Raylynx's POV

About a week passed with hardly any incident. But then, as though nobody in the Order was allowed to have a decent week, James' parents passed away. Dusky told him that they'd passed peacefully in their sleep, embracing each other, and within an hour of each other. However, though it was part of the natural cycle of life, it was no less hurtful to the one left behind. In order to give James time to mourn and to prepare funeral arrangements, the rest of the Order banded together to cover his shifts. I ignored the pangs in my own heart at the loss of Mr. and Mrs. Potter because I knew that whatever I felt was a billion times more intense for James, but I wondered vaguely if Sirius was all right. I had had loving parents before the Potters. The same was not true for Sirius. I knew I should be angry at him, but I was still worried. There wasn't time to check up on him or even James as I went back and forth from Ollivander's endlessly. Finally, on Saturday morning, I got up and dressed for the funeral instead of for work. Remus came with me, of course, and Emmeline came by to cover our shift. "Give him my condolences," she said softly as we left the house.

It was raining by the time we arrived. My mind felt numb throughout the whole procession. Even as people paid their last respects by the tombstone and left, I couldn't get myself together. I wasn't crying. The thing was, I knew how James felt. I knew what it felt like to lose your parents. It is an unexplainably lonely and singularly heart-breaking experience. Words like "condolences" or even the prospect of "heaven" weren't enough to make you feel better. You just wanted them to be here with you, on this miserable earth where all things pass.

Nearly everyone had left. Lily, who had been holding James' hand this whole time, gently let go and said to him, "I'll give you some time alone. Come back when you can." She kissed his cheek. He hugged her before she left.

I stood there, watching him in his grief. He had been loved his whole life, but he looked so terribly abandoned now. I thought of my own parents, not realizing that the rain was getting thicker or that James had finally brushed away his tears and turned around, only to find me standing there.

"Raylynx?" he said, his voice, thick from crying, was confused.

I wanted to tell him that I knew, but there were no words to express that.

Instead, I managed to choke out his name. "James."

"Wha-?" he started to ask, but by then, I was running towards him thoughtlessly. I ran towards him and flung my arms around him and squeezed him as hard as I could.

In my arms, James broke down again.

"I miss them, too," I whispered to him as I embraced him. Whether I was talking about my parents or his didn't matter. It was the hurt I was talking about, that awful emptiness, and he knew what I meant.

"You two should get out of the rain," a gruff voice said behind us.

We both turned to see Sirius standing there, his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his eyes far dimmer than usual.

Without letting go of me, James extended one hand out towards Sirius.

"Come here, Padfoot," James said. I kept my eyes down but when Sirius joined us, I didn't hesitate in wrapping my arm around him nor did he with me.

The three of us had spent our holidays together, in warmth and in happiness, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Potter. In that way we were bound and we must all live our lives in gratitude of Mr. and Mrs. Potter's kindness.


That night, when I got out of the shower and began to dry off, I wandered into my room and sat on my bed. I pulled out my family photo album from my bedside drawer and began to flip through it. Not in an absent-minded way, but in a thorough and hungry way. I gazed at people's faces with wonder and desire, unable to truly accept that their time in this world had completed. Thoughtlessly, I curled up on my bed and slowly rifled through the pictures. I thought I'd fall asleep soon, but I didn't. I couldn't shake that empty feeling from my heart tonight. I wasn't sure what time it was when I heard a slight knock on my door. I quickly changed from my towel into a t-shirt and pajama bottoms and half-shoved the photo album into my dresser before opening the door. It was Remus, as comfortable as I'd ever seen him in a shirt and pajama pants.

"Sorry, am I disrupting you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, of course not. What is it?"

"I was just went to get a glass of water and I saw your light was on. Having trouble sleeping?"

"A bit," I admitted.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry to hear that. If you need anything, let me know."

I paused, thinking of what to say, and we stood there awkwardly.

Finally, I said, "I could use some tea."

I'd meant for us to move to the kitchen, but he said immediately, "Right, then. Wait here," and trotted off to the kitchen by himself.

He came back with two steaming cups of tea. Then, he paused and said bemusedly, "I didn't really think this through. I suppose I could stand in your doorway and drink this."

"Don't be silly, Remus." I smiled. "Come in and join me."

Remus hesitantly perched himself on the other edge of my bed and carefully passed me my mug of tea.

"What's that?" he asked, nodding over at my bedside table.

I looked over and saw my family photo album. I tried to play it off casually and say, "Oh, you know, just… a book."

But Remus looked at me knowingly and asked, "A book of photographs?"

"Well, yes," I said, blushing a little. "It's awfully sentimental of me, isn't it?"

"Don't be embarrassed," Remus said. "May I see them? Although if you don't want me to, that's perfectly understandable."

I shook my head. "I don't mind," I said. I set down the close-to-empty tea cup and brought the photo album onto my lap. Remus slid over to me and leaned over to see the photos.

Feeling weirdly embarrassed, I tried to flip through the pictures quickly and soundlessly. Remus, laughing, asked me to slow down and actually let me see their faces.

"Who is she?" he asked, pointing to a very old black-and-white photograph of a lady dressed in attire from an earlier era.

"That's my grandmother on my mom's side," I explained. I paused, then added, "I think she's beautiful. Sola looks a lot like her."

"Well, I think you look like her too," Remus responded. Then, he said, "I was close to my grandmother when I was young. At least, before I… Anyways, I was allowed to be by her side when she passed away. She held my small hand until the very end." His voice trailed off in memory, but I realized something just then.

"Is that why you can see thestrals?"

"Yes."

We both lapsed in silence for a moment before Remus asked me quietly, "Are you thinking of your parents?"

"Yes, but they're old news now, aren't they?" I smiled grimly. "It's already been years since they passed, if you can believe that."

I set my empty mug off to the side and then looked at Remus again. "Will you tell me about your parents? Or is that bad territory?"

Remus hesitated, his eyes immediately becoming slightly defensive.

I would normally get very nervous and start apologizing, but tonight I waited calmly. Speaking with Remus always made me feel relaxed. I settled back in my bed.

"Well," he finally said, "my mum used to sing me this lullaby."

I looked at him sleepily. "Can I hear it?"

"I'd rather not sing, Raylynx," Remus said, smiling in a goofy way.

"That's a shame," I murmured, slowly slipping further down into the blankets.

"Sleep," Remus said to me. "It's nearly four in the morning."

"Remus," I murmured, my eyes fluttering shut.

"Yes?"

"Can't I hear it?"

"The lullaby?"

"Yes…"

Remus sighed. "I can't really carry a tune."

"Don't give me that crap, Remus," I mumbled. "If you can sing jazz, you can sing a lullaby."

"Okay, okay," Remus surrendered, half-laughing, half-exasperated. "Um, it goes something like: If only, if only, the woodpecker sighs, the bark on the tree was as soft as the skies. While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely, crying to the moon, if only, if only…"

He was the wolf, I thought, and my heart hurt just before I fell asleep.


Sirius' POV

It was Alice and Frank's wedding day.

For how bashful they were, they certainly knew a lot of people, I thought, weaving my way across the audience to get a decent seat. I didn't really care, of course, but I was curious to see what it looked like when two people got married out for love instead of obligations like preserving the pureblood tradition.

Peter came and sat next to me.

"Weird to have a wedding in the midst of all this, huh?" Peter said, by way of greeting.

Just then, Remus made his way to us, hurriedly putting on his tie.

"Mad-Eye's covered your shift?" I muttered to him.

He nodded and said, a bit breathlessly, "Yeah, and Jay's starting his shift right after the vows."

Suddenly, Peter chortled, "Look at them."

He pointed to a strangely dressed couple.

"It's the Lovegoods," I recognized. "Xeno got married to Pandora the second he graduated, didn't he?" I nodded at the man with silver-blonde hair dressed in glaring yellow robes and besides him, a woman who seemed to be his wife, who was also dressed in a less obtrusive yellow.

"I think so," Remus replied. "I hope he doesn't see me. He bothers my dad all the time about adding weird creatures to the magical register."

James rushed in just then, quickly smoothing out his hair. He spotted us and made straight for us.

"Whew, just made it in time, mates," James remarked when he reached us.

"There aren't any more seats here, Prongs," Peter pointed out. But right then, a fanfare rang out, followed by piano music.

"Well, no time to go elsewhere. Sit down before you get run over by the procession," I said, hurriedly moving over so that James could have some part of a chair to sit on. As it was, Remus ended up half-sitting in my lap, and Peter was being squashed sideways between James and a very cranky elderly lady, who none of us could decipher who she was related to. When Remus politely asked who she related to, the old croon managed to say something between "Frank" and "Alice", which, if you think about it, a wildly impressive difference to credibly confuse.

Squashed together like that, we Marauders viewed the procession in a happy, but rather bemused way. There was the priest, and Frank, and his best man, who was Frank's elder brother Alfred. Frank was actually one of six children. He had two older sisters, an older brother, and two younger brothers. They were followed by five groomsmen, his younger brothers (Rupert and Brett) and his close friends from Hogwarts (William Darcy, George Bones, and Benjamin Spinnet). Then came the parents: I recognized old Augusta Longbottom, though her smile was far more becoming than her usual unforgiving sternness. Behind her were the bridesmaids, Frank's two sisters (Jane and Elizabeth) followed by Lily, Marlene, and Raylynx. James sighed in happiness as Lily gracefully passed by is. Marlene winked at me and I smiled back at her. Then Dorcas strode forth as the maid of honor, holding in each hand an eight-year old child, one serving as the ring bearer and the other as the flower girl. She gritted her teeth and tried to smile through the little girl throwing petals repeatedly into her face. All four of us smothered back a laugh. Finally, Alice glided down, escorted by her father, and fitting perfectly into the ideal of the shy blushing bride. She really was pretty like that, I have to admit. As soon as she saw Frank, she just sort-of lit up. Her eyes were all bright and warm and it was clear to everybody that they only saw each other. The cynic in me scoffed and snickered and smirked, but some part of me did think it was kind-of, you know, nice. Anyways, after the vows and the ring and all, it smoothly flowed into a reception party. Glasses of bubbly champagne, flower bouquets and streamers were floating around everywhere. The whole thing made me want to pull at my tie, but it was a light-hearted atmosphere, so I tried to just play my part and not stand out. Music struck up and the in-laws danced with each other before Frank and Alice stepped out. I joined in with everyone applauding the happy couple.

I noticed as Lily, Marlene, Raylynx, and Dorcas stood by, smiling fondly at the charming wedding couple. Jay appeared and slipped an arm around Dorcas' arm. I saw him whispering and I knew he was telling her that he had to leave for his Order shift. Sure enough, Dorcas nodded and he slipped away to Apparate elsewhere. James came up to Lily and with an eager smile, offered her his hand to dance. Soon after, Marlene came uand found me. She twirled in front of me in her shimmery dress, and I realized it was the first time I'd ever seen her wear a light pink. "Want to dance?" she offered. "Sure," I replied and set down my champagne class to follow her onto the dance floor. I was aware that Marlene was drawing more than one pair of eyes on her as we danced together. It was so comfortable to be with her, so easy, and so right. Our eyes met, and she didn't shy away from my gaze. She looked straight into my eyes, daring and bold. And I had almost lost her just days ago. My hold tightened on her as I thought of how thankful I was that I was here with her, now, after that fiasco at the sirens' caves just a week ago.

For a moment, I wondered what poor bloke, if any; Raylynx was dancing with, but before my thoughts could carry me any further, Jay's Patronus, which was a raven, soared in through the ceiling and landed on the table.

"Dementors in Kensington Square!" the ghostly raven croaked. "Dementors in Kensington Square!"

"You stay!" I heard Raylynx shout to Alice. The rest of us immediately jumped up and with a loud crack, Disapparated to Kensington Square.


Raylynx's POV

That Alice was the first one out of all of us to get married was astonishing due to her shy nature, and yet, it was also the most sensible answer because she was born to love and be loved.

Her inherent quietness about her own strengths had allowed her to blossom into someone who was very genuine, and it gave her an unshakeable foundation from which to build her life. Tough times test your strength, make you grow or make you falter, and Alice was somebody that grew the harder it got.

As I stood there at her wedding, clapping enthusiastically as she and Frank shared their wedding kiss, I became aware that this was truly the happiest I'd felt in a long time.

The wedding flowed seamlessly into the reception party. Lively music began to play and people started to dance merrily. Food and drinks popped up everywhere, pale rose gold and lavender crisscrossed across the ceiling and draped across the walls, and golden stars hung from the ceiling to give the whole setting a wonderful glowing ambience.

Couples paired off and began to dance: Alice and Frank, James and Lily, and later, Marlene and Sirius. Although I might have imagined it, I thought his eyes caught mine for the briefest moment. But the next moment, I blinked and he was speaking to Marlene. Dorcas and I were content to sip champagne with each other and talk, a luxury we hadn't been able to do for a long, long time. Remus and Peter soon bumped into us and the four of us naturally fell into talking about light, wonderfully meaningless subjects when suddenly, a long piece of bright yellow cloth covered my vision, and a bump sent me forward. I tripped and sloshed my champagne right onto the floor.

"Xeno, do watch where you're going!" a melodic female voice cried out.

We all turned to see a young witch in sunshine yellow robes and a man with his offensively bright yellow robes caught up over his head.

"We do beg your pardon," the young witch said, bowing to me as she reached over and tried to pull the robes off the man's head.

"I've got it," Xeno said in a muffled voice.

The young witch smiled in amusement before she pulled out her wand, pointed it at the champagne on the floor and said, "Reponere mundis! That should do the trick. We're so sorry about that little mishap."

My champagne poured itself from the floor back into my glass, sparkling clean and as bubbly as ever.

Dorcas looked at the young witch in yellow robes with interest. "I've never heard of that spell before," Dorcas said curiously.

"Oh, well, it's one of the handier spells I've invented, I think." The witch winked at us and smiled.

"Remus Lupin!" the man called "Xeno", who had just managed to get his robes in good order, suddenly spotted Remus and grabbed his hand enthusiastically.

"Er, hello, Xenophilious."

Suddenly, I recognized Xenophilious as a temporary Quidditch commentator. He had been in our year, though we rarely crossed paths. He'd been a very fuzzy-brained commentator, I recalled, who kept getting distracted by cloud shapes, and drove McGonagall to madness.

"Er-Xeno," Remus said awkwardly, cutting off Xenophilious' pleas to add something called the "Blibbering Humdinger" onto the Magical Creature Register, "your necklace is all caught up."

Sure enough, a gold chain had wrapped itself around Xenophilius' neck and over his shoulder.

"Oh goodness me," Xeno said, reaching back to grab his pendant and bring it forward, where it belonged.

The symbol of the necklace charm suddenly caught my eye.

"Tale of the Three Brothers," I said reflexively. His necklace was the picture over the title of my favorite story in the Runic version of the Beedle the Bard book I had, specifically over the title of the Tale of the Three Brothers.

"Indeed!" Xenophilius' eyes suddenly landed on me. "Ah yes, you are the Kingsley girl. Gryffindor Seeker, correct?"

"I was, yes."

"So you, too, are acquainted with the Quest?" he said, in a dramatically hushed voice that invited more attention than it discouraged.

"Where is your symbol?" he asked me importantly, puffing out his own chest.

Suddenly aware of the many skeptical pairs of eyes on me, I tried hard not to blush as I replied confusedly, "My symbol? Well, it's in a book, you see."

The others seemed rather startled at this conversation I was having with Xeno. Only Pandora looked at me with thoughtful, bright eyes.

"Are you telling me you have the original copy of The Tales of Beedle The Bard?" Xenophilius asked me. This time his voice was genuinely hushed, and he looked at me with dumbfounded eyes.

"I don't really know," I said, a bit baffled.

"Care to dance, Remus?" Dorcas held her hand out to Remus, who seemed to take it gratefully. Pandora then graciously asked Peter if he would share a dance with her. He blushed from head to foot in front of this very pretty, elegant lady. He managed to nod and hold out his arm to her. They disappeared into the crowd and I turned back to Xeno, who was asking me impatiently, "Is the book that you possess written in the Ancient Runic language?"

"Yes," I replied.

"That's no picture," Xenophilius said. "It is a symbol for the Quest of the three Deathly Hallows."

"Deathly Hallows?" I said, and the phrase tasted funny on my tongue.

"Yes, yes! The whole story is a metaphor for the three magical objects created by the Peverell brothers!" Xenophilious replied impatiently. He sighed suddenly. "So then, you are not a true Seeker of the Quest. If you did not know even that much…"

Taken aback by his sudden disappointment, I fell silent. I very much wanted to ask him more about the Deathly Hallows parallel to the Tale of the Three Brothers, but he had seem majorly disappointed by my ignorance that I decided it would be best to keep silent.

The dance finished and Pandora approached me as Xenophilious began a fresh plea to poor Remus, who had to listen to a detailed description about Heliopaths and why Xeno swore that they existed.

"You must come over with your book sometime, now that you know all about the Deathly Hallows," Pandora smiled at me.

"Well, I'm still not sure about them," I said. Although I was unsure if her smile meant that she didn't take these Hallows seriously, I still wanted to know. "What are the three magical objects?"

Pandora's kind eyes gave me a quizzical look. "You did not ask him?"

"I wished to, but he looked so disappointed when he realized how ignorant I was about the symbol, but I couldn't bring myself to," I admitted.

Pandora laughed a little. "I see, you are kind," she graciously. "But don't worry, Xeno takes more pride in being a solitary Quester than he admits."

She took me by the arm then, and walking with me, explained in a quiet voice, "The first is the Elder Wand, an unbeatable wand. The second is a Resurrection Stone, able to bring back loved ones from the dead. And the third-"

"Is a true Invisibility Cloak," I murmured. "Just like in the Tale of the Three Brothers."

"Exactly. A true Invisibility Cloak, one that neither wears away nor betrays the owner. And together, they make one Master of Death," Pandora said. She added in a thoughtful voice, "Or so the story goes." Though her words indicated disbelief, the tone in which she spoke those words suddenly made me think, more than Xeno had ever made me believe, that the Deathly Hallows actually existed.

Pandora halted and then looked me straight in the eye. "Now that you know, I advise that you never give away that original copy as a means to inspire power, but only as a warning."

I opened my mouth to ask her what she could possibly mean by that when a raven Patronus suddenly flew in through the ceiling.

I heard Dorcas, who was standing not too far away, wondered aloud, "Jay?"

Then, the raven opened its beak and croaked loudly, "Dementors in Kensington Square!"

My heart dropped. Kensington Square was a Muggle area. My eyes met Alice's from across the room. I could see her hesitate and then reach for her wand…

No, Alice! I thought. It's your wedding day, for goodness' sake!

"You stay!" I shouted at Alice and then grasping my wand so that I'd be ready as soon as I appeared, I spun and Disapparated. The last thing I saw before I entered the void of Apparation was a pair of mischievous, pretty blue eyes.


It was pouring rain when I dropped onto the main street of Kensington Square.

I cursed. Just our luck. Dementors already brought in fog, but to have clouds and mist too was less than helpful.

I tried not to look too conspicuous in my bridesmaid's dress as I traveled with the sidewalk traffic down the street. I tensed, worried that dementors might show here and I might have to risk exposing myself to all of the Muggles populating the streets. But even as I worried that, my mind calculated that the dementors wouldn't risk such all-out behavior yet. So that meant that I needed to head for the alleyways and protect any Muggles that had gone astray from the main roads.

When I was far enough from the bustling main street, I made a break for it, splashing across a park in my heels to get to the dilapidated alleyways just beyond.

I skidded to a less than graceful stop when I got to the foggy backstreets. I wondered where the others might have Apparated too, but I had no time to ponder that question as the temperature dropped all at once. Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck. My breath was visible, leaving my lips as rolling fog in the thick night air. I turned around in horror to see that ghastly cloaked spectre- hooded, faceless, and fast- making it's way towards me. It swooped low on the ground and then arched up, drawing itself to its full height mere feet away from me.

I lifted my wand, but stopped when unexpectedly, images of my dead parents flashed into my mind. This was my first time actually in the presence of a dementor.

I felt my strength immediately draining away from me.

And after all, could I produce a Patronus Charm in the presence of an actual dementor? It had taken me so long to master the Patronus Charm. What others like Lily and Dorcas had managed to master in a week had taken me nine months to learn...

My mother's glassy eyes floated before me. I love you, I love you, I love you...

But just then, McGonagall's word floated into my misty mind: In the end it's not how long it took, but how well you do it. And with the thought of Minerva McGonagall floated a lightness in my heart that could not be extinguished.

I raised my wand and whispered, "Expecto Patronum…"

Only silver wisps floated out weakly from the tip of my wand, and quickly fizzled out into nothing.

I can do this, I told myself, fighting back the images of my father sprawled out on the ground, lifeless.

Please, Professor McGonagall, lend me your good heart…

I thought again of Professor McGonagall, and also of Alice, who I had just witnessed getting married only a short while ago.

Was that just a short while ago? It feels like forever ago.

The dementor's rotting hands reached for me under its cloak.

I gripped my wand tighter and mustering all of my strength, I cried out, "Expecto Patronum!"

A large silver lynx burst from the tip of my wand and leapt straight at the dementor, successfully driving it away.

I had only a moment to celebrate my victory when suddenly, a piercing scream split the night air in half.

I turned, breathing rapidly in the shivering night air. Rain was falling fast and thick and my vision was obscured in these dark alleyways. I started to run, but I had no idea where the scream had come from.

Then, I heard a lot of shouting. I raced towards the direction of the shouting and as I neared, I thought I recognized that voice. "James!?" I yelled, frantically running down the alleyways. It was not the smartest idea to give away my position like that, but I was too worried about James and the others to care about my safety.

Then, a high-pitched voice shrieked again, only one alleyway down from me. "Help! Please! Help, I can't see it!"

I entered the alleyway, breathing hard. The scene that filled my vision made me feel sick to my stomach.

There was a Muggle woman fallen against the wall. Her groceries were spilled all over the floor. She must have been the one screaming, only now she was crying hysterically and moaning in pain. "No! No, no, please, I never wanted it! It's not my fault!"

Inches away from her face was a dementor, sucking in the lady's happy memories and creating illusions of utter despair in her mind.

Fallen besides her, on the floor, glasses askew and wand fallen from his hand, was James Potter.

For a second, my heart literally stopped beating.

Had the Dementor sucked out his soul?

I pointed my wand straight at the dementor and yelled fiercely, "Expecto Patronum!"

My lynx burst out and violently clawed at the dementor, driving him back. The lady fell over, totally silent.

No, please don't tell me I'm too late!

As I raced towards them, I heard the lady cough and moan, "No…" So I knew that she, at least, was still alive and possessed her soul.

But what about James? I rushed to his side and fell onto my knees, scraping them a bit on the rough concrete.

"James," I begged, pulling him into my lap. "Please, please wake up!"

His eyes remained shut.

"James!" I shouted desperately, shaking his shoulder.

Then, his eyes slowly flickered open.

"James, look at me!" I urged, and I put my hand on his cheek and turned his face so that I could see his eyes.

His eyes slowly met mine. They looked so hollow. I held my breath in apprehension, waiting for the worst, but then, he coughed and said, "Raylynx?"

I nearly cried in relief. "Thank Merlin, James, you're all right!"

James tried to sit up. I put my arm around his shoulders and helped him up.

"I couldn't make the Patronus come," he explained, his eyebrows furrowed at the memory. "I think it's because... with my parents gone, it's just been making things heavier lately."

"I know," I said, remembering how the dementor had tried to make me relive memories of my own parents.

James' eyes flickered to mine and he saw that I truly understood.

"Thank you," he said feelingly, and reached over and grasped my hand for a moment.

Then, we both got up from the ground.

The Muggle lady was still passed out against the wall.

"Are you comfortable with Memory Charms?" James asked me. "If you are, I think you should do it. I still feel not quite together."

Approaching the lady, I took a deep breath and tried to specify in my mind the exact time I wanted to erase from her memory. Then, I pointed my wand at her and said firmly, "Obliviate." I watched as silvery threads of memory left her mind and came to my wand. When I had finished, I hurriedly stowed away my wand.

The lady stirred, and then she blinked and looked up at us.

"Excuse us, are you all right?" I said immediately, kneeling down to her. "I think you fell and hit your head. Your dropped your groceries as well."

"No, I thought..." the lady began and I tried not to panic. What if she still remembered everything?

"I was just at the grocery store," she said, a bit dazed. She shook her head. "I really must have fallen then," she said. "Silly me."

She got up and started to collect her groceries.

"Allow me," James said graciously and helped to gather them.

"Will you be all right going home?" I asked, trying not to sound too anxious. What if I had erased too much and she didn't know how to get home?

But instead, she smiled warmly at me and said, "No, I'm nearly there. Thank you for your help."

I nodded and silently sighed in relief. She left us soon after, and she seemed to regain more awareness of herself the further down the alley she traveled. We watched over her until she was safely inside her home, about a hundred yards away.

"Wonder where the others are," James muttered in concern. He still looked clammy and ill. He ran his hand through his soaking wet hair slowly, as though still trying to push back the dense atmosphere of sadness.

"We'll find them," I said, trying to sound confident. "C'mon, let's go together."

We set off down the alleyway together.

It was only a few minutes later when we heard a voice yell, "Expecto Patronum!"

We set off at a run and found Remus successfully driving off a dementor. Lily was holding a small child in her arms while Marlene and Peter were holding back a young couple and trying to convince them to stay.

Knowing that they were okay, I suggested that James stay with them before heading off on my own to find Sirius, Dorcas, and Jay. James tried to protest and come with me, but I knew he was better off with the others, so I forced him to stay and let me go.

The air was still tense and colder than usual, so I knew there were still some dementors to drive off. The thought made me uneasy and I held my wand tightly as I picked my wand down the alleyways. I shivered, having been exposed to the cold for far too long. My light chiffon and tulle dress stuck to my skin. The backs of my ankles were incredibly irritated at the amount of running I was doing in my heels and the arches of my feet hurt were killing me. But I had to focus; these minor discomforts were really the least of my worries.

All at once, the stars above disappeared and I heard that long, rattling breath directly beneath me.

Dorcas suddenly appeared in front of me. "Ray, behind you!"

I turned to find myself face-to-face with another dementor. Determined to act before it would affect me, I thought hard of Frank and Alice, pointed my wand, and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!

The lynx jumped out and barreled the dementor straightaway.

But to my horror, there were more dementors swooping in to take the place of the one I had just driven away. In fact, no less than three dementors were heading straight for me. A heavy wave of despair washed over me. I could hardly kept my mum's screams from ringing in my ears.

No, Raylynx, focus! I told myself. I raised my wand again. "Ex- Expecto Patronum!"

A lynx hesitantly rose from my wand. It shivered, abut to blink out. But then, it was overtaken by three other Patronuses; a raven, a gazelle, and a bear-like dog rushed forward and met the dementors head on. Seeing the fray, my lynx gathered strength and burst forward in a spurt of speed, helping the other Patronuses fight the dementors.

Overwhelmed by the silver light emitting from each of our Patronuses, the dementors fled. Suddenly, all the stars burst into the night air again. Although it was still drizzling slightly, it wasn't so misty and bone-chillingly cold anymore.

"Ray!" Dorcas threw her arms around me. "I'm so glad we found you! Four dementors!"

"Thank you," I said fervently, hugging her back. "You're all right then?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're all right here," Dorcas said. "Have you seen the others?"

I nodded. "They're all together, just a couple alleyways down. They're waiting for us."

"Thank Merlin," Dorcas breathed.

She stepped away from me and taking Jay's hand, they started towards where the rest of the group was.

Sirius was still there. The feeling of relief I'd felt suddenly dampened as I remembered the last time we'd been this near each other. Guilt washed over me as I recalled his hurtful words.

I turned away from him and tried to walk away with composure when suddenly a grey suit jacket was draped lightly across my shoulders.

"Wear that," Sirius muttered from behind me, "so you don't freeze."

Then, he walked ahead of me, leaving me staring after him and clutching at the sides of his jacket to keep it from falling off my shoulders.


I took a long, hot shower. When I'd finally stepped out, dried myself, and put on warm and comfortable clothing, I felt loads better than I had just an hour ago. Remus was still in the shower, or rather, because he such a gentleman, he'd waited for me to finish before he started so that he wouldn't steal my hot water. I felt a slight pang of guilt as I realized how long I'd taken. Wanting to make it up to him, I went to the kitchen and made a steaming pot of tea with a side of fruit and the last of the scrumptious Honeydukes chocolate we had.

Sure enough, when he came down and saw what I had set up, he smiled.

"I appreciate this especially tonight," he said, settling into a chair.

I had been leaning against the counter, holding my cup of tea, but I came and joined him at the table.

"Given what's just happened, I figure it's worth eating the last of our chocolate supply," I said, unwrapping a bar and breaking off a small piece. When I placed it in my mouth, I suddenly felt a whoosh of warmth spread to the tips of my fingers and toes.

I handed Remus a larger piece of chocolate.

He popped it into his mouth and then, his eyebrows rose too. I smiled at his expression. "Chocolate really is surprisingly effective," he commented.

I tried to lighten the mood and referred back to a joke from our seventh year. "Well, what's the best coin after the Sickle?" I asked lightly.

Remus' brow furrowed. "It's the Galleon, isn't it?"

My eyes flickered up to him. Seeing my expression, he said in a small and subdued voice, "Oh, no. No, it's a chocolate coin, isn't it? I remember now."

We both lapsed back into silence and quietly sipped our tea, embarrassed at how much and how quickly this war was changing us all, as if the war was one undefeatable dementor itself.