Disclaimer: Only Malika (and Jane) belongs to me...

Chapter 6

August 1994

The final of the Quidditch World Cup had ended much faster then Malika had ever imagined. Ireland won the game, although Bulgaria had caught the Snitch. Malika had been able to watch the game from where she stood guard.

It took some time before all the people had finally calmed down after the excitement of the game, mostly the Irishmen, who were celebrating their victory.

Just when Malika thought she could finally go to her tent and find some sleep, she heard a lot of noise coming from near the entrance of the field.

She was already running that way when she saw Jane running towards her.

"Come quickly!", was all she managed to say between gasps of air, before she ran away again.

Malika ran towards the noise and stood almost still from shock at the sight she saw.

A group of wizards was holding the Muggle owner and his family in the air with their wands; they were marching through the encampment and setting tents on fire while they passed them.

But the thing that made Malika's heart almost stop, were their clothes. They were wearing black robes and cloaks and masks, Death Eaters, she knew immediately.

Malika hurried to help the other Ministry Officials and Aurors to stop the group.

When it seemed they were finally starting to succeed at breaking them apart, something even more terrible happened.

All of a sudden, above the forest, appeared the Dark Mark, glistening a bright green in the dark sky. While everyone was staring at it, the group of Death Eaters disapparated quickly.

Malika felt tears coming up in her eyes. This just couldn't be happening, it must be some horribly sick nightmare.

"Oh no, sweet Merlin, say this isn't true, please," she was whispering before her to no one in particular. This was such a nightmare. She had lost everything she had during the last war, and the only thing that had kept her going the first year, was that Voldemort was gone and she could leave the horrors of the past behind her, knowing full well she would never really be able to let go.

If this meant what she thought it meant, then another war was standing before them, knocking on their door impatiently, and Malika wasn't sure if she could handle it.

A group of aurors and other officials went to try and catch whoever had called the Dark Mark, but Malika didn't go with them; instead she sought Jane out. Jane looked worriedly at her friend.

"Are you alright? You don't look so good."

Malika merely shrugged, in fact she felt miserable, but she didn't want to tell her friend, she felt guilty too about not being able to help more. What kind of auror are you when you almost faint at seeing the Dark Mark? She chided herself.

Jane seemed now genuinely worried about her and told her to go home and get some rest, assuring her everything was under control now and that they didn't need her there anymore.

Malika didn't protest; she was only too glad she could leave this horrible place.

A few minutes later, Malika had returned to her apartment, after quickly grabbing her things together. She had hoped Remus was sleeping, so she didn't have to answer any questions yet, but she should have know better, he always woke up at even the smallest sound she made.

She had just put down her things and hung away her jacket when he entered the living room, wearing a dressing gown over his pyjamas and looking as if he had just woken up roughly from a deep sleep, which was probably the fact, now Malika thought about it.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had to work all night?" His voice sounded rough with sleep.

Upon seeing the look of horror on Malika's face, however, a concerned look came to his face.

"What's happened, Malika?"

Suddenly, Malika realised she couldn't speak anymore; all the events of that night came flooding back to her, and with them, many of the horrors of the past that she had tried to repress. Tears started clouding her vision and flowing down on her cheeks.

The next moment, Remus' arms were around her. Holding her tightly, he guided her to the couch, and they sat down, his arms still safe around her. She sighed and leaned closer to him, finally feeling safe again, knowing he would protect her against the world, if he had to.

After the tears had finally subsided, she told him what had happened in a whispered voice, as if saying it aloud would make it all even more real. Her voice wavered when the Dark Mark came up, and Remus pulled her even closer to him.

When she had finished her story, a silence fell upon them.

Finally, she asked, "What do you think this all means?"

He thought for a moment before answering gravely, "I could say that it doesn't mean anything, that it was just a sick joke or something, but that would be a lie." He sighed before continuing. "It seems to me that we can expect Voldemort back soon, somehow."

"That's what I thought." Malika whispered. "But I don't know if I can face another war."

Remus squeezed her lightly to his side. "Whatever happens, we're going through it together, I'm right here for you."

Now, Malika smiled at him. "I know, thank you."

He smiled back at her and yawned.

"Time for bed, I would say, I'll owl Dumbledore tomorrow, to see what he thinks about all this."

Malika nodded, and with that, they headed to their bedroom.

September 1976 (Marauders 7th year)

Another year had passed, and Malika and her friends now entered their last year at Hogwarts.

During their 6th year, some things had happened and changes were made that none of them had expected at the beginning of that year, and the results of it were obvious as Malika boarded the Hogwarts Express.

When she had finally found her friends, she was immediately greeted by Sirius, with a soft kiss on her lips. They had been together for almost a year now, going against everyone's expectations, most people had given them only a few weeks at the most, even Malika herself hadn't thought it would last this long.

Malika entered their compartment and James and Peter waved at her, while Remus stood and gave her soft peck on the cheek, something he had started doing after their little talk in his dormitory, the night he had blown up to Sirius and her about being together. Malika had been surprised the first time when Remus had given her a kiss; it happened after a late study circle in the library, and she had wanted to go to bed right away when they reach the common room. The other Marauders weren't there, so Remus had decided to go to bed too, and when they said goodnight, he had shyly kissed her cheek. After that first time, it became a habit and Malika had to admit she liked it, although it was obvious Sirius didn't like it in the least. At the time, Sirius hadn't said anything about it and Malika didn't mention it either, they were both just happy Remus had accepted their relationship, knowing he had a hard time accepting it at first.

To her astonishment, there was someone else present in the compartment, someone she hadn't expected to find with the Marauders, at least not out of her own free will.

Lily was sitting next to Remus.

"Hi", she said, smiling.

Malika gaped at her. "What are you doing here?"

Lily raised her eyebrows, "Can't I sit with my friends?" At this, Malika too raised her eyebrows. Lily continued, laughing at the same time, "What? It's you who kept insisting I had to give them a chance, last year."

Malika had to admit this was true; ever since she started dating Sirius, she had been trying to convince Lily to come with her when she hung out with the boys. More than once, she even had forced Lily to join her, claiming she didn't want to be the only girl and pointing out Remus was one of them and Lily couldn't deny being friends with him. By the end of the year, Lily had let Malika drag her to the Marauders almost twice a week; a big accomplishment, seeing as she couldn't stand to be in the same room with James for more then five minutes at the start of that year.

But never in her wildest dreams had Malika expected to find Lily together with all the Marauders in one compartment on the train by her own free will.

Now, Malika shook her head at Lily, and asked, "Who are you, and what have you done with Lily Evans, or should I ask what James has done to you." With that, Malika cast a glance towards the boy sitting across from Lily. Malika wouldn't put it past him to try such a thing, but she was sure he knew that wasn't the right way to win Lily over.

She was relieved when she heard Lily's laugh, together with James' "I didn't do anything."

With a smile on her lips, she seated herself between Sirius and James, across from Remus.

Maybe, just maybe, there was the slightest chance James could win over Lily this year.

Malika thought he would definitely be a better choice then that Lovegood fellow from the first part of last year, and his successor, a handsome but pigheaded and definitely not very bright Huffelpuff going by the name of Gilderoy Lockheart.

The train ride to school was fun, like almost everything was when spent with the Marauders and the feast was delicious like always. Malika was happy to be at school again with her friends, after a mostly boring holiday with her parents.

But something was bothering her, though she couldn't really say what. There was just something that didn't feel right.

She was pondering this over while lying in her bed and trying to sleep.

Her thoughts drifted to the holidays. She had spent a week at the Evans' home and Lily in return had spent a week with her, she had seen the Marauders at Diagon Alley during the last week and she had been sending letters back and forth with all of them.

It struck her that, at Diagon Alley, she had felt the same sense of something not being right. If only she could put her finger on it.

In her mind, she returned to that day. She had met the boys in the Leaky Cauldron, after she had bought her school supplies. Then, they all walked down Diagon Alley, visiting some shops and when they were tired they went to eat some ice cream. Of course, she had walked hand in hand with Sirius, except when he went off towards some new joke shop with James and Peter, while Remus accompanied Malika to the bookstore. Most of the time, Remus had carried her stuff for her. They had talked a lot, they actually had a lot of fun together, and Remus had been really sweet that day.

Malika stopped her stream of thoughts abruptly. What am I thinking? I'm supposed to be Sirius' girlfriend.

At that moment, everything clicked in her head, and she realised what was wrong.

To make sure, she thought back to last year, when she had started dating Sirius.

Why did we actually start dating?

She remembered not being entirely sure if it was what she wanted, but she had wanted to give it a try then.

At first, it had felt really good. She liked the attention he gave her. He made her feel special, nobody had made her feel that way before. So she liked the way he made her feel.

They had gone on dates together, going for lunch or a drink in Madam Puddifoot's, they had made long strolls along the lake. She liked those special moments.

But never had she asked herself the really important question one should ask themselves in these situations, never until now.

Did she actually like Sirius in a romantic sort of way?

No.

Malika felt tears come up in her eyes.

This wasn't right. She liked having someone to care for her that way, but she knew that it was the wrong reason to stay together.

Should she break up with him?

She didn't know the answer to that question.

Maybe she should just try and find someone she did like that way.

At last, she decided to go to sleep and think about it later on, maybe when she was less tired.

And maybe tomorrow everything would look better. Maybe she would find out she did like Sirius in that way.

But in her heart, she knew that wasn't true.

000

Thanks to Jamie Love for her review.

A/N: In the past-part of this chapter, everyone is more or less 17 years old, in the present-part (1994) they are more or less 35.

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