Lisa: Ya know... just because I go away for a week don't mean I don't check my e-mail for reviews when I come back.

Heather: Yeah!

Lisa: You make my beta sad.

Heather: Yeah!

Lisa: But whatever enjoy this chapter. I haven't written it yet but I think it's gonna be good.

The Loss of a Winner

"James! JAMES!" Lily screamed as she fired another spell at a death eater. They were starting to gang up on her and she was beginning to get worried that they would over power her. She may have been an incredibly smart student while in school but she wasn't entirely prepared for real combat yet. In fact none of them were quite sure they were ready.

They had all gone through training, not much though; during the order meeting Dumbledore make it perfectly clear that he trusted all of their skills. Mad-Eye Moody had given them some new spells and jinxes for combat and some maneuvers they could use. But their training only last a week and a half before they were needed.

Dumbledore wouldn't dream of putting such young inexperienced people in combat with them but they needed them. It was no secret that the Order of the Phoenix did not have many members and were greatly outnumbered by Voldemort's death eaters. They needed all the help they could get, and they had eight new members that were perfectly capable.

It all started when they were fast asleep at three o'clock in the morning. A shinning silver phoenix came flying into their rooms waking them all up. They knew what this meant, they had been told on their first meeting. When a patronus came to them regardless where or time they had to gather to the place of their meetings.

They all did right away, Lily and James were out first, then Andy and Remus, Heather, Peter and Laura and Sirius was last. He was buttoning his pants as he left with an open shirt and a busty blond in minimal sleepwear confused behind him. He quickly told her to lock the door on her way out and he left with everyone else. It was a very good thing she was a witch because if she wasn't they may have some trouble explaining a silver bird flying up to the bed at three in the morning.

But they went to the meeting place and were briefed very quickly on the situation. Death eaters were attacking a muggle village, there was dozens of them, which was a painful comparison to the members of the order, there were maybe two dozen of them.

They went to the site all ready to kick some death eater butt; however in the first few minutes of battle they quickly realized this was not going to be simple and easy. They were not going to be able to fight like they did in the movies, the second you took down one, two more were on you, no witty banter or finishing lines as they feel. There was no time for that.

"JAMES!!" Lily screamed as they started to over power her.

"LILY!" James yelled looking through all the people for his girlfriend. "Lily where are you!" He yelled as he resulted to punching a death eater in the face to get him away.

"Over here!"

James realized what a stupid question it was wasn't like she could give him exact coordinates. Finally he spotted her flaming red hair through the crowd and ran too her shouting spell after spell. Soon he reached her, she was on the ground gripping her left arm, luckily that wasn't her wand arm.

"Are you okay?" James asked looking at her arm.

"I'm fine, James look out!" She yelled a protection spell just as a hex came flying at them.

"Good thing I have you watching my back." James grinned and helped her up. "From now on, I'm not leaving your side." He screamed a curse when he finished aimed at a death eating coming toward them.

"That's sweet, honey, but I don't think that'll work, you have other friends –" she yelled a hex, "and family to take care of. I'll be fine."

"I'm still not leaving." He said.

"We'll see how that works out." She said and fired a couple more.

In another part of the village Remus and Sirius were side by side fighting, they had stuck close with the girls for the first few minutes but they quickly lost them. Sirius was supporting a large gash on his head and Remus one on his leg. Remus was also getting a little feral, yellow eyes replaced blue ones and he growled when he fired a spell. Sirius was getting a little worried; he always did when his friend went feral on them.

"Remus, you sure you're gonna be alright, mate!?" He yelled through the battle.

"I'll be fine, Pads, don't worry about me." Remus growled.

"Yeah, well that noise coming out of the back of your throat makes me worry." Sirius said looking back at his friend real quick before going back to firing his curses.

"Always did." Remus smiled briefly.

Sirius fired a hex and then turned around quickly firing another in the opposite direction narrowly missing Remus's head and making his tawny hair brush past his face. Remus's eyes widened as he saw the bright hex soar past him, he turned around and looked at Sirius.

"Hey, watch it, mate! You almost took my head off!"

"Well tell your head to get out of the way." Sirius concluded.

Remus rolled his eyes before he was sucked back into the battle, firing more curses at his attackers. "Damn you bloody ass holes!" he yelled at them.

"Took the words right out of my mouth!" Sirius said doing another maneuver that Moody taught them in the past week and taking out two. "Oi! Peter! Look out!" He yelled upon seeing Peter fighting with one death eater only to have another one sneak up behind him.

Peter turned around and gasped at the closeness of the hooded figure attacking him. Sirius ran up to him and tackled the person from behind totally forgetting he had a wand. As he was down Peter took out the man he was facing off and kicked the death eater Sirius had pinned down in the face knocking him out.

"Thanks for that." Peter said.

"Should be thanking you." Sirius said patting him on the back before he remembered exactly where he was. "Wait, where's Remus?" he asked and looked back over to where he was standing only moments ago, Remus was gone.

"Dunno, I think I saw him run that way." Peter said pointing.

"Git," Sirius mumbled, he wanted to run over there and find his lycan friend but he knew he couldn't. There was no way he could find Remus with just a general direction for his guide. Besides he was with Peter now, he had to stay by someone throughout this fight.

Lily was right, James thought landing hard on the ground as he was knocked back by ironically a knock back jinx. They were separated after only a few minutes. He had no idea where she was now, he knew he should be worried though, chances are she found someone else, the village wasn't too big she could have easily ran into another order member.

"Holy shit! James!"

He looked over and saw Heather running toward him firing at a death eater that James didn't notice and he would probably be dead if she didn't come when she did. "Bloody hell, you need a baby sitter don't you?" Heather asked giving him a hand to help him up before they were back to back fighting.

"Probably," he answered. "Have you seen Lily?"

"She's fine, she's with Remus on the other side of that house!" She said and pointed.

"You're sure?"

"Last time I saw here, yeah."

"Anyone else?"

"Uh, Sirius is over there I think Peter is too he was with Marlene... I think Laura's with Dumbledore but that was some time ago, no clue about Andy or anyone else for that matter." Heather said sadly before attacking again.

"Damn," James said, if anything happened to any of his friends he would never forgive himself. When they were in school people had identified him as the leader of the group, he never really saw himself as one but as the unofficial leader it was his job to protect them all.

"They'll be fine, James." Heather said in as much of a calming voice she could at this time. "You've never had cause to worry about them before, why should you, oh shit!" she fired again. "have to worry now."

"I dunno," He hexed one and then punched another. "I just am."

"Well stop. Dammit! Get down!" She screamed as a killing curse went flying over their heads. "I'll be right back." She said and ran across the way, James could still see her but he began to follow her just in case.

"Heather what are you doing!?" he yelled at her.

"Having a little fun!" She screamed and took on the death eater who shot the killing curse at them. "C'mere you son of a bitch!"

"Be careful!" he yelled and then felt a searing pain on the back of his head and is world blacked out for a minute.

"James! James!" he heard Heather yelled and he opened his eyes. "Are you okay!?" She asked bending over him the death eater she was facing before dead a few yards away.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He said.

"You sure?" She asked a line of worry across her brow.

"Yeah I'm fine," James waved her off.

"Okay... good, your head took a good knock there. Thought I just might have to apparate you to the safe house." Heather said giving him a small grin. "I'll help ya up, I'd still get that checked out though."

"Since when did you become a medi-witch?"

"Well, I do deal with animals, and therefore I need to know a little something about how to take care of injured ones and you're not that far off."

"Hey," he said and she laughed.

"HEATHER! JAMES! LOOK OUT!" They heard someone scream suddenly.

They looked around to see several death eaters aiming their wands at the preparing to fire the killing curse. Heather pushed James down to the ground first making him lose grip on his wand and dropped it, it he did not know where it landed. This left Heather standing a second longer then he.

That second was one second she stood too long.

The green beams of light hit her in her chest and she cried out as she fell to the ground. James watched in horror as Heather fell down next to him. More green rays of light went off and he looked up for a moment, it was Andy killing all the death eaters near her in a rage.

"HEATHER!" She screamed running over to her friend. "God dammit Heather! Wake the fuck up!" She screamed as tears began to run down her face. "Jesus Heather, wake up!"

"Andy." James said reaching over to her, but all he earned was her slapping hs hand away.

"Shut the hell up, James!" She yelled and stood up.

"Andy don't do it!"

"Piss off," she said to him as she walked toward the death eaters. "Avada Keda –"

But before she could get the words out another death eater form behind her fired another curse at her. James watched helplessly as a gash appeared in Andy's back tearing her shirt and blood began pouring out. James looked around desperately for his wand, wondering where it could have possibly have gone too.

"Oh God, Andy," he said giving up on the quick search for his wand and crawled over to her. "Oh Merlin..." He breathed as he saw the pool of blood surround her. "No, no, no, no..." He said.

"J – Ja – James..." She whispered and looked up at him with wide eyes. "I – I can can't f – feel any – anything."

He had no idea what to do, his wand was lost and even if he did find it he doubted he could stop the bleeding or close the gash. Death eaters had a way of causing irreversible harm. "S'okay, Andy... it's all gonna be okay..." He said as tears began to form in his eyes and he grabbed her shaking hand.

"D – dun lie t' me, Jam – James... Yer na' good a' i'." She began slurring her words and gave him a small smile.

"No, you really are, it's all gonna be okay."

"Can ya, d' me a fav'r." She asked and reluctantly James nodded. "Can ya... 'ell Remy... tha' I luv 'im...?"

Now he was crying and he nodded his head. "Yeah... yeah I will..."

"I g'ess it's time t' g' see m' daddy..." She breathed and then closed her eyes.

James felt it as her hand lost its grip and her chest stopped rising.

"No..." James said and looked around. "Oh God no, no, no, no, no..." he said and sat back looking at the dead bodies of two of his friends. "Oh... no how could this happen no..." He kept saying to himself and he sat there on the ground with his head buried in his knees crying.

"Oh get up!" he heard and looked up to see Heather standing above him, looking down he saw her body still on the ground and then he looked back. "Wha – what...?"

"I said get up, are you deaf?" She said again with her classic Heather attitude.

"Are you dead?"

"Oh no, see that body there isn't me it's my mysterious identical twin, of course I'm freakin' dead you idiot!"

Now that James looked again he saw that she was slightly transparent and floating a little off the ground. "How are you here...?"

"Well you see I didn't exactly go to the pretty light yet, and now I get why, I gotta get your lazy ass up and do something!" She cried.

"You're dead Andy's dead..."

Heather nodded. "Yeah... I know speaking of her I pretty sure she should be here any second. I know as a fact she didn't find that light either."

"How do you know?" He asked.

"I'm dead, I know everything."

Just as she said that a figure materialized next to her, it was Andy she was floating and sitting in the air Indian style. She too was slightly transparent and she was looking around with a confused face, James noticed that he could see the dried blood on the sides of her shirt and on the sides of her arms from the large gash on her back.

She looked around and spotted Heather floating next to her. "You're dead already?! Man, you really suck at this!" She laughed.

Heather looked at her. "You're dead too."

Andy looked hurt and then looked down. "Well you don't have to rub it in... Hey! Besides I might not be dead! I could just be passed out and this is all some sort of astral projection thingy! There are plenty of cases or medi witches fixing wounds and stuff after the person was presumed dead and reviving them!"

"No... There aren't."

"Shut up." Andy said crossing her arms across her chest and floating upside down.

"But anyway we're here to say don't give up." Heather said. "Lily still needs you, she's over there with Remus now, not far away. She needs you, the marauders need you. Just because we're not here does not mean your life should stop being lived."

James shook his head. "But I watched you die... I saw what happened and I didn't do anything."

"What the hell could you have done?" Andy asked now right side up. "You're unarmed and you were surrounded by like fifty three billion death eaters. It wasn't your fault, there was nothin' ya could of done, trust me, I went over all the possibilities on how this could have been your fault but it wasn't. I was bein' stupid and I wanted revenge and I put myself in a position to die, it was all me."

"And I pushed you down, right after you were hit on the head. You couldn't get back up even if you wanted to. You were to weak from the blow, and besides you didn't jump down on your own accord. It was all me, you did nothing." Heather said with a small smile.

James couldn't figure this out, if he was hallucinating, if this was really happening and they just came back as ghosts or if he was dying and this was just him going crazy. But whatever was going on he might as well just go with it. "Yeah..." He said and looked down.

"Now, go and find Lily, go give her a hug and kiss her and crap." Andy said.

"Might not have too find her." Heather grinned and nodded behind James, a red head was running up to him with red locks of hair bouncing around her shoulders. Behind her was Remus, Sirius, Peter and Laura all looking worried and on the verge of tears when they saw the scene before them.

"Remember to tell him I love him." Andy said and James looked back to the two floated figures in front of him before they faded away.

"Oh my God James..." Lily said as she collapsed next to James and hugged crying harder then she ever had in her life.

Remus stared at the body of her girlfriend and started to cry his knees gave out and he fell to the ground in front of Andy. His fall agitated the deep wound in his stomach making more blood come out, but he couldn't feel it now. Sirius went down too and hugged him. Laura had uncontrollable tears and she was making all sorts of noises as she cried and sniffed. She bent down to them and hugged all four of them an arm around each group pulling them together, Peter did likewise.

The group of now six cried for hours on end, they didn't even realize it when the other order members took them back to the safe house. Upon realizing that their wounds were fairly bad they were taken to St. Mungos but none of them cared at the moment. They all had to be put under so the medi-witches could look them over individually without them holding onto each other.

That night they won the battle but they lost something that they could never get back.

Lisa: (moment of silence)