((A/N: Please don't hate me! More to come, eventually. This story is apparently a long work in progress.))

Sirius was dating Melanie. Lily told me this before we went down to the Great Hall for my first out of room meal in a week and a half. She was extremely cautious about it too, saying it quietly, watching me carefully.

It was a miracle that I could contain the cold fury. And she didn't expect me to. I felt it rise up inside me, resisted the urge to break something, felt the emotion cross my face. Well, consume my face, really. And then pushed it back down.

Sirius was dating Melanie. It was ringing in my ears as I tried to make myself dead inside, because that was the only way that I was going to make it through this meal without stabbing someone over lasagna. And I had to do that, at least. James expected it of me; Lily wanted it of me. And since these two were the only two who were still talking to me, I figured the least I could do was try.

But this new information, bouncing around in my ears, was going to make it a lot more difficult. Especially if the two were down there.

Sirius was dating Melanie. After everything she'd done-

I cut off the thoughts, determined to save them for after dinner. If I let them go, the anger would get stronger and I wouldn't be able to stop it. Shoving the thoughts and emotions to the back of my mind, I fought to arrange my expression into something that would convince Lily I was still fine to go eat. Slightly more angry than neutral was about the best that I could manage.

"Are you okay?" she asked, still using that fearful quiet tone. I grimaced and shook my head.

"I'll be fine, Lils. I'll be fine." The second one was more trying to convince myself. But she seemed at least half convinced, so she pursed her lips and nodded, leading the way to the door. "At the very least, you don't have to run with me, now that my suspension is over. And my bruise is pretty much gone."

The suspension had ended today, so starting tomorrow I would be back in class. Just another reason that I had to be sure that I could suffer through a simple meal. Lily just rolled her eyes at me.

"You know he's probably just doing it to get back at you."

I scowled at her, and pushed the anger back again. "Lils, can't we talk about this later? I'd really like to not make a scene. And the more I think about it..."

She sighed but nodded again. I collected myself and followed her down the corridor. "Let's talk about something else. Like how impossible it's going to be for me to catch up on Charms."

Lily snorted. "Quite probably. But Professor Flitwick has been doing those lessons with you this week, right?"

"You act as though that helps me..." Professor Flitwick had indeed been doing my remedial lessons with me for the past week. But I was making about as much progress as before: none. At this point, he seemed pretty resigned to the fact that I was probably never going to be able to preform the spell. "About as much as those stupid counseling sessions."

"I thought you said that Professor Aurelia was helpful?"

"Yeah, but only because it was fucking hilarious. She kept trying to tell me that if I continued to act the way I do, I'm going to doom myself, and wind up being killed and eaten by a diseased demon pig." Lily paused halfway down the stairs to stare at me incredulously. "Her words, not mine."

Lilly just sighed and resumed her downwards trek. "Well, there has to be one teacher you can talk to."

"Well, I don't trust Slughorn as far as I can throw him. Ha. McGonagall just scowls at me half the time. Sprout and Kettleburn are good; but that's only because we get sidetracked on magical creatures and plants. Flitwick is probably the most helpful of the bunch, but I feel like he just doesn't... get it, you know?"

"Well... at least you have me and James, then. I'll try to make sure you don't get yourself tossed out."

"Why thank you, Lils! And I'll try to make sure that I don't get myself tossed out also."

"Excellent! It's a plan!" By now we'd reached the Great Hall.

Sirius was dating Melanie.

It had almost been forgotten in our conversation, but it returned pretty quick when I saw the pretty brunette sitting next to my ex-boyfriend. The sight of the two of them, liplocked over a plate of salad, hurt me more than it had when Lily told me they were dating. It took everything that I had to swallow the furious rush of emotions and make myself look down at the ground. How many times would I have to see them before these emotions either caused me to snap or died inside me?

I forced myself to keep my eyes on the hem of Lily's robes as we walked passed the two to where James and Remus were sitting some ways down the table. It was clear that they were also unhappy with this development.

Twenty minutes and two bites of potato casserole later, I couldn't take it anymore. Lily was watching me with obvious concern as I put my shaking fork back on my plate, but James shook his head at me.

"Don't leave, Artemis," he warned me. "You're going to have to deal with this eventually."

"Oh, I will," I muttered under my breath, glancing for what felt like the hundredth time towards Sirius and Melanie. "Just not the way you want me to." The anger was welling up, and I found I couldn't force it back down again.

James had clearly heard my statement, however; he grimaced at me as he pulled his wand out beneath the table. "Artemis Gaunt, if you try to leave I will hex you." Remus was watching the two of us with one eyebrow raised.

"James!" Lily said disapprovingly, scowling at him from across the table. "She doesn't have to stay if she doesn't want to. I mean, look at her..." she trailed off with another glance at my stern expression.

"Lily, she has to be able to handle this," James argued, turning his attention to her. "I know Sirius is making it... difficult for her at the moment, but she has to be able to live with it. It's her own fault. Artemis, sit down."

I ignored the menace in his voice, my eyes darting again to the couple down the table. Nope. There was no way. "Sorry, James."

"No, I'm sorry, Ar," James said simply, burning holes in his plate with his eyes as he turned attention back to his food. I sighed in relief and went to leave.

Except that I couldn't move my feet.

Huh. James really had hexed me. After a solid minute of drawing attention to myself while I struggled to remove my feet from the ground, I finally gave up and sat my ass back down with a groan.

"Dammit, James," I groaned, closing my eyes tightly and resisting the urge to stab him with my fork. "What is this supposed to do for me, besides hurt?"

James sighed and took my left hand in his right, looking me in the eyes carefully. "Artemis, look at Sirius. Does he look happy?" I growled but obeyed, glaring at the couple.

"He looks like he's snogging Melanie Jordan." I said it and my heart clenched painfully. My hand responded similarly around James'. "So I would imagine that, because he's male, the answer would be yes." I turned back to James with a carefully put on blank look, even though all I wanted was to smash his sad smile to pieces.

"Exactly." Lily and Remus gaped at him, and I felt my blank look slide away in favor of confusion.

"And that's supposed to help me?" I was alarmed to hear my voice crack, and he apparently was too. He continued to let me break his right hand, pulling my into a hug with his left.

"No; realizing that is going to help you," he muttered into my hair. "Sirius... he's not over you; that's going to take a lot of time. But he's doing what he can to move on from here; and that's what you need to do too."

I pursed my lips as he pulled away from me, looking and analyzing me carefully. My expression must have been incredulous; my mind and heart were rejecting the very idea. Move on? But...

I loved Sirius. Hadn't I told James so? And now I was just supposed to move on? James smiled as if he knew what I was thinking. My mood grew darker.

"James, let me go."

"But, Artemis-"

"James!" My tone was all warning; I could feel my temper and anger and tears rising, and I needed to get out before I made a scene, or worse. James seemed to finally realize this; with a sigh, he released me. I was out of the Great Hall so fast that everything on the way to the door was a blur. I knocked over a couple of first years in my rush, garbling an apology as I fled. The welcome darkness of Lily and my suite awaited.

As soon as the door was closed behind me, I burst into tears. Something shattered across the room, and I wasn't sure if I'd done it with magic or thrown it. Everything was dark, and everything was red, and everything hurt. I wanted to break the entire room, to scream and tear at my hair.

How could Sirius do this to me? It had been two weeks-two weeks!- and already he had a new girlfriend! And it was Melanie Jordan, for fuck's sake! She was the cause of the whole issue! She was the reason that we weren't together anymore! And he was just sitting there, snogging her brains out over dinner as if we'd never even happened! He hadn't glanced my way once. It was just like before: he was getting me back any way he knew how. And what could hurt more than watching your two weeks ex snogging the person who cause you to break up in the first place?

So it was back to the beginning, then, I thought wearily, settling my anger with a hard punch to the stone wall (a horrible choice as the pain blossomed in my knuckles). Tit for tat. I'd hurt him pretty bad, on accident. And he'd paid me back in turn. Just like our first six years, except with intent to harm.

Well, I guess that meant it was my turn.

But I couldn't think of anything worse. I was emotionally crushed. I just broke my hand! I was still crying in the dark! And I was furious, coloring everything scarlet and trying to fight against the urges to break things. What could possibly match this?

You need to move on...

James' smile came to me. Calm, sad. And probably right. All Sirius and I had managed to do with our brief relationship was hurt each other more than all our pranks had before. Last year's Artemis wouldn't have been caught dead crying, she would have gotten even. Prepared for the next attack. Moved forward. Stubborn, unwilling to break.

Move on.

My tears ebbed. My sobs stopped. I stared in the dark at the moon through our only window, watching the red fade. And then I smirked.

"Move on," I laughed to myself. From all of them.

"I'm worried about Ar," Lily murmured, looking at the plate of casserole said girl had left behind her. Lily just knew that she was close to cracking. Frankly, it was probably a miracle she hadn't just snapped. She'd certainly disappeared so fast after James released her feet that she appeared to have Disapparated. "She's started eating again, which is great, but... she's still so depressed."

James sighed and Lily's attention instantly snapped to him.

"And you! Holding her here like that! She knows her own limits! If she'd lost it, she might have been expelled! And it would have been all your fault!"

"Lily," James said quietly, giving her a silencing look. "You know I'm right." Lily cut off immediately, staring at him. "She has to realize: as much as all of us, including Sirius, wish that they would, Artemis and Sirius are probably never going to get back together. I mean," he jerked his thumb in Sirius' direction, "if they had any chance at all, he probably just screwed it up. He's snogging the bitch that made them break up in the first place. The one who destroyed their relationship."

"Don't use that word," Lily snapped, but she had to admit that he was right. Artemis was shattered on the inside. She'd been so from the moment Lily had told her that Sirius was dating Melanie, but it hadn't fully hit until she'd actually seen them. But there was always the chance. Somehow, against all odds, Sirius and Artemis might be able to fix their ruined relationship, right?

Ignoring the chastisement, James heaved another sigh and poked at what remained of his own casserole. "Anyways, if they really don't have any chance of getting back together, they should both move on. Obviously, that's neither one's goal right now. At this point, I get the feeling they're both just going to continue to try to destroy each other emotionally. It's probably not going to turn out well. So, I figured, if I can just get one of them to see it, maybe the other will figure it out too."

"So we're not even going to try to fix this?" Lily said quietly, disappointment coloring her tone. She couldn't help feeling so at the prospect of just... giving up on Artemis and Sirius. And after everything they'd been through together. "I mean, there's always a chance..."

James scratched his chin with a frown.

"Maybe we should just let them work it out themselves?" Remus asked tentatively. James and Lily were not the best pair of people to interrupt when they were thinking, especially when they were thinking together. "They're two grown adults; they can make their own decisions about their own futures."

James looked disgruntled at the thought, and Lily frowned now too.

"This sucks," James said finally. "Merlin, it really sucks. Sirius is my best friend, and Ar's like a damn sister to me. They're both in pain, and the most that I can do is sit by and hope that they can work their way through the muddled mess by themselves." He pushed his plate away and put his chin in his hands, defeated. Lily just nodded her agreement. Remus sighed and ate the rest of his chicken.

You could just never win.

"Valentine's Day is in a week!" Melanie pointed out with a massive fluttering of eyelashes. Sirius couldn't help it: he rolled his eyes at her. She completely ignored him. She did that a lot. "And it's a Hogsmeade trip that day too! Isn't that perfect?"

Sirius just grunted. He tried to imagine what Artemis would have said about Valentine's Day. But that thought hurt, so he pushed it away. Of course, being with Melanie sometimes hurt that way too: sometimes she just reminded him of Artemis. Of better times than the ones with her. And then he pushed those thoughts away too.

Melanie brought his attention back to her with a kiss. It focused him like her words hadn't. But then she started talking again.

Merlin, she was too... pink.

"So, I was thinking we'd go to Madame Puddifoot's for tea and lunch! She always has the most marvelous decor, and I'm sure she'll out do herself for Valentine's Day! We can also go to Honeydukes and you can buy me chocolates! And-"

Sirius started tuning her out again. Melanie wasn't bad if you did that. And at least she didn't lie about their whole relationship. Sirius knew exactly what he was getting from Mel. And she knew exactly what she wanted. It was so much less complicated. Artemis may have been smarter and more interesting, but she came with so many issues, the biggest of which involved the giant lie that was how their relationship had even started.

She'd only been dating him because Mel had told her to. And the fact that she maybe had feelings for him regardless only made him feel worse. Because she'd never bothered to tell him that Melanie had been forcing her to date him.

Things made sense if he looked at it this way, anyways. Why she'd never wanted to have sex. Why she'd been so reluctant to kiss him. To get truly close to him. And to love him. It was because she'd never cared enough to try. She'd never wanted to get any closer.

But Sirius had to keep telling himself this. Because he was angry with her. Furious. He knew she cared. He knew she liked him. Hell, maybe she even loved him. She'd been ready to take that next step, she was just scared. The problem was that he now had no idea how much of their relationship had been due to Melanie's interference, and how much was purely Artemis and her fucked up feelings. How was he supposed to know if they ever would have gotten together? Or if they felt strongly enough for each other to stay together? What else was she hiding? What else could she have pretended?

"Sirius? Sirius? Are you listening?" Sirius was brought back to reality again, Melanie's big brown eyes inches from his. She tilted her head and scowled at him. "Pay attention! I was just saying I fully expect the biggest bouquet of flowers and the most delectable chocolates for Valentine's Day!"

Sirius just nodded, letting the simplicity of Life With Mel wash over him.

This was nice.

Right?

Hyper Paxley was surprisingly willing. He seemed surprised at first, but as I explained my situation, he became more amused and more accepting of the idea. Especially considering the impact it would have on Mira Pollux.

Okay, so we were both out for revenge. So what?

If you'll recall, Hyper and Mira went to first Hogsmeade together. It went well, too; they started dating for a while. And they were happy together! It was a miracle: no giant fights, no huge spectacles, no chaos. Just them meeting, realizing they liked each other, and starting to date.

But then Mira went... weird. She dumped Hyper when he thought everything was going well; this was around the same time she left me too. He was still a little remorseful and certainly a lot bitter about the end of their romance. So again, my plan was perfect.

And once he agreed, it was a simple matter of setting the wheels in motion.

We commenced a week before Valentine's Day. It was during Herbology class the first afternoon that I was back in classes. Groups of us had been assigned to carefully pruning and bundling the Flutterby bushes in the back of Greenhouse One. It was a pretty easy and safe task. My group consisted of myself, Lily, Mira, and Wes, and we were working pretty well together. Not too far away, Melanie, James, Sirius and Jonathan were also working pretty diligently. About halfway through class, Professor Sprout called for a break, magicking a whole lot of hot chocolate from Merlin knew where.

This was when Hyper took his chance. He approached me cautiously, almost shyly. It wasn't until he was right next to me that he spoke, a confident grin on his face.

"Artemis?"

Lily and I looked around at him simultaneously, and I could feel Mira's eyes on us as well.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" I blinked at him in false curiosity, and Lily grabbed my arm nervously.

"Aren't we talking now?" I asked smartly with a grin. But I patted Lily's hand reassuringly and pulled my arm from hers. Hyper followed me away from the group, still barely within earshot of ears that were listening closely. "What is it?"

"Well... I was wondering... you don't have a date for Valentine's Day, do you?"

It stung for a second, even though I knew what he was doing. I frowned and buried the hurt quickly. "Oh, I, uh..." My eyes flickered to where Melanie was talking animatedly to Sirius, who was of course completely ignoring me. My frown deepened. "Er... no, no i don't."

Hyper followed my gaze and narrowed his eyes. Then he turned back to me with a smile. "I know maybe this is a little... soon, but I was wondering if maybe I could convince you to go with me?"

I bit my lip and tried to look reluctant. I feel like I managed it pretty successfully. "I-I don't know... I mean, it's only been two weeks," I whispered, looking down at my sneakers and folding my arms across my chest.

"I know. I'm sorry if it was too sudden. But I'd really like it if you said yes. I promise you'd have a good time." He grinned again. "I'll give you some time to think about, okay? Just let me know?"

I pursed my lips and nodded slowly. "All right..."

He nodded as well and went back to his friends, who instantly besieged him with conversation. I chanced a glance at Sirius and Melanie, pleased to see that he was not paying the slightest attention to the brunette. He looked away as soon as he noticed my glance, and I followed suit, feeling a blush creeping up my neck as I returned to Lily. She scowled at me.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" she asked bitterly. I frowned at her and tried to look innocent.

"What do you mean?"

"Did Hyper Paxley just ask you out?"

"Er, maybe? Well, yes, actually." There was the sound of tinkling glass from my right and Lily and I both turned to look. Mira was blushing scarlet, apologizing to Wes; her hot chocolate had slipped from her hand and shattered at his feet.

"Don't worry about it," Wes insisted, bending down to help her pick up the glass. Lily waved the sight away and turned back to me.

"But you can't be considering it, really?" She looked across the room at where James was talking to Remus. "I mean, what about-"

"Lily, don't say it." My voice came out in half beg, half stern warning. "I mean, does it really look like that's an option right now anyways?" I added quietly.

"You never know," Lily muttered, folding her arms across her chest stubbornly and scowling at me. "I mean, you got April and him to break up."

"That's not the issue and you know it."

"Oh come on," Wes interrupted uninvited. It seemed Mira had disappeared to dispose of the shatter mug. "You know Sirius is just trying to make you jealous, right?" Lily gestured at him in an "I told you so" kind of way. "I mean, he's furious with you, for sure. But you really think you two will never get another chance?"

I pursed my lips and frowned at him. "First off, no one asked you, Wes. Secondly, who knows? But do you really think I should just sit on my ass and wait for him to forgive me?" My eyes jumped to James. "Wouldn't I just be happier if I just moved on?"

Wes raised an eyebrow at me and grinned as Lily gasped and smacked my arm. I ignored her. "Well, I suppose you have a valid point. You probably will be happier. For now." He tilted his head and looked at me with a skeptical smile. "But what about later? Will you still be happy years from now, when you think back on now and realize that maybe, just maybe, you had a chance?"

I almost laughed at him. This was probably one of Wes' worst qualities. He had that habit of pointing things out bluntly that your subconscience was trying desperately to ignore. "Well, I'm shit at Divination, so who knows? Maybe I ought to ask Aurelia. Besides, who's to say that I won't just regret hoping that I had a chance that I might not actually have?"

Wes shrugged. "But you really think that moving on will be as easy as taking up Hyper Paxley on his invitation? You're smarter than that, Artemis."

I just sighed and shook my head at him. Lily was pouting at me, a certain promise of a later conversation, but at that moment, Professor Sprout called that it was time to get back to work. We spent the rest of Herbology working in relative silence; Mira was still blushing furiously, Lily was still pouting at me, and Wes kept shaking his head at me. But for the first time in two weeks, I felt like I was winning.

The next day, much to Lily's dismay, I told Hyper that I would go to Hogsmeade with him.

And it made Charms such a bitter affair. Sirius had been moved to sit next to James, and Lily next to me. But with Lily now upset at the fact that I was "moving on," she refused to speak to me, except to point out that if I waved my wand any more for the new charm we were practicing, I was going to put her eye out. I sighed and gave up on that, trying to watch and copy what she was doing. I actually managed to get the correct motions down before the end of class.

Lily refused to eat with me now too; that was mostly because Hyper and I had taken to eating together. After all, if we were going to Hogsmeade together, we might as well play the part.

By the end of the week, Lily finally seemed to accept that I was going to Hogsmeade on Valentine's with Hyper. Until I told her that we were probably going to be at Madame Puddifoot's at some point and that maybe she would see us there. And then the suspicion kicked in.

The final Quidditch practice before the Hogsmeade date was miserable. Lily complained at me the entire way to the field, insisting that I was up to something, that she didn't believe for a second that I actually liked Hyper Paxley. There was no way that I'd moved on that quickly. When I snapped at her to bugger off about it, she just snorted at me and strode back up to the castle with a determined look. Sirius was even more bitter towards me than usual, refusing to pass me the ball. I almost yelled at him, but the memory of that bruise and my promise stopped me. I settled for scowling at James quietly, while he yelled at him instead. Which only made it worse. It was our worst practice yet.

But as I fell asleep that night, I couldn't help but feel proud of myself. There was nothing better than a plan working out just the way you wanted it to.

Sirius shook his shaggy black fur and howled at the moon. It seemed like a pretty good one; it sounded as sorrowful as he felt. His human feelings felt slightly diminished when he was a dog; but at this point he felt so awful that it didn't matter. Sirius just needed to get away for a while.

Thus why he was sitting in a clearing next to a small lake some ways into the Forbidden Forest. Out here, the only person he might run into was Hagrid, and he was in his hut cooking something by his fire (Sirius knew because he'd checked). The waning moon was reflected on the still surface of the water, and as Snuffles lapped the water ripples spread across its surface. Then he sat and stared at the moon for a while.

She was trying to get back at him. She was trying to make him jealous and angry and it was working. When Sirius had started dating Melanie, it hadn't crossed his mind that Artemis might move on so quickly. She wasn't the sort to move from boy to boy. But then, he hadn't accounted for her spitefulness, nor the degree to which his acts would cut her. And he'd cut her deep.

And now she was waging war. Against Sirius. Against Melanie.

And against Mira. Sirius had seen Mira nearly sprinting from the greenhouses after the scene between Hyper and Artemis. Mira had had a crush on Hyper at the beginning of the year; clearly, she still did. And she was definitely tore up about this new match.

Vengeful Artemis was coming out to play, and so far she was kicking some ass. Before, that Artemis was fun, and Sirius had cherished those moments when he could claim victory over her, despite all that venom. But now, it just hurt to see. To know that he'd hurt her enough to cause this to happen.

Snuffles whimpered sadly and lay down on the icy beach, still watching the silvery moon with matching eyes. Vengeful Artemis. A small huff of breath caused snow to blow away from Sirius' mouth in a cloud, but Sirius was still too distracted to notice how it sparkled in the moonlight.

Because now the anger was rising. She was just doing this for revenge. It wasn't proof of anything except that she was a vindictive bitch. That she didn't like not getting her way. That she didn't mind hurting other people to get at him. It didn't seem sensible to argue anything otherwise. Sure, James could point out that Sirius had hurt her first, but Sirius could point out that she'd started the whole thing.

And Sirius wasn't about to take this lying down.

Artemis had better watch her back.

The day was finally here. It dawned bright and sunny on the melting snow that remained on the grounds. And James couldn't help but feel like it was some kind of omen.

But why did he feel like it was a bad one?

James shrugged it off; he was determined to spend a wonderful Hogsmeade Valentine's Day with his Lily-kins! He wasn't going to let the romantic troubles of his best mates bother him today.

Resolved, he showered and dressed in his nicest clothes. Pulling his winter cloak from his trunk, he carried it with him to the Common Room.

To his surprise, Sirius was already down there; James hadn't even noticed that Sirius was awake. But there he sat, in an armchair by the fire, staring at the flames thoughtfully. James sat in the armchair next to his.

"Morning, Sirius," he greeted cheerfully. Sirius frowned and looked at him as though he hadn't even noticed him.

"Oh, good morning, James." He turned back to the fire with a scowl and James grimaced. But before he could feel too obligated to speak, Sirius spoke again. "What are you and Lily doing for Valentine's Day?"

James noted and quickly decided to ignore Sirius' dull tone. "Well, not much, really. I'll probably buy her some chocolates and stuff from Honeydukes; we plan on stopping at Madame Puddifoot's for tea and lunch. Just... you know, be together," James said happily. "What are you and Melanie doing?"

"Oh, probably about the same thing." He didn't elaborate, and James realized he was going to have to ask.

"Er, Sirius, mate, is something wrong?"

Sirius sighed and scowled at the flames. "What do you think Paxley and Artemis are going to do?" James froze. So much for that idea. "I mean, Ar hates Madame Puddifoot's..."

"Sirius... mate, you shouldn't think about it. I know it may not seem like it now... but everything will work itself out, even if it's not the way you want it to. Artemis... she's just trying to work through this in the only way that she can think to, just like you when you started dating Melanie. Maybe neither of you picked the right people for it... but you're both trying to move on and heal. I think you just need to enjoy today: It's Valentine's! Just go out and have fun and try not to think about Artemis for a bit, right?"

Sirius sighed again and closed his eyes. "You're right, I guess. I'm with Mel now... and it is Valentine's."

James frowned watching his best friend. Then he took the leap. "You know, Sirius..." Sirius opened his eyes and turned to look at him. "If you want her back, all you really have to do is tell her. She misses you. She-" James hesitated. It wasn't really for him to say, but he knew it was true. With a deep breath, he continued. "She loves you, Sirius. I know you doubt that... and you have every right to be mad at her for what she did, for not telling you. But she does. And I can almost guarantee that if you went to her, right now, and told her you wanted her back, she'd probably burst into tears and take you back with open arms."

Sirius snorted. "It's not... not a matter of whether or not she wants me back. It's whether or not I can let myself go back. James, how can you... how can you ever know how much of it is real?"

But James didn't have an answer to that. So the two of them sat in silence for a while before Sirius finally got up, saying something about needing to get ready. James nodded and stood up himself.

Lily was ready when he arrived at their door, dressed prettily in a soft green dress that fluttered around her knees in a nonexistent breeze. She too had her winter cloak in her hands and a smile on her face. But Artemis was ready too; she greeted James with a shy smile.

James gaped at her in shock. Artemis... was wearing a skirt? It was Lily's; James recognized it easily, and really that made sense because Artemis herself probably didn't own a skirt anyways. But it was just so weird! And Sirius was going to have a heart attack if he saw her, which, frankly, was probably Artemis' goal. Or was she really that excited about this first date with Hyper Paxley? James couldn't help but feel a spark of agitation. This was definitely not what he'd had in mind when he'd told her to move on.

Oblivious to James' thoughts, Artemis waved jovially and skipped off in a very un-Artemis manner. James shared a look with Lily before the pair followed her. When she was far enough ahead of them not to hear, he brought it up to Lily. It was already too late not to worry about them today, so why not?

"Lily, why is Ar wearing a skirt?" James asked in a hushed voice. Lily's smile faded a little, but she hitched it back on after a second.

"It looks nice on her, doesn't it? She didn't have one and she asked if she could borrow it, and I couldn't really find a reason to say no."

James noticed that she completely avoided answering his real question. He scowled and persisted stubbornly. "Yes, but why is she wearing it?"

Lily frowned completely this time. "I... I'm not really sure. I can think of a few reasons that maybe she might... but I can't say for sure." James stared at her expectantly, his hazel eyes fierce. Lily sighed. "Well, she may actually be excited, not just pretending. She could be trying to compensate for, I dunno, how her relationship with Sirius ended up? Or the fact that she never wore a skirt for him? Or she could just be trying to make Sirius jealous. Sometimes it's hard to say with her... though if I had to venture a guess, it would be the last."

James nodded. "Well, today might turn out ugly. Madame Puddifoot's could wind up being a battle scene. Are you sure you still want to go? I mean, we can find other romantic places to go."

Lily pursed her lips thoughtfully, but finally shook her head as they entered the Entrance Hall. "No, we can still go. Who knows, maybe everything will turn out all right." She sounded skeptical. "And if it doesn't, we may be needed for damage control." James snorted.

"That's a lot more likely. And here I was hoping for a nice romantic Valentine's Day with my girlfriend."

Lily's face lit back up as she blushed. "Well, when you put it that way..."

James grinned.

I sighed. How was it possible that Madame Puddifoot's had gotten worse since I'd last been there? There was pink everywhere, in various shades: the table clothes, the walls, the coffee mugs and the workers' uniforms. The purple flowers from before were replaced with vases of red, pink, and white roses. And above each table a little cherub hovered, tossing down random flurries of confetti.

I fought the urge to vomit and followed Hyper to a table fully in view of the entire room. Sitting on the pink cushion of the chair, I scooted it closer to his while he ordered our coffees. I smoothed the silky material of Lily's powder blue skirt over my legs and sighed. I was starting to get nervous. Anyways, how good an actor was I? And what if this didn't work?

My thoughts were interrupted by Hyper taking my hand in his. I was starting to get used to the way his hand felt, though Sirius' hand still just felt more at home there.

"The skirt was a nice touch," he pointed out, his eyes roaming my figure while he scooted his chair too, until with a soft bump they were touching. I shift my body more to look at him. "You look nice."

I smiled and placed my other hand in my lap. "Thanks. You do too." He chuckled and shook his head as our drinks arrived. "I did have a reason to dress up. Had to make sure you didn't regret this choice too much."

He smirked and I giggled girlishly. The door chimed and Lily and James walked in. Lily waved as she spotted us, but they got their own table not too far. The store was filled with couples, and I was trying hard not to feel too awkward. A few tables away, a couple was making out. I flushed.

"Nervous?" Hyper whispered in my ear, and I felt my face get redder. I scowled.

"No!" I denied through the butterflies in my stomach. I stuck my tongue at him and he smiled.

"So yes?" I sighed and scowled again.

"Maybe... It's been a long time since I kissed anyone besides Sirius," I admitted quietly. Hyper rolled his eyes at me and leaned his head against mine. His breath brushed my cheek as he spoke.

"Don't worry so much. It's just a few kisses. And once he sees us, we'll go somewhere 'more private.'" I snorted at his use of one-handed air quotes. My gaze found that couple again. They weren't just kissing; their hands were all over each other. They should probably go somewhere more private, I thought. And anyways, how far would I need to go? Hyper sighed. "We don't have to do this, you know? If you don't want to-"

"I do," I interrupted, still ignoring those butterflies and turning to look at him again. His face was mere inches from mine. "Maybe... I need to. Even if it doesn't work out like I planned. Maybe it will help me..." I trailed off, hearing the tinkle of the door again and ignoring it.

"Get over him?" Hyper finished for me. I frowned and nodded. "Maybe. If I'm being completely honest with you... he doesn't deserve you anyways. You're better off without him."

I giggled again, blushing furiously. Was this him acting? Or was he serious? And anyways, how many times had Lily tried telling me the same thing these past couple weeks in an attempt to make me eat and sleep better?

"You're not falling for me, right?" I asked with a small smile. Hyper was actually getting to be a pretty good friend. He laughed and shook his head.

"No, I'm just saying." He tilted his head forward so that our foreheads were touching, still looking me in the eyes and smiling at me. "You know that was him, right?" I blinked in confusion and fought the urge to look.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Him and Melanie are sitting down now, over at the table in the corner behind you. Don't look."

I didn't plan on it, though that was a lot easier said that done. My butterflies intensified.

"So we're still going to do this? Just two friends kissing to make their exes jealous? With absolutely no feelings?"

I smiled. "As long as that's the case, then yeah. We are."

"Good. 'Cause he's looking." And his lips met mine.

Hm. This wasn't so bad, I thought, letting myself kiss him back. He pulled away fractionally for a second, as if making sure regret wasn't written across my face. We shared a look for a second, and then I leaned forward and kissed him again. It occurred to me that this was a horrible idea, especially when Hyper started kissing me more fiercely. But the butterflies were gone. I was just kissing him; I didn't feel anything, and that shared look had showed that Hyper hadn't either. But this was a bad idea.

I didn't stop it, though; even as Hyper pulled me closer, one hand reaching behind me to my lower back and pulled my body to his. There was the tinkle of glass shattering behind me, but I ignored it. One of my hands clutched Hyper's jacket, the other coming to rest around his jaw. After a minute, he pulled away, both of us slightly breathless. Looking at me closely, he smirked.

"So, want to get out of here?" I smirked back and nodded, throwing a few coins on the table and following suit as Hyper stood up. Mira and Remus were standing in the doorway, but as we approached Mira turned on her heel and fled, the tinkling of the bell ringing in my ears. Remus followed us out.

As soon as we were outside, Hyper's act dropped as he looked at Mira's retreating figure woefully. I smiled and jerked my thumb in her direction.

"What the fuck are you waiting for?" I asked him. He looked at me in surprise, then smiled and kissed my forehead. He was gone in seconds.

When he was gone, Remus cleared his throat behind me. I sheepishly turned to face him.

"Oh, hi Remus..."

"That's a bit low, don't you think?"

I dropped my smile and glared at him. "And him dating Melanie isn't?" Remus raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"That's a valid point, I suppose." I frowned, something else occurring to me.

"Remus, were you on a date with Mira? I'm sorry if I ruined it; I didn't realize you two would-"

"No," Remus interrupted with a shake of the head, taking my arm and leading me down the road. "She didn't have anyone to go out with, so I figured what the hell? I didn't realize that you would be making out with her would-be boyfriend though, or I wouldn't have brought her here. Butterbeer?"

We were making out way towards the Three Broomsticks, so I nodded. "Why not? As long as I don't see Sirius again until tomorrow. Can't have my whole charade being ruined, right?"

He sighed and gave me a disapproving look, which I ignored as I pulled open the door and gestured him in before me. There were fewer couples here, and more single people just hanging out in groups. "You know, I guess I can't really lie: I'm kind of impressed. You took his own game and threw it in his face, just like before. I guess he can't really be that surprised. Though it may have been a little overkill. Between the skirt and the fact that you were making out on a first date..." he tutted at me and shook his head, motioning to the bartender at the same time.

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah. But I figured: go big or go home, right?" He snorted and I followed him to the nearest table. "Are you going to tell him?"

He took a sip of his butterbeer before answering. "No; I'm sure he knows anyways, though he looked pretty furious so I won't say that he won't do something stupid in response. You're probably going to regret this, you know."

I laughed. "I know. It was a stupid plan. But... I dunno, I felt like I needed to do something to get back at him." I smiled sadly at my mug of butterbeer. "And it actually worked exactly like I thought it would too."

We sat in silence and finished our butterbeers, When they were empty, we ordered two more. Finally, I said, "Do you think that Mira will get back with Hyper?"

Remus looked at me thoughtfully. "I don't know; do you think you'll ever get back together with Sirius?"

Okay, that one stung. I glowered at him for a minute before answering. "Honestly: no." He looked at me in surprise, so I continued in a gloom, not looking at him. "He's... too mad at me. He won't even look at me most of the time. And he told me never to talk to him again."

Remus rolled his eyes. Why was everyone doing that today? "That doesn't mean that you should just accept that. That just means he needs to cool down. Give him time to come around and realize that you're the only one he's ever truly enjoyed being with. Because, even though he never said it, you are."

I sipped my butterbeer, trying to drown the sadness that came with his words. How had I screwed this up so badly? Sirius may have been an asshole, but he was probably the best thing that had ever happened to me. Remus was watching me thoughtfully, his head cocked to the side.

"Artemis?" I focused on him, pushing down the sorrow and anger at myself. "Trust me. Once he remembers why he dumped Melanie the first time, he'll realize it. And if he refuses to see it, well, I'm sure you'll find someone. Despite the fact that you're vindictive and temperamental, guys like you. And if all you want is to get laid, there's always guys like Hyper Paxley to help you out there."

I narrowed my eyes at him and didn't dignify the comment with a response. Deciding it was time for a change of subject, I asked, "How's your last remaining grandmother? Or did you find more to lose next month?"

Now it was Remus' turn to blush. "Er, she's fine."

"So where were you last week?" I asked, suddenly remembering that he had in fact been absent.

"Er, I was... sick. Flu."

"Oh." I looked at him thoughtfully. "You know, you're gone a lot. Are you ok?"

Remus heaved a sigh and shot me a dirty look. "I'm fine. Look, can we not talk about this?"

I frowned at him and started to think about the pattern. Remus was gone pretty much once a month. And around that time, he always got that haggard look about him. Actually, all the Marauders started to look tired around that time. I thought of Sirius and Snuffles. Were they all Animagi?

"Are you an Animagus?"

Now Remus just looked outright shocked. And then resigned. "Merlin, Artemis! Were you always this nosy?" I smirked. "Look, why don't we talk about this later, all right? What else do you want to do?"

"I want to... know if you're an Animagus?"

I'm pretty sure he nearly face-palmed. Instead he just shook his head and finished his butterbeer. "Why don't we go for a walk?" he said quietly, standing up and walking towards the door before I could answer. I downed my own drink and followed him.

We were heading through the melting snow towards the Shrieking Shack. I kept looking at Remus, but he would just shake his head at me. Finally, we arrived at the Shack, and wordlessly, he pushed me down onto a mostly dry stump near the signed fence. Then he glanced around as if making sure that we were completely alone. Finally, he pointed at the Shack.

"Do you know why everyone says this place is haunted?" I furrowed my brow, wondering what this had to do with my question; all I wanted to know is whether or not he was an Animagus, and whether that had anything to do with where he went every month. Slowly, I shook my head, thinking back to the brief conversation Sirius and I had had the last time I was here. "Once a month, the people who live around here hear... horrible shrieks, the most terrible, coming from the place. Shrieks of pain, as if there's some tortured soul living inside it. And that's because there is."

Remus paced in front of me for a second while my brain processed this new information. Once a month... shrieks of pain...

"I'm not an Animagus, Artemis," Remus finally said, stopping in front of me and looking me straight in the eye with a frown. "I'm assuming you know that Sirius is?" I nodded slowly, my mind still whirring. Once a month... shrieks of pain... all the excuses... and the Shack was built the year before we came to school... "So is Peter, and James too. They're all Animagi, but I'm not... I'm something else entirely..."

"A werewolf..." I muttered, surprised at the answer that my brain came up with. Even more surprised when Remus stepped back and nodded. For a second, I just stared at his nervous expression.

Then I burst out laughing. Remus took another step back.

"Why are you laughing? You should be scared, Artemis. I'm a werewolf! I'm a dangerous creature..."

"And the best excuses you guys could come up with is sick grandparents?" I asked breathlessly, still laughing. "Merlin, Remus!"

"It's not funny, Ar," Remus complained, completely serious; I forced myself to stop laughing and look at the situation seriously. Remus was frowning, still looking extremely nervous.

"You're right," I finally agreed. "Sorry. But seriously: why should I be scared?" He gaped at me. "I mean, this doesn't change you. You've always been a werewolf, right? At least, since I've known you?" He nodded and took a tentative step forward. "See! This just means that now I don't have to wonder about where you keep going."

"But... what if I weren't locked up? What if I broke free of the Shack one day? I could... kill people. I could hurt so many people..."

I frowned and crossed my legs. "Well. I suppose then I might be worried. But you know me: I have that horrible lack of fear when it comes to magical creatures and plants!" I grinned at him. "I would be more fascinated than afraid if I ran into a manticore."

He sighed and frowned at me, finally moving forward to stand next to me. "So... you wouldn't be afraid? Even if I told you that Sirius, James, Peter, and I roam the grounds and the forest when I'm changed? That we don't take any precautions, that we just rely on the other three to be able to stop me?"

For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then he looked down, clearly feeling guilty. I frowned at him. "Remus?" He looked up and I smacked him upside the head. "Stop being an idiot. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, then don't. And if you trust your friends enough to believe them when they say they'll stop you, then go for it. You shouldn't... you shouldn't live your life stuck in that stupid little house just because you're afraid." He stared at me for a second before nodding. I sighed. "I mean, we're all afraid. But it's stupid to just... not live because we're afraid. Right?"

Remus smiled and nodded again.

We sat there for a while longer, until the sun began to sink in the west and the chill started creeping over us. Then we walked back to the castle together.