As Holly watched her one lifeline to her family being literally being ripped into a thousand pieces, she felt her heart break as well. Holly turned and ran. She ran up. Up the spiraling staircase to the 5th Year Girls' Dormitory. Holly collapsed on her four-poster. Holly felt Lily gazing startlingly and questioningly upon her. Holly somehow managed to choke out between breath-wrenching sobs, "Sirius…picture…gone."

Lily stormed angrily back down the spiral staircase, green eyes blazing in a look Snape would be proud of. Lily had known Holly for years. She understood the few choice words the sobbing girl had choked out. Brash, loyal, protective Lily decided to deal her own brand of medicine to Black. Take him down a few pegs.

Holly knew Lily, and knew what her reaction would be. She was unsuprised by her sudden, silent departure. Holly was even less surprised when she felt a comforting arm wrap around her shoulder. Lily had returned from telling of Black, and Lily knew how to soothe her. She had learned how after Holly's parents died, this traumatic experience had bonded the girls. Lily held her, as any best friend would, as Holly cried. Whispering soothing, calming words, Lily told her to let it all out, that they would get him back.

Inside Holly's emotional turmoil:

For someone to be so disrespectful, so cruel as to willfully destroy someone's property. And for that person to destroy that certain piece of property was unthinkable. At that moment, a great hatred rose in Holly. A hatred for one Sirius Black.

True, they teased each other, and pretended to hate each other, and generally been total pricks to the other, but this over-stepped every boundary Holly could think of. She now hated Sirius Black with a passion akin to that for the Dark Lord. True, he had not carried out the deed of her family's murder, but he had taken a stab at something that was almost as bad in Holly's eyes: their very memory. In that one motion, Black had destroyed his every redeeming quality in Holly's eyes.

Holly did not, could not, would not believe in the good in him. So she turned her face, and in her mind's eye, Sirius Black became a hollow black abyss of nothingness. A small part of Holly's heart was stained black. It was stained Black. Never before had she hated with such a passion. It scared her. For a moment, the black spread. Eating Holly alive.

But, then Lily ran up the stairs, after having dealt with Black. Relief flooded Holly, as memories of Lily, her friends, her brothers, her sister, her kitten, her mother and father rained down upon her, washing away the black. Except for one small part that was irreversibly changed.

And as Holly finally quieted, Lily gently released her, and waited intuitively for Holly to speak. Holly said rigidly, "I hate him. I don't think I'll ever forgive him. What he did was…irredeemable." Here she turned to Lily and broke into a grin laced with malice and anticipation. She continued, "We'll make him pay."

Lily raised an eyebrow and smirked also, "Of course."

So for the rest of Christmas break Sirius was put through…well Hell, for lack of a better word. Holly and Lily would magically seal his door, so even Alohomora wouldn't work. Sirius escaped by literally blasting the door of its hinges.

Another form of revenge came one evening when they slipped an uncommonly strong Sleeping Draught in his evening pumpkin juice. Sirius slept through three days of winter break.

The third terror technique came in the form of Peeves. Peeves followed Sirius around for all of winter break, even to the toilet. The girls had bribed the tricky Poltergeist with Drooble's Best-Blowing Gum, his favorite.

The next torture Sirius endured was the worst. It was an ancient old spell Holly found in the Restricted Section. Lily, being the best in their year at Charms, had cast it. A curse called, Midas' Touch, it turned all the victim touched into gold. Sirius neither ate nor drank for two days until he finally discovered the spell to lift the curse. Sirius proceeded by eating what he normally would have in two days' time, in one sitting. Consequently, his stomach revolted, and he was sick all night. Much to the two girls' enjoyment, he came to breakfast the next morning with dark circles under his eyes, and threw up promptly at the sight of food. It was Lily and Holly's new favorite story to tell.

By this time, break had passed and the other students returned to the school. They talked happily of vacation. As soon as James, Remus, and Peter set foot on school grounds, Sirius told them of what had happened between he and the two girls.

As Sirius wound up his tale, the three boys who were his audience showed a variety of reactions.

Remus spoke first, "Sirius, what you did was utterly atrocious, and you must immediately apologize, and pray to Merlin for forgiveness. I know I probably couldn't find it in me to forgive you if I were Holly."

James said next, shaking his head sympathetically, "Sirius, man, your screwed. Holly and Lily at your throat! I'd kill myself and save them the trouble."

Peter finally spoke, "You're in deep doo-doo now."

The three other boys stared amusedly at their friend, before bursting out in laughter. Sirius clasped Peter heartily on the back, before choking out amidst the tears of laughter, "Trust Wormtail to add comic relief to the situation!"

Sirius's mood suddenly darkened, before he worriedly said, "I think they're planning something big. They've been quiet for over a week. What should I do?" He looked worriedly from face-to-face.

James stated arrogantly, "Don't worry mate, we can handle anything those girls can throw at us."

Sirius laughed bemusedly," That's just it mate. I don't think we can." But, the deep furrow between his brows belied the carefree resonance in his words.

Sirius Black was worried.