Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Written for Ethy. Hope you like it, love :)

Finding The Light

Her gaze rested on the stars twinkling above her, allowing her a moment of calm to settle herself. Peace and quiet was hard to find with the war pressing so harshly on them, but moments like this reminded her that the world wasn't filled with only darkness and if one looked hard enough, there was enough light to guide the way forward.

For her, that light came from within her friends. Wonderful, loving, funny, irritating and annoying people that she couldn't imagine living without. Lily and Emmeline, her girls, her sisters. She loved the both of them to the ends of the earth, and she knew they loved her as much. She'd shared so many nights gossiping and giggling with them, that she'd lost count, but she cherished them all regardless.

James and Remus and Peter. Each different in their own ways, but also an extension of each other, they were fun loving and irritating in equal measure, as likely to get her in trouble as they were to get her out of it. Despite their pranks, and sometimes prattish behaviour, she wouldn't change any of them for the world.

And Sirius. Her boyfriend. Her love. Her life. She couldn't imagine what her daily life would be without him, and she hoped she never had to find out. He held her together when she broke down, he made her laugh until tears poured from her eyes and she begged him to stop, he made her feel more alive than anything else could or would.

Only that day, he'd decided a barbecue by the lake was a good plan. Even though she'd half heartedly tried to talk him out of it, she'd enjoyed the result. His current lack of eyebrows notwithstanding, she'd very much enjoyed watching Professor McGonagall reading him the riot act. It was just one of the many ways he tried to lighten up their day to day lives, and she loved him for it.

Arms wrapped around her from behind, interrupting her thoughts. Soft lips pressed against her neck.

"What are you doing up here all alone?" he murmured, nuzzling against her.

"Just thinking," she replied quietly, not wanting to disturb the calm of the astronomy tower. "It's a nice night."

He nodded, pulling her closer to him so her body was flush against him. "I missed you."

"How long ago did you escape detention?" she asked, a soft chuckle escaping her.

He nipped at her earlobe. "Half an hour ago. Lily told me where you were hiding."

"Not hiding," she argued. "Thinking."

"About?"

She shrugged. "You. The war. Our friends. The future. I don't know, Sirius. Just thinking."

"The war won't last forever, baby. We'll have a future. Together."

"You don't know that," she whispered, and the truth of her statement brought tears to her eyes. She fought against them, she was sick of crying over the unknown. Merlin only knew how many times she'd woken from a nightmare with tears streaking her face.

"You're right, I don't know that, but it's what I'll fight for. I'll fight for you, so I can see that smile that lights up your face every day. I'll fight for our friends, so that we can all grow old disgracefully together. I'll fight for any children we might have, so they can grow up without fear. It's all about knowing what you're fighting for."

She turned to face him, her lips skimming over his. "I know what I'm fighting for too."

"Oh?" he asked, his eyebrow raising, even as he smiled at her.

"Hmm. I'm fighting for you. For everything you're fighting for."

Kissing her soundly, he took her hand in his own and pulled her towards the staircase. "Then how can we possibly lose?"

As he pulled her back towards Gryffindor tower, Marlene smiled to herself. She didn't know what was coming in the future. None of them did. But with Sirius and her friends by her side, she wasn't scared to find out.