Harry was glad to hear that he would get to go and visit his parent's graves. He was also grateful to Hermione for having the courage and caring to approach Sean about this detour. They rode for a while longer when Sean came to a stop in front of Harry, "the horses need a rest" he said matter of factly. Harry was glad at this because he wanted a rest himself. He settled onto the ground and began to relax when he heard Sean. "The horses need a rest," Sean began, "you need to train."
Harry was about to protest, but then he remembered Sean holding the large knife to his throat and decided that a little training wouldn't hurt. Sean waved Harry over to a nearby creek and motioned for him to stand near the water. Harry imagined that Sean would teach him some more fighting techniques, but he didn't do anything. Harry was confused at this, and after realizing that Sean wasn't going to come out and say anything on his own, Harry broke the silence. "Sean?" Harry asked in an expecting tone.
"Listen." Sean commanded to Harry in his usual monotone voice. Harry listened and could hear nothing but the running water.
"All I hear is the creek," Harry said to Sean.
"Exactly" Sean said, "The root to becoming a great warrior…is water." Harry was slightly confused at this; he was beginning to wonder how sane Sean really was.
"Water," Sean began "is the softest substance on Earth, yet it can penetrate through solid rock. It instantly adapts to its environment without a moments hesitation. Water can flow or it can crash, so every warrior needs to become like water, empty your mind and become shapeless and formless…like water."
With this new explanation, Harry began to listen to the water, but now he let the water consume his mind. His occlumency lessons with Snape, and now the patient teaching of Sean had provided him with the ability to completely empty his mind.
Harry had done it, he had mastered his mind, after two years of trying, and all it took was a few minutes in front of a creek with an Irish monk to master clearing his mind. But what happened next took Harry completely by surprise. He found in an instant that he was seeing things that he had never seen.
He saw a man beaming with pride as he handed a newborn baby to a woman lying in a hospital bed and then the woman saying, "we will name him Sean." He saw the two older people helping the boy take his first steps, he saw them celebrating a third birthday and the boy looking as happy as he could be. Then he saw one night, when a figure that he could've sworn he had seen somewhere before enter the house and kill the man. He then saw the woman hide the child…then nothing.
Harry gasped slightly as he opened his eyes to see Sean peacefully meditating across from him. "Oh my God," Harry said to himself, "I just saw into Sean's mind." Harry suddenly understood several things, he understood why Snape didn't exert much effort to teach him occlumency but at the same understood why Dumbledore had wanted him to learn it…because it would lead to illigumency. But now he needed to sort out what he had seen of Sean's past.
After a moment, Sean came out of his meditation to find Harry pale in the face and staring at him with a strange look. "You okay then?" Sean asked. Harry wasn't sure how to respond, he was hesitant about holding anything back from Sean after the incident with the knife.
"I was able to empty my mind" Harry said simply, "I just thought of water, and then I was formless."
"Very good" Sean said, "you're a very quick study, we may pull this off. The next phase is to learn how to act after you have emptied your mind, to act quicker than thought."
After that they mounted the horses and were off, their next stop would be Godric's Hollow. About two hours later, they reached a town that Sean told Harry was Godric's Hollow. "After your love's request, I had Bill show me on a map, and this is it. We will have a few hours here, and then we ride until nightfall. The Order will be expecting us to cast off tomorrow."
Harry nodded his understanding to Sean and hoped that he didn't expect that he had seen what he had. Harry knew that he should not pry, but he had a nagging curiosity as to many things about Sean, especially now that he had seen these memories, some of which Harry was sure Sean didn't even remember himself. Harry decided that the matter would take some thought, but for now he resolved to go and honor his parents.
They entered the town and found it nearly deserted. It looked like it had once been a very nice place to live. Quiet and secluded, but a nice town, like a good country place that would fetch top dollar from interested retirees. But now, it was more like a ghost town, long bereft of any kind of joy or complacency. There were a few people still living there, and they acknowledged the two strangers with little more than suspicious glares.
They made their way to a tavern in the town, the tavern looked like it was the most lucrative business in the area. They found a place nearby to put the horses and then made their way inside. Sean went in first and was followed by Harry, there were a few people in the tavern who were passing into inebriation, and the bar keep seemed more suspicious than anyone. Sean walked up to the bar and asked if they had any Canada Dry, when he said no he sat down and then waved for Harry to come to the bar.
When Harry made it to the bar, Sean spoke to the bar keep, "we are looking for the cemetery here, would you be kind enough to direct us there?"
"No one goes up there anymore" the bar keep replied grouchily, "that place is cursed, ever since they buried that wizard and witch there about seventeen years ago." Harry knew that he had to be talking about his mum and dad, and this caused a knot to form in his heart.
"We'll take our chances" Sean retorted with absolution in his voice. The bar keep then told them where they could find the cursed graveyard of Godric's Hollow. Sean thanked the keep, left him something for his troubles, and then proceeded with Harry out of the tavern. They mounted the horses and rode the short distance to a lonely hill with a large gate and an un-kept graveyard inside.
"This is it" Sean said to Harry as he looked over to see that he had nearly collapsed in grief at the destitute condition that his parent's final resting place was in. "I will help you find your parents" Sean said. "And if you like, I think we can spare some time to make their graves presentable." With this they began to search the graveyard for the two specific head stones, pushing over grown grass and weeds out of the way as they went.
Harry could guess why the place was unkept, and why it was believed to be cursed. He could visualize in his mind the day that the town saw another stranger come in, this one dressed in dark robes, and then waking to Harry's mother screaming and finding two dead people in the morning killed by the avada kedavra curse. He wanted to find the markers and put this behind him, find some peace by finally paying proper tribute to the people who gave him life, and then saved it.
"Was your father's name James?" Harry heard Sean call out from about five rows over.
"Yeah" Harry answered, "and my mother's name was Lilly."
"Then I'm pretty sure I found it" Sean replied grimly. Harry made his way over to where Sean stood and examined the headstones, James and Lilly Potter, and the date of death matched up. Weeds had obscured the two headstones, thistles and other overgrown plants. Harry was on the verge of tears as he thought of his parents and the great people he had learned they were. He thought of their sacrifices and of their efforts to bravely defy the dark lord, and how this is how they were to be remembered, with an unkept grave in a small ghost town.
"They deserve better." Sean said, and Harry agreed with him completely. "I'll fix this up," Sean said as he removed his robe and drew one of his swords, "and then I will leave you to make peace."
Harry backed away from the graves and let Sean use his sword to clear away the overgrown weeds, thistles, grass, and other plants around the headstones. Harry was impressed with how gracefully and fluidly Sean moved and sliced through the debris. "Like water" Harry thought to himself as he remembered the lesson Sean had taught him earlier by the creek.
After about two minutes of moving and cutting, Sean stood back and eyed his work. The names were now clearly visible, and the area around it was clear as well as a little space in front, obviously designed for Harry to sit or kneel in front of the graves. "I will be waiting a short distance away," Sean said to Harry, "just come back when you're done."
Harry walked toward the graves with a very heavy heart. He had envisioned this moment for some time now, and it had intensified after seeing his parents in another graveyard towards the end of his fourth year. He stopped in front of the graves and just looked straight ahead for a few moments before dropping to his knees in tears. He began to think about the people he had loved and lost, his parents, Dumbledore, and Sirius. The last one hit him the hardest; Sirius didn't even have a marker. Harry began to speak; he was going to talk to his parents for the first time in his life.
"I finally made it out here," Harry began speaking aloud but only loud enough that he could hear. "Now I'm not sure where to start." Harry paused wondering where to begin, and how to come to the present. "I started at Hogwarts six years ago, that should make you proud. Every year I have had some kind of adventure with my two best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Ron's a great guy, he's always good for a laugh and there for me when I need him. And Hermione, well, she was always a good friend…but now we've become something more, I gave her the bracelet that you" he looked at his dad's name "gave mum when you two fell in love."
Harry paused for a moment as he thought of Hermione, the girl he left behind for this uncertain path, but a path that was slowly becoming more certain as Harry realized Sean's wisdom and how what he was poised to teach him could indeed be useful. "Voldemort has been hunting me since I started at Hogwarts," Harry continued to his parents, "but I've survived this long, and now the man I am here with is going to teach me how to vanquish Lord Voldemort once and for all. I can finally avenge your deaths, and then be free to live the life I am sure you dreamed for me to live."
Harry stopped again and looked at the now cleared headstones, he felt better now that he had come out to Godric's Hollow and made peace with his parents. "This town has become a lot worse after you died. But after I vanquish Voldemort, I am sure that all the magical world will become a better place…including Godric's Hollow." Harry took a deep breath and then looked one last time at the headstones, "I have to leave now. I hope that you would be proud of me, and I hope that what I am about to do will also make you proud to be my parents…and to call me your son."
He reached forward and touched and kissed each headstone, he then turned to Sean. "I'm ready now."
Sean nodded and proceeded to the headstones, Harry was surprised, but Sean knelt before the headstones, made the sign of the cross and then said. "On my honor, I will not let any harm come to your boy…and I will see him fulfill his destiny." Harry looked surprisingly at Sean, "I respect and understand your desire to talk to your parents before making this journey. I did the same thing before I came to St. George."
Sean then placed his hand on Harry's back and led him away from the graveyard and back to the horses. The next part of the journey lay ahead, and they proceeded to ride, not stopping until nightfall.