As soon as Sirius got home from lunch, he cracked open a bottle of Firewhiskey and poured himself two fingers of the spirit into a crystal tumbler. He downed that almost in one, wincing as the liquid burned his tongue and throat. He then filled his glass a second time, putting in a capful of spring water and giving it a swirl to mix the two before he took a sip. Much better, he thought. I can actually taste this glass.

He'd just sat down, glass in hand, staring up at the ceiling with his head resting against the back of the couch and his feet thrown up carelessly on the coffee table, when the Floo went off. Sirius didn't even bother getting up. He knew there were only two people who would show up unannounced at this time of day: Harry, who he'd just had lunch with, and one Remus Lupin, werewolf.

Sure enough, Remus wandered into the parlor slowly, head cocked to the side, nostrils flared. "Firewhiskey already, Pads?" he asked curiously. "Your lunch with Harry went badly, I take it?"

Sirius rolled his eyes over to his best friend, not even bothering to reposition himself, so he was almost looking down his nose at the man. "Au contraire, my furry friend, it was wonderful. It was. Harry is going to propose to Ginny!" Remus grinned happily at the news along with Sirius, who continued on uninterrupted, "Also, he didn't come alone..."

At that, Remus perked his ears up.

"She was there? Did you talk with her?"

Sirius nodded -more like wiggled- his head slowly, before shaking it a bit more firmly, his hair tangling against the upholstery of the couch. "Well, kinda. Sorta."

Remus frowned at his friend's inability to give a concise answer, crossing abruptly to an armchair and sitting down, legs spread out before him and ankles crossed, elbows on the armrests and hands clasped on his stomach. He could sense he'd be there a while, so he figured he might as well get comfortable.

"Yes: I technically talked to her. And also no: I did try to talk to her about last night, but she shut me down. She tried to say she had no idea what I was talking about, and then she used work as an excuse to put it off until 'later!' Without defining when 'later' was!
" he grumbled, taking a large swallow out of his glass.

Remus sighed, summoning the Firewhiskey and a tumbler for himself.

"It would seem she's in denial." Sirius shot him a dirty look for being so completely obvious. Remus chose to ignore this, and spoke over the huff that the animagus emitted. "You swear she wasn't drunk last night, so she can't push it off as not being in control of herself, and she obviously remembers judging on her reaction... Maybe she's ashamed? Although of how she behaved, or her attraction to you, I'm not sure. There aren't many other reasons for her to be avoiding you. At least none that I can think of that fit."

Sirius toasted his friend and took another swig from his glass, hissing out, "Thanks ever so much, Moony. Don't know what I'd do without you." Remus shot him a half-hearted glare and toasted him back.

"You'd be a hopeless drunk with zero insights into the female psyche."

"Touché."

OxOxOxOxO

"Sirius!" Harry called as he stepped out of the floo after a very long, hard day's work. He was tired and mentally drained, and all he wanted was hot meal and a good night's rest, but he needed to get to the bottom of what was going on with his godfather and his best friend. He didn't think he would be able to sleep properly if it was hanging over his head all night long, despite the fact that he could almost hear his bed calling out to him.

"In here, Harry!" Lupin's voice drifted to him from the billiard room.

As he got closer he could hear pool balls thwacking together and the sounds of laughter and good-natured ribbing. He didn't really want to bring up the whole "Hermione thing" with Lupin there, but at the same time he didn't know how to get rid of him without arousing suspicion, and the man might actually already know more than Harry did, with him being Sirius' best friend. It was certainly worth finding out how much he knew, if nothing else.

"Lupin, good to see you!" Harry said, entering and clapping his old professor on the back.

"Same to you, Harry. How're things with Ginny?" Lupin shot Harry a knowing glance, and Harry grinned unabashedly, shooting a glance at his godfather who was lining up a particularly tricky looking shot.

"Seems I was too distracted to mention at lunch that I wanted things kept quiet. Ah, well, as long as you've only told Lupin?" Harry slowly finished with a question, relaxing as Sirius nodded his head, grinning as the cue ball hit it's mark and sent the ball spinning into the top left corner pocket.

"Of course, pup! It's not really my news to tell, but it did come up when we were talking. I trust Remus, though, or else I wouldn't have mentioned it at all."

Harry nodded in acceptance of the explanation, glad to hear that his plans were still mostly secretive. Speaking of secretive... He needed to get Sirius talking before he passed out of exhaustion, and this might just be the perfect opportunity to segue over to the more difficult topic.

"What else do you trust Lupin with, Sirius? Does he know about your infatuation with Hermione?"

Lupin's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but chuckle as he looked between an uncomfortable, yet determined Harry, and a very sheepish Sirius.

"Er, about that... There's not much to tell. Hermione and I flirt back and forth. It's what we do- it doesn't mean anything, though." Sirius hedged, trying not to meet the inquisitive stare of his green-eyed godson.

Lupin could see that Harry wasn't happy with Sirius' explanation. Not happy at all. He was tense and was glaring at the Black scion. The only thing Lupin wasn't sure of was if it was because he was unhappy that Sirius flirted with Hermione period, or if it was because he was claiming it meant nothing to him. Either way, you could cut the tension emanating between the two with a knife.

The clock on the mantelpiece chimed the hour, startling them all.

"Would you look at the time! Gotta dash. Places to be, and all that." Sirius said, rushing out of the room amid protests from Harry and Remus alike. Moments later they heard the rush of the floo, and knew he was long gone.

"What was all that about, Lupin?" Harry asked. "He was acting so odd at lunch, and so was Hermione, now that I think about it. And I know you know something, so don't try to deny it."

Lupin looked Harry in the eye, releasing a sigh of frustration. Sirius was in deep shit when he next saw him. A thought struck the werewolf, and a sly grin slowly came over his face.

Since Sirius deigned to leave me to clean up his mess, I may as well...

"Exactly how much did you notice last night at your party?"

Author's Note:

45 FOLLOWS! Woah! *dances*

Sorry this chapter is so short. I've had sick kids and been sick myself, on top of a ton happening this past week, so I figured it was better to just get it up. Plus, this really was the best place to break it up.

I have a Sirimione playlist, if you guys were curious, that I listen to before I write (as a dyslexic, it's hard enough to write without someone spouting lyrics into my ear at the same time -I end up writing the lyrics. Oops). If anyone has any questions about what's in the playlist, or is wondering which songs I listened to for this chapter, just ask.

The next chapter will be up in a few days! Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Love to you all!