Disclaimer: Not my toys; just borrowing them for a bit.
Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and James Potter sat on their beds in their dormitory at the top of Gryffindor tower. As usual, the four seventh year boys were discussing girls. James ran a hand through his already untidy black hair in an unconscious gesture while Sirius boasted about his latest conquest, a fifth-year Hufflepuff called Emma Greeley. Lately, Sirius could only convince girls from other houses to date him; Gryffindor girls had decided his "love 'em and leave 'em" reputation was well-deserved. Truthfully, Sirius loved the challenge of convincing girls to go out with him more than the girls themselves. Not that he didn't enjoy a good snogging session or more, if the girl agreed, but after three or four dates, Sirius was usually ready to move on to the next conquest.
Peter, on the other hand, had dated the same girl since their fourth year. The other three boys thought the plump blonde was rather insipid, but if she suited Peter, his friends were prepared to accept her.
Remus rarely dated. He was afraid, or so his friends believed, that being a werewolf made him too dangerous to allow relationships to develop. The truth was Remus had lost his heart to a pair of emerald eyes in their first year. He would never tell his friends, though, because, unfortunately, James loved her, too. Lately, Remus had begun to suspect James's feelings were reciprocated; he knew for certain that Lily Evans, owner of the emerald eyes, definitely found James attractive as he'd caught her staring at his friend when Lily thought she was unobserved.
"Would one of you tell me how to get her to go out with me?" asked James for what seemed like the millionth time.
Sirius stretched his arms above his head. "Prongs, my friend, I think I have the perfect plan."
James looked hopefully at Sirius. When Sirius didn't elaborate, he got impatient and asked, "Well, what is it?"
Sirius's eyes twinkled. "You're head boy; she's head girl."
"So?" asked James.
"Man, do you need me to spell it out?" asked Sirius.
Peter sniggered as James said, "Yeah, I guess you do."
"Don't say it, Padfoot," said Remus suddenly.
His three companions stared at Remus. "Aw, come on, Moony," said Sirius, "I was just having some fun."
Remus took a careful breath and said quietly, "There's a difference in having fun and being crude. James wants some real advice, not lewd suggestions."
Sirius was annoyed. "You make a suggestion then," he snarled.
Remus carefully considered his options. He could purposely sabotage his best friend's chance to win the girl they both loved or he could offer some honest advice. Loyalty to his first real friend combined with his suspicions about Lily's feelings won out. "It's Valentine's Day in two weeks' time," he began. "Send her some flowers, some chocolates, and a sweet, but not sappy, card. Send 'em by different owls at different times. Get one of her dorm mates to put a red rose on her pillow for you. She'll have to acknowledge the gifts—she's too well-mannered not to—then you can ask her out. She'll be flattered—any girl would be—and if she finally realizes you're sincere, I'm sure she'll agree to go out with you."
"Hey," said Sirius unwillingly impressed. "That's pretty good. Who knew we had such a romantic heart living in our dorm?"
Peter sniggered again. Flushing, Remus quickly opened the first book he could lay his hands on and pretended to read complex transfiguration spells.
James looked thoughtful. "I think you're on to something there, Moony. I'm going to try it."
