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"Hello, Kitty!" Sirius cheered, blurring into the walking group as they crossed the grounds to the greenhouses. Remus brushed Sirius's fingers away from his nose and rolled his eyes.
"Hi, dickhead," he replied. Sirius beamed.
"Well!" He boasted, turning to James on his other side. "What's up Moony's arse this morning?"
"Squiddy gave him that bandage," James said with a grin. "His royal wolf-ness would prefer if you'd leave it be."
"My mistake," Sirius said, holding his hands up in defense.
"You win the bet yet?" Peter chimed in, glancing sideways to be sure the girls on his right weren't listening. James nodded victoriously.
"What bet?" Remus asked. His friends looked between each other.
"You and Syd," answered Sirius. "James and the girls were in on when you'd finally twist the knife in my back and break the Marauder's code."
"You were betting on me and Syd?" Remus asked, ignoring Sirius's dramatic remark at the end.
"Well, that's just phase one," James shrugged. "Try to kiss her by Christmas, alright?"
Remus looked down the line to find Sydney staring gravely at her sneakers. The bottoms of her maroon converse dragged in the tan grass, kicking some pieces unsympathetically loose. She had her bracelet between her fingers with knuckles white and chapped from the cold. The wind blew her nose pink and wiped her hair off of her frowning face.
"Can't do that if she won't talk to me," Remus said, turning back to the boys closer to him.
"Aw, she'll get over it," James said, looking quickly down the row of teens as well. "She's just embarrassed."
"Not the best way to learn the effects of truth serum," Sirius noted with a blunt laugh as he held the greenhouse door open for Remus behind him.
"Anything to win," James shrugged, leading the boys across the thickly warm room to their plant station. Sydney and the girls sat in the opposite corner, and Marlene waved her hand in front of Sydney's face until Sydney blinked to life and forced herself to listen to them.
"You two are soulmates, anyways," Peter said casually. Remus turned back to their station, both alarmed and intrigued.
"Pete, what?" Sirius asked, laughing.
"I'm serious! - Very funny, Padfoot - But really, I've read about them. You two just fit."
"Fit how?"
"You're supposed to be the smart one here," Peter uttered dryly. Remus shrugged and urged him to continue and Peter rolled his eyes before doing so. "Like you match up. Things you say, things you do, the way you are. It just fits. You're soulmates, promise."
