Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Warning: None for this chapter.

Chapter 4 – Hogsmeade Surprises

Saturday morning dawned clear and crisp, the kind of chilly weather synonymous with the first Hogsmeade visit of the school year. The boys awakened early and hit the showers, making certain that they were ready for their dates…well, Sirius and Remus were so motivated. James had asked Lily ("Oi, Evans! You, me – a little trip to Hogsmeade this Saturday. Strike your fancy?"). Needless to say, he had suffered yet another rejection and had less than no interest in hearing Remus' suggestion that his manner of invitation might have been to blame. So, both dateless, Peter and James were planning to slip into Hogsmeade, visit Honeyduke's and Zonko's and head back to the school to await the return of their friends.

As they were dressing, Sirius turned to Remus and asked the question that had been bothering him for several days. "Hey, Moony? Why did you ask Kate to Hogsmeade today?"

Remus glanced over at his friend, who was busy lacing up his boots. "I didn't ask Kate, Padfoot," he replied, quietly.

"That's ridiculous!" Sirius sat up and turned toward his friend. "You're going with her; that didn't just happen."

"She asked me," Remus responded, smiling gently. "Sirius, if I'd known for a moment that you were interested in her, I would never have accepted. Kate and I have become friends, Padfoot. We've studied together. I like her very much - but as a friend. I have no romantic interest in Kate at all."

Sirius sighed. "But she must have feelings for you if she asked you to go with her," Sirius reasoned.

Remus shook his head. "I don't think so, Padfoot. She said she asked me because she wanted to go with a friend; she didn't want to deal with all the nonsense that goes with it, she said."

"Oh, well then," Sirius said, his expression lightening. "Can't blame her for that, I guess. That's why I asked Diana," he said, pulling his jumper on over his head.

"Oh?" Remus asked. "I thought it was because you had no interest in Kate. After all, she's 'just another bird in our year', right? Isn't that what you said?"

Sirius frowned at the werewolf. "Why do you have to remember everything I say?"

Remus smiled. "Want to double? I'm sure Kate wouldn't mind if there were four of us wandering around Hogsmeade."

Sirius thought about it for a moment. "Are you certain she wouldn't mind? I don't want to ruin her first trip to Hogsmeade, Remus." His expression was most sincere.

"I don't think you will, Padfoot. But, if you'd like, I can ask her," Remus offered.

Sirius nodded. "Please. If she's ok with it, then I'm game, too."

Remus spoke with Kate over breakfast and, as he predicted, she was fine with the idea. In the end, there were several more 5th years who joined them and, when the students were finally assembled in the school's courtyard, there were no fewer than a dozen people in their group.

Kate and Remus walked together, chatting all the way. Remus was considerably taller than the petite young woman and Sirius watched him incline his head toward her on several occasions as if to more clearly hear what she had to say.

At least Remus looked interested and entertained. The same could not be said for Sirius. The lovely Diane was extremely well versed in fashion, social status and events and the minutiae of romantic entanglements at Hogwarts. Sirius knew this because the young witch chattered nonstop about all of these topics on the road to the small village. Regrettably, these three subjects were not of interest to Sirius. Unfortunately for Diana, he did not suffer fools gladly and, despite her considerable … charms, Sirius could not bring himself to pay anything more than cursory attention to anything that she said. Unfortunately for him, this fact wasn't lost on Diana. They weren't even in the village before she had rounded on him and told him that he shouldn't have asked her to go with him to Hogsmeade if he wasn't going to pay any attention to her. His response that he wouldn't have asked her to go if he'd realized that she just wanted to yak his ear off about things that held no interest for him. With a huff, Diana stalked away from him and, as Sirius continued to follow the others down the road, he noted that she had fallen in with a handsome 5th year Ravenclaw. By the time they reached the entrance to the village, they were holding hands. Sirius snorted. Good riddance, he thought. She wasn't whom he wanted to be with anyway.

Sirius fell in with Remus and Kate, an easier arrangement knowing that they were not a couple. He was careful, however, not to intrude on conversations between the two of them. Although they did not intentionally exclude him, Sirius' respect for their friendship and their mutual interests resulted in Sirius being on his own quite a bit. That James and Peter chose a "quick in/quick out" philosophy about this trip didn't help matters. Sirius was not a solitary creature by nature; his upbringing had seen to that. Solitude was just one of the weapons in his parents' arsenal and it was often used against their rebellious elder son.

Sirius wandered into one or two shops, purchasing a supply of various sweets at Honeydukes and some ink and parchment at the stationers'. He was standing in front of Quality Quidditch Supply's display window when he felt a light tap on his arm. Turning, he found himself looking into Kate's brown eyes.

"Hello," she said, smiling up at him.

"Hi," he returned her smile then glanced around them. "Where's Remus?"

"Across the street at Flourish & Blott's," Kate said. "I love books, but there's a limit to the amount of time I can spend looking at them." She chuckled. "I happened to glance out the window and saw you standing here."

"So you came over because you felt sorry for me?" Sirius bristled.

"No, that's not why I'm here; why would you think so?"

"Oh, I don't know, Morgan. Maybe because I got dumped by my date?" Sirius replied, watching her face to gauge her reaction.

"Actually, I feel rather sorry for her," Kate said, noting with satisfaction the surprise on his face. "Do you have any idea how boring Reginald Fletchley is? She'll soon regret her choice, I can tell you." Kate smiled mischievously.

Sirius continued to regard her for a moment then threw his head back and roared with laughter. "She would have done better staying with me, then, eh?"

"Mmm," Kate replied. "But I think you're better off without her. Besides, if she had stayed with you, how would I have learned all about Quidditch?"

Sirius looked at her, shock evident on his face. "You care about Quidditch?"

Kate shrugged. "I don't know enough about it to know yet. But, you're on the Gryffindor team, right?"

Sirius nodded, still stunned to be discussing Quidditch with a girl who wasn't a member of any of the House teams.

"Well, then, it would seem that you could explain the game to me, wouldn't it?" Kate asked. "Really, Black, it's not that hard to understand me, is it? I'm not speaking Goblin, am I?" she asked him, hands on hips.

"Why do you want to learn about Quidditch?" Sirius' eyes narrowed.

Kate sighed. "Nothing should be this difficult," she muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, umm, nothing," Kate said, coloring slightly. "Listen, I'm entering a new school as part of an established 5th year class. I would like to fit in and make some friends. Quidditch is very popular here. We didn't have it in Salem. You're on a team; you can teach me what I need to know so I don't act like an ignorant fool at the games. Get it now?"

"You didn't have Quidditch at your old school?" It was Sirius' turn to favor her with a pitying look.

Kate shook her head.

"Well, then, let's step inside," Sirius took her elbow and propelled her up the steps to the Quidditch shop. "I consider it my duty as an honorable British wizard to correct this gap in your formal education!"

Kate smiled and allowed him to lead her into the store.

Across the street, at Flourish & Blott's, Remus observed the scene from the front window and smiled. "Bravo, Kate!" he murmured and turned his attention back to the sale table.

XXXXXXXX

Kate left the Quidditch shop knowing more about the game than she ever wanted to know. Sirius was still extolling the virtues of Chasers (vs Beaters) when they met up with Remus in front of Madam Rosmerta's pub.

"Remus!" Kate greeted him enthusiastically.

"Hello, Kate; Sirius," Remus replied. "Where have you two been keeping yourselves?"

"Morgan here had a yearning to know all about Quidditch" Sirius beamed at his friend.

Remus glanced at Kate, who crossed here eyes at him. Remus fought to keep a straight face.

"And did Sirius tell you everything?" Remus asked.

"And so much more!" came the smiling reply.

"She didn't write anything down, though, so I'll probably have to remind her of some points," Sirius said, winking at the werewolf.

"I could use a sit down," Kate told them, gesturing toward the pub's door.

"Me, too," Sirius said, opening the door for Kate and Remus to enter ahead of him.

As Remus passed Sirius put his hand on the boy's arm to detain him. "Why did I wind up teaching a Quidditch lesson?" Sirius asked.

"Tell you later," Remus whispered back.

Sirius frowned and Remus squeezed his shoulder. "It's nothing bad, Padfoot. I promise."

Sirius nodded, his expression relaxing a bit.

"Hey, you two; are you going to leave me standing here all alone?" Kate asked. "Because I see a cute Slytherin over in the corner and he's all alone…"

Sirius rushed past Remus and took Kate's arm. He scanned the room quickly and his eyes alighted on a group of students preparing to leave a booth in the back. "Let's go," and he tugged Kate forward with him, arriving just head of a group of Hufflepuff students.

"Slide in," Sirius said to Kate, nudging her lightly with his elbow. Once she was settled, Sirius slid in next to her while Remus occupied the bench on the other side of the heavy wooden table.

"Have you ever had butterbeer, Kate?" Remus asked.

"No, I can't say that I have," she replied.

Sirius smiled. "You're in for a treat, then," he said, rising. "I've got it, Remus. Stay put."

Kate watched Sirius go up to the bar and noted that several young witches in the pub closely monitored his progress.

"He always attracts attention," Remus said, noting Kate's expression.

"So it would seem," she said wryly.

"Shall I quiz you on your Quidditch knowledge?"

Kate smiled. "That's ok, but thanks."

"You did very well listening as long as you did," Remus observed.

"Mmm. I would like to do what you suggested. Get to know him first hand instead of listening exclusively to what other people say about him. You were right, that's not fair," she said.

Remus shook his head. "No, it's not. He doesn't have the happiest of family relationships, Kate. His home life leaves a great deal to be desired. I don't feel right saying much more; just know that there are reasons for some of the things you hear about Sirius, Kate."

"I respect how you feel, Remus – and your loyalty to Sirius," Kate said. "I won't pry."

"You like him," Remus said.

Kate nodded. "There's something about him; I feel sort of drawn to him. I don't know…"

Remus smiled. "We hear that a lot."

Kate glanced up at the bar and smiled sadly. "I can see why."

Remus turned to look in the direction of her gaze and his eyes fell on Sirius, bottles of butter beer standing, seemingly forgotten on the bar, his attention claimed by a rather buxom blonde. As they watched, Sirius leaned toward the girl to listen more closely to whatever it was she was saying and his hand brushed hers in the process.

"He flirts like that all the time, Kate," Remus told her.

"I know. It never means anything, right? Listen, he looks pretty preoccupied. I think I'll just head back up to school," Kate rose and gathered up her things. When Remus rose, as well, Kate shook her head and placed her hand on his shoulder. "No, you can stay. Don't worry about me; I'll be fine." She smiled at her friend. "Thanks for coming with me, Remus. I had a good time with you."

"Kate, at least let me go and get our drinks. We can sit here and enjoy them," he suggested.

Kate smiled. "No, thanks; maybe next time. I'll see you later, Remus." And in a moment, she was gone.

Remus shook his head. Granted, Sirius didn't know that Kate might be harboring a crush on him, but that wasn't the point. At the very least, he might have returned to the table with their drinks and then gone back up to flirt with the girl Remus now recognized as a 6th year (!) Hufflepuff. He looked back up at his friend and saw that he was going at the girl full tilt and that his attentions were more than reciprocated. Sirius had his hands on the girl's arms and she was playing with his hair. Remus huffed. He'd seen just about enough. Rising, he waved at a group waiting by the door for the next available table. Donning his cloak, he waited until they'd reached the booth and thanked him before heading out of Rosmerta's and into the crisp afternoon air. He never gave Sirius another glance.

XXXXXXXX

Much later that afternoon, Remus, James and Peter were sitting in their usual spots in the Common Room when Sirius finally blew in. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked Remus as he sank down onto the couch. "I turned around and you and Morgan had been replaced by a crowd of Ravenclaws."

Remus glanced at Sirius' disheveled appearance: hair mussed and shirt buttoned unevenly beneath his jacket. He nodded. "Not quite accurate. We actually were replaced by a very attractive blonde."

Sirius blinked at Remus in surprise. "I was just flirting with the bird, Moony. I wouldn't have ditched you."

"Bollocks, Sirius!" Remus' voice reflected his anger with his friend. "Look at you! It's obvious that you did more than flirt with the girl!"

James and Peter exchanged a look of alarm and confusion. It was rare for Remus to show anger at anyone, much less his friends.

Sirius' face hardened and his eyes narrowed. "What's the matter, Remus? Are you jealous?"

"Hardly," Remus whispered, furiously. "You invited Kate to have a butter beer at Rosmerta's and excused yourself to go to the bar and get them. Then, your attention wandered – as did other parts of you, apparently – and you totally forgot about your friends. That's not right, Sirius; it's downright rude!"

"So just because I got up to a bit of snogging with Delilah Hornsby, you and Morgan trounce off?" Sirius face was flushed, but he'd lowered his voice as well. "Or did she decide that 'cute Slytherin at the back table' deserved a second look?"

Remus' fist clenched and unclenched where it rested on the sofa cushion. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths to bring his anger under control. He would not give in to his baser instincts and punch the other boy squarely on the jaw, no matter how much he wanted to do so. After several moments, he rose. "I'm going for a walk before dinner," he said.

Sirius watched his friend leave, feeling vaguely guilty about what had happened between them.

"Padfoot, what the hell just happened here?" James was asking him as he sat down in the spot Remus had just vacated. "What's all this about Morgan and Rosmerta's? I thought you took Diana to Hogsmeade today!"

Sirius sighed, running his hand through is already unruly hair in frustration. "Look, Diana ditched me because I didn't care about who was snogging whom or whether robes would be shorter next season or some such shite. She hooked up with some other guy by the time we got to Hogsmeade. Remus and Kate aren't together; they're friends. I hung around with them for a while, but I didn't want to bug them so I went off on my own. Morgan caught up with me at the Quidditch shop and then we wound up at Rosmerta's…"

"Where you ran into Delilah Hornsby," James finished.

"At the bar, buying butter beers," Sirius nodded. "Merlin, Prongs, I don't see why Moony is in such a snit over all this! It's not like I don't flirt all the time…"

James held up his hand. "Sirius, your reputation is your business. I can tell you one thing, though: when you're in a situation like the one you were in at Rosmerta's, you stay with your friends. Delilah Hornsby's been swanning after you since just before summer holidays, mate. It's not like you couldn't have waited until another day to let her catch you!"

Sirius remained silent.

"Besides, I thought you liked Kate," James added.

"Merlin, James! She's a bird in our year. She's nice and all that, but I'm not going to get all worked up about any of 'em! I'm not even 16 'til next month!" Sirius had jumped up from his seat and begun pacing.

"Sirius, settle down, mate! No one said you were getting ready for a hand fasting! What the hell is wrong with you?!" James grabbed his friend by the shoulders and forced him to look him in the eye.

"Nothing! I just hate it that Remus is all pissed off at me. I didn't do anything I don't usually do and he just about tore my head off!"

James let go of the other boy. "Then go and find him; talk with him and straighten this out. Now. Before dinner. There's half the weekend left and no point being out of sorts with each other, yeah?"

Sirius didn't move or say anything for a moment, but then he nodded. "I'll be back." And he tore out of the Common Room and through the portrait hole in search of his friend.

XXXXXXXX

Sirius headed down the sloping lawn of the school grounds, eyes scanning the landscape in search of Remus. He directed his steps toward the large tree at the end of the wide path leading to the lake and was soon rewarded by the sight of the young werewolf sitting with his back against the broad trunk.

Sirius quickened his steps and in a moment was standing within easy speaking distance of the other boy. It was obvious, however, that Remus either had not heard him or was ignoring his presence as he continued to gaze out toward the water. Ignoring me, Sirius thought to himself. Remus' condition gave him keener hearing than most and his sense of smell was uncanny.

Sirius closed the distance between them and finally caught his friend's attention. He gestured to the spot next to Remus and, at his nod, lowered himself to the ground, resting his back against the tree.

"Still mad at me?" Sirius asked the other boy without turning to look at him.

"Yes."

"Because I snogged Delilah?"

Remus snorted in frustration. "Because you were selfish, rude and thoughtless."

"Remus, it's not like I did anything out of character. Delilah came up and started talking to me and…well…" he trailed off.

"And you started thinking with a part of your anatomy that isn't given to much rational thought," Remus finished, his expression softening only slightly.

"You make me sound like a randy dog, Moony," Sirius complained, his face coloring.

"You are a 'randy dog', Padfoot," Remus smiled, nudging the other boy with his elbow.

"Very funny," Sirius muttered, but his shoulders relaxed a bit at Remus' kinder tone.

"Remus, it's just that when a girl comes up to me and starts flirting, it makes me feel like I'm actually worth their time, you know? When they hold my hand or kiss me, it's just…just nice. It makes me feel good. And then you go and get all pissed off at me, so it makes me feel bad all over again."

Remus frowned. "I don't want you to feel bad about yourself, Padfoot. I care about you; you're my friend and you've done more for me than almost anyone else has ever done. But I hate it when you're selfish and when being selfish hurts other people. Doesn't mean I hate you; I just hate it. You're better than that; you're a more caring person than that."

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Moony," Sirius said sincerely. "I care about you, too. You're my best friend; I care about what you think of me, so when you're mad at me I just hate it."

"I know that, Pads, I really do. You made me angry, but I think you hurt Kate," Remus replied.

Sirius turned away from the other boy. "I didn't mean to do that, either. Remus, I don't know what to do with her. I mean, I know, but … it's complicated and I don't know why it's complicated. All the other birds I've flirted with … and snogged and … well, the few I've shagged … that's all I've wanted from them. I know that's pretty shallow, but really, Remus, I don't feel anything for them. I mean, they're nice and pretty and I like them well enough, but it never feels like it should be anything more than that." He huffed sharply. "I don't even know what I'm saying…"

"I get it, though," Remus said and Sirius turned to him in surprise.

"You do?"

"Yes, I think so. You don't want to get all caught up being part of a couple with any of them. You just want to have someone to snog with and…really, Sirius – you've honestly shagged someone?" Remus dropped his voice until Sirius could barely hear him.

"Moony, we're out here all alone; who do you think is going to overhear us talking about my sex life?" Sirius asked Remus his voice teasing.

It was Remus' turn to blush. "Padfoot – have you really taken a girl to bed? I mean, you're not even 16 yet!"

Sirius snorted. "There's no "official" start date on the equipment, Remus. When it works, it works. Mine works. Has since I was fourteen, actually. And no, I haven't actually taken a girl "to bed". "To chair", yes; "to garden swing", yes. To…"

Remus put his hands over his ears. "Enough! Stop! I don't want to hear any more. Merlin, Sirius, most wizards our age are still trying to work up enough nerve to ask a girl to go to Hogsmeade with them. Here you are – already shagging them!"

"Well, Remus, if I thought it was going to damage you for life, I never would have said anything," Sirius said in a disgruntled voice. "Guess there's one more thing you can be disappointed in me about."

Remus reached over and put his arm over the other boy's shoulders. "I'm not disappointed in you. Impressed as hell and perhaps a bit jealous, but not disappointed." He paused. "But …"

"But, I hurt Kate," Sirius said. "Remus, I like her. I like talking to her; I think she's nice. She's smart and she's funny; she's also beautiful, which doesn't hurt. And she doesn't care that I'm a Black. 'Course, maybe she doesn't know what being a Black is all about, yet, but I'm pretty sure Evans has probably filled her in by now." He paused and looked up at his friend. "I don't feel the same way about her that I feel about the other birds. Sitting next to her at Rosmerta's today made me feel…I don't know – maybe a little bit like what Prongs feels about Evans. That's not me, Remus. I'm not like Jamie: one girl only. But then I think about how I felt when I saw Prewitt chatting her up or when Kate said she was looking at a 'cute Slytherin' in the pub – and I don't know."

Remus shrugged. "If you don't know then I think you're just going to keep feeling miserable 'til you do. I'm not sure how I can help you, except that I don't think you're doing yourself any favors by behaving the way you did today in front of Kate. No sense having her decide you're a big git before you figure out how you feel about her, is there?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, I guess not, Moony. I probably should talk to her, yeah?"

Remus stood up and offered Sirius his hand to help him to his feet as well. When they were both standing, he said, "I think you should talk with her and I might suggest two things to you." He waited.

"What?"

"You might want to start by saying sorry," Remus said as they started walking up to the castle.

"Ok; and the second bit of wisdom?"

"Remember that her first name is 'Kate'. Calling her 'Morgan' all the time probably won't help your cause," Remus smiled.

Sirius chuckled. "Yeah, ok, Moony; I'll try using the part of my anatomy that is intended for thinking, shall I?"

Remus cuffed him lightly on the back of the head and the two shared a laugh.

"Are we ok now, Moony?" Sirius asked quietly.

"Always, Pads," Remus replied.

They reached the Great Hall moments later and Sirius felt his stomach clench when his gaze settled on Kate, sitting by herself at one end of the Gryffindor table.

"No time like the present, Sirius," Remus said quietly.

The other boy nodded and straightened his shoulders. "When did life get so bloody complicated, Moony?" he asked.

"I believe when the 'equipment' started officially working," Remus deadpanned.

Sirius barked a laugh and then continued on his way to make things right with Kate.