Disclaimer: The characters, places, etc. belong to J. K. Rowling

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Chapter 2:

Sirius' POV

I slammed the door of the Great Hall shut behind me and then indecisively came to a short halt in the Entrance Hall. Where should I best go now? Out into the cold or should I rather hide myself for a while in one of the secret passageways? As long as it's somewhere, where I won't run into Remus for a while.

Why did I have to be such an idiot and couldn't keep my mouth shut? But no, I just had to shout it out loud and clear that I was in love with someone who I was friends with, and that while Remus was sitting right opposite me. Damn it, just now when I had finally decided that our friendship was more important to me and that I didn't want to destroy it with my stupid crush!

"I better lock myself up somewhere, until he's forgotten the whole thing.", I murmured frustrated.

"Don't even think about it. We would have found you after a few minutes anyway, don't forget that I have the map.", I suddenly heard James' voice behind me.

I hadn't even realised that he had been following me. "Then I'll just take the map along with me.", I grumbled, without turning around.

"Forget it, it's safely stowed away in my pocket." James stepped up next to me and grinning patted the side pocket of his cloak. Then his face turned serious again. "Are you alright?", he asked with a concerned voice.

"What do you think?", I answered. "I practically came out in front of Remus. Damn, I'm such an idiot!" I suddenly got the strong urge to turn House-elf and bang my head against something.

James put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, you haven't said who you're in love with. I bet Remus is just wondering right now, that the ladies' man Sirius Black is finally actually interested in a girl."

"You don't really believe that, do you? I said that I didn't want to destroy the friendship after all, and besides from you, Remus and Peter I don't have any other friends, and that I'm neither interested in you or Peter should be obvious, so will figure out pretty soon that it was him I was talking about and…"

"Whoa, whoa, put a sock in it, will you?" James stepped in front of me and hold up his hands defensively. "Firstly, stop rambling, it's giving me a headache and secondly there's no use beating yourself up over things that haven't even happened yet. None of us knows how Remus reacted, because you already took flight before he even had the slightest chance to react in any way. And thirdly, he'll get even more suspicious if you suddenly start avoiding him like the plaque."

Mhm, that did sound kinda logical. "So, what you're saying is, I should just act like nothing happened?"

"Exactly! Just wait if Remus really realised that it was him you were talking about. He might be pretty smart in school matters, but when it comes to relationships, he's a hopeless case."

I couldn't suppress a grin. "Just like you, you mean."

"Pfft. I could have every girl I wanted. But for me there's only Lily. And one day she'll start to see my charm, I'm sure of it!", James answered cockily, while running his hand through his hair and thus completely messing up his painstakingly tamed hair again. I rolled my eyes and bit back a comment.

Maybe James was right and I really should just wait and see. If necessary I could still get myself a girlfriend and tell Remus that she was the one I was talking about during breakfast. I had been planning to get myself a girlfriend anyway.

"But do you know what I don't get?", asked James, while we were slowly making our way towards the Gryffindor common room. "Why are you so completely terrified of Remus finding out what you're feeling for him?"

Well, guess why? Couldn't James figure that out on his own?

"I mean, do you really think that he'll just break off your friendship, when he finds out?", James continued.

"Nah, but he'll be avoiding me, even if it's just happening unconsciously. It's understandable and all, I mean what would you do, if you found out that one of your best friends suddenly wants more than just friendship, and if it's also a guy?"

James pulled a face, but before I could say "See?" or something like that, James' face turned thoughtful all of a sudden and he said: "Maybe he likes you too…"

I stared at James unbelievingly. "Bollocks, not Remus! He likes women. Or did he say something?"

"No, but I could ask him, if you like.", James offered.

I put up my hands defensively. "Don't! Or he'll figure out who I was talking about in no time!" But on the other hand I really would like to know… Damn, why did everything have to be so complicated?

James must have known what I was thinking about, for he soothingly put his hand on my shoulder and said: "It's best if you just wait for Moony's reaction on the whole thing, and then we'll see. Like I said, there's no use in worrying about things that haven't even happened yet."

I sighed, but then I nodded. "OK. Guess you're right. Let's just wait." But somehow I had the feeling, that this was easier said than done…

Peter's POV

After breakfast I went to look for James and Sirius on my own, because Remus had wanted to go to the library to finish some homework. I wasn't finished myself, but I lacked the motivation to learn on a Sunday. If necessary I could always copy James' or Sirius' homework, if I didn't manage to finish it on my own. (Remus sadly never let me copy his homework, even if he helped me with it a lot of times).

And besides, I wanted to ask James, if he was serious about not pulling any pranks for a month. Sure, he more or less promised Lily, and he never broke his promises, but Lily Evans really wasn't worth it, that James was ready to change himself completely for her. OK, it only was for a month, but this was about principles, after all.

I never understood how James could run after a girl for so long, who was treating him like scum. There were so many other girls in this school, who were better for him and who wouldn't even dream about treating him like that. I know, it's James' business and that's why I'm not interfering, but since I'm his friend, I'm worried about him, of course.

I was even thinking about looking for a fitting girlfriend for him, but I don't know much about that and when I was asking Sirius for help, he was telling me off and said, that I should keep my nose out of this and to let James make the decision for himself, who he wanted as a girlfriend. And all I wanted to do was to help…

"Hey, Pettigrew!", I suddenly heard a voice behind me.

I turned around and at once wished that I hadn't done it. Regulus, Sirius' brother, was standing behind me. He wasn't as bad as the rest of the Slytherins, but I still didn't trust him an inch, especially not while I was alone.

"Y-yes", I squeaked. Great, why was I never able to control my voice, when I was nervous?

Regulus pulled his face into a short grin, but then caught himself again and said, with a pronounced friendly face: "Don't worry, Pettigrew, I wasn't planning to attack you. I just wanted to ask you, if you could deliver a message to my brother from our mother."

So it was just a message? I breathed a sigh of relief, but then tensed again, when I remembered the way Sirius had reacted the last time he had got a message from his mother.

"Uhm, can't you just tell him yourself?", I asked and tried to make my voice sound irritated, even though I wasn't sure if I managed.

Regulus sighed. "I would love to deliver the message to him myself, but sadly he refuses to talk to me. So would you please be kind enough to deliver the message?"

I nervously shifted from one foot to the other. "I don't know. The last time he got a letter from his mother he practically went berserk…"

Regulus grinned again, and this time he didn't even try to hide it. "Don't tell me you're scared of your own friends!", he mocked and I could feel myself blushing.

"I'm not! B-but I don't want to upset Sirius for no reason, that's all!" But to be honest, I sometimes was scared of Sirius when he was mad. I had to witness often enough what he did to the Slytherins, when they offended him and called him a blood traitor, and that's why I really didn't want to risk to make Sirius get mad at me. And if I brought him a message of his mother, it really could happen that he got mad at me. Or maybe he wouldn't even let me finish talking and then Regulus would start to think that I hadn't delivered his message, or…

"Well, looks like you really are scared of your friends after all. Or is it just my brother? I can kind of understand that, if you think about in which state he left our beautiful house when he ran away last summer… One could have thought that a horde of angry trolls had been rampaging in there! But seriously, are you sure that you have the right friends, if can't even talk to them about some, uh, delicate matters, without you having to be scared that they might get mad at you?"

"Of course I have the right friends! A-and I don't even want to know how it is with you Slytherins! I bet it's even worse there!", I called and would have liked to bite off my tongue almost immediately after closing my mouth. What the hell was I doing? Insulting a Slytherin, and also while being alone? Where had I taken the courage to say something like that anyway? I started to look for an escape route in my mind. Wasn't there a secret passageway on the end of the corridor? What was the password for it again?

Regulus made a move in my direction and I jumped and waited to be hit by a curse any moment now, but nothing happened. Bewildered I looked at Regulus again and saw, that he had merely taken a few steps in my direction, but he neither had his wand in his hand nor did he look angry in any way. On the contrary, he was even smiling!

"That just shows, how less you Gryffindors know about us Slytherins. Friendship is very important to us. Even the Sorting Hat always says that you will find true friends in Slytherin. But back on topic, please tell Sirius that mother is willing to give him one last chance and to accept him back into the family, if he officially apologises, stops associating himself with Potter and Lupin and starts to seek the company of the right people."

Regulus took a step back and turned to go. But then he turned back once more and said: "Oh, and while we're on the topic of the right people: If you're ever looking for friends you don't have to be… afraid of, you know where to find me." With these words he turned around and had shortly after disappeared behind a corner.

I stood there bewildered for a moment and stared at the now empty corridor. What had that been about? Had Regulus seriously offered me his friendship right now?

James' POV

As soon as we had entered the common room, Sirius scarpered over to an armchair by the fireplace and stared gloomily into the fire. I sighed and rolled my eyes before I went over to him and plopped down into an armchair next to him. If Sirius didn't start to handle things himself soon, I would simply pair them up myself.

The thought of my two best friends as a couple was still kinda… strange, but as long as it made them happy, I wouldn't stand in their way. And as long as they didn't start making out in my presence, everything was alright. Sure, I still didn't know if Remus was interested in Sirius at all, but I was sure that this should be easy to find out.

Speaking of Remus, where was he anyway? He and Peter should already be back from breakfast. I leaned forward to be able to see the entrance of the common room and a few seconds later the portrait indeed swung open. "Nice timing", I thought, but then I heard giggling which definitely was female and disappointed I let myself fall back into the armchair again.

A group of sixth-years came in and talked about something that had to be incredibly funny, for they were breaking out in giggles every few seconds. Irritated I rolled my eyes. Why would girls never laugh in a normal way, but always had to giggle? Luckily Lily wasn't like that. Lily was a lot more grown up and cooler and…

"Heeeey Jaaames!", it suddenly sounded right next to my ear and I jumped.

"Bloody hell, don't yell like that, I'm not deaf!", I grumbled and rubbed my ear, what caused the girl to burst into giggles again.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I just wanted to tell you, that that was an aaaawesome performance earlier. That was sooo romantic! I just wish I had a boyfriend who was that determined to capture my heart! If Lily is still turning you down after that, she's a real idiot!"

"Lily's not an idiot!", I defended her at once. "She just isn't as easy to get as some other girls."

"Hey!", the girl –what was her name again? – called at once and put her hands on her hips. "Was that supposed to be an insinuation towards me? I may have had my share of boyfriends, but that doesn't mean that I'm easy to get!"

"Exactly!", on of her friends joined in. "She's complimenting you and you don't have anything better to do than to insult her!"

"Hey, hey, calm down!", I called and raised my hands in defence. "I wasn't talking about you! If you think that that applies to you, it's not my fault!"

"I… I don't think, that it applies to me at all!" With this words the girl turned around and stormed off towards the stairs of the girl's dormitories, followed by her friends.

I couldn't suppress a laugh. What had that been about? Still grinning I turned back to Sirius, who had been unusually quiet the whole time.

Sirius had stopped staring into the fire, but was now looking thoughtful towards the stairs, where the girls had just disappeared. I followed his gaze and then looked back at him again. He had started to chew on his lower lip now and still had his eyes fixed on the stairs. What was up with him now? Usually he only looked like this when he had a bad conscience.

"Padfoot?", I asked and when I didn't get a response, I waved my hand in front of his eyes.

Sirius blinked and slowly turned his head in my direction. "What do you think about the girl right now?", he asked, still with the same thoughtful expression.

"Huh? Completely brainless and really annoying. But why…" But then it started to dawn on me what Sirius was getting at. "Oh, hell no! Forget it! You're not seriously trying to tell me, that you want to get yourself a girlfriend now, just so that you forget about Remus? You know as well as I do that it won't work!"

"Could you yell a bit louder?", Sirius grumbled. "But who knows, maybe it's working. It doesn't have to be that girl, if she's getting on your nerves to much. But I will try it at least!"

I stared at Sirius unbelievingly. "You're kidding, right?"

Sirius suddenly jumped out of the armchair and glared at me. "Just stay out of this, alright? It's my life and therefore my business alone. Why should I take dating advice from someone, who is running after a girl for years that he'll never ever get? First look after your own non-existent relationship before sticking your nose into those of other people!" With these words he turned around and ran in the direction of the dormitory.

"Fine!" I yelled angrily after him. "That was the last time I was trying to help you then!"

What the hell was his problem? Fair enough, the whole thing with Remus badgered him quite a bit. But did he have to pick at my "relationship" with Lily just because of that?

"Prongs!" The portrait swung open and Peter, who was apparently quite out of breath, stumbled into the common room. "Prongs!", he repeated. "Did you see Sirius?"

"He's in the dormitory, but I wouldn't go in there now, if I were you.", I answered an scrutinised him worriedly. He looked like he had run the whole way to the common room. And since Peter avoided any kind of sport like the plaque, that definitely wasn't a good sign.

Peter gasped for breath a few times and then panted: "I don't care. I have to tell him now, before I lose the courage again!" With these words he darted off again, towards the dormitory.

I looked after him speechless. Uhm, what? Did everyone turn crazy now?

To be continued…