A ragged man stumbled over the hill and down into the graveyard. Filthy, half-starved and wild, he looked more like a supernatural creation belonging to the night, rather then a visitor to the cemetery. The black sky cast deep and ghostly shadows as the man sped to his destination, the only light coming from the stars as they glared down at the earth coldly.

The man kept up his pace up as scanned the inscriptions on the gravestones. He was muttering to himself, as though searching the desolate cemetery for something he had lost.

 Suddenly, he stopped dead. Sinking to his knees, he stared at a white marble tombstone.   

 “Hey James,” the man whispered in a rough voice, before slipping into silence. For a minute or two the man just stared at the grave as though, if he watched it long enough, he could find something that would prove it was not real. Finally, he took in a deep breath and began to speak.

 “It’s been a while hasn’t it? By now you’ve probably forgotten who I am. I’m sorry I didn’t come to your funeral mate, I was a bit preoccupied. Not that I didn’t want to go, just that they wouldn’t let me. I’m not sure if you know, but I’ve been locked up the last few years. They believed I did horrible things, that I killed a lot of people." Sirius, who had built up volume in his speech,quieted his voice. "I didn’t kill them I suppose, but everything that happened here was still my fault. I shouldn’t have enforced the switch. It’s my fault you and Lily are dead. You probably hate me now.” The man looked away, clenching his teeth and widening his eyes in an attempt to stem the tears.

 “But you wouldn’t hate me,” the man continued. “That was one of the greatest things about you; you always supported your friends though it all. You meant everything to me and you were the best friend I ever had.” The man used the back of his arm to wipe away the now flowing tears.

 “I don’t understand,” he murmured, “Every hour of everyday for the last twelve years, I relived the night I found out you were dead. But until now, it hardly seemed real. Like a distant nightmare…”

 The man ran his hands through his unkempt hair, searching for the words that failed him. “I just can’t believe you are gone,” he whispered, before sinking into silence once more.

 “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to look after Harry,’ the man continued after a minute or two. “He meant so much to you and Lily and I wasn’t there to look out for him. Merlin, he’s almost grown up now. I saw his name in the paper a couple of times. He’s pretty famous you know. He’s about to enter his third year I think. You’d be really proud of him…”

 The man shook his head, “Not that I can say much, I haven’t even talked to him. Well, not since he was a baby anyway. I just got out from Askaban - broke out actually. I came straight here to see you, haven’t even stopped to sleep. I just had to come and talk to you, even though it’s not the same.” The man buried his face in his hands, “It’ll never be the same. I don’t know how to go on without you. All that’s left of me is an empty shell.”

 The man stumbled to his feet as a gust of wind flew though the graveyard, causing the man’s filthy robes to swirl around him. “I’m sorry James, but with you gone, the sorrow and anger is too much. I need to commit the crime I have been charged with. I need to avenge you. ”

 The man ran off into the night as his final tear splashed onto the perfect white marble.