she bit into her sandwich.

Their giggles turned to breathy gasps as Sirius came to stand directly behind Anna and Gretchen.

"Hello, ladies," he said in what he assumed was a charming voice. The girls looked up at him with hearts practically floating from their heads. Sarah rolled her eyes and returned to her food.

"Hi, Sirius," Gretchen said in a voice that was entirely not her own.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked, indicating to the very-clearly-full bench.

"No, no!" Anna said quickly. The girls scrambled to make room for him, pushing each other and squishing together as he climbed into the seat.

"Oh, hello there," Sirius said to Sarah, acting as though he just noticed her. "I don't think we've been formally introduced. Sirius Black," he smiled at her, holding his hand out for her to shake.

"Black, we have four classes together," she said, unimpressed, and ignored his outstretched hand. "I know who you are."

"Oh, my mistake," he smiled, pulling his hand back, completely unfazed by her disinterest. "It's Sarah, right?"

"Yep," she said shortly.

"Well, Sarah, it's a pleasure to…re-meet you," he smiled. The girls around him giggled.

She made a noncommittal noise as she looked him over. "So, is there something you wanted? Or did you just forget which house you're in?"

"Well," he began. "Hogsmeade trip is next weekend. I was just wondering what time I'm picking you up?"

Sarah raised a brow. "Excuse me?"

"For our date," Sirius clarified.

Gretchen looked at her friend quickly, her eyes wide with excitement. "Sarah, you didn't tell me you're going on a date with Sirius!"

"Yeah, because I'm not," Sarah snapped at her friend before turning back to the boy in front of her.

Sirius let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Well, I see you're going to make me beg for it, then. Sarah Hughes," he reached forward and took her hand in his, lowering his head slightly. Leave it to Black to figure out how to bow while sitting down. "Will you do me the immense honour of accompanying me to Hogsmeade next weekend?"

Her friends looked at her expectantly, each with a dreamy smile on their face as though they were watching the greatest love story ever told unfold before them.

"No," Sarah said simply, snatching her hand away with a sneer.

Sirius' smile faded. "No?" He asked, a confused frown creasing at his brows.

"No," Sarah said again.

"Pity," Sirius said with pursed lips. "Guess I'll just have to change your mind, then." His smile easily slipped back into place, and he crawled out of his seat.

"No, no," Sarah said insistently. "There will be no changing my mind. The answer is and will remain 'no.'"

"Keep your calendar open. I have something amazing planned for our date." He smiled at the girls before turning to walk away.

"There is no date," she called after him.

"See you around, Hughes." Sirius winked, ignoring her insistence, and returned to his friends who were very obviously watching the scene play out.

"Sarah!" Gretchen hissed. "Are you insane? Why didn't you say yes? He's so dreamy!"

"He's repulsive," Sarah quipped.

"Repulsive?! With those eyes? And that hair," she finished with a sigh, looking off into space.

"He's literally never asked anyone out before," Anna said beside her. "He must really like you."

"Unlucky me," Sarah muttered, returning to her sandwich and quickly putting the encounter out of her mind.