A/N: I'm going to apologize at the beginning of the chapter for the delay because as I'm writing this, I've got three major assignments due in the next two days and haven't started them. I'll probably start writing the meat of this after that, and if you guys are lucky, this chapter will be up at the weekend. (Well, I had a long weekend, so it was the end of mine!) Considering how fast Evan was on the turnaround of the last chapter, I feel guilty and like a horrible person, but I'm not as awesome as Evan. I apologize. On with the story! –J

"Something in here's not right today. Why am I so uptight today? Paranoia's all I got left."

- Linkin Park, Papercut

Cherry had promised it would be in motion by dinner. She was right. When I sat down to dinner, I saw Cherry and Sirius coming into the Great Hall, chattering and laughing like old friends, sitting down across from me. Lily walked behind them, her eyes glaring holes into the back of Cherry's skull as she settled herself by Marlene, on the other side of the 'Marauder Zone'. They didn't like entering into the territory of the boys if they could help it, and I can't really say as I blamed them. Eating with the boys could be a health hazard, at times.

"Ali, this is Cherry Clark, have you guys met?" Sirius said dismissively.

I shook my head, hoping my nervous behavior would be attributed to fear of Cherry. It wasn't so far-fetched. I happened to be a fairly shy and reserved person. And I admittedly was a bit afraid of her. A bit.

"She's my partner for a Muggle Studies project. Cherry, this is my girlfriend, Ali Marren."

So she had managed to terrify the Muggle Studies professor into submission. Well, at least he was introducing me to her as his girlfriend. Cherry fixed me with a disdainful look. It wasn't really acting, either; I knew she didn't like me just as much as I was afraid of her. I suppose that was a bit more than a bit.

"You're a Puffer, yeah?" she sniffed. I nodded and Sirius gave a bark of laughter. There was some sort of inside joke there, but I just smiled nervously. Sirius and I didn't have any inside jokes. They already had inside jokes, after only a couple of hours. Perhaps she had already slept with him, too? No, otherwise he wouldn't have just casually introduced me as his girlfriend. C'mon, Ali, pull yourself together.

The others were sitting down around us. Lily was still glaring daggers at Cherry from her spot down the table and Remus regarded Cherry's presence with momentary surprise. What if I slipped up? What if I said the wrong thing, or made the wrong face, or laughed at the wrong word? I did laugh at odd times when I was nervous; it would be a dead giveaway. What if they realized there was some sort of connection between Cherry and me? Remus would be the one to notice such things… Remus would see, he would figure it all out… I looked down at my steak and kidney pie to avoid giving anything away with my expression.

Somehow, I made it through dinner without any major consequences. I mean, I nearly sliced off my finger and I poured hot gravy all over James's pants (and was subsequently scolded for putting all of his potential James Juniors in danger), but nothing earth-shattering. Remus still looked mildly puzzled, not as though he had figured something out. That was good. Very good.

Sirius walked with me after dinner, taking me to the Charms corridor to look out on the grounds. It was my favorite spot. It was where I had first met Lily as a lost first year. It was where Remus had saved me from embarrassment in third year by taking the blame for my stupid mistake and earning himself several detentions (he told me it was nothing, he and the Marauders were in detention all the time, but there was no point in me going there, I wouldn't find it fun). It was where Sirius had asked me out, and we walked up there at least twice a week. He realized after months of my insisting that we go there that it was a special spot to me and now took me without being prodded.

I leaned onto the windowsill, my elbows propped up on the cold stone. Sirius wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder. It had been a while since he last held me like this, like he really wanted to be with me. It was sweet and warm, but when his lips found my neck, I couldn't help but tense at the thought of the last girl those lips had been with, the last girl he had held like this. I was almost certain it hadn't been me. It might even have been Cherry.

No, Ali, you haven't got proof, pull yourself together.

"What's wrong, Ali?" he muttered against my neck, his hot breath tickling my skin and making me wonder what he was even talking about. I hadn't said anything aloud, had I? Oh, I had tensed, that was right.

But what was I supposed to say to that? 'I think you're cheating on me and I'm repulsed that you're touching my skin with your philandering lips'?

"Nothing," I whispered, but he didn't seem to be listening, anyway. His lips were trailing up the curve of my neck. I bit back a moan. He was following that same old pattern he tired every couple of months, and I knew where this was headed if I let him continue. As his fingers turned my chin to face him more, his nose began to brush against my cheek and I wondered if I gave in this time, would he be faithful? Had my unwillingness to give in to his sexual desires pushed him to infidelity?

His lips claimed mine, and like every time before, my world spun wildly. He was just too good at this, addictive, like some sort of poison, like a drug. It was little surprise to me that there was graffiti in every girl's toilet in honor of his skill. He almost made a girl forget herself completely. Almost.

I maintained enough presence of mind to break the kiss and push him away as his hand made to grope me. I hastily straightened my robes and checked to make sure we were still alone. All the nearby portraits appeared to be dozing. Shaking my head, clearing the fogginess in my brain, I put a bit of distance between our bodies. He groaned.

"C'mon, Ali! We've been standing still for months! Are you ever going to let me do more than kiss you?"

"Of course!" I insisted. "Just not now, Sirius! Not like this, in the middle of a corridor where anybody could walk by. Not when I'm still underage!"

"When?" he demanded, backing me against the stone wall, his eyes fierce and filled with something unfamiliar to me. It was almost… dangerous. "What do I have to do? How long are you going to make me wait? You're nearly of age, Ali, what excuses are you going to dream up then?"

Before I had a chance to answer, his lips were on my neck once more. He was very hard to say no to, but it had become more a thing of habit than of conviction and I pushed him back once more, looking up at his stormy grey eyes, sure in that moment that he would break up with me, end it all. It didn't matter if he was cheating or not, because he was about to leave me.

"Please," I whispered, unsure of how to continue my plea, but Sirius seemed to know what I was saying.

To my surprise, he took a step back, took a deep breath, and gave me one of his most dazzling smiles, apologetic to the core. He did seem to have a smile for every occasion.

"Sorry, love," he said. "That was wrong of me. I shouldn't push you like that. It wouldn't be any good if you weren't ready, anyway. And I want it to be good for your first time." He pressed his lips lightly to my cheek, said good night, and took off for the Gryffindor common room. I checked my watch.

I was late for patrol with Remus.

Practically running, I rushed off to the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room, knowing he would be waiting for me there. When he saw me he frowned and I skidded to a halt in front of him.

"Sorry, Remus," I gasped, clutching my side. "Sirius kept me late."

His face instantly melted into a much practiced indifferent expression and he nodded stiffly.

"Not like that," I groaned, panting. "We weren't doing what you think we were."

Remus laughed softly as we began to walk and said, "I don't need the details of what you and Sirius do and don't do together. I could go my whole life without that knowledge. Really."

I groaned. The word was obviously going crazy if Remus thought I was going to make a whore of myself, even for the great Sirius Black. For a while, we walked in silence, my guilt and paranoia building with each step. Finally, I couldn't handle any more and I burst out, "I haven't slept with him."

Remus blinked.

"Right."

"I promise," I continued swiftly. "I always stop him when he tries to touch me."

Remus's cheeks tinged pink and he muttered, "Good for you."

"I mean, it's not like I haven't thought about it," I continued. "He's supposed to be quite good. I suppose it might be something like learning Transfiguration from Dumbledore."

He made a choking sort of noise and managed to spit out, "No, I don't imagine it's anything like that, Ali. Nothing at all like that."

I shrugged.

"Anyway, the problem is, Sirius is like a child! I mean, he's adorable, lovable, amusing… but you tell him 'no', he says he understands, and not long after it's as though you never had the conversation! He never learns!"

Remus's lips twitched traitorously, showing some sort of agreement, I thought. Perhaps he didn't really think I had done such awful things. Although, I had to admit to myself, I did think about it.

"He's not such a bad guy, though," Remus said softly. His eyes had a bit of a faraway look in them. "He'd do anything for his friends, and he's certainly got a good compass of right and wrong, even if he doesn't always follow it like he should."

Merlin, this was it. I was about to get a confession! Maybe I wouldn't need Cherry's help after all, if Remus was so willing to tell me the truth, tell me what the Marauder's had kept hidden in their little pact of secrets for so long. I was finally breaking through that magical, mystical barrier of their mini-cult. I was such a good interrogator.

"L-like what?" I pressed. Remus pursed his lips. I held my breath. There was some sort of internal struggle going on: Remus Lupin the loyal friend v. Remus Lupin the outstanding human being. What a struggle that must be. I could only hope that the outstanding human being would win.

"Like the Davy Gudgeon thing," he said finally. "If Sirius doesn't grow up, he's going to get someone killed. It's a miracle Lily was able to stop him from blowing up the cauldron, he would have killed Davy for sure. He almost has done a few times."

Gudgeon. Snape. His stupid pranks. Remus was talking about stupid Marauder pranks, not Sirius's potential infidelity. He was hiding the truth from me, he was focusing on the smaller point to obscure the bigger picture. I was being cheated on, and he couldn't even bring himself to tell me. Outstanding human being indeed. What an incredibly let down.

"Right," I said. "Well, we'd better get back to my common room. We've just about finished."

Remus nodded, leading me back to the Hufflepuff common room. Halfway there, Remus blurted out, "I'm a bit worried about Sirius."

"W-what do you mean?" I pressed, nervous. Was he going to tell me now? What had he been waiting for?

"I'm worried about him working so closely with Cherry," Remus muttered. He still wasn't looking at me, as if he was still considering whether or not to tell me something.

"Why?"

"He… they… well, you know, he's got a lot of bad habits. I'm worried she'll bring those out again. They're an awful lot alike, and not in the good sort of ways. I mean, there are reasons Lily hates Cherry, and it's really got little to do with her hair color. I suspect it doesn't have much to do with Professor McGonagall's distaste for Cherry, either."

I blinked. Had he really said so many words and still not concretely told me whether or not I was being cheated on? What was the world coming to? What kind of sick conspiracy was this?

"Just… just look after him, please?" Remus asked, stopping with me outside my common room. "Try to keep him good. But… I don't know. I used to think, when you started dating, that you would be good for him, fix him. Now I'm wondering if maybe… well, maybe he's been bad for you. Don't get hurt, Ali. Don't… I… fixing people doesn't really… I mean, most people don't change unless they really want to. And I don't… well, good night, Ali."

I blinked again and he was walking away, leaving me standing in the hallway, staring after him. I was faintly aware that it had gotten a bit chilly. I was also faintly aware that his ears were slightly pink as he retreated. What in Merlin's name had that boy even said?