"She would like to see you." Loralei told Sirius as they walked through an empty passageway to the Headmaster's office. She told him that she could tell Sirius, and since he didn't want to explain that his mother was dying, he took the gift without question.

"Why?"

"You as good as her other son." Loralei told him. "She loves you like a son, especially since you've been with us for years."

"And how are you taking this?" He asked her, not fully comprehending what she had told him.

She shrugged. "I don't know."

He put his arm around her shoulder, and stopped her from walking. "Come here." She took his embrace gratefully. This wasn't about getting her back, it was about being there for her when she needed it, and right now she needed it greatly.

"I'm so scared." She muttered, sounding on the verge of tears. "I have no right to be, she's the one dying."

"You have every right to be scared." He whispered in her ear. "You love her."

"What's going to happen when she's gone? I'm going to miss her so much, Sirius!" She sobbed into his chest. "I don't know what to do."

"You're going to be okay, I won't let anything hurt you." He whispered into her hair.

"But I don't want her to die!" Loralei cried, her words barely understandable through her tears.

"No one does, she'll always be with you though." Sirius whispered to her, as she cried it out into his chest, feeling like her lungs were missing and she couldn't draw in enough breath. She was drowning in her tears and in her pain, and she felt as if she had no right to be so sad since it wasn't her that was dying, still, she couldn't stop crying, she couldn't stop the salty tears from going down her face. She knew she didn't look beautiful with her face red and her eyes puffy. Still, Sirius let her cry it out, until they were sitting next to each other against the wall.

"Everything's going to be okay." He told her, putting his hand on hers.

She flipped her hand over and squeezed his. "No, it's not." She said softly, cracking a small smile.

"You're right it's not." He agreed, happy to see her give a small smile, and returned one of his own.

"I love her so much, Siri." She told him. "I wish I was dying so I don't have to feel this."

"Don't say that." He said softly. "I don't think I'd survive long without your comebacks."

"What not my disapproving gaze?" She replied, trying to joke right back with him., "What about my sunny personality?"

"No, I think I'm going to stick with the comebacks." Sirius smiled.

Loralei laughed sadly. "Put that on my tombstone, will you?"

"I'm dying first." He told her. "I am older than you."

Loralei rolled her eyes. "Does that mean that it goes you, Lily, James, Remus then me? I don't think that's going to happen."

He shrugged. "In a perfect world it would be."

"It's not a perfect world." Loralei told him. "If it was a perfect world then I would be the Divination teacher in two years, my mother would be alive, and James wouldn't be such a jackass."

"And I wouldn't have cheated on you." Sirius added, looking at his hands. "I'm really sorry about that. I wish it didn't happen."

"We probably wouldn't still be together anyway." She told him.

"Well, maybe, but it wouldn't have been that bad, we could've still been friends right after." He paused. "But I am happy we're friends now."

"Me too." She agreed. "I don't think we can't be friends though, Mum called you a second son, you love her too."

"Yeah, I do." He nodded.

"We'll get through this." She told him. "I'm really scared about Dad though, in that big house all alone until James and I get home."

"He has the house elves."

"Yeah, but they're not friends. He won't have anyone to talk to outside of work, and I won't be able to be home all the time. I'm just happy his term as minister is almost up, before he was sworn in he had black hair, now it's mostly gray." Loralei tilted her head up, resting it against the wall. "It's funny, I always thought my parents were old, but I didn't think they were getting so close to death."

"Do you want to go see them?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, I was taking you to see them." She stood up, pulling him up by his hand with her. "Do I look like I've been crying?" She looked up at him.

He shook his head. "You look great."

The corner of her mouth picked up a bit. "Thanks."

"All of my kids are here now." Cordelia Potter smiled when Loralei and Sirius came in. "How was class?"

"Fine, Mum." Loralei told her, releasing Sirius' hand and taking her seat on the bed by her mother's legs, and taking her hand. "Slughorn is having another one of his Slug Club parties."

"Are you going?" Her mother asked.

Loralei shook her head. "I'm going to stay here with you, plus they're usually torture anyway. I think even Sirius got invited this time."

"Yeah, I did." Sirius nodded, sitting in a chair next to James on the far side of the bed. "Got out of it."

"Why don't I ever get invited?" James asked.

"Because the last time you were you nicked veritisurm and put it in the punch." Loralei rolled her eyes. "Everyone was spilling their guts to each other, and that was third year!"

Mrs. Potter laughed. "I remember getting that letter."

"Howler!" Sirius and Loralei said in duet, before looking at each other and smiling.

"What about Quidditch? How's that going?" She asked her son.

"We don't have another a game until November." James told her. "Slytherin and Hufflepuff have a game in two weeks though."

"That will be interesting, the nastiest and the nicest going against each other." Loralei added. "It's going to be a bloodbath."

"I don't know, that Melanie could just go for the snitch." James replied.

"That's true." Loralei nodded. "She's got fight in her."

"That's the girl that you told me about right?" Mrs. Potter asked her daughter.

Loralei nodded. "She's Hufflepuff seeker this year. I've never been more proud of her."

"What happens when you go against each other?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"We exploit each others weaknesses." Loralei said as if obvious, causing the other three to laugh.

"You're not going to have any friends left if you do that." Mrs. Potter warned her goodheartedly.

Loralei laughed. "It's mutual. We love and hate each other. Perfect friendship."

Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes. "Of course, Loralei." She said. "Could you get me some water?"

Loralei nodded, getting up and walking to the plastic pitcher of water, and pouring some for her mother in a clear plastic cup, before returning to her spot and holding it out for her mother to take.

Loralei had never see her mother's hands shake so much before. She frowned as she took the glass in her hand, only making it shake more.

"I'm fine." Mrs. Potter said, softly, watching her daughter's face.

Loralei couldn't tear her stare from her mothers hand, and could only nod in response. "I know."

The next day, Loralei was laying next to her mother in her the hospital bed, her head on her mother's shoulder, and her arm around her torso like she was a child again. She felt like a child.

"I love you, Mummy." She whispered softly.

Her mother hugged her tightly. "I love you too." She kissed her daughter's forehead. "Where are the other's?"

"Dad had to go get some sleep, and James went back to school." Loralei whispered, knowing that James could only take so much of his mother deteriorating before him. "He has homework to do."

"So do you, why don't you go." Her mother whispered to her.

"I'll do it later, it's not that much." Loralei lied, hiding her face from her mother. "I have time to do that." I don't have time with you. She didn't add.

Every moment Loralei was awake, she was fighting tears. Every moment that she was smiling and laughing, she felt like there was a hole in her chest, like she couldn't breathe. And every moment her heart was beating it was slowly breaking into a million small pieces. She would rather feel anything than what she was feeling now. She felt like she was dying along side her mother.

"Whatever you want." Loralei could tell that her mother didn't want her to leave either. Loralei wouldn't want to be here alone either, in this unfamiliar room that smelled like sick people with a low beeping coming from the heart monitor. It would unnerve anyone.

"I think I'll stay here tonight." Loralei said. "With you, I don't have an early class, so I think it'll be okay."

"Whatever you want." Her mother said again.

"Can we cry?" Loralei's voice was childlike while she asked this childish question. "We don't have to tell anyone."

"Of course we can cry." Mrs. Potter already sounded like she was trying not to cry.

"I don't want you to go." Loralei whimpered into her mother's chest. "I need you." Her breaths became uneven, and hot sticky tears poured out of her eyes down her face, before getting caught on her mother's Pajamas. She held her mother as tight as she could, as if holding her would keep her there beside her. Just like when a child hides his eyes thinking that someone can't see them if he can't see them. It's childish, but it was all Loralei had now.

"I don't know how I'm going to leave you." Her mother cried. Loralei was barely able to make out the words from her tears.

Loralei could barely breathe as she cried, as did her mother. They were both holding each other so tightly, that even if they could draw in a full breath it would be difficult. They loved each other so much, the love between a mother and daughter could never be broken; even if they didn't share blood, they shared memories.

So they cried, whispering that they loved each other between whimpers and sobs. Whispering that they would never forget, and Loralei promising that she would live. They hugged and cried, and ended up falling asleep somewhere in the middle.

Little did they both know that this would be the last time they were alone.

A/N Yes...so...sadness in the Potter home this week...and next...don't hurt me. I promise that there's still going to be good times ahead for them! Hope you enjoyed! If this didn't make you sad then I'm not doing my job.

Please Review!

Kat