D/C: I don't own Harry Potter…I do own the entire set of books, though!!

Here goes another Harry Potter one-shot of mine. I don't know if it's that good, really, but I decided to write it, anyway. I hope you enjoy it!

A Night which Decided Fates

He stood there, staring at the crumbled ruins which had once been a house. Then he turned and stared at the occupants of the house, whose bodies were lying lifelessly amidst the ruins.

The male, James Potter, was next to what seemed to have been a staircase, his eyes wide and his mouth slack…dead. The female, Lily Potter, was lying among the shattered remnants of what used to be a window, her green eyes wide and terrified, and her mouth opened in a kind of silent scream…also dead.

If anybody else had come across these ruins, he wouldn't have believed it if he were told that there had been survivors…but Rubeus Hagrid knew that there was one survivor…Albus Dumbledore had told him…he knew that there was a little bundle of cloth somewhere around here that was still alive…that was still breathing…

That little bundle's name was Harry Potter.

Hagrid found it very hard to believe that little Harry could've survived this…that he had survived an ambush of Lord Voldemort's when elder wizards have died even when they knew of the attack.

But little Harry did. Little Harry not only survived…but he had also defeated the most feared wizard of all times…

Hagrid grunted and moved forward to search for the baby. He pushed bits of wood and metal out of his way as he started looking.

Then he heard it. The sound of a small baby crying.

He looked around, trying to locate the source of the sound, and found it. He found Harry lying beside his mother…how he hadn't spotted him before, Hagrid didn't understand, but he was glad he had found him, anyway.

He leaned down, and pried the blanket, which had been wrapped around Harry, open to reveal his face. He was over-come with a wave of emotion as he stared down at him.

First thing he saw was the slash the shape of a lightening bolt across Harry's forehead. He gingerly touched it. That was where…Voldemort's curse…

Harry had stopped crying when he had set his bright green eyes on the kind face of the giant, and his small mouth broke into a little smile. His little face glistened with tears, but he still smiled. He forced his little hands out of the blanket which bound him and reached out with his little hands to touch Hagrid's shaggy beard.

"Dad-dy," he purred in his little baby voice. "Daddy!!"

"No, lil' one, I'm not yer daddy," Hagrid croaked. Tears stung his eyes as he looked around at the real "daddy's" corpse. Then he looked back at Harry. "Daddy's left."

Of course, the baby didn't understand a word of this. He just continued to giggle and smile up at Hagrid. Hagrid, on the other hand, sighed heavily and picked him up.

Almost immediately after he had done that, he heard a rumble of sound from above him. Hagrid tensed and held the baby closer to him; what if it was one of Voldemort's supporters coming back to finish his master's dirty business?

He looked up, and saw something huge and black hovering above the ruins. Then it slowly lowered down till it hit the ground with a loud thud. Hagrid could only realize what it was when it had landed; it was a motorbike…Sirius's motorbike.

Sirius, himself, was perched upon it. He sat there, staring at the ruins with a look of utmost horror and grief upon handsome features. His eyes flicked between James's corpse to Lily's and back again. He mouthed soundlessly, and his eyes brimmed with tears. He looked terribly white and shaken.

"Sirius," Hagrid said quietly.

Sirius jumped; having noticed Hagrid for the first time. "Hagrid!" he exclaimed, quickly wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his robes. "You startled me! What are you doing here?"

"Professor Dumbledore sent me," Hagrid said gruffly. He paused for a moment. "It's okay ter cry, Sirius…I won' blame yeh."

Sirius just shook his head miserably. "When I heard the news, I couldn't believe it…I couldn't believe that James and Lily had…had died," he croaked, saying the last word with difficulty. "I had to come and check for myself."

Hagrid didn't say anything, he just held on to the baby in his arms.

"I thought maybe they were just rumors, I was hoping maybe they were still alive," he choked, tears threatening to spill. He looked back at his friends' corpses. "But I guess not…"

"There's nothin' yeh can do, Sirius…it's over," Hagrid said softly.

"I couldn't believe…you know, James and Lily…dead!" Sirius went on. He hopped off his motorbike and stumbled across the ruins towards the corpses. He dropped beside James, gripped his hand, and started howling like a wounded animal. "This shouldn't have happened!"

"Sirius, my man, get a grip on yer self!" Hagrid told him. "James an' Lily died heroes' deaths…yeh should be proud of 'em."

"I am proud of them!" Sirius said hoarsely. "You don't understand! This is my fault! If I had been beside them, then…"

"Yeh wouldn't have changed anythin', Sirius; You-Know-Who would've still got 'em," Hagrid interrupted him. "It's not yer fault."

Sirius, again, wiped his tears on the sleeve of his robes and looked around at Hagrid. "Where's Harry?" he asked suddenly. "Did he really survive what…?"

"I've got him right here," Hagrid said, showing him the bundle. "An' yeah, he's still alive."

Sirius scrambled up to his feet and rushed over to Hagrid. "Let me see him, Hagrid," he said breathlessly.

Hagrid leaned down and held out the baby which had been huddled up in his arms. Sirius looked down at Harry, and he swore softly as he saw the scar on his forehead. He was looking at him with an expression that Hagrid couldn't quite fathom…sorrow, love, pity…he didn't know.

"Give Harry to me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather…I'll look after him," he whispered after a moment.

"Er…I'm sorry, Sirius, mate…but I can't," Hagrid said, uncomfortably. "Professor Dumbledore said that I am ter take Harry straight ter his uncle's and aunt's place."

"His aunt and uncle?" Sirius repeated, sounding angry. "Those Muggles hate magic and wizards! And we go and dump Harry on them?! They'll put him in an orphanage first thing in the morning!!"

"I'm not happy abou' the arrangements any more than yeh are, Sirius…but there were Professor Dumbledore's orders," Hagrid mumbled.

"But, Hagrid, Harry will be better off if he came with me," Sirius persisted. "I'll take good care of him, I really will."

"I can't do anythin' about this, Sirius, if yeh wan' Harry, yeh gotta talk ter Professor Dumbledore abou' it, not me," Hagrid said firmly. "And I really have ter be goin' now before Muggles come ter have a look around."

Sirius sighed. "All right, I'll talk to Dumbledore," he agreed. "Listen, you can take my motorbike…you'll be able to get to his uncle and aunt's place quicker…"

Hagrid was surprised. "But yeh love that motorbike!" he exclaimed.

"I guess…" he said, wearily. "…I won't need it anymore."

"How come?" Hagrid asked suspiciously.

"I'll tell you later, Hagrid. Now I gotta go get someone to help me pick up James and Lily," he muttered. He sighed again, heavily this time. "Well, I'll see you around, Hagrid."

He said that and then Disapparated with a loud crack. Hagrid held the baby tighter in his arms and staggered over towards the motorbike. He swung his leg over it and sat down on its leather seat. He turned the key in the ignition and revved the engine.

"Say good-bye ter yer parents before we set off, Harry," Hagrid said softly. But Harry had started to cry again; the rumbling of the motorbike had frightened him. "Well, then, if yeh don' wan' teh, I think it's best if we set off."

He pressed the button which caused the bike to fly. It levitated off the ground. Hagrid made sure they had enough altitude before he set off into the night's sky.

"A new life is waiting fer yeh 20 miles away, Harry…" Hagrid said softly to the baby. "I'm not sure if yeh'll like it, but Professor Dumbledore says it's fer the best, an' I trust him…he's a great man."

Harry smiled and nodded, as if had understood what Hagrid was telling him. But, of course, he didn't. He didn't know that his parents had died, and that he had caused the downfall of the Dark Lord, or that he was going to spend the rest of his life with an aunt and uncle and cousin who were going to make his life a living hell…

For the moment, he was just going to enjoy the ride and the cool breeze on his face…

-

A/N: So…how was it? I'm not sure about the way I ended it, but…oh, well! What the heck! Anyway, if you did like it, then please send a review…I'm waiting for your comments!!

- S. N. B.