Flame of the Phoenix Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N hey y'all back early from my trip so here's a new chappie for the 4th of July for those who celebrate it!!

Thanks to all who reviewed it means a lot to me!!

Chapter 4: Godric's Hollow

The week pasted quickly for Harry, though he noticed the hunter Jaugar's dark eyes following him more and more. The twins had heard of Harry's soon departure and now they constantly had to be half-pried off Harry's arms when he was needed alone for something.

Remus disliked the fact the twins followed Harry around, if only because they considered Remus a walking playground. The werewolf could only stand so long of being jumped on, climbed over, and having his hair pulled without grabbing the twins, none too gently, and shoving them on Harry.

Harry was grateful of Remus' constant presence, as the hunter did not approach him when he was near. He had once asked Remus what his thoughts were on Jaugar and he had simply stated that he was not fond of hunters in general. His tone was the only thing that kept Harry from inquiring more, but he had heard from the others in Tiernan's castle that Remus had been forced to fight many hunters and even his own kind, when Voldemort had first come to power.

The day Harry was due to leave dawned bright and sunny. Harry said goodbye to the desolate twins and went out into the grounds. Remus and Tiernan were already outside and judging from their expressions and the nearly hysterical laughter from Remus, told Harry Tiernan was being teased for something or another.

"What's going on?" Harry asked as he approached the pair.

Remus grinned at him, but before he could speak Tiernan quickly said, "Just talking about what method of travel is the most convenient."

"In other words the only one the 'big strong wolf' isn't afraid to use." Remus finished.

"Alright already!" Tiernan interrupted, and turned on Harry, "I'm not one for travel, that's all." He glowered at them daring them to argue.

"That's the problem with werewolves," Kali's smooth voice projected from a shadow veil that surrounded her, protecting her from the sun, "Always acting childish."

"When are we leaving?" Harry interjected, stopping Tiernan from replying.

"Portkey." Remus answered gesturing toward an old battered book lying on the grass at their feet, bearing the title 'Anger Management' on its cover, "We'll be leaving in a minute."

"What about Buckbeak?" Harry asked glancing back toward the forest, where Buckbeak was napping in the shade of a large oak tree.

Remus glanced back as well and grinned, "I think he'll be happier here. We'll only be gone for a week or so."

The book glowed a light blue and they each grabbed a corner and were pulled forward in a whirl of color.


Number 11 Godric's Hollow stands out from its fellow houses in many ways, first and foremost, it alone still stood up straight and was not crumbling to the ground. Also, its arched white doorway and large red door, both scrubbed clean, added color to the earth dull scenery.

The grass covering the abandoned lawns was a sickly green with large spots of tan dead grass and littered with trash. At the end of a dusty and cracked road was a hill with a lone tree growing at the top, its pink petals a hazy blur from were the portkey landed.

Harry did not find the sight that met his eyes to be reassuring, as he steadied himself from their arrival. Harry could see the wards here much easier, as Remus had said, there was magic everywhere in the air and it wrapped around the house like silver strands of a cocoon.

Remus glanced at Harry before walking up to the door and rang the doorbell. There was a loud 'click' and Remus spoke loudly and clearly, "Ton-Tongue Toffees," Harry snicker was almost drowned out by a series of loud clicks that followed and the door opened on oiled hinges.

Harry followed Remus inside slowly, looking around as he did. The floor was made up of large squares of black marble and covered by threadbare carpets throwing randomly around the room.

Empty portraits hung on the walls, along with a few candlestick holders with long candles unlit inside them. Old fashioned and uncomfortable- looking furniture was littered around the room haphazardly.

Their quiet footsteps broke the heavy silence of the house and Harry couldn't help but wonder if they had gone to the wrong place, when he heard a familiar shriek and his view was obstructed by a mass of bushy brown hair, "Harry! Its so good to see you!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Friend of yours?" Tiernan asked dryly as Harry pried Hermione off his arm, not unlike he was forced to do with the twins.

"Honestly Hermione, can't you see him for once without strangling him? Hey mate." Ron said from a doorway down the hall a ways.

"Oh Harry, I'm so glad you could come here for your birthday! My goodness 17 tomorrow! How much you've grown!" Mrs. Weasley sniffed as she pulled Harry into another bone-crushing hug, having just come down from a stairway at the end of the hall.

"Come on, let's go before she gets all mushy on us." Ron muttered and Harry followed him up the stairs with Hermione behind him.

The stairs were a polished wood "My arms went numb trying to scrub all the dust and dirt off them," Ron muttered as they climbed. Hermione gave a snort, "You didn't work that long." At the top of the stairs was a large room made up of a kitchen with a door at the far end that stood ajar, revealing a large dark wooden table and red carpet, and a doorway that led into another large room.

A few order members were in the far room, which Harry presumed was the dining room, and glanced over when they entered and called greetings. Harry turned when he heard a soft whistle, "Nice place for an army headquarters." Tiernan commented as he led the way up the stairs followed by Remus, Mrs. Weasley and Kali.

"Much better than Grimald place," Tonks said cheerfully striding over, and nearly tripping on the leg of her chair on the way, toward them.

Kali glanced at the shaded windows and lowered the black shield from around her. Remus smiled at Tonks and asked, "Is Dumbledore here?"

Tonks shrugged, "Not yet, he's due soon though."

"Humpt, always late." Moody grumbled from the doorway of the dining room and shuffled back to his seat at the large table, "Remus could you grab the kettle, I'd ask Tonks but she'd probably kill some one with a kettle full of hot water."

Tonks rolled her eyes at the ceiling, "Come on Mad-eye I'm not that-oops!"

Harry grabbed her elbow and just managed to pull her up on her feet before she tripped over the same chair twice. Remus chuckled and picked up the kettle as the entered the room.

The room had a high ceiling, white marble fireplace, a worn deep red carpet, and a dark wooden table where quite a few of the order members sat. Harry flopped down in a seat, Ron and Hermione settling on either side of him, and Hermione began bombarding Harry with questions on what he had learned about werewolves and vampires.

"Why not just ask Remus and Lady Kali?" Harry laughed and promptly engaged Ron into conversation about the latest Quidditch matches, grinning when he saw Hermione began speaking to Lady Kali as respectfully as she could.

Dumbledore entered a few minutes later and nodded toward Harry saying, "Welcome back to Godric's Hollow, Harry. Are you enjoying your stay at Tiernan's castle and, dare I ask it, keeping out of trouble?"

Tiernan snickered, "Harry couldn't stay out of trouble anywhere. And he happens to owe me a rematch."

"So you're finally admitting your defeat?" Harry asked leaning back in his chair so he could see him.

"If the moon hadn't-" He started.

"Yes Professor Dumbledore, I'm enjoying my stay immensely." Harry interrupted.

Dumbledore squeezed Harry's shoulder gently and took his place at the head of the table. The meeting wasn't all the interesting, Dumbledore and the rest of the order mostly repeated things Harry already knew, so when the door was suddenly flung open, Harry jumped in his seat suddenly alert.

Ashon was standing in the doorway, a cut across his left cheek and blood on his chin, looking down the table where he spotted Tiernan and Remus, both half out of their seats. Harry glanced at Remus and watched him take in Ashon's appearance, a crease forming on his forehead.

"Dumbledore... Tiernan," Ashon said softly, breathing hard, "The seal on the tree, it has broken even more...... the Nightghasts..... they've escaped. I've seen them.... flying toward...... Voldemort's castle."

"How many?" Dumbledore asked sharply raising to his feet.

Ashon shook his head, "Too many to count, they rose up into the sky like a black cloud. They'll head toward Voldemort, he is the strongest being of dark magic now, and then....."

Dumbledore turned back toward the order members, "Tiernan, I will accoumpany you back to your castle and we will speak with Jaugar on this matter. His people have been hunting demons before the tree was even sown. Lady Kali, I ask that you search for any information your kind might have on these demons. Remus, Harry, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger, I want you four to look in the library here and see if you can find anything. Remus, I know you found some information..... I'd like to see it when I return. Ashon," He said turning back to him, "Keep an eye on the Nightghasts, and report to me if they move."

An hour later, Harry and the others went into the library, which happened to be the only room not cleaned out yet, and Harry could see why. The room itself was huge and filled with bookshelves and piles and piles of papers and books filling in whatever space was left. Remus left to get some papers leaving the trio to spilt up and each take a part of the room, Harry on the right, Ron in the middle, and Hermione on the left.

Harry flipped though papers bound together with twine and others with half ripped off covers, skipping those that were in a different language. Three hours later Harry was finished looking through the piles that filled up the space between the bookshelves. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and opened the window he had discovered hidden by two large stacks of loose paper and bits of binding, and took a deep breath of fresh air. The musty air in the library had been getting to him.

After a few more moments of breathing in the fresh air, Harry climbed over the piles and went to see how Hermione and Ron were doing.

Ron was more than willing to take a break, as was Hermione, who had already sorted though her set of piles and was a quarter of the way done with going though the shelves.

"Anything?" Harry asked them as he sat down on an overturned box.

"Nope." Ron said flopping onto the floor and lying down on a mattress of loose paper.

"I had no idea the library would be this bad," Hermione commented, neatly turning over a box herself and sitting on it.

"I don't even know what I'm really looking for anyway." Harry commented looking up at the cobwebbed ceiling.

"Well here are some things you three can read while you take a break." Remus said walking back into the library with an armful of old books, "I know what to look for, so I'll be a bit faster than you three. You've been working hard anyway."

He summoned a large jug of pumpkin juice and three glasses, before leaving them with the books and wandering down Hermione's row.

The tiny print was hard to make out, as Harry skimmed through the chapter listings, hoping to find something that might include information about Nightghasts. What information he did find, was merely a printed version of what Remus had told him.

Remus joined them again a little while later and conjured sandwiches for them as a late lunch. Not long afterwards, Remus announced that the books here would be of little use and sent them all out of the library to get cleaned up for dinner.

With his stomach full and being exhausted from the researching, Harry followed Ron into a room with two twin beds and a single nightstand with a lamp in between them, and fell asleep.

However, Harry's sleep was far from peaceful as flashes of flames and flickers of lost memories clouded his dreams for the better part of the night. Harry awoke fairly early and tossed his pillow at the snoring Ron out of habit.

Ron muttered something and rolled over, so Harry got up and went upstairs into the kitchen. Remus was reading the Daily Prophet with a cup of tea on the counter and looked up when Harry entered the room, "Happy Birthday Harry."

Harry smiled and grabbed an apple from a bowl of fruit, before glancing at the paper in Remus' hands, "Thanks. Anything interesting going on?"

Remus shrugged, "Not really, no one had any real luck searching for information either. Lady Kali hasn't returned yet though, so maybe she'll find something."

"There must be some record of them...." Harry muttered, still munching on his apple.

"Oh, there are records of them, but nothing on fighting or killing them. Since they're immune to the killing curse, we don't have much else stronger."

"Did Dumbledore have any luck with Jaugar?" Harry asked.

Remus sighed and folded up the paper neatly, "No, he wasn't there when they arrived. No one knows where he is."

They were silent for a moment.

"But enough of that for now," Remus said brightly, "You're 17 today and legally allowed to do magic."

Harry grinned, "Finally I'm doing something legal."

Remus laughed, but before he could say anything, the others had woken and were calling their 'happy birthdays' to Harry. After a huge breakfast from Mrs. Weasley, Remus pulled Harry aside, "Grab a cloak." was all he said and left to go to his room.

Wondering what Remus was up to, Harry grabbed a light cloak and met Remus by the door. Mrs. Weasley looked concerned as Remus wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and led him outside.

Harry looked around at the fallen houses as they headed toward the hill. He stopped suddenly, for no apparent reason, in front of one house. Half of its gate had fallen down and the rest looked like it would be soon to follow. The wood was charred black in some places and what looked like remnants of a garden was brown and overrun with spindly weeds. A pang of sadness went through Harry's heart as he stared at the wreckage.

Remus squeezed his shoulder gently and whispered softly, "This is where Lily and James took you when they went into hiding. It was...... their last house...... You were found in the middle of the wreckage, thankfully away from the fires......"

Harry stared at his lost home for several minutes, before he looked back at Remus and nodded. With another gentle squeeze of his shoulder, Remus began to lead the way again.

Harry's thoughts were a blur, never truly making sense, but Harry wasn't really trying to think about anything as the neared the top of the hill. He looked up and saw a pretty little tree with pink flowers in its branches and on the ground around it, the petals floating around them in the breeze and fell onto two marble stones. One was of a rose colored marble with white lettering LILY POTTER engraved into the stone. The other was of white marble with black onyx lettering JAMES POTTER engraved into the stone.

Harry knelt beside the stones gently tracing the letters with his fingers. On his mother's stone was carved a white lily and the words, 'loving wife and mother' on it. On his fathers was carved a black stag and the words, 'loving husband and father' on it.

Only when the first of the tears fell to the ground, was Harry aware he was crying. His parents lay here, under this very ground. He let his hand drop down onto the soft grass that grew over the graves.

Remus knelt beside him and with a quick movement cleared away the grass growing too high around the stones. Harry pulled out his own wand and preformed his first legal spell out of school. He conjured two bouquets of white lilies and laid them down on the graves.

Harry leaned into the arm that wrapped around him and buried his face into Remus' chest. "They would have been so proud of you Harry." Remus muttered into Harry's unruly hair, "They loved you so much."

"Moony, promise me you won't die for me." Harry murmured into Remus' chest.

"I promise I'll be there for you as long as can. I can't promise I won't die someday."

Harry nodded into his chest and pulled away, hurriedly wiping his eyes with his hands.

Remus rested his hand on Harry's back for a moment, "I'll wait for you at the bottom of the hill. Take all the time you need." He rose and walked slowly down the hill, lost in his own memories, and sat on a stone at the bottom.

Harry looked back at the two stones and reached out to rest his hand on his mother's, "Mum, I promise I'll do everything I can for the light. Thank you for the sacrifice you gave for me, I love you and wish I'd gotten to know you."

He placed his hand on his father's grave next, "Dad.... I understand that you were a good person, even if you weren't perfect as a teenager. I promise to do everything I can for the light and uphold the good name most people give to you. Thank you for fighting for me, I love you and hope I make you proud."

Harry stood and looked down at the two graves, "Padfoot...." He whispered softly, "If you can hear me, thank you for everything. You were my family and still are. Thank you for guiding me as long as you could." He smiled though the tears still trickling down his face, "May Prongs, Padfoot, and the White Lily live on."

With one last look at the graves, Harry wiped the tears from his eyes and walked slowly down the hill. A lily was pulled out of the bouquets and fell onto Harry's shoulder. Harry held it in his open palm and let the wind carry it into the sky.

Remus turned when Harry approached him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Thanks Moony. For showing me." Harry murmured softly.

"Anytime, if you ever need to come back, just say so." Remus said, and then pulled back, "Are you ready to go back?"

Harry glanced back at the hill once more then turned to Remus, "Yes."

No one at the headquarters asked where'd they had gone, only welcomed them back and insisted that they have a party for Harry's birthday. Harry enjoyed the party, despite his somewhat heavy heart, especially when Fred and George showed up with bags of treats and tricks for Harry. That night, Harry slept well.


A/N please review and tell me what you think!! Thanks to those who already reviewed!!! Did I put enough angst in this one? Too much?

Special thanks to rosepetal13 for reading my series in record time!! Thanks for the muffin and the complements!!