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Chapter 7

Something Incorruptible

The next day Lily showed up at the door around noon.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked while Lisa retrieved her broomstick.

Thankfully, Remus was at work. If he'd known what the two of them were up to, he'd definitely try to stop them.

"Yeah." Lisa nodded, fingers tightening around the wooden handle. "I have to. If I'm only going to practice in a safe place, I might as well not waste my breath."

Lily didn't like this, but she had to agree. "Still... are you sure you want to put yourself through that?"

Lisa gave her a small smile. "It'll be fine. I'll have you there. What's the worst that could happen?"

Lily gave her a sour look, and she snickered. "Those idiots really are rubbing off on you. Just because they pull stupid stunts all the time, doesn't mean we should too."

Lisa locked up and the two began to descend the stairs. "It will be fine, Lily," she said. "We won't actually enter the place; we'll just... near it. And speaking of idiots, what did you tell James?"

"That I'm going shopping." Lily sniggered in her hand. "If there's something James hates, it's when I drag him shopping. You should have seen how quickly he made up some kitchen emergency; I think he blew up the sink just so he'd have an excuse not to go."

They laughed as they reached the ground floor, then Lisa swung her leg over the broom and Lily sat behind her, wrapping her hands tightly around her waist.

"Hey... are you sure you don't want me to steer? What if you feel sick?" the redhead suggested.

Lisa huffed. "Yeah, right. You'll fly us right into a tree!"

Lily gasped indignantly, but her protests were quickly drowned by the sudden acceleration. "Are you trying to kill us!? Slow down!" she yelled.

Lisa laughed loudly. "Fast is the only way I know how, Lily! Better get used to it!" And, leaning down against the broom, she picked up the speed even more, giggling as Lily shrieked and held on to her for dear life.

oOo

The air became significantly colder when they reached the coastline. Soon Lily was shivering against Lisa's back, and the broom swung slightly from the air currents. They didn't know exactly where Azkaban was located, but all they really needed was a general direction, and that wasn't hard to find. Just fly in the direction you least want to take.

"Lily," Lisa said after a while. "Do you hear anything?"

"No," the redhead said. "Do you?"

"Howling," Lisa replied shortly. "We must be getting close."

The waves were crashing down below them, and the grey sky gave them a feeling of claustrophobia. There was nothing but water as far as the eye could see, but they could tell it was close.

"Alright," Lisa said, bringing the broom to a stop. "This is as good place as any."

Lifting her hand from the handle, she reached inside her pocked and pulled out her wand, and then took a deep breath.

She tried to remember the warm feeling of Remus' lips, the smell of him and that night under the green blanket, but it was hard to remember warmth when you were chilled to the bone, hard to smell anything other than the salty air and feel something beneath the crushing sadness.

"Expecto Patronum!" The only thing she managed to produce was a shabby mist.

"Keep it going," Lily said encouragingly, tightening her arms slightly.

Lisa tried to concentrate. Remember. Feel.

She tried to focus on the feeling of Remus' caress, but completely out of nowhere, Mulciber popped into her head, and the memory of his horrible touch made her shiver in disgust. Lisa trembled, the mist dissipated, and she almost fell off the broom, but her friend's arms held her up.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked worriedly.

Lisa nodded, but she really felt like she could be sick. Why did she have to remember this now, of all times! Recovering from it had been hard enough, forgetting him and being intimate again with Remus had taken more than two months. She didn't need this right now!

"We can stop..." Lily said hesitantly. "No one said this has to happen right away. We can try again tomorrow, or..."

"No," Lisa said firmly. "There could be another attack tomorrow, and I'll be nothing more than dead weight. We're doing this today."

She swallowed thickly and raised her wand again. Practicing the spell while keeping the broom steady was hard enough, but on top of that, the howls in her head kept distracting her, unwanted memories of Mulciber broke her concentration just when she thought she'd got it, and thoughts of death and war nagged at her subconscious. It took a few hours before Lisa was willing to admit defeat, but even she could see that being exposed to Dementors for much longer would make her faint.

The broom soared over the sea and almost made it to the shore, but Lisa had to bring it to the ground, on some pier stretching into the dark waters. Her whole head was spinning.

The two girls sat down on one of the benches lining the wooden platform.

"Here," Lily said, breaking up a bar of chocolate.

"Thanks," Lisa replied, accepting it gratefully.

They sat down on a bench and nibbled at the candy.

"Maybe I should just think of something else," Lisa started thoughtfully. Perhaps Remus just wasn't a strong enough memory.

"Maybe..." Lily said slowly. "Is there something that makes you happier?"

Happier than Remus? Lisa thought about it, but she honestly couldn't think of anyone or anything that made her feel as good as he did.

"You know what, I think I'm just not happy," she said miserably.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you?"

"I... I thought I was! But if I am, then why isn't this charm working? If the happiest thing I can think of isn't happy enough—"

"Have you ever thought that the problem could be with your un-happiness?"

Lisa stared at her friend blankly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Lily twirled a lock of her hair around her finger. "I just mean that you've been through a lot. Your sister was murdered, your best friend betrayed you, those werewolves almost ripped you apart..."

"That has nothing to do with anything!" Lisa snapped. "Remus has been through worse, but he did it!"

"Remus... he's easy to please," Lily said gently. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that what you two have is minor, but... even small things make him happy. He faces so much hate; the fact that he has someone to tell him it'll be alright is probably enough for him to make a patronus."

Lisa chuckled softly. Her hands were no longer shaking. The chocolate seemed to be taking effect. She turned to Lily. "What do you think of?"

"Me?" The redhead blushed. "I just... think of holding James' hand."

Lisa sniggered. "Right."

Then a voice from somewhere behind them said, "Well, well, well. What are two little birds doing here all alone?"

Lisa and Lily shot to their feet. Lisa's wand was still in her hand, but the second it took Lily to reach to her pocket was enough for a disarming charm to make it fly into Avery's open palm.

"Gross," he said and looked at it with disgust. "A mudblood's wand." He turned around and chucked it into the water.

Lisa stepped in front of Lily, her eyes darting form Avery's smirking face to those of his companions – Rosier, Regulus... and Dorcas.

"What are you doing here?" Dorcas hissed, the notes of panic in her voice barely showing under a thick layer of hostility.

"You don't own the pier," Lily said bitingly. "And I suppose we don't need to ask why you're here? Your master pointed to a spot on the map and you Apparated there like the good lapdogs you are."

Rosier's wand whipped out of his pocket and metal shackles erupted from the bench, binding themselves to Lily's wrists and drawing her back sharply. A groan escaped her lips when she slammed against the wooded seat.

"Careful, mudblood," his deep voice rumbled. "Keep up that cheek and you might lose a limb."

Lisa's wand shifted from one Death Eater to the next, uncertain of who she should target. The second she fired a spell, it would leave her open to an attack. The Death Eaters stepped closer, forming a loose semi-circle around them. The young witch began to feel desperation weigh heavily in her chest. They were lost. There was no point in resisting anymore. This battle was lost, the war was hopeless, everything was hopeless...

Dorcas, Rosier, Avery and Regulus stopped advancing and looked around cautiously. The air felt a lot colder all of a sudden. Lisa threw a look at the water and saw thick fog rolling in slowly. Faint howling sounded in her ears.

The Death Eaters also turned their eyes to the sea, just in time to see a dozen hooded black silhouettes emerge from it, advancing towards them ominously.

Avery backed away, tripping over himself. "Dementors!" he yelled, Disappataring on the spot.

Regulus soon followed suit, but Dorcas stood her ground and locked eyes with Lisa. The two exchanged a very quick look, but the latter could tell what that determined glint in Dorcas' blue eyes meant – she wasn't about to leave her and Lily to the Dementors.

"Stupefy!" Lisa shouted. Dorcas blocked it, but the message was clear: 'Go!' The ex-Slytherin gave a tiny shake of her head. Lisa gritted her teeth.

"Retreat!" Rosier shouted, grabbed Dorcas by the sleeve and Apparated away with her.

Lisa thanked Merlin mentally, though the relief was short-lived. The horrid creatures were still coming, but Lily was still chained. Lisa turned her attention to the shackles and tried a Severing Charm, Vanishing Charm, every spell she could think of – nothing worked. With the Dementors nearing, she could feel cold sweat on her brow, and the howling was making it hard to concentrate.

"Lisa," Lily said weakly from the bench, "you have to go."

"Don't even start, Lily! I'm not leaving you," Lisa growled, taking a step back. There had to be a way out of this, she just needed to think of it!

"There's no need for both of us to stay behind," Lily urged. Her emerald eyes were glistening with tears. "There are too many of them, you won't be able to—"

"I said I'm not leaving!" Lisa snapped, whirling around to face the incoming horde. Her heart was beating faster and faster, ghosts of big furry bodies kept swimming out of the fog, only to disappear when she tried to look closer. Lisa closed her eyes and tried with her whole being to concentrate on the spell. Happy memories. Happy memories. Happy memories, damn it!

"Expecto Patronum!"

Her miserable mist couldn't stop a gnome. Lily kept struggling against the chains and trying to tell her to flee, but Lisa could hear none of it. The blood-chilling howl of the werewolves rang in her head like a siren and drowned out everything else. Her wand lowered. Her knees were begging to give way...

Suddenly, a white blur passed by her, flying straight at the Dementors. They slowed down but didn't stop completely. The patronus began to fly in a circle around the two young women, and Lisa could finally make out its shape – a raven. She felt a gust of air behind her, and a hand gripped her left shoulder, while someone's chest pressed against her back. She tried to turn around, but the hand held her firmly in place. A long arm aligned with her own, holding a dark-wood wand parallel to hers.

"If you don't do it now, we're all dead," a low male voice growled in her ear. "Dementors have a way of corrupting any happy thought you have, so you have to think of something they can't touch. Something incorruptible. What makes you feel better when you're sad?"

What made her feel better? Usually, Dorcas would try jokes. Even when Lisa was in a hospital bed, her best friend never failed to make some sort of quip. Dorcas had the sort of contagious laugh that always made you feel like you should laugh along, even if you don't have a clue what the joke was supposed to be.

The howling kept getting stronger in her ears, but Lisa just couldn't take it seriously with Dorcas' laugh chiming right along. The ridiculous thought that Dorcas would complain about the noise and threaten to file a complaint with the Beat Division of the Ministry suddenly popped into her head, and Lisa smiled.

That was it! The problem wasn't the memory. It was that she had to think of a specific element! She finally understood what Lily meant. Don't think about the memory. Think about the one single part of it that made you happy.

Lisa closed her eyes. Dorcas' laughter. Sirius' grin. The way James messed his hair. Frank's flawless Mad-Eye impression. Peter's face when she ruffled his hair. Lily's warm hand, supporting her on the broom.

Remus' heartbeat.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A bright burst of light shot from Lisa's wand, so strong it blinded her. Her rabbit sprang froth, more brilliant than it had ever been. Lisa could feel the gentle warmth her patronus emitted, and it made her stand up straighter and breathe in deeper. She couldn't tell if the magic was coming out or going inside her, but she knew it was making her stronger. The Dementors stopped dead in their tracks, assaulted by the unusual shine. Then they averted their hooded faces and whirled around, fleeing from the waves of white radiance.

Lisa lowered her wand. The bunny continued to hop around her, dancing with the silver raven. Then she felt the person behind her pull back, and the bird dissipated.

"Wait!" she called after him, turning around. The man stopped. He was wearing his hood again, and all she could see was his dark-clad back. "Who are you?"

"I'm... someone who doesn't want to see you die," he said in the same low voice.

"But why? Why are you helping me?"

He was silent. Then he half-turned and said, "Let's just say that lately it's the only thing I can do that doesn't make me feel like scum."

"Wait!" she called again, but this time he did not even hesitate. Turning on his heel, he disapparated in a swirl of black.