A/N: Hey guys! Great news! The Geek Squad from Best Buy came today to fix my laptop, so I can post all the time now! YAY!! Okay, you all might not be as thrilled as me, but I can't wait.

Anyway. You know the drill—read and review.

Chapter 4

The Worst Holiday

Sirius lay on a mattress on the floor behind the couch where Remus slept. The autumn sun was blinding Sirius, and he turned his back to it. Today was the day. The fourteenth anniversary. Halloween was the worst holiday there was. What on earth was there to be happy about on a day like this?

It was funny—it seemed like only yesterday that Sirius had been over at the Potters' house, playing with baby Harry and catching up on things with James and Lily.

But then Halloween had struck and everything changed. That was the night that Voldemort had come and ruined Sirius's life.

Sirius could remember arriving at the Potters' that night more vividly than anything else. It had been all Sirius could think about last night, and now the events were pounding in his brain again.

Sirius had parked his flying motorbike, and walked up to the Potters' door. It was loose on its hinges. He had entered the house, calling their names… "Prongs? Lil?" That's when he saw it.

James's dead body was sprawled out by the sofa, glasses askew, and wand in hand. His heart had been practically wrenched out of his chest, his eyes burning with the sight of his dead best friend. He had tried to wake James up… "James? Prongs? Speak to me, buddy…" In that moment, the only thing he wanted was for James to blink his eyes open and smile up at him, laughing how he had fooled Sirius again—why did Sirius always fall for his jokes?

But he hadn't said anything. He was petrified with a look of betrayal and pain in his blue eyes. Sirius had never been so afraid in his life. "…The marauders aren't afraid of anything…"

He had pounded up the stairs, reluctantly leaving James's body behind. He was headed for the Lily and James's bedroom—but Harry's door was ajar, so he went there instead.

And there was Lily, brilliant Lily—at the base of Harry's crib, cold and lifeless. Even in death, she was beautiful: her bright green eyes were strong and defiant. But her limp hands and her pale skin had cracked Sirius.

He had fallen to his knees then, and cried for the both of them. Cried and cried and cried… just like he was doing now, just like he had cried last night, all the while, praying Remus wouldn't hear him…

They were gone… dead and gone forever.

But there was Harry… Little Harry. All alone from that point on. "The boy who lived" they called him. How could he live without ever knowing his parents?

Sirius had thought everything would be all right if he could have kept Harry—held him until the world ended. But Hagrid had come and taken him too—snatched him right out of his arms to take him to live with Muggles for eleven years.

It had been that night that made him into the "murderer" that he was today. But then he had only been angry… but now? There was an empty place in his heart, and this day was nothing to celebrate.

Halloween.

Sirius laughed softly to himself, wiping the tears off of his face, thinking of the pranks he and James had pulled on the Halloweens of the past. How Snape and Malfoy hated them on Halloween. How Sirius had no idea what to do with himself now.

Sirius wondered bitterly where that rat Peter was, and if he was even thinking about Lily and James right now.

He didn't want to get out of bed—he didn't want to do anything.

It was Halloween. The day Lily and James had been stolen forever.

Sirius breathed deeply, turning his face into his pillow.

"All right, Sirius?" Remus asked from the couch.

Embarrassed, Sirius wiped his face clean with his hands, and lay flat on his back. "Fine. You?"

"Couldn't be worse," he sighed.

"Yeah, me too," Sirius confessed, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath. He pushed back his covers, and put his face over the back of the couch to observe Remus.

"Want some breakfast?" Sirius suggested. "Might help some. Coffee, maybe?"

"No," he pulled his covers close. "No thanks."

"I'm going to check on Belle," Sirius told him. "You let me know if you want something." Sirius said softly, though he wasn't much in the mood for breakfast either.

He walked down the hall and up the stairs to Belle's room. He knocked gently on her door.

"Come in," she sniffed. Sirius pushed the door open, and saw Belle sitting upright in her bed. Her eyes were bloodshot.

"Happy Halloween," she whispered, her lips dry, and her voice precariously close to sobbing.

"Don't see what could possibly be happy about it," Sirius said quietly, approaching her.

He sat down next to her, and leaned back on the headboard. He closed his eyes and put his arm around her. She put her head on his chest.

Belle started to tremble, holding back tears. Sirius kissed the top of her head, and she broke down into hysterics. Her tears were gliding down her face like never-ceasing rivers.

"Shh… It's all right…" Sirius comforted.

"I'm s-so s-sorry, Sirius…" Belle choked between sobs.

"You have nothing to be sorry about… nothing…" Sirius told her, cradling her in his arms, and rocking her gently. Belle desperately tried to stem her tears.

"I called you a m-murderer… I said you killed them—I s-said—"

"It's all right…"

"I s-said it was your fault… I c-called you a liar… I'm s-sorry… you didn't… I shouldn't've…"

"Belle, you didn't know… It's all right…"

"I'm s-sorry…"

"No, Belle, don't be…" Sirius whispered, hugging her tighter. She was trembling with sadness, and Sirius knew that this had nothing to do with her feeling guilty. Neither Belle, nor Sirius, nor Remus had ever had a chance to grieve for their friends—never had a chance to be together, to cry together…

"I want to tell Remus about us today," Sirius said, hardly even realizing he had been thinking about this in the back of his mind all last night.

"What?" Belle looked up at him. "No, not today…"

"Then when, Belle?" Sirius said quietly, staring at Belle's dresser. There was a picture of her, Sirius, Remus, James and Lily there, framed. They were all smiling, dressed in their Hogwarts graduation robes.

"It's kind of like we're telling them too, you know?" Sirius breathed, more to himself than her.

"But Sirius…" Belle murmured. In that moment, he realized that his own face was wet with teardrops.

"It'll get easier, I promise," Sirius said, voice cracking.

But the rest of the day wasn't any better than that morning had been. When darkness fell over the neighborhood, Muggle children would come up to the door, ringing the echoing bell over and over, calling for candy.

But Belle never answered the door. They were all just sitting in silence. Sirius hadn't even realized that they were sitting in the darkness, until Remus got up to turn the light on.

It was almost like they were waiting for something—for anything: a sign, or a single word from their best friends. But nothing came.

They were so quiet, sometimes Sirius could hear the kids outside on the street saying, "no—don't bother with Mrs. Figg's house. She never has candy. She answered her door for me last year—she didn't even say Happy Halloween. She just cried… Mad old lady, she is…"

"Remus, there's something we want to tell you," Sirius said suddenly. Belle's face shot up out of her hands, and she looked at him like he was crazy. She shook her head slightly.

"What's that?" Remus asked.

"Belle and I," Sirius began, taking Belle's hand, "are getting married." He held his breath, wondering what his friend would say.

But if this at all surprised Remus, he didn't show it. "It's about time," he replied with a hint of a grin.

"Excuse me?" Belle choked. "What do you mean 'it's—'"

"It's about time that you said something," he repeated. "Honestly, I thought you weren't ever going to say anything."

"You knew?!" Belle exclaimed, but Sirius just laughed—something he had not expected to do today. "I've been stressing out this whole time… and you knew?!"

"How could I not?" Remus chuckled. "Really, all those long trips into the backyard to feed Buckbeak… I knew something was up."

"Damn you, Remus," Belle teased, slapping her forehead.

"Remus, my friend," Sirius said, looking at him, "you rock."

The next morning, however, brought news that surprised everyone in Belle's house.

Sirius was in the kitchen, cleaning up from breakfast, and Remus and Belle were seated in the living room, reading the paper.

Sirius was humming slightly as he scrubbed the pan that Remus had made pancakes in. He still wasn't feeling all together himself, but the sadness of yesterday was wearing off. He remembered with a pang that last year, he hadn't thought of Lily or James once on Halloween—he had been so focused on catching Peter that he hadn't even had the decency to remember that it had been Halloween.

"Sirius! There's an owl here for you…" Belle called to him.

"Yeah?" Sirius took the plate he had been drying, and put it away in the cabinet.

"It's a barn owl," she answered, and Sirius walked into the room to see a large owl flapping its wings tiredly on the coffee table in front of Belle and Remus. They both were watching the owl with amusement.

Sirius hurried over to it, assuming it was from Harry. He knelt before it, and pulled the scroll off of its leg.

Dear Sirius,

You told me to keep you posted on what's happening at Hogwarts, so here goes—I don't know if you've heard, but the Triwizard Tournament's happening this year and on Saturday night I got picked as a fourth champion. I don't know who put my name in the Goblet of Fire, because I didn't. The other Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory, from Hufflepuff.

Hope you're okay, and Buckbeak—Harry

"What the hell?!" Sirius yelled, staring blankly at Harry's letter. "He's one of the champions for the Triwizard!"

"You're joking," Remus said, looking up from his paper. "That's impossible; the age limit was seventeen."

"No—he said he doesn't know who put his name in, but he got picked!" Sirius cried. He had thought Harry would be a great champion, but he didn't actually think Harry could enter—the Triwizard Tournament was dangerous.

"You've got to write to him—this must be some mistake," Belle said, puzzled.

"This is nuts," Sirius muttered. "I don't want to write him a letter—I need to see him. I need to talk to him, face to face."

"That's too risky Sirius," Remus said, the voice of reason.

"Besides, there's no way you could get to Hogwarts without being sighted," Belle agreed.

"Fine—with floo powder then," Sirius argued. "I have too much to say to him—none of it safe to put into a letter."

Remus and Belle considered. "Fair enough," Belle decided. "I don't have any, because I can Apperate—but I could get some before the end of the month. Tell him the 22nd of November."

"Tell Harry to be alone in the Gryffindor common room at one o'clock in the morning on the 22nd," Remus advised.

"All right, fine," Sirius went back into the kitchen and pulled out a quill, his head still spinning.

Harry—

I can't say everything I'd like to in a letter, it's too risky in case the owl is intercepted—we need to talk face-to-face .Can you ensure that you'll be alone by the fire in the Gryffindor Tower at one o'clock in the morning on the 22nd of November?

I know better than anyone else that you can look after yourself, and while you're around Dumbledore and Moody I don't think anyone will be able to hurt you. However, someone seems to be having a good try. Entering you in that tournament would have been very risky, especially right under Dumbledore's nose.

Be on the watch, Harry. I still want to hear about anything unusual. Let me know about the 22nd of November as quickly as you can.

Sirius

"You know who else I should write to?" Sirius said, not yet giving the letter to the barn owl.

"Dumbledore?"

"Exactly," Sirius said, pulling out another piece of parchment out.

He took a deep breath. He hadn't really written to Dumbledore. Ever. Sure, he had told himself that he would, time after time, he told himself to write to the headmaster, but never really got himself to do it. But now that he was facing the parchment, with the quill in his hand, he didn't know what to say.

But this was about Harry. This was about Harry somehow being named champion. But it was also about more than that.

Sirius still had to thank Dumbledore for saving his life—he had to tell Dumbledore he was back in the country. He also thought he should tell Dumbledore about his and Belle's engagement, but somehow, that just felt odd.

So, after taking a deep breath, and clutching the feather quill a little tighter, Sirius began to write to his old headmaster in the best handwriting he could manage:

Professor Dumbledore,

First of all, I'm eternally sorry for not writing to you sooner. I'm sure you know It's been tough being on the run like this, and I just haven't had the time. But I wanted to say, before I get to anything else, how grateful I am for your rescue. I still don't know how you managed it, really, but it was impressive, and I owe you my life.

I've been in contact with Harry. But I must admit, I'm confused. I just received a letter from him saying that he's been selected as the fourth champion for the Triwizard Tournament. What's that all about? I'm back in the country now, and I've been wondering if I should move closer to Harry. I want to be able to help if… anything were to happen. I know that he'll be safe with you and Mad-Eye at Hogwarts, but still. I can't help but worry. I'm arranging to meet with Harry via floo powder at the end of the month, if I can get my hands on some powder.

Anyway, tell me if you think there's any way I can help. You know I want to.

Thank you, Dumbledore. For everything. Literally.

Sirius

He slipped the letters onto the owl's leg. "Take Dumbledore's his first. Okay?" he told the owl. It hooted serenely.