For Liza, via the Hogwarts gift tag. (Wolfstar, online dating!au)

"Isn't it a bit risky?" Lily asks, frowning at Remus' laptop as though it has personally offended her.

Remus swallows dryly. He wishes he could reassure her, but he has felt these doubts as well. Online dating is a scary thing. There are killers out there and people who are only looking for a one night stand.

He offers his best friend a shy smile, shrugging. "How else am I supposed to meet a nice guy?" he asks. "I don't do the whole bar scene, Lil."

She doesn't look convinced. With a sigh, she sits beside him on the couch. "What about the theater?"

"Right. Because all not straight men love musicals," Remus snorts, rolling his eyes.

Shrugging, Lily snuggles in closer, propping her chin on his shoulder as he types in his login information. Remus tries to ignore the way his fingers tremble as they tap against the keys.

"Look at you! A message!" Lily jabs her finger against the screen as if Remus wouldn't be able to notice the envelope with a glowing red 1 over it.

A message. Just one. Remus tries not to be discouraged. It isn't as though he wants hundreds of blokes messaging him, but still. He had assumed at least a few people would be interested in him.

He clicks the envelope and goes to his inbox. Lily doubles over, laughing so hard that she slides off the couch. "SiriusHottie? What sort of username is that?"

His cheeks heat with color. "Let's not judge by his username," he suggests. "People probably see mine and assume rjlupin sounds boring."

Ah. Maybe that's why he hasn't had much luck. Perhaps he should have gone with something funny or upbeat, something that would make him stand out.

As he starts to move the cursor over the message, Lily grabs his wrist and shakes her head. "Check out the profile first."

"Good call," he says, moving the cursor over slightly and clicking SiriusHottie's picture.

Whoever this guy is, he is gorgeous. Remus feels butterflies in his stomach the moment he pulls up the pictures. Dark hair, storm cloud eyes, and a crooked smile that promises mischief and adventure. He scrolls through, and the fluttering only increases. There's SiriusHottie with a leather jacket tossed casually over one shoulder as he leans against a motorbike. There he is again, his long hair pulled into a messy bun, smelling a bouquet of flowers.

"He is gorgeous!" Lily declares, reaching for the laptop.

"He is mine," Remus says, lightly swatting her hand.

Her lips poke out in a playful pout. She leans back, folding her arms over her chest. "Maybe I should get an account," she says. "Think I can find myself a fella?"

Without bothering to answer, Remus scrolls down. "Smoker," he reads. His lips quirk. Ordinarily, he wouldn't date a smoker, but he has the feeling SiriusHottie can make such a filthy habit look unbelievably sexy. "He's a dog person and loves a good laugh."

"He's perfect. Go to the message."

SiriusHottie: How much do fat penguins weigh? Enough to break the ice! I'm Sirius, and I like gorgeous things, so, naturally, I like you.

"Huh. So, his name is Sirius. He didn't just misspell serious," Lily notes. "He seems okay. Are you going to reply?"

Remus reads over the message again, lips tugging into a smile. Really, Sirius sounds perfect. Good looks, charming… But he called Remus gorgeous, and Remus feels like it's just a line. "I dunno," he says, scrubbing his hands over his neck.

His fingers brush over the scars that run along his cheek. Gorgeous. He isn't, not by any stretch of the imagination. As much as he'd like to believe that this modern Adonis could be interested in him, he has to accept that it's more likely that he'd just copy and pasted the message and sent it to dozens of people on the site.

"Rem, he's perfect!" Lily leans in again, nudging Remus. "Come on!"

Remus swallows dryly. It's so tempting, but he can't shake the feeling that it would be a mistake.

"Come on," she repeats. "Give it a chance."

With a sigh, Remus touches his fingers to the keys.

…

Sirius opens the app on his mobile just as it makes another ping! as a new message comes in. "Urgh. You would think the fuckboy would have gotten the memo by now," he grumbles, deleting.

"Malfoy?" James asks, tossing a crisp into the air and skillfully catching it with a loud crunch.

With a snort, Sirius nods. "Of course."

"Wonder if your cousin knows she's his beard."

"Poor Cissa."

Sirius scrolls down. He hates the dating site sometimes. Most of the messages in his overflowing inbox are from men who quickly lost his interest and didn't appreciate him saying as much.

One username catches his eye. A smile tugs at his lips as he recognizes rjlupin's profile picture. Though the thumbnail image is small on is screen, he still perfectly remembers those beautiful, intelligent amber eyes and tidy tawny hair. If he's honest, he's gone back to the other man's profile countless times in the twelve hours since he'd sent the message.

rjlupin: Nice pick up line. How often does it work for you? I'm Remus.

"You're grinning," James says. "Which one?"

"It's rjlupin," he answers.

That gets James attention'. He sits up straight, hazel eyes twinkling with excitement. "The one with the cute redhead in one of his pictures? Is she single?"

Sirius rolls his eyes. The moment James had seen Remus' friend, he'd fallen in love. "Why don't you make an account and find her?" he teases.

James huffs before throwing himself back onto Sirius' bed. "This proves you don't love me," he says, a hint of a whine in his voice. "I'm going to die alone, and it will be your fault."

With another roll of his eyes, Sirius turns his attention back to his mobile. And prepares a reply.

SiriusHottie: I dunno. Never used that line on anyone else. It got me a reply, so I'd say it was a success. Tell me, what's a guy like you doing on a dating site?

"Well?"

Sirius sets his phone aside and shrugs. "I guess we'll see what happens," he says.

…

rjlupin: A guy like me? I don't know what you mean by that, but I don't really know how to get myself into the dating scene.

SiriusHottie: I meant someone so gorgeous and intelligent. Don't worry. You aren't missing much on the dating scene. Players galore lol

rjlupin: And how do I know you're not a player? I don't know anything about you, but you're already trying to flatter me.

SiriusHottie: Dinner? I'm sure I can convince you.

rjlupin: You're asking me on a date after just a few messages? You're not a serial killer, are you?

SiriusHottie: Would a serial killer actually answer that honestly?

rjlupin: ….fair point.

SiriusHottie: I don't make good points often. We should celebrate with dinner.

rjlupin: I have to admit that was smooth. Can I bring my friend? She insists that I need a chaperone since dating sites are so risky.

SiriusHottie: Redhead?

rjlupin: Yeah. Lily.

SiriusHottie: She's more than welcome to come.

…

Remus smooths his hands over his shirt, taking a shaky breath. One glance at the mirror causes his nerves to feel absolutely fried. His scars are too noticeable. Every little imperfection seems to scream. Sirius will take one look at him and change his mind.

"Maybe I should just cancel," he sighs.

Lily appears, running a brush through her auburn hair. "Don't you dare! You have been talking about this bloody date for a week, Remus Lupin! You're going!"

Remus swallows dryly before clearing his throat. Lily may be a head shorter than he is, but she makes up for it in attitude. He's long since learned not to argue with his best friend. "Yes ma'am," he mutters, offering her a mock salute. "You aren't sitting with us at the table, are you?"

At the time, suggesting Lily joins them had seemed like a brilliant idea. Now, he worries it will make everything awkward.

"No. I'm not that intrusive," she laughs.

…

"Lily. Such a pretty name for a pretty woman," James sighs as he styles his hair in his signature disheveled look.

"You know you aren't actually going on a date, right?" Sirius tugs his leather jacket on, a small smile on his lips. "You're just my chaperone."

"And she's his chaperone. A match made in heaven."

Sirius chuckles, checking his reflection one last time. He's been on plenty of dates, but this is the first one that has actually made him feel nervous. Over the past week, he's ignored messages from everyone else, preferring Remus' words to anything.

If he's honest with himself, he's terrified. He's never met anyone that made him want to focus all his attention on just one person.

"Come on," James says, drawing Sirius out of his thoughts. "Don't want to be late."

…

"Who's his friend?" Lily asks.

Remus shrugs. He hadn't been aware that Sirius would bring anyone else. It makes him relax a bit; at least Lily will have someone to talk to during the night.

"Good to finally meet you!" Sirius grins as his grey eyes move up Remus' body. "This is James; he insisted on being my chaperone too."

James offers Remus a small wave, but his eyes are fixed on Lily. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Lily looks taken aback at first, but a small smile plays at her lips. "Shall we find a table so these two boys can get on with their date?"

James takes her hand and leads her into the restaurant without sparing the others a second glance. Remus takes a deep breath, nerves causing his stomach to flutter. He hadn't expected to be left alone with Sirius so suddenly.

"You look nice," Sirius says, offering his hand.

Remus hesitates. For a moment, he worries that he might faint, but he finds strength. "So do you," he says, accepting his hand with the smallest of smiles. "I like the jacket."

"Thanks. My parents hate it. They think it makes me look like a delinquent. Figured I'd buy a bike to really piss them off."

"Never grew out of your rebellious stage?" Remus laughs as he allows Sirius to lead him inside the restaurant.

The other man offers him a grin that almost takes his breath away. Really, the photos hadn't done him justice. Sirius in real life is more perfect than any camera could ever show. "I really hope I never grow out of it, to be honest."

…

Dinner passes too soon in Sirius' opinion. Normally, it wouldn't matter. There have been plenty of dates where he'd been eager to wrap dinner up as quickly as possibly and run off for a quick shag and coffee. Now, however, he hates the sight of two empty plates.

"Dessert?" Remus offers, and Sirius is surprised to realize how relieved he feels at that word. "They have a wonderful chocolate cake. I love chocolate."

Sirius nods and signals for the waiter. He makes the request for one cake and two forks before turning his attention back to Remus. At least they can stay a little longer; the night doesn't have to end yet.

"So, you plan to be a teacher?"

Remus nods, adjusting his cardigan. "Yeah. Hoping to finish university soon and get a job before the year is out. You?"

"My brother has a tattoo shop. I'm planning to work as his assistant at Dark Mark Inc," he says.

"How fitting. You look the type."

The dessert arrives, and it takes Sirius only a moment to learn one more thing. Remus is absolutely adorable when he has chocolate on his lips.

…

SiriusHottie: I had fun tonight. Maybe a second date?

rjlupin: I think I'd like that.

SiriusHottie: Really? So, you don't think I'm a serial killer anymore?

rjlupin: Haven't ruled that out, but it's a risk I'm willing to take.