Chapter 3: Godric's Hollow

As Harry woke up, he felt Hermione's arms still around him. As he looked at the face of his sleeping friend, he noticed that she was smiling. Clearly all nightmares had been chased away.

Harry himself had to admit that he too had had the best sleep since a very long time. All the sorrow and hopelessness from the past few weeks had been banished to a far away corner of his mind. Although he still had very little clues about what he had to do to fulfill his quest, somehow he now had new hope. And most of all, he had another purpose. Something he realised he had always had:

I'm not going anywhere! One of my best friends is Muggleborn; she'll be first in line if the Chamber really has been opened!

Those were the words he had spoken all those years ago when Dobby had tried to convince him to flee from Hogwarts. And already then he was worried more about Hermione than about himself. He took another look at his friend, and was wondering what he truly felt for her.

What made Hermione so special? Well, first of all, she was here. And she had always been there for him when nobody else was. But he knew that already. It's always been like that, so it was really nothing new.

Harry admired her intelligence, that had helped them out of dangerous moments more than once. Without her, he would have been dead in the first year already. He would have failed miserably during their quest to stop Quirrel as he would have taken the wrong potion in the Test of Logic and it would have killed him. But that was nothing new either, everyone knew that Hermione was the Brightest Witch of her Age.

So, why did he start to see Hermione in a different light now? Up till now, he fell for a different kind of girl, the sporty, fun-loving kind. Not that Hermione didn't know what fun is, but she was definitely a lot more serious. And although she always supported him during every Quidditch match, she had up till now not conquered her fear of flying.

Then suddenly he heard a soft voice:

"Love is not about what you want. Love is all about making your partner happy!"

Harry looked up. Who is there? He carefully let go of Hermione, who kept on sleeping, and grabbed his wand. But nobody was there to see. Could it be he just heard a voice in his mind? Come to think of it, the voice sounded familiar. Almost like... Mother?!

Harry noticed he was standing by his own bed. The voice had come from this direction. But there was no one to see. He abruptly made some pushing movements, but if Harry was thinking there could possibly somebody there hidden under an Invisibility Cloak, then he didn't find anyone. Suddenly he heard the voice again, only this time much softer. So soft, that he couldn't understand the words. Harry finally noticed it was coming from his mokeskin pouch.

As Harry took the Snitch from his pouch, he found out that this was the source of the voice, which was slowly fading until nothing could be heard anymore. As Harry stared at the words "I open at the close", his frustration returned. Undoubtly there was a clue inside, but it was firmly kept out of his reach!

But anger wouldn't help him. And as he was out of bed already, he could just as well start to make breakfast.

Breakfast was ready just in time to surprise Hermione with breakfast in bed. It appeared as if the night together had been refreshing for her too. But soon they had to return to the reality of the moment.

"Hermione, I want to go to Godric's Hollow."

Hermione nodded. "I thought you'd figure it out, that the place where Gryffindor's founder was born would be the ideal place to find clues about the sword."

Harry smiled. Of course the Brightest Witch of her Age would have figured this out too.

"Yes, but also... I want to visit my parent's grave. I should have done that years ago already."

Hermione gently took Harry's hand. "Yes, of course we'll go there too. But, Harry, maybe it's better to make some preparations too. Let's take some time practicing Disapparating in case we need to flee fast. And just to be sure, we can practice Disapparating under the Invisibility Cloak. Perhaps Disillusionment Charms would be sensible too, or do you think we have to use Polyjuice Potions? Then we need hairs of..."

"Hermione, no!", interrupted Harry.

Hermione looked at him in surprise: "What do you mean, no?"

Harry sighed. "Hermione, I agree with you we need to practice Disapparating. But I'm not going to use Polyjuice Potions when I go to Godric's Hollow."

Hermione didn't like this idea at all: "Harry, you are Undesirable #1, and I could as well be #2. What if somebody sees us? That's downright suicide!"

Harry just shook his head. "Please understand, Hermione. Godric's Hollow was once my home. I just can't go to my parent's grave disguised as somebody else. We have my Invisibility Cloak, that just has to be enough."

Harry had no illusions that Tom Riddle would decide not to kill him on holy ground, but despite all the doubts he had, he could be very stubborn when needed. Luckily Hermione, despite all her logic, also always had a big heart. Soon Harry was wrapped in one of her trademark hugs. "Alright, Harry. You're right, you have to be yourself when you see... your p-parents' grave."

But she added with a firm voice: "But don't think I'm giving in on the rest of the plan. We do need to practice our escape abilities."

Harry nodded. "No need to argue against that logic."

For Harry, time couldn't pass by fast enough. But after a week of practicing Apparating and Disapparating, Harry and Hermione finally left for Godric's Hollow.

Harry felt excited. This was the town that once was his home. Here he would have grown up if there had never been a Tom Riddle, Death Eaters and Wizarding Wars. He would have grown up knowing everything there is to know about magic, instead of being kept in the dark about this whole situation. He would have had friends, real friends who cared for him just for who he was, not just because he was The-Boy-Who-Lived. Heck, he wouldn't even have that scar!
He would have had real birthday parties, and it would have been his mother who made the birthday cakes. And Hermione... of course he'd still have befriended her when they had met each other at Hogwarts. At least, he wanted to think so. Wouldn't it have been great if she had met his mother too? The Brightest Witches of their generations would have loved each other... If only there hadn't been sick minds who think they are superior to others.

Harry's hand drifted to the locket around his neck. It was his turn to wear it. He had to be careful not to let the accursed thing warp his mind with negativity.

As he looked around, he noticed that the streets were almost completely deserted. "Harry, I think it's Christmas Eve", said Hermione. Indeed, that would explain the empty streets. Everyone was either at the Church, or inside their houses to celebrate with their families.

"Well, that makes thing slightly easier. Let's take off the cloak and go to the churchyard." Hermione hesitated for a moment, but gave in. "If there's nobody who will see us, I guess it doesn't really matter. And staying under the Cloak while making footprints in the snow would be even more suspicious."

As neither of them knew the way in the town, searching for the Church wasn't easy. Harry wondered for a moment if he would see the cottage where he had been living with his parents. Noticing Harry's excitement and nervosity, Hermione took his hand and led him on through the town. Even though this was her first visit to Godric's Hollow, it would only be logical to find the Church in the centre of town. So if they'd accidentally walked down a street for so long that they'd only find houses and no more shops or pubs, they knew they had to walk back.

But as they were crossing a square (Harry assumed it was the Market Square), Hermione suddenly stopped dead.

"Harry, look!"

Hermione pointed at an obelisk in the middle of the square. It suddenly had started to transform, and eventually it had become a statue of three persons. One of them was a man who looked like an older version of Harry, and standing beside him was a beautiful, long-haired woman holding a baby boy in his arms. Harry had never imagined that would be a statue of him and his parents here. How strange to see himself without a scar.

Hermione gave Harry's hand a squeeze, to remind him she was there to comfort him. "Let's go", he said after a while. As they heard a choir sing, they turned into that direction, as surely they would find the Church there. The songs reminded Harry of Hogwarts. It was during his first Christmas there that he received the Invisibility Cloak, and unlike Hallowe'en, when disaster always seemed to strike, Christmas at Hogwarts was almost always a moment of happiness. Wait, Harry thought, that's not true. Indeed, my name came out of the Goblet of Fire at Hallowe'en, but it was also on Hallowe'en when Hermione and I officially became friends. And the Yule Ball wasn't so great, was it? All the time moping because I was not with Cho. And I really ruined that night for the Patil Twins. In hindsight, I was a fool for not asking Hermione! After all she did for me in preparation for the First Task, she should have been the first to ask! He felt his cheeks getting warm because of this thought.
"Harry, are you OK?", he heard Hermione ask. "Ah...eh, it's nothing. Just the cold", he stammered. But deep inside he thought: Maybe there is something. I really need to figure out what it is that I'm feeling for you.

Soon they arrived at the Church, and from there, finding the graveyard was easy. Hermione quietly opened the kissing gate, and they quickly moved inside. Luckily still nobody had noticed them. Now, where to find the grave of Harry's parents?

Looking at the gravestones, they found some familiar names. Apparently the Abbott family also once lived in Godric's Hollow. Or maybe they still did. Harry felt a bit ashamed about how little he knew about his schoolmates outside Gryffindor. Who could have been his friends if that sorting system hadn't existed?

As they walked hand in hand through the graveyard, Hermione suddenly pointed to one gravestone.

"Harry, look"

On the granite they spotted the names Kendra Dumbledore and Her daughter Ariana. Below the names there was a quotation:

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

So it had been true, the Dumbledore family had lived in Godric's Hollow, and part of the family had died here too. But to Dumbledore that connection was clearly irrelevant to the job he expected Harry to do. Harry felt his anger rise, and he was glad that Hermione could not see his face in the shadow. "Let's look further," he said curtly.

Soon Hermione pointed to another gravestone. "Harry, look! That's the mark in the book." Hermione lit her wand to read the name on the worn gravestone. "It says... I think it says Ignotus." But Harry didn't want to think about their quest now. All he cared for was finding his parents' grave. He noticed the singing had stopped and the lights in the church had just been turned off.

"Hermione, we really have to hurry now. Soon somebody will check why there are still people in the graveyard." Hermione nodded, and so they moved on. And soon, two rows further, they found what they were looking for.

The gravestone was made of white marble, and was easy to read. But Harry felt shocked when he read the words below his parents' names:

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is Death.

"Why are those words there? That sounds like a Death Eater idea!"

Hermione put her arm around Harry: "No, Harry. It doesn't mean defeating death like the Death Eaters mean it. It means, living beyond death. Living after death."

But the words meant nothing to Harry. They are not living. They are gone! The remains of James and Lily Potter were lying there below the ground, not knowing their only son was nearby, and for a moment Harry wished that he was sleeping there beside them. What is the point of all this? How can I ever hope to succeed in defeating Riddle? Is all this nothing but prolonging the execution? Why can't this all be over, then at least I'd be together with Mum and Dad, and Sirius? What the hell am I fighting for?

NO! A silent scream sounded in Harry's mind, and without thinking he grabbed the locket and took it off. Again that accursed Horcrux was poisoning a mind when it was at its weakest, but Harry was still strong enough to notice this.

When he noticed he had startled Hermione, he took her in a comforting embrace. "It was that Horcrux again," she said. It wasn't a question, as it was clear what the answer would be.

"It tried to convince me to give up, to just die so I could be with my parents again.". Harry turned to the gravestone. If his parents really lived beyond death, then they should be able to hear him. And then maybe the voice I heard in the tent was my mother's voice after all.

"Mum, dad... I apologise for waiting so long to visit you. Thanks to you, I'm still alive. I swear I'm going to honour your sacrifice and not going to throw my life away without a fight. I'm going to end this Wizarding War, not just for myself, but also for you and..."

Harry swallowed before he continued, and then pushed Hermione forward while hugging her from behind.

"...for Hermione as well. She's just like you, mom. A Muggleborn witch and the Brightest Witch of her Age. But most importantly, she is my best and most loyal friend. I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for her. I want a Wizarding World in which she and all other Muggleborn wizards and witches can live in peace without being hunted down for reasons they could never choose. And this cannot be done without a fight. No matter how hard this quest gets, I will never give up!"

Hermione turned around to face her best friend. "Harry...", she started. But as words failed her, she hugged him tight while tears started to fall down her face. Tears of the stress of the journey mixed with tears of joy as she had heard her best friend declare his loyalty to her. They kept standing there for a while as Harry gently caressed Hermione's hair.

Harry thought they should have taken something with them to place upon the gravestone. But now it was too late. Once again Hermione showed that there seemed to be a kind of telepathy between her and Harry, as she took a rose from a nearby bush and with a circular motion from her wand it turned into a blossoming wreath of Christmas roses. She laid it down on the grave of Harry's parents, and as she went back to Harry's side, she rested her head against his shoulder, while Harry put his arm around her.

"Merry Christmas, Harry", Hermione whispered.
"Merry Christmas, Hermione", Harry whispered back.

After a few minutes, they decided to go before somebody would notice them standing in the deserted graveyard. Silently they turned away, still holding on to each other, and walked back to the dark church and the kissing gate.