The Bet
Summary: Will Sirius be up to the challenge?
When the Marauders arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom on Tuesday morning, they discovered Lindi already settled in. Unfortunately, she had taken a seat on the opposite side of the room from their usual desks. She had her head propped in her hands, elbows on the table staring intently at her DADA text book, apparently oblivious to the commotion around her as the classroom started to fill with students.
"Well, are you going to go talk to her, Sirius?" asked Peter. "Now's your chance, before Professor Adamson arrives."
"Peter, Peter, Peter," said Sirius wagging his head. "That's far too obvious. It gives her the upper hand. It needs to be spontaneous, not forced."
"Huh?"
"Have you no sense of romance, Wormtail?" asked Sirius sympathetically. "A casual glimpse across a crowded room as your eyes meet…a chance encounter as you round a corner and collide into each other's arms…"
"Oh, brother!" cried James rolling his eyes.
Remus laughed at them and considered what Sirius had said. The fact of the matter was, in Remus' opinion, Sirius was not used to actually trying to get girls. They just seemed to flock to him, and he would turn the charm on when he felt like it. Chances were, if he did make eye contact across a crowded room, everything would fall into place just the way Sirius wanted it. As he was considering Sirius' considerable talent with women, he heard someone call his name. Remus turned to see who it was, and noticed Lindi's head turn as well. Could she possibly have remembered him from the corridor battle?
It was Dalton Graves, one of Hufflepuff's prefects, calling him from the hallway.
"Hey, Lupin, would it be possible for you to trade patrol with me for tomorrow night? I'll take yours next week."
"Sure, that will be fine," he answered and turned to see Lindi looking around at him.
"Hello, Lupin, I see you still have your hair." She said, smiling at him. It was a dazzling smile.
He rolled his eyes in embarrassment and smiled back. "Madam Pomfrey is really good…she's the school nurse," he added in answer to her quizzical look. "So, how are you getting along?"
She shrugged and rolled her eyes as well. "If I can ever figure out my way around this castle, I'll be alright. It's a lot bigger than my old school. I got lost for forty-five minutes last night and ended up someplace rather scary."
"Don't feel bad, I've been here four and a half years and I still take wrong turns."
Lindi smiled gratefully and started to turn back to her book. As she did, she glanced around and caught Sirius' eye. Of course, he had been watching their exchange. He gave her one of his ultra cool, very slight crooked smiles. When she saw this, a shy grin played at the corners of her mouth and she looked away quickly, but then took a peek back as Sirius grinned wider. She blushed and looked away again, smiling coyly. Remus felt a stab of jealousy.
"How do you do that?" he asked quietly with a touch of awe. Sirius shrugged.
"It's a gift."
Class got underway with the arrival of Professor Adamson. Remus got the impression the teacher was testing Lindi since he called on her a disproportionate number of times. Fortunately for her, she had obviously prepared for the lesson. It was a good thing because Adamson could be brutally critical of anyone who had not. Remus was duly impressed with the breadth of knowledge she seemed to possess on the day's assigned topic. But, Adamson seemed determined to initiate her thoroughly when he asked her a question on something totally unrelated to the assignment.
"I'm sorry, Professor," she said after looking to the Ravenclaw girl beside her. "I wasn't aware that we were covering that today."
Remus felt a twinge of pity for her as Adamson gave her a satisfied smirk. They had covered the Grindylow in third year.
"Miss Dellington, you should have covered that long ago. As professor of this class, I do not have to confine myself to a given topic in order to hide your incompetence," He drawled. "I will expect a complete report on the Grindylow on my desk tomorrow morning."
She flushed and seemed stung by his harshness.
"Yes, sir," she said as she looked down at her notes.
Finally, class was over and the students gathered their things to go.
"That was a bit rough for her first lesson," said James.
"Yes, he really went out of his way to embarrass her," agreed Remus as he rolled his note covered parchment.
"Well, I think I might see if I can cheer her up," said Sirius with a waggle of his brow.
Lindi put her parchment and quill away and started to turn for the door.
"Miss Dellington, I'd like a word," said Professor Adamson coolly.
She flinched and took a deep breath before turning back and walking towards the front of the classroom and Adamson's desk.
"Looks like the cheering will have to wait," said James as Sirius made a disgusted face and they headed towards their next class.
The first week went by quickly, especially considering three of the Marauders had been in detention every night. Remus had taken the opportunity to have some quality time in the library getting a head start on upcoming lessons and the dreaded O.W.L.s. He managed to get a fair amount accomplished, although he found himself distracted from time to time by the presence of Lindinara. She had been there every night when he arrived, and on most nights, she was there when he left. He considered trying to talk to her a couple of times, but upon witnessing other boys make this mistake, he decided to let her study in peace. He really didn't want to be on the receiving end of her terribly irritated look. After Professor Adamson's word with her, she seemed determined to learn everything the extensive Hogwart's Library had to teach.
The only other class fifth year Gryffindors had with Ravenclaw was History of Magic. Lindi had taken a seat at the back of the class and would leave before they had a chance to get near her. By the weekend, Sirius was becoming irritated as he entered the second week of his bet. The deadline was closing in and Sirius hated to lose.
Lindi spent all of her free time in the library or somewhere in Ravenclaw tower. Even at meals, she seemed to have her nose in one book or another.
"She's worse than you, Moony," observed Peter as they sat eating their dinner.
"What do you mean?" asked Remus obliviously as his friends laughed.
"I didn't think anyone read more than you," answered Peter.
"Come on, Moony. You know you could have just as easily sorted into Ravenclaw with your innate love of learning," said James. "You study as much as most of those swots."
"Actually, it is an innate sense of self preservation. As you all know, I have to study. But, if I hadn't become a Gryffindor, I think I would have enjoyed Ravenclaw quite a bit," answered Remus. "There are some very attractive swots over there."
"Wonder where the delectable Dellington swot is?" asked Sirius. "As if I have to ask."
Days continued to pass. As they sat at the Gryffindor table having dinner one night, Sirius looked over at the Ravenclaw table yet again and rolled his eyes.
"This is getting ridiculous!" he said sounding quite peeved at her absence once again. "Mother Nature wouldn't waste a body like that on someone who doesn't know how to appreciate it. Surely she can do more than hide her lovely nose in a book!"
"I think someone is getting a little anxious about a certain bet he is now wishing he hadn't made," said James.
"I think I might feel bad about taking your galleons on top of the bitter disappointment you will undoubtedly feel over your first failure to get the girl," said Remus feigning sympathy.
"Not me! I could really use them," chimed Peter.
"Don't count my galleons just yet," said Sirius. "But, even if I lose the bet, it doesn't mean I can't still get the girl. I have a feeling a trip to the broom cupboard with her would be reward enough on its own."
"It sounds like you are conceding defeat, Padfoot," said James reaching over and resting his hand on Sirius' forehead. "Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey."
"I concede nothing," said Sirius brushing James hand away irritably. "But, I have to admit that even I can't get a girl I never see. If Adamson wasn't such a miserable wanker, this bet would have been won last week."
Remus remembered Lindi's reaction to Sirius; how she had smiled shyly and blushed when he had smiled at her. Sirius was probably right, he thought with a hint of disappointment.
"Dellington arriving," whispered Peter breaking in on Remus' thoughts.
They looked over at the entrance to see her walking into the Great Hall struggling to maintain control of a large stack of books and papers. Before she had made it more than ten feet, two boys had asked if she needed any help.
"No, thank you, I can handle it," she replied with just a hint of irritation though she was obviously trying to be polite.
"Looks like you've got some competition, Sirius," teased James.
"Who, those prats? Not a chance," said Sirius confidently. "My only obstacle is time… Private time. I can't get any."
Suddenly, he got a glint in his eye and smirked mischievously. He discretely pulled his wand from his robe and aimed it at her as she started to pass on her way to the Ravenclaw table.
"What are you going to do, hex her?" asked Remus bemusedly. "Afraid I'd have to report you for that, mate. Besotting spells are against school policy, as you well know."
Sirius simply smiled and the next thing they knew, books were crashing to the floor all around them. Instinctively, Remus rose to help but, Sirius grabbed his arm and pulled him back to his seat.
"Mine, mate," he said as he cast threatening glances to three Hufflepuffs who had started towards her.
"Here, let me help you with those," he said charmingly as he knelt down to help her. She looked up and smiled gratefully. "Opening your own library, are you?"
She blushed with embarrassment as she glanced around at the students who had stopped eating to watch. "Thanks. I shouldn't have tried to bring them all, but I lost track of time and didn't want to miss dinner trying to get them back to the dorm. I should have just left them at the library and gone back to get them afterwards… instead of making such a twit of myself."
"Well, then we wouldn't have had the chance to finally meet," said Sirius putting on his most dashing smile. "I'm Sirius Black, Gryffindor. We have Defense together."
"Yes, I know." Her blush deepened. "Lindi Dellington, Ravenclaw." She smiled brightly as she reached for his outstretched hand and shook it before reaching for the books he now held. "Well, thank you again, Sirius."
"Oh, no…I'll carry these for you," he said.
"That won't be necessary, Black. We can handle it from here. But, thanks for helping," said Jeffrey Daniels, the Ravenclaw Quidditch team captain who was sauntering up with a Ravenclaw sixth year whose name Remus didn't know. "We'll take these to the common room for you, Lindi. You won't need them for dinner." They took the books and parchment from an irritated Sirius and started for the hall as Lindi thanked him again and headed to her table. Sirius walked back over to his friends who were grinning at him in great amusement.
"Too many people running interference, Padfoot," said James. "That's too bad." He didn't sound very sincere as he had five galleons riding on Sirius striking out. Remus didn't think it was all that unfortunate either, though he suspected it was for slightly different reasons.
"That was pretty slick the way you made the books fall and she thought she had done it herself, though," said a clearly impressed Peter.
"Yeah, well, I've made first contact, so things should start moving along," said Sirius as he casually popped a grape into his mouth and stood to leave.
The next morning, they arrived for Defense and found Lindi seated at her desk talking animatedly with a fellow Ravenclaw, Leanna Haversham. Leanna was a tall, lovely blonde who had really blossomed over their fifth year.
"Oh, no," groaned Sirius quietly. "Don't tell me they are going to be friends."
"Why not? Haversham's alright," said Remus looking very pale since it was now the day before the Full Moon.
"Yes, I know," snapped Sirius. "If she keeps improving the way she has this year, she'll be one of the hottest girls in school."
"Alright, so what's the problem?" asked Remus looking befuddled. He knew he was clearly missing something, but he felt like warmed-over dragon dung.
"You don't want all the good looking girls being friends, do you?" asked James.
Remus still looked confused.
"Wake up, Moony! If they're all friends, you only get a shot at one of them. Girls are not into sharing when it comes to blokes," said Sirius pointedly.
"Ahh," said Remus with comprehension. He shook his head and smiled. He should have seen that a mile away.
Professor Adamson called the class to order and the lesson got underway. Though he asked Lindi several obscure questions, she managed to have perfect answers and, by the end of class, Adamson had failed to humiliate her. When class dismissed, she started out with Leanna and as she approached the door, she glanced over her shoulder in their direction. Sirius grinned and nodded a greeting as Remus noticed her face flush and she smiled back shyly. On Lindi, shy was very sexy, and he realized she was actually flirting with Sirius. The stab of jealousy came back and he chastised himself. Did you really expect anything else?
He was amazed at Sirius' restraint as he very casually gathered his things while she continued for the door. If Lindi Dellington had just smiled at him that way, he felt sure he would be a blithering fool, although Remus Lupin had never been a blithering fool about anything. It simply wasn't in his nature.
"Hey, Dellington! Wait up," Sirius finally called just as she was passing through the doorway.
She stopped and looked over her shoulder.
"I'll catch you lot later," Sirius said quietly and walked almost lazily to the door where she stood waiting.
"Nice recovery from last week," they heard him say as she blushed slightly.
"Thanks, I think I read every book you've been assigned since your first year…I don't want to get caught off guard again," she said.
"Then you are due for a break," said Sirius.
"Ha! I wish," she laughed dismally. "Now I have to catch up on my other classes…" her voice trailed off as the two headed into the corridor together.
"Blast it!" moaned Peter. "I could have used those bloody galleons."
They were seated in their next class, Divination, when Sirius came strolling in looking well chuffed. He sat down and leaned back in his chair at his leisure.
"Well?" demanded James impatiently.
Sirius leaned forward in the chair and reached for the crystal ball sitting in the middle of the table.
"Let's see what the orb has to say," he teased. He looked intently at the swirling mist filling the globe. "Hm… I can't quite make it out…It's too foggy. No…wait…that's not fog….It's all the steam coming out of the broom cupboard!" Sirius grinned wickedly.
"You did it? You won the bet?" cried Peter.
"Not yet, Wormtail," said Sirius. "But, I laid the ground work. I think our delectable Dellington is a bit shy, if you can believe that. I might actually have to work a bit for this one."
Remus shook his head and smiled slightly at his friend. He was torn between feeling admiration for Sirius' incredible coolness and disgust for his rather lecherous attitude towards girls. He realized that, had he not known Sirius for the last four and a half years, he would probably think he was a rather smarmy git. Well, he could be one, actually. But, he was also one of the best friends Remus could imagine, and while Sirius had broken more than a few girls' hearts, he had never done so out of malice or deception. As far as Remus could tell, Sirius had never tried to make a girl think he felt anything more than he actually did. Of course, he had never been in the broom cupboard with Sirius and one of his dates, but he found it impossible to believe Sirius had ever told a girl he loved her just to get in her clothes. The girls knew Sirius and if they tried to tame him, they did so at their own risk.
Of course, Lindi was new and didn't know Sirius' reputation. But, when you looked like she did, Remus figured she was bound to have loads of experience dealing with all sorts of men.
That evening at dinner, Remus saw Sirius and Lindi glance flirtatiously at one another more than once with her blushing furiously each time. He found it endearing and oh so sexy that she blushed at just a seductive smile. He saw her smile at Sirius again… Lucky git... as she stood and headed for the door.
"She is so hot!" breathed Sirius lustily. "I'll almost feel guilty taking your money for something that is going to be so bloody fabulous." He stood and followed her quickly out of the Great Hall leaving the three friends smirking after him.
"He really is a cad," said Remus matter-of-factly.
"Yeah," agreed James. "But he's so damn good at it; it's like an art form."
They finished their dinner and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. On the way, they saw Sirius and Lindi standing together at the end of a hall leading towards Ravenclaw Tower. Lindi's back was against the wall as Sirius stood over her with one hand casually propped against it. She was looking up at him rather timidly, Remus thought. The three slowed their pace as they passed the hallway and saw Sirius lean into her. Remus felt his stomach knot. Sirius was making his move. As he did, Lindi's eyes widened and she twisted away from him laughing nervously. She nearly ran to the Ravenclaw entrance looking back at him and giving him an almost apologetic smile. Sirius watched her in amusement as she headed down the passage to her house.
He turned and started back up the corridor in their direction and grinned when he noticed them standing there. "Taking notes, eh, boys?"
"Didn't see anything worth noting, did you?" James said smirking towards Remus and Peter.
"Unless you count her running for the door?" said Remus straight faced. "She's rather agile."
"She looked like she thinks you bite, Padfoot," said Peter.
"Well, I do, don't I?" said Sirius waggling his brow. "But, she's just being coy."
They headed back to the dorm. That evening, Remus and Peter went to the library to study while James and Sirius played wizard chess in the common room. Remus would have liked to stay in the dorm and rest but he wanted to finish his potions essay that was due on Monday. He really didn't want to have to try to focus on potions over the weekend while he recuperated from Friday's full moon. When they got to the library, they saw Lindi with some of her housemates. After a little while, Remus noticed Peter staring at them.
"What's up, Peter?" he asked.
"I was just thinking how lucky Sirius is. Can you even imagine being with a girl like that?" he asked, his voice full of desire.
"Well, yes, Peter…I can imagine quite a lot." Remus smiled sheepishly.
"Lucky you…I can't even imagine it in my dreams," Peter said gloomily as Remus laughed.
The following day, the four Marauders were on their way towards the Great Hall for dinner when they noticed a group of girls entering the castle apparently returning from the Herbology greenhouses. As Gryffindor had the displeasure of taking the class with Slytherin, it stood to reason that Hufflepuff would be paired with Ravenclaw. So it was not unusual to see girls from the two houses conversing as they entered the hall and proceeded to unwrap themselves from their scarves and winter cloaks. They pulled their wands and dried the snow from their feet. Lindi stood at the center of the group listening raptly to the obviously interesting story being told by Hufflepuffs, Breah Donovan and Patsy Baumgartner. As the Gryffindors drew nearer, the girls' conversation quieted and they glanced around at the boys. When Lindi looked their way, Sirius smiled charmingly and continued towards the entrance to the Great Hall while the girls struggled against the grins threatening to spread across their faces. When the boys passed into the Great Hall, they could hear the outburst of giggling coming from the cluster of girls. At this, they looked around at one another, rolling their eyes and shaking their heads, but they definitely did not giggle.
"Ever get the feeling you're being talked about, Padfoot?" asked Remus.
Sirius simply rolled his eyes again but couldn't help grinning. Remus couldn't blame him. He felt certain that if Lindi Dellington's friends were teasing her about him like that, he would have a well chuffed grin on his face as well.
They watched from their seats as the gaggle of girls entered the hall and started to go to their separate house tables. Before they could divide up, Breah grabbed Lindi by the arm, pointing towards a girl who had just risen from a seat at the Hufflepuff table and flagged the girl to join them.
"Awww, NO-O-no-no-no," groaned Sirius as he shook his head miserably. "Don't talk to that nutter!"
"Who, Fern Starling?" asked James with great amusement at this development. "Oh! This should win you loads of points with delectable Dellington," he said without even trying to hide his mirth.
Remus had to smile too, although he was feeling miserable due to the impending full moon.
"Fern Starling?" asked Peter thoughtfully. "Isn't she the one who told everyone you besotted her with a love potion while you were in Hogsmeade last year?"
"Yes, Peter!" hissed Sirius. "She would be the raving lunatic! As if I need to give a girl a love potion!"
Remus thought back in amusement to the previous year. Sirius had snogged Fern while on a Hogsmeade visit and she had believed they were an item. When he failed to ask her out for the following weekend, she had been embarrassed and hurt. Remus, at the time, had felt sorry for her until she had accused his friend of illegally using magic to take advantage of her. While most people realized the absurdity of the charge, she had insisted she would never have fallen for mere lines and a few of her friends refused to doubt her. From time to time, Sirius and his friends had a laugh over the nonsense, but Remus knew it had proven embarrassing for Sirius when Professor McGonagall called him to her office to discuss the situation. Even though she clearly knew the accusation was total rubbish, she had suggested that "in future you use better judgment when choosing your…friends…or better yet, exercise a bit of restraint, Mr. Black."
As Lindi listened to whatever rantings Fern provided, her eyes widened in disbelief and turned to her friend, Leanna Haversham. Leanna rolled her eyes dismissively and they heard something about "a load of rubbish!" as she stalked off leaving Lindi with the still chattering Fern. Finally, Lindi smiled awkwardly and joined Leanna at the table for dinner.
While Remus tried to force himself to eat even though he had no appetite, he couldn't help noticing that Lindi seemed to be avoiding Sirius' gaze. Sirius seemed well aware of this as well and he pursed his lips in frustration.
"It didn't look like she took anything Fern was saying seriously," said James encouragingly, though he looked a bit disappointed. He still had that five galleons riding on this bet.
"Besides, they could have been discussing something else," offered Remus as he squeamishly moved the food around his plate before finally giving up and dropping the fork. "Possibly a Herbology assignment?"
"Oh, please! Who is going to ask for Starling's opinion on an assignment?" snapped Sirius. "That girl is thicker than Hagrid's chest."
"Well, regardless…I have to get going. Are you going to stay here and do damage control or will you be at the shack?" asked Remus darkly.
"Don't be daft! Of course I'll be at the shack." Sirius sounded almost hurt as Remus stood and made his way weakly to the hall and disappeared.
The following day, the three Animagi took advantage of the fact that the full moon had fallen on a Friday. It was always a chore to stay awake during lessons after roaming all night. But, this being Saturday, they could sleep all day if they wished. By mid afternoon, Remus had returned from the hospital wing and sat down on his own bed. He had an amused look on his face as he glanced around at his still sleeping friends. He considered doing some homework, but realized, in his exhausted state, that would be futile. Instead, he got the Marauders Map and played around with a way to add a searching feature.
Finally, his friends awoke and they went down for dinner. To Sirius' great displeasure, Lindi continued to avoid eye contact and managed to leave the Hall before he had finished his meal. That wasn't good for Sirius since he had only one day left.
They headed back to the common room and came across two Ravenclaw girls they had often seen with Lindi, Darlene Wilkins and Constance Powers. Sirius decided time was running out and abandoned all pretenses at subtlety.
"Hey, Wilkins, has Dellington said anything about me and Fern Starling?" he asked bluntly.
The two girls looked at each other in delight.
"She might have said something about it," answered Darlene.
"Well, what did she say? She doesn't actually believe that rubbish?" asked Sirius impatiently.
"No…well, not about the love potion, if that's what you mean. She's learned enough to know you wouldn't need to resort to that," said Darlene with a smirk.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.
"Well, when you've snogged half the girls in school, one would assume you wouldn't need to resort to love potions. Although…that might be what it takes for you to win over Lindi. Isn't that right, Constance?"
The other girl giggled. "Yes, I'm afraid she doesn't seem any too keen on becoming the next notch in your broom stick."
"But, if it makes you feel any better, she did seem disappointed," added Darlene with a twisted smile.
The last day of the bet rolled by leaving Sirius with the inescapable conclusion that Wilkins and Powers were right. By Monday morning at breakfast, Sirius had paid up his debt to his three friends. Remus was only slightly sorry for him. This was a defeat none of them had really expected, but Remus felt it might do his sometimes arrogant friend a bit of good. Plus, he knew Sirius wasn't really emotionally involved. In the entire time he had been trying to chat Lindi up, Sirius had never even realized that he had met her before. Besides, Remus could always use the extra galleons, and, more importantly, Lindi had not allowed herself to become yet another of Sirius' conquests. He didn't know exactly why, but that was somehow very important to him. Remus knew there would never be anything between himself and Lindi, but he had really disliked feeling the twinges of jealousy towards Sirius. Of course, there was no guarantee that Sirius would give up. Knowing him, he might see this as an irresistible challenge. But, Remus told himself, she had not made it easy and that was something.
