Chapter 6-Godric's Hollow

Artemis was waiting for Butler in the Weasleys house. He had been entertaining the Weasleys of his Muggle endeavors, all of which seemed far-fetched to all of them, who could not believe that this 17 year old had been the mastermind at the age of 12 for stealing gold from the fairies (Holly Short could be seen hovering nearby with a scowl near her face and her hands subconsciously straying close to her Neutrino).

Then Butler walked in dreamily. Dreamily. He held a piece of paper in his hand, which was containing an untidy scrawl. Harry and Chix walked behind him.

Artemis was glad that Butler had turned up, and that too, with Chix. However, Holly was not so pleased.

She whipped out her Neutrino, then said," Butler, did you kidnap Chix just to bring us here?"

Butler took out his wand. Harry gritted his teeth.

Actually, Butler had not been able to fight the Imperius fully, so he had become part of Voldemort's power again. Harry and Chix had been following Butler closely should anything bad happen, and so did that moment come.

Ron looked at Butler's wand, his mouth gaping. How did Butler know how to use a wand?

Slowly, he let go of the paper. Then he muttered," Portus", loud enough for no one to hear.

Holly leaned in to read what was written. It looked uncannily like Chix trying to write English.

BUTLER IS UNDER A CURSE CALLED THE Imperius curse. Do not attempt to aggravate him as he will attack very quickly.

Holly, who looked bewildered, continued to read.

BUTLER IS A PROPHET. HE CAN CREATE PROPHECIES. HARRY AND I SAW HIM DO SO JUST NOW.

Holly was right. It was Chix's handwriting.

THE PROBEM NOW IS THAT BUTLER IS LIKE A MAD RHINOCEROUS. IF HE ATTACKS, THIS HOUSE WILL BE SMITHEREENS BEFORE YOU COULD SAY " butler " .

WE NEED YOU TO TELL THE WEASLEYS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND HELP THEM SOLVE IT, AS THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN DO MAGIC AND STOP THIS MADNESS. TAKE THE NOTE AND GO NOW.

Holly squinted at the note, then to Butler, then to Chix. Chix looked visibly nervous.

Then Butler reeled and fell to the floor.

Butler massaged his chest. "Kevlar, did you say?"

Artemis nodded.

Butler was relaying the scene where he was shot in the chest 4 years ago. Then he opened his eyes.

"Oooh……"

"Butler, we have a serious problem. I know when you are under the Imperius curse and when you are not. However, if you cannot fight this curse fully, Voldemort is going to have full control of you soon."

Butler tried to get up. He fell back with a groan.

Mr Weasley looked down at him with concern. All the other 7 Weasleys were in bed.

Holly looked very worried.

Then Butler muttered," The note……."

"This note?" Holly said, hovering there and pointing at it.

"I'll give it to him." Harry pried himself up from there chair. He was very tired.

"No, Harry, go back and sit. Rest." Holly's face was tinged with concern.

Ron bounded down the stairs and fell headfirst into the note. Holly and Harry also were frozen in the action of holding it. The result: Three people about to hold the note.

Then a gust of wind blew it across to Artemis, who was lying awake, tired to his gut. He caught it, just as Ron held it to prevent himself from falling, Harry and Holly, tugging at it to give it to Butler.

There was a jerk behind Harry's navel; Harry felt himself spinning; Holly was screaming near him; whether with joy or fear he did not know; Ron kept grunting and snoring; Artemis held on tight; his blue eyes large and round; then suddenly, Harry felt his feet hit ground.

He had seen this place before. Somewhere. Then it came to his memory.

"Godric's Hollow…" he said.

There stood the house that Harry had nearly been murdered, 16 years ago, on his birthday. His parents had died at the hands of Voldemort.

"Not Harry, not Harry…."

"Stand aside, you silly girl…."

"Lily, take Harry and run! "

Harry blinked off the tears coming out of his eyes, and turned to look at his comrades.

Ron now was fully awake.

Artemis was surveying the house, which plainly meant he disapproved of the condition it had been in. Actually, the house had been rebuilt, as Dumbledore had told Harry a year before, for living in, but nobody wanted to, as it was, as rumored by people, jinxed, as everyone could remember that the Potters had met their waterloo here.

Holly decided to start a conversation. "Let's get out of here" were the first words out of her mouth.

Then she flew at the opposite direction, and fell to the ground with a bang.

"Holly!" Artemis ran up to her and began to shake her. Then blue sparks traveled the length of her hand. He had enough experience to know that it was Holly's magic.

She trashed about violently as the shock sent Holly headfirst in the same direction she was headed in. She simply bounced off an invisible wall. Invisible.

"I think we were sent here to do something. This wall, I think, surrounds the house, to prevent us from leaving."

Ron spoke for the first time.

"Well, shall we go in?" Harry questioned, choosing his words carefully. Not a good idea.

Harry bravely opened the door. " Hello?" he called cautiously.

Then he giggled. Why was there a necessity to say Hello when he knew there was no one at home?

Holly, who had been fully rejuvenated, looked slowly at Harry.

" Something tells me this is not a good place to be in. How did we land up here anyway?"

" A Portkey," replied Harry solemnly. " Butler must have made the note a Portkey."

"Chix wrote the note?"
"No, when did Chix even have energy to write a note?"

" The handwriting on the note was Chix's."

Harry stared deeply into Holly's eyes."

"Then, m'dear, he must have impersonated Chix's handwriting."

Harry giggled again. M'dear.

Artemis found it daunting.

"Listen, if we do not get out odf there alive, all of us are going to kill you, Harry, Butler around or not. So shut up, everybody, and let's look around for the reason that Ronald predicts."

So they trudged all around. They searched the storeroom, almost everywhere, even behind the carcass of a dead kangaroo, which was rotting gruesomely behind the closet.

This gave Harry an idea.

"There is someone living here. He ate that kangaroo."

Harry congratulated himself on that discovery.

"The question is, who?"

A small figure darted out from behind the closet. Harry just caught it.

It was a house-elf.

"Dobby!" said Harry, shocked and relieved at the same time. Dobby looked around, his tennis-ball-size eyes surveying the now familiar face.

"It is you! Harry Potter! Oh, Dobby has been waiting for you for so long….so long….."

Harry looked confused. " Waiting for me?" he asked, in astonishment.

"Yes, sir, yes, I have been trapped in this house for 6 months, sir, and I have been longing for the day when I could meet you so that you will take me away?"

"How do you know I was going to rescue you?"

"Sir, sir, you ask too much of me, for this secret I cannot disclose, until the correct time comes."

Harry looked closely at Dobby. He had grown thinner.

Dobby seemed to realize this.

"Sir, I think you are wondering why poor little Dobby is this thin……am I not right, sir?"

"Yeah, Dobby," Harry said offhandedly.

Beside, Artemis thought he was going mad. Holly too. Both of them were completely taken by surprise. Looks like Harry Potter knew almost everyone he saw. The magical world was something like a small world itself.

"Dobby has been banished. Banished from Hogwarts, but I did not do anything, sir!"

"Banished from Hogwarts? For what?"

"People started losing things. Professor Vector lost his Arithmancy table. Professor Dumbledore lost his phoenix. Professor McGonagall lost her wand."

"Professor Dumbledore lost Fawkes?"

"Yes, sir, yes, and they found all the items in my room!"

"How-how-how can someone steal a phoenix? Fawkes is dead faithful to Dumbledore. He would not even leave Dumbledore's office!"

"That is the point, sir, that I made to the Headmaster, but the other teachers disagreed. Then Professor Snape says, ' You are a disgrace to the house-elves, and you ought to banished!'"

"Snape said that."

"Yes sir, but I swear I did not steal any of that. I ate a kangaroo everyday to live, but you see, I am losing my food supply, as now kangaroos are difficult to get."

Behind, Artemis and Holly were feeling left out. Ron was listening intently.

Then he shouted gleefully.

"Dobby, you can serve at my house!"

"Wh-what?"

"Come to my house, and serve us? You can, right?"

"Yes,sir…..but what about my pay?"

Ron's face fell. He wasn't that rich.

"Er….pay…"

Harry pulled Dobby to his side. Then he bent low and started to whisper into Dobby's ear.

"Ron is touchy about money, as his family isn't rich. So Dobby, will you do me a favour?"

Dobby's eyes were extremely wide. "Name it, Harry Potter!"

"Work in his house for free, for my sake."

He expected Dobby's ears to droop, say that it was impossible, and tell them to politely move off, but what he expected did not happen.

"Sure, Harry Potter! I will be always happy to serve my saviour's friends!"

Ron's face brightened. "Wow, Mum will be happy!"

Dobby was very happy that Harry had gotten him a job. But now they faced another problem.

Getting out of Godric's Hollow.

Peter Pettigrew looked anxiously around the room in Godric's Hollow. He presumed he was in the cellar.

"Sure, Harry Potter! I will be always happy to serve my saviour's friends!"

The voice echoed eerily around the cellar. The cellar door was open. Then he realized it.

"Sure, Harry Potter!"

Harry Potter.

The Master's target.

Peter scrambled out of the cellar, before realizing that the door was long way off. The stairs were too high for him to jump. How did that happen, wondered Peter.

Then he muttered," Idiot." He was still a rat, for heaven's sake!

He transformed and groped around for the handle of the stairs, then heard approaching footsteps and he scrambled back downstairs again.

"How are we going to get out of here?" asked Harry. "There is a type of barrier here."

Dobby smiled. A toothy grin. It was quite scary for Artemis, who thought that Dobby was going to go for his neck. Usually his smile gave others the creeps.

Holly was still feeling left out.

Then Harry remembered the prophecy that Butler had made.

" For there will be three destined

to destroy him,

there will be one,

who may change heart,"…………………….

There were three people in the room. Ron, Holly and Artemis. Ron, Holly, Artemis. Ron, Holly, Artemis. Ron, Holly, Artemis. Ron, Holly, Artemis. Ron, Holly, Artemis. This kept reeling in his head.

There will be three destined……

Ron, Holly, Artemis.

Then he understood.

"Get here quickly!" Harry ordered. They followed.

Dobby, as if there was a mutual understanding between him and Harry, held their hands.

"Incurio!" he cried.

Peter watched from his hiding place. Before Potter left, he had to get him to the Master.

The next moment, they were at the Weasleys.