~Christmas Letters and Rotten Gifts~

~Some Months Later~

'Have you heard from Harry?'

'No. I had hoped to before sending him a Christmas Card.' Sirius replied to Mrs. Weasley's question.

'Oh, I'm sure Hedwig is on her way right now. That owl of his can make anything.'

'Yeah.' Sirius smiled, though sadly. 'I wish Harry could come out for Christmas. That would be nice.'

'Oh it would be, wouldn't it? The kids miss him terribly! What a wonderful present...maybe we should talk to Dumbeldore?'

'I don't know if he'd be to keen on allowing that after that little stunt you and Harry pulled in November.' Remus came in with a sly smile. 'I can't believe he talked you into that one.'

'I know.' Sirius smiled laughingly. 'Well, we both wanted to get out. You know? None of you know what its like to be cooped up in a house like we are.'

Mrs. Weasley looked down at her teacup. Remus sighed.

'How long has it been since you last heard from him?'

'Earlier this month. Why?'

Remus shook his head, but there was something that flashed behind his eyes. Sirius couldn't put his finger on it, and for a moment he wasn't sure he wanted to. He moved to say something, but there was a rush of footsteps from upstairs that made them all go silent. Before they knew what was happening, Tonks had nearly flown into the kitchen basement, her face red from the cold air outside. Her eyes were wide and fearful, and the only words coming out of her mouth was:

'Something's happened.'

* * *

Harry was washing some dishes by hand. He was too bored to do it by magic. Hedwig hooted on her perch behind him.

'You want to go out?' he asked. He'd made it a habit of talking to her more than usual. She was all the company he had. She hooted again. 'I know I need to write them all a Christmas Greeting. I'll get to it.' She stopped, that seemed to satisfy her enough. As he put the last cup away, Harry sat down at the table and bit at the feather tipping of his quill. He started to write something along the lines of 'Dear Sirius, Weasleys, Moody, Remus, and Tonks' but something outside startled him, causing him to leave a drawl line at the end of the last name. He sighed, rolling his eyes at himself and continuing on with the letter. But suddenly it happened again. It was at his front door, he knew, and it seemed to follow down toward the window. Hedwig hooted precariously, her eyes gazing intently at her master as he approached the window. He looked outward on the field of new fallen snow. There was nothing there....at first.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, cloaked figures started to approach, brandishing wands. Other's followed that were not wizards. Tall, carrying clubs and grumbling inadequately at their captors. Harry's heart began to beat. He'd been found. There was also a slight tingling in his scar that told him there just might be more than Death Eaters out there. He didn't have much time left. Quickly Harry dashed back to the table and tore a new piece of parchment and scribbled frantically. When the door was blown from its hinges, he knew he'd run out of time.

'Hedwig!' he hissed when he had finished. She flew over, hooting frantically. 'Take this to Sirius. Don't come back. I won't be here.' She looked up at him worriedly. 'I'll be fine.' he stated. He pat her head and scratched her beak for what he was certain would be the last time. He flew outside into the cold and tossed her high into the air. When he knew she made it safely away, he transformed into the big, black dog that was so similar to Sirius and bound off toward the forest.

* * *

'What do you mean something's happened?' Sirius asked fretfully as Tonks collapsed into a chair. She was shaking and pale, no one had ever seen her this bad before.

'At the Ministry. There's been an attack.'

'Where's Moody?' Remus demanded.

'I don't know. He told me to come and warn you, I didn't see him after that.'

'Why to warn us?'

Tonks was taking in deep breaths, apparently trying to keep her head. 'Because he thinks there's more to this than what was seen.'

Ron and Hermione came running in looking fretfully pale and worried.

'What's happened?' Ron demanded in a similar tone to Remus.

'There's been an attack at the Ministry.' Sirius repeated.

'Is dad all right?' Ron asked.

'You're father is fine!' Tonks breathed. 'I threw him into the fireplace to Dumbeldore's office. He's fine. Should be arriving-'

'MOLLY!' came a bellowing voice from upstairs. It was Arthur.

'There!' Tonks breathed. Arthur came flying down the stairs looking frightful. Moody followed him with a noticeable limp, an even deeper chunk taken out of his nose, and a scratch over his brow. Dumbeldore was well behind him, along with McGonagall, and Snape. Sirius sneered at the site of Harry's Potion's Master, but when Dumbeldore started talking everyone focused in.

'The Ministry has been attacked.' Dumbeldore relayed to them all. 'No lives have been lost. In fact, I would say this is one of the weakest attempts Voldemort has ever thrown at us.'

'What does this mean?' Ron asked, looking to his parents for relief.

'I believe they were trying to distract us.' said Dumbeldore immediately. His eyes were ablaze with angry fire, but his face was calm when he spoke with those around him.

'Distract us?' Came Remus.

'From what?' Tonks shot.

'I've too many suspicions, and not the energy to sort through them all tonight.' his eyes cast to Sirius, the fire dying away. He looked as though he were starting to say something when an audible crack echoed from the upstairs floor. Another soon sounded, and afterward a crash of glass.

'Someone's broken in.' Moody growled.

'No...' Sirius stated. A white blur soared into the room silently, landing on the table.

'Hedwig?' Mrs. Weasley mouthed wordlessly. Ron dove for the owl, seeing the letter on her leg, but she jumped up and flew directly into Sirius' arms. She nipped and hooted frantically as he pulled the letter from her leg.

'Who is it from?' Ron whispered as if anything louder might break the atmosphere.

'Harry, no doubt.' Hermione breathed.

Sirius unfolded the parchment, surprised at how short it was. When he finished, his hands shook convulsively. Dumbeldore rushed to grab the letter from his hand. He turned to the others an read it aloud.

Sirius, or any at Grimmauld Place who find this,

Its Harry. I've been found. I don't know how, but I have. I'm severely outnumbered, so I cannot say much. I told Hedwig to stay with you, I hope her presence isn't a burden. If all goes well I'll...

'I'll what?' Ron demanded.

'Nothing.' Dumbeldore responded. 'It ends there.' There was a strong, sturdy silence, broken by nothing but Sirius' ragged breathing. 'I'm going to see what has happened.'

'I'm coming too.' Sirius stated, pulling himself erect. 'I don't care what happens.'

'So are we!' Said Ron, Hermione, and Ginny simultaneously. Remus stood behind the both of them, one hand the eldest shoulders.

'As am I.' he stated.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley nodded. Snape breathed a sigh while McGonagall nodded her head at Dumbeldore. Tonks took one more deep breath and nodded her own head whilst Moody stood.

'Well, lets get going then.' he growled.

* * *

As one they apparated, a deafening snap echoed through the house, though there were none around to hear it, save maybe a flustered Hedwig. When the large group reached the house by Dumbeldore's directions, they stopped dead in their tracks. What lay before them was a collapsed heap of rubble, what was left whole burned to the ground as they stared.

'No.' Sirius breathed. 'Not again...'

Remus stood behind him, but heard none of it. For a split moment, he faced his own trauma. Ron and Hermione faced what they believed was all that remained of their best friend. Ginny stood, biting her lip, trying hard to fight back tears. Mrs. Weasley had one hand around her daughter, another closed over her mouth. Her eyes gazing frightfully into the licking flames that seemed to mock them all, saying that they were too late. Arthur wrapped both of his arms around his wife, trying to shush her weeping. McGonagall stood open mouthed and wide eyed beside Dumbeldore. Snape's face was expressionless.

'He's not here.' Dumbeldore said at once. 'He's gone.'

What would have been sighs of relief transformed into breaths of terror.

'Do they have him, Albus?' McGonagall asked inching closer to him.

'It is, a possibility Minerva.'

Sirius stepped closer to the fire than any of them, his eyes watching the flames. He could hear the laughter in his head, the same laughter that he'd heard seventeen years ago when he had stood before the burning ruins of Lilly and James' house. It wasn't possible that this was happening to him all over again. Harry had to be alive, he had to be. Two strong hands gripped him hard around the shoulders. He'd been walking right into the flames without even realizing it. He turned, expecting to see Remus' eyes staring into his own. Instead, he saw Snape's.

'Killing yourself won't bring him back.' He snarled.

Sirius turned to the man with bitter contempt in his eyes. A snarl escaped his lips, but he didn't listen. Immediately he transformed into the black dog and combed the ground, his nose never once coming up from the snow. He could catch the scents of a dozen different Death Eaters, and the bitter, morbid scent of a Mountain Troll. He could smell burning wood and cloth from the fire before him, and another scent. He caught Harry's animagi scent within a few moments and followed it ravenously. Voices called out after him, but he paid them no mind, even as Ron and Hermione and Ginny followed around him in their own animagi form, trying desperately to find what he had.

He ignored them however, and continued to follow the scent. He rummaged through the snow, following, until he came upon a deep hole in the snow where it looked like an animal about Sirius' size had fallen hard. The snow was dyed crimson red in some places. Sirius sniffed again. It was Harry's blood. Whimpering and growling at the same time, he continued to comb the snow. Another trace of Harry's scent was some distance away, with paw prints leading from the stained snow. Remus had caught up with him and observed the scene. He whispered something under his breath but Sirius was still paying little attention to anything else.

The scent mingled with that of a troll, and something else he couldn't detect. It reeked of death and vileness. It caused him to growl bitterly, making even the kids back away in fear. Voldemort had been here. He'd come with the others to personally see to Harry's demise. Sighing bitterly, he lost the trail upon entering the forest. He appeared from the brush as his human self, looking disgruntled and aggravated, and pale.

'Anything Sirius?' Remus asked.

'Yes. There were Death Eaters. A troll. And Voldemort was here.' he ignored the few winces from the Weasley's. 'That blood there is Harry's. He fell there, but continued on into the forest. Voldemort followed him, but I lose the trail soon after that.'

Dumbeldore approached the pair, his face looking worn.

'Harry has been captured.' He stated, not meeting Sirius' eyes. 'I can tell you that.'

'We have to do something!' Sirius started, leaving their presence. Remus followed desperately.

'Sirius, we can't just waltz off and start from scratch. If we're going to find Harry, we're going to need to slow down and think!' Sirius ignored him, until two hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him around. Remus' eyes were ablaze with anger and fright. 'YOU CAN'T JUST WALK OUT OF THIS AND THINK YOU CAN FIND HIM ON YOUR OWN SIRIUS!' he hollered. It was the first time anyone had ever seen Remus shout. Or even become angry. 'VOLDEMORT HAS HARRY! YOU'LL NEVER FIND HIM JUST WALKING AROUND LONDON! HE'S NOT GOING TO LEAD YOU THERE! YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO USE YOUR BRAIN SIRIUS!'

'AND WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW?' Sirius bellowed back, pushing Remus off of him. 'FOR ALL YOU KNOW HE'S ALREADY DEAD!'

'YES I'VE THOUGHT OF THAT SIRIUS!' Remus shouted back, he looked as if he were trying to hold back tears. 'YOU CAN'T IMAGINE! HE MAY BE YOUR GODSON, BUT HE WAS MY FRIEND'S SON TOO! JAMES WAS MY BROTHER TOO! WE HAVE TO FIND HARRY, I KNOW, BUT WE MUST DO IT INTELLIGENTLY! THIS IS JUST WHAT THE DARK LORD WANTS! WE'LL LOSE OUR HEADS AND THEREFORE FORSAKE ALL CHANCES OF FINDING HIM! YOU CAN'T DO THAT SIRIUS! IT'S WHAT HE'S TRYING TO DO!'

There was silence. Awed silence. Then at last, Sirius nodded.

'Very well. But any leads, and I'm with the first people there.' he looked to Dumbeldore and the others. 'There's no way you're keeping me locked up this time. I'm helping.'

Dumbeldore nodded.

'You have every right, Sirius.'

With that, they disapparated back to Grimmauld Place, beginning already to formulate plans.

* * *

A large black dog ran clumsily through the forest. No one was pursing him, but he knew it was only a matter of time before something caught him. He couldn't stop. By now all in Grimmauld Place had gotten his letter. Whether they'd come to his aide or stay behind in hopes of a return message, he didn't know. He couldn't risk going back however, to find out. He'd send another owl when he got the chance. But for now, Harry Potter was on the run.