Quibbler update! Voting starts on August 26 and ends on September 9! The link to the Quibbler site is on my profile, as are some other links to random things from the story.

Disclaimer:

Me: OK, so Harry, Ginny, and Rita Skeeter are after J.K. Rowling. Voldy's gone off the deep end. Bellatrix Lestrange, come on down. You're the next contestant on 'Let's see how I can mess with your mind!'

Bellatrix Lestrange: Filthy muggle! How dare you expect me to do something for you like a house elf!

Me: WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I'M A MUGGLE!! (flames shoot out from my hands and engulf Bellatrix Lestrange and my eyes glow lightning blue)

OK, just kidding. Or am I? (dun dun DUHHHHH)

Me: Well, I am the one typing... so I dare to expect you to do something for me. I want you to give the disclaimer. Just say that J.K. Rowling owns you and everyone else.

Bellatrix: No one owns me... If anyone has power over me, it is the Dark Lord! Is this J.K. Rowling Voldemort in disguise?

Me: Uhhh... (wondering how her life came to typing about Bellatrix Lestrange asking if J.K. Rowling is Voldemort)

Bellatrix: My master! I must go find him! (leaves to find J.K. Rowling and worship at her feet)

Me: How 'bout we just go on with the chapter then?


Just as quick as the suffocating began, it stopped. Everyone opened their eyes to see the front of the small house on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow.

"Harry, where are we?" asked Hermione as she looked around at the unfamiliar settings.

"My house." Harry said in a matter-of-fact tone. He led the way up the pathway to the front door.

"Harry, this is not Grimmauld Place" stated Ron.

"Ron, we know that this is not Grimmauld Place. This is Harry's house." Ginny told him in a voice appropriate for telling a little kid that the sky is blue.

"Harry, it's beautiful. When did you go house shopping?" asked Hermione as she stepped through the door and looked around. Her eyes caught on something on the mantelpiece. She sucked in a breathe, unable to say anything. Ron whipped his head around when she gasped. He followed her gaze to the mantle.

Fortunately, Ron didn't have problems speaking. "Harry, mate, where did you get those pictures? They aren't the ones in your album, right?"

Harry and Ginny stood in front of an old, dilapidated house. Ivy covered the entire structure. On the second floor, one of the rooms on the right side was blown away. Faded, water damaged blue wallpaper could be seen through the hole.

"Harry... that's where..." Ginny said quietly. She had been here before, but the thought of the events that occurred here seemed to erase her memory and send her into a state of disbelief.

"Yeah. This is it." Harry breathed. A sign rose up like a flower set on fast forward. Harry read the familiar words. He had come and stared at the sign multiple times, sometimes for hours at a time. He had even gone past the rundown gate and walked up to the front door, but could never make it in before he would freeze up.

But now he had Ginny with him. "Ginny, I wanted to go inside. I've tried before, but I couldn't." Harry whispered. His eyes glistened with the tears that had never come before.

"Harry, it's okay. I'm here. We'll go in together." Ginny whispered back. She took his hand in hers and started down the path. Harry followed slowly.

Overgrown plants threatened to spill over the pathway, but the path was clear enough. Ginny carefully walked up the rotting, wooden front steps, careful to not trip. The handle on the front door was gone and the wood around it was in splinters. The whole door gave the impression of the protector who failed. Ginny sucked in a quick breathe as she saw the damage. Through the whole in the door, she could see the front hallway, splinters scattered throughout.

Harry squared his shoulders, squeezed Ginny's hand, and pushed open the door. The first thing they noticed was a pram pushed against the wall, ready to be used again. But that chance never came. The wheels had rusted long ago and the cushion inside had become moldy and black.

As the door screeched to a stop, the hinges rusted, Harry and Ginny noticed a large, white, round stone near a doorway to the right of the room. Gold letters were spelling a message Harry couldn't read from their view point. With slow steps, Harry stepped forward, leaving Ginny in the doorway.

James Potter

A Husband, A Father, A Friend,
A Marauder

March 27, 1960 to October 31, 1981

A thick dust, over sixteen years worth, surrounded the stone, but not a speck was on the stone.

Harry remembered the scene that had played in his head that day, Christmas Eve, when he and Hermione had come to Godric's Hollow. The green light, illuminating the pram, seeing himself, a baby, with his father, moments before the end would come for one of them, seeing the father he had never known, the father he couldn't remember but so much resembled.

Tears started clouding his vision, but Harry blinked them away. "I don't think anyone's been here in at least a decade."

"Harry, for as long as I can remember, stories were told about his house." Ginny said as she walked up behind him. "No one enters this house. Ever. Everyone left it, as is, as a memorial for them. They left it, as is, for you. Few things were ever done to this house. Some spells were said, but everyone thought that this house should be left for you to explore. For you to learn about your family." She ended quietly, letting him absorb the words.

Harry didn't say anything. He just pulled out his wand from his pocket. He flicked it, thought a spell, and the dust disappeared. He stepped around the stone and into the living room. The image of him on his father's lap, being entertained by colored puffs of smoke entered his head.

Harry flicked his wand again and the dust in this room disappeared as well. The wallpaper was fading and peeling. The furniture was faded and sunken in. Chunks of plaster sat in the middle of the room, fallen from a hole in the ceiling.

But a few things had not changed. On the wall, a few framed pictures were hung. They had not faded or been damaged at all.

The first was of Lily and James. It was their wedding day. In fact, it was the same picture as the one in Harry's album, just larger. The inhabitants of the photo were laughing and smiling, unaware that anyone was watching them, unaware that they're lives would soon come to an end.

"I wonder why the pictures haven't been damaged." whispered Harry as he watched the happy scene. For a moment, Sirius, walked into the frame, his face alight with happiness for his best friend.

"In the Wizarding world, it is customary for pictures to have protection spells put on them. Water damaged, fading, and bug damage is all stopped." explained Ginny.

The next picture was of the whole family. Lily was on a hospital bed, propped into a sitting position by a bunch of pillows. James was sitting next to her. Harry, hours old, was wrapped tightly in a blue blanket, eyes tightly closed, a tuft of jet black hair peeking out from underneath the knit cap on his head. Lily was holding him, gazing at his face. James was doing likewise, but once in a while, he would turn his head and kiss his wife.

Harry thought of who might have taken the picture. A nurse? One of their friends?

"Harry." Ginny simply said, eyes locked on the picture.

The third and last picture on this wall was of the family again, only this was taken later. They were underneath a large tree and it was autumn. Harry, who would have been about one year, two months old, was wearing a brick red sweater. James was wearing a dull orange sweater and Lily, a gold one. They were smiling and laughing as Harry examined a gigantic red leaf.

Again, Harry wondered who had taken the picture. Had they hired a professional? Did one of their friends take it?

But then, sadder thoughts crept into his mind. They knew Voldemort was after them. They knew that they were targets of the most evil wizard of all time. Did they ever think that their time would come so soon after, for the picture could not have been taken more than two months before they died.

Harry shook his head, hoping to get rid of the thoughts. Ginny looked at him, questioning, but let it go when he didn't say anything.

"Wait one moment." Harry said. He conjured a box and set it on the ground in front of him. He carefully took the pictures off the wall and, after magically 'bubble wrapping' them, he placed them in the box. Ginny didn't question. She just waited, watching as his face changed at every picture.

After he placed the third picture in the box, he straightened up and looked around. No more pictures were on the walls here. But... there was a large wooden cabinet in the corner. The doors were falling off their hinges, so all Harry needed to do was pull and they fell off. Inside were three large books and one smaller one.

The first large one contained pictures taken all through the years. There were a few pictures of James and Lily before Hogwarts, all of Lily's non moving. Then, there were all sorts of pictures from Hogwarts. The only ones of them together were from their later years. Almost all of the earlier ones of James in Hogwarts included one of his friends, mostly Remus and Sirius. Lily was shown with stacks of books surrounding her. The scene reminded Harry of Hermione in their third year, always surrounded by at least five textbooks. The last pictures were of James and Lily with their friends. One pictures looked like an engagement party. Last very last picture was a formal picture of James and Lily.

The second large book a photo album filled with wedding pictures. Pictures of Lily in her long white dress. Lily and the bridesmaids. James and the groomsmen. Various shots of the wedding. The last pages were the reception pictures, cutting the cake, the first dance and all.

The last large book was an album of pictures starting with Lily and James. The few pages showed Lily, slowly getting bigger and bigger. Then, the picture on the wall was in the album. From there on, the book was devoted fully to Harry. Happy Harry, sad Harry, angry Harry, sleeping Harry, Harry with his first tooth. Everything. There was even a copy of the picture Harry had found part of in Sirius's room. He was one year old and was riding a toy broomstick, his father chasing after him. Lily's face was reflected in a mirror in the back round, laughing as she tried to hold the camera steady enough to take the picture.

The fourth, smaller book was Harry's baby book. A family tree, dates, records, everything was in it.

Ginny was entranced by the photos. She quickly glanced through all the books before helping pack them carefully away. She would look at them later.

Harry and Ginny went through the house doing the same routine. Pictures were carefully stored in boxes to be moved. The first floor had few more pictures, but in the dining room, there was a large, wooden cabinet. Inside was a fine set of china, crystal, and silver.

"Harry, these are gorgeous." Ginny gasped as she examined a wine glass made of crystal. Harry agreed and packed them away carefully.

The second floor was next. The first room they entered was a library. The walls were very faded, but it was still clear that they had been Gryffindor red. Large bookshelves covered the walls, all filled with books of different sizes. But they were untouched by time.

But most spectacular was the large wooden desk in the center of the room. Time had not affected the carvings on the front or the drawers in the back. It looked the same as it would have been seventeen years ago.

"How is it the same?" asked Harry.

"Sometimes older pieces, antiques and heirlooms and such, have protection spells on them. Maybe that's the case here with the desk and books." she explained.

Harry, who had been staring a the desk alone, went to investigate the books. He chose the oldest one on the case closest to him.

It was a family history. "Ginny, this is my family history on my dad's side. It goes as far back as the Peverell brothers!" Harry exclaimed as he turned through the first couple pages.

"Harry, that book has to be centuries old!" she also exclaimed as she came up behind him and looked over his shoulder at the book.

--

The other parts of the house yielded interesting finds, but none more so than the book.

The last room they had to explore was the nursery. The paint on the white door was chipped and faded as Harry and Ginny approached it slowly. They had purposely saved this room for last.

"You're sure about this Harry?" asked Ginny, not sure what his reaction would be to the room.

"I'm sure." Harry breathed deeply and reached for the door handle. The door handle squealed after years of being undisturbed. Harry shoved the door as the hinges refused to budge from their position. Slowly, the door opened.

The first thing noticeable was the gigantic hole in the side of the house. The sunset blazed through the hole, illuminating everything inside. A large stone sat in the middle of the room, rebounding the sun's dying rays.

Lily Evans Potter

A Mother, A Wife, A Friend

January 30, 1960 to October 31, 1981

"This is where it all started. Everything." whispered Harry.


OK, a kinda depressing chapter, but a chapter, none the less. Sorry if there are some grammar mistakes. I kept getting ideas and typing as fast as I could so I would not loose them.

Does this whole thing sound disrespectful to you? Well, I think it is better for the pictures and all to be used and displayed. So please don't say it was disrespectful. That would just tear me apart.

Just so you know, Harry and Ginny leave the room, as is. But that didn't seem dramatic enough.

Please review! (flames shoot out of my hands and my eyes glow lightning blue) (You never know with the special effects these days)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Thanks for reading!

Defying Gravity