The Squib and the Werewolf

16. Love Birds

Calling each other by their new nicknames became second nature for the Marauders. And Raya grew to love being called the Lioness, especially as it had been chosen for her by Sirius.
Every time she was around Sirius, she couldn't take her eyes off him.
She hoped he didn't notice her constantly staring at him, but even with that fear in her head, she just couldn't stop herself.
To her, he was perfect, but in a different way to James.
Sirius wore leather jackets and loved tattoos and motorbikes, whereas James was much more of a traditional cool boy, who wore shirts.
Sirius was a bad boy, and Raya loved it.
Whenever they were alone together, she had to fight the urge to kiss him.

"Hey, Padfoot, stop daydreaming" instructed Raya.
Her and Sirius was sat on the spare bed in the boys dormitory, doing their Muggle Studies homework together.
Remus was still recovering from the full moon the night before, and James and Peter were both in detention.
Although Raya found Muggle Studies extremely easy, as she was a half-blood, Sirius found it much trickier, which is why she often had to tutor him.

"Eugh, I keep getting a kettle and a microwave the wrong way round" groaned Sirius.
"It's simple. A kettle is used for boiling water, and a microwave heats up food" reminded Raya.
"It might be simple for you, because you grew up with these things. And I've only just got my head around fridges and freezers. Besides, in my house, if my parents wanted to boil some water, they would just flick their wands at a jug of water, and it would boil" replied Sirius.

"Well, Muggles don't have wands, so they had to work out how to do things without magic, which is why electricity was invented. Anyway, I thought you liked learning about Muggles, which is why you took the subject" said Raya.
"I do like the class, and not just because it annoys my parents. I don't know why you bothered taking Muggle Studies though, when you already know everything about Muggles" admitted Sirius.
"I took it, because I wanted an OWL that I could pass easily, which didn't involve any magic. I want to get as many OWLs as possible, which is why I decided to do Muggle Studies" informed Raya.

"What did your dad think when you told him?" Asked Sirius.
"He was confused as to why I would waste my time on something I already know all the answers to. But I explained to him that I can complete my homework so quickly, that I don't need to spend much time on it. And usually in the lessons, I'm ignoring everything the teacher says and working on homework for other classes" admitted Raya.
"Oo, how rebellious of you" teased Sirius.
"Shut up. Anyway, when I told my dad I would be taking 3 additional subjects instead of the usual 2, he agreed with me that taking Muggle Studies was a good idea".

"Look at you Miss Smarty Pants. Putting us all to shame by doing Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies, and Care of Magical Creatures" grinned Sirius.
"Well, you were right about one thing, Ancient Runes is really hard" sighed Raya.
"Do you want me to test you on the runes?" Offered Sirius.
"Maybe later. Right now, we are helping you study, not me"
"I wouldn't mind taking a break"
"I bet you would love that"
"So, Professor Lupin, can I take a break?"
"Alright, but only a quick one. We need to move on to washing machines and tumble dryers"
"Thank you, I promise it will be a quick break".

"While we are on our little break, you can tell me why you are not in detention right now, with James and Peter" said Raya, as she started closing the books they had been reading.
"Well, yesterday during Defense Against the Dark Arts, we had to get into pairs to do some duelling. I decided to go with Remus and James went with Peter. Long story short, James and Peter caused a few minor explosions, and got placed in detention. The only reason I didn't join them, was because I was working with Remus on the other side of the room. If me and James had partnered together, as usual, it probably would have been me and him who ended up in detention" admitted Sirius.

"You and James always go together, so why weren't you partners yesterday?" Asked Raya.
"It's good to work with different people every now and again. I also wanted to give Remus the chance to practice against someone who wasn't useless" answered Sirius.
"Peter isn't useless" insisted Raya.
"No, he's not. But he's not a duelling master, like me and James"
"Oh, so you're a duelling master, are you Mr Black?"
"Definitely. No Slytherin stands a chance against me"
"I bet if I had a wand, I could take you down"
"I'd like to see you try".

Sirius lunged at Raya, and the pair of them began rolling around on top of the bed, not caring about all their work that they were crumpling.
"O.K, O.K, truce" sighed Raya, when her arms got tired of fighting.
Sirius released Raya, and the two sat up on their knees, inches from each other's faces.
They both stared at each other for a moment, and then suddenly they both leaned in at the same time and kissed each other.
Raya felt as if her heart had exploded, as her mind was racing, and her body was feeling things it had never felt before.
Sirius's lips were soft, and each time he kissed her, she leant in closer, desperately wanting his lips back against hers.

Sirius held Raya's face with his hands, and she placed hers through his hair.
As the pair got closer and closer, Raya suddenly pushed herself back, and placed her hand onto Sirius's chest, stopping him from coming any further.
"No. We can't" said Raya, as she gasped for air.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to push you" apologised Sirius, as he backed away from her.
"I'm not saying it was your fault. I wanted to kiss you as much as you wanted to kiss me" admitted Raya.
"Then what's the problem?"
"We can't do this. We are best friends. My brother is your best friend. The Marauders are our family. So, we can't possibly be together".

"I don't see the problem. We've never acted like brother and sister around each other. The way you and James do. And sometimes we act in ways that friends don't. We've always been closer than best friends. And don't say that you don't agree, because I've seen the way you look at me" admitted Sirius.
"I won't deny that I like you, and that I look at you every chance I get. But I don't act upon my feelings, because I know it could never work between us" replied Raya.
"Why? If you had told me you liked me, then we could have started dating ages ago. So, why didn't you tell me how you really felt?" Questioned Sirius.

"Because we belong to the same friendship group. You can't have two people dating each other in a group like ours, because that would change the whole dynamic. And if we broke up, it would make things extremely awkward for everyone, and the Marauders would never be the same again" admitted Raya.
"If we never broke up, then we wouldn't have that problem" Sirius pointed out.
"You have never been in a relationship for longer than a few months. Which is why you've dated half of the girls in Gryffindor"
"I haven't dates that many"
"Marlene, Dorcas, Mary, Amelia, Alice-"
"Alright, I have dated a couple of people, I admit it. But I never felt about them the way I feel about you".

"How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you won't treat me like those other girls, and get bored of me within a month?" Questioned Raya.
"Because you know me. We've been friends for years. And you know that I would never hurt you like that. Me and those girls were never best friends, before we dated, and it was only while going out with them that I realised we didn't fit. But I know you, which is why I like you, and I want to go out with you" insisted Sirius.
"But what about Remus? You know how over protective he can be of me? What if he gets angry at you for dating his little sister? And what are we going to do about the other Marauders?" Asked Raya.
"We don't have to tell anyone that we are dating straight away. We can keep it a secret for a while, if you like".

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind keeping it between us for the time being?" Quizzed Raya.
"Of course not" answered Sirius.
"Only because I know you normally like to shout about your relationships, so that everyone knows who you are dating. And I know you like to walk down the corridors, arm in arm with your girlfriend, so that everyone knows she is yours" replied Raya.
"Things will be different for us. I won't treat you like those other girls. I want to go out with you, and if that means I have to keep it a secret, and only kiss you in private, then that's what I'll do"
"Promise?"
"I promise".