Chapter Seven - Where it All Began

Draco,

Despite the rumors about her disappearance, your mother is safe. I was able to hide her away before they came for her... She cannot come to see you for obvious reasons, but she wanted you to know she was safe and will find you after the war.

S.S.

The house had been in an uproar ever since the owl arrived. Contact from Snape was certainly reason for panic. When Draco first came to live with them he had suspected that Snape wasn't entirely loyal to Voldemort. Now, months later, a letter comes which appears to be helping Draco. Is he helping, or just trying to establish contact and gain trust in order to ambush them later?

"I don't feel good about this," said Harry. "What if he knows where we are?"

"There's no evidence for that. It was just an owl," reasoned Hermione.

"I still don't like it. Snape is up to something. We need to leave."

"And what if it's exactly how it looks and he was just telling Malfoy about his mother?"

"And what if he's trying to kill us just like Dumbledore? Do you really want to take that chance? What if he was tracking the owl?"

Hermione sighed. "You're right. We can't take the chance. Where were you planning on going?"

"I told you before that I need to go to Godric's Hollow. We've put it off too long."

"Harry, it might need a lot of work. You don't even know how much of it was destroyed from the fire."

"Fire?"

"Honestly, Harry, you're in at least three different modern history of magic books. They tell all about the fire at your parents' home the night Voldemort went there. They just don't say how much was burned."

"History of magic books?"

Hermione nodded. "At least three, but a new edition of one came out only last year and I'm sure you're in that one several times."

Harry scowled and left to send a message to Remus.

Remus wasted no time replying. He arrived at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place just after dark that very night. Harry left Hermione and Ron in the sitting room with Malfoy when he answered the door.

"What's going on, Harry? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. I told you no one was hurt. Come in. We need your help with something, but to bring you in on this we'll have to tell you more than I was planning on telling anyone. You have to promise me you won't interfere and you won't tell anyone– not even anyone in the Order."

Remus frowned. "What if I think you need real help?"

"If we need real help we'll ask for it. Just trust me on this. Please."

There was a significant pause before Remus finally nodded. "All right. I promise."

"Okay. Follow me."

Harry led Remus to the sitting room and opened the door. Ron and Hermione were seated on the love seat, while Draco sat, legs crossed, sipping a drink on the corner armchair. Remus immediately zeroed in on the blond. He looked at Harry in complete shock and looked back to Draco.

"Oh, my."

"This was the first contact you've had from Snape?" Remus looked up at Draco who nodded.

It had taken nearly an hour for them to explain exactly how Draco Malfoy came to be sitting in the most comfortable armchair at Grimmauld Place. Then they had shown Remus the letter.

"What do you think?" asked Harry.

"Well there's certainly nothing to indicate that he knows you're here. Although I think it's strange that he's just now contacting him after these months."

"But do you think we're safe?"

"I told you before, Harry, I don't recommend staying here. At least if you go to your parents' home perhaps some of the protective magic from Lily will help you."

"That was only supposed to protect me at the Dursleys and only until I turned seventeen, which I did."

"Remember what we've been talking about; traces of spells linger. Normally they don't affect us, but I feel that something as strong as her sacrifice for you would last. It lasted long enough to keep you safe until Hagrid came to get you on the night they died. And, through her blood relatives, it protected you for sixteen years. When I was on the property for the funeral I could feel it. I imagine it was even stronger at the house itself. I wouldn't be surprised if it lingered there still."

"I guess we'll find out. Wasn't a lot of the house destroyed?"

"Hagrid had said that. Dumbledore told me later, at the funeral, that it was a bit of an exaggeration. Apparently, the house was still on fire when he got there. He left before the fire was put out because of the local muggles showing up to see what was going on. I think the muggle fire fighters ended up putting the fire out. To him, it probably looked like it was going to burn right to the ground."

"So how much damage was there?"

"I only saw it from a distance of course, but Dumbledore implied that it could be made livable again."

"Okay. You said this summer that there was a muggle repelling charm. Is there anything else?"

"Only some minor wards that would only allow the Potter heir onto the property. Anyone who goes in with you would be safe."

"And the Fidelius Charm is gone?"

"Just like with this house, the Fidelius was broken after ownership passed to you. If the Fidelius was still in place, Hagrid would have never been able to save you that night. Ownership of land and titles are magically binding and will break any existing wards or charms on the property. As powerful as the Fidelius is, it cannot impose itself on an owner who is unwilling to have it there. And more importantly, what if the new owner didn't know who the secret keeper was so that he could get into his own house?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, when should we go?"

"Soon. I'm almost entirely free tomorrow and can go with you."

"Then we'll go."

"I'll be back to get you at ten tomorrow. That will give me time to take care of some things. Until then, double wards on this house. Just in case."

Remus was right on time the next morning. As part of the no magic rule, Draco had to side-along apparate with Harry. Harry didn't really mind though. It felt nice to have someone so close to him, and it took away some of the dread he generally felt about apparition. They appeared in an alley where Remus was sure they would be unnoticed. Harry wanted to buy flowers for his parents' graves and Remus agreed that they should see the village first and walk out to the house in order to get a better idea of their surroundings. He wanted to see how much had changed in the years since he'd last been there.

The town was all muggle, hence Malfoy had to borrow Harry's clothes once more for their trip. Ron poked fun at his muggle attire, but this time Draco bit back his reply. Harry guessed that Remus' presence had subdued the normally mouthy blond.

"We're behind the town pub," said Remus. "It's not on the a main street really so we should be able to make it out into the open without being noticed."

"How big of a town is this?" asked Hermione as they began walking.

"Big enough to not immediately be labeled as a visitor, but small enough for gossip to spread quickly. Try not to do anything to draw attention."

"And there are no wizards?"

"None that I know of. Tonks checked and there are none registered here. You never know though. You'll want to keep these disguises you've used. Sorry to say it, but that goes double for your scar, Harry. It's an unusual shape, so it would be a way of identifying you. Something that odd may draw unfriendly attention."

Harry only nodded. He was far too accustomed to hiding it now. Although, a part of him bubbled with the bitterness of knowing that even after the war was over, whether he be in the wizard or muggle world, he would always stand out.

"Where exactly are we?" asked Draco.

"Godric's Hallow. This is where my parents lived when I was a baby."

"Even before that," said Remus. "The house is one that your grandfather built when he married your grandmother. It's big, but not showy like a lot of the old pureblood families had. You see, the Potters had money, but your grandfather was a very modest man. He chose this village because it was a muggle one– something his family never understood. He wanted to distance himself from the 'pureblood culture,' as he called it."

"You know a lot about them," said Harry.

"I can remember spending many summers here." Remus smiled remembering. "Sirius sometimes spent the whole summer– as well as Christmas holidays. And when he finally ran away from home, he lived with them. I only came for a week or two at a time of course. Your grandfather died during our sixth year. I think that's when James finally decided to grow up and start taking things seriously."

"That's when he started dating Mum."

"Shortly after that, yes. Then two years later your grandmother died, leaving the property to James."

"How did they die?" asked Draco suddenly. "I'm sorry, but I know they were wizards, purebloods even. Seems odd they're not still around."

"To begin with, they weren't exactly young when they had James. They way I heard it, they were quite adventurous in their youth. By the time they got around to having James it was a difficult pregnancy and birth. That was what made him their only, and very spoiled, child. James' dad was ill for some time before his death. I don't remember now what it was, but yes, he was still rather young for a wizard. After he was gone, his wife didn't really care to go on. James always said that she died of loneliness."

They had only gone a couple blocks when they came to Madeline's Flower Shop. Suddenly Harry realized that he didn't know anything about flowers or what kind his mum would appreciate and took a chance on asking Remus.

"She loved all flowers. Roses, irises, tulips. She liked lilies, but she often complained that it was all anybody ever gave her because of her name. Her favorites were daisies."

"Then that's what I'll get."

"I think she would like that."

Harry told Madeline what he wanted and she did the arrangement. She was a very young, pretty woman with blond hair. Every couple minutes she looked up at him and winked and after the third time Harry started to feel uncomfortable. To make matters worse, he heard Draco laugh behind him and knew that there would be inevitable jokes later about his new girlfriend.

After the flower shop, they continued walking, mostly in silence until Remus pointed out different things such as the muggle school and grocery store.

They walked twenty minutes past the edge of town when Harry started to feel the slight tingling of magical wards. He noticed a path starting at the road's edge. It had been a driveway at one time, wide enough for a car to go down, but now it was overgrown with weeds. Remus led the way off the road and into the grass. Just as they came to a row of trees he stopped abruptly.

"The wards begin here. Harry, as the only one with Potter blood, you must lead the way."

Harry stepped forward, feeling the magical tingle go through his whole body. He pushed his way past the overgrown bushes to see the path lead through the trees and behind them he could see part of the house.

He stopped briefly out of sheer shock. He'd wanted to come here for so long and now that he was, it was more than a little frightening. This was where it all began. His parents died here. He would finally see where they were buried. He would see the place where they died. He could hear his heart pounding, but he continued on.

From the front, the house looked in good condition, although a little weathered. Remus had been right about it not being showy. It looked like any other modest muggle home in the country. Two floors high and curtains still hung in the front windows. The lawn had not been cut and the rose bushes were badly in need of pruning. For just a moment Harry thought he could see his mother fussing over the flowers in the afternoon sun. The vision left quickly and Harry laughed at his foolishness.

"Let's go around the back first. Voldemort entered that way and if I'm not mistaken, that's where the fire was."

They followed him and Harry saw that the roses continued all around the house. They wrapped around the corner of the house and the large porch which held lounge chairs and many pots and planters. Harry had no doubt that twenty years ago they were full of color and beauty. Now, everything was dead. Connecting to this deck was a small room, a breakfast nook perhaps. It had windows on three sides to let in the morning sun, but where the door had been there was only a hole, remnants of the hinges dangling and chips of glass laying untouched. Above this room there was a balcony singed by the fire. The outer wall of this second floor room was badly burned and in places gone completely. The roof was the same way.

"It looks bad, Harry."

"It may take a bit to get it put back together."

"It was burned. It's not like we can just use a reparo spell on it."

"I know, Hermione, but unless your parents would like four teenage wizards on the run from a crazy Dark Lord and the Ministry staying with them, then I don't think we have much of a choice."

"But there could be massive inside damage..."

"Well then, let's take a look, shall we?"

Harry hopped up on the deck and up to the hole in the wall, entering cautiously. The door inside leading to the rest of the house was closed, but unlocked so Harry continued. The house was dusty and had the stale smell of being closed for too long, but looked in good shape. There were dishes sitting out next to the sink and a chair knocked over, but certainly nothing too out of the ordinary. They passed into the dining room and then the sitting room. There Remus stopped.

"James was found here. I don't know how Dumbledore knew as much as he did about it, but he said that Voldemort came in the back, for reasons unknown. Lily went upstairs to get you out. He tried to fight him and fell here." Tears began to pool in Remus' eyes. "Voldemort then continued up the stairs. We think at some point he had put up his own anti-apparition barriers, so Lily tried to escape through the balcony."

Harry had heard all of that before, when the dementors came near him. Being in the very place it happened, hearing Remus retelling it sent a chill up Harry's spine, but he didn't stop Remus from talking. Somehow he knew that Remus needed to say these things that he had not spoken of in so long.

"When Hagrid came you were unconscious on the balcony, within an arm's reach from her."

Hermione reached out a hand to Remus' shoulder as a tear leaked down his cheek. After a few moments he sniffed, wiped his eyes and crossed to the partially opened door at the end of the room. On the other side of the door was the foyer. The front door was to the right, the stairs straight ahead and another door to the far left.

"What's that room?" asked Harry.

"The library. James' mother loved to read and so did yours. I imagine Hermione will be pleased with the selection."

Harry looked back to his friend and grinned. She was staring at the door as if badly wanting to head straight in there to inspect it, but they continued up the stairs.

"Do you feel it, Harry?"

"Yeah. It's not like other magic though. It's different somehow."

Remus stopped in the middle of the stairs. "Different?"

"Well, yeah. It's not that buzzing like the other spells do. With those, I feel where they're coming from and it's more of a vibration. This is... I don't know how to explain it. It's all around me, not coming from one place. And it doesn't buzz, it feels... I don't know, like the air. Like a cloud maybe."

"Is that bad?" asked Hermione.

"No, no. Not bad," said Remus thoughtfully. "Just unusual. But then, this sort of situation has never been documented, so it is all odd. Sorry, Harry, but once again you defy the rules of magic and survival."

"What does this mean for Boy Wonder, then?" asked Draco impatiently from near the bottom of the stairs.

"It means that this place is the best for you all to be. I think I was right about the protective magic still being in effect. I can feel it as well, although much differently than Harry does. I think that he feels the way he does because the magic is bound to his own life. As long as he lives, so will the magic in on this property. It's as if a part of Lily stayed behind. Not in the sense that a ghost would, but the magic created by her love and sacrifice lived long after she had gone. As you know, generally a wizard's magic dies with him. In this case, some of it combined with your own magic, Harry, to protect you."

Remus began to walk up the stairs again, but Harry was still confused.

"If this place is so powerfully protected, then why didn't I grow up here rather than with the Dursleys?"

"A number of reasons. Calling your mother's sister's house your home protected you some even while you were away at school, thanks to Dumbledore's charm working with Lily's magic. Here, there is nothing physical of her, so although the property is protected, you are not. Also, your godfather was in prison, so legally your aunt's family was responsible for you. Even wizards can't get around the law. Who would have raised you here?"

"Anyone! You could have."

"I would have been more than happy to, Harry, but who's going to trust a toddler to a werewolf? Who was going to take care of you during the moon? Who, in our world, could have been trusted to raise you as a child instead of a celebrity? I think if Dumbledore knew how your aunt was going to treat you, he would have tried harder to find another plan, but he did what he felt was best at the time."

They had made it to the top of the stairs and now were faced with a hallway running the length of the house. There was a railing over-looking the staircase and foyer and across from that was the first door. Remus pointed to it, explaining that it was James' room during his childhood. As a married adult it was where all his Quidditch supplies were kept.

"Most of it is probably still there for you boys," he commented.

The next door was on the left. Harry's nursery. It was painted blue and had Golden Snitches all over the ceiling that glowed when the light was off. There were toys all over the floor and a quilt draped over a rocking chair in the corner. Harry couldn't remember being here as a baby, but he closed his eyes and pictured his mother rocking him to sleep.

There was one more door on the left, the bathroom, but past that was a small sitting area with large windows facing into the yard.

"Your grandfather built every bit of this house with your grandmother in mind. She loved reading in the morning, even before breakfast. These windows face east and the sun lights it beautifully. Those stairs there go to the attic. Not much up there. Old family heirlooms and photos. This though," Remus pointed to the last door on the right side of the hall. "This is their room. This is where it happened."

Harry took a deep breath, stepped forward and opened the door.

The walls were black with soot. Everything there, the bed, floor, chairs had all been burned. There was a huge hole in the wall and ceiling letting in the cool Autumn breeze. Harry strode forward, careful not to step where fire had damaged the floor. He stopped on the balcony and looked back in. The magic was strong there.

"Stand aside you silly girl!"

"Not Harry! Please! Have mercy!"

He thought he could remember sitting there next to his fallen mother. He could almost see Voldemort raising his wand to him. He could feel the spell hit him and shoot back at its caster.

"Your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you..."

Harry remembered Voldemort telling him that so many years ago when they met while fighting for the Sorcerer's Stone. Suddenly Harry wondered why she didn't have to die. Voldemort had killed many people without a second thought. So why did he give Lily the choice? Why would he allow her to live, but kill her husband and son? Harry had never considered this before. It made no real difference. Voldemort killed her and Harry would kill Voldemort, so it didn't really matter why she was given the choice. Did it? Harry shook himself from his thoughts and looked around at the damage that had been done that night.

"This is where it started," he murmured. "This is where we will end it."

"It doesn't look like there was much damage done," said Hermione. "This room is by far the worst. It looks like there's some water damage from rain leaking in the roof, but not nearly as much as I would expect."

"I think perhaps Dumbledore had a charm over the place to protect both here and downstairs where the door was blasted," said Remus. "When he died, so did the spell. So really, it's only been exposed to the elements since June. No other way to account for the good condition it's in."

"Well, that settles it then," Harry said. "We're moving in. We'll spend this week fixing it up and move in by the end of the month."

"Mate, this is going to take more than a week," said Ron.

"And we'll need a lot of supplies. The muggles will start to ask questions."

"We'll make up answers. I've got money for supplies. And we have magic to help speed things along. Let's go out to the graves. Then we'll get something to eat and start planning."

With one final look at the room, Remus turned and led them outside and down the back lawn.

"How far is it?"

"See those trees over there?" He pointed to the distance where, to Harry, it looked like the edge of a forest. "It's just past there."

"This is all theirs?"

Remus nodded. "It's yours now. You boys will appreciate that clearing over there. James, Sirius and I spent hours each day playing some of the best Quidditch games never seen."

"Did you play too?"

"Not on our house team. Your dad did. Sirius did in our seventh year. He was a Beater. He was good, but I think the main reason he played was for the attention from the girls. I, on the other hand, was terrible. Peter and I were forced into playing usually."

He fell silent after his reference to Wormtail. Harry's mind, meanwhile took him back to that night in third year when he stopped Remus and Sirius from killing the rat. How different things would be! Sirius would have been pardoned. Voldemort may have eventually returned of course, but at the least, he would have been short one follower.

When they made it to the shade of the trees they saw a creek with a small white bridge going over it. It wasn't a very wide creek and didn't look deep. The bridge existed mostly for decoration.

"Your mother used to have picnics down here. In fact, we had your first birthday party here."

They continued to follow Remus over the bridge and across some stepping stones leading through tall bushes. There laid two sets of graves. To the right was a large headstone with the names Harold and Guinevere Potter. To the left laid another headstone similar in size, but this one was decorated with carved vines and flowers.

James and Lily Potter

Beloved parents and friends

It was harder than Harry thought it would be. Until he was eleven he didn't even know the true story of how his parents died. Aunt Petunia never talked about them. She snapped if he ever asked, so he just learned to accept it. There was so much he still didn't know about them. What was her favorite color? What did he like most about her? Had he been in love with her from the time they first met? Did she go out with anyone else before him? What kind of person did they dream of their son being? Were they planning to have more kids after him? Would they be proud of him now?

Harry was suddenly angry. He had known he would be emotional and sad, but the anger was something he hadn't predicted. He was angry that he missed out on asking his parents these things. He grew up without the guidance of a father or mother. He learned about the "birds and bees" from school and Dudley's dirty magazines. He didn't have birthday parties or learn how to ride a bike or anything that normal kids did. He imagined what would have been different if Voldemort had never come to power. He pictured himself playing Quidditch with his dad while his mum set up a picnic. Maybe Sirius and Remus coming for visits. Harry thought he would have liked to have a little brother or sister.

Slowly, Harry knelt down next to the grave and set the flowers under his mother's name. The other four had stayed back a distance. Draco stayed at the edge of the bushes as if physically unable to come any closer. Hermione had left Ron's side to comfort Remus who made no effort to hide his quiet tears.

Harry thought about Remus having lived all those years alone, without his best friends and the anger grew. Here was a good man who, because of prejudice against his condition, was treated badly by society from a young age. He had perhaps ten years of happiness and friendship before that was ripped away from him too. And it all came down to Voldemort. Voldemort was the reason his friends were all dead. Voldemort was the reason this good person lived in loneliness for so long.

"Mum, Dad," he began in a whisper that couldn't be heard by the others. "I love you. I'm going to fix your house and then I'm going to get him. He will pay for what he did to us, I promise you. You died to save me. Now I will make sure that he never does it to anyone else."

Harry wiped the moisture off both cheeks and stood.

"Take all the time you need," Harry said to Remus.

Harry then left the grave area and walked down to the creek. He sat in the grass and just stared at the running water, no particular thought going through his head. There was too much to think about to concentrate on any one thing. They had to fix the house. They couldn't be found out. They needed to find the Horcruxes. It just was too much and Harry finally had to block it out. He was both thankful for the distraction and annoyed at the interruption when he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. He was almost sure it would have been Ron, but was surprised to hear Malfoy's voice.

"You okay, Potter?"

"Are you actually concerned?"

"No," the blond said at once. "It's just, I know... well I don't know how you feel, but I can imagine." He sat down next to Harry, almost too close for comfort. "Weasley and Granger... they don't know. They can say they would die for their family, but they've never been asked to follow through. Their families have never been directly threatened, so they don't know really what they would do. Yours died for you, so all you have left is revenge. Mine... well I think I made it obvious how far I'm willing to go to protect mine."

Harry merely nodded.

"Despite Snape's letter, I still don't know if my mother is really alive. The only hope I have is that if the Dark Lord did kill her he would have made it known so she would serve as an example of what happens to those who cross him. But then I think maybe he's keeping it secret so that I will look for her and expose myself and he will kill me too. It would have worked. If I hadn't found you he would have caught me by now. When I think of that I just want him dead. I want to do whatever I can to pay him back for what he did to us. You're the only other one here that can really understand that."

Draco's words hit close to the very promise Harry had made to his parents only minutes ago. He looked up at Draco then, realizing that he was right. Ron and Hermione could never know that kind of vengeance and anger. They were loyal and brave. They would stand by him until the end. Of that he was sure. But they would never completely understand that part of him. Malfoy was right; they alone could understand each other.

"I don't know why Snape sent that letter or if it's true, but I hope your mum is okay, Malfoy."

"Thanks."