A/N: Been a while since my last update hasn't it? Oh well. And in this chapter, anything in italics is a memory.

Disclaimer: I own a copy of each of the Harry Potter movies and books, does that count?

Chapter fourteen - Christmas Past

Professor Sirius Black sat at his desk, tears streaming down his face.

It had been years since that fateful Halloween night, and it still hit him hard in the holidays.

He remembered back to the night he had gone to Lily and James' after finding out Peter had betrayed them to Voldemort...

 "Lily! James!" he called out to the darkness surrounding the ruins that used to be the Potter ancestral home.

He knew it was pointless, he knew they had died, he had seen the Dark Mark above the remains of his friends' house, but he couldn't give up.

"LILY! JAMES!" he called out, this time louder.

He carried on frantically with his search, unable to find a trace of them, or at least it was like that for a bit.

As he entered the kitchen he came across a sight that made his heart wrench and his stomach drop.

"JAMES!" he yelled, hoping that somehow the body of his best friend was still alive, as hopeless as it might seem.

As he got no reaction, he broke out into heartbroken sobs. He had lost his best friend, the person who had always been there for him, the person who he trusted most.

Tears still streaming down his face, he carried on his search, hoping against hope that Lily and little Harry were still living.

He went to little Harry's nursery, where he had often played with 'Prongs Jr', as he was affectionately called. What awaited him there was enough to make him collapse on the floor in tears yet again.

There was Lily's body, lying on the floor, her lifeless eyes staring up into space, her face contorted into an expression of fear but determination.

And beside her was a scorch mark on what had been the carpet.

"S... Sirius?" came a voice from the doorway.

"R... Remus?" he managed to sob out as a man came into the room.

Suddenly a realisation came to Sirius.

"I'll kill!" he roared, thinking of the one who betrayed him. "I'll bloody kill him!"

"Sirius, who are you on about?" asked Remus sniffing.

"Peter," he spat out coldly. "He and I switched as secret keepers at the last minute, but he betrayed Lily and James. It's his fault their dead! I'll kill him!"

"Sirius! Calm down! I w... want him to pay for what he did too, but killing him won't bring them back," said the ever reasonable Remus.

Sirius looked into the man's eyes for a second and saw he was right. Tears came again to his eyes, as well as Remus', and they sat and wept until they could weep no more.

That had been the worst day of his life. Now, as always during the holidays, he felt the pain of the loose of his best friend and his best friend's wife more than ever. And he still blamed himself for what happened.

A/N: Short, I know, but I wanted to put down exactly what happened on Halloween after Voldy adopted Ben, and I have.

 : You didn't leave a name, and I know that now.

Rain Warrior: I know he does. There's one Lestrange I would never have him like though, and that's Bellatrix.

Lady Cinnibar: Uh, right. I know we're going, but I'm not telling. It would spoil my fun. Yup, I think there is way more than a hundred of them.

Goldengirl2: No prob! I listen to any advice on how to improve my work. How else would I learn?

Hermionegreen: I know. I just have to make the DE's polite o him in public, but I can't make them bow down to him or anything, otherwise people'd get really suspicious.

Kaizer Knuckz: Thanks!

DARK ANGEL: Of course I will. Couldn't stop even if I wanted to. Lots of people would kill me!

Makya: I'm glad it's one of your faves. If you want to ask it again (and it makes some sense) you can. I'll try t answer that in review responses, or before the end of this fic in the actual story.