A/N: Ok, well I'm finally back! I'm sooo sorry for the long break, but in the time between my last update and now, I've been grounded from the computer, lost my jump drive, and moved. We still haven't set the internet back up at my house; I'm using my grandma's. So yeah. Here is —finally— the next chapter.

Moony's Valentine

Lizliz07

Feb. 11

Sirius glances apprehensively at the clock. James would be bad enough at practice without Sirius helping him by being late. He stops, stomach dropping at the thought of facing James. Remus pauses next to him and squeezes his shoulder, guessing where his thoughts have gone. "It'll be alright, Padfoot. James promised to be fair to you tonight." He tells him. "He gave me his word."

Sirius stares at him, too confused to mention just how little James' word means to him. "He did? What for?" Remus shrugs, grabbing Sirius' arm and starting to walk again. Sirius follows, trying to figure out why Remus' face is suddenly more masked then usual.

"We had a talk in detention last night, and I made him think a little." Remus explains. "I made him see just how badly he's overreacting, so he's trying to tone it down." It's quiet for moment as the two men get closer to the Quidditch Pitch. Sirius sighs as Remus waves at the door to the men's changing room, and starts walking back to the castle. Sirius doubts that James really will keep his promise; after all, didn't James promise to be friends forever with him?

James isn't in the changing room when Sirius arrives. Grateful for the delay, Sirius changes into his Quidditch robes, grabs his broomstick, and takes a deep breath before stepping onto the field. James glances at him and then away, and Sirius raises his eyebrows. Maybe he'll stick to his promise after all.

James adopts an attitude of 'he's not here unless I absolutely have to talk to him' throughout practice and Sirius goes along, doing everything he can to keep out of his way. Sirius troops into the changing room with the rest of the team at the end, still apprehensive despite it. He cringes as James taps him on the shoulder, and James' eyes widen a little in surprise. He quickly hides it and strives for a polite tone. "Can you stay after everyone else leaves? I want a talk with you in private."

Sirius nods, checking to make sure his wand is easily accessible as James walks away. He leans against the wall, feigning nonchalance as he waits for the rest of the team to leave. Once the door closes on the last one, James crosses his arms. "I want to know exactly why you told Snivellus about the Whomping Willow. No evasions."

Sirius takes a deep breath, not realizing until now how much he wants this chance to explain. "Snivellus was snooping around, trying to get Remus expelled. I figured that he'd stop snooping if I told him, since it is me saying it and he knows I'm always out to prank him. I thought he'd think it was a trap to get him expelled or something." His eyes turn pleading. "If I'd known that he'd try to go down it, I would never have told him. Nothing, not even pranking Snivellus, is worth losing Moony."

James stares at him for a long moment. He knows how well Sirius can act, having seen him in action with teachers. Something tells him, however, that Sirius is being sincere. He sighs. "I'd have done the same thing, I guess. It's not your fault that Snivellus just can't leave things be." He holds up a hand as Sirius starts to grin. "This doesn't mean that I've fully forgiven you. You still betrayed Marauder secrets."

Sirius shrugs. "I'll accept whatever punishment, as long as I can be part of the group again. It's horrible being the exile." Friends again, they start walking up to the castle. James glances slyly at Sirius as he automatically glances at their dormitory window, where Remus would be studying.

"You know, Remus mentioned something to me about you." James says causually. Sirius' gaze snaps to him, and he has to resist the urge to laugh. "You wanna know what he said?" He asks, hoping is intuition is right. The last thing the Marauders need is more awkwardness.

Sirius shrugs, hoping that the rush of emotions running through him isn't showing on his face. James pauses, leaning on the stone wall that serves as a banister for the front steps. "He told me that he forgave you so quickly because he can't stay mad at you. He loves you too much." Sirius has to fight to stay calm.

"He did, huh?" He asks, leaning against the opposite wall. "How do I know you're not lying, and it's all just a trick?" James frowns thoughtfully. After a moment he grins again.

"Because I'm willing to swear on my own life. Would I do that if I were lying?" Sirius shakes his head. "So I'm wondering what you'll do about it." James prompts, laughing at the surprise on Sirius' face. "Oh, come on, Padfoot. It's all over your dogish face. You love him too."

Sirius opens his mouth to deny it, then pauses. With James, protesting never works. Besides, he realizes, he's tired of keeping it hidden, and James would be highly useful at getting Remus to go out with him. "Yeah. I do, I love him. And I'm going to get with him, goddamnit." James smirks; his intuition is never off. "I've got a plan." He quickly outlines his plan for sending Remus a gift each day and then revealing who sent them and why on Valentine's day.

James snorts. "You can keep the gifts, but it won't work. This is Moony we're talking about. No, what you need to do is put him in a position that he can't possibly deny his feelings." He frowns. "The problem is getting him to do that. We'll need to get him just drunk enough that he loses his inhibitions."

Sirius agrees. "That'll be simple. I'll take him off to the Three Broomsticks, under the guise of cheering myself up since I'd have no one to spend the day with. He'll drink a bit just to humor me, but I can easily manipulate him into drinking more."

James grins. "Yeah. That should do it. Now let's get upstairs before Remus starts worrying that we've killed each other."

A/N: So there we go. James has gotten over his douchebagishness and seen the light, Sirius has openly admitted things, and we've got a plan to force Remmy to face his feelings! As always, reviews are appreciated, as long as they're nice. I'll try to update again soon, but I really have no idea when I'll be around a computer with internet access again, as my school blocked fanfiction. Noobfaces.