The next chapter takes place during the sixth year at Hogwarts for Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, outlining a brief but certain romance.

Warning: Contains language. That's all. For now.

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Potterverse, nor do I claim to be anywhere near as brilliant (or wealthy) as Ms. Rowling.

Track 2: A Certain Romance, The Arctic Monkeys

Chapter 2: A Certain Romance

"Oi, Moony!"

Sirius Black startled Remus out of his trance.

"Roll up your tongue and let's get the fuck out of here!"

He coloured. He'd been staring at the pretty brunette seated at the end of the Ravenclaw table, Eris Sloane, all through dinner without realizing he'd been so obvious.

He looked over at James, who had just finished downing the last of his pumpkin juice and had dribbled it all over his front in haste.

"You should just talk to her, Remus," he said smiling, oblivious to the juice stains on the front of his robes.

Remus, feeling at once completely naked and rather foolish, feigned innocence at the comment and got up, nodding noncommittally to James while Peter stuffed his pockets with leftover desserts and Sirius tossed his perfect mane unconsciously, somehow managing to make it look masculine and causing a small group of Hufflepuff girls at the next table to squeal with giddy glee.

Sirius, turning his attention back to Remus, blurted, "Look, if you're gonna do it, do it now, we've important things to do."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Things?"

"Yeah," he answered determinedly, "pranks to pull, Slytherins to hex, birds to snog… no, sorry, the last one's just me."

James rolled his eyes comically, his head snapping away from them suddenly as Lily Evans passed.

Remus, used to James' fleeting attention whenever the love of his life entered his field of vision, ignored his mate's rudeness and continued his conversation with Sirius.

"Perhaps if I got a reaction like that," he said, thrusting his chin in the direction of the Hufflepuff table.

Sirius glanced over at the girls, noticing them for the first time. Must be nice to be so oblivious to your effect on the opposite sex, he thought a little jealously, then immediately felt guilty for thinking it. It wasn't Sirius' fault he so good – looking, after all.

Sirius looked back at him, an exasperated look on his face. "Look, Moony, you don't need that," he said, pointing and causing the girls to giggle and squeal once more, "you've got loads to offer!"

Remus felt a flush coming over him. They never spoke like this to each other. This sort of pep – talk, while brief, was usually reserved for James. That is, until Sirius had grown tired of his pining for Lily and switched to taunting him in third year.

"Let's just go," he said, suddenly wanting to get out of the Great Hall as quickly as possible.

Sirius gave him a hard look. "That's it," he said firmly, "you're growing some bollocks."

To Remus' surprise and horror, Sirius suddenly grabbed his thin, bony wrist with his massive hand and began to drag him towards the Ravenclaw table.

"What in Merlin are you doing?!" he exclaimed, panicking.

"Playing Cupid, you git," he answered.

Remus struggled to break free, but Sirius, having the advantage of upper – body strength gained from playing the position of Beater on the House Quidditch team, held on tightly and before he realized, they were standing in front of the pretty brunette, who was eyeing them curiously.

"Oi, you're Sloane, right?" Sirius asked brusquely.

"Eris," she said.

Sirius looked confused for a second.

"Her first name," whispered Remus, so only Sirius could hear him.

"Right," Sirius said, unfazed. "I'm Sirius Black," he continued.

"I know," she answered dryly. The way she said those two little words made Remus' heart sing.

"This is Moo – Remus Lupin," Sirius went on.

"Hi, Moo, Remus Lupin," she said in an amused voice.

Remus, unable to answer, as he was still struggling with shock, anger and incredulity at Sirius, gave a lopsided smile. To his delight, she smiled back.

"Listen," Sirius went on, breaking the tiny connection he'd just made with the girl of his dreams, "my mate here fancies you – "

Remus wanted to die.

"— And though you don't know him, take it from me, he's a good sort of bloke. Kind, gentle, considerate, you know all that shite girls fancy in a fellow – "

Remus wanted to kill him.

" – You should give him a chance. Let him take you out next Hogsmeade weekend, you'll see I'm right."

Remus wanted to disappear. Instead, he stood there, his face burning. Sirius is going to pay for this, the thought vengefully, as the image of a bald Sirius flashed before his mind's eye.

Eris Sloane looked from Remus to Sirius, a thoughtful look on her face. Merlin, she's beautiful when she thinks, he thought suddenly.

"You're not going to be there, are you?" she asked Sirius.

" 'Course not." He gave her a look.

"And he does speak, doesn't he?"

Sirius grunted a yes impatiently.

"Okay."

Sirius gaped, as if he hadn't been expecting that answer. "Right," he said after a moment, sounding doubtful. "Good."

He started to walk away, pulling Remus, who was still firmly clenched in his fist.

"Oi, Black!"

Sirius and Remus, surprised, both turned back to face her.

"Yes?"

"Tell your mate I look forward to it," she said, beaming.

"Right," Sirius said, before turning and heading towards the exit, where Peter and James were waiting for them, apparently amused.

"So, how'd it go?" asked James as they approached their mates.

Remus wasn't really sure. He'd never asked a girl out before and though he now had a date with the most beautiful girl – to him – in sixth year, he supposed, technically, he still never had.

Before he could answer, Sirius jumped in. "Our Moony's got a date next weekend," said, Sirius, sounding like a proud parent.

"Good for you, mate," James said, slapping him on the shoulder. Remus winced. He really hoped Eris wasn't watching.

"Yeah, great Moony," Peter chimed in, a little too enthusiastically. Remus felt bad for him. He was the only one of the four of them that still hadn't even held a girl's hand.

"Well, then, now that's taken care of," James said, "why don't we go and finish off our plans."

They headed towards the staircase, pushing through the throng of students on their way out of the dining hall. As they walked down the corridor towards Gryffindor Tower, Peter listening patiently to James as he retold, in detail, how he was sure Lily had looked at him twice that day, Sirius, walking with Remus just behind their mates, grabbed his elbow, and leaned in confidentially.

"No need to thank me, Moony," he said, feigning hurt feelings.

Remus couldn't help but smile. "Oh yes," he answered, "thank you Padfoot, for handing me my bollocks."

Sirius gave a barking laugh. "Anytime, my friend, anytime."

"You do realize," said Remus, becoming more serious, "if it hadn't worked out, I would never have spoken to you again."

"'Course you would," said Sirius airily, "I'm the charming Sirius Black, you wouldn't be able to resist talking to me again."

Remus shook his head as they entered the portrait hole into the Common Room. "You know, your charm doesn't work on everyone," he remarked, thinking back briefly to Eris' response to his mate.

"No," he admitted, causing Remus to give him an incredulous look, "but it works on you."

He gave a coy smile and joined the others as they leaned over a sheet of parchment, laying out the plans for their next prank.

Remus had been slightly surprised by his mate's bold statement, but looking over at his three closest friends – James with his easy smile, Peter with his sweet disposition and Sirius with that mad, confident glint in his eyes – he supposed it was true. They each had their own charms, accepting the werewolf among them the one charm they held in common. For Remus, it was that one charm that ensured he could never stay angry with them for very long. And it was the one charm that ensured he would always give in to Sirius Black.

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"Listen, mate," said Sirius, clearly troubled, "I know you like the girl, but just be careful."

It had been three months since Remus' first date with Eris Sloane on Hogsmeade weekend. It had gone extremely well, so well, in fact, that she was now his girlfriend.

"Why?" Remus asked. It was unlike Sirius to be so concerned. It was even less like him to pass on a night –time food raid with James in order to speak to Remus alone in their shared dorm room.

"I don't know, there's just something," he hesitated, "off about her."

It was Remus' turn to be sound doubtful. "Really," he said, irritated.

It had been Sirius who'd brought them together, Remus knowing he never would have drummed up the courage to ask her out himself, and ever since he'd announced to his mates that he and Eris were officially dating, Sirius had seemed less than pleased.

He was always commenting, whenever she and Remus were together, that they should "get a room", though they never engaged in public displays of affection. He also liked to goad her by making snide comments about Ravenclaw House and its members, like calling them a bunch of "pansies," to which she responded by telling him she thought pansies were really very pretty and then telling him to stuff it in the most polite way he'd ever seen someone tell another person off.

Her sweetness and candor were the two things he liked most about her.

"Yeah, and those enormous dirty pillows have nothing to do with it," Sirius had commented crudely when he'd confessed that he thought he was in love to James one night from his bed.

He'd been sure Sirius and Peter were sleeping. He never would have said it out loud if he'd known Sirius was listening to every word.

"You know, Black," James had countered, "some of us look past a girl's body and into her soul."

Remus had cringed. It was exactly the sort of dopey thing James would say when thinking about Lily. It was also the reason he'd felt it safe to confide in his infatuated mate.

"Right," Sirius had retorted sarcastically, "so I guess Remus never noticed her long hair, long legs… oh, and that mouth that looks like it could suck – "

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!"

Chuckling viciously, Sirius continued. "And you James, you're telling me you never noticed Evans' firm, round arse?"

"Watch it, Black!"

"Like you don't stare at it every chance you get!"

"I'm warning you, Padfoot!"

"She should charge a galleon every time she wiggles it for you, maybe a pound note; you could stick it in her knickers – "

Sirius never finished that sentence. James jumped up from his bed in a rage, his left fist flying in the air and landing with a dull thud across Sirius' face. Sirius, looking shocked for a second, promptly sent both fists flying, an ugly look on his face.

The fight ended with Peter's front teeth being knocked out when he accidentally jumped between James and Sirius (Actually, all Peter did was wake up when the two friends, who lived – and fought – like brothers, ended up on his bed after destroying half the room as they launched themselves at each other with every ounce of strength each of them possessed.)

Incredibly, after receiving a lengthy detention from Professor McGonagall, who was "mortified and disgusted" by their immature behaviour, they were back together the next day, laughing and talking as if nothing had ever happened. Unfortunately, Remus, though outwardly forgiving, could not forget so easily. From that day on, he wondered why the boy, who had more girls throwing themselves at his feet than any one man could handle, begrudged him possibly his only chance at happiness.

"She just seems, I don't know… peculiar."

Recently, Sirius had taken to referring to her as Yoko Ono behind her back, but, unfortunately, to Remus' face. He had no idea what Sirius meant – Eris, a smart girl with a beautiful smile, was the epitomy of normal – but thought vaguely he knew where this conversation was heading.

"Why, because she hasn't thrown herself at you?" He was aware of the hint of anger in his voice. From the look on his face, Sirius was aware of it, too.

Before Sirius could respond, James and Peter walked into the dorm, their hands full with puff pastries and bottles of butterbeer. They looked from Remus to Sirius, immediately sensing the tension in the room.

"What's going on?" James asked.

Neither of them answered immediately. After a moment, Sirius, tearing his eyes from Remus' angry glare, looked at his mates. "Is any of that for me?" he asked, ignoring their curious looks.

Peter looked down at the sweets in his arms and pulled back instinctively. "You should have come down to the kitchens with us if you wanted a snack," he whined.

"What, you're going to eat all that yourself, Wormtail?" Sirius asked, a hint of cruelty creeping into his voice. "Get any fatter and you won't fit through the portrait hole!"

James dropped the food in his arms. "Oi!" he exclaimed, his voice rising.

Remus knew his hurtful words had nothing to do with Peter. Something was obviously bothering him. He thought it had little to do with Eris as well, and everything to do with his family, who'd just disowned him (though Remus wasn't supposed to know).

"That's really uncalled for, Sirius," he said calmly, despite his growing anger. Evidently, it was the wrong thing to say.

"What are you, my mother?" he blasted, losing his temper all of a sudden.

"No, he's just telling you there's no reason to be such a git," James retorted. Only James would dare to speak to Sirius like that when he was in a huff.

"Fuck you, Potter," he seethed.

Remus was shocked. So were James and Peter, the latter turning red in the face and the former glued to the spot where he stood, puff pastries threatening to tumble out of his arms.

"What the fuck's your problem, mate?" James seethed back.

Remus felt like he had to step in. "It's nothing to do with either of you," he said, his voice startling him with how haughty he sounded, "Sirius here just hates my girlfriend for no good reason." He couldn't bare another row between the two friends like the one a month ago.

Sirius tore his eyes away from James and looked at him inquisitively. "Do you really want to know why I don't like your bird, mate?" he asked threateningly.

"Yes." He saw a fleeting look of worry cross James' face and knew instinctively they'd discussed the matter before.

Seeming to forget his anger, James gave Sirius an imploring look, which Sirius seemed to ignore.

"Your girlfriend, as you call her, is – " he hesitated, his eyes darting back to James momentarily. Remus felt hurt at the realization that James knew exactly what Sirius was about to say.

" – She' a slag," he finished.

"What?" he said, surprised that James was uttering the very same word.

"She's been cheating on you with a Slytherin," he said quickly.

He didn't believe it. "Who?" he demanded.

"Does it matter?"

WHO?"

"My brother!"

Remus couldn't believe Sirius would believe anything his brother said. He hated him. "What makes you so sure, did Regulus tell you that?"

"N-no," he stammered, "I – I saw them!"

Remus noticed an odd look come over James' face.

"How? When?"

"It doesn't matter!"

"I don't believe you."

"For fuck sake's Moony, why would I make it up?"

Remus didn't know what to say, how to feel. He felt as if his stomach had dropped to his feet. He shook his head, not wanting to believe it, but knowing that if Sirius was telling him, it must be true. He wouldn't lie to me about something like that, would he? Without thinking, Remus dropped onto the edge of the bed, all hope and happiness draining out him. His eyes fixed to the floor, he felt a hand on his shoulder moments later.

"I'm sorry, mate," Sirius breathed, sounding genuine. "I didn't want to hurt you, but… but I just couldn't stand back and watch her make a fool of you anymore."

Remus stayed silent as tears collected at the corners of his eyes, threatening to tumble onto his robes. He felt the fool; the complete and utterly blind fool who couldn't see his own girlfriend was cheating on him. A hundred questions suddenly entered his mind: How long had she been cheating? How far had she gone with Regulus? How many times had they laughed at him behind his back? But even though his heart was breaking, his mind was telling him something wasn't right.

He'd never had the feeling she was betraying him in any way. She'd never given him cause to even suspect. Was she that callous and calculating that she had been able to fool him so completely? It just didn't fit with the girl he knew, the girl who, when they were alone, would look into his eyes and confess every emotion without words or gestures, her own dark eyes betraying the girl she presented to the world.

It just didn't make sense.

"Moony?"

Sirius' voice brought him out of his confused thoughts. He looked up and noticed Sirius and Peter by his side. James hovered, unseen, just behind them.

"You know what you have to do, right?" Sirius asked.

Remus looked at him blankly, unable to think clearly.

"You have to break it off. Today."

If you get the feeling Sirius is being a lying bastard, well... but don't worry he's not going to be OOC... I know Eris is barely a person in this chapter, but I swear she will turn up more fully formed later on in the story...

I hope it was satisfying... Let me know!

Coming Soon (but not as soon as this - sorry) - Chapter 3: Today - taking off from where chapter 1 left off, Sophie struggles with her father's odd behaviour, and being a teenage girl who just happens to also be a werewolf while Sirius struggles to understand how Remus could have a daughter...