Promises must not be broken!

The problem

Basically this was a completely normal afternoon at Hogwarts and also within the walls of the Gryffindor common room. But only basically, because the working mode most of students were in, was disturbed when a certain Gryffindor with black, shoulder-length hair and his signature leatherjacket burst through the portrait at the entrance. He darted right at his best friend James Potter and almost knocked him off his chair.

"Hey" Pad, what's up?", James asked surprised. Sirius was completely out of breath and was holding onto the edge of the table while gasping for air, before he started talking: "I need your help! You know Veronice, right?" He was interrupted by James: "The Ravenclaw?" He continued: "Yes, her. I have a date with her at the Three Broomsticks tomorrow." "And what's your problem?", asked James while raising an eyebrow. "Can we maybe talk about that in private?", pleaded Sirius. "Is it that important?", questioned James, while looking over at his girlfriend Lily who he had been studying until Sirius interrupted them. "Yes.", was Sirius' answer in a rather whiney tone. James turned around to Lily: "Lily, can we make a break for five minutes?" "Okay James, but only because Black looks extremely desperate and if you promise that we will still finish this essay today!", was Lily's response. "Of course", promised James, before he grabbed Sirius and pulled him out of the common room and into one of the secret passageways, they discovered on their nightly walks around Hogwarts.

"Now...what is it?", asked James demanding Sirius to continue their conversation from before. "Well, it would be really great, if you could do me favor regarding my date with Veronica.", answered Sirius quietly. "What kind of favor? It is not like I can practice your first kiss with you", said James while chuckling a bit until he saw Sirius' ashamed facial expression. "That's the favor?", asked James confused. "Yes...It is my first date and I am afraid to do everything wrong...", was Sirius' answer that he almost whispered.

At first, James didn't really know how to react until he came up with the perfect plan. First, he had to politely decline Sirius' request and then he had to plant a seed for a new solution, because he still wanted to help his best friend. "Sirius, you are like a brother to me and I am in love with Lily. Those are my two main reasons, why I can't really help you...I am sorry!" Sirius looked like a lost puppy until James explained his alternative plan: "Pad, maybe you could ask Moony for that favor? Just say that Lily and I are busying studying and that you have an urgent matter to discuss." Sirius was not convinced: "Thanks, that you are trying to help, but he won't do it either..." It was definitely James' marauder side that came up with the second part of his suggestion and it was definitely Sirius' marauder side that agreed without really thinking about the consequences. But James suggested that Sirius shouldn't tell Remus what the favor was about and simply ask him to promise that he would help regardless of the favor. Sirius was only happy that he found a solution for his misery and marched directly to their dormitory without realizing the cruelty of their plan.

While Sirius climbed the stairs up to the dormitory, James sat back down next to Lily. "I am really sorry, but it was kind of an emergency.", were James' first words after sitting down, because he knew how much Lily hated interruptions during their study sessions. "It's alright. I really like how much you care for your friends", responded Lily. But James couldn't really focus on his essay and suddenly the words burst out of his mouth: "I really wanted to help, but in this case I don't know if I really did. Maybe I destroyed everything, maybe I was a really bad friend with a really bad idea!"

"Oh, do you want to talk about it?", was Lily's initial response. James was not sure if he should spill the tea about his best friend's misery, but Lily was his girlfriend and she would know how to handle the information. He retold Sirius' and his whole conversation and after retelling it he felt even worse about his idea, but Lily had a huge smile on her face and gave him a reassuring hug while whispering: "You are an absolute genius, James Potter!"

James' feelings changed from bad to confused. Lily explained: "I have been looking for a way to matchmake them for months now, but that was the perfect opportunity and you absolutely nailed it!" James was skeptical: "Why would you try that?" Lily rolled her eyes and chuckled a bit about James' blindness: "Did you never realize how they look at each other when they think that no one notices? Maybe they don't do it on purpose, but they definitely stare at each other...a lot!" James was not convinced, so Lily tried to help him: "Do you remember last week when Remus was at the Hospital Wing? Who stayed by his side the whole time? Who tried to sleep there, before he was kicked out by Poppy? How always brought Remus his favorite chocolate?" James nodded, because she was right, it was always Sirius.