Slightly shorter but enjoy anyway ;)

Chapter 4

Meeting in the Anniversary of Death

End of the October brought in a lot of weather changes. Number of rains increased and huge drops of water were drumming against windows and windowsills. Streets turned into rushing streams. Freezing wind was raging around the region, waving the nearby bald branches of oaks . This horrible weather could depress many people. Harry felt the oncoming effects himself.

He welcomed the new week without any enthusiasm. The awareness that he has to leave his current life behind and return to Hogwarts filled him with sadness and sorrow. Even in the early morning, he felt the pressure increasing. He remained fairly speechless during the breakfast.

'Honey, I won't be able to go with you to the graveyard today.' stated Ginny, spreading jam on her toast. 'I need to stay at the office a bit longer .'

'That's all right.' answered Harry gloomily, looking at the storm on the other side of the window. 'I wanted to go by myself anyway. I'll journey to Hogwarts straight from the Godric's Hollow.'

'I thought that you'll be sleeping at home today.' said Ginny, disappointed. 'You are starting your work tomorrow, right?'

'Yes, yet I promised McGonagall that I'll be at Halloween's Feast.' explained Harry, a bit irritated. 'I'll have my first lessons tomorrow.'

'Daddy, I want to come to the graveyard with you!' protested young Lily. 'I wasn't there last year!'

Harry sighed. According to long family tradition, he took his wife and children to his parents' grave on their Death Anniversary. Last year, only his son, Albus accompanied him. James was experiencing his first year at Hogwarts while Lily was seriously ill, so Ginny had to look after her.

'You can't go with me this year.' said Harry firmly, but upon seeing tears in his daughter's eyes, he added: ' But you'll visit me at Hogwarts with mum, as soon as I settle in.'

Lily was so happy, she jumped up. She quickly ate last piece of her toast and ran upstairs ('I have to send an owl to Hugo! He won't believe I'm going to go to Hogwarts!')

'You know you can't change your mind now, don't you?' muttered Ginny happily, kissing his husband on the cheek. 'She won't leave us alone till we take her to Hogwarts.'

'I know, I know.' said Harry, risking a little smile. 'She's got the stubbornness after her mum.'

Ginny snorted, faking to be outraged. She sat on Harry's knees, embracing his neck. Harry put his hand on her waist. He noticed tears flowing down her cheeks. He felt horrible sting of sorrow and grief. He became aware that it will be a long time before they'll be so close again.

'We haven't parted for a really long time, and if we have, it was only for a couple of days...' whispered Ginny, nestling into her husband's arms. 'I just can't say goodbye...'

'You don't have to, my love.' whispered Harry, drying her cheeks with his hand. 'I'll talk to you every day using Floo Network. You won't even realize I'm gone.'

Ginny didn't answer. They sat together for a while. Only things interrupting the silence were the drops of rain hitting the windowsill.

After Harry officially passed over his post to Ron, he visited the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He told everyone about Charlie's suspicions, how he found out about Illegal Breeding and mixing the dragon's races. Amos Diggory promised to take care of that problem in person. At about midday, Harry organised a meeting with Minister for Magic to inform him about the situation in Forksview.

'There is nothing else for me to do.' Harry moaned upon returning back to his office.

Ron was already sitting behind the desk, reading the Daily Prophet.

'Don't worry, I'll take care of everything.' said Ron, stroking the badge with 'Head' on it, which he took from Harry's desk. His face was displaying a mean smile.

'Just don't get too used to it.' said Harry laughing, shaking his friend's hand. 'I'll be back, you know.'

After exiting the Ministry of Magic, Harry ventured back into his house. He had a bite of turkey found in the fridge and continued the preparations by packing all of his things in the old school trunk. On the top of all books, socks, underwear and cloaks, he placed the Marauder's Map. He came back downstairs for his parents' picture. He also packed the pole Flame was usually resting on.

'Good thing I don't have to transport all of it on a broomstick.' he sighed to himself, hiding the photo in the trunk.

He opened up the Floo network and sent all of his things to Hogwarts and went downstairs. He managed to excavate his rarely used broom from the cupboard under the stairs. He exited the house. He casted one last glance at it, knowing he won't see it for quite a time. Longing and bitterness could already be felt, increasing. He got onto his broom and was in a mid-air in a matter of seconds.

Before he looked back, he was already high up. Rush of freezing air was blowing hair off his forehead. He felt the cold drops of rain all over his body. When he looked down, he saw only tiny houses and cars in the distance. After an hour spent in the air, he started lowering the flight. Quarter of an hour later, he stood on the wet, muddy moor. He reached his destination.

Sun started to give way to the moon. It became dark momentarily. It stopped raining, but it was still very windy. Harry was drenched, but he dried his robes with one wave of his wand. He looked around, but he was the only person there. Alone. He warily walked off the wet ground onto a made road. Cold wind was stinging his face. After a bit of a march, he found himself on a narrow street, covered in fallen leaves. There were houses on each side, all of excavating light from the windows.

Walking silently, he passed other pedestrians, all of them staggering from the cold. Upon arriving at the Town Square, he noticed the War Statue. There were couple of shops, post mail, pub and a small church, all around the Town Square, now barely visible in the darkness.

Harry headed towards the church. When he passed the War Statue, it transformed itself into a sculpture presenting his parents with a baby in their hands. He glanced at them and moved on. After a while, he found himself graveyard, passing many graves, all of them shrouded in the dark.

'Lumos.' – he whispered, taking his wand out to illuminate his path.

In the matter of second, he arrived at his destination : a grave made out of white marble. Dates of births and deaths of his parents were displayed on it. He looked at the shiny writing for a minute. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. He was silent. Memories were flying through his head. Some of them were about his parents. Seeing his mother waving at him in Mirror of Erised. Phantom of his father, coming out of Voldemort's wand during Priori Incantatem... He remembered laughing faces of teenage James from Severus Snape's memories...

Walking with his friends, talking to them... Teenage Lily protecting her best friend... He thought about the moment he last saw his parents... They were accompanying him in his journey to his destiny... Less materialistic than living bodies but more materialistic than ghosts. Their laughing faces were expressing deep love...

Before he could control himself, he started crying. He desperately gasped for breath, controlling the misery which slithered into his heart. Even after all these years, he was still re-living his parents' death. He visited their grave countless times, but there was always someone accompanying him, someone he didn't want to cry next to. Now he was alone. The graveyard was empty. He could finally stop pretending.

It took him a while to calm down. When he dried his face, he looked at the white marble stone again. He took his wand out to conjure a flame, and he stood there, frozen for a while. He noticed something strange. Under the plate, there was a white rose. Surprised, he picked it up, wondering who could have left it there.

Suddenly, green light came flying past him, smashing the nearby grave into dust. His instinct told him t turn around and take out his wand. He was ready to attack. There was a hooded person in the distance. He didn't see his face, but judging from his bulky outline, it was a man.

'Who are you?!' he shouted, pointing the wand at a stranger. 'What do you want?!'

Instead of an answer, Harry received another curse, flying inches past his head. He quickly crouched, hiding behind a random grave.

'STUPEFY!' he shouted, pointing the spell at the hooded person. It missed, smashing another grave.

'Pathetic, Potter, pathetic!' – the stranger shouted with disdain. Harry thought he heard that voice somewhere. 'Even being the Head of Aurors, you are using the spells first-year would!'

'Who are you?!' roared Harry, casting Levicorpus spell.

'Is that all you got?!' – sneered newcomer, dodging the spell. 'Crucio!'

The curse smashed yet another grave to pieces. Graveyard was filled with laughs of a madman, dull, mocking. Harry felt his anger increasing. He attacked. He casted one spell after another. Enemy was quite fast though and he returned the spells just as fiercely. They were casting spells at each other for a longer while. Dodging the curses, Harry stumbled over piece of a grave and fell onto wet grass.

'CRUCIO!' shouted stranger, using the distraction

Curse hit Harry, smashing him into the ground. He felt horrible pain, it controlled him... it filled every muscle, every nerve, every centimeter of his body.

Hooded man laughed, walking towards Harry. He had his wand lowered. Seeing his enemy spread on the floor, he stopped being so alert.

Harry expected that. He concentrated, gritting his teeth. Squirming with pain, he pointed his wand at his opponent.

'PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!'

The spell hit the hooded man, a look of astonishment upon his face. He dropped his wand. His body became stiff. He fell on the ground like a piece of wet wood, gaining bruises from the destroyed remains of the graves.

Harry realized that the Cruciatus Curse stopped working. After a while he stopped withering with pain, seizing control over his body once more. He pointed his wand at the stranger and neared towards him. He kicked his wand away and stopped, breathing heavily.

'Using Unforgivable Curses is a one way ticket to Azkaban for a life sentence.' he said sharply. 'I hope you like enclosed spaces.'

Harry waved his wand and removed the effects of the spell of him. Stranger started to breathe rapidly. He stood up, taking his hood off. Smiling viciously, he looked up. His brown eyes were shining from his pale, sweaty head. Harry recognised the Death Eater, Thorfinn Rowle.

'I see that all those news about you being dead were greatly exaggerated.' whispered Harry, looking at him with deep disgust. 'I've been told you've died during the Second Battle of Hogwarts.

Rowle laughed maliciously.

'As you can see, I'm alive and walking in the sunshine, Potter.' Answered the Death Eater.

'I see.' said Harry, walking slowly. 'What do you want from me?'

'Isn't that obvious?' stated Rowle, laughing like a mad man. 'I want to kill you. Orders.'

Harry clenched his wand.

'Orders? You mean you found yourself a new leader?' – asked Harry curiously

Rowle settled down immediatly.

'I didn't say not'ing like that.' – declared Rowle. 'I won't tell ya anything.'

Now it was Harry who laughed. He took a vial out of his pocket. It contained transparent liquid swirling inside the container.

'I think Veritaserum will help you to get creative,' he said, shaking the vial.

Rowle had gone even paler, uncertain of himself.

'You don' get, it do you?!' he said through gritted teeth. 'You won't find out anything! The people I work for took care of that!'

'And who do you work for?' asked Harry. 'Not a person but a group?'

Rowle was silent. He looked like he was afraid to say any more Harry realized he won't find anything out without some use of force. He waved his wand. Huge, thick roots launched themselves from the ground, entangling themselves around the Death Eater's body. He started screaming and shouting, trying to escape. Harry came to him. He forced him to open his mouth and poured couple of drops of elixir into his mouth. Rowle was trying to spit the liquid out, choking. After a minute, he stopped. He looked apathetic.

'I'm in a bit of a hurry, so let's get straight to the point.' hissed Harry, lowering his wand. 'Who told you to kill me?!'

Rowle was choking. Coughing. Gurgling. He didn't want to say anything, no matter what. Yet, Veritaserum filled his body. The effects took place.

'Council of the Elders...'

Harry was just about to ask another question when Rowle froze. A fiery snake appeared on his neck, stopping him from breathing. When fire ceased and the snake turned itself into a burnt mark, Rowle's head fell involuntarily. His mouth was ope.. Eyes were empty. He wasn't breathing.

'Unbreakable Vow!' groaned Harry angrily. 'He made a Vow!'

He waved his wand and roots wrapped around Rowle's corpse disappeared underground. Corpse fell dully onto the ground. Harry came closer to get a better look. He was just about to examine his body, but then Rowle turned into black dust split seconds from contact.. Astonished Auror swore loudly. Sudden blow of wind raised the dust and carried it all over the graveyard.