"Patronuses, ever heard of them?" Fabian called to the members of the Guardians.

Around half of them raised their hands, while others shook their heads.

"All right, well they are protectors. They keep away dementors, so if you're ever attacked by one you can be safe from one little spell."

A fifth year raised his hand. "Is it easy?"

"It can be after you get it down." Fabian nodded. "It's hard at first, but gets easier with time." He pulled his wand out of his robes. "So, I will demonstrate for all of you." He cleared his throat as he raised his want. "Expecto Patronum!" A silver weasel shot out of his wand, and circled him before disappearing.

Everyone clapped.

"So, think of a happy thought. It could be anything, but it has to be the happiest thing you've ever felt, because when you're face-to-face with a Dementor, they feed off of your happiness, but they can only take so much of it.

Loralei stepped forward and turned around so she was standing in front of the group of teenagers. "All right, so if everyone can spread out and practice, if you need any help, Fabian will be walking around the room, feel free to ask him questions." No one moved, so Loralei waved her hands around. "Seriously, guys. Go try it. Now please." This time everyone spread out, taking corners of the classroom, friends all taking turns, trying to get some animal to come out of their wands.

"Thanks again for this." Loralei smiled up at Fabian.

"Anytime." He smiled back. "Now you go practice, I'll make the rounds."

"All right." Loralei nodded, walking back to her friends.

Twenty minutes later, it seemed that everyone but Loralei was able to cast a full patronus. Lily and James' were both deer, one stag, one doe. The patronuses were nuzzling each other, as Lily and James stood next to each other, him ginning, and her smiling happily.

Loralei always knew they'd be an obnoxious couple.

Loralei was the only one that could just get wisps of silver, maybe a bit of a shield, she just couldn't come up with a truly happy memory without a sad one being attached to it. So while Sirius' dog was running around her in circles before Sirius decided to see what her problem was. Even Moony and Peter had theirs scurrying around. Moony's was an owl, and-of course-Peter's was a rat.

Sirius came up behind Loralei. "What's the problem, my dear?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "It's just not coming so naturally to me as the rest of you."

"Lore, come on, you can do this." He told her, putting one hand on her hip and the other over her right hand which was holding her wand. "If I can think of something happy with my fucked up family, I'm sure you can too." He teased.

Loralei laughed quietly. "Yeah, like what?"

"When was the last time you had a lot of fun?" He asked.

Loralei thought for a second, going over the memories she had already tried. "Er... Christmas, when we snuck out of the party."

"Okay," he said. "Now, close your eyes, and picture it."

Loralei closed her eyes, picturing the snow around them, messing up the hair that her stylists worked so hard on. Loralei smiled at the memory.

"Now the spell." Sirius told her.

"Expecto Patronum!" She cried, before opening her eyes, but still all she could get was a little shield in front of her.

"Another memory, but if you don't mind me asking, what were you thinking of?" Sirius asked.

"Remember when we snuck out of the Ministry party?" Loralei asked.

He nodded.

"That one." She paused. "What one do you think of?"

It was his turn to pause now. "You're going to laugh at me."

"Come on, maybe it can help me." Loralei said.

"Oh, fine. It's right after we broke up and I showed up at your house all beaten up. We were fighting, and you just said, 'I hate that I love you.' Even though you hated it, you still loved me. It gave me hope that one day you'd let me in again."

Loralei smiled, not knowing it, but secretly she did smile at that memory when she thought of it. It was a big thing in their relationship. It moulded them both for what was coming. For forgiving, and moving on. For being there for each other. Admitting their feelings. But Loralei did hope that none of their fights ever got that bad again. Even though she smiled about it now, it was a dark time for her. Even if she refused to admit it to anyone.

Loralei pictured that moment. Remembering everything to the shape of his bruises, and how her heart raced. She unconsciously leaned into Sirius.

"Expecto Patronum." She didn't open her eyes until she heard Sirius laughing.

There was a silver dog in front of her, large and lean. After hearing Sirius whisper the same words she just did, a larger dog appeared next to hers.

She turned around to look at him, her wand still pointed at her dog.

"What does this mean?" She asked.

"That we're meant to be." He replied. "Just like Prongs and Lily."

Loralei laughed. "I have to say, I prefer our story to theirs any day."

"I would have to agree with that." He smiled, his hand going to her neck, and holding her there. He looked like he was about to kiss her, but he never did. He just held her there. His blue eyes looking into her blue-green. Sometimes before the kiss was better than the kiss itself. The drumroll. Where your heart stops, and you look into each other's souls. How you know you wouldn't rather be anywhere else in the world. The best feeling in the world. The look of pure love on his face, she small smile on his lips. He may have wanted to kiss her, but he knew exactly what she was thinking. They were meant to be. Everything that happened had to happen so that they could be who they needed to be to stay together. Both of them were stubborn. Both of them were smart. Both of them knew what they wanted; who they wanted. Both of them were irreversibly in love with each other.

Loralei suddenly realized that if this man in front of her asked her right then to marry him, she would. Forget everything that was in their way. Forget the war. Forget that they were barely of age. She couldn't imagine her life without him. She wanted him forever.

First Hogsmeade weekend was here, in early November. The Marauders were all very excited to get out of the castle for something other than walking on the grounds or quidditch. They were all too cautious to go out without permission anymore. It was slowly getting more dangerous, or they were just becoming more aware of what was going on. Muggles getting killed, blood traitors missing. Everyone in their group would be a target. Mostly Sirius and the Potter's, they were rather loud with their thoughts on it, as well as coming from well known families.

"So, what does everyone want to do?" James asked as they walked down the rather busy street, even though it was much more empty than the year before. Not many of the parents were signing the Hogsmeade permission forms anymore.

Loralei and Lily looked at each other. "Book shop!" They cried.

"I'm game." Remus began walking faster, placing himself between the two girls. "What do you both want?"

"Novels." Loralei said.

"Yeah, lose ourselves in a book for a while, maybe even forget reality for a bit." Lily added.

"Really? Because you seem to be enjoying reality right now." He teased Lily, poking a hicky on where her shoulder met her neck.

Lily pulled her fiery hair in front of her, blushing almost as red as her hair.

"Don't be mean, Remus. This is her first real boyfriend." Loralei told her. "It's sweet."

"Except for the fact you've been getting them for almost three years." Remus told her.

"Shut up, I'm...mature for my age." She replied, her expression uncertain.

"Oh, I know." Remus laughed. "First real relationship at fourteen and everything."

"Hey! I was almost fifteen when it got serious." Loralei told him. "And I've been in a stable relationship with Sirius for almost a year now." She said the last part proudly. It was an accomplishment for her. The longest relationship she had been in, even if you didn't count their previous relationship in their fifth year.

"Yeah, and it's the longest Sirius has ever liked a girl, let alone fall in love with one!" James cried from behind them, earning a smack up the back of the head from Sirius.

"Who else could tame me? It had to be the smartest, most beautiful girl in the world." Sirius replied, knowing Loralei would hear it.

"Yes, and I love you too." She laughed as they stopped in front of the bookstore.

They all gasped.

The store was abandoned with all the books thrown around the floor. The windows were broken, and it looked like rain had gotten in. Before it was a beautiful store with polished wood, and a fireplace by the cashier. Now it was destroyed beyond repair. No one looked to be inside, but Loralei had the urge to check.

"Lily, James, go get McGonagall." Loralei told them, reaching down to pull her wand out of her boot.

"You are not going in there." James told her.

"Then you better get her quick." Loralei told him. "Lumos." She lit the tip of her wand.

"Loralei, I don't think we should." Sirius warned her.

"I have to go in there." She whispered this as if possessed, stepping forward without even knowing what she was doing. She was acting on pure instinct. Make sure no one was inside. If it still looked like this, then no one knew about it yet, it had to have happened since the night before. She hoped no one would be inside, but something was calling to her to check it out. Something she couldn't resist listening to. Remus grabbed her arm.

"You're not going in there." He turned to James. "Lily go with James to get McGonagall. Someone needs to know about this. Call the aurors or something. I got Lore."

"So do I." Sirius put his hand on her other shoulder, drawing her even further back as she struggled to get free.

"I need to go inside!" She cried.

"Hurry!" Sirius called after James and Lily as they took off at a fast walk, before breaking into a run.

"We're going to let you go in." Remus told her. "After they've gone."

Loralei stopped struggling.

"We were?" Sirius asked.

"We're both good fighters." Remus told him. "She's just as good as us, maybe better since she doesn't go easy on anyone."

Sirius pulled out his wand. "Let's go."

James, Lily, McGonagall, and Slughorn found Loralei kneeling on the floor, Sirius and Remus standing behind her. There was a dead body next to her. Loralei recognized him as the shop owner. She had talked to him every time she was in the shop. Over the last four years

Wormtail was far to scared to go inside.

Loralei was holding a silver mask, as she looked up at her teachers with a blank expression, looking like she was barely breathing, before she spoke softly.

"Death Eaters."

A/N: Sorry I didn't update it earlier today. It's been a crazy week for me. I remember when I didn't have busy summers...those were the days... Anyway, hope you enjoy and are all having a good summer!

Please review!

Kat