Chapter 9: Christmas in the Hollow

Hermione stared at the passage in front of her with wide eyes.

"Guys!" She shrieked. In an instant, there was a loud smash from the kitchen and a yelp from the bedrooms before everyone barrelled into the main room with wands and, in Dudley's case, fists raised. When they saw there were no threats Sirius growled.

"Merlin, Hermione don't scream like that! I thought you were being attacked!" He admonished.

"Sorry." Hermione said sheepishly, "but I discovered something amazing!" Then she showed off the cover of the book she was reading.

"Hogwarts: A History?" Harry demanded with a widening smile, "again with that?"

"No, I'm being dead serious!"

"Don't joke like that!" Sirius snarled with mirthful eyes.

"Oh quiet you!" Hermione snapped. "Just listen to this passage."

"-Unbeknownst to the founders, the hills and forests of Loch Dubh was home to a deadly creature that no man or wizard could kill. The creature possessed a poison that could kill a full-grown man within a day. Before long, countless students had perished. The founders spoke at length for days on how to defeat the beast when the king of goblins, Ragnuk the First, came forward and gifted Godic with a sword he said could slay any creature."

As she finished she looked up at them all with bright smiles. They all blinked at her.

"Alright… why did you freak out over that?" Ron asked in confusion. Hermione huffed.

"That means the sword is goblin made!" She said as if once again that explained everything. The teens stared glumly at her before turning to Sirius. He shook his head.

"Don't look at me! I have no idea what she's on about."

"Anthony, I thought better of you!" Hermione wailed in distress. The ex-Ravenclaw whined.

"Hermione… I focused on Arithmancy and Charms, remember? I don't know anything about history!"

"Uuugh!" She roared in frustration before she turned for the library case again, muttering under her breath. Something about being the only one with a brain? Or common sense. Harry chuckled. Then she pulled out their old History of Magic textbook.

"As any of you would know if you'd managed to stay awake for more than three History of Magic classes!"

"Well that's impossible for anyone but you!" Ron cried in annoyance.

"Shush!" The woman snapped. "As I was saying; goblins do not have magic like wizards do. But; they do possess some magic. Of course, seeing as they don't typically see eye to eye with most wizards we haven't had much of an opportunity to work with them and see how their magic works. But what we do know is that goblin magic typically manifests itself in their works. Goblin-made artifacts often possess amazing properties. But one of the chief ones is that goblin-made artifacts can absorb and often strengthen anything that makes it stronger than itself."

"What do you mean absorb?" Harry asked in confusion.

"It's a bit complicated and has to do with inherent magical properties and latent magic in the atmosphere." Hermione hastily waved off, "but that's not the important part. The important part is that we now know," she looked up at Harry with a grin, "that the Sword of Godric Gryffindor can destroy Horcruxes." There was a beat of silence.

"It what?!" Susan cried in shock.

"How do we know that?" Ron asked though a grin was forming.

"Dumbledore told Harry that basilisk venom was one of the only things that could destroy Horcruxes. As a purely evil force that cannot be used for good, its only purpose is to destroy. And what did Harry use to kill the basilisk?"

"The Sword of Godric Gryffindor," Harry muttered in awe then he sighed. "This is great to know Hermione, but it doesn't exactly help us."

"What do you mean?"

"The sword is still at Hogwarts, remember?" Harry offered. Hermione slumped.

"Oh gosh, you're right… I completely forgot." She huffed and tossed the book away with a grumble.

"Wait!" Harry began, "did it have anything about Ravenclaw?"

"Yes!" Hermione cried exuberantly before pulling Hogwarts: a History in front of her again "Ravenclaw reportedly had a crown. It was said to make the wearer able to gain the insights of everyone who had worn it before. Ravenclaw claimed it was her birthright from Merlin himself."

"What happened to it?" Harry demanded with a grin. Hermione skimmed the page and slumped again.

"It was lost in the 11th century. Ravenclaw claimed she'd merely hidden it, but many scholars believe it was stolen." Hermione finished. The group heaved a collective groan. Then Harry shook his head.

"Well, at least we kind of know what we're looking for… and it is good to know about the sword."

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I was so foolish." Hermione said in exasperation.

"Not foolish, just over-enthusiastic." Sirius corrected with a smile. Hermione still looked a bit downtrodden and Anthony stepped forward with a rub on her back.

"It's alright love," Anthony said with a smile, "sometimes I think you get so wrapped up in finding the answers you forget to think." The room froze as Hermione's weak smile turned into a furiously scowl. Anthony suddenly froze, rapidly thought over what he'd just said, and paled. "Oh god, that came out wrong!"

"Yes!" Hermione snapped, "it most certainly did!" Everyone scampered out of the room snickers as Anthony launched into an elaborate apology.

The next day Anthony was still mopey. Hermione was giving the man the cold shoulder. She wouldn't even hold his hand. Ron gave the guy a pat on the back.

"Tough luck mate. But don't worry. She'll come around… in about three years or so." The man groaned and buried his face into his arms. Harry chortled then stepped outside. Hermione was working with Dudley on his household charms. So far he'd managed to remove a layer of dust from the shelves with his scorfigio. Impressive, but still a long way to go. As he stepped out Dudley came in.

"Finished already?" He asked. Dudley look back toward Hermione and made a wild gesture. Harry understood immediately. Hermione tended to vent through work. He walked to where she was angrily clearing away all of the leaves in the clearing.

"They say the first fight of a marriage is always the worst." He remarked with a cheeky grin, hands in his pockets. Hermione tripped and turned to glare at him. Then she looked down at the ring on her hand and fiddled with it before smiling.

"I suppose I could forgive him." Hermione finally muttered. Then she straightened up again. "But not right now. I want to make him suffer a bit longer."

"Jeez, Hermione I never realize how ruthless you could be," Harry admitted with a chuckle.

"You never got me angry enough." She said haughtily. Then suddenly a screech sounded from within the forest. Harry and Hermione looked over in time to see Susan dive into their camp and transform at a run.

"Guys!" She shouted.

"What is it?!"

"Death eaters?!"

"No no, it's good news!" Susan assured them before rushing into the tent. Once the group was all gathered she took a deep breath. "So I was out hunting,"

"Yeah, but you didn't bring anything back," Ron remarked. Susan sent him a glower and he held up his hands.

"As I was saying. I went out hunting, I'd seen a few barrows by the river, so I was waiting around there when three people came along. You'll never guess who it was!"

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"Dean!" Susan cried with a grin

"Dean Thomas?!" Harry said in awe

"Yeah!" Susan began, "he wasn't alone though. He was with two goblins."

"Goblins!" Sirius cried in alarm, "why was he with goblins?"

"Well here comes the first bit of bad news," Susan admitted with a grimace. "The death eaters have started trying to get control of Gringotts."

"Shit." Sirius grumbled, "there goes all my money."

"I'm sure it's not that dire," Anthony assured the older wizard.

"Then the goblin told Dean something amazing!" Susan continued, "you see Snape came to Gringotts with Bellatrix Lestrange a few months ago. Apparently, You-Know-Who wanted her to put two things into her vault. He didn't say what the other one was, but the first was The Sword of Godric Gryffindor!" The group all sucked in a breath. Harry whined in distress.

"The sword is in Gringotts?" He wheezed.

"No, it's not." Susan said with a smirk, "because the goblins knew something that Snape didn't."

"And what was that?" Anthony asked.

"It was fake!" Susan cried with glee. "Dumbledore must have known that if anything happened to him; You-Know-Who would take over the school. So he must have hidden it!"

"Well, that is good news," Harry said slowly. "But it still doesn't help us find it."

"That's true. But it is good to know. It also means that the death eaters won't be looking for it. Which is also very good." Hermione said before she sighed. "I'll start researching more about the sword. I'm sure Dumbledore would have left it somewhere he knew we could find it with the right clues."

"I can help if you like." Anthony offered hopefully. The bushy-haired girl gave him a sour glare before she huffed and nodded. Anthony's smile was beaming.

A few days later Hermione stepped out of the tent biting her lip. Harry was showing Dudley the wand movements for the disarming charm. Dudley was doing alright, but he was getting a bit frustrated.

"Try again," Harry said.

"Exparliarmus!" Dudley shouted. Ron blinked then grinned.

"I think I felt it twitch that time!" He cried in awe. Dudley scowled.

"Harry…" Hermione began quietly.

"What's up?" Harry asked.

"I found it." She said, "I found the sword."

"You did?!" He cried in shock, "where is it?"

"Well, it's a bit obvious really. I've been kicking myself. Honestly, it was right in front of us-"

"Hermione," Harry said in exasperation. Hermione cleared her throat.

"You need to know I bit of history first. The Goblin King gave the sword to Gryffindor to defeat the beast of Loch Dubh. Once it was defeated, it had the power of the beast trapped inside it. Gryffindor didn't want that kind of power being used by just anyone, so he cast a spell over the sword. It could only be wielded by those who truly needed it. In addition, it had to be obtained through valourous means, as part of a quest. You had to seek it out. And if the sword felt your need was great enough, it would come to you."

"But that doesn't make any sense." Harry said with a frown, "I wasn't looking for the sword in the Chamber of Secrets, it just appeared."

"That was another facet of the spell." Hermione explained, "if a worthy heart was in truly mortal peril, it could appear in their darkest moment to turn the tide of battle."

"Seems a bit cheap if you ask me," Dudley said with a sniff.

"So where do you think it is?" Harry asked

"Simple," Hermione remarked with a sad frown, "where you started."

"What?" Harry asked in confusion. "Privet Drive?"

"No Harry," Hermione said. "Where your quest started. The place where everything was set into motion. Godric's Hollow."

"I don't think we should all trump in like last time." Ron argued. "part of what made the ministry mission literally blow up in our faces is that there were too many moving parts. I think only 3 or 4 of us should go and the rest should stay behind."

"Alright." Anthony agreed before turning to Harry, "who's coming with you?" Harry blinked.

"I'm not the strategist. Ask Ron."

"I've decided to leave it up to you mate." Ron explained, "since it's your 'quest' or whatever." Harry stared before he swallowed.

"Sirius." He stated flatly. The older animagus put a hand on His shoulder. "You know the area, and… where everything is."

"Don't worry pup," Sirius muttered. Harry nodded.

"Ron."

"Me?" Ron asked in shock. Harry nodded

"You're like a brother to me…" then he turned to the last person. "Dudley."

"What?" The burly young man choked out. "Why me? I'll be completely useless if we get attacked."

"We won't." Harry insisted. "I need you there alright."

"Of course, cous," Dudley said roughly. Susan nodded.

"So it's settled." She said. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow," Sirius said with a nod. "Around noon. That's the best time. They'll be lots of locals about, so we'll be able to blend in well enough."

Harry felt heavy as he watched his watch tick closer to noon. When it finally stuck Ron stood up.

"Let's go then." The group marched up to the edge of the wards. Then Susan wrapped her Hufflepuff scarf around Harry's neck and gave him a kiss.

"You better come back." She said sternly.

"I will." He promised. Then Sirius grabbed his shoulder.

"Time to go pup." He said slowly. Harry nodded. Then with a turn of Sirius's heel, they disappeared. Harry stumbled into a tree as they landed. Sirius spat out a mouth full of leaves from the bush he was standing in.

"Bloody hell." He grumbled. "Sorry. This used to be a clearing 15 years ago."

"Well, thanks for that," Ron complained as he shook leaves out of his hair.

"Bloody hell!" Dudley cried in awe, "Guys! I think it's Christmas Eve!" The entire town was decorated with glittery Christmas lights. A group of carolers were singing by the entrance to the pub with cheery smiles. Harry watched them and felt his heart tighten. Sirius looked back and forth then stepped out of the bush into the crowd,

"Sirius!" Harry hissed. The man then pulled the three teens in as well.

"Harry, most of the wizards moved away after-" he cleared his throat, "only muggles live here now. No one will recognize us. On Halloween, it might be risky, but Christmas is almost guaranteed to be safe."

It was extremely crowded in Dodcris hollow. A few tourists were milling about. The residents all were dressed in period clothes for some kind of Christmas Carnival. The four mostly blended in. Sirius looked around with pain-filled nostalgic eyes.

"They do this every year." Sirius explained, "or well I assume they do. They did every year I ever spent here."

"Spent here? You lived here?" Harry asked. Sirius smiled slowly.

"When I was sixteen my mother threw me out of the house a week before September. I went to stay with your dad. I lived with them for that last summer I was in Hogwarts, and spent Christmas with them… they were good people the Potters. Fleamont was a bit old and stuffy and Euphemia was my cousin. But they were good people." Harry smiled widely. He'd heard so many stories about his maternal grandparents now. Petunia was eager to finally share her stories of Jane and Patrick. But his father's family remained a mystery. Hearing about them made him happy. To know that they took in their son's troubled friend and treated him kindly; didn't judge him or look down on him. It made Harry proud of where he came from.

"Whoa!" Dudley cried in alarm. "Is that statue… fuzzy to anyone else?" he asked worriedly. The trio looked over to it and Harry choked on a breath. In the centre of the little courtyard, they were in was a statue of his family. James and Lily, cradling their son, a tiny Harry, captured in mid gurgle, looking strange without his little scar. Sirius stared at it for a few moments before he let out a shuddery sigh. Harry lifted a hand to grapes his shoulder even though he felt himself choking back a sob as well. And suddenly he was wrapped in a tight group hug. Sirius clutched onto him like a lifeline while Harry clutched back. Ron was holding Harry and Dudley was behind Sirius. Once they separated an old woman cleared her throat. The four jumped a mile and Ron instinctively went for his wand before he saw the period clothes and relaxed.

"Hi there dear." she looked up at the statue before smiling at them sadly. "Are you alright? Can get you anything? Hot cocoa? Or maybe something stronger?"

"No no!" Sirius insisted before he put on a stern front "I'm fine. Just slipped. My nephews were helping me up." the woman raised an eyebrow before smiling.

"Don't worry, no one here judges you for that." then she reached out and patted Sirius's hand. "Thank you for your service." then she toddled away.

"Uhhh?" Sirius began slowly, "what was that about?"

"Dudley? Did this look like a war memorial two minutes ago?" Harry asked. Dudley looked at it and squinted.

"Still kinda does if I tilt my head right." then he blinked. "Ooooohhhhh!"

"Want to fill us in?" Ron asked.

"That old lady thought Sirius was an army veteran?" Harry explained.

"Army?" Sirius asked.

"You know? British Armed Forces? Probably thought you fought in the Falklands or something."

"The what?"

"Oh wow," Dudley said with a wince. "Seriously, wizards are so behind."

"Why do muggle repelling charms affect you though?" Ron asked. "I mean, you're a wizard! I've seen you do magic!"

"Muggle repelling charms work by measuring someone's power. Dudley's power is quite low, so he flies into the radar of most muggle repelling charms.

"What about dementors?" Harry asked in confusion. "You said squibs can see dementors."

"Apparently," Sirius argued. "But I'm not sure if that's true. Dumbledore told me they could. Arabella was going to go to your hearing as a witness, in case the ministry refused my testimony."

"But you don't know if they actually can?" Harry argued. Sirius shrugged "well good bloody thing they accepted your testimony. Not sure how Mrs. Figg would have held up under veritaserum. The stuff is really horrible. And addictive. There's a whole ward in St. Mungo's dedicated to veritaserum addiction."

"Who would willingly take that swill?!" Sirius cried in alarm. "It tastes like piss and leaves you with a whacking great migraine!"

"The truth is liberating.'' Harry argued, "sometimes it's nice to give up some control. Say what's really on your mind. And not being able to take the full blame for what you say could be pretty freeing I'm sure."

"Hmm." was all Sirius said as he led them down a quieter street. All of a sudden he stopped. There was a churchyard beside them, with a little chapel under a wedding gate. Sirius stared at it for some time. "That's where you were christened," he said with weepy eyes. "It's where I held you for the first time." Harry felt his throat constrict.

"Do you wanna go inside?" Ron asked. Sirius turned to the cemetery.

"Let's go," he said spontaneously. Harry blinked and followed Sirius as he walked through the graves. He spotted some familiar names. A Longbottom, an Abbot, even a Weasley. Then suddenly Sirius stopped. He crouched down and brushed the snow off a long-forgotten grave.

"Hello Mr. Potter." the man murmured. Harry read the stone and wheezed.

Here Lies

Fleamont & Euphemia

Potter

Loving Parents and Grandparents

Born

February 7th, 1885 & April 17th, 1887

Died

September 3rd, 1979 & September 6th, 1979

May Your Roads Lead You To Grand Adventures

Harry sank to his knees and let out a sob, brushing his fingers against the cold snow as if it were a holy relic.

"I brought Harry to visit you," Sirius whispered. Harry choked around a swallow.

"Hi grandmum, hi grandad," he whispered. "I'm sorry it took me so long." Sirius put a hand on his shoulder as Harry finally broke down, sobbing into his slightly wet mitten. He was vaguely aware of the snow soaking into his jeans, but he also couldn't care less. After a few moments, he took a deep breath. Sirius picked him up, wiped away his tears, and took a deep breath.

"It was nice to see you again, but we have somewhere else to be," Sirius said. Harry nodded and wiped his face as well.

"Let's go find the sword." he agreed.

"Oh no," Sirius said with a shake of his head. "We've got one more stop here first," he said. Then he pulled Harry towards the fresher gravestones.

"Who…" Harry began before he froze. He didn't need to read this tombstone closely. The carving on the front gave it away. The deer and the lily.

"Hi auntie," Dudley whispered. Harry looked over at Dudley. The teen had a tear on his cheek. He knelt as Harry had in front of his grandparents. "I… I'm sorry… I'm sorry it took me so long to get my head out of my arse… mum misses you a lot. She doesn't say it, but I know." Harry knelt beside his cousin and the pair grabbed each other's shoulders.

"Hi mum, hi dad," Harry whispered as a few more tears dribbled down his face. "I miss you… a lot… I mean never really got to know you… but I miss you anyway."

"We all do." Sirius finally spoke up and knelt behind the two boys. They stayed there for several minutes, not talking, just basking in the moment. Then Sirius pulled out his wand and conjured a wreath of lilies and Christmas roses. Harry blubbered.

Casablancas.

For a life well-lived.

Finally, he cleared his throat. As he stood the other two rose to their feet.

"Goodbye, mum and dad," Harry whispered.

"No," Dudley suddenly insisted, "not goodbye. Talk to you later."

"Talk to you later." Harry agreed. Sirius seemed to still as Harry said that, and gripped his shoulder with almost uncomfortable tightness.

"Don't worry Lils," the man croaked, "I'll make sure later's not too soon." then he pulled the boys away.

"Where should we start?" Dudley asked. Ron shrugged.

"Well if Hermione's right? Where it started."

A/N: Hey folks!

This is a two-parter!

See Chapter 10 for review responses!

-TTC