Chapter 14: Making A Plan

"Oh my-"

"Lily? James?" I asked surprised at what lay before my eyes.

Prongs and Evan were snogging on the couch near the fireplace, looking quite cozy in each others arms.

"Sorry for interrupting!" Lor yelled as she grabbed my hand and dragged me upstairs into the boy's dormitory. We burst out laughing and collapsed together onto my bed.

We spent the rest of the night laughing and talking of many things: of our pasts, our futures, James and Lily, Jack, Slytherins, Quidditch and an assortment of other topics that I can't remember at this time.

Lora drifted to sleep next to me, her hands still clutched around the rose. /center

-14-

"Wake up! And get your effing feet off of my face!" I yelled at Lora, my voice somewhat muffled from Lora's heel that was over my mouth. She stirred a little but then drifted back to sleep. I slapped her thigh hard and she stirred again, this time waking up. She sat up groggily and moved her feet so that they were on both sides of my head.

"Hey," she said, sniffing a little bit. She grabbed the entire blanket, which was wrapped around me, and pulled it towards her, exposing me to the sharp cold of dormitory. She wrapped it around herself and walked over to Remus. She pulled the blanket off of him and wrapped it around herself and then tried to run quickly over to James' bed. I saw her pull his blanket off and wrap it around her expanding blanket body and she quickly went over to get Peter's blanket also. The other guys were now waking up, cold and wondering what happened to their sheets. Lor looked triple her size as she waddled quickly over to the dorm door and wrenched it open from beneath her layers.

"I want my blankets back Lora!" James shouted as he jumped up from his bed and ran out the door after Lor.

I looked over at Remus and saw him shaking his head and laughing to himself. Peter walked over and sat down on the edge of my bed, shivering as he did so.

"Sirius, tell your girlfriend not to steal my sheets anymore," Remus said, looking up at my with a coy grin plastered across his pale face. His blonde hair hung limp in front of his eyes but I still saw him daring me to say he's wrong. I took his challenge.

"She's not my girlfriend. You know that," I replied, my voice monotone with the fear that I would expose my true feelings for Lora to Remus.

"Ha, you wish she was though," Remus replied, eying me carefully for any sign that showed my feelings. I kept my composure though and just shook my head. I knew Peter was watching us both intensely with his watery blue eyes.

I was growing mad and I didn't want to make a big deal in front of Peter so I grabbed Remus' arm and pulled him into the bathroom, away from Peter's wandering eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I growled at him, anger pounding in my chest with every passing second. Remus just smirked at me and let out a small laugh though.

"All I want is for you to admit that you want to date Lora," he answered simply.

"Why? Why would you want to hear that?" I replied, confusion and anger now intertwining around my fast-beating heart.

"Just for you to admit it. I'm sick of seeing you stare at her Sirius. Do something about it. Don't just be that pathetic guy that always wishes for the girl that he thinks he could never have. You could easily have Lora, Sirius. You two are made for each other. I just wish that you would stop being such a sap long enough to see that. Get her, Sirius, and stop acting so pathetic, trying to gain her love through pity."

"You don't know anything," I spat back at him, furious with his little speech. I mean, how could he do this to me? Who says these things!?

"Oh really? Then tell me what I don't know," he replied, just as angry now. His face was getting red and his eyes shined with anger.

"She's my friend. That's all she'll ever be! Why would I want Lora when I could have any girl in this school!?" I lied at him, realizing just how loud we had gotten.

I heard a sharp gasp come from behind me and as I swerved around, I saw Lora running out the bathroom, dropping my sheets as she ran. James was standing in the doorway, Peter at his side. I saw fury brewing in James' eyes and anticipation in Peters'. I knew I was in for it. I instantly hated myself for lying like that to Remus.

"What's wrong with you!" James yelled at me, not waiting for an answer.

"I didn't know she was-" James cut me off though.

"Why were you talking about her like that!?" he asked, still yelling at me. Guilt hung in my chest and I wished that, more than anything, I could go back in time and change what had happened.

"Remus kept asking-"

"What? Remus! I thought we agreed-" This time James was cut off by Remus though.

"I know what we agreed on, James, but I just wanted to hear him admit it," Remus replied calmly, leaning against the cool stone wall of the bathroom.

"But it's so obvious. Why would you need to hear him-" I stopped James. What was going on here?

"What do you mean it's 'so obvious'?" I asked, curiosity taking over my emotions.

"Well it's pretty plain to see that you have a thing for Lora, Sirius. I mean, it's well known through out the school that you like her as more than just a best mate," Prongs replied to me honestly. I saw genuine concern in his eyes so I let my temper simmer.

"I don't like Lor-"

"Why won't you just admit it to us, Sirius? We're your best mates. We'd only try to help you. You know that," Remus said to me, staring at me intently.

"I…I like Lora, okay? It's not like she likes me though," I said, shifting my gaze from them. I knew I was still under the speculation of their watchful eyes though.

"You never know Sirius. I mean, if you told her how you felt-"

"Why would I do that? Ruin our friendship? Have her hate me? I'd never want that from Lora," I said, sorrow clinging onto my voice.

"You don't know that Sirius! What if she likes you just as much as you like her? What if she's talking about you to Lily right now? You just don't know! Take a chance, Padfoot!" James urged me.

"I can't-" I whispered.

"Well then you're not the Sirius I became friends with seven years ago. He was brave. He took chances. He didn't stand here, yelling at his friends because they want him to be happy with the girl he's meant to be with. You're not being you Sirius. You can't give up on Lora! Do you think I ever gave up on Lily? No. For seven years I followed her around and listened to her turning me down almost every day. I never gave up though, Sirius. I kept trying. And look at us now! We're dating! You can't give up on Lora, Sirius! You just can't! Not when you're meant to be with her!"

I stared at James, shocked by his outburst. Maybe he was right. This isn't me. I was brave before and now I'm a coward! I used to be able to ask out any girl that I pleased, and now I'm hiding from the mere thought of asking out my friend. This isn't Sirius. This is some coward.

"You're right, Prongs. This isn't me. I used to be brave. What happened to me?" I asked him, shocked at the sudden revelation I had made.

"You fell for a girl, Sirius. It happens to the best of us," James replied, clapping his hand on my back and chuckling to himself.

"What do I do? I mean, I want to make a move on Lora but what if she doesn't like me? I don't want to ruin our friendship," I said to him, pleading for an idea.

"Baby steps, my friend, baby steps. Don't worry, I have a plan," he replied, getting the kind of smile on his face that he got whenever we planned a prank. I knew that this was going to be a good idea.