b center Harry Potter and the Cold River /b /center

Chapter One:Godrics Hollow

A warm summers rain cleansed the outsides of the houses. A slight breeze blew the water down the streets. At number four Privet Drive, Harry Potter layed on his bed, stareing at the off-white celling. So peacefull. With the pitter-padder of rain drops on the roof. Untill the bottom stair creaked as it always did when some one would go up, or down the stair case. Harry jumped up, grabbing his wand off his bedside table. He heard a familer voice swere as he reached for the knob of the door.

As soon as he grasped the door knob, the door swung open sending him to the floor. The door shut quickly, and quietly. Harry's glasses had fallen off when he'd fell. He saw a figure move about the room, picking up the pair of glasses. His vision returned in full when she put them back to his eyes. She wore a dark silky hooded cloak. Sopping wet from the rain outside, she helped him to a standing position.

His aunt Petunia Dursley stood before him, smiling. Shocked, Harry stared at the woman who he had not seen smile unless something bad had happened to him, was now smiling sweetly at him. "Aunt Petunia?"He asked still in shock.

"Shhh, boy! We don't want to wake them. Come."She said grasping his arm, hurring out the door that had opened of its own accord, he had no choice but to follow his confusing aunt. They rushed down the stairs. Petunia steped over the bottom step so it didn't creak, letting go of his arm. Harry made to do the same, but his aunt held up a hand to stop him. She got down on her knees. Pulling out a screw driver, she unscrewed the screws in the step. She lifted the board to unvail many envolpes, letters, and photographs. Moving photographs. She rusled around before choseing a photograph of a neighborhood, with a sign in the fore ground reading; Now Entering:

Godrics Hollow-Changing Thoughts of

Blood Since 1857

Population:127

Harry only had a momment to think about the photo before his aunt grasped his arm forcing him down the last two steps, and out the front door. He glimsped the step repairing itself on his way out. His aunt closed the door quickly behind them. The rain still poured over head, as Petunia showed him a point in the photo to apparrate to. Harry still confused, did as she had asked. The thought that it might be a trap didn't even cross his mind.

After the breathless journey, Harry found himself standing infront of a river like creek, gleaming in the faint light coming from the east, over the nearby mountians. With a sign by it reading; Cold River, swim at own risk He slowly turned around, finding himself facing a similar town to that of the one in the photograph. But this town was different, worse looking, older, and just creepy. He looked just to the left of him, seeing a sign he steped backwards, then to the left, so he could read what it said.

It was the same old wooden sign he had seen in the picture. There was only one difference, the population. Population:57 The number of people living here had gone way down since that photgraph had been taken. As he was pondering how his aunt even knew of Godrics Hollow, he heard a BANG. He whipped his view to the dirt road, the violent purple night bus had pulled to a stop on the main road. He took amount of steps toward it. With another BANG the night bus drove on, leaving his aunt facing the town. Harry walked, fast paced, to catch up with her.

When reaching her, he stood next to her, she was looking out at the town silently. "Aunt Petunia? What's going on?" Harry asked her, bewildered to what might, or might not be going on. She turned to him, still smiling.

"All in good time, boy. All in good time. But first...Welcome to Godrics Hollow! A mixed blood village since 1857! And a town since 1789! Where your parents died, and your life was into a living hell!"She said throwing her arms forward to show what was ahead of them. Harry, shocked did not respond. "Let us move forward and to your parents old home." She said walking, quicking her pace in the first few steps, Harry followed.

After a turn in the road, they reached a park, across form the park Petunia stopped and faced number 13, Chilly Lane. When Harry caught up, he too faced the house. "Is this-?"Harry started before his aunt cut him off.

"Yes, this where you parents lived about sixteen years ago. Before...well you know the rest."She said before laying her hand on his shoulder. "What a terrible fate they had come to..." She said quietly. Harry again shocked, had never heard his aunt say something about how horrible it was that his parents had died.

"What are we doing here?"He asked, hopeing she would answer him this time. Petunia let her hand fall silently from her nefew's shoulder, and she sighed. She moved forward to the door, leaving Harry's question dangeling, unanswered, and forgotten. Harry once more followed from behind. When reaching the door, she grasped the knob, and pulled the door open.

Petunia stepped in slowly, when Harry stepped in after, his aunt had already moved from sight. Looking down at the floor, he found a chalk outline of where his father had died. He moved into the living room, and then the kitchen not finding his aunt there, he slowly stepped up the staircase, his scar twingeing at comeing to where it all had begun. "Aunt Petunia?"He asked seeing a shadow passfrom behind him into a bedroom, the renewed sun light leaking in though a window.

"In here, boy!"Her voice called from a room to his right, no where near where he had seen the shadow move to. He turned around slowly looking to the shadow room, the door was slightly ajar. He coughed from the musty smell in the home.

Moving toward the shadow room, he remembered that his wand was lieing under his bed at the Dursley's, he stopped. Then making up his mind whether or not to move on into the room, he walked slowly up to the door. When he had his hand on the dusty wood, his aunt came out from the room she had been in. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you...I dare not wish to die."She said before returning to the room she had been in, gestering for him to follow.

Harry scanned a look at the door, which he had placed his hand, before letting it fall to his side, and walked to follow his aunt. As soon as he had taken a few steps forward, he heard the door creak farther open, he turned around, and watched it open even more, before his aunt called him. "Harry! Don't fuss over shadows! Come in here." The door slamed shut, raiseing dust clouds, that caused him to cough once more. He walked over to the room where his aunt was, still wondering who was in the shadow room. He stepped into a study room. Book shelves full of books lined three of the four walls. Boxes, and a desk lined the far wall.

"Aunt Petunia, I think you better explain, now...please."Harry said, adding the please as an after thought. She turned to him, and smiled, then sighed. Harry figured he would now get the answers he had been wanting since the creaking stair.

"Okay...I suppose it's time that I fill in those small blanks. But somethings might be shocking..."She suddenly became very serious looking. "But whatever you do, don't speak, or yell, or do anything other than whisper..."She said quietly. Giving Harry a chill down his spine. He leaned in to hear what she might say next, he could hear the shadow room door creak open again.

"Why? Does it have to do with that shadow?"He asked in a tone bearly above a quiet whisper. She looked out the door, then out the dust covered window, she went to the window, whipeing it clean with a shirt sleve. Then she turned back to him.

"We don't want to wake..."She paused looking out the door way again. "them...we can't let them know we're here...they'll know it's us if we wake them."She said in a urgent whisper. Harry leaned in more, hopeing she would continue explaining about 'them' she did not.

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A/N:Wow! This is the first time I've written a "Harry" story. I've always done mostly OC stuff...awesome. Review if you please.