The Asterothain

Disclaimer: All of the Harry Potter stuff belongs to J.K. Rowling.

A/N: Okay, Christmas Chapter! Sorry if you don't celebrate Christmas everybody! I came very close to missing my deadline of Christmas but it's Christmas Eve so I made it! Sorry about the last few chapters. I agree they were kind of sucky but I was in a rush to spread Christmas cheer. That's what happened. Anyway, this chapter might sound a little ultra-impromptu, but I left my spiral at school over Christmas break so I didn't pre-write it. It's kind of spontaneous but I hope you like it because Christmas is my favorite time of year. Except for the cold part, it doesn't snow much here so it's just cold, no beauty, just cold. Blech. Sometimes the pine trees get ice on them and that looks pretty but that's about it. White New Years, White Valentine's Day, but no White Christmas….

Sing We Now of Christmas

Harry dragged his trunk into the warmth of the Potter House where he was sure his frozen red hands would become flesh again. The snow was falling outside and Bagel and Ben were running and laughing in it, sure to catch a cold. It had been a gloomy semester with news of Sirius being taken back to Azkaban. It wasn't fair, they had just gotten him back and for once since Harry had received his scar, he had been able to show his face in public. No one in the Order could believe it. Harry had been wondering since then who had actually murdered Fudge; it couldn't have been Sirius. Even if he had a motive, he wouldn't have done it in fear of going back to prison.

At least now it wouldn't be that bad; all of the Dementors were gone with Voldemort. No one knew where they were staying, but there had been several attacks by them in the last year and a half. People had been getting kissed, or just driven crazy. St. Mungo's was putting forth record service but even they were at the end of their nerves.

Then there were the attacks made by the Death Eaters and even Voldemort himself. Voldemort's were the more rare, naturally, because he wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible in this time of high security. But the Death Eaters definitely found their way around England and the rest of Europe, killing off anyone that stood in their way. They were determined to finish whatever their beloved master bid them to do.

Life had become horrible. Even Christmas was going to be under a tight watch. It would be the perfect time for Voldemort to attack because everyone would be together for the holiday. The Death Eaters would have killing carnivals; massacres would be everywhere, Harry was sure.

However, nothing can beat the good Christmas Spirit off which everyone was operating. Even after all that was happening and all that could happen in the future or the present, people were still finding time to make a Merry Christmas. People were baking turkeys, stuffing geese and ducks, making dinner rolls, setting out candles and Christmas lights, decorating trees, and wrapping presents. Children were lying in bed thinking of Santa Claus and of the gifts they would receive and everyone was outside at sometime or another enjoying the snow. It was, above all, the triumphant atmosphere that helped along the Spirit. Europe was certain they were on the winning side with Voldemort and their pride burst forth with astounding magnificence.

Inside the Potter House there was nothing but Christmas Cheer. Bows and tinsel decorated the stairs and a gigantic tree sat in the center of the living room with a golden star rested on its peak and red and green ornaments hung from its dazzling boughs. The doors to the kitchen were open and inside the table was set and Lily could be heard bustling around to cook their dinner. James walked in behind Harry and stood and smiled at the glory his house was decorated with. Bagel and Ben entered with snow covering their heads and coats, red cheeks, and mischievous grins on their faces.

"Like it, Harry?" James asked.

"How could I not?" replied Harry.

"How long did it take you to 'deck the halls'?" asked Bagel.

"Oh, about a day. It wasn't that it was hard, it was just that I got trapped in the tree."

Ben snickered. "Your dad's a twit, Harry," he whispered. Harry laughed as Lily left the kitchen to join them.

"Well, guys, welcome home; happy Christmas!" said Lily.

"You can hardly call it happy with Dad gone…" replied Bagel dismally.

"I know," answered James, "but it is Christmas and we should at least try to have a good time. That's what he would want. Sirius would never want us to be sad because of him."

"I wonder what he's doing right now…" Harry speculated aloud.

Flashback: December 24, 1982 at Grimmauld Place

It was the annual Christmas Eve Ball that Sirius's parents held every year, though with all of the terrible, hateful, Pureblood maniacs hanging around, it could hardly feel like the wonderful holiday it was. Every year his parents invited all of their friends and family to their house for something of a party and with all of the beautifully decorated gowns and dress robes you would have thought it to be a joyous celebration. Around these people, the Blacks and their family were kings, queens, lords, ladies, princes, princesses, dukes, and duchesses. This, of course, was one of the very things Sirius found wrong about the whole thing.

But he attended each year for the simple ecstasy of the refreshment table which was filled with snacks and sweets from cupcakes to those tiny round things he was sure were snails. Whatever they were they were fun to put in people's drinks when they weren't looking. So, with his love of food, he usually hovered around the table, sipping punch every now and then and sneaking some kind of havoc into the food. That, after all, was the delight of the night.

It was on such an occasion where he was placing a snail into the spinach dip that he was caught by the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, finding himself praying she wasn't like the other people there. She was short with wavy red hair that set her face aglow and blue eyes that danced on her pale skin. Dressed in a flowing white dress that definitely did not assimilate well with the familiar dark theme of the night. This was the one sign he had that she didn't believe all of the nonsense that the others did.

"Um… what are you doing with the dip?" she asked delicately.

Sirius made an curious noise that made his face the color of her hair. "I don't know for sure, but I think I'm sabotaging it," he answered in a mildly casual way that made her smile. His hands wouldn't stop what they were doing so he decided he would have to work with it.

"Oh… may I ask why?"

Finally he was finished. He grabbed a napkin and wiped off his hands. "I'm am the Senior Mayhem-maker here and I'm making sure that everyone has a wonderfully slimy night, I hope." That was stupid, he thought. Say something cool! Maybe it can still be saved! "Just kidding; I hate these parties so I'm trying to destroy it. I'm Sirius, by the way, Sirius Black."

"I'm Natalie Feldspar… so… why don't you like this? You get treated like a prince."

"That's why. Why should I be treated different from anyone else? Purebloods are no different from everybody else. But I have to come here, right? It's my house. I'm just glad the refreshments are here to console me. I get to sit here and eat and watch everyone make idiots of themselves because they think they're so much better. It's really a lot of fun; you should try it sometime." Sirius sat down in a nearby chair hoping that maybe his charm would come back soon. She just had to catch him in the prank. That's no way to meet a girl! The good news was that she didn't seem taken aback by anything he had just said.

"I agree. I only like it because I can dress up so nicely. If I could do this any other way I would. It's just that my parents are so into this whole Pureblood thing and so I'm caught up in it too." Natalie pulled up another chair and sat down next to him.

"You look great, by the way," Sirius responded. Yes!, he thought, it's back!

"So, you're a Gryffindor right? I'm in Ravenclaw."

"Yeah, Mum and Dad were so angry when I wasn't sorted into Slytherin. They went zonkers and grounded me for the whole summer."

Natalie laughed. "Mine did too. Wow."

"What?" Sirius asked looking back at her.

"Nothing… We really have a lot in common," Natalie added examining his eyes.

Sirius sat in the cold cell on the hard slab that was his bed until he found a way out of Azkaban again. He was tired and he missed everyone. He couldn't feel his feet or his hands or even his nose because of the December cold. But he had one hope: an officer (they had to have officers now because of the loss of the Dementors) had told him that someone planned to visit him tomorrow. Sirius had no idea who it was but he hoped whoever it was could help him.