Disclaimer : I only own Malika and Jane, everything else belongs to J. K. Rowling

Chapter 10

December 1994

Things had gone from bad to worse at the Ministry since the inauguration of the 'new decrees for control and regulation of dangerous creatures'. In the course of the last month, many werewolves had been enforced to hand over their houses to the Ministry. Of course, many protests had followed that first one in November, but it didn't make any difference at all. For some reason, some high-placed people obviously wanted to make life impossible for all British werewolves.

Malika didn't really understand what exactly was going on in the Ministry. She had been trying to get some information as to why these unreasonable laws were invented and the only thing she had come across was a woman called Dolores Umbridge, who hated what she called 'half-breeds' and most of all, werewolves, and who was making her way up in Minister Fudge's circle or trustees at an almost terrifying speed. Apparently this Umbridge-woman and her opinions were the main cause behind all these new laws.

Since Malika came upon this little piece of information, she had been thinking of a way to counteract her opponent, but sadly, she was only an Auror with no power to stop Umbridge.

The full moon in December fell on the 21st.

Like every full moon for the last few years, Malika had stayed with Remus, except, of course, while he was teaching at Hogwarts. That had actually been another reason why she was glad he was back home, she had been worrying sick about him when he had to spent the full moon alone.

Remus still didn't like her seeing himin his werewolf-form, but he had learned a long time ago that it was of no use to try and convince her to stay away from him during the full moon. She would stay with him anyway, and if that was what she wanted, who was he to stop her. Besides, after spending many lonely transformations at Hogwarts while he was teaching, he had realised how much Malika's support during the full moon meant for him.

She didn't only stay with him the whole time, accepting him completely by just being there. After his transformation to wolf-form, she would stroke him and massage him to ease the pains, and then she would curl up next to him and make himself feel at peace by simply lying there with her body pressed against his. When the moon had set in the morning, she would clean his wounds, bring him some breakfast and fill him a bath so he could relax his sore muscles. The day after the full moon, she would always take the day off from work, although he had assured her over and over he could take care of himself, she just told him she wanted to stay with him.

Remus knew why Malika insisted on staying with him, she still felt guilty for abandoning him when he had needed her the most, and he had told her she didn't have to, but she had dismissed it, saying she just wanted to be there for him.

They didn't talk about these things anymore. Remus was really thankful for what Malika did for him and didn't dare to jinx it and cause trouble in their relationship by bringing up the past.

Malika just liked the way they had organized their life, hoping it could stay like this for a very long time.

Fate however had decided otherwise.

Like every other morning after the full moon, Malika had tended to Remus until he was sleeping peacefully and then she had settled on the couch with a book.

All of a sudden, the quiet was disrupted by a voice calling her name from the fireplace in front of her.

"Malika, you have to come to Auror Headquarters as soon as possible, we are having a crisis here and they want all Aurors to help."

Jane's concerned face had appeared in the fireplace. Malika put down her book quickly and kneeled on the floor to face her friend.

"What's going on? You know I have the day off today."

"I know, but like I said, there are some problems and they want everyone here."

"Wait a second, what kind of crisis are you talking about?"

Malika was starting to get really worried now. It had to be something big to have them call her in on her day off and to have Jane distraught like she was. For a moment, Malika wondered if they possibly had found Sirius, but she dismissed that thought quickly.

Jane shifted uncomfortably after Malika's last question and gave an evasive answer.

"You will see that when you get here. Now, please come quickly."

Malika sighed. "Alright, I'll come. Give me a minute to write a note for Remus. I'll be there in ten minutes."

Jane said her goodbyes and disappeared, while Malika got up and started to get ready for an unexpected day of work, all the while wondering what had happened but not at all prepared for the situation she would have to face.

December 1976 (Marauders 7th year)

When Malika and Remus had returned from the Shrieking Shack, Malika had gone straight up to her dormitory. She had done a lot of thinking that night and had realized she had handled things the wrong way.

Dating around was not something she did, she didn't like it anyway. She much rather hang out with her friends, something she had missed a lot the weeks before. True, she had seen them, but things weren't the same.

Malika easily decided to just drop her search for her 'Prince Charming' for now and just have fun with her friends.

After that, everything seemed to go back to normal in her life.

More or less.

That is, if one overlooked the little alterations in behaviour of some people. Little things had started to change and they became more and more obvious as time went by.

October became November and November turned into December.

The first week of December brought a lot of snow to the Hogwarts grounds and one day after classes, Malika and Lily were dragged outside and into a true snowball war by the Marauders. At first, it had been girls against boys, but after the girls had convinced Peter to attack the boys' camp from the inside for them, followed by the Marauders leaving their camp and invade the girls' camp, where Sirius made a point of attacking Malika with snowball after snowball, at which Remus attacked Sirius to 'defend the lady' and Malika responded by attacking Remus, claiming she didn't need to be defended because she was able to defend herself, thank you very much, then it became everyone against everyone. Although Malika had noticed James mostly defending Lily and attacking whoever dared to throw even the least bit of snow towards her, except, of course, when he was the one who launched the snowball.

After their snowball fight, they had dinner in the Great Hall.

Remus and Sirius made a point of sitting next to Malika, like they had been doing since October. Both of them had been paying a lot of attention to her all these weeks, making sure to show how they felt about her. She couldn't even go anywhere without at least one of them showing up. Sometimes they annoyed her, but she didn't say anything about it, she knew they meant well.

After dinner, they all headed towards Gryffindor Tower, but Sirius held Malika back and pulled her into an empty classroom.

"What's wrong, Sirius?" Malika's voice sounded a bit confused, although she had an inkling as to what was going on.

"I wanted to talk to you, alone. Lately, I haven't really been able to speak to you alone, mainly because you never seem to be alone anymore."

Mainly, he thought to himself, because Moony is around most of the time.

But Sirius couldn't let her know he was jealous. He was still hoping for another chance, and picking an argument wouldn't help him. That was probably also the reason why Sirius and Remus hadn't had any argument about Malika, although there was an obvious tension between both friends. They both knew they wouldn't help their case by fighting over her, besides, they didn't want to fight anyway. But it had been difficult for Sirius to control his temper whenever he saw Remus and Malika sitting close, talking softly.

If Sirius was really honest with himself, he couldn't blame Remus for taking his chance with Malika now, Sirius had done the same thing before, trying to get close to her, knowing full well about his friend's feelings. Remus had told them what had happened in the Shrieking Shack, how Lily apparently had told Malika about Remus' feelings, it appeared to be enough reason for the young werewolf to take his chance with her. Sirius knew his friend deserved a chance at happiness, but he couldn't help feeling really jealous.

Sirius was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost missed Malika's answer.

"Well, the reason why I'm never alone these days, is because you guys don't stop following me everywhere."

"I don't follow you."

"Right, you just only seem to always go where I'm going."

A tense silence fell between the two of them. Finally, Sirius spoke again.

"Alright, maybe I follow you sometimes, I'm sorry if it bothers you. But that is not what I wanted to talk about."

Malika faced him expectantly.

"Don't you know why I follow you? I want to spent time with you. I miss what we had, Malika. It's been more than a month, didn't you have enough time to think about it by now? Can't we give it another chance?"

Malika turned away from him. What could she say? It wasn't the first time he had asked this question. But how could they expect her to sort out her feelings, if they never gave her some space. Maybe she had to clarify that for him.

"I told you before that I need time to think, Sirius, to sort out my feelings. The problem is, you never give me a chance to be alone with my thoughts. I need some space too. Therefore, I need you to stop following me around."

"I understand. What about Remus?"

Malika turned her gaze back to Sirius.

"What about him?"

"Doesn't he have to stop following you?"

"He never followed me the way you do, Sirius, but I promise you I will tell him the same things I told you."

Another silence fell between the two. Again, Sirius was the first to speak.

"Alright. I'll give you space." And after a moment he added. "You know where to find me if you miss me." This broke the tension a bit and Malika smiled back at him.

Her dazzling smile made his heart beat faster, he wanted to kiss her more than ever. He wanted to show her how much she meant to him, but even more so, he wanted to remind her of how good it felt when they were together.

Before both realized what was happening, Sirius bent towards her and captured her lips in a soft kiss.

Malika was stunned for a few moments. He had just agreed to give her more space, and now he was kissing her? What was wrong with him. Couldn't he take no for an answer?

After a moment, Sirius released her and Malika backed a few steps away from him, eyes wide with shock.

Sirius immediately realized he made a mistake. He tried to apologize, but Malika didn't give him a chance. Without saying another word, she fled from the classroom.

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Malika went straight to the library. She was a bit shocked after what happened and needed a little time alone to think and the library was a place where her friends wouldn't immediately think to look for her, more so because she was to meet Remus and Lily in an hour there, and usually, Malika wasn't one to be an hour early.

Then again, being kissed by a friend, who happened to be her ex-boyfriend wasn't a daily occurrence either.

Sirius.

How could he do that to her?

Didn't he listen to a single word she had said?

Was it so hard to accept her wishes?

For the first fifteen minutes, Malika just sat in her chair, staring into space and repeating the same thoughts over and over. She thought back to what had happened, analyzing it, trying to figure out how to handle all of this.

In the same time, she tried to sort out her feelings. Had she liked the kiss? Had she wanted it to happen?

She had to admit she liked the kiss. But did that mean she wanted to go back to Sirius?

How was it possible to feel so confused over something that seemed so simple?

Could she be mad at Sirius over it? She was a little annoyed, true, but could she blame him?

Malika realized she was the one who was letting him wait, always delaying to give him a final answer, while at the same time someone else was trying to get close to her.

Her mind then drifted to Remus. It was obvious now how much he liked her, he had been showing it in so many little ways since October, but he was always very subtle, he made sure to never do anything that could create awkwardness between them, he gave her enough space to breath, and he never tried to push her into dating him, like Sirius seemed to do all the time lately.

If Remus would ask her, what would she answer? She had never thought about that question before.

It was not fair, how could they expect her to choose one of them, when they didn't really give her a chance to sort things out.

On the other hand, she realized, was it fair of her to let them wait like this?

She knew she had to make a decision, then, but how could she do that? She didn't want to hurt any of them.

Malika was pulled out of her thoughts when someone sat down across from her, she glanced up to meet a pair of concerned-looking emerald green eyes gazing back at her.

"Want to tell me what's bothering you?" Lily spoke in a soft, soothing voice.

Malika merely shrugged her shoulders, she didn't really feel like talking now.

"You seemed to be in deep thoughts, I know that look you had, something must have happened."

Malika heaved a sigh. "Something happened, but I'm not ready to talk about it yet. I want to figure some things out for myself first. But I'll tell you later, alright?"

Lily nodded and smiled. "Sure."

The next moment, Remus arrived at their table and sat down next to Malika and soon the three friends were making their homework.

An hour later, Malika was finishing the last touches of her essay for transfiguration when she glanced at her friends. Lily had almost finished, but Remus was still reading the same chapter in his charms book he had been reading half an hour ago. Malika frowned, usually he finished his work before her, and now he wasn't even halfway while she had almost finished.

She reached out and nudged his arm lightly.

Remus jumped a little, he was startled by Malika's light touch that had pulled him out of his thoughts, ironically, it were thoughts about her and doing other things than making homework together. He couldn't help the blush that crept on his cheeks as he turned towards her.

Malika felt her heart skip a beat when she saw him blush a little as he looked back at her, but she decided to ignore it.

Instead she asked, "Are you alright?"

Remus nodded, then he glanced towards her now finished homework. "Finished everything already?"

"yeah." A silence fell between them, and for the first time in a very long time, Malika didn't know what to say to him. As she looked into his eyes, she felt her mind go blank for a moment, and she felt like she could stare in those amber eyes forever. Then, her mind sprang back to life with a voice in her head demanding what exactly was going on with her, and she quickly averted her eyes.

After another short silence, Remus was the first to speak again.

"Malika, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She didn't dare to look up as she answered.

"I'm having a bit trouble with this chapter for charms, could you help me?"

Now, Malika did look up, astonished over his question. Remus Lupin problems with charms? Right. He was better at charms than Malika. She had no idea why he would ask her this, but if he wanted her help she could only accept.

The next moment, he had scooted his chair closer to hers, and they were bent over his charms book together.

Sitting so close to her, Remus could barely concentrate on anything she was saying. Her scent was intoxicating him more and more with every breath he took. The skin of his arm was tingling where he could feel her touch through his clothes. He could feel her every move, hear every breath she took (strange, he thought, because he couldn't really hear what she was saying). He wanted to reach out to her, hold her in his arms, kiss her… Suddenly he realized she wasn't bent over the book anymore, but she was watching him with a look of confusion and worry on her face, and finally he could hear her voice again.

"…you there? Remus? Earth to Remus? Can you hear me?"

Malika had been explaining some charm when she noticed Remus wasn't paying attention to what she was saying. After four times of calling his name, she lifted her hand and waved it before his eyes to get his attention. Finally, that seemed to work, because he caught her hand, gave a peck on the back her hand and laid it on the table.

"Are you sure you are alright?" Her voice sounded concerned. Concerned for him, he thought, warmth spreading all through him.

"Yes, I'm just a bit tired I guess."

"You seemed to have some trouble concentrating. Is that because you are tired? Or is something bothering you? You know you can always talk to me about anything, I'm here for you when you need me. Or if you need anything else, if I can help you, just ask."

There were so many things Remus wanted to tell her. How he wanted to kiss her, to take her in his arms and never let go. He wanted to tell her how jealous he was when she was with Sirius, and how afraid he was that she would return to Sirius too. But he couldn't tell her anything of that, he didn't want to put her under pressure, he wanted her to make her own decisions. Besides, he thought dejectedly, she would be better off with Sirius anyway than with a werewolf like himself. There was only one answer he could give.

"Thanks Malika, I'll keep that in mind. But everything's alright with me, I'm just really tired and I seem to have some trouble concentrating in general lately."

Now, that was an understatement. He had been having trouble to focus on anything except her for the last three days. The full moon was coming closer and his already heightened senses were working in overdrive. Wherever he went and whatever he did, everywhere he could pick up her scent out of a million others and he found he couldn't think about anything else but her, it was driving him crazy, but the only thing he could do was wait until the full moon had passed. It had never been like this before, except for the last full moon, and he could only assume it had to do with what happened in October. She had given him more hope than he ever dared to have before that day, and unconsciously he had allowed himself to keep that hope up. Somehow all of this seemed to have this strange effect on him, and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Alright then," Malika was saying, "but if you keep having troubles, you should probably go to madam Pomfrey with this."

"I will." Remus felt his heart beating faster in his chest at her words, it didn't happen very often that someone was this concerned about him. He swallowed when she smiled softly at him and he felt her hand squeezing his lightly, only then he realized he was still holding her hand. He knew then he had to get out of here, or else he wouldn't be able to stop himself from kissing her.

Luckily, Malika seemed to have reached a similar conclusion. She had been observing Remus closely during their conversation, and she was sure something was going on. She didn't have any idea as to what, but the intense look in his eyes and his reaction as she had squeezed his hand told her it had something to do with her and she decided it was better to get them out of this situation. She let go of his hand reluctantly, only now realizing how comfortable she felt with holding his hand.

"Let's go back to the common room then, shall we?"

Malika turned to see if Lily was ready, only to find her friend absent, apparently she had left somewhere during her exchange with Remus.

A few moments later, Malika and Remus made their way back to the Gryffindor common room, both lost in their own thoughts.

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