Easier to Lie

Part One

Chapter 1

"Nothing is more capable of troubling our reason, and consuming our health, than secret notions of jealousy in solitude."

-Aphra Behn

Sirius didn't like this. He didn't like this at all.

How could one bloke spend so much time studying in the damn library? Granted seventh years had to study for the Newts and all but that was almost 3 months away. No, Sirius knew the real reason Remus Lupin had taken up residence in the library's endless catacombs. And it… or more correctly he went by the name of Damocles Belby.

This whole debauchery started as a result of this stupid Defense Against the Dark Arts project that all the seventh years were assigned towards the end of the year.

Apparently Professor Diddleman thought it would be a great idea to make them do team research projects on advanced dark creatures and present them one by one to the class. He saw it as a creative way to review for the coming NEWTs. Sirius saw it a way to send someone into a comatose. In all honesty, he rather fancied the thought of researching a dark creature….

Of course he'd never admit to that.

He would have rather done it on his own. Having it be obligatory, just took the excitement out of it. The real problem was that Diddleman had also decided to pair off each student with someone from the opposite House. In this case the Gryffindors got paired with the Ravenclaws.

It wasn't that Sirius didn't like being paired with a Ravenclaw, hell he'd take a know-it-all Ravenclaw over a pig-headed Slytherin any day, but it meant that he wasn't paired with one of the Marauders. And that meant that they could get less done. Not class work, mind you, but pranks and the like. It ultimately meant less quality time with his best friends.

It was their last year at Hogwarts. They should have been partying, pranking and perfecting the art of womanizing, not doing this… this soul sucking project! On top of all that Sirius got stuck with Ravenclaw's resident space-case. No actually, "space-case" would be the understatement of the century. Xenophilius Lovegood absolutely off his rocker…it's amazing they got anything from this project accomplished at all.

Seriously, they were assigned to research the Quintaped and all the guy seemed to care about was fact that Professor Diddleman didn't give them the option of studying the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. What the hell that was, Sirius hadn't the slightest clue!

Remus, who was usually so composed and reserved, spit out his drink at lunch a couple weeks ago when Sirius finally gave up trying to figure it out and asked him what the hell it was! Sirius hadn't failed to notice the mix between pity and mirth in Remus's eyes.

Mostly these feelings of frustration were brought on by the fact that Sirius got stuck with the most incompetent bloke in Hogwarts, next to Snivellus of course. But Sirius knew it also had something to do who Remus got paired with. The lucky prat got to do his project with Ravenclaw's top student, Damocles Belby. For Merlin's sake the kid was a genius compared to Sirius's partner and he was once a leading contender to be the current Head Boy.

Thank goodness James snatched that title, because at this point Sirius didn't think he could stand the thought of Belby leading the school with his clean-cut, goody-goody ways.

Sirius always knew that Remus was going to be corrupted by Damocles, it was only a matter of time. And now that they were a month into their projects, Sirius was starting to see signs of it. They were getting way to chummy for Sirius' liking. With all due respect, Remus was Sirius' friend, not Damocles'.

So why was it that Remus had decided to spend so much of his spare time hanging out with Damocles instead of spending it with the Marauders? He even gave the bloke a nickname. A stupid nickname at that. Nicknames were the Marauder's thing, it was just their thing, you know? And now this… this twat got the honour of being nicknamed?

Belby didn't even know the difference between a dung bomb and an ever bashing boomerang. Yet Remus had spent almost every day in the library with that boy, doing Merlin knows what! Well, Remus told him that it was "the project", but come on no one's really going to waste time on that crap when there's so many master-mind plans to be executed before they all graduate! Sirius needed to know what was so amazingly special about this guy that Remus Lupin would neglect his duties as a Marauder.

And that was why Sirius was brooding behind a book case in the back of the library. He probably would have looked ridiculous if he hadn't been completely hidden by James' invisibility cloak. Too bad it didn't keep out the dust or the nasty smell of old books, which by the way Sirius was pretty allergic to.

Holding back another sneeze Sirius leaned in to listen to the conversation that was continuing from a table not too far away.

"No seriously, Remus! They practically closed down half the street trying to get all the fireworks under control!" A smiling Belby came into Sirius's view, chuckling slightly at the story he was telling.

Remus looked up from a huge, yellow paged book and smiled back amusedly. "Were they muggle fireworks?"

"No way. Whoever it was that set them off used Grade-A wizarding fireworks. The good stuff. You know now that I come to think of it, they might have even had those built in charms that prolong the sparks to the point where a simple finite incantatum won't even extinguish them." His slight Irish lilt was starting to come through in his rush to explain such a quizzical observation. Personally, Sirius found it quite annoying, almost as a annoying as listening to the mind numbingly intellectual conversation that was about to ensue.

"Do you mean a variation of the accendio eduro charm?" Remus asked, looking at Damocles intently as he leaned back in his chair. Sirius recognized that face. He had seen it too many times when the Marauders were solving some difficult hang up in one of their pranks or when there was some glitch in the Marauder's map. That was Remus's puzzle solving face. Sirius could almost see the gears turning in the back of his friend's head. Some things never changed.

"That could be it, but I thought a lot about it and I actually think that they may have applied the Inverse Spell Theorem."

"Really? I would think that kind of magic would be much too complex to try out on some simple fireworks."

"Well it's not as difficult as it looks really. I believe that's how companies were able to create the kind of fireworks that light underwater. Basically the light is not sustaining itself through a charm, but in fact… and here's the genius of it I think…. the light is sort of repelling the elements that might snuff it out. It may take a little more finesse to pull off, but when you compare it to a simple accendio eduro charm… well the light just plain lasts longer!"

"I have to admit that that is some pretty impressive charm mechanics, that is if, they actually used it. I wish I had been there to see it all take place, must have been quite a wild sight." Remus leaned forward and continued teasingly, "Are you sure you don't want to go into the field of charm theory and development? Because I think you've just proven to me that you could give all those wizards who do it a run for their money."

Damocles laughed good naturedly and replied, "Remus I've told you already that I'm interested in Potions, but I'll probably end up doing some theory and developmental work in the process anyway." After receiving an exasperated look from Remus, Damocles swiftly changed subjects. They had most likely already had this discussion before and, by Sirius's judgement, it probably ended with Remus telling Damocles how successful he would be in any field he joined after Hogwarts.

The thought made Sirius want to gag.

"But never mind that! You should definitely come to Hogsmeade with me and some of the blokes. Maybe there will be some more fireworks and if not, maybe we could set off some of our own."

Both boys laughed at the thought and Remus swiftly replied after a moment, "Well I don't know if my friends would allow me to engage in pyrotechnics without letting them in on it first, seeing as they have a proud reputation of setting things on fire and all…" This comment caused the boys to laugh a bit more.

Quite frankly, it wasn't that bad in Sirius's opinion. The Marauders had only committed arson two times within Hogwarts walls…well that was if you only count the fires that they got caught starting. But still.

"No but I'm serious, Remus."

"About what, Dom?"

There was that stupid nickname. How unoriginal. Then again it beat the name Damocles. What kind of mother names a kid that? Sirius laughed a little and in the process, snuffed up a whole lot of dust, which in turn made him struggle not to sneeze and cough in a horrendous fashion.

"About the invitation to Hogsmeade, you're always welcome to join me. I mean, I would think by now we've become more than just project associates and study partners." Damocles raised a blonde eyebrow and managed a quirky smile.

Remus smiled back and responded appreciatively, "Well then I certainly can't see why not. Buuut… you might have to bribe me with some Honeydukes chocolate first."

"I'm not objecting, but may I ask why exactly am I bribing you with sweets?"

"Because I got this." Remus's long, scarred fingers slid a slender, black book across the table. The corners of the cover were worn down and dog-eared but the title was still recognizable.

"You found Nocturnal Beasts and Other Dark Magical Creatures? But…but I scoured the library looking for it. I even owled my father to see if he had procured it in his travels. How did you find this Remus? I was so sure it didn't exist anymore!" Dom flipped through the book with almost unbridled zeal.

"Well," Remus said with an amused look on his face, "Maybe you just didn't look in the right places."

"What do you mean? Remus you know I searched high and low. Where could I have possibly missed?" He raised his head to finally look up at the tawny haired boy across from him, admiration written clearly on his slightly freckled face.

Remus lowered his voice and replied mockingly, "Maybe somewhere that is usually restricted to students? Does that ring a bell for you Mr. Belby?" Sirius cringed at that horrible pun. It was almost as bad as the one's people made for his name.

Dom's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Are you saying that you got permission from Diddleman to use the Restricted Section?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Because I thought he wasn't giving out those passes for this project… I guess he finally came to his senses. I mean how are we supposed to study the werewolf in depth if he only gives us access to the remedial books that could have been written by a third year?" Sirius tensed up at this.

He had forgotten that his werewolf friend had been assigned to the only dark creature he didn't need research on. But no matter how risky or unnerving the whole project was for Remus, he still managed to show nothing to his partner Belby. Sirius could only hope that for whatever brains Damocles claimed to have, it wouldn't be enough to detect the real live werewolf sitting across from him.

"Yeah well hopefully this provides more clarity to some of the points we've been struggling on. Though, I did look through it briefly and didn't find all too much. Maybe you can read it more in depth tonight and tomorrow then we can meet up again Sunday or Monday to compare notes?"

"That sounds like a good plan," Damocles stood up and started to gather some of the parchments scattered about the table. He was obviously taking his time, because he did it slowly. Remus stood up in the meantime and started carry a pile of books to an adjacent book case.

Damocles quickly jumped in to help, "Here Remus let me take some of those, that is…only if you're still not feeling well. Don't want to push it, eh?"

"Yeah thanks. Those ones go on the top shelf, and I probably wouldn't be able to reach it anyways." It was true to say the least, that Remus was quite bit shorter then Damocles. Almost five inches shorter in fact.

Of course Sirius only knew this bit of knowledge because Damocles and him were relatively the same height and Remus came to about eye level on him. Forunately that was about where the similarities between him and Dom stopped. For one, Dom's golden blonde hair was a bit wavy and worn quite short.

Sirius on the other hand always prided himself on his silky ebony locks that fell just to about his chin and framed his face with the utmost precision. While Dom's eyes were a bluish green, Sirius's eyes were an electric grey, and many had told him that on occasion were almost silver in appearance.

They were both built, but where Dom was brawny and muscular, Sirius was more sinewy and toned. The differences of course didn't stop at the physical, no, Sirius would venture to say that they both had very differing "world-views". While Sirius was a free loving, havoc wreaking, firecracker, Damocles was more similar to a…well a know-it-all prat who was always too saintly for his own damn good.

An audible crash brought suddenly Sirius out of his reverie. He was surprised that it didn't bring along the crabby, old librarian Madam Pince. Sirius turned to survey what happened and was met with a very awkward sight. It seemed that while putting away some books on the top shelf, Damocles had tripped on a pile of books below and consequently went tumbling down.

Of course to make matters worse Remus was pinned underneath the larger man. And then to make the situation even more awkward, neither one had moved from their positions on the floor, probably, Sirius ventured to guess, still in shock with what had just happened.

Damocles was the first to speak, "That was close, eh?"

"Still is," Remus replied under his breath.

"Oh," Dom laughed, "Sorry Remus, you alright?"

Remus weakly chuckled back, "Yeah just a little breathless."

"I seem to have that effect on people." Dom responded with an amused look.

Remus just rolled his eyes, "Ugh, Dom don't say things like that, you're starting to sound like Sirius!" At this, Sirius perked up. Is that what Remus really thought of him? He wasn't that cocky, right?

"You know I'm only kidding with you." Damocles picked up some of the fallen books and started putting them back on the top shelf, careful this time not to fall. Remus also returned to putting books away, both boys worked in amiable silence. When they had finished, Damocles spoke up again, "So we're still on for Hogsmeade this weekend, right? Granted you didn't break any bones when I fell on you."

Remus smiled a bit at the joke "No… I mean yes about Hogsmeade, no about the broken bones."

Dom quirked an eyebrow teasingly.

Remus carried on quickly, trying to make up for his confusing answer, "Where exactly should I meet you all?"

"Er…I think outside the Great Hall will be the easiest. I'll keep an eye out for you, but I don't think you'll have any trouble finding us." Although he said it nonchalantly, both Sirius and Remus knew this statement to be annoyingly true. Damocles, on top of being one of the smartest wizards at Hogwarts, was also one of the most popular and always surrounded by friends.

Sirius could only wonder why the taller boy had spent so much one on one time with someone like Remus. Though Remus was popular by default, being best friends with James and Sirius kind of helped, that didn't explain why Damocles had just invited him to Hogsmeade after only knowing him a month and a half. It was just that Remus was so introverted compared to the outgoing nature of Damocles.

Maybe, Sirius figured, their love for books and research went far deeper than he had initially thought. Granted, James and Sirius may not have been very fond for books, but they were popular and extroverted, just like Dom. In fact they were ten times more so than Damocles. So what then could Remus possibly see in this bloke? Whatever it was, it absolutely rubbed Sirius the wrong way. Something was going on that he just wasn't seeing. There had to be.

"I guess that works. See you then?" Remus replied cheerfully.

"Yep, see you Saturday morning!…Oh wait," Damocles checked his watch, and with that pause in the conversation, so did Sirius. It was a good 15 minutes past curfew. "It's really late. Are you sure you don't want me to walk you back up to your dorms? I can bet your friends are probably wondering where you are. I would like them to note for the record that I got you back safe and relatively unharmed." They both chuckled a bit at this statement.

"I would like that, but I still have notes to gather up. Plus it's probably past curfew, and even though we're both prefects I think that we should try to stick to it as best we can." Remus ended his suggestion with an apologetic smile.

Damocles' hand went up to rest on his neck as he replied, "Ah I guess that's true…Well have a good night, Remus."

"You too Damocles." With that Dom headed off down the aisle and disappeared behind a row of shelves. A second later, Sirius's attention was pulled to his best friend who let out a sigh of exhaustion. That's when he realized that Remus was holding his left forearm which Sirius knew he had injured during the last full moon.

Remus must have re-injured it when Belby fell on him and yet Remus didn't say anything to the taller boy about it. Then again trying to explain that kind of injury to someone who didn't know about Remus's "furry little problem" might raise suspicions. Despite this set back, Remus had managed to pack up and was already heading out the library doors.

Although he was under the cover of James's cloak, Sirius followed at a distance, knowing that if he wasn't cautious he might trigger Remus's uncanny senses. Instead of taking a left like Sirius had suspected, Remus decided to take a right. For a second this puzzled Sirius, but eventually he reasoned that Remus was making a quick detour to the Hospital Wing before he returned to the Common Room.

This gave Sirius the opportunity to get back to the dorms before Remus noticed he was gone. The other Marauder's already thought he was on a late night escapade with one of his lady friends, so they were most likely already asleep.