A/N: Blaise is the king of the whole world and… no one has gotten the m word yet! Yall are all so close, I will give you a hint, it ends with s! Voldy still might live… I don't know yet… lol… Lacey, I will also be a sophomore, I missed the dead line by 3 or 4 days… (stupid state of Oklahoma) OMG! HarryPotterFanFreak123 are you serious! We have the same b-day? LOL that's cool! Lily, Yes Ginny and Luna's will gifts have some significance, Luna's was a little more on the just for fun side of things but they are important… Lol yes I have Melissa Wormwood in this story :P But in this one she different then how she is in my other story :P she is just someone Hermione and Draco knows. This is a long chapter :P it's around 11- 12 pages long… I havent made one that long in a while… I will shut up now… Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the imagination that gives this story life…
Chapter thirty five: Wait, Was she speaking parseltongue.
Hermione, Harry, and Draco walked slowly towards the cemetery late on Christmas eve. They tried to ignore the bitter cold wind that hit their faces with fury and the snow that fell onto them like little balls of cotton. They really hadn't planned on the snow in the beginning, and it caused some problems.
They could no longer use the invisibility cloak, their foot prints would give them away. It was to risky in a town half inhabited by muggles, who could see it and blow their cover.
They passed quite a few muggles as the walked along the side of the road. The Muggles who had just left the Christmas eve service held at the church, were still wandering about.
The town was lit up with lights that covered the roofs and the driveway edges of all the house. Well almost all of them, there were a few houses that were dark and empty. Nothing really seemed amiss until they were passing an old memorial. It very suddenly transformed making Hermione gasp in shock. Instead of the obelisk covered in names that had moments before stood in the middle of the road, a statue stood.
"Oh, Harry, look!" She said loudly. The boys spun to face the statue.
They were all looking up at the statue in awe. It was of three people: A man with untidy dark hair and glasses, a woman with long red hair and a kind, pretty face, and a baby boy sitting in his mothers arms, safe and warm, who seemed happy. The three people had snow on top of their heads, and in every other possible place that snow could collect.
Hermione and Draco stood back as Harry crept closer to the statue so that he could look up into his parents faces. He, nor had the other two, had ever imagined that there would be a statue.
"I wish that I had known them." Harry said sadly as he looked up at them. "I wish that I hadn't been chosen."
"Harry, I'm sorry." Hermione said with tears in her eyes. She hated that her best friend had to suffer because of her own father. He was a monster, a cold blooded monster who had killed his wife's best friend.
"What are you sorry for?" Harry asked spinning around to look at her. "It wasn't your fault." He walked back over to her and Draco. What he had said was the truth, but Hermione would always feel guilty.
"We should get going," She changed the subject quickly. "people are beginning to stare." She said looking in the direction of a family of five that were looking at them with curiosity. They seemed suspicious and that was when Hermione saw 'it'.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Harry said. They stood there a few seconds before the started walking towards the cemetery again. And very unluckily they had to walk past the family. Hermione knew somewhere deep in her gut that they would say something to her, she was right.
"Miss." A woman with long blond hair and caring green eyes asked her as they passed. Hermione turned around to look at her and her family. The man standing behind this woman was big and he had light brown hair and blue eyes, he looked cruel and un pleasant as he glared at the three. The children all looked alike, they were the perfect combination of their parents.
"Are you okay?" She asked when she saw that Hermione had been crying.
"Yes, thank you, I'm fine." Hermione said trying her best to give the woman a reassuring smile. She didn't trust them at all, especially not the man who was eyeing Draco. She knew she would have to think up some names fast.
"Are you sure? They aren't treating you badly are they?" The woman asked shooting angry glances at Draco and Harry.
"Oh, no!" Hermione assured the woman as she quickly thought up something to say. Christian and Gavin would never hurt me and little Aria." Hermione said putting her hand on her stomach with a reassuring smile. "We were just going to visit my parents graves and I got kind of upset." She thanked Merlin that it was dark.
"Oh you poor thing!" The woman said her expression softening and becoming a little less suspicious. "How long have they been, you know…" The woman trailed off.
"They died when I was four." She wiped pretend tears out of her eyes.
"Oh I am so sorry." The woman put her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "What were their names dear?" The woman asked curiously.
"Dimitria and Alexander Wormwood." She said saying the first names that came to mind. She remembered a girl for another school with that name.
"Melissa, we really should get going. You aunt expects us to have you back soon." Draco said taking her hand and pulling her into him.
"Yeah, I guess your right, Chris." She said looking up at him and then she looked back at the family. "It was really nice meeting you, I hope that you and you family have a very Merry Christmas." She said and smiled at everyone.
"You to dear." The woman said before turning to her husband and three kids and ushering them away.
"Christian?" Draco asked as the walked away.
"Forget that! How could you call me Gavin? What kind of name is Gavin?" Harry whispered loudly.
"Hey, I like those names, Taylor agrees with me. And they were wizards, I couldn't exactly call you Harry and Draco." The two boys froze and looked at her in pure shock. They had assumed that the family had been muggles.
"How do you know that?" Harry asked. "They seemed like muggles to me."
"The man had a wand." She said simply as the slowly made there way to the cemetery and away from the houses covered in twinkling Christmas lights. "I saw it when we were still standing by the statue.
"I thought he looked an awful lot like Anthony Delamonie." He saw their confused looks. "Death Eater." He said.
"You didn't tell us you knew that there were death eaters here." Hermione snapped looking at him angrily.
"I didn't know, we just need to hurry and get out of here." He told them and they quickened the pace.
Hermione let go of Draco's hand when they got to the cemetery. She walked over to the kissing gate and ran her finger along the top of the cold iron gate until she found the latch. The pulled on the latch and slowly pushed it open, she didn't want to make to much noise.
"Where should we start looking?" Draco asked them as he looked out at the huge cemetery covered in snow.
"I don't know." Harry said in defeat as he looked around. It was a very large place.
"Well Draco can go that way, Harry, you can go that way." Hermione said pointing forward ",and I can go right." She said.
"What do we do if we find something?" Draco asked.
"Very quietly get someone's attention." She said before tuning and walking into the mass of grave stones.
She saw names like: Rosalie, Arnold, Clearwater, Abbott, Livingston, Wood, King and Rosedale.
She stopped when she saw a small cracked stone with a symbol on it. It was a symbol she had seen many times in the last year. It was the eye shaped on that she had seen in the book of fairytales Dumbledore had left her.
She carefully bent down to look at it and she used her finger nails to scrape away the grass that had grown out across the stone.
"Ig- Ignotus…" She said to herself as she read of the faint words etched into the stone. "Why does that name sound so familiar." She asked her self as she looked up and then she saw another grave that caught her attention.
She got up slowly and walked over to it and read the words in shock. 'Kendra Dumbledore and her daughter Ariana.' a million things ran through her head at once. One of them being, ' why did he never tell us he had a sister?'
"Hey!" She heard Draco shout from a little ways away, and it definitely wasn't quiet. "Found it." She turned around and walked over to him and Harry.
"So this is it." He said looking at the tombstone that read:
JAMES POTTER LILY POTTER
Born 27 March 1960 Born 30 January 1960
Died 31 October 1981 Died 31 October 1981
The last Enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
"What the bloody hell!" Draco said looking at the last part with eyes as big as saucers.
"What is it Draco." Hermione asked in confusion and looked over at Harry. It was obvious that he was thinking the same thing as Draco.
"Isn't that some kind of Death Eater saying, the Death Eater knows what I mean." Harry said balling his hand into fists.
"Oh, no. Harry, it wasn't meant that way." She said hastily and placed a hand on his shoulder. "They mean as in living on after death."
"That isn't how it looks." Draco mumbled earning a evil glare from Hermione.
"You can shut up." She snapped angrily. "We should leave some flowers before we go and see the house." She said pulling out her wand and waving it silently. A large wreath of beautiful blood red flowers appeared in front of the tombstone nest to some Lilies that had been left.
Harry smiled as he looked at the flowers, they looked rather nice up against all of the white snow. "Happy Christmas, Mum." He said touching the stone above his mothers name. "Happy Christmas, Dad." he then said to touch the name on the other side.
Hermione thought it was sweet, he had never in his life gotten to wish his parents a Happy Christmas. She decided that she wanted to say something. "Happy Christmas Lily, you too James." She paused for a few seconds. "Every one really misses the two of you, I think my mum hasn't been the same since father did this to you." She was trying not to cry. "I'm so sorry for what he did, if I could have only stopped him." She felt Draco take her hand in his.
"Happy Christmas." Draco said. He didn't really know what else to say, they had never known him and he had never known them.
"Thank you." Harry said looking at them with a smile on his face. "Let's go look at the house." He started walking back to the kissing gate.
Hermione and Draco walked hand in hand after Harry. The didn't hear the rustle of the bushes nor did they see the eyes that were watching them as they walked. Leaving a trail of foot prints in the fluffy white snow.
They soon reached the street again and began the search for the Potter's house. They didn't exactly know where the house was or what I looked like. They were going into this blind.
"Um, where do you think it is, cause I think that we are going in circles at the moment?" Draco asked a little while later when the passed the Nargle bar and grill for the fifth time.
"Maybe we should ask someone where it is…" Hermione suggested absently.
"Oh, yeah and that wont look suspicious at all." Harry said sarcastically. "Three teenagers looking for the Potter house…"
"Okay, okay," She said waving her arms in defeat. "I get the point. We cant ask because of who we are."
"If I were a Potter where would I… There it is!" Draco said pointing at a house down the street in excitement.
"Nice, and we have passed this street how many times?" Harry asked Draco smirking.
"Oh haha how funny of you, make fun of the person who found your house." He mumbled as they walked down the long street. A lot of the houses on this street were lit with Christmas lights of all colors, sizes and shapes. Some had Reindeer in the yard while others had nativity scenes, though one had a flock of Flamingo's wearing Santa hats…
"What a lovely place you have…" Draco said sarcastically as they stood looking at the house. The Fidelius charm had died along with Harry's parents and the hedges had grown wild over the years. Rubble lay in mounds in the deep insect filled waist high grass. A lot of the house was, surprisingly, still intact, though it was completely covered in beautiful dark Ivy and snow.
They could see as plain as day that in the top right hand corner, his room. They knew it was his room because the roof was blown apart, more than likely from the curse backfiring. He just knew it was…
"Why didn't anybody rebuild it?" Hermione whispered as she stepped forward to get a better look, Harry was already to the gate. Hermione put the hand on the lever of the cold iron gate and then her mind began to spin. She never heard Harry's reply.
"Tom, where are you going?" Amethyst asked her husband as she sat in the living room. Hermione was in her mothers arms, and was dressed up like a Fairy princess. It was obvious that Amethyst was extremely pregnant with Ginny.
"Oh, I'm going to the Hog's head." He told her with a small smile. There was nothing in that expression that could have told them he was lying, and maybe he hadn't. Maybe he had went to the Hog's head…
"Daddy, don't go. I want you to go candy hunting with me." Hermione had said excitedly, she sure had a good vocabulary for child her age.
"Maybe next year sweetie." He said walking over to her and taking her from Ame.
"I want you to be good for mommy, can you do that for me?"
"Yes, daddy." She said smiling at her father. "Can you see if Harry can go with us!" She asked excitedly. "Harry, is my bestest friend!"
Something flashed in Tom's eyes. "No sweetie, we already asked them and they cant go, you know that." He told her and her face fell slightly.
"Well I will just get some for Harry." She said cheerfully as Tom handed her back to Amethyst.
"You do that, I'm sure he will love it. I have to go, I will see you when I get home." he said and kissed both Hermione and Amethyst on the forehead.
"Wave bye to Daddy, Mia." Amethyst said waving at Tom.
Hermione smiled at him again and started to wave. "Bye bye, Daddy, Love you lots." She wasn't quiet about it either and that made her parents laugh. She watched her father leave the house, his dark cloak billowed in the wind.
Hermione snapped out of her trance and Harry and Draco were looking at her. She didn't know what to say or to think. She had heard of concentrated Memories. That scene must have been the last thing Tom Riddle had thought about before going into the house to murder the Potter's.
"What were you saying?" Hermione asked a few minuets later with out looking at them.
"I was saying that I don't think that they could rebuild it." He looked concerned as he looked at her. "Are you okay Hermione."
"I'm fine." Her reply was evasive, "what's that?" she was looking at a sign that was now rising from the ground like a flower that had had to much Miracle potion poured on it.
"I don't know…" He said looking at the golden letters that sprawled across it elegantly. "A sign…"
Hermione began to read it out loud:
On this spot, the night of 31 October 1981,
Lily and James Potter lost their lives.
Their only son Harry, remains the only wizard
ever to have survived the killing curse.
This house is invisible to Muggles, has been left
in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters
and as a remineder of the violence that
tore apart their family
Around all of these neatly printed letter and words, people had scribbled in messages written in everlasting ink. Though some of them had been carved into the surface. Harry, Hermione and Draco all read them. The were stuff like…
Good Luck, Harry I have faith in you.
Go kick Moldy Shorts in the Arse! He deserves it.
Be brave even in the darkest of hours right before the deciding action.
"They really shouldn't have done that…" Hermione said when she finished. She didn't like that they had put graffiti all over the beautiful sign that had been left.
"I'm glad they did." He said thinking a little. "Its motivation."
"I guess you are right." She said giving in, it was really kind of sweet that all of these people cared enough to support him.
"Pssst." The hears someone say and they all spun around. In the middle of the road was an elderly lady walking towered them.
"Should we stun her?" Draco asked so quietly that Hermione almost didn't hear him.
"No…" she said just as quietly, "Well not yet at least." she wasn't going to rule out that option yet. They didn't know who this woman was. She stopped about ten feet in front of them and motioned for them to follow her. They stood frozen in place and absolutely didn't follow her.
She motioned for them to follow again. This time Harry said something "Who are you?" He wasn't going to take any chances before he knew.
"Bathilda Bagssshot…" The woman hissed, only Draco noticed that it wasn't English.
"Holy shit!" He said loudly and everyone looked at him. Hermione didn't understand why the woman had such a funny accent. It was just weird.
"So you are Bathilda Bagshot?" Harry asked looking at her again and she nodded.
"Harry, I don't know about this…" Draco said as the boy began to follow her, Hermione as well.
"And why not?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Because I didn't understand a word of what she just said." He looked terrified. "I thought she Massssha balassssha… before you said her name."
"Harry and Hermione exchanged looks of fear. "We will just be extra careful then." Harry said hesitantly and turned to follow her again.
Draco followed them reluctantly, he had a bad feeling about the situation.
They wandered back down the end of the street to the house with the Flamingo's out side.
The woman walked up her walkway and up to the front door of the little cottage and pushed it open with out saying a word. They carefully walked into it and were immediately greeted by a fowl smell.
The inside of her house was… disturbing. She had pictures and knickknacks cluttering every available space. There were kitties, plates, Russian dolls, miniature furbies, vases, masks, photo's, whistles, plants, precious moments figures, decorative boxes and various antiques. She even had a very old collection of books and the occasional stuffed cat… and I mean actual cats that had been stuffed. The thought of that made Draco shiver uncomfortably.
He heard Hermione whisper the spell "tergeo." On a few pictures on the coffee table.
"What is the point of having picture frames with out any pictures in them?" She asked when Draco walked over to her and Harry.
"That boy looks familiar." Harry said ignoring Hermione, "Your father was looking for him." Harry said looking up at Hermione suddenly.
"I don't know…" Hermione said when suddenly from the other room a voice called out to them. She saw him slip the picture into his pocket.
"Come." Was what Bathilda said and Draco nearly jumped out of his socks a second time. He was sure that hadn't been English. And for the second time against his better judgment he followed Harry and Hermione into the other room.
She say the three of then and pointed at the hall.
"You want us to leave?" Harry asked in confusion, this wasn't making any sense. She nodded but then pointed to Hermione and Draco then back at the hall.
"You want them to leave?" He asked slowly and the woman nodded vigorously.
"Harry…" Hermione started to say but she was cut off.
"I will be okay, don't worry." He told them. She looked at him and then back at Bathilda. She would have bet an arm and a leg that the woman had snake eyes. She was officially on Draco's side of the matter.
"Well okay…" She said as she and Draco turned to leave. She didn't know what she thought would happen next but then she heard the woman talk again. She understood the funny accent.
"You are Harry Potter?" She asked just the door was about to close.
Hermione spun around to face Draco her eyes wide with terror. "Oh my Merlin!" She shouted a little to quietly for her liking.
"What?" Draco asked, he was now officially terrified.
"Did- did -did she… Was she speaking parseltongue?" Hermione asked stuttering. This was terrible.
"I don't know what she was speaking, but it wasn't English…" He said looking into her frightened eyes.
"Did it sound like this… 'are you Harry Potter?'" she asked mimicking what the woman had said to Harry.
"Yes." He said making her instantly grab for her wand. She turned towards the door and pushed it open. She ran through the room ignoring everything that was around her. She had to get to the stairs. Draco was close behind her she could clearly hear his footfalls.
"HARRY!" She screamed as she ran up the stairs. She hoped they weren't to late. She heard him scream in pain. "SHIT!" She yelled as she threw open the door. What she saw was horrible.
Bathilda's body was laying on the ground in a jumbled heap and there was a giant greenish silver snake looking at her. Harry was backed up against the wall clutching his leg in pain. It had bit him.
"Draco! Kill it!" She shouted as she ran over to Harry who was still holding his leg in pain.
"You figured it out…" He gasped as Hermione looked at his wound.
"Ten seconds after you left." She said talking her jacket and wrapping it tightly around his leg. She heard Draco shout a few spell and then a loud thump. 'Please let that be the snake.' she thought to herself.
"Hermione we have to get out of here!" She heard Draco shout. "Your father is coming, I can feel it." he said walking over to Hermione who had already grabbed onto Harry's arm. She then grabbed Draco's arm and concentrated on the living room at Grimmauld place and the they apperated.
OoOoOoOoO
They landed in the living room with a loud thump and Hermione jumped up to make sure Harry was still okay. He was unconscious.
"Fawkes!" Draco said when he saw the large bird that Dumbledore left him soar into the room majestically. Its red and gold feathers ruffling slightly. He landed gracefully on the ground next to Harry as Ginny, Brianne, Teddy and Luna ran into the room. Ginny screamed when she saw an unconscious Harry laying on the ground. Teddy fell to the ground and watched in horror.
Fawkes began to cry and a single drop of water fell from the corner of the creatures golden eye and landed in the middle of the wound. It instantly it began to heal. It looked like water washing of mud or paint, it was truly amazing. The second the scar was gone Harry's eyes opened and Ginny began to cry with relief.
"Remind me…" He said his voice sounding rough, "To ask Dumbledore's portrait how he does it." He said and everyone looked at him in confusion. "He left Draco a bird that can heal people, it's like he knew what we would need." he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He would forever by amazed at how smart that man was.
OoOoOoOoO
A/N: Now you know what Dumbly left Drakie! Lol… Blaise is the king of the whole world and… It isn't magic, or man or muggles… Oh and the Nargles aren't necessarily the size of Gremlins… They can change their size at will lol … They can be smaller I just forgot to add that particular detail :P whoops.. Lol I like this chapter… I had difficulty starting it but none finishing it… It is even going up early… Now to my questions.
1. Any guesses as to what Voldy said to Yaxley… that will be in the next chapter… lol
2. Any suggestions for future chapters? Any thing you want to say (You never know what I might use lol)
3. When should I bring Ron back… : ( he has to come back sooner or later…
4. what's your fav part in the story? That's always fun to know…
5. Should I still make a chapter about the silver Doe? What should be in the pool if I do… cuz if I cant come up with something it isn't going to be in my story seeing as they have the sword…
Well I cant think up any more questions so… there you have it… Review! Oh and I doubt there will be a chapter about Xenophilius Lovegood… since we have LUNA! Lol Tuna… ~Taylor (Slytherin at heart)