DISCLAIMER- I do not own any of the characters in this one shot except for the unrecognizable ones. All others belong to J.K. Rowling.


Breakfast time at Hogwarts was usually a very droll occasion as most people are rather grouchy first thing in the morning before receiving proper nourishment from the food they consume in the hunger mecca so aptly named the Great Hall, but today's routine was altered slightly by the formation of a bet. Prongs -James Potter for those of you who do not recognize the name for whatever reason- kept going on about my uncanny ability to make every girl in the castle love me. Wormtail -Peter Pettigrew- did not believe that I could cause any member of the female population to swoon at my flirtatious advances, and as I was always up for a challenge, my pride was placed on the line when I bet Peter that I could make the most stubborn young lady fall irrevocably in love with me under the condition that the had to wear a flamingo-pink cocktail dress, a white cowboy hat, and leather boots while singing the school song in the middle of the Great Hall.

Using Remus and James as our witnesses, Peter and I shook hands and wasting no time, I scanned the Great Hall in search of the most hard-hearted girl to ever stroll the corridors of Hogwarts - Eloise Gerard. Within minutes, I spotted my victim sandwiched between two blonde-haired girls at the Ravenclaw table and casually as can be, I settled myself beside Eloise on the bench which forced one of the blonde-haired girls to scoot away from the two of us in order to procure some breathing room. Eloise gave no indication that I had joined their little group choosing to nibble the end of a piece of bacon instead, but her friend certainly noticed me considering the way she kept fluttering her eyelashes and flipping her champagne colored hair over her slender shoulders, giggling uncontrollably. I attempted to direct Eloise's attention to myself once more by laying my hand on top of hers and whispering every pick up line - no matter how cheesy- into her abnormally small ears. At first when Eloise turned to face me, I thought that I was finally going to get a response out of her, but she stood up and walked briskly out of the Great Hall without uttering a single word to me.

Swiveling around to glance back at the other Marauders, I saw that they were wearing rather smug countenances which stiffened my resolve to win the bet and prove that I was the puppet master when it came to women and proceeded to follow after Eloise, catching up with her just before she entered the Charms classroom. Tugging on her forearm to pull her into the corridor, I backed Eloise against the wall and pinned her there with the most adorable gaze I could muster.

"Why the rush? I just want to talk."

"About what exactly," replied Eloise, eyes filled with disgust. "We have nothing in common."

"You don't know that," I retorted, "for all you know, we could be soulmates."

"Soulmates?" repeated Eloise, howling with scornful laughter.

"I don't see what is so funny about that. Perhaps you could enlighten me?" inquired Sirius, making an attempt to "understand" her.

"I see right through your macho exterior. You think that you are the Almighty's gift to women, but you're wrong. You are a fake and a phony which aren't qualities that I prize in a possible soulmate. Besides, you couldn't handle me."

"Want to test that theory?"

Eloise fixed me with a smoldering look while wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me up against her body. Adrenaline rushed rapidly through every vein in my body as Eloise planted numerous kisses in a downward trail which stopped at my chest causing me to issue a soft moan of delight at the prospect of winning the bet and also knowing that Peter would have to don that ridiculous outfit agreed upon in our deal.

All too soon, Eloise ceased her advances and grinned slyly at me as if relishing the fact that I could hardly breathe; her sudden departure was affecting my body badly as it had only just begun to register what had happened and was craving more. Eloise traced the outline of her full lips with the tip of her index finger and I stared in awe at how desperately I wanted to be her finger at this moment. As she entered the Charms' classroom, Eloise spoke the words that would haunt me for years to come.

"Looks like my theory is a proven fact. You cannot handle a true woman."