Not Alone After All

Chapter XXXII

The three ran into the forest and suddently halted. The noise had stopped. There was a rustling from both sides, dog-like whines from both sides. 

"Let's separate," Laura told them. Harry was immediately on board. He started heading right, towards the lake.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hermione asked her. 

"There's no time, Hermione, go!" Laura suddenly shouted, sending Hermione into a chase after Harry. Laura ran to the other side, not sure what to expect. Yes, she could be running staight towards a werewolf, but she could also be running towards a dying Sirius in the hands of the dementors, so she didn't really care if she was being completely stupid.

The dementors started to pool around her. She didn't know wheather to take it as a good sign or a bad one. Maybe they were folowing her because she was nearing SIrius Black. Maybe they were following her because she was nearing a fully transformed werewolf in school grounds. Either way, she didn't stop running, her wand in her hand and Remus' wand in her pocket. 

Needless to say, running in the middle of a forest in the dark is not the greatest of ideas. Laura tripped on a tree branch and fell to the floor, stopping her fall with only her right hand, the hand that wasn't holding her wand. She hissed when it hit the floor with a crack. Welp, there went her wrist. 

She sat up, noticing the dementors creating a circle around her. There had to be at least twenty of them floating around her. She tried to stand up, but a dementor decided to phase through her body. She felt her body freze up, and fell back down on her knees. 

She raised her wand, hands shaking with cold, a Patronus spell being her last hope of getting out of there. Except she had never produced a corporeal Patronus, and an incorporeal one would hardly protect her from the amount of dementors piling up aroung her. 

Still, Laura took a shaky breath and closed her eyes, trying to remember some of her happiest memories. The last time she had tried to produce one, she had thought of the summer she had spent in Remus' house when she was younger, and Remus having to obliviate the family of a little boy who had suddenly grown donkey ears. She tried that, her voice slightly shaky when she pronounced the words out loud. A small string of silver light enveloped her, creating a barrier between her and the dementors. Except it wasn't very thick, and they could probably still get through to her. Maybe it was because Remus was not so far away, transformed into a werewolf, probably out for her blood. Maybe a Remus related memory wasn't the best choice right now. 

She closed her eyes once more, trusting her thin wall of light to hold whilst she scanned her brain for another happy memory. She thought about the time she had found out she was Harry's sister. Except that came with the memory of that giant basilisk, and Laura was pretty sure she had developed a phobia of snakes after that whole adventure. Every memory she thought about was with someone or something related to a sad or scary moment. She couldn't think straight. Her breathing was becoming faster and shorter every second, and she felt like there was this great wave trying to force its way into her small bubble of light. She was shivering, her whole body shaking as if she had been outside in a winter night with wet clothes on. 

Just when she was about to give up and give into the fear, which would make her incorporeal Patronus die, she remembered something. 

It was a simple memory. Fred Weasley with canary beak and wings. They had been creating a new candy, and they decided that to test it on themselves was a good idea. George and Laura were laughing at Fred, who was sitting on the floor with a frown on his face, knowing better than to try and speak or say anything. It was the first time she had actually laughed after her foster parents had died. And ever since, Fred and George are still the only ones who can make her laugh like she did on that night. 

She opened her eyes, that memory fresh on her mind. She raised her shaky fingers and pointed her wand upwards. With all of her strength, she shouted 'Expecto Patronum!'. Before she knew, a silver, blue light, almost as blue as her freezing fingers, started to sprout off her wand. Strings after strings turned and shifted on themselves, trying to produce the full body Patronus Laura had casted. 

It swiftly flew around her, before a small animal could be seen. The baby red panda dropped on the ground, standing protectively in front of Laura as a pulse of light pushed the dementors away. Laura let out a small laugh that sounded more like a scoff when she noticed the small red panda rolling on the leaves on the floor. 

She slowly stood up, watching the baby animal disappear with a flicker, leaving her alone in the dark. She decided it was probably best to go check on Harry, since she had ben gone for quite some time. She looked around, unsure of the way she had come thought. Just as she was about to pick a random direction, when she heard a growl, and immediately bolted the other way. 

Just as she neared the lake, miraculously going the right direction, another Patronus had been cast. She stopped as a warm wind washed through her, sending her a few steps back, her whole body still shaking. Just as she was walking closer to the lake, her eyes fell on Snape, who was checking on Sirius, Hermione and Harry, all seemingly unconscious, probably because of the dementors. 

Snape's neck snapped towards her as soon as she took a step towards him. A look of shock flew over his face as he watched the small girl take a few shaky steps towards him, holding her right arm in her left. She was trembling, apparently from the cold, and her lips and fingertips were turning blue, contrasting with the orange from her hair. Snape stood up as soon as her weak legs gave up, and she fell on her knees with a huff. 

"Are they okay?" she asked weakly. Snape decided to ignore her question and perform a hot-air charm, heating Laura and her clothes up immediately. Laura shivered at the feeling, but appreciated the warmth that now surrounded her. "T-thank you for that," she said, her teeth still clattering. Before she could realise it, her eyelids became heavier and heavier, and she felt the urge to sleep. Maybe it was her body finally realising that she was safe, seeing as a Professor was right there, but her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her world became dark once more.