Disclaimer: This is a SHORT STORY!!! There will be NO CONTINUATION of it!!! Now that that's out of the way, I would like to say a few things: One, the characters belong to JKR (I wonder how many times I've said that). Two, please feel free to flame. I love flames (don't ask)! Three, I know my disclaimers can get very annoying and long, so I'll try not to make this one huge. To anyone who's E-Mailed me: CALL ME PADDY! Or Sirius, or Padfoot. I'll accept James, but I FORBID anyone to call me Pinky! I HATE that nickname! Now, sorry to explode. Here's the story, enjoy.
This Night
Sirius Black stood, gaping at the ruins of the once large, two-story house. The light blue wood seemed unscathed, unharmed, except that some parts of the walls had large holes. The splintered pieces of wood lay on the dew-covered grass among the shattered glass. Every piece of glass in the house had broken and the fragments of windows shimmered in the moonlight. The town was still and no one was about. Sirius was surprised that the muggles hadn't woken up. But he didn't care. In fact, he could have cared less about the muggles at that point. All he could do was stare with his once carefree, blue eyes that were now shining orbs of fear, at the house. He didn't dare move closer to the house and look in there, into the broken windows or the holes that placed themselves ever so ominously. He was too afraid to look in there. He was afraid that he'd see a mangled body of some poor, innocent sole. Or worse – he was afraid he'd see the mangled body of James Potter.
A wind blew Sirius's midnight black hair into his eyes, but he put no effort into removing it. He hadn't started to sob aloud yet – which surprised him – but silent tears were rolling down his paled face and his hands was shaking violently. It was cold out and his breath came out in large, white puffs but he didn't bother pulling his cloak closer to him. Before he knew it, he was down on his knees and looking up at the clear night sky. He blinked and a small noise escaped him. And now, his whole body was shaking, making his gut hurt. He noticed another noise escape him, and was aware of the whiny quality it possessed. He bent his head, almost gasping for breath. He looked up at the sky again and whispered a few barely audible words. "What did I do?" He raised his voice to a yell. "WHAT DID I DO!?"
He bent his head once more, barely aware of his surroundings. He didn't notice footsteps coming up behind him. He only looked up when a large hand touched his back comfortingly. Sirius was now staring up at Hagrid, leaving his tearstained face as it was, and didn't even wipe the tears that were streaming down. Hagrid was a large man to be in his fifties. He was taller and wider than any man Sirius had ever known. His hands were like shovels and his face was covered in bushy, black hair. His eyes were dark as coal, but they had a warm, friendly look to them. Despite his looks Hagrid was a kind, caring man. He was looking at Sirius with the utmost sympathy. "C'mon, get up, Mr. Black. It'll be okay," Hagrid said in a rough, yet sensitive voice. Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but the only sound that could escape him was another sob.
Hagrid grabbed Sirius's underarms and heaved him up with ease. Sirius didn't object to this and made an effort to stay on his feet, although his legs were shaking so hard he was afraid he'd loose balance. Hagrid still had a comforting hand on Sirius's back and Sirius didn't object to that. "Are – are they –" Sirius gulped, shook his head, and looked up at Hagrid. "Are they dead? Are James and Lily..." he mouthed and something that was barely a whisper came out. Hagrid obviously heard, but didn't say anything. He just looked at Sirius, and Sirius didn't need anything else to confirm Lily and James Potter dead. Sirius wailed, falling forward. His legs wouldn't support him. In fact, he had no strength to do anything other than sob. Sob on the cold, wet grass and not give a damn. Hagrid did nothing other than watch as Sirius curled up.
It was awhile before Sirius gained enough strength to push himself off of the ground, and onto his feet. He looked at Hagrid, who had just come back from doing something. He was holding a bundle that Sirius had not seen before. He moved closer to Hagrid to see what he had and gasped as he saw the small, sleeping form of Harry, James and Lily's one-year-old son. Sirius looked at Hagrid, silently asking to hold the small child. Hagrid nodded and gave the bundle to Sirius. Sirius looked down at the small, sleeping baby boy. "You...you survived." He looked at Hagrid. "He survived?" He looked back down at Harry and gave a very weak and very faint hint of a smile. "You don't know what I'm saying. You don't know what happened to your parents. You won't ever know until your old enough to talk and understand. You don't know who I am, or how painful this is to me. And you have no idea how much this is going to pain you for years to come. Right now all you know is whatever you're dreaming about. You're lost in sleep, completely unaware that your parents have...have..." Sirius choked and shook his head. He looked back to Hagrid. "I'll take him, Hagrid. I'm his godfather, after all."
Hagrid shook his head. Sirius looked at him worriedly, what did that shake mean? "No can do, Sirius. I 'ave orders from Dumbledore to bring Lil' 'Arry to 'im. 'Asn't told meh wha' 'e's doin'. Sorry, Sirius." Sirius looked at the bundle in his hands and felt worse than ever. He would carry this sorrow forever, until he died. Sirius sighed, wanting to protest, but knew that whatever Dumbledore had in mind was important. He handed Hagrid Harry and thought. What would he do now? He knew what he was going to do. He was going to hunt Peter Pettegrew down and rip the traitor limb from limb. He gave another shaky sigh and looked at his motorbike shining in the distance. He remembered he had gotten it from a bet James had made when they were drunk. He didn't want it. It would cause too many painful memories.
"Have my motorbike. I won't need it and you'll get to Professor Dumbledore quicker," Sirius said, wiping his face off and looking ahead. "Besides, I have some business to do and it would be better if I apparated, it'll get done quicker." Hagrid looked a bit troubled by this statement.
"Don't do anythin' rash, hear? Don' go trackin' You-Know-Who down." Sirius shook his head and promised he wouldn't. Hagrid sighed and nodded. "Best be off then. I'll see you later." Sirius nodded and watched as Hagrid got on the motorbike and rode away. He didn't know that would be the last time he ever saw that motorbike. He turned his head away from the house, glancing back only once, and apparated. He planned to go to his house and get a picture of James, Remus, Lily, and him that had been taken just a few days ago. Then, the hunt for Peter would take way.