Meant to Be (A Marauders AU)

Chapter 3

   Sirius sat in the Gryffindor common room during his free period, his mind going over what had happened at breakfast. Hugging Pitch had not been his idea, but when he did hug her, he'd felt a kind of... spark, which ran through his body. He'd brushed it off, assuming it had been a static shock, but when Pitch had let go so hastily... Sirius didn't know how to explain it. It felt like he was missing something now.

"Hey, Pads, you alright?" James asked, sitting down next to Sirius and breaking him away from his thoughts.

"Yeah...yeah I think so," Black replied hesitantly, before looking up at James.

"Did you feel a sort of... well, I don't know... shock when Pitch hugged you?" he asked his bespectacled friend carefully. James shrugged, a smirk spreading into his face.

"No, but I have to admit, her body pressed up against mine was pretty hot," he answered cockily, sending a cheeky wink over at his best mate. A low growl resonated through the room, and it took a while for both boys to realize it was coming from Sirius.

"Whoa, mate, chill. What is with you?" Prongs exclaimed, though he had a large smirk on his face. The strange, bizarre jealousy that pumped through Sirius's veins just wouldn't settle; even though he knew James was hopelessly in love with Lily, Sirius was almost livid at the thought of his mate with Pitch.

"I'm fine, James, I'm fine. But you and Pitch? Not a chance. None at all," Padfoot managed to say through gritted teeth, attempting to keep his tone playful. Of course, James could see the jealousy, and his entire face lit up suspiciously.

   Oh crap.

"Really? Well, let's have a little bet then. As you know, they're holding a Halloween dance this year, like Dumbledore said at the beginning of the year, and it's in 10 days. The first one to kiss her before then, tongue and all, wins 10 Galleons in cash and the loser has to buy the winner 5 Galleons worth of whatever the winner wants. Seems like a fair prize, don't you think?" he asked, smirking slightly at his friend's obvious discomfort. James didn't believe Sirius was up to it, but it was all going to plan so far.

"What's the catch?" Sirius asked warily, not trusting his mate's plan at all. And for good reason. James had to think for a minute or two -a dangerous task for him- before answering the question.

"The rules. Number one: the deadline is midnight, October 31st. Number two: you have to date her for a month before breaking up. Number three: no girls in between. And number four, you cannot tell a soul outside of the Marauders of our plan. Breaking the second, third and fourth rules means you instantly lose, breaking the first rule just delays it," Prongs replied, now grinning. He had to take it... Padfoot had to take the bet... James hoped so, anyway. Sirius groaned loudly, exhaling in defeat. To be honest, it was the thought of getting 5 Galleons worth of Honeydukes that swayed him.

"Fine, for Godric's sake, I'm in. As Wormtail is our witness, I will win this bet," he swore, plastering a smug grin on his face, though it was very fake. He and James shook on the bet, and Sirius retreated to the boy's dormitory with Peter close behind him.

   James remained in the Common Room, and he instantly went over to Remus, who had been studying in a quiet corner.

"Moony, he agreed!" James chuckled, watching his friend's face light up. Remus almost started squealing, he was that excited.

"Sheesh, Rem, it's not that exciting," Prongs laughed, calming the hyper boy down.

   It worked. Kinda.

"You really think it's going to work though? There are plenty of flaws, we can only somewhat guarantee Sirius's side, but Pitch, not so much," Remus pointed out, and James had to admit, it was true.