A/N: Hello all! Hope you're all surviving and being safe! Sorry this took a while. Been a bit busy…but I hope this keeps you entertained while you're stuck at home!
Just a note: In previous chapters, I've changed Hagrid as CoMC professor to Professor Kettleburn. It doesn't change the storyline or anything, but I just wanted it to be more in line with canon. Thanks to oki_wan for pointing that out!
Chapter 14: Operation Rema
It was a perfect winter day. The snow fell gently from the grey sky, the wind sent a prickly chill through the air, and every fireplace in the castle was alight, sending a fog of warmth to combat the cold. Sarah walked through the castle with a bounce in her step. This was always her favourite time of year. Perfect for throwing on her thickest jumper, wrapping up in a scarf, and curling up in bed with a mug of hot cocoa and a good book.
She was on her way to her dorm to do just that when a rough hand slapped itself over her mouth. Before she even had time to scream, she was pulled into an empty classroom, and her mind swirled with thoughts of what her abductor had planned for her.
As the door slammed shut and the hands let go, however, her attacker showed their face, and her fear dissipated, being replaced with annoyance.
"Black," she shouted, wriggling away from him and slapping him on the arm. "What the hell?"
Sirius shushed her. "Keep your voice down!" he whispered. "Were you followed?"
"Followed?" she asked, dumbfounded. "Why the bloody hell would I be followed?"
"We're on a secret, covert mission. Of course, you'd be followed."
Before she could respond, the door swung open, and Peter and James lumbered in, out of breath and not nearly as sneaky as they were likely going for.
"Good, Bandit's here," James heaved. He pulled out his wand, flicking it at the door, and the lock clicked shut. He pulled up a chair and settled it beneath the door handle for good measure.
Sarah felt her heart start to pound, and she suspiciously eyed the boys. She was sure they weren't about to attack her, but as the moments ticked by, this was starting to feel more like a real abduction and less like one of their silly schemes. "What's going on?"
James looked at her blankly, taking in her dishevelled appearance and frightened eyes. Putting two and two together, he turned to Sirius with a glare. "You didn't tell her?"
"I was about to," Sirius said with childlike indignation.
"Merlin, Padfoot," James said, running an exasperated hand through his hair. "You can't just go kidnapping girls without telling them what's what."
"I didn't kidnap her," Sirius snapped.
"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Sarah shouted.
All three of them shushed her.
"Operation Rema," James said. "Sirius was supposed to tell you to meet us here," he shot Sirius another glare, who stuck his tongue out in return, "but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt here and say he forgot."
"Oh, perfect!" Sarah brightened, forgetting completely to be annoyed with Sirius' so-called forgetfulness. "Have you got a plan yet?"
Sirius let out a condescending snort. "Oh, I've got a plan, all right. I'm Sirius Black. I've always got a plan."
"Oh, just spit it out, showboat," James said, rolling his eyes and hopping up onto one of the empty tables. Peter attempted the same but ended up hitting his bum on the corner. He pulled up a chair, instead, rubbing his sore behind.
Sirius pulled out a parchment from his cloak, slamming it onto the table. "Voila. Operation Rema."
Sarah peered at the parchment. "Mission one," she read aloud, "Recon. Mission two, laying the groundwork."
"Again," Peter snorted.
Sarah looked up with a confused frown. "What do you mean, again?"
As Peter sputtered a response, Sirius shot him a dirty glare. "He means, all good plans have recon and groundwork. Keep reading, Hughes," he added, giving Peter one last pointed look.
"Mission three, battle of the snowballs. Mission four, invasion of the frozen lake. Mission five, capture of the tower." She looked up at Sirius. "That's it? We have a few snowball fights and go ice skating, and they're suddenly a couple?"
"Oh, ye of little faith," Sirius said, shaking his head in disappointment. "My plans never fail, Hughes."
"Your last plan got you in quarantine for three days," Peter sniggered.
"Yes, but it also got Evans there, too, so did it really fail?" Sirius asked with a patronising smirk.
"Yes," James and Peter said in unison, wiping the smirk from Sirius' face with a single word.
"Just… tell me a bit more," Sarah said before they could begin an argument. "What are we doing on these missions?"
"We begin with a little recon." Sirius began. "Gathering the necessary information. Lucky for you, we've already got that covered." At that point, James reached into his bag, pulling out a small brown book and tossing it to Sarah.
"Anna's gift to Remus," he said. Sarah admired the leather-bound book, running her fingers over the small engraving of a moon on the cover.
"Aw," she said with a smile. "She got him a journal." She paused, and her smile fell as her eyes snapped to Sirius. "Wait. Did you steal this?"
Sirius shrugged. "Borrowed."
Sarah groaned. "You're a horrible person."
"Oi," Sirius cried. "I did it to help my friend find love!"
"Did you read what he's written?" At his silence, Sarah let out an unimpressed laugh. "Like I said, horrible."
"We only looked for anything he wrote about Anna," James jumped in. "There wasn't much, but he did mention that he admires her 'tenacity,' whatever the fuck that means."
"That better have been all you read." Sarah chucked the journal back to James. "All right, mission one, steal the journal—complete. What's next?"
Sirius grinned, eager to explain his masterfully crafted plan. As he laid out the details, Sarah found herself nodding along, impressed with the simple ingenuity of it all. A few well-orchestrated meet-ups, a couple of subtle hints, and bam!, they're planning their wedding. It was all very clever, and she had a feeling that this wasn't his first matchmaking plan. She wondered vaguely who he'd worked his magic on before. It certainly couldn't have been her. That was a monstrous disaster. But this…there was no way this could fail.
"So," Sirius said after he'd finished laying out the plan. "What do you think?"
Sarah thought for a moment. "Gentlemen, I think this just might work."
"Excellent," James and Peter said with a high-five, while Sirius gave Sarah a toothy grin.
"Operation Rema is a go."
Mission: Laying the Groundwork
Tuesday, 07:00, Corridor outside the Great Hall
"All right, gentlemen," Sirius said, huddling around his small group. At Sarah's ahem, he added, "and ladies." With her nod of approval, he continued. "Today we start our groundwork. Agent Bandit, Agent Coco," he nodded to Sarah and Gretchen, "lay as many hints as you can about Remus. We'll do the same about Anna." He nodded to James, Peter, and himself. "If there's any partner work, do what you can to get them together. We want them to have as much contact as possible, so if you see an opportunity, take it."
"What if we seem too obvious?" Gretchen asked.
"All the better," James said. "If they think we're trying to get them together, it'll only put the idea in their minds."
"Right," Sirius nodded. "And that's the whole point of our first mission. To get the idea out there." As the halls slowly started to fill up, Sirius pulled them in closer. "Okay, you lot ready?" They nodded. "Let's go."
Tuesday, 09:00, Herbology
"That's too much dragon dung," Anna said, scooping a bit of the muck out of the pot she shared with Gretchen. "The poor things are practically screaming."
"They're fine," Gretchen said, scooping the muck back in. "They're looking too skinny, anyway."
"They don't eat it," Anna huffed, scooping the muck out once more. "They live in it."
"They do too eat it," Gretchen snapped, scooping it in yet again.
"Hey, guys," Sarah cut in, giving Gretchen a firm glare. "You know who's looking absolutely adorable today? Remus."
"Oh, yeah," Gretchen said, remembering their mission and letting Anna scoop out the excess dragon dung. "Look, he's got a bit of dirt on his cheek."
"Isn't he fetching, Anna?" Sarah asked, ever-so-subtly leaning on the table and gazing intently at Anna, searching for any sign of a blush.
Anna glanced briefly at Remus, quickly averting her eyes and returning to her pot. "He looks normal," she muttered.
"He looks better than normal," Gretchen said with a cheeky wink.
"Can we get back to our Screechsnap, please?" Anna bit out, but Sarah was pleased to note the hint of pink rising up her friend's neck. As Anna glared down at her pot, ignoring her roommates, Sarah glanced over at Sirius. The two locked eyes, and Sarah gave him a small thumbs-up. He returned it with a wink.
Tuesday, 15:00, History of Magic
"In 1754, Hurp of the Thwalup colony was born. He was the smallest of his siblings, Gurp, Thurp, and Purp, but he would go on to lead the colony to victory in the Battle of 1835. In his early years…"
As Professor Binns continued to drone on, his students contented themselves with napping, munching on contraband snacks, or writing notes to one another. Among the first group was James, snoring softly; among the second group was Peter, nibbling away at a stolen tart; among the latter group was Sirius and Remus, though Remus was one of the few students listening to their professor, resulting in barely-legible notes, both in his notebook and on the parchment Sirius continued to slide over to him. After a few minutes, he gave up on taking notes on their magical heritage and gave in to Sirius' relentlessness.
No, I can't go out tonight. I promised Lily I'd help her study for Transfiguration.
Since when does that girl need help studying?
Apparently, a dog ate her notes. (Insert disapproving glare)
A dog? At Hogwarts? Nonsense. (Insert innocent puppy eyes)
Puppy eyes, indeed.
Speaking of going out…
Is this your way of telling me you're gay?
Sorry, Moons, I'm afraid I'm much too taken by the seductivity of feminine wiles.
I'm pretty sure seductivity isn't a word.
It's definitely a word.
I'm pretty sure it's no—
As I was saying. SPEAKING OF GOING OUT. Have you heard if Anna is single?
Anna?
You know, Sarah's roommate.
Yes, I know who Anna is. Why are you asking? You're not thinking of adding her to your little bet, are you?
Please, I've got my hands full with Hughes.
So, why are you asking?
Just wondering. She's quite easy on the eyes, right?
She's nice, yes.
I said nice-looking, Remus.
I can read, thank you.
You know…I heard she has a thing for brown-haired boys with cardigans, scratches, and fetching little dimples.
Moony?
Moooooooony.
We're in class. I'm trying to take notes.
Sirius grinned, slipping the parchment away and joining James in a well-deserved snooze.
Wednesday, 13:00, Divination
"Drinking tea is the best part of this class," Gretchen said, sipping her Earl Grey leisurely, making no effort to hurry to the leaf-reading portion of the class.
"Call me treasonous," Anna said, downing her tea as quickly as possible, "but I much prefer a good coffee."
"Damn Yankee," Sarah muttered with a grin. "What do your leaves say? I'm apparently going to…either have a lover or a dog, I'm not sure."
"Maybe you'll have a dog for a lover," Gretchen laughed.
"Don't be crude," Anna sneered before staring intently at her leaves. "I'm not sure. Does that look like a cloud or an owl to you?"
Sarah peered into the cup. It was very clearly an owl, but that wouldn't help with the mission, now would it? "I dunno, Anna, I think it looks more like a horse."
"A horse?" Gretchen perked up, catching on to Sarah's game. "You know what that means, eh?"
"I'm going on an adventure?" Anna asked, flipping through the book in search of the meaning.
"It means a lover is on the way," Sarah supplied with a wink in Gretchen's direction.
Anna scoffed. "Please, I don't have time for that."
"Oh?" Gretchen asked. "Not even if it were a brown-haired, cardigan-wearing lion boy?"
Anna mumbled out a response, but Sarah didn't need to hear what she said. She and Gretchen both caught sight of their blushing friend peering a bit more closely at her cup, and that told them everything they needed to know.
Thursday, 10:30, Open corridor, Third floor
As the first morning lessons let out, the corridor slowly filled with students, rushing to their next class, the toilets, or their dorms for a quick nap. As Sarah, Gretchen, and Anna joined the throng, Sarah casually glanced around the corridor. To the untrained eye, one would think she was simply curious who was there. But Gretchen knew what she was searching for.
When they turned the corner, they spotted it—a mop of messy hair bobbing alongside its mousy-brown, neatly combed partner. With a glance at each other, Gretchen and Sarah hurried along toward the two boys, dragging the oblivious Anna along.
"I'm just saying," she gabbed away, "it's ridiculous that we're expected to have our entire lives planned out before we're even of age! I mean, shouldn't we get a chance to explore? To see the world? To find ourselves?"
"You're absolutely right," Gretchen agreed, completely out of character for her. But today, they couldn't afford an argument. They had a plan to put into action.
While Anna continued, arguing on deaf ears, the three girls finally reached their target. Just a few steps away were Sirius and Remus, deep in conversation. Or so it would appear. Sirius' gaze connected with Sarah's, and the two of them gave each other a slight nod before executing the plan. In unison, the two of them accidentally nudged their friends, sending Remus and Anna crashing into one another.
"Oh, bollocks," Remus muttered, righting himself and grabbing hold of Anna before she could tumble to the ground. "Are you all right?"
"I would be if you would get your hands—" Anna stopped her tirade as she realised who was holding her. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. Thanks, Remus."
They stood there, surrounded by the sea of students, his hands still holding onto her arms. "Guess we should watch where we're going, huh?"
"Yeah," she said with a breathy laugh. "Sorry 'bout that."
"No worries," he said, finally letting go. "See you in class?"
"Yep, sure."
With a final smile, the two of them parted ways, and Remus immediately began laying into Sirius for tripping him.
Thursday, 13:00, Potions
The moment Slughorn called for his students to pair up, there was a mad dash as friend grabbed friend. But for some of the students, it was a mad dash to get away from their friends. Sirius was quick to latch onto Sarah; Peter grabbed hold of Gretchen, who was only slightly reluctant to agree; and James rushed over to Lily, only to be shoved away, after which point he grabbed the nearest partnerless Gryffindor. By the time everyone had a partner, Anna and Remus were left alone, awkwardly shuffling over to their table and giving each other small smiles.
"Looks like everyone ditched us," Remus said, trying to act as casual as possible.
"Horrible friends, we have," Anna chuckled, slipping into her seat and avoiding prolonged eye contact.
"Will you look at that?" Sirius grinned from the back of the room, excitedly clutching onto Sarah's arm.
"I'm looking," Sarah said with a small smirk. "I gotta say, this plan of yours is actually going pretty well."
"You sound surprised," Sirius said, equal parts offended and proud.
"Not because it's not a brilliant plan," Sarah said, knowingly stroking the boy's ego. "I just wasn't expecting anything to work. Anna isn't the most romance-oriented person."
"What, so she's never had a boyfriend?" Sirius asked.
"No. She's fancied a few guys, not that she'd admit it…she's just got a complicated history with the whole romance thing."
"How so?"
"Oh, you know," Sarah said, waving a flippant hand. "Family stuff. Our parents always manage to fuck us up in some way."
Sirius was quiet for a moment. He was certainly interested in hearing more, but he knew Sarah well enough to know that she wouldn't just blurt out her friend's personal history. He decided to drop it, turning his attention instead to the love-birds at the front of the class.
"Well, looks like they're getting along," he said, nodding to the two of them. As Sarah watched Anna giggling at something Remus said, Sarah grabbed hold of Sirius' hand with an iron grip.
"She never giggles," she whispered excitedly. "This is fantastic!"
Despite the numbing pain shooting through his arm, he glanced down at her hand and smiled.
Friday, 14:00, Care of Magical Creatures
By the time Care of Magical Creatures rolled around, Anna was practically as red as a tomato every time she so much as looked at Remus. And, though he was better at hiding it, Remus seemed to be just as embarrassed to be around her.
As the students gathered around to listen to Professor Kettleburn, who was holding a serpentine creature and speaking quietly so as not to spook the thing, Sirius saddled up to Sarah. "Cover me," he whispered, pulling out his wand.
With as much nonchalance as she could manage, Sarah stepped in front of Sirius, hiding him from any curious onlookers. Sticking his wand around her hip, he pointed it at the Ashwinder, giving it a small shock of magic. The serpent jolted, hissing at the crowd of students.
Anna, who was absolutely petrified of snakes, as Sarah had informed them, shrieked as the creature continued its angry hissing. Despite its complete harmlessness, she jumped, grabbing onto the person next to her, who just happened to be Remus. While Kettleburn calmed the irritated beast, Anna let out a relieved sigh.
"Not a fan of snakes, I take it," Remus said with an amused glance at her hand, which she somehow managed to forget to remove from his arm.
"Not exactly," she said with a nervous chuckle. She followed his gaze and jumped back, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry."
Remus tried to hide his shy smile. "Not a problem."
Sarah couldn't help but notice that, for the rest of the class, Remus seemed to be absentmindedly touching his arm where Anna had grabbed him.
Mission: Battle of the Snowballs
Sunday, 08:00, Corridor outside the Great Hall
Bright and early Sunday morning, Sarah and Gretchen snuck out of their dorm room, leaving the sleeping Anna behind and giggling their way to the Great Hall, where they met Sirius, James, and Peter.
"Morning, ladies," Sirius said, nodding to the girls.
"That's Sergeant Sarah and Chief Inspector Gretchen, to you," Gretchen said with a smirk.
With a perturbed scoff, Sarah asked, "Excuse me, why are you higher than me?"
"Oh, is Chief Inspector higher? I had no idea," Gretchen replied, feigning ignorance.
"What if I want to be Chief Inspector?" James jumped in.
"It doesn't matter," Sirius said, "because I'm Chief Inspector in this operation. You lot are just Constables."
"What?" the three would-be Inspectors cried in unison. Peter stood beside them, not at all following the different rankings.
"The whole operation was my idea," Sirius informed them. "I completed recon, I came up with the missions—"
"You wouldn't have come up with the ideas if it weren't for me," Sarah said. "I'm the one who said we should get them together in the first place.
"Fine," Sirius sighed. "I'm Chief, and you can be Inspector. Happy?"
"I suppose that'll do," Sarah sighed.
"Great, now that we have the rankings figured out—"
"What about me?" Gretchen complained.
"—it's time to move on to the next mission," Sirius continued, blatantly ignoring Gretchen's incensed pout. "The Battle of the Snowballs."
"What's the plan, o' Cap-e-tan?" James said, giving himself a self-satisfied smile for his rhyme.
Pausing just long enough to give James a proud nod, Sirius dived in. "It begins after lunch. Sarah, Gretchen, you'll suggest a leisurely stroll along the grounds. We'll do the same with Remus. Then, we will just happen to bump into each other. What a coincidence! We'll chat for a spell, then I'll ever-so-casually suggest a snowball fight. We split up into teams—Anna and Remus, obviously, and then—I don't know—Gretchen and James, and me and Sarah."
"What about me?" Peter asked.
"You'll be the referee." He forged on before Peter could object. "Once they're alone behind their fort, the excitement of war will work its magic. All we have to do is sit back, and wait for them to have their moment."
"What moment?" Gretchen asked.
"You know…" Sirius gestured vaguely with his hands. "Their moment. They're sitting behind their snow wall, the snowballs are flying in all directions, they could die at any moment! But then…they lock eyes, and the fear of death will spur them forward, their lips inches away—"
"Okay," James cut him off. "We get the picture. They're alone, they'll…got it."
Sirius gave James an amused glance—for such a hopeless romantic, it was so easy to make that boy squirm. Lucky for James, Sarah jumped in, saving him from Sirius' onslaught of teasing.
"It sounds like a solid plan, but how do we know it'll work? They'll be alone. We won't exactly be able to…" She trailed off, pushing two imaginary heads together, her lips scrunched in a concentrated frown. "You know…make the moment happen."
"Trust in the plan, Hughes," Sirius said. "We've done the recon, we've laid the groundwork—we just have to believe in the plan, and it won't fail us."
"That's a lot of confidence for someone who's plans have a fifty per cent success rate," James muttered.
"Oh, here comes Anna," Sirius said, nodding to the end of the hall. "Fuck, we look too suspicious. You all know the plan. See you after lunch. Scatter!"
As the lot of them darted into the Great Hall to avoid being spotted, James slipped into his customary seat beside Sirius. "You've put a lot of thought into that moment of yours," he said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "You sure this plan is meant for Anna and Remus?"
"Of course," Sirius shrugged, piling his plate with toast and sausage. "Who else would it be for?"
"Oh, I don't know. A certain yellow-clad Inspector, perhaps?" James said, wiggling his eyebrows.
Sirius was quiet for a moment, lightly unfolding his napkin and placing it delicately in his lap. When he was settled, he turned to James with a pleasant smile. "I may have a secondary goal for this plan."
"Knew it," James snorted.
"You know, Jimothy," Sirius said, condescension seeping from his voice. "You might want to step up your game. At the rate you're going, you'll never get Evans to say yes, let alone before the end of the bet."
"I'll have you know," James snapped, pointing his fork at Sirius and flinging eggs across the table, "that Lily-Flower is totally falling for me. Just yesterday, she asked me how I was. And she hasn't slapped me once since we've been back! Now, that's what I call progress!"
Sirius smirked. "Progress, indeed."
Sunday, 13:00, Hufflepuff dormitory
"Oh, I am stuffed," Gretchen sighed, giving her belly a pat.
"Me, too," Sarah said. "Why don't we go for a walk, try to work off that food?"
"Great idea, Sarah," Gretchen said, just a bit too enthusiastically. Sarah shot her a look, silently urging her to tone it down.
"You two go ahead," Anna said, flopping down on her bed. "I'm ready for a nap."
Sarah and Gretchen shared a panicked look.
"Come on, Anna," Sarah said, her nerves slipping through her words. "It's a beautiful day! The sun is shining, the snow has finally stopped falling. It's the perfect day for a stroll!"
"Maybe later," Anna said, sleep already creeping into her voice as she slipped off her shoes.
Thinking quickly, Gretchen spoke up. "Merlin, you're the laziest person I've ever met."
Anna shot up, all sleep gone from her eyes. "Excuse me? I'm the least lazy person on this planet!"
"Really?" Gretchen asked, rolling with it. Sarah couldn't help but be impressed by how quickly she jumped into the role of the antagonist. Of course, she'd had plenty of practice. "Because only a lazy person would go to sleep right after food."
"I'll show you," Anna mumbled, shoving her feet back into her shoes, not bothering to slip them over her heels properly. "Fucking lazy, my arse."
Sarah and Gretchen shared a surprised smile as they followed their furious friend. Well, that was easier than expected. She just hoped Sirius would have as much luck with Remus.
Sunday, 13:00, Gryffindor dormitory
"I could use a walk," Sirius said.
"Me, too," Remus said. "Round the lake?"
"Sounds good," James said.
Sunday, 13:10, Clock tower courtyard
While Anna and Gretchen bickered away, still dead-set on proving to the other who was lazier, Sarah scanned the grounds. With no sign of her matchmaking cohorts, she was beginning to worry that perhaps they hadn't managed to convince Remus to take a stroll. It was rather cold out. Maybe Remus had grabbed a seat by the fire, hot cocoa in hand, and their mission would be thwarted before it even began.
She needn't have worried, however, for as the three girls rounded the corner to head out onto the grounds, they nearly collided head-first with four laughing boys.
"Well, lookie here!" Sirius beamed as the groups righted themselves. "If it isn't my favourite Hufflepuffs."
"Hello, boys," Sarah said, noting the slight blush that was slowly working its way up Anna's cheeks and Remus' casual glancing at anything but Anna. "Enjoying your Sunday?"
"Quite," James said, giving the girls a cordial smile. "But, you know, I'm feeling quite bored. Sirius, have you got any ideas?"
"As a matter of fact, James, I do!" Sirius responded, his eyes widening as if he'd suddenly come up with a brilliant thought. "What do you say to a snowball fight?"
"That is a brilliant idea!" Peter squeaked.
"A snowball fight sounds marvellous," James grinned.
"Could be fun," Remus smiled.
"Ladies, would you like to join us?" Sirius asked.
"We'd love to," Sarah said before Anna could even begin to weasel her way out of it. "Right?"
"Absolutely!" Gretchen said.
At Anna's silence, Sirius opened his mouth to speak up, but surprisingly, Remus beat him to it. "Anna? You in?"
"Sure," Anna forced out, giving him a shy smile.
As they all made their way down to the grounds by the lake, Anna pulled Sarah to the side. "I think I might sit this one out," she whispered. "I'm not a fan of the cold."
"You're not sitting anything out, missy," Sarah hissed. "And you love the cold."
"Look, I just don't want to play in the snow, okay?" Anna snapped, her voice starting to rise before she caught herself. "I don't see why it's such a big deal."
Sarah paused. She'd been debating telling Anna about their plan since it began. She would certainly be furious if she didn't know that they were plotting her matchmaking behind her back. But if she told her, she could easily become enraged and storm off, refusing to speak to Remus ever again simply out of principle.
She had to tread lightly.
"It's a big deal," Sarah said emphatically, "because this is the perfect opportunity for you and Remus to hang out."
Anna froze in her steps, staring at Sarah with narrowed eyes. "And why would I want to hang out with Remus?"
"Anna," Sarah sighed, tugging her friend along before they fell too far behind the group. "I know you like him."
"I do not!" she shouted, snapping her mouth shut as the others looked back at her. "I do not!" she hissed quietly.
"Anna, come off it. I know you sent him a present for Christmas. I know you were writing him letters. And I saw you two at the ball."
"So? We're friends. Friends send presents and write letters and…and for your information, nothing happened at the ball."
"So, you don't like him?"
"Absolutely not."
"Well, according to Sirius, he likes you."
Anna bit her lip. "Did…did he say that?"
Sarah swallowed her smirk. "Not in so many words. But they're practically brothers. Trust me, he'd know."
As they came upon the Great Lake, Anna asked quietly, "Do you really think he likes me?"
Sarah tossed an arm over Anna's shoulders. "I'm certain of it. And this is your opportunity to show him that you like him, too."
Sunday, 13:20, Grounds beside the Great Lake
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," Sirius called, opening his arms wide and giving a little twirl, "to the Great Snow War of '76!"
The participants gave each other confused looks before breaking into scattered applause.
"I thought this was just a snowball fight," Gretchen whispered to Sarah.
"Don't worry," James cut in. "It won't be a real war. He's just a drama queen." At Sirius' pointed cough, he corrected himself. "Sorry, drama king."
Sirius gave James an appreciative nod before continuing. "We will now break into teams. I will pick the teams at random." He closed his eyes, placing two fingers on the bridge of his eyes and waving his arm around as if trying to randomly select the teammates. "Gretchen and James, Sarah and me, and Remus and—"
"I'll partner with Remus!" Peter called.
Everyone but Remus, who appeared slightly disappointed, looked at Peter with murder in their eyes.
"But then, what's Anna going to do?" Sirius said lowly, trying not to strangle Peter.
"She can be referee," Peter grinned.
Thinking quickly, Gretchen spoke up. "I'll be referee. The cold is bad for my skin, anyway."
"Perfect," Sirius said, clapping his hands together and shooting Gretchen a grateful wink. "So, since James is without a partner now, Peter can work with James, and—oh, I guess that leaves Anna and Remus. Okay, we each get five minutes to get ready. Make your forts and gather your ammunition. Ready, go!"
The respective partners approached one another, with Gretchen slamming her shoulder into Peter's as she made her way to the outer edge of the war zone.
"Quick thinking on Gretchen's part, eh?" Sirius said as Sarah stepped up beside him. "She's a smart one, she is."
"Yeah, very smart," Sarah mumbled, feeling a twinge of…something in her stomach as he praised her. She decided to change the subject. "So, let's get started on that fort of ours."
"Way ahead of you, Hughes," Sirius said, pulling out his wand and giving it a dramatic flourish. Instantly, the snow around them packed together, growing and growing until a waist-high wall separated them from the other two teams.
"Not bad," Sarah nodded, admiring his handiwork. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've done this before."
"I may have," Sirius said with a grin. "Help me make some snowballs, will you? We need as many as we can. I'm not about to lose to a sorry lot like this."
Once the two of them had finished forming as many snowballs as they could, they had amassed three decent-sized piles. While Sirius looked down at the perfectly-round ammunition, Sarah glanced over at Anna and Remus.
"Look," she whispered, nudging his arm. He turned, only to find that the two of them were quietly gathering their own snowballs, their heads bent close together, and their smiles clearly visible. As Remus said something, Anna laughed, sending a puff through the air.
"Oh, this is the best plan I've ever had," Sirius said quietly, stepping closer to Sarah to get a better look. The two of them watched the quiet couple for a brief moment, their arms just barely touching. Sarah felt his warmth radiating through her cloak, sending a wave of unease through her. She stepped away, tearing her gaze away from her friend.
"We should get started, no?"
"Right, right," Sirius said, seemingly unfazed. "All right, everyone, wands down! From this point forward, there will be no magic. Just good ol' muggle snowballing. Gentleman, you already know the rules. For our newcomers, you can come out of your fort at any time, and you can enter another team's fort if you wish. But be warned. If you're hit below the neck, you're out. If you're hit above the neck, the person who threw the snowball is out. Once you're out, you stand with Gretchen. Gretchen, as the referee, you determine who's out, you call fouls—all of that good stuff. So, you best watch closely."
"Oh, I will," Gretchen said, starring daggers at Peter.
"Good," Sirius sniggered. "All right, last player standing wins. Everyone ready?" At the chorus of readys, Sirius turned to Gretchen. "Ref? Would you do the honours of counting us down?"
"With pleasure," Gretchen said. "Ready…steady…go!"
And the war began.
The first snowball was thrown by James. Swinging his arm back, he chucked it toward Sirius, aiming for the stomach. Sirius dodged it with ease, ducking below the fort, leaving the snowball to fly past and disappear in the snow behind him.
"Get ready, Hughes," Sirius said, loading himself up with an armful of snowballs. "I beat James last time, so he's out for my blood."
"He won't get any," Sarah said, picking up only two snowballs. "I've got your back."
Sirius paused, giving her a warm smile. "I knew I picked the right partner."
Before she could respond, he crept up, poking his head above the fort. He ducked a moment later, instantly jumping back when the snowball whizzed past. Without missing a beat, he lobbed three snowballs in a row toward Remus' fort. There was a cry of surprise and a curse thrown Sirius' way.
"Black, you prick!" Anna called, and Sarah couldn't help but laugh. She poked her head up to see that a corner of Anna and Remus' fort had collapsed from the onslaught of Sirius' snowballs.
"Why'd you do that?" Sarah laughed. "Don't we want them in the game?"
"Sure," Sirius said, ducking down again. "Just trying to make their fort smaller. Less room equals closer proximity."
She gave him an impressed nod. "You really have thought of everything," she praised.
For the next half-hour, snowball after snowball flew through the air. Peter was the first to be eliminated—after a mere ten minutes—but by whose ball, Sarah couldn't say. She had a sneaking suspicion that their bitter referee had thrown the fatal ball, and Gretchen's satisfied smile only convinced her further. But the realisation that she now had to stand around with Peter for the foreseeable future wiped the smile from her face in an instant.
James' fort was all but obliterated, but he was holding his own, at least for now. Anna and Remus seemed to be taking the strategic approach, lurking just above the wall and throwing a ball only when someone else had stood. Sirius and Sarah, however, were nearly out of ammunition, thanks to Sirius' demolition of James' fort.
"Quick, we need to make a few more," Sirius said, his hair plastered to his forehead with sweat and melted snow. While Sarah quickly began balling up the snow around them, Sirius stood, aiming a snowball at James' torso. There was a whoosh!, followed by a thwack!, and Sirius fell to the ground. Surprised, Sarah looked at the fallen boy. His chest was covered in powdery white—Remus had hit his target.
"Sarah?" Sirius said weakly, his eyes nearly closed and his hand outstretched as if seeking someone, anyone.
"Oh, no," Sarah said, forlorn but still packing together more snowballs. "You're out."
"Sarah…come closer," Sirius whispered.
Sarah smirked, catching on to his little performance, and abandoned her task, crawling on her knees until she crouched next to him. Deciding to take up the role of the heartbroken comrade in arms, she cradled his head in her lap.
"Don't you die on me," she whispered.
"I can't…go on…" he wheezed. "But…before I go…will you do…one thing…for me?"
"Anything," she said. She bit back her smile, struggling and failing to keep up with the charade.
"One…last…kiss…for a dying man?" he breathed. Sarah could just about catch the mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Well," she said, pretending to think it over. "I suppose, for a dying man."
His eyes widened in shock briefly—he hadn't actually expected that to work—before he composed himself once more. He closed his eyes, leaning his chin up slightly. He could feel her breath on his lips, feel his heart pounding in anticipation. He leaned closer, expecting to feel her lips on his at any second…
He was met with a face-full of snow. He sputtered, opening his eyes to see her wiping her gloved hands together to remove the snow, her face bright with a self-satisfied smirk.
"Hughes!" he coughed, spitting out the snow. "What'd you do that for?"
She shrugged. "Funny."
Sirius glared at her for a moment, and then his glare turned to a smile as he looked behind her. "Yeah, well, I don't think you'll find that funny."
Sarah frowned in confusion and turned. Standing in front of her, separated only by the short snow wall, were James, Remus, and Anna, each of them holding a snowball and looking at Sarah with victorious smiles.
"Erm," she said.
"While you two were doing…whatever that was," Anna said, gesturing to the two of them, "we were forming an alliance."
"Oh," Sarah mumbled, glancing back at Sirius. "Oh," she repeated louder when she realised that the alliance included everyone but her. "Hey, guys, we can work something out, right?"
"Not a chance, Hughes," James said, grinning like a madman.
"Sorry, Sarah," Remus said without an ounce of remorse.
She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. A moment later, she hit the ground beside Sirius.
Mission: Invasion of the Frozen Lake
Wednesday, 13:55, First-floor corridor
"You've done excellent work, Inspector Hughes," Sirius said. He and Sarah stood together in the empty corridor, just outside of view from any surveying professors. It was dangerous work, bunking off class, and they couldn't be too careful.
"Thank you, Chief Inspector Black," Sarah said with a slight bow. "So, what's the plan?"
"At the end of this corridor, we have target one: Anna Michaels. And just one floor below, we have target two: Remus Lupin. In exactly five minutes, our targets are going to come out of those rooms. James and Peter have target two covered, but it's up to us to get target one."
"And how are we going to do that?" Sarah asked. "I couldn't even convince Gretchen to skip class, and she knows about the plan. Not sure how we're going to get Anna to come."
"Oh, that's simple." Sirius smirked. "We're not going to give her a choice."
Sarah narrowed her eyes. "That sounds ominous."
"Just follow my lead, Hughes," Sirius said, glancing out into the corridor at the sound of the doors opening. "It's go time."
Wednesday, 14:00, Corridor outside History of Magic classroom
As the corridors slowly began to flood with students, Sarah and Sirius weaved their way over to their target. Once they spotted her, they pounced.
"Hey, Howlett," Sirius said, grabbing Anna by the arm, with Sarah taking latching on to her other arm.
"Who's Howlett?" Anna asked, only slightly resisting their pulling.
"You are," Sarah said. "Remember? We've all got code names now."
"Oh, yeah, that Brotherhood thing," Anna mumbled.
"I think you mean Siblinghood," came a voice from behind. Sarah and Sirius halted their kidnapping and turned to see Lily Evans standing just behind them, hands folded, eyebrow raised, and foot tapping.
"Oh, hey, Spitfire," Sirius said with a convivial smile.
"Where are you going?" Lily asked. "We've got Defence next. And I just happened to notice you're going the wrong way."
"Change of plans, Spitty," Sirius said, moving once more. "We've got a top-secret Siblinghood mission to take care of."
"Oh?" Lily said, rushing after them. "And what mission would that be?"
"Did you not hear the 'top-secret' part?"
"I did, but as a member of the Siblinghood, shouldn't I be a part of this mission?"
Sirius paused for a moment, thinking it over. "I suppose you should. But you'll have to bunk off Defence." He shot her a look over his shoulder. "And I don't know if you'd be up for that."
Lily bristled. "I'm up for anything."
Sirius smirked. "Good."
"Do I not get a say in this?" Anna said, struggling slightly in their hold.
"Nope," Sirius and Sarah said in unison.
Anna sighed, abandoning her quest to get out of their grasp, and let herself be dragged down the hall.
Wednesday, 14:15, Pumpkin patch
As the four of them came upon the pumpkin patch, they were greeted by James, Peter, and Remus.
"Ah, there you are," James said. His eyes widened at the sight of Lily. "And you've brought a guest."
"Well, it's Siblinghood business," Lily said haughtily. "I thought I should be involved."
"Siblinghood?" Remus asked with a confused frown, turning to James. "You said Hagrid asked us to help him in the Forest."
"Erm," James faltered. "Right, right, that's the Siblinghood business. He asked us to help, so we figured it was a task for the Siblinghood."
"Right," Lily said, crossing her arms, clearly not buying it. "And what exactly does he need our help with?"
"Well, you'll just have to come see, won't you?" Sirius said.
"Wait, we're going into the forest?" Sarah asked, giving Sirius a look that told him she was not pleased to have been kept ignorant on that little fact.
"We can't go in there," Anna said. "It's the Forbidden Forest. As in, do not enter."
"That just call it that to keep the first years out," Sirius said, waving a hand. "We've been in loads of times, and it's perfectly safe. Isn't it, boys?"
"I wouldn't exactly call it safe," Remus pipped up. "Last time, Peter nearly got himself trampled by the Centaurs."
"Well, yeah," James rolled his eyes. "But that was only because he tried to steal their food."
"It looked good," Peter mumbled.
"But as long as you stick with us," James said, "you'll all be fine."
"What do you say, girls? Are you in?" Sirius said, giving the three of them a challenging look.
Sarah shared a look with Lily and Anna, the three of them trying to mask their apprehension.
"Well, if it's for Hagrid," Lily said with a shrug, "I suppose we ought to go."
"If Lily's in, I'm in," Sarah said. "Anna?"
Anna gulped, staring at the trees. Remus stepped up beside her. "Hey," he said, gently brushing her arm. "It's fine. We won't go anywhere dangerous, and if things get too bad, we'll come right out. Right?" He turned to Sirius.
"Absolutely," Sirius promised.
Anna stared at Remus for a moment before letting out a big sigh. "All right, I'm in."
Wednesday, 14:30, Clearing in Forbidden Forest
After a quick, quiet, and mildly-unnerving walk through the Forest, the group of rebellious students arrived at a small clearing, the centre of which held a small frozen lake.
"Here we are, ladies and gentlemen," Sirius said with a flourish of his hand. "The secret lake of the Forest."
"This is what Hagrid wanted help with?" Lily deadpanned. "What does he want us to do? Break the ice? Go fishing?" She huffed. "I can't believe I skipped class for this nonsense."
"Actually, Evans," Sirius spat, "Hagrid doesn't want us to do anything. We found the lake and thought it would be a nice surprise to let you girls come skating with us. But if you're too good for ice skating, then you're more than welcome to go back to the castle."
Lily bit the inside of her mouth, her lips scrunching up in annoyance. "Well, you could have just said."
"And spoil the surprise?" Sirius grinned, his irritation at Lily's lack of gratitude evaporating instantly. He reached into his bag, pulling out a few doll-sized ice skates. With a flick of his wand, the skates returned to their normal size, falling from his palm and into the snow-covered grass.
"I think I'll pass," Anna said as the others began collecting a pair of skates. "I'm not much for ice skating."
"Oh, come on, Anna," Sarah said, leaning against a tree and replacing her shoes with the skates. "It'll be fun!"
"Yeah, you don't want to just watch us skate, do you?" Sirius said, plopping in the snow, caring little about ruining his trousers.
"It's okay," Remus spoke up. "I can sit with her. I'm not much in the mood for skating, myself."
Sarah and Sirius shared a look and gave each other a minute shrug. Not quite the plan, but at least they would be together.
"If you insist," Sirius said, standing up and wobbling his way over to the ice.
As Remus and Anna dried off a patch of grass on which to sit, and Lily, James, Peter, and Sirius made their way onto the ice, Sarah stood at the edge of the lake, looking at the ice hesitantly. Sirius, noticing her absence, made his way over to her.
"Let me guess," he said. "You don't know how to skate?"
She gave him a sheepish smile. "Roller skating, yes. Ice skating, not quite."
Sirius smiled, holding out his hand. "Come on, I'll teach you."
With her hands holding his, she took a tentative step onto the ice, wobbling slightly as the blade connected with the slippery surface. Sirius slowly backed his way farther onto the ice, with Sarah clutching his hands for dear life.
"Just go slow," he said softly, staring down at her feet intently. "That's it. Now, bend your knees a bit. Good. Okay, try gliding your foot forward a bit. Just like that, good!"
Slowly, the two of them made their way to the centre of the lake, at which point Sirius let go of one of Sarah's hands, opting to skate along beside her. Little by little, they sped up, until they were gliding around the lake with the ease of—well, a beginner. But Sarah had yet to fall, and she considered that a win.
Around them, Lily and James whizzed past, apparently racing one another. Lily looked behind her, sending James a wicked smirk, and James practically melted then and there. Peter trailed behind the two of them, struggling to catch up, but James cheered him on all the same.
At the edge of the lake, Remus and Anna sat together on the green patch grass, Remus with his legs stretched out in front of him and Anna with her legs curled up under her. The two of them chatted quietly, their breath coming out in small puffs. Anna laughed at something Remus said, and Remus averted his gaze, a small blush colouring his cheeks.
"Looks like they're having a nice time," Sarah said, nodding to the pair at the edge of the lake.
Sirius glanced over at them and smiled. "Good. Shame they're not out here, though. I put a lot of effort into finding this place."
"Well, we're enjoying it at least. And anyway, the plan was just about getting them to talk more. Mission accomplished, I'd say."
"He's quite besotted with her, you know? Every time I mention you, he's always jumping at the chance to talk about her."
Sarah raised a brow. "You mention me a lot, do you?"
Sirius smirked. "You're my favourite topic of conversation."
"Is that so?"
"Of course. You're an utterly fascinating specimen. I mean, you're the first girl to turn me down. Multiple times, at that. You're practically a scientifical discovery."
Sarah laughed. "Thanks, I think. But surely, I can't have been the first to turn you down. You're a complete nuisance at the best of times. I can only imagine what you'd be like on a date."
"Oh? Been thinking about what a date with me would be like, have you?"
Sarah blushed. "Of course, not," she stuttered out. "I just meant—"
"No need to deny it, Hughes," Sirius said with a cheeky grin. "So, go on, what would a date with me be like? According to your imagination."
Sarah rolled her eyes, deciding to play along. "Well, it could go one of two ways. Either you wear much too much cologne, take me to some overly-flashy restaurant with a snooty waiter, and spend the night showing off your purebred manners, making me feel utterly inferior. Or you take me to Zonko's and spend the whole time ignoring me for the various slimes and oozes and whizzing whats-its."
Sirius couldn't help but laugh at that. "Sounds like you really have thought about it. Well, what do you say we put it to the test, eh? See which of those theories pans out?"
Before she had a chance to respond, a bodily lump came barrelling into them, screaming as it went. As their hands separated, Sarah's foot slid out from under her, and she fell to the ice with a great and painful thud. Sirius, stretching his hand out to try to catch her but tumbled down with her, landing on his hands and knees, hovering over her.
"Shit," he said, his breath hitting her face. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," she said, rubbing at her sore behind. As she looked up, realising that his face was mere inches away, she blushed, resisting the urge to scoot closer and, instead, scooting away. "Are you?"
"Yeah, I'm good," he said, a flash of disappointment streaking across his face as she inched away, only to be replaced by annoyance. "Peter!" he called, getting up to his knees. "You great oaf, you nearly killed us!"
The oaf in question had somehow managed to lodge himself into the snow on the bank of the lake, his feet flailing in the air, his entire torso buried in the snow. While Lily and James rushed over to dislodge the boy, Sarah and Sirius awkwardly helped each other up, brushing the flakes of ice from their clothing.
In all of the commotion, no one noticed the couple on the other side of the lake, making snow angels, their hands entwined.
Mission: Capture of the Tower
Friday, 13:00, Library
The library—a fascinating place, filled with students of all kinds. While some sat at the tables, studiously reading their books and taking their notes, others giggled their way through the stacks, being entirely inappropriate, much to the horror of Madam Hinkley. Toward the back of the library, however, were two students, who were neither studying nor canoodling.
"Are you ready, Hughes?" Sirius asked, pulling out two pieces of parchment and two quills. "It's time for Mission Five. The Capture of the Tower—the pièce de résistance. The moment when it all comes to fruition. All of our hard work—paid off.
He slid her one parchment and quill and leaned forward, whispering the plan. Sarah would write a letter to Remus, pretending to be Anna and asking him to meet her at the Astronomy Tower at midnight the next night. Sirius would write an identical letter to Anna, pretending to be Remus, of course. The two secret agents would then arrive at the Astronomy tower before their targets, find a hiding spot, and wait. When Anna and Remus arrived, the oblivious teens would slowly piece together what had happened—that they did not, in fact, send the notes themselves.
"But," Sarah asked, bewildered, "doesn't that defeat the purpose? If they know it's all a setup, then the mission is ruined."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, my beautiful little puffball," Sirius said with a wink. "For, you see, once they realise the truth of what happened, knowing them, they'll try to figure out why we set it all up. And when they talk about why, they'll realise that we want them to be together."
"Ah," Sarah said, her eyes widening with realisation. "And when they realise that we want them to be together, they'll realise that they want to be together, too."
"There's my smart little Bandit," Sirius said, pinching her cheek and earning himself a swat on the arm. "But for this to work, it has to really sound like them. Which is why you're writing Anna's letter, and I'm writing Remus'."
"I have to say," Sarah said, plunging the quill into the ink. "This is just stupid enough to work."
"And that's the mark of a truly brilliant plan."
Saturday, 23:00, Hufflepuff common room
With a quick nod to Gretchen, Sarah slipped out of the common room door. As much as Gretchen wanted to come along and make sure their plan worked out, there was no doubt that Anna would notice if both of her roommates were gone. With a twinge of resentment, Gretchen graciously decided to stay behind and make sure that Sarah could escape without being noticed. Not that it would be that hard, of course.
After sending their letters the day before, they immediately noticed the change in their targets' behaviours. Both Anna and Remus were jittery, red-cheeked, and more than a little awkward. Sarah briefly wondered if perhaps they were nervous because they didn't like each other and were simply worried about turning each other down. But those fears were dashed when she noticed the shy smiles they sent each other all throughout supper.
And so, with ample time to get to the Astronomy Tower and find a hiding place, Sarah stealthily manoeuvred through the corridors, keeping her eyes peeled and her ears open for any lurking Professors. Unfortunately for her, with all of her newfound experience in breaking curfew, she'd become quite cocky. With steps too loud and a wand too bright, she heard the shuffling of feet and the dreaded meow just a second too late. Eyes wide and heart pounding, she turned, coming face-to-face with Madam Grizabella, the resident sentry cat. And where there was Madam Grizabella, Filch was not far behind.
While Madam Grizabella meowed loudly, calling her master, Sarah's eyes darted around the corridor, searching for a place to hide—there was none. Her only option was to make a break for it. Before she had a chance to run, however, she felt a hand grab her wrist, yanking her through a hidden door in the wall and quietly closing it behind her.
In the dark, she could not see her rescuer—or attacker?—but she could hear the gentle shh! that came from their mouth. She decided to take her chances with the stranger, pressing an ear to the door and listening to Filch amble over, calling out to the student who'd now disappeared. She felt the stranger pressing close to her, their breath tickling her cheek, and she was grateful that they couldn't see her, for she was more than certain that her cheeks were all but glowing red.
After a few moments, they heard Filch shuffle away, and the corridor beyond the door was quiet once more.
"That was close," whispered the stranger. Wait a second—she recognised that voice.
"Sirius?" she whispered back.
"Who else?" She could practically hear the smirk in his voice. "You need to work on your stealth skills."
"My stealth skills are just fine, thank you very much," she said, giving his shoulder a shove, though in the small alcove, she wasn't able to push him too far. It was then that she remembered just how close they were, and she cleared her throat. "We should get going."
"Right, hang on." Sirius illuminated his wand, pulling that grubby parchment he was always carrying of his out of his bag. As he scanned it, she noticed the shadows playing on his face, regarded the light shining in his eyes, admired the way his eyelashes brushed against his cheek.
"Okay, looks like we're clear," he said, breaking her out of her little spell. He looked up at her and grinned. "Enjoying the show?"
She bit her lip. Bollocks. She was hoping he hadn't seen her staring. "I was just wondering when the last time you washed your hair was. It's quite oily."
He opened his mouth in offence. "My hair is not oily! It's hydrated."
Sarah smirked. "Sure, it is. Come on, we should go before they get there."
"We've got plenty of time," Sirius said, putting the parchment away. "They haven't even left yet."
She decided not to ask how he knew that and followed him out into the hallway.
Saturday, 23:30, Astronomy Tower
Once the two of them had made it to the top of the Astronomy Tower, Sirius set about moving some of the chairs around. "We've got to find the perfect seat for our little show."
"You make it sound like we're voyeurs," Sarah laughed, helping him move a few of the chairs.
"Hey, there's no shame in voyeurism as long as you own up to it." When he was satisfied with the arrangement, he pulled out the parchment one more time. "All right, Remus is on his way. Come over here."
He sat down on the floor at the other end of the room, completely exposed. Before Sarah could ask where they were meant to hide, he pulled a cloak from his bag and shook it out. He patted the spot next to him with a grin.
"I hate to break it to you," she said, plopping down beside him, "but they're definitely going to see us."
"Not with this, they're not," Sirius said with a wink. "Scoot up." Sarah inched closer but maintained quite a bit of distance between them. With a grand roll of his eyes, he yanked her closer until she was practically sitting in his lap. Before she could protest, he flung the cloak over the two of them, making sure to pull their arms and legs in enough to keep them covered.
Sarah stared at the shimmering fabric, forgetting completely just how close they were once again. "Is this what I think it is?"
"It depends," Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "If you think it's just a very stylish cloak, then no. Although, I couldn't blame you for thinking that. I am quite stylish, after all."
Sarah slapped his arm. "This is an invisibility cloak, isn't it? Merlin, how did you manage to get your hands on one of these? I've only ever heard of the most powerful wizards having them!"
"As much as I would love to accept your praise, I'm afraid it's not mine. James was kind enough to loan it to me for the evening. He got it from his dad, who got it from his dad, and so on. It's quite old, actually. And it's gotten us out of more than a few sticky situations."
Sarah laughed. "You lot are the last people on Earth who should have an invisibility cloak. I can only imagine what you've gotten up to with this."
Sirius chuckled. "Trust me, you can't even imagine what we've gotten up to with this bad boy."
"You're sure they won't be able to see us?" Sarah asked, suddenly nervous that they were too exposed. She could see the entire room and couldn't imagine that no one else could see them.
"Quite sure. As long as we be quiet and don't move too much, we'll be fine. So, keep your hands to yourself, eh, Hughes?" Sirius waggled his eyebrows at her.
Sarah blushed, remembering their proximity. She inched away minutely, but it was difficult to get any space while staying under the cloak. "Same goes for you."
"You know," Sirius said. "You never answered me."
Sarah frowned in confusion. "When?"
"If I remember correctly, you were wondering what a date with me would be like."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "I was not. And you're not getting an answer, anyway."
"Oh, come on, Bandit," he whined. "Don't leave me like this!"
"We're meant to be getting Anna and Remus to go on a date," Sarah laughed. "You are not hijacking this operation for your own means!"
Sirius heaved a great sigh. "You're a wicked woman, Sarah Hughes."
Sarah grinned. "Perhaps."
"Shh!" Sirius hissed suddenly. "They're coming."
At the sound of the door squeaking open, the two of them shut their mouths, and Sarah placed a hand over her nose to quiet her breathing. The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs grew louder, and a moment later, Anna stepped through the doorway. She looked around, presumably searching for Remus. Seeing no one, she made her way over to the railing, looking out over the grounds. She nervously bit her lip, tapping her foot in a jittery manner. Sarah smiled. It was nice to see her friend so excited about a boy. She'd spent the past five years droning on about how useless the boys at Hogwarts were, but now, it seemed, she had found someone who wasn't quite so useless.
After a few minutes of silence, a second pair of footsteps made their way up the stairs, and Anna whirled around to see Remus poking his head into the room.
"Ah, you beat me here," he said, spotting Anna.
"Sorry," she said, wringing her hands together. "I'm always early."
"Better than always being late." Remus approached her, trying hard to appear casual, but even Sarah could see the subtle fidgets in the way he moved. "So… Did you get here okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. Sarah's taught me how to get around without getting caught," she chuckled.
Remus laughed. "Yeah, Sirius is a bad influence on that girl."
Sarah bit her lip to keep herself from laughing, while Sirius opened his mouth, then shut it quickly, forcing himself not to speak up.
"He's not so bad," Anna said. "She's happier since they've become friends, so that's good, at least. I think she secretly likes him, though she'll deny it till she's blue in the face."
Sirius snapped his head to look at Sarah with a shit-eating grin, while her smile dropped completely.
"Honestly, Sirius is the same way," Remus said. "Talks about that girl all the time. He's almost as bad as James."
Sirius' smile dropped then, leaving both of the lurking figures to stare at their targets with cheeks as red as cherries.
"No one's as bad at James," Anna rolled her eyes. After a moment, she swallowed. "So, what's up? Why'd you want to meet?"
Remus frowned. "Me? I thought you wanted to meet?"
Anna shook her head. "No…you sent me a letter." After a pause, she asked hesitantly, "Didn't you?" She reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded piece of parchment that had clearly been read and reread a dozen times over. Remus took the note, scanning through it with a confused crease in his forehead. After a moment, the realisation hit him, and his face dropped.
"Fucking Merlin's bollocks," he mumbled, pulling out his own letter. "I believe, Miss Michaels, that we've been set up." As she scanned through the letter he'd given her, he sighed. "I'm assuming you didn't send that?"
"No, definitely not," she said. "I don't even talk like this. It sounds like…"
"Sarah?"
She pursed her lips. "And I'm guessing you didn't send me that?" She nodded to the letter he was holding.
"Nope. Pretty sure Sirius did."
Anna shook her head. "But I don't understand. Why would they send us fake letters?"
"Why have they been doing any of this?" Remus rolled his eyes.
"Any of what?"
"Haven't you noticed? First, Sirius talks about you constantly; I'm assuming Sarah did the same about me. Knowing Sirius, that's his damn groundwork. Then, they set up that oh-so-spontaneous snowball fight. And then—"
"The ice skating," Anna finished. "But why? What, do they want us to be friends? Well, mission accomplished. We're already friends."
Remus bit his lips, hesitating. "My guess is, they want us to be…more."
"More?" Anna blanched, her eyes wide. "What, like…dating?"
"It's ridiculous, right?" Remus said with an awkward chuckle.
"Totally," Anna said. "I mean, where'd they get an idea like that?"
"Beats me," Remus sighed. "Sirius is probably just projecting. He wants to date Sarah, she says no, so he forces the dating thing on us."
"Yeah, but Sarah wouldn't do that."
"I guess he's a worse influence than we thought."
After a long, tension-filled silence, Remus cleared his throat.
"Well, I'm sorry you had to trudge all the way up here for nothing."
"Nothing?" Anna asked with a frown.
"I mean…like you said, we're just friends. It's not like we'd ever actually date each other."
"Right," Anna said with a forced smile. "Right."
"Come on, I'll walk you back to your dorm room."
"That's fine," Anna said. "I actually brought some Astronomy homework with me. I think I'll stay awhile and try to get it done."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you in class?"
"Definitely," Remus said with a smile. "I'll be sure to yell at Sirius for you."
"And I'll yell at Sarah for you."
As Remus walked away, closing the door behind him, Anna's smile slowly fell. She heaved a great sigh and shuffled over to the edge of the tower, looking out over the night, her face set in a contemplative frown.
Sarah and Sirius sat there quietly, watching her. They exchanged a brief look, both of them clearly disappointed with how their plan turned out. Sirius pulled out a piece of parchment as silently as he could and scribbled out a message.
Well, that was disappointing. —
Sarah replied.
What do we do now?
Wait for her to leave.
I meant about her and Remus.
No clue. I thought for sure it would work. I didn't really come up with a backup plan.
Well…it looks like it worked for Anna, at least.
She looks bloody miserable.
Yeah, but that just shows that she likes him.
Ah, Hughes. Always finding that silver lining. You're right! Now all we have to do is work on Remus.
Easier said than done.
Not to worry, lovely Sarah. Leave it to me. You just make sure Anna stays interested in our Moony boy.
I think I can manage that.
Sirius tucked the parchment away, deciding to wait for Anna to leave to discuss a new plan with Sarah. Unfortunately, Anna had no intention of leaving any time soon. After twenty minutes, Sarah felt her eyelids becoming heavy, and after another ten minutes, her head slumped onto Sirius' shoulders, her breath coming in deep sighs. He smiled at the feeling of her warm breath on his cheek. At least one of his plans seemed to be working well.
By the time Anna left almost an hour later, the pair of them were quietly sleeping, invisible to the world.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter is mostly done already, so it should be out soon :)