Padfoot, Moony And The Flamel Girl

"Oh…and Remus?" April turned around.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for your letter," she said, giving him a wink.

As soon as April left the room, Sirius cornered his friend. "You wrote to April?" he asked a little edgily.

Remus hesitated before replying, "Yes, Harry, Hermione and Ron were not the only ones who sent her letters."

"Why didn't you mention it before?"

"No one asked," Remus said simply.

There was a dark cloud hanging over Sirius' face and he kept silent, looking everywhere except at Remus for what seemed to be a long time.

Finally Sirius decided to ask the question he had wanted to raise for sometime. "You like that Flamel girl?"

"Sure I do," Remus replied calmly.

Sirius closed his eyes and drew in a sharp breath.

"I like her as I do Lily," Remus added.

Sirius' eyes flew open instantly. "What do you mean?" he eyed his friend warily.

Remus chuckled softly, and took his time to reply, clearly enjoying the moment. "Lily was James' girl," he deliberately stated the obvious.

"And?" Sirius raised an eyebrow threateningly, warning Remus to get to the point instead of prolonging his agony.

"As far as I'm concerned, they are my best friends' significant other."

Sirius relaxed visibly and flicked a smile. "What do you mean?"

"Are you so dense, Padfoot, that I have to spell out everything for you?" Remus teased. 

"I just want to know for sure what are your feelings towards her."

Remus considered for a moment. "I think she's great."

"And you feel nothing for her?"

"I do not take away what's important to my friends, Padfoot.  I think even a blind man can tell that you do not regard her as simply a friend."

Sirius coloured slightly. "That's not true!" he protested.

"That's so true, Padfoot.  Why else would you be moping around in the two weeks when she was away?"

"She was away for one day short of three weeks."

"I notice you were counting down the days," Remus observed.

"It was the Umbridge woman who put a dampen on my mood in those weeks!"

Remus asked playfully in mock surprise. "So you have special feelings for Dawn Umbridge?"

"Moony! Quit twisting my words.  You know how I detest that Umbridge woman!"

"All right," Remus obliged.  "So are you going to admit it?"

"Admit what?"

"Admit that you want April to be more than a friend and that you have feelings for her?"

"Whatever gave you that crazy idea?"

"I believe we have been friends long enough to notice certain things, Padfoot.  I've never seen you so anxious for a girl.  You obviously care a lot about what happens to her, what she says and what she does."

When Sirius did not say a word, Remus told him quietly, "Since April Flamel is nothing to you, I'll consider asking her out."

Sirius almost choked.  "WHAT? YOU'RE ASKING HER OUT?"

"Well, why are you getting so worked up? Since she's just a friend to you, I'm sure you'll not mind if we…"

"I DO MIND!" Sirius cut in.  It was then when he noticed Remus' satisfied grin that he realised he had been tricked.  "Moony!" he said, eyes flashing at his werewolf friend.

"Like I said, I do not take away what's important to my friends. If you like her, why don't you just tell her?"

Sirius shifted his feet uneasily.

"Padfoot?" Remus prompted gently.

"All right.  I do like her.  I like her a lot," Sirius finally admitted.  "But I'm not sure if the feeling is mutual."

"Why don't you ask her?"

Sirius walked over to the window, his back facing Remus.  "Because I don't think she feels the same way," he said uncertainly.

"What makes you think that?"

"If she really likes me, she won't have left," Sirius said in a small voice.

"But did you ask her to stay?"

Sirius shook his head.

"Perhaps she was waiting for you to ask her to stay then?"  Remus said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Sirius turned to face his friend, surprised.  Then in the next moment, his face darkened again. "No. She'll not like me.  She's a member of the respected Flamel family and I'm just an ex-convict."

"The Blacks aren't exactly nobodies in the wizarding community," Remus pointed out. "And you just happened to be an innocent man whom she had no qualms of risking her life to help."

"She was just helping Dumbledore," Sirius insisted.

"You really think so? The fact that you were the subject didn't encourage her to help in the tiniest bit?"

"What are you trying to say, Moony?" Sirius was feeling increasingly impatient and frustrated.

Remus walked over to join Sirius by the window.  "If you don't ask, you'll never find out," he said in his most convincing voice. "I do think you stand a strong chance, Padfoot," he added reassuringly.

"You do?" Sirius was unconvinced.

"For a former Hogwarts lady-killer, you are rather clueless," Remus smiled before adding in a more serious voice, "If you let April leave again this time, she may not be back ever. This may be your final chance, Padfoot."

Sirius' mind was racing as he considered Remus' words.

"Perhaps I should give you a little encouragement to push you into the right direction," Remus said.

Sirius remained silent.

"Do you want to know the contents of my letter to April?"

Sirius stared at Remus, his body language was stiff and defensive.

"You're not interested to find out?"

Sirius threw both hands into the air, in surrender. "What did you tell her?"

"Well, what I wrote in the letter was that there's a woman who's throwing herself at you in the school…" he paused mercilessly.

Sirius' eyes narrowed. "Get on with it, Moony."

Remus smiled, "I added that if she does not want to lose you forever, she'd better make her way back to Hogwarts soon."

Sirius' mouth fell open "You did not."

"No, I did just that," Remus grinned at his friend. "And it worked.  She's back. Isn't she?  To make sure this other woman stays away from you?"

A smile crept slowly into Sirius' face and it grew wider and wider.  For the first time in ages, Sirius looked genuinely happy.

End of Chapter Twenty-six.

I know this is a short chapter, but I didn't want to dilute the focus on the exchange between our two guys.  The next chapter, where my two OCs April Flamel and Dawn Umbridge meet, is a longer one.  Promise!

Angel357 / shining-star20 / popdancer: You're one of the few who rooted for April/Remus! Good for you! :)  But sorry…Sirius is my favourite while Remus comes in second. But I may still spring up some surprises later in my story! I'll give you a clue – read this dialogue between the two Marauders carefully.

Ms. Padfoot / Annoriel / Senshichan14 / Fire'N'Ice / Cara Cotter / nunnya buiznes (you cruel person!) / Frances (I like you!) / BBOO / peachgirl1608 / Madison Black (cool name…but asking Remus to go home? You're another cruel one! LOL) / an-angel36 / LILRKCHK (I get your name now) / Lil Lupin (it's not your wishful thinking) / lildarkkitty : Your wish has come true! Yes, the winner in Round One is Padfoot! For now, anyway… *evil grin* 

Diosa Alexia : Me evil? You're right! LOL

Emily : The mystery is solved :)

Starlina / Black Penther (you've changed your nickname!) : Thanks for including me in your favourite authors list.

Charma1219 : The dinner may not take place…you'll find out why!

Arashi Kaminari : Er…I was surfing the web, trying to find a suitable picture…and I found it! Look for pictures for Colin Farrell in Phone Booth – my Sirius looks like him now.

Summerkins : Sirius/Dawn….Hee! Scary, yeah?

stormyweather457 : Sounds like there's really stormy weather! Be nice! LOL

OutofAzkaban : Did you guess right? Bet you did! :)

Raven Rosethorn1 : I'm blushing :) Thanks!