I am immensely sorry for the delay of this chapter. One month—that is a long time. Thank you though for waiting patiently andallow me to say to all, though it seems late, that I wish all of you a Happy New Year. Thank you for sticking by my story. Well, feast your eyes. The chapter is here!

and please read and REVIEW.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

A VISIT TO LILY AND JAMES

The wind howled through the sky on that December morning. It was seven am, Christmas day, and Harry stood alone on a snow-laden area. He looked at the sky, seeing the clouds swishing passed it, and he pictured his life going by so fast. He has passed and lived through so much danger and yet, in his life, he was still alive. It was a bittersweet sensation.

He was indeed alive but there are those who are not. Two of those were his mother and father. Harry walked across the snow, gazing at the leafless trees, their branches cracking here and there, and walked across piles of snow and dead flowers. He was in Godric's Hollow: the place where it all began, the place where he began.

He continued his steps, clutching his jacket from the cold, and remained silent. He could see his own breath form smoke-like figures in the air as he approached his destination. He finally stood there, gazing at a stone slab planted on the snowy ground. The stone was about five feet wide and three feet tall, covered in snow.

Harry used his mitten-clad hand to wipe of the collected snow on the stone and there, visible in the morning daylight, were engravings.

HERE LIES THE BODIES OF

JAMES AND LILY POTTER

THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WIZARDING WORLD

AND THE MEMORIES THEY HAVE LEFT THEIR FRIENDS WILL

NEVER BE LOST.

He read these words, his eyes transfixed, several times. How can two great people, members of the society who were technically no different from any other witch or wizard, do so much for the benefit of all? How can two people be so great as to contribute many deeds to the community? James and Lily: heroes who used their lives to fight Voldemort and on their last night, died for Harry Potter.

These thoughts circled in Harry's head. It was no way of celebrating Christmas for Harry felt no warmth in his heart. He just felt cold sadness, as though he was just doused with a bucketful of icy water. As snow started to fall on the ground, tears started to form within Harry's eyes. It was so cold he thought his tears would form icicles on his eyelashes. The solace of the graveyard he was in let him know that no one would see that he was crying. He knelt on the snow, looking at his parents' engraved names, and thanked them.

It was emotional. Come to think of it, Harry has never said thank you to his parents for sacrificing themselves for him. He was alive because of his parents, not just because they were responsible for him being born but also because their love has formed a barrier for his protection. He knelt there, silently, and with his heart, said his earnest thanks to the best people in his life.

As Harry knelt there, he knew that back at the newly restored Burrow, everyone was preparing for their Christmas meal. He, for a second, felt happy that his friends, especially Hermione and Ron, were going to be celebrating the day with him. After that, the thought of his parents lying in their graves consumed him. Sadness again.

Before going to his parents' grave for the first time, Harry has just survived the ordeal inside the Chamber of Secrets. That memory was so vivid, as though, as he recalled it in his mind, he was watching a movie playing. Once the cry of the basilisk was heard as they came out of the room that contained the Minister's Eye, Harry knew that his friends' lives were in his hands. He had to do something. What was hard was the fact that they must avoid looking at the Basilisk's eye unless they wished to die.

"Close your eyes!" cried Harry as he ran through the damp Chamber floor. "Remember what the basilisk can do!"

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!" screamed Ron in panic. Harry did not know where his friends are for his eyes, too, were shut. No sort of plan came into his mind. It was totally blank.

Darkness was all Harry saw as he locked his eyes shut. He stretched his arms out to feel the surroundings, touching nearby things as he walked slowly. His hands touched the cold, grimy walls of the chamber and yet, his body heat was rising. His heart pulsed so much that he could hear it inside his head. He was not going anywhere with his eyes shut. He had to do something.

Harry finally decided to open his eyes every few seconds, just a little bit, to survey his surroundings. Once ready, he lightly opened his eyes and then immediately closed them. He was now running through the center path of the chamber, he realized, and saw that Hermione and Ron were together at the very end of the path, near the entrance. This meant that the Basilisk was behind him, on the opposite of where Ron and Hermione stood. He then continued ran towards Ron and Hermione, careful that he did not trip on the wet stone floor.

He opened his eyes again. He saw that he was now nearing Ron and Hermione. Just as Harry arrived on the spot where his friends stood, the piercing cry of the Basilisk stabbed the damp air. He panicked. His friends panicked with him.

"What are we going to do!" said Hermione.

"I have no idea. What about the entrance. You think we can go back there in time?" said Harry.

"We have to."

"Well, think. Think."

As they pondered through their minds, they scuttled behind one of the Snake statue heads to hide from the basilisk. They were hoping the creature was still on the other end of the Chamber for they didn't know where it was. Then, as Harry and Hermione were talking within themselves, Ron stole a quick look towards the side where the Basilisk stood. Luckily, the serpent was not there to glare back at Ron but what he saw was worth the risk of looking in the first place. Standing high upon the statue of Salazar was the Firebolt, gleaming in the green light. What a sight.

"Harry!" cried Ron. "The Firebolt!"

"Excuse me?" said Hermione, annoyed.

"The Firebolt. We can use it to escape!"

"Oh, we almost forgot about that!" said Harry, pleased with the idea. Adrenaline started to pump into his veins and butterflies started to flutter in his stomach, ready for action.

The basilisk was still nowhere to be seen but its cries let Harry know where it approximately was. As Harry stood up though, he stared on the wall rather than on the open to minimize the risk of making eye contact with the serpent.

Harry started to walk through the path towards the end where the Salazar statue stood. Hermione and Ron were still by one of the snake head statues, waiting for Harry to call them to board the broom. Harry walked slowly as he looked at the wall. Though he knew that he could die with just a look into the serpent's eye, he cannot deny that he has a burning curiosity and a will to survey his surroundings. He tried to fight it as he stepped further towards the statue, the puddles of water on the ground splashing as his shoes fell upon them.

Making slow progress like that, he felt as though he was a turtle walking slowly to its home—a turtle that was dinner to a giant snake. Luckily, the basilisk was still a distance away though Harry wondered why it has not attacked yet. Even if it didn't see him, he remembered how basilisks can locate prey through hearing and vibrations. Back in his second year, a blind basilisk totally depended on its sense of hearing alone was still extremely deadly to face. Now, to be in the midst of a basilisk with perfect vision, why was he still not eaten?

He was nearing the end of the path, judging by the wall he was still sticking his gaze to, but the will to look around overpowered him. He took a deep inhalation, held his breath, and tore his face from the wall to look at the entire area.

He saw ahead of him the statue, its evil magnificence brilliantly emanating, and then he saw the snake head statues, all lined neatly in two straight columns. In the background, he could hear a rhythmic beating. He could not pinpoint what exactly produces such a sound but he knew that he had heard it before. He still held his breath as his head continued to turn left to see the rest of the area. He next saw Hermione and Ron crouching behind one of the snake head statues and then, he felt puzzled.

The serpent was nowhere to be seen. Where is it? Was this his lucky day—to escape unscathed from the basilisk and leave with the Horcrux? His thoughts were cut short as a piercing cry was heard.

It was so loud Harry thought his ears were going to burst. He looked at the ground to avoid any gaze but then, suddenly, he saw the shadow of the beast against the ground. What a peculiar silhouette! He saw the shadow of a snake like body with a ferocious looking head but what disturbed Harry was the fact that behind the beast's body were wings—bat wings. Judging from the shape of the shadow he saw, what he was up against was no basilisk. It was a dragon.

He immediately flipped around towards the direction of the beast and gazed at it freely. It was now safe to look, thank heavens. He saw the dragon—green and about twenty feet long. It had blue markings about its body and its scales gleamed green from the chamber's light. Its eyes were in fiery shades of yellow and orange and its nostrils, situated upon a horned snout, were emitting smoke. Its wings were beating strongly, allowing it to fly—explaining the rhythmic sound he heard earlier—and soon, Harry knew what to do.

He remembered what Sirius said back in his fourth year. A dragon's weak point was its eyes. With a spell in his mind, he took out his wand and waved it, saying the spell "Oculus Conjunctiva" and a beam of pink rays sped out of his wand, piercing the green glow of the entire cavern.

The spell hit the eyes of the roaring, soaring dragon and soon, it was wiggling its head in pain as it screamed louder and louder. It descended slowly, unable to see, and this raised Harry, Ron, and Hermione's chances of survival.

"Ron, Hermione, its okay to look!" screamed Harry as he ran towards the statue of Salazar to get the broom. "It's not a basilisk. It's a dragon!"

"Accio Firebolt!" said Harry finally and the broom zoomed towards him. By now, Hermione and Ron were running towards him, frightened to the nth degree.

The dragon was now in such a bad state. It was on the ground and its wings were splattered on the floor, looking like a puddle of brown mud. It was breathing fire in all directions as it screamed in pain but remained rooted on the spot. The whole Chamber ceiling was now ablaze as Harry, Ron, and Hermione mounted on the Firebolt.

As the broom rose higher into the air, hot wind came blowing upon their faces. It was so strong that Harry's hair was whipping on his face. On his stomach were Hermione's arms, clutching him tightly as she sat behind him. Behind her still was Ron, his flaming red hair as red as the fire which was now burning ablaze, panic etched clearly in his expression.

Harry suddenly realized that they were trapped. The conflagration has now reached the ceiling of the chamber, forming a wall of fire blocking the exit of the chamber. The heat was becoming unbearable, as well as the screams of the dragon, and soon, Harry was soaked in perspiration.

"We need to get passed the flames!" said Hermione, stating the obvious. "Or else we'll be roasted!"

Harry thought for a while as he maneuvered the broom farther from the fire and from the exit. The green of the chamber had turned a menacing orange due to the dancing flames. With his wand on his right hand, he looked back at his two friends.

"Okay, take out your wands. When I say go, point your wand on one spot and cast Aguamenti to try and make a hole through the wall of fire. We might be able to get through the hole. Hold tight with your wandless hand though because we might need to swerve," said Harry. Ron and Hermione grabbed there wands and the broom began to move towards the wall of fire.

"Aguamenti!" screamed Hermione and Ron as the broom they were riding picked up speed. A beam of water poured out of their wand tips and hit the wall of flames on the same spot, creating a hole. The hole though, was not big enough.

"It's too small!" said Hermione as the broom, now so fast that stopping it before hitting the wall of fire would be impossible, zoomed straight ahead. "We have to do something quick before we hit the fire!"

The smoke was now making visibility poor. Harry was pulling the broom up to stop it but to no avail for its speed was so fast, they were about to crash upon the wall of fire. They had to think quickly!

"Aqua Eructo!" screamed Hermione suddenly amidst Harry and Ron's panicked faces. Suddenly, a much stronger gush of water originating from Hermione's wand tip bore a bigger hole on the wall of fire. Ron copied Hermione and also cast the spell upon the wall. The hole was now bigger and was sufficiently large for them to pass through. Within the next second, they rode passed the fire and flew towards the exit, safe and sound.

Harry realized that he again survived another near-death situation. As he found himself ending his memory of the occurrences within the chamber and looking at his parent's tombstones, he took out a small clump of flowers and laid it by the snow for his parents.

Now, Harry thought, the downfall of Voldemort was almost at hand. Yesterday, Arthur Weasley told Harry that he has found good news. Voldemort's lair has been found, which is where Hufflepuff's Cup, another Horcrux, was located. Only one task lay ahead before his showdown with the Dark Lord: collecting a Dementor from Azkaban to obliterate the Horcruxes.

With a final touch and a quick glance at the tombstone that bore his parents' names, Harry turned around and walked away, sure that his first visit to his parents' burial would be a memory he will never forget.

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO