Hi all!

So… It has been much too long again… But as I am sitting at home, unable to go to work due to some health issues, I thought about returning to this story. So here I am once again. Let's hope I stick with it this time. Just so you know: the reviews do help! Any tips for the plot, my writing or anything really, is always welcome!

Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter…

Chapter 9:

"We have got to stop meeting like this…" Remus was sitting down in one of the comfy chairs, the ones in front of the fire place. He was mumbling and at the same time writing it down. He then showed his notebook to Maya, who was sitting next to him.

"Yeah, I know" Maya smiled, she was actually quite happy with their early morning dates. It was now halfway into October, the first rainstorm of this Fall was currently blazing outside. Remus and Maya meet each other at least three times a week. Always on that same couch, always around the same time; 6:30 to be exact. Both of them would have a book with them. Sometimes Maya was there first, but often Remus was already sitting in front of the fireplace, with a blanket over his legs just like this time. It was always very nice, just being in each other's company. Silent and at the same time comforting, just knowing that they weren't alone. Knowing that, if one of them ever decided they did want to talk about what was keeping them awake, there would be someone there to listen. Recently they had even begun to ask the house-elves for some hot chocolate.

Today Maya was their before Remus. She had had one of her nightmares again, this time it was of Harry. She would see him go to Voldemort and get killed. It was those nightmares, the ones about her friends that would always made her miss them even more. So that was why Remus found her crying and hugging her knees this particular morning.

Remus sat down next to her and began scribbling something down again. "You okay? Bad dream? Do you want to talk about it?" He could see Maya thinking about what she was going to answer. She looked into the fireplace and nodded.

"I dreamed about my friends, about Ha- Harold. He died right before I came to Hogwarts. He was my best friend and I just really miss him" A tear rolled down her cheek and Remus lifted up his hand. With his thumb he stroked her cheek, making the tear go away. They looked in each other's eyes. Remus then wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He had never lost someone before, so he didn't really know what it was like or what he should say in situations like these. But he figured she could use a hug and a shoulder to cry on, which was something he could give her.

They sat like that for a long time, Remus just holding Maya close to him and Maya letting her tears flow for the first time since arriving in this time. It was the first time Remus heard her talk about her friends in France. He hoped that her talking about her friends and her life from before she transferred, meant that she was opening up to him. He hoped it meant that she was starting to like him the way he was starting to like her.

He had noticed just this past week that he was starting to have feelings for Maya. Well, not just friendly feelings, because they already were friends. It had all started when he was teaching her about boggarts during their tutoring session for Defence. It turned out, Remus was the best tutor for Defence. Both Maya and Peter were taking the Defence tutoring from Remus.

The others were doing some tutoring too, Lily gave them Charms and occasionally some Arithmancy. James is best at Transfiguration, and they found out he could even get Peter to do the spells correctly. Lily especially, was very surprised to find out James was the most patient one out of all of them. They had only one subject no one seemed to be any good at, and that was potions. If only they could find someone that could tutor that to Maya.

Remus found it pretty weird actually, that Maya hadn't opened up more about her friends and family in France. About anything in her life for that matter. She rarely talked about herself, not about her hobby's, or were she liked to travel to, or her what interested her besides school… They knew practically nothing about Maya, except for the basics. Remus made a mental note to talk about this with Lily, maybe she knew more about the still mysterious foreign girl.

Meanwhile Maya was thinking. She thought about her friends in the future, the ones she may never see again. At least that is what Dumbledore thinks, since he explained his theory about Maya not being alive anymore in the future that she herself came from. She also thought about her new friends, the ones she would eventually lose too. Since they were almost all going to die in only a few short years. And then she came to a decision. If she didn't make any friends, if she never let them be close enough with her, then she wouldn't grow attached to them and she wouldn't lose them.

HPHPHPHP

In the week that followed the early morning encounter between Remus and Maya, most of Gryffindor and some students of the other houses had started to notice the change in Maya. She seemed even more distant from her fellow students and the contact between her and the Marauders and Lily had reduced to the absolute minimum. She only talked with them when necessary, during classes and during the tutoring lessons. At Breakfast, she would have already eaten when her friends would arrive and during lunch and dinner she would read or sit somewhere else. Being deaf had been a huge help too, she could ignore them even more easily.

It had come so far, that McGonagall decided it was time to step in. She was starting to see Maya as a niece of her, Maya was a part of her family. She couldn't stand to see her this unhappy, and she also had a feeling she knew the reason behind this behaviour. Maya and her friends had Transfiguration today, just before dinner. McGonagall made a mental note to ask Maya to stay after the class, so they could enjoy dinner together.

"And that is it for today's lesson. I want you all to write a 600-word essay on non-verbal Transfiguration and it's benefits by next week's lesson" McGonagall ended here lesson and then turned her attention to Maya "Miss Dumbledore, could you stay please, so that I can have a word with you?" Maya sighed and nodded. She had a feeling she knew what this was about, but she also didn't want to talk about it. Maya put her books in her bag very slowly and when everyone cleared out of the classroom, she went towards McGonagall.

"We haven't had dinner together in a very long time, so I was wondering if you wanted to go and have dinner in my private quarter's? Just the two of us, no Dumbledore, just an aunt and her niece enjoying a nice home cooked meal. What do you say?" Maya had to smile a bit at that. She too was beginning to see McGonagall as an aunt, she felt at ease with her, like she could tell her everything. She also knew that if anything was ever bothering her, McGonagall would be there to listen and give her some advice. So Maya smiled, thanked her and told her that she would go and put her books away, put on some comfortable clothes and meet her at her private quarters in an hour.

HPHPHPHP

R&R everyone! See you at the next update!