Sirius sat in the Room of Requirement, plucking his guitar. A melancholy expression was on his face as he bit his lip. Delilah had left two days before, James had not yet returned, and Lily was still missing. Christmas was in a little more then two weeks, and Sirius knew he would not be having a very merry one. Suddenly, Loraina came into the room, her cheeks flushed pink with excitement. Sirius gently placed his guitar on the floor as the blonde shoved a letter and a picture in his hands.

He looked first at the picture. It was Delilah, wearing a simple cream-colored sweater, an olive green scarf, and a pair of jeans with her favorite brown leather boots. She was sitting in a huge park, grinning at them, waving occasionally, and then blowing a kiss. Sirius smiled slightly. She looked beautiful.

Dear Loraina, Remus, and all the rest of you,

Hey! Delilah here! New York isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I mean, it's a pretty big, confusing place, but at night, it's gorgeous! I miss you all like crazy, of course. Expect some great songs when I get home. This place has so much inspiration, it's ridiculous.

Has James found Lily yet? Is she okay? How are all of you? Remus, I hope your transformation isn't too bad. Loraina, I hope your project is going well. My great aunt is pretty annoying, teaching me all these Dark Arts spells and the like. I've got to go; some neighbor of mine is visiting. "Appearances are important". At least that's what my family always says. Write soon!

Love Always,

Delilah.

Sirius smiled. She was okay. She was safe. But he missed her. His heart ached at the thought of her, but he repressed it, trying to be happy for the girl that he loved.

"I'm so happy! She's all right! She's happy!" Loraina giggled, bouncing slightly. Sirius smiled at her, pocketing Delilah's picture. There was no way he was letting go of it.

"I'm glad."

"She misses you, you know."

"How do you know?" Sirius asked dubiously.

"She told me," Loraina said. "She wrote me a letter for my eyes only, for your information. And she misses you."

"Really?"

"Yes," Loraina sighed. "And you've got to do something about it, Sirius."

"Like what?"

"I don't know! Just show her you care. She's convinced that you don't. And she needs you, Sirius. I know you still love her, and she still loves you, too."

Sirius grinned, setting his eyes on his guitar. He had the perfect plan.

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James hoisted his backpack up, staying hidden under the invisibility cloak. They were entering a huge, sinister looking mansion, and James could feel his heart begin to race. He watched as the Aurors began to duel the Death Eaters. He dodged through the battle, opening a heavy, thick wooden door and racing down the dark, damp stairs that led into what seemed to be the prison.

There were a bunch of cells, all of which housed at least one person. He unlocked the doors of them all, not able to leave them behind. He finally reached a cell with a redhead in it. He withheld a gasp as he stared down at the broken form of his girlfriend. He unlocked the barred door and kneeled beside her, turning her onto her back so he could see her face. She began to wake, taking shaking, rattling breaths. James lifted her as gently as he could.

"James," she breathed, grasping his shirt tightly. "You...you came."

"We need to get you out of here, Lily," he said, his voice thick.

"No," she breathed. "Help the others first."

"Lily, you might not make it if I don't get you out now!" he exclaimed.

A twisted smile spread onto her features. "I won't make it either way, James."

"No," he pleaded. "No! Don't talk like that!"

She lost consciousness, and James lifted her gently into his arms, racing as fast as he could out of the mansion, attempting to dodge curses of all sorts and remain hidden.

He grabbed the portkey that was waiting for him at the gate and came spinning into the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey was ready, and ushered James out as soon as he placed the girl on the bed.

He immediately went to the Heads' dorm. He hadn't slept in three days, and he wanted to see his friends. He needed some solace, and he needed rest.

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Dear Loraina,

Hey, girl! I miss you so much!!! When Lily finally wakes up, please, please write me, yeah? And if she is awake, read her this letter, when you two are alone. Hell, read it to her if she's sleeping and you two are alone! My aunt dragged me to this fancy party thing a couple nights ago. I enclosed a couple pictures for you, one of which is me and the hot, hot, hottie Keith, my new neighbor. Boy oh boy, is he a cutie! You'd love him. He's polite, considerate, funny, charming...everything I want.

To be honest, I still miss Sirius loads. The thing is, even after all that happened, he just gave up, you know? Like, suddenly, he just stopped trying, and that hurt. That hurt a lot, actually, more then I want to let on. I wanted him to fight for me, but he didn't. I guess you can't have everything.

Please don't hate me, but I'm thinking about staying here. For good. Hogwarts is my home, but it holds a lot of bad memories. I know that you, Lily, and I will stay friends no matter where I am, but maybe I can finally cut ties with Sirius, and there will never be a doubt about him, about whether or not I should go back to him. Keith is a great guy, and I know you would all love him.

I was going to visit on Christmas Eve and Christmas, then come back here, but I think it would be best if I stayed. I love you, and I love Lily. Tell her that, okay? And tell her that I've never been happier then when I heard she was home. I miss you both.

Love always,

Delilah

Loraina finished reading the letter to Lily with tears in her eyes. Her best friend was still comatose, but she figured hearing Delilah's familiar words would help her. Loraina was terrified at the thought that Delilah might never come back, where she belonged, all because of Sirius. She made a decision, to go and find Sirius and make him do something, anything, to get Delilah back.

She was about to get up when James and Sirius walked in, both looked downtrodden, as they all did these days. It was now just James, Sirius, Remus, and Loraina standing. Remus's full moon was the next day, and so Remus was napping, by Loraina's force.

"Sirius!" Loraina said gruffly. "You had better do something about Delilah and fast! She's met a guy named Keith, and now she doesn't ever want to come back, because she thinks you don't care!"

"What?" Sirius yelped, grabbing the letter greedily but stopping as the two pictures slid off of the parchment. The first was of Delilah on her own. She wore a gorgeous, red satin dress with a sequined panel down the front and back. It had one-inch straps and a square neckline, her long blonde hair cascading down. Sirius gulped as he stared at the picture; she just looked so pretty. The second was her, beaming, with some guy, who was holding her close by the waist. The guy looked quite a bit like Sirius, but with short hair, and brown eyes. He was smirking rather arrogantly in the picture, and Sirius immediately hated him.

He dropped the pictures and the letter, dashing out of the Hospital Wing, a new idea in his head. James sat awkwardly beside Loraina, biting his lip. She looked so stressed and upset. He gently put his hand over hers, and she looked over at him shyly, her cheeks coloring slightly.

"It'll be okay. Sirius will fix it," James reassured her quietly. She nodded, a hopeful glint in her light green eyes.

"I hope so. And I'm so worried about Remus. He hasn't been doing very well lately, and then there's Lily of course; I just don't know what to do!"

"You'll pull through it," James whispered, suddenly aware of how close they were. "I know you will."

Without thinking about it, they both leaned in and kissed each other. It started innocently, but soon became passionate with their anger and frustration. They didn't notice Lily stir as she slowly opened her eyes.

"James," Lily whispered. They kept at it until they needed air, and James looked guiltily to where he expected to find a sleeping Lily. Instead, he saw a betrayed and angry one. "Get out!"

"Lily!" Loraina exclaimed. "I...I'm so sorry."

"No. I don't want to hear your excuses. Get out of here, you stupid slut," Lily growled. "I'm in pain, and I'm tired, and I just want you to get out."

Her voice was hoarse, both from screaming during the many torturous hours she was put through and now from not using it.

"Snapdragon," James began.

"NO!"

The nurse came bustling in, pushing James and Loraina out of the door.

"What have we done?" Loraina whispered, tears filling her eyes.

James shook his head, a tear on his cheek. "I don't know. But it was a mistake."

"Yeah," Loraina said. "I...I've got to tell Remus, don't I?"

"Yeah."

And that is how Loraina found herself sitting on a bed opposite Remus, nervously wringing her hands as she got up the courage to tell him.

"Remus, I...I made a mistake."

"What did you do?" he asked worriedly and tiredly.

"Me and James...we...we kissed."

"You...you what?" Remus spluttered.

"We kissed. Lily woke up and saw us, and...oh God, it was terrible, and I'm sorry. It was a stupid decision. I was stressed and I needed someone."

"Then you should have come to me!" Remus said angrily, standing up. "When have I ever not been there for you?"

"How about when you stood me up?" Loraina retaliated bitterly.

"I had no choice! You had a choice, Loraina!"

Loraina winced. Remus only ever called her by her full name if he was really, really angry. She had expected this, but she didn't expect the amount of hurt that was in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Remus!" she pleaded. "I am so, so sorry. Can't we just put this behind us?"

"No," he growled. His voice suddenly became soft, sounding hurt and injured. "You know, I almost fell in love with you."

"Remus," Loraina whimpered.

"No," he grunted. "Just...leave."

As she slipped out of the door, he kicked his bed frame, hard, before collapsing onto the bed. He had lied. He hadn't almost fallen in love with her. He had completely fallen head over heels in love with Loraina Parker, and now she would never know. In his opinion, she didn't deserve to know.

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Sirius was sitting in the Room of Requirement when James came bursting in, sitting down with a groan. Sirius sighed, placing his guitar beside him and turning to his best mate.

"What now?"

"Lily caught me and Loraina kissing."

"Wait, you and Loraina?!"

"It was a mistake. That was the first and last time, I swear. Now Remus is going to hate me, Lily is going to hate me..."

"And I would too, but I'm not one to talk, am I? Look, mate, you royally just jacked things up."

"Yes," he said, exasperated. "I've noticed."

"Whatever you do, don't give up like I did, okay? Fight for her."

James nodded. "Okay."

"If Lily's awake, I'm gonna go see her. She could probably use a friendly face about now. I'll see you later, okay? Hang in there."

James nodded and watched Sirius walk out of the room to see the person James wanted the most.