The Marauder's Tale [MOONY, WORMTAIL, PADFOOT, & PRONGS]

XLIX. The Dating Game

“Moony, you’re killing me.”

Remus looked up from his position in a chair in the common room. “Why?” he asked.

Sirius sat down next to him. “You’ve been brooding for two weeks. That’s practically forever! The girls all accepted everything as we presented it to them. Doesn’t that make you happy?”

“Of course it does,” Remus replied. “But the one girl who should have accepted everything without question won’t even look at me anymore.”

“That’s completely untrue.”

“What do you mean?”

“Laura is always watching you. You just don’t know about it because she always manages to look away before you look at her.” Sirius sighed. “You and Laura are both completely miserable, and it’s for nothing. You obviously still care about one another. Why are you torturing yourselves by staying apart?”

Remus scowled. “She’s the one who ended this. Let her be the one to fix it.”

“Ouch,” Sirius grinned. “That’s vindictive enough to make you a part of my family.”

Remus smiled faintly. “Should I say thank you?”

“Hold off on the thank you until later in the week.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to help you get over Laura.”

“Oh, no. What do you have planned?”

“I think you need some new female companionship. I’m going to set you up with someone.”

“Sirius, no. I don’t want to date one of your cast-offs. That’s not going to happen, so get the idea out of your head right now.”

Sirius grinned. “I’m not going to set you up with one of my former loves. That would be silly. I tossed them all over for one reason or another – so, they’re obviously not worth your time any more than they were worth mine.”

“Who, then? Remus asked nervously.

“One of Olivia’s friends.”

Remus frowned. “But Lily’s with James, Kathleen’s with Peter, and Dana’s with Aidan. Who’s left?”

“She has friends outside of Gryffindor, you know.”

“Fair enough. Who is this girl?”

“She’s a Hufflepuff. She’s actually friends with Aidan, too, so you can ask him about her if you don’t believe me.”

“Does she have a name?” Remus was becoming intrigued in spite of himself.

“Melanie Larson. I’ve met her. She’s really pretty, and she’s sweet. I think she’s just the thing to take your mind off Laura.”

“So what do I have to do?”

“I think you should take her to the Quidditch match this weekend. You would have gone to watch James and Olivia play regardless, and they’re playing Slytherin, so you and Melanie would be cheering for the same team. If you want to do something else with her afterward, you can, but there won’t be any pressure.” He looked completely serious. “If you really don’t want to get back together with Laura, then it’s time to get over this melancholy mood. It’s time to move on, Remus.”

Remus was silent for a moment, considering the matter. He supposed it wouldn’t hurt to go out with this girl. If he had a terrible time, he could blame it entirely on Sirius. And if he had fun . . . Maybe Sirius was right. Maybe it was time to move on.