-EveningSongEnchantment
Disclaimer: Alright. We've been through this before. J.K. ROWLING OWNS HARRY POTTER! NOT ME!
Chapter 8: Godric's Hollow
Ron woke up the next morning feeling cold dread course through his whole body. Today he was about to embark on an epic adventure. One that was liable to get them all killed.
Not that he regretted his decision to travel with Harry, oh no. This was just another enchanted chess board right? Except… on a bigger scale.
He trembled to think of the dangers that were ahead. But they had gotten through so much already. If they could handle giant monsters of Hagrid's and enchanted rooms full of dark and dangerous objects (Ron shuddered at the memory of flying brains), they could handle anything Voldemort could hurl at them right?
But as far as we know, the only wizard to attempt such a thing is dead, he thought. He shook himself. But many wizards haven't gone through what we have at so young an age, He reminded himself.
He shuddered again and looked over at Hermione. She was slumbering peacefully on the bigger bed. I wonder what she dreams about. He thought to himself, and then hopefully he thought, me? Nah.
Ron leapt out of bed and walked over to Harry. He saw that his friend's blankets and pillow were strewn all over his bed. Probably having bad dreams or couldn't get to sleep, not that I blame him.
Ron leapt out of bed and walked over to Harry. He saw that his friend's blankets and pillow were strewn all over his bed.He picked up the photo album they had been looking at the night before. It lay open to the page with the cottage in it. His parents look like they were really nice people. Wonder if they ever thought about Harry's future without them?
Don't think about that, he chided himself, It's bad enough that Harry doesn't have them at all, but to think about them in that sort of way? How would you like it if your parents weren't around?
He stopped himself. He wouldn't feel very good that was for sure.
For the second time that day he shook himself. Why was he dwelling on such horrible thoughts? The sound of squeaking bed springs roused him from his mind's labyrinth of corridors. He turned to see Hermione throw off her covers and walk to her trunk. She dug out of her neatly organized belongings a tank-top and jeans. Ron followed her example and went over to his trunk as well. He looked inside to find a jumble of his few belongings. He took out a T-shirt and shorts. They were all dressing in muggle clothes again. It suited their purpose to look like muggles in the muggle world. If any wizards saw them they probably wouldn't give them a second glance. Which was a good thing considering Harry was famous and Ron had the Weasley trademark of red hair. Hermione went downstairs to change and start breakfast while Ron put on his clothes. As he slipped on his shirt, Harry woke up. "Morning," He grunted and rubbed his eyes, "I didn't get much sleep last night"
"Bad dreams?" Ron asked sympathetically. "No," Harry replied thoughtfully, bringing a far away look into his eyes. He looked at the album and blinked. "I'll tell you at breakfast," He said, meeting Ron's anxious gaze. Ron shrugged and resumed his activity of getting dressed. Harry went over to his trunk and put the album in it. He took out a T-shirt like Ron and some jeans; all the while thinking about the new memory that had come up in his dream last night. For he had resolved that it must have been a memory. Hermione came up the stairs just then and poked her head in the room. "Ready?" "Just a second," Harry said, pulling on his socks, "I'll be down in a minute, you two go ahead"
Ron looked at him concerned. "I'm fine, go on." Hermione left down the stairs and Ron followed. When they were gone Harry sat down on his bed and continued thinking about the dream he had had. It had definitely been a memory. How else could the cottage, his parents, and Sirius have come together? He remembered how he had smudged Sirius' face with dirt and smiled. It was good to have a new memory to live on. Harry got up and descended the stairs to the kitchen. He opened the door to see Hermione and Ron break off in conversation. Ron must have been telling Hermione how Harry was acting. Hermione looked at Harry troubled. She opened her mouth to say something but Harry interrupted,
"I'm fine. Really, it was just a dream I had," He said,
"I thought—?" Ron started. "No," Harry said, "Not that kind of dream." And he proceeded to tell them what he had seen in his dream. When he finished the other two were silent. Harry looked at them waiting for a response. "Well," Hermione said, "That was…" Plainly she was at loss for words. She stared at the table, and then she went over to the frying pan where bacon was cooking. After a few minutes she started buttering toast while she watched the eggs. When she had finished she set a plate full of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of each of the boys and sat down at the table herself. She pulled a plate towards her and loaded it with her breakfast. They ate in silence, thinking about the day ahead. Harry watched as Ron picked at his food. "I wish I had brought Crookshanks," Hermione said looking forlorn, "But he wouldn't have liked the journey." "Neither would Hedwig or Pigwidgeon," said Ron.
The rest of the meal there was no conversation. Just thinking. Harry finished his food first. He got up from the table and went upstairs to get the photo album. That way, Hermione and Ron could get another look at the cottage to make sure they got there. He took the album off the bed and noticed that he had left his trunk open. He was about to close it when he spotted the Marauders map. It couldn't hurt to see how everyone was doing, he thought. So he picked it up, pointed his wand at it and said "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good"
Dots and the passageways of Hogwarts appeared on the old piece of parchment. Harry noticed that they must have slept late. Classes had already started. He quickly scanned it for his closest friends. Hagrid was in front of his cabin, evidently he had just finished a class because a number of dots were departing towards the castle. Ginny and Luna were walking out of the Transfiguration classroom together and Neville was with Dean and Seamus coming out of Charms. The two groups met and Neville joined Ginny and Luna for a few minutes. Good, Harry thought, they're sticking together. I wonder what they're up to. He watched as Neville turned and went in the direction of the entrance hall. He must be making his way to Herbology.
After watching his friends make their way to their various classes, he pointed his wand at the map and said, "Mischief managed." The writing on the map disappeared and Harry folded the map. He placed it on the top of a jumble of wizard's robes and closed the lid to the trunk. Then he hurried downstairs to Ron and Hermione. They weren't in the kitchen, so he checked the study. Not finding them there he looked into the dueling room. Ron had just disarmed Hermione and was now handing her wand back to her. "Practicing?" Harry asked. The other two jumped and spun around, wands raised. "Oh," Hermione said. Ron grinned, "It seems as though we're always doing that now." "I know what you mean," Harry agreed. He handed the album to Hermione, "Have another look at the picture, just to make sure." She took the book from him and stared at the picture in concentration. Ron looked over her shoulder and stared at the photograph. "Got a good idea of where we're going?" asked Harry. "Yeah," Ron said, looking up at him, "Yeah, I reckon I do." Hermione closed the album and walked across the hall to the study. There she placed it on the shelf of the small bookcase and strode back to Ron and Harry. "All set," she stated, wand out and ready if they met any trouble. She took a deep breath, "One"
"Two…" Harry said concentrating on the yard he had seen in his dream. "Three"
Harry heard two cracks before he was enveloped in darkness. The next second he was in the middle of a field on the outskirts of a little village. He looked around, but didn't see Hermione or Ron. Where were they? He turned completely around, looking this way and that. They weren't on his left, nor were they on his right. In fact, they weren't even in the field. Panic rose in him as he ran a few yards in one direction. Had something gone wrong in the apparition process? Were they okay? Maybe they were somewhere near by. He noticed a hill ahead. He ran to the crest and looked around. There was still no sign of his friends. But below was what looked like a cemetery, surrounded by woods. If they were in the area they would surely think to go there. Harry walked as quickly as he could to the gates, the place was deserted. Fear coursed through him. What if they had gotten splinched? Or lost? Stop that, he told himself, they'll be here. Harry didn't know how long he waited, but sometime later there was rustling in the bushes behind him. "James?" A voice asked incredulously, it wasn't Ron or Hermione's voice. Harry whirled around. Standing before him was an old man, about sixty or seventy. He had gray hair and sharp, brown eyes. He had olive skin and seemed to be fit. He had almost no wrinkles; you couldn't tell he was so old until you looked at his hair, which was neatly kept. He stood abnormally straight for a man so old. He wore gloves and in his hands were a pair of pruning shears. His expression was curious and alarmed. "What did you just say?" Harry asked nervously. Had this man possibly known his father? If so, he would have to be very careful about what he said. The man studied him for a moment, his eyes traveled to Harry's scar and then his face fell slightly, "Sorry" he muttered, "Thought you were someone else." He turned to leave.
"Wait!" Harry cried. A thought had just occurred to him. The man stopped. He slowly turned around and peered at Harry cautiously.
"My name's Harry," Harry said, the man's eyes widened in surprise. Then he frowned and studied Harry critically. His eyes locked with Harry's, who saw recognition in them. "You haven't noticed two people about my age around have you? A bushy-haired girl and a tall, red-haired boy?" Harry's tone was anxious.
"Hmm…" The man said, still staring at Harry, thinking. "No, I can't say that I have. I'm sure they'll turn up though," he added at Harry's look of dismay.
Harry bit his lip, what if something had happened? He never should have let them come; they were all still amateurs when it came to apparition. The old man opened his mouth as if to say something then closed it just as quick. He looked at the ground for a moment and then set his jaw. "Your name wouldn't happen to be Harry Potter would it?" he asked bringing his head up to stare into Harry's eyes. Harry didn't respond right away, he weighed his options. He could either tell the man that he was and risk accidentally letting something slip; or he could lie and say he wasn't. That wouldn't do much good though, considering he had already given his first name and looked so much like his dad. He made up his mind. "Yes," he replied simply.
The man's eyes filled with tears. "James and Lily's son?" He inquired. Harry nodded. The old man dropped his gaze to the ground and murmured to himself, "Never knew the boy had survived… horrible night that was… house in ruins…bodies lying there…" He looked at Harry and squared his shoulders.
"The name's Bruce Wade," he said, "I was your parents' neighbor just beyond that hill over there." He pointed to the rise that Harry had come over. "Nice to meet you Mr. Wade," Harry said, holding out his hand. "The pleasure's all mine boy," said Mr. Wade taking his hand, "but call me Bruce." "Bruce," Harry repeated trying the name, it felt much better than Mr. Wade.
Bruce hesitated, "Might I ask what you're doing here? You haven't been around here before as far as I can tell." Harry had already thought out how to respond. "A friend of my parents dug me out of the rubble and sent me to live with my aunt and uncle," he said. It was true enough. A half-truth maybe, but true. "I wasn't able to come here till now due to…difficulties." Bruce smiled. "You look just like your dad," He said, "Except your eyes. You have your mum's eyes." It was Harry's turn to smile. "Yeah, I hear that a lot," he said. Then he sobered, "I was hoping to visit their graves before I went on a trip." Bruce nodded sadly, "Follow me." Bruce led him down to the cemetery and through the rows of neatly kept graves. "I'm the gardener for this place," he said casually, "Been doing the job ever since my retirement." He stopped at two small, granite markers. "There they are," he said simply. Harry bent down to have a closer look. Like all the other graves close by, they were decorated beautifully with flowers. His mother had daffodils in front of hers and his father had snapdragons. He grinned, they seemed perfect. Then his gaze turned to what was engraved on the stone.
Lily Potter 1960-1981
James Potter 1960-1981
Lily's headstone was decorated with vines and birds around a pond. Lilies were placed here and there to make the scene even more peaceful. James' had a forest with deer galloping through a clearing. Figures, Harry thought, he would have that. Since his animagus had been a stag. I wonder who paid to have these decorated?
When he asked Bruce he shrugged, "A bunch of money and a request for the decoration came anonymously." Harry knew who had paid for it now. It must have been the Order and all the other wizards who had known his parents.
As Harry stood up he heard the breaking of a twig behind him. He spun around with lightning fast reflexes.
There was Hermione. She was tangled in a bush and couldn't seem to get out. "Hermione!" he cried, hastening to help her. She disentangled herself and tripped. She shook broken twigs and leaves out of her hair and looked up. "Harry!" she shrieked, obviously delighted. Harry helped her to her feet. "Where's Ron?" He asked looking around. "I don't know," Hermione said, looking around too, "He was right—" She was interrupted by the sound of someone cursing. She quickly stepped aside, making way for Ron. He tumbled out into the open with his right foot stuck in the bush Hermione had just gotten out of. Grinning, Harry assisted Hermione in extracting Ron from the bush's clutches. Harry pulled backward and tripped over a rock, pulling Ron and Hermione with him. They lay in a tangled heap on the ground, laughing. Bruce came over. "So these are your friends?" he said, casting an eye over Ron and Hermione. Realizing he was there, Ron and Hermione looked at Harry uncertainly. Harry nodded, giving them the signal that it was okay. Hermione hurriedly got to her feet and exposed her manners, "How do you do?" she asked, holding out her hand, which was taken by Bruce enthusiastically, "I'm Hermione Granger"
"Delighted to meet you miss," Bruce said, shaking her hand.
After Ron had introduced himself and shaken hands, Harry told them how he had met Bruce and what had happened since they had left the Shrieking Shack. Ron and Hermione in turn gave him an explanation of where they had been.
"We got lost," Hermione said.
"Yeah," Ron continued, "And we met in the wood just there, and tried to find you. And since we don't know the area… well, you get the point." He grinned at Hermione, who grinned back. Harry nodded. They were going to be in a lot of places like that soon. Bruce looked at his watch, "Blimey! It's already one o'clock." He turned to the three teenagers. "Why don't you come over to my place for lunch?" he asked, "We can talk more over there." Harry thought for a moment. They were supposed to be at the orphanage right now. Just then Ron's stomach rumbled in hunger. Ron looked at Harry and shrugged. Harry grinned. "Alright." They followed Bruce over the hill to the place where Harry had been earlier. He had been in too much of a hurry to notice ruins of what used to be a house. Harry guessed it had been the cottage. He stopped, looking at the remains of what used to be his home. "Yeah," Bruce said, looking at the rubble sadly, "There it is." Confirming Harry's suspicions. "Quite happy they were," Bruce said offhandedly, "after a while though, after you were born," He looked at Harry, "They seemed worried about something. Of course I never said anything, just dropped in once and a while for a visit." He shrugged and went to wait at the end of the field for them. Harry picked around the debris, trying to remember what the house had been like. He came to the far end of what seemed to be a room and saw something wooden. He looked closer and saw that it was a crib. Was this where Voldemort had killed Lily? Visions of that night came back to him.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off"
Harry remembered his father stumbling out of the room to meet Voldemort. Then there was high pitched laughter, and a door bursting open. Then there was the screaming,
"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please—I'll do anything"
"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!" Harry remembered more screaming, and a blinding green light. This time there was screaming of pain. More high pitched cackling had come from Voldemort and then… Harry couldn't remember what happened after that. He knew what had happened, but didn't remember. Because of his mother's sacrifice, Voldemort had lost his powers trying to kill him. The house had been destroyed in the process of the backfiring so that there was nothing left. Harry came back to the present and looked at the crib. Then suddenly, a memory was flooding back to him. Someone else had screamed that night.
"No!" A deep, familiar voice had cried. Harry remembered a series of crashing and thumping. Someone had been tearing through what had been his room towards him. He remembered being picked up, almost unconscious and being carried out into the night. After that he had heard the person muttering to himself and set him down in the wreckage. What must have been hours later, someone else came and Harry awoke, crying. "Ye poor thing," Hagrid's choked voice had said. He leaned over and picked Harry up holding him close to his chest and saying "Shh"
Then there was the sound of a motor. Harry heard the motor stop and someone climb slowly off a motorcycle seat. There was silence as the person surveyed the scene. Hagrid tried to console Sirius, but he was silent. Then Sirius' voice came out of the night.
"Give Harry to me, Hagrid,I'm his godfather, I'll look after him." "No," Was Hagrid's reply, "I've got orders from Dumbledore, he's ter go ter his aunt and uncle." "But I'm his legal guardian." argued Sirius, "Lily and James would have wanted him to come to me. I could tell him more about his parents than those muggles could." "Dumbledore's orders, I'm sure he knows best," They kept arguing and arguing. Finally Sirius said in a defeated tone, "Fine. Take my motorbike, I won't need it anymore"
He heard Sirius walking away miserably. Hagrid hesitated, and then climbed onto the motorbike. He turned the ignition and started the motor. Then he roared into the sky. Then Harry soon fell asleep, only to be woken up by Aunt Petunia's scream the next morning as she saw her nephew on her doorstep.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice asked anxiously. Harry quickly came out of his reverie. Ron and Hermione were both looking at him in concern. Harry blinked. How long had he been standing there? "I'm fine," he said. How many times had he said that in the past week now? Ron and Hermione exchanged worried looks. "I just…had a memory." He continued to tell them of what he remembered. As he finished Hermione said, "But who else was here that night?" She gestured to the ruins.
"Dunno," Harry said. He had been wondering that too. To whom did the familiar voice belong? He knew the person well, but he couldn't put his finger on who it was. Then something in the rubble caught his eye. He bent down to examine a small glinting object. It was a glass-ceramic figure of a lily and a stag. Harry picked it up and held it up for the others to see. "Well," Hermione said, astonished, "I'm surprised it survived the destruction of the house." "Kinda represents both your parents eh?" Ron asked, staring at the figure.
Harry smiled, "Yeah. It does." He pocketed the figure and looked around. Ron exclaimed and dove to the ground, heaving a cabinet out of the way. Underneath were more of what seemed to be treasured objects. Harry noticed headboy and headgirl badges, and a trophy belonging to his father's Gryffindor Quidditch team. Then there was a picture of Harry, of the Order, and of Harry and his parents. All were frayed on the edges and the glass around them had shattered. Hermione conjured a bag to put anything else they found in. It seemed the cabinet was protected an Unbreakable Charm. After looking thoroughly, a few more items turned up. There was a book on animagus transformations ("Oooh!" Hermione had cried when she saw it, "It's really rare. This must be the only book of its kind. So this is how they became animaguses. Well, it probably helped anyway."). They also found a jeweled Hogwarts pin which had all the founders on it and an album of what seemed to be Lily and James' years at Hogwarts.
Elated with their finds, the three friends put everything they had found into the bag and went to where Bruce was waiting. He watched them as they approached.
"Done?" he asked. "Yes," Harry said, feeling a little depressed that he hadn't gotten to know his parents better and wasn't able to know what the significance was about some of the objects they had discovered. "My house is this way," Bruce pointed into the woods. They trudged through the underbrush in the direction Bruce had indicated. Bruce started whistling as they came onto what must have been a familiar path. They reached a little hollow like the one Harry's parents had lived in and saw a little log cabin. The grounds around it were beautifully kept, almost as nice as the grounds at Hogwarts if not nicer; though, they were much smaller. It was teeming with wildlife from foxes to robins. "It's not much," Bruce said, "But I don't have any family, so this is just the right size"
Harry, Ron and Hermione stared in awe at the beauty of the place. There were stone benches here and there on which foxes, badgers, and other animals of that sort sat. Smaller animals like mice, rabbits, and birds peeked out from within the trees. Deer were coming in and out of the clearing to drink from a little stream that ran through it. It was an animal paradise here. Bruce smiled at their evident wonder. "The animals keep me company as you can see. They are about the only visitors I get these days." He smiled sadly.
"It must be lonely," Hermione said sympathetically. "You could say that," Bruce said then he perked up, "I want you to meet a special friend of mine." He led them past the quaint little cabin to stone fountain beyond. They looked in and saw fish of every color in it. It seemed like a big enough aquarium for them all; they swam to and fro in little schools. Bruce led them past the fountain and into the trees once again. Animals fallowed them everywhere they went. Peeking out at the new humans and sniffing them. They seemed to think Harry, Ron and Hermione safe and came a little closer. "It's like this guy knows some kind of magic we don't," Ron commented in a whisper as he watched a chipmunk come out of its hole to get a look at them. Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Not that you know much magic Ron. As you can see he's just friendly with the animals." Ron's ears went red. Bruce guided them on. They soon came to a lake. In the water were water birds and even more fish. Bruce made clicking noises with his tongue and something in the water made its way towards them. It was an otter; its swishing movements made ripples in the water, forming an arrow. "Meet Sandie," Bruce said happily, beaming at the otter, "I rescued her from a net in the ocean a few years ago when I was visiting my cousin. Of course I set her free once she was able, but she followed me everywhere and I couldn't get rid of her. After I left, my cousin called me up to say that she was hanging around the shore waiting for me. Afraid that she might get hurt by humans, I brought her here." Sandie slapped the water joyfully and twirled in circles. Bruce smiled. "We've been friends ever since. She always comes when I'm near here and begs me for attention." He crouched down and rubbed the otter under the chin. Sandie leaned into the rub and made contented otter sounds. Bruce stood up and pointed her in the direction of the ducks. Sandie swam away and stopped where the ducks were stationed, watching her beloved human. Bruce did a sequence of movements with his arms. The otter immediately started acrobatics, jumping in and out of the water, and spinning in circles. The ducks scattered and flew away, and landed indignantly on the shore. They squawked at the otter furiously and ruffled their wings. Bruce chuckled and continued what appeared to be a practiced routine. When he and Sandie had finished their performance they were presented with enthusiastic applause from the trio. Bruce bowed and the otter did a back flip. The three friends laughed and clapped harder. Eventually they all stopped and watched as Bruce gave Sandie one last pat. Then he turned to them and said, "Who's ready for lunch?" They all traipsed back to the cabin. It was small but charming. There was a kitchen with a table, a small bedroom, and a living room with a fireplace. Bruce hastened to make some stew. He seemed to be a vegetarian. Judging by the way the animals acted towards him, Harry didn't blame him. They talked and ate. The conversation was mainly about the animals and grounds that Bruce had kept so well tended. "Yep," Bruce said lying back in his chair contentedly "It's a good life around here. I don't visit the village much; just when I need supplies. I prefer to stay with the animals. I do appreciate visitors though." He looked at the three of them, "Especially young visitors," he added. Hermione smiled and started asking him more about Sandie. Ron and Harry joined in every once and a while. Then they relocated their conversation to the living room.
They talked for hours on end. Harry smiled when he thought, this guy is just like Hagrid; although not.
The sun started setting outside and it was then that Harry looked at his watch. He felt disappointment run through him. They were having a wonderful time here, but they should have been at the orphanage by now. He felt guilty, people were suffering because of Voldemort and here he was enjoying himself. Harry decided to take no more detours. They would start tomorrow at first light. Harry caught Ron and Hermione's eyes and pointed to his watch. They gasped and looked out the window. Bruce looked too. "It's getting late," he said, "Do you three need a place to stay for the night?" "No thank you," Harry said, "We've already got plans"
Bruce nodded, "I'll see you to the door." They all got up and made for the exit. Bruce opened the door to the peaceful sounds of the night. "Come and visit again sometime," he said with a smile. Ron and Hermione smiled and Harry couldn't help but grin. "Good-bye," he said, holding out his hands, "We might just take you up on that offer." Bruce shook hands with everyone and watched them as they made their way to the field where the cottage had been. When they were out of sight they quickly apparated back to their base. Hermione turned to Harry. "What's the plan now?" she asked. "We'll leave tomorrow morning for the orphanage," Harry said.
"Er—" Ron said. The other two looked at him, "Does anyone know where the orphanage is?" No, they didn't.
-:-
A/N: Well. That didn't go too badly. Now for the questions:
How will the trio find the orphanage? Is the orphanage the right place to look? What dangers will they meet if it is?
And, most important of all, will they live to see Bruce again if they ever finish this hair-brained quest! Find out! All you have to do is keep reading my fic! -EveningSongEnchantment
