Dislclaimer: only Malika belongs to me...

Chapter 4

End of June, 1994

As Malika came home from work that day, she realised again how good it felt to have Remus back home. He had prepared dinner for them, like he used to do before he went to teach on days when she had to work late.

They spent a nice evening together, just talking and enjoying each others presence.

That is, until an owl arrived, carrying letters for both of them, coming from Sirius.

Upon seeing the letter directed to Malika, Remus frowned slightly.

"How come Sirius wrote you a letter?"

Malika looked up to him a bit guiltily. "I sent him one earlier today. I wanted to know how he was doing, and seeing you didn't provide much information, I decided to ask him myself."

"Why didn't you tell me? Or just ask me?"

He sounded a bit hurt. Malika flinched inwardly, this was exactly the reason why she hadn't told him, but she didn't want to tell him that.

"I suppose I just forgot. I didn't mean anything by it; I just wanted to make sure he was alright." There was more to it than that, they both knew it, but she didn't want to have a lengthy discussion and dig up the past right now. He had only gotten home yesterday, and she had had a long day. Besides, it was only a letter; it wasn't worth to have a fight over. They both seemed to silently agree over it, because Remus didn't say anything about it anymore, but started reading his letter.

However, after a few moments, he looked up again.

"Did you tell him about us?"

Malika shook her head. "I think it's better if he doesn't know yet."

Remus nodded his head, and continued reading his letter, and Malika started the one directed to her.

Dear Malika,

I just received your letter, and even to my own surprise, I was very happy to hear from you.

I always believed I wouldn't be able to forgive you, but upon reading your letter, I realised I actually have already forgiven you. All that has happened in the past, lies far behind us now, so let us not dwell on it anymore.

I am probably as well as can be expected from someone on the run from the authorities, travelling on a hippogriff (first class seats in the front with great view), although I would prefer Hogwarts' kitchen over the bits and pieces left-overs I can get my hands on now.

How are you? What have you been up to all this time?

I really do hope we can keep in touch,

I have missed you a lot,

Sirius.

Malika smiled wistfully while reading the letter; this was so typically Sirius. Azkaban might have changed him, but the Sirius she had known was obviously still there.

Something caught her attention though; somehow she thought it strange Sirius hadn't mentioned anything about Remus in his letter, while he had sent this letter at the same time he had sent one to Remus. But then again, Sirius had said to not dwell on the past anymore.

In the end Malika decided not to think too much of it now.

She was just really glad he had forgiven her and she would make sure they could keep in touch. And while deciding this, there was another decision she made. She had been given another chance to make things right, and this time she wouldn't mess it up.

October 1975 (Marauders 6th year)

On a cold day in mid-October, Malika was sitting on her favourite couch before the fire, while writing in her diary. It had been a long time since she had had the time to write in peace and there was so much happening these days that she was thankful to have some time on her own now.

Until her fifth year, Malika had always had enough alone time to write and think things through. She only used to spent time with Lily and Remus, and Remus had also the Marauders while Lily needed sometimes time for own too, and Malika had always been too shy to approach other people. But since that night in fifth year, when she had spent hours talking to the boys, they seemed to have accepted Malika as someone worth spending time with. This coming from the Marauders, the most popular group in school, was a great honour, although Malika didn't really care for such things.

After that first night, they had often come to sit with her, when they caught her alone; they had also tried to do the same when Lily was with her, but Lily always got up and pulled Malika with her upstairs to their dormitory. But whenever Malika was alone, they came to sit with her, and she could joke around together with them, except on full moon nights; then the Marauders were nowhere in sight. Malika hadn't asked questions of where they went then; she just assumed it had something to do with Remus being a werewolf and she didn't want to pry about it.

Actually, this night was a full moon; that was why she had time for her own now, while Lily was off somewhere with her Ravenclaw boyfriend-since-a-week Leonard Lovegood. Malika didn't understand why Lily would be dating that guy, he was just plain weird, believing in things no-one else believed. On the other hand, Malika thought she herself might be a little prejudiced. After spending all this time with the Marauders, she had gotten to know all of them pretty well, and she couldn't help but think that Lily should really give James a chance. He wasn't as arrogant and big-headed as he seemed when you got to know him better, at least, not when Lily wasn't anywhere near; whenever he came near the redhead, he just didn't know how to behave himself.

Malika herself didn't have any problem with the Marauders anymore; she got along great with all of them. Remus was still one of her best friends; they had even gotten closer with all the extra time spent together. James had become a good friend too. Peter was the only one whom she still didn't really know, but she figured he was just really shy and she could understand that. But the one that had surprised her the most was Sirius.

Ever since that first night, when he had appeared beside her and flung his arm around her, he had been paying her a lot of attention, most of the time he had been flirting openly with her. Malika had been ignoring this mostly, although she couldn't resist to flirt back from time to time, just for fun. She wouldn't have thought anything of it, but she couldn't help but notice that he had stopped having one girlfriend after the other since somewhere in April. Somewhere a voice inside her mind had been nagging her about the fact that maybe he might really like her. She had ignored this voice, but it was getting stronger in her mind the last two weeks, so now she was pondering this over while writing in her diary. Another question that came to her mind now was: did she like Sirius too? She wasn't sure about that one, but time would tell, she figured.

It was in that moment that something happened that would cause a drastic change in all their lives.

Suddenly, Malika was pulled out of her ponderings when the portrait hole was opened, and in came James, Sirius and Peter. Apparently James and Sirius were having a fight over something, this was a somewhat disturbing sight, for Malika had never seen any of the Marauders really angry at another Marauder.

After the boys had entered the common room, they had fallen silent, but the animosity between them was obviously still hanging in the air. James and Peter immediately went up to their dormitory, but Sirius dropped down on the couch next to Malika, apparently he didn't want to be in the same room as James right now.

Malika looked cautiously towards Sirius, wondering what had happened, knowing it must have been something really bad, to make James mad like that. Sirius looked truly miserable.

"What's happened?"

Sirius just sighed, and slumped further down on the couch.

"I know something terrible must have happened, to make James this mad at you. You two are like brothers and I've never seen you fight. It might help if you talk about it to someone, and I'm here to listen if you want to."

Another long silence followed, and Malika was just returning to her diary when Sirius spoke in a low whisper.

"I did something very stupid."

Malika returned her gaze to Sirius, but he was looking into the fire.

After another long silence and another try from Malika to return to her diary, Sirius finally started to speak, but it wasn't about what happened tonight.

"Did you know I ran away from home this summer?"

Malika looked up surprised, but he was still staring into the crackling fire.

"I couldn't handle my family anymore. They are one of the most dark families you could find, supporting You-Know-Who and all. My mother would actually have a fit if she knew I was talking to a Muggleborn like you." For the first time he turned his gaze towards her, a sad smile playing along his lips.

"Since my first year, I had to endure her endless ramblings about being sorted in Gryffindor, how bad of a son I was, associating with Muggleborns and blood traitors. This summer, I had enough of it; I just packed up my stuff, and ran away. I took the Knight Bus to James' house."

He gazed into the fire again.

"His parents were great, they accepted me in their home, gave me food and a place to sleep, somewhere to return to during the holidays." He gave a heavy sigh. "So, actually, you could say now that James is my brother."

Malika didn't really know how to react to this, so she just said whatever came to her mind.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that."

He didn't seem to have heard her, because he continued.

"I've never had a fight with him before, but I suppose I deserved it, I deserve everything he said to me, and they are right if they never forgive me for it."

Malika didn't know who exactly he meant by 'they'. What she did know, was that she didn't like to see Sirius depressed like this, she wanted to comfort him, but that would be hard if she didn't know what was wrong. So she had to ask again.

"Sirius, please tell me what's happened."

It took another long silence, before he started to tell her in a low whisper, although he left out certain facts.

"I did something very stupid earlier today. Snape has been taunting me for awhileabout merunning away from home, today he just went too far, and I wanted to play a prank on him to punish him."

Malika frowned, Snape and the Marauders had been enemies at school since first year, and with what happened last year after their OWL for DADA, he would have been too happy to have something to bait the Marauders into causing trouble.

"I was so angry that I wasn't thinking, I just told him…", Sirius stopped talking abruptly, before casting a quick eye on Malika, and continuing. "I played a prank on him that could have killed him, and probably would have, if James hadn't found out in time and went to rescue him." He swallowed and continued in a barely audible whisper, probably not meant for Malika to hear. "But what's worse, I've betrayed Remus's trust."

Then, somehow, it all clicked in Malika's mind, although she knew she wasn't meant to know it. She was sure Sirius had told Snape how to go where ever Remus went during the full moon.

Part of her wanted to scream at Sirius for being so stupid, but she knew she couldn't, because then he would know she knew about Remus, and she didn't want that to happen. Besides, as she looked towards Sirius, she realised he already felt miserable enough without her being mad at him too, James had been yelling at him before, and Malika was pretty sure it would take a lot of time before Remus would ever forgive him, once he found out what had happened.

So she did the only other thing she could think of to do; try and comfort Sirius, if that was at all possible.

Malika put her arms gingerly around Sirius. The next moment, he had turned around in her arms, wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder, he held onto her as if his life depended on it. They sat like this in silence for a long time.

At one point in time, Malika heard the portrait hole open. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lily walking towards them and looking at her with a questioning gaze, Malika mouthed a quick 'later'. Lily simply nodded and walked up the stairs to their dormitory. Sirius didn't move during this exchange, as if he hadn't even noticed that someone had entered the common room.

It was only a long time after Lily had left, that Sirius finally let go of Malika.

He smiled sadly at her, but now his eyes held also something else, a tenderness Malika had never seen before.

"Thank you", he whispered, "I needed that."

Malika smiled back.

"No problem, I'll always be here if you need me."

Although, while she said that, a voice in her head told her to not make promises she might not be able to keep. She quickly silenced that voice.

Only then she realised they had been staring into each others eyes.

The next thing she knew, Sirius was leaning forward, inching closer little by little. For a moment, Malika asked herself if this was what she wanted, but when their lips finally locked, all other thoughts left her mind quickly, while she marvelled in his soft kiss.

All too soon, he pulled away and when Malika opened her eyes, he was looking back at her hesitantly.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that, you've let me known before you didn't want this."

Malika smiled. "It's alright." She bit her lip, thinking, before she added. "Things change."

Now, for the first time this evening, Sirius really smiled.

Then he bent towards her and kissed her again, longer this time.

When he pulled away this time, he was still smiling, but then his smile turned into a frown.

Malika frowned too.

"What's wrong now?"

Sirius sighed. "Do you mind if we keep this secret until this storm is over."

Malika understood what he meant, and nodded.

"I hope they will forgive me."

Malika squeezed his hand lightly, "I'm sure they will, but it might take some time."

Sirius nodded, then he looked down at their clasped hands and back up to her.

"Does this mean we're, you know, dating?"

"I guess so."

"I knew you would eventually fall for my charms."

Sirius winked at Malika and rolled her eyes.

"On the other hand, I guess some things don't change."

Sirius grinned, and now, Malika smiled back.

Then Malika stood and announced it was past her bedtime, they said goodnight, and left for their own dormitories.

000

Jamie Love: thanks for your review. I hope you like this chapter too.