Man, Thanksgiving was awesome. Now to get through Christmas without a headache or a hangover. Anyway, we learn a little more about Sirius Black and his connection to Harry in this chapter, which is gonna cause some tears, I bet. So let's get this done.

Disclaimers: You know the drill, I don't own either of these franchises.

"He looks a bit peaky, don't he?"

"Peaky??"

"For God's sake, Ron. Whaddya expect?! Poor guy fell over 100 feet, maybe 110 at best! Be more sensitive!"

As the fogginess in Harry's mind cleared, he became more aware of those around him chattering away:

"Yeah, come on, Ron. Let's walk you off the Astronomy Tower."

"See what you look like."

"Probably on a right sight better than he normally does." The raven-haired boy spoke up, bringing relief to the group as he sat up.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked him worriedly.

"Oh, brilliant." He responded as he took his glasses from Val.

"You gave us one hell of a scare, Harry." The Dhampir told him before she went to check on Cedric, adjusting her still rain drenched hair into a neat ponytail.

Cedric was already sitting up and talking to the others when he saw Valerie walking over. "Hey, Val!"

She smiled at him as she stopped by his bedside. "How are you feeling? That lightning strike must have been bad."

"Never better." He smiled at her.

She checked his pulse. "Well, you're certainly looking more vital, that's a good thing."

He chuckled a bit and nodded. "Yeah. How's Harry doing?"

She looked over at Harry and the others, frowning as she saw the destroyed Nimbus 2000. "I think he may need a new ride for Quidditch."

Days later after they had left the hospital wing came a day when the Boy Who Lived and the Dhampir were walking with Professor Lupin while talking with him.

"I'm sorry to hear about your broomstick, Harry. Is there no chance of fixing it?" Lupin asked Harry.

The boy shook his head. "Professor, why do they affect me and Valerie so? I mean more than anyone else?"

"Listen to me." Lupin looked at them. "The Dementors are one of the most foul beasts to walk this earth. They feed on every good feeling, every happy memory until a person is left with nothing but his absolute worst experiences. You are not weak, children. The Dementors affect you both most of all because you have had horrible experiences that no person would want to know. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm scared, Professor." Harry couldn't help but admit.

Val smiled at Harry and patted his shoulder. "You'd be crazy if you weren't scared, Harry. Believe me, I'm scared too. Heck, I was thinking of asking Aunt Nelly for Patronus summoning lessons."

He nodded and thought for a moment before he looked at Lupin. "Maybe you could help. You and Nelly made that Dementor on the train go away."

"There was only one that night." Lupin corrected him.

"But you made it go away." Harry countered.

The older man chuckled as the trio stopped at the edge of the lake. "Well, I don't pretend to be an expert, Harry. But as the Dementors seem to have taken a particular interest in you, perhaps I should teach you. But after the holidays. For now, I need to rest."

Indeed, as the holidays rolled around, Valerie was getting nervous. Her meeting with Sirius Black was on the day of the Hogsmeade visit again and she was worried for a moment. But she realized she could actually be talking to an innocent man.

"Time to take my chances." She sighed and went out to the forest with only a light jacket for extra warmth and she made her way to the stream she had been at the first time that she had met Black.

Sirius was waiting for her in his dog like form, only shifting to a human form when she approached. "I'm glad you're willing to listen to me, Val. Not many wizards or witches would be like you."

"Not many are as open-minded as me." She smiled, passing him some food that she had managed to sneak from the kitchens.

He smiled back and took out a turkey leg, taking a large bite out of it and chewing on the meat for a little bit before he swallowed. "I haven't had real meat in days. Mostly I just feed on the small rodents you leave behind."

She nodded as she sat on the rock. "Speaking of rodents, you did mention one of your old friends was an Animagus who could turn into a rat."

He sat down as well. "Peter Pettigrew. He used to be one of my friends back when I was at Hogwarts with James and Nelly and the other Marauders."

She held a hand up to stop him momentarily. "Hang on, Marauders? Is that like a group name or something?"

He nodded and chuckled slightly. "Yes, we called ourselves that because of us always getting into mischief. We even had names for ourselves based on our animal forms."

She smiled. "What were they?"

He finished off the leg before starting to eat an apple. "Well, James could transform into a stag, so we nicknamed him Prongs. Peter was called Wormtail due to his rat tail looking like a worm. Then your aunt could become a beautiful arctic fox, so she was dubbed Winter. I gained the name Padfoot due to my large paws as a dog. And then Remus was known to us as Moony."

"Let me guess, because he's a werewolf?" Val jumped in quickly.

Sirius let out a laugh like a bark and nodded. "Yes."

She laughed with him, grateful that she had come out to the woods. Sirius wasn't a total nutcase after all. In fact, he seemed very genuine and kind.

When their laughter died down, she soon got back to asking questions: "So what happened the night Harry's parents died? When the Ministry thought you killed those people?"

He sighed and looked down. "When Voldemort was rising up to power, James and Lily feared that they may be targeted, so after Harry was born, they made me his godfather and their Secret Keeper. Peter was designated a Secret Keeper as well, but that turned out to be a mistake. Peter betrayed their trust and that led to Voldemort killing them and almost killing Harry. I went to confront Peter, but he cast a powerful spell that took out 12 Muggles and one wizard around us." He clenched his fists tightly before calming himself down. "When the dust cleared, all that he had left behind was a finger. Everyone thought he was dead and that I had killed him, but in truth, he had escaped into the sewers."

She nodded, understanding exactly where he was going. "And then he was found by the Weasley family and lived as their pet while you were in Azkaban for a crime you didn't commit."

He nodded gravely. "I want to make sure I correct that. I want to take Peter out for what he did to them."

She twitched her nose slightly. "Two wrongs don't make a right. Even I know that."

He nodded. "Neither did the actions your parents took, especially your father."

She frowned a little bit. "Y… you knew my dad?"

He nodded. "Your father was a warrior who fought off any villains that came across and tried to hurt him or Melina. But then they had to hide from vampire society, especially when you were still growing in her womb. Believe me, even if Otis could protect you, if the vampires catch wind that you are at Hogwarts, then everyone close to you will be in grave danger."

She pursed her lips slightly, her eyes showing more worry by the minute. What if a vampire came after her and the others? What if it was someone she truly cared about? What could she do about it?

(accidentally breaks my coffee cup and sighs) I'm not gonna make it through New Year's Eve, am I? (pops a hard seltzer) Well, down the hatch. (chugs all of it and immediately passes out)