Christmas in Rosedale
Chapter 37
Saturday, December 21
"With Remus back, he can take over for Sirius and teach the lads."
"And ladies," added Angelina and Moody's blue eye looked at her curiously. "Another Nymphadora, eh?"
"No, the first Angelina, hopefully," said Angelina and everyone snickered. Tonks reached across the table to high-five Angelina.
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" snapped Moody and everyone winced.
"Ow, Mad-Eye!" exclaimed Tonks, who was sitting next to Moody, as she rubbed her ears.
"There's a time and place for laughter and this is not it!" growled Moody.
"Don't be such a killjoy, Mad-Eye," said Charlie, grinning. "We could all use a laugh, now and then."
"There have been five attacks just this week! If you think sitting around here joking is what the Order is about, Weasley—"
"Whoa there!" said Charlie, hands up in defence as his eyes widened.
"Easy, Mad-Eye," said Remus, calmly. "We are all taking this as seriously as Voldemort himself."
Almost everyone around the table shuddered but Tonks, put a hand to her heart. "For a moment there, I thought you were going to drop a 'Sirius' pun."
Sirius smirked realizing that having Remus back had definitely improved Tonks' moods.
Remus was staring at Tonks, who blinked and turned sheepish when she realized nobody was laughing. "Merlin's pants! You're serious!"
"I will stop myself from making the very obvious pun now and say that, yes, we are," said Sirius, with a straight face.
"Continue, Mad-Eye," said Remus, but Sirius would swear that he saw the corner of Remus' lips were twitching.
"As I was saying—" He looked askance at Tonks, before continuing. "—Remus will take over for Sirius, for the time being."
Bill added, "You have better teaching experience, Remus, and this also allows you to rest for a while, after these long four months."
Remus nodded his gratitude and Moody spoke again. "This also calls for a change in our tailing routine. No matter the disguises we assume, it would be foolish of us if the same people always kept watch in a location on a day-to-day basis. If the Death Eaters are watching us, which I doubt, this could easily give away our identities. From now onwards, Sirius, you will be watching Lestrange."
Sirius grimaced. "Brilliant."
Moody spoke brusquely, "We've learnt that any plans that the Death Eaters make, goes through her. So, our best bet to finding out whom or where they intend to attack, is by keeping tabs on Lestrange and who can know her better than you."
"You also get to choose a partner," said Kingsley, as he set a sheaf of parchment on the table before him. "You will be working in shifts with them."
"I'll take Hestia," said Sirius after a moment of consideration. Hestia looked surprised and Sirius asked her, "You're not too scared of her, are you?"
Hestia bristled. "I'm a Gryffindor!"
Sirius was smirking and Kingsley looked at her quizzically. "Agreed?"
"Yes!" she said firmly and glared at Sirius, who had already turned back to watch Kingsley writing their names down.
The remaining Order members were assigned each Death Eater of their own and each was given individual vials of Polyjuice potion that Sirius had volunteered to purchase from the apothecary in Upper Flagley.
After their discussion, the Weasleys and Harry's Quidditch team, made their way up to the first floor to get ready for their training session, leaving only Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Kingsley, and Hestia alone in the dining area.
"Why couldn't Arthur make it to the meeting today?" asked Remus, sipping his tea.
"He has been very busy since he got that promotion, but he's also the one in charge of recruiting members for the Order," said Kingsley. "It helps that he is in the Ministry full-time, unlike me."
"Do the muggles notice the attacks that go on around them?" asked Tonks.
"Two of the werewolf attacks last week were on muggles," said Remus, with an expression of disgust.
"How would they deal with that?" asked Hestia, horrified.
"The Ministry is busy as it is, with covering up these attacks from the Muggle world and upholding the Statute of Secrecy," replied Kingsley. "One of them died from their wounds but the other has been taken to St. Mungo's to help readjust with their lives. With that attempted breakout and thus increased security in Azkaban, it's no wonder that the Ministry is finding no headway in finding You-Know-Who or where he is hiding."
"Even if they did find him, I don't see how they plan on defeating him," said Moody.
"Surely, if all the Aurors joined together…" trailed off Hestia.
"If Dumbledore couldn't do it, I'd like to see who could!" growled Moody.
Sirius felt uneasy. Even if the Order found Voldemort, they could not and should not try to engage Voldemort with the hope of killing him. Because, the fact was simple. He wouldn't die, not with all those Horcruxes he has made. It would be wiser to keep the deaths on their side to a minimum and try as hard as they can to bring down the Death Eaters as Voldemort would be severely handicapped without them.
"—if Potter really is the Chosen-One," Hestia was saying. "But, it's hard to believe a schoolboy could actually defeat him."
Sirius tried very hard to keep his calm and breathed through his nose. "What we need to do—" He said leaning forward, his hair falling into his eyes. "—is to keep tabs on the Death Eaters, find their weaknesses and capture or kill them. And regarding defeating Voldemort—I'll just say, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Everyone quietened, looking rather sombre when Hestia deftly asked Kingsley how he was going to spend his Christmas,
"Who has got time to celebrate a holiday when there's work to be done, eh?" said Moody, reclining on his chair.
"We know that drowning a vat of mead passes for your Christmas celebration, Mad-Eye," said Tonks, rolling her eyes good-naturedly.
"It will be a quiet Christmas with my sister's family," said Kingsley in his deep voice after the snickers had subsided. "What about you, Hestia?"
Moody stood up and headed for the stairs. "Training begins in five minutes."
"My cousin, Gwen, is in town," said Hestia, ignoring Mad-Eye. "It's been a long time since our school days and we're making up for lost time. She's always been too busy with Quidditch, and now that…"
"Hang on!" said Tonks as she leaned forward. "You can't possibly mean Gwen Jones?"
"Of course, didn't you know?" asked Kingsley, standing up and putting on his coat.
"The Gwenog Jones is your cousin?" said Tonks, wide-eyed.
Sirius choked on his tea and spluttered. "What? But, does that mean you went to Hogwarts with us?"
He looked at Remus bemusedly, who nodded. "She did, Sirius."
Sirius frowned. "I don't remember you."
"I was in my first year when you were in your seventh," said Hestia.
"Well, that explains it," said Sirius with a nod. "But it is weird that we shared a common room for a year and I can't even place your face with anyone I know. Azkaban must have done a number on me."
Sirius ran his hand through his hair grimly. Hestia looked slightly glum, but then her expression cleared and she scoffed. "Of course, I wasn't as unforgettable as dear Gwen."
Sirius' expression brightened as he said rather dreamily. "She was very fit. Still is, actually," he added with a smirk, waggling his eyebrows.
"Oh, please! I've heard enough from her already," snapped Hestia, who then turned pink when she realized what she had just said.
Sirius was staring at her in surprise, realizing that Gwen had likely told her about their little encounter during Slughorn's party. And why was Hestia so flustered?
"All good things, I presume?" asked Sirius, grinning.
Before Hestia could answer, the voice of Mad-Eye floated from above the banisters as he snapped. "Quit chatting her up and get up here, Sirius!"
Sirius blinked and when he looked around, he was surprised to find the dining empty, save for Hestia and himself. When had the others left?
Hestia was glaring at him, her cheeks flushed in anger as she left the house with a loud "Good night, Mad-Eye," completely ignoring him.
oOo
Sunday, December 22
Potter Manor looked marvellous at this time of the year. Snow had settled over the roofs and window ledges making it look remarkably like a holiday cottage, surrounded by the tall pine trees.
The lurid daffodils had been charmed to be snow-free and warm, and looked somewhat absurd surrounded by the winter snow. A wreath of holly adorned the front door, similar to the decorations inside the house. The fireplace was lined with stockings, beside which stood a Christmas tree that Harry and Sirius had spent an entire morning to find and cut down. It was twinkling with fairy lights that were actual fairies, which they had spent the night catching in their backyard.
Harry was excited for this Christmas as he was going to spend it with people who he could call his family, in his home that he loved. Tonks was also going to be celebrating with them as Harry had learned that Remus and Tonks hade made up as soon as he had come home.
Twitchet's holiday baking was simply sumptuous, bringing out fruit cakes, pumpkin pies and Yule logs for dessert after every meal. Afternoons were spent playing wizard's chess or Exploding Snap and when it wasn't snowing, they went outside for a game of Quidditch.
That evening, Harry was alone with Sirius as both Remus and Tonks had gone out together.
They were indulging in a bit of baking, after having coaxed Twitchet out of the kitchen to get some rest.
Both Sirius and Harry could cook fairly alright, but baking was not their forte. Twitchet had found a cookbook that had been his grandmother's and given it to them after it became clear they couldn't make out heads or tails of what they wanted to do.
"Say Sirius," said Harry, measuring out the flour that they would need for the cookies, the Beatles playing loudly through the hallway.
Sirius was fiddling with the oven and he replied without looking up. "Yeah?"
"What is the best way to let a girl know that I fancy her?" said Harry, trying to keep his voice as conversational and light as possible.
Sirius froze as he turned to look at him properly. "You fancy someone?"
"No," said Harry hastily.
Sirius straightened excitedly. "Yes! Who is it? Is she pretty? Or is she smart?"
"She is both, but I'm not telling you who she is!" exclaimed Harry, feeling hot around his neck.
"Come on!" pleaded Sirius.
"No!" said Harry stubbornly. He couldn't bear to imagine that Sirius would likely tease him mercilessly in front of Ginny. "I'm not telling you. Just answer my question."
Sirius huffed, "Fine." He cracked open the eggs onto a bowl as he spoke, "Do you talk to her? Do you see her every day?"
"I see her every day, but not that much talking, no," said Harry, watching Sirius refer to the book for the next step.
"See, that's the thing with girls," said Sirius, as he summoned a whisk without even raising his wand. "They want you to get to know them better before you make a move, out of the blue. Try to make friends with her and find some reason to make small talk."
"Make friends with her…" trailed off Harry. "I think we are friends, sort of. She was in the D.A. last year."
"Then, make her want to look at you as boyfriend material. Be a gentleman with her, you know, offering to walk her somewhere when she's alone or carrying her things for her. Your dad was all about that rubbish when he was trying to impress Lily," added Sirius, with a grin.
"Have I mentioned that she already has a boyfriend?" said Harry, slightly incensed as a vague memory of Ginny in her red robes dancing with Dean, popped up in his mind.
"A bird that's already taken, eh? Blimey! You're more adventurous than James!" exclaimed Sirius with a bark-like laugh.
"No, I sound like you," sighed Harry. He did not want Sirius to tell him to ignore that other boyfriend and kiss her if he wanted to. "And you didn't go to all that trouble with Miss Evesham and she still wanted to be with you."
Sirius exclaimed, "Ah, but Harry! That's exactly the difference between fancying someone and wanting to sleep with someone. If you wanted a good make-out session with just any girl, I can help you plenty."
He consulted the book and waved his wand as the whisk worked of its own accord. "But, take it from me. You don't want that. You're better off learning to love someone by building a relationship with friendship and trust. Make her see that you're available and be her confidant. If she does fancy you, she'll ditch that boyfriend for you. If not, well, there's always plenty of other fish in the pond."
Harry blinked. Sirius looked up at the silence and added sagely, "I know. I surprise myself sometimes."
oOo
Wednesday, December 25
"Wake up, sleepyhead!" came a cheerful, feminine voice and Harry groaned. Tonks had been staying at Potter Manor ever since the holidays and while Harry liked her a lot, he had the feeling that he was surrounded by two versions of Sirius instead of one.
"Go and annoy Remus!" said Harry, his voice muffled as he pulled a pillow and buried his face into it.
"He's even worse than you when it comes to being an early-bird," said Tonks and a squawk ensued from the cage near his desk. "Oh, not you Hedwig! You, on the other hand, deserve to sleep in."
She came up to his window and pulled open the curtains, the winter sunlight instantly illuminating his room. "Breakfast is ready. Twitchet's made all your favourites."
"Five minutes," mumbled Harry sleepily from the depths of his bed sheets. Tonks must have left his room because it became blissfully quiet when suddenly…
"AARGH!"
The large black dog pounced onto his bed, and Harry had jumped so violently that he rolled out of the bed and to the floor, tangled and twisted with his blankets.
He cursed under his breath as he put on his glasses and saw Sirius, sitting atop his bed, wearing a grey, argyle sweater and a ludicrous, red hat very reminiscent of Father Christmas. "Happy Christmas, Harry! Now, enough sleeping. Come down and look at all your presents!"
Harry perked up considerably and ten minutes later, he made his way downstairs after showering and throwing on his dressing gown. The Christmas tree was glinting merrily and underneath them were piles upon piles of presents. The Weird Sisters' latest hit was playing loudly, as Tonks had scorned the muggle songs and brought in her own collection for them to listen to.
Remus was sitting in the couch looking rather tired and drawn. His hair was mussed as if he had been forced awake, just like he had been. Sirius had told him that tonight was a full moon and it pained Harry to know Remus would be going through the werewolf transformation on Christmas night. At least, Sirius had promised him that he wouldn't be alone.
Harry put on a smile as he sat on the floor. "Happy Christmas!"
Remus grinned. "Happy Christmas, Harry."
Tonks joined Remus on the couch and she whispered something in his ear. Harry was slightly embarrassed and averted his face as he picked up the nearest present that was addressed to him.
"Good God! There are children in here!" whelped Sirius, clutching a hand to his eyes.
"Harry's not a child!" said Tonks, rolling her eyes from beside Remus.
"He means himself, Dora," said Remus, smirking.
"Very funny," said Sirius dryly as he sat beside Harry, who had opened half of his presents already. There was the usual sweater from Mrs. Weasley, a large box of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products from the twins and all the Honeydukes' chocolate he could eat from both Remus and Tonks. Sirius' gifts were varied – a pack of brightly-coloured Fwooper quills, a broomstick-servicing kit exclusively for his Firebolt and a small, green rucksack.
"Are we going camping or something?" asked Harry, inspecting the bag.
"That sounds fun, but no," said Sirius, shaking his head. "It's enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm on one of its compartments. So, you can keep whatever you want inside it and it will hold. I thought it would be quite handy, maybe for our next vacation."
Harry opened the rucksack and noticed two compartments – one was a normal-looking one, but the other had no visible bottom. He put all of his presents inside, and there was still room for more. Harry grinned, "Thanks!"
"I got the idea when we were packing after France," explained Sirius. "Remember when that woman, Jane, said we couldn't get all of that wine we had hoarded through customs? A little spellwork on our rucksack under a false bottom and it worked like a charm."
"That's illegal, Sirius," said Remus, although he didn't seem too upset.
Tonks swatted his side playfully. "What the Muggles don't know, can't hurt them."
Sirius grinned. "That's the spirit!" as he went through his presents.
"Hey, what's this?" asked Harry, inspecting a slightly damp, moldy-smelling package that came with a label reading To Master, From Kreacher.
"Do house-elves usually give gifts to their masters?" asked Harry. Twitchet hadn't given him anything and Harry was pleased about that. Twitchet's help around the household was enough of a gift for him.
Sirius pulled a face. "Throw that into the fire, Harry."
"Aren't you going to open it?" asked Harry hesitantly. As much as he only tolerated Kreacher, it seemed oddly kind of him to remember to give Sirius a Christmas present.
"Trust me, you don't want to know what's inside," said Sirius.
"But—"
"He gave a bag of dead rats last year," added Remus from the couch.
"At least that was useful for Buckbeak," nodded Sirius, with a grimace.
When Harry still looked hesitant, Sirius gestured at him. "Okay, you can open it if you want."
Harry looked slightly doubtful as he cautiously opened it but a moment later he had given a loud yell and stood up, scurrying away; the package contained a large number of maggots.
Tonks was laughing along with Remus, but Sirius looked disgusted as he picked it up and threw it into the fireplace muttering, "That filthy elf."
Harry was still hesitant to sit back down, when Sirius had pulled a present that looked like his own gift for his godfather. Sirius was unwrapping his gift enthusiastically and Harry felt a flutter of panic as Sirius pulled the present out of the box. It was a plain, black T-shirt with bold, white words:
SON
OF A
BANSHEE
Sirius gave a shout of laughter, "Blimey! Where did you even get this?"
Remus leaned forward. "Hang on! The words just flickered. It's enchanted."
And without warning, he pulled out his wand and just as Harry yelled "Wait!" Remus had muttered, 'Revelio!'
The words shimmered before dissolving to reveal:
SON
OF A
BITCH
Harry bit his lip but Sirius' grin widened. "This is more accurate, don't you think?"
Sirius was taking off his sweater when Remus said, "Did you charm it yourself, Harry?"
Harry rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "I didn't want it to be too…"
"Offensive? It'll take more than that to offend me!" said Sirius, now wearing the t-shirt and looking chuffed.
Harry shook his head and said exasperatedly, "But, you don't get it!"
"Get what?" asked Sirius, raising his eyebrow.
"It's supposed to stand for your initials," said Harry.
There was a pause before all of them began roaring in laughter. Sirius was wiping away tears of mirth from his eyes, "We'll make a Marauder out of you yet!"
oOo
Lunch was a joyous affair but when they had finished, Sirius felt the beginnings of anxiety start to flutter in his stomach. Sirius had remembered Harry's request to visit his parents' grave during the summer and asked Harry when he wanted to go last night. Harry had immediately answered that he would like to go on Christmas day itself. As much as he knew he wanted Christmas to be a happy occasion for Harry, he could not deny Harry when he had wanted to go to Godric's Hollow so badly.
After tea, Sirius quietly asked Harry if he was ready to go and Harry nodded. Sirius told Remus where they were going before he headed to the front door and Harry was already waiting for him, wrapped up in his scarf. They set off outside when Sirius stopped to gather a handful of the daffodils before they headed towards the front gate, outside which they could Apparate together. Sirius held out his hand wordlessly for Harry to hold onto, before Apparating away.
Once the familiar crushing sensation had eased, Sirius opened his eyes with his heart beating in his throat. Twilight had fallen and they were standing in a small alleyway beside two buildings, and a light snow was falling. Ahead of them, a glow of golden streetlights was visible, where Sirius knew the centre of the village was.
"Come on," muttered Sirius as he led Harry outside the alleyway.
It was as if he had stepped back in time. Villagers were walking to and fro, children holding their parents' hands and joyous laughter in the air. There was what looked like a war memorial in the middle that he had never seen before, strung all around with ordinary fairy lights and partly obscured by a windblown Christmas tree.
Sirius froze when he realized what the war memorial actually was. His eyes widened in shock as the war memorial had transformed. Instead of an obelisk covered in names, there was a statue of three people: a man with untidy hair and glasses, a woman with long hair and a kind, pretty face, and a baby boy sitting in his mother's arms. Snow lay upon all their heads, like fluffy white caps.
Sirius felt like his feet were glued to the ground as he gazed up into James and Lily's faces. He had never imagined that there would be a statue. It was so life-like and Sirius saw Harry draw closer, out of the corner of his eyes.
The fixed smiles on James and Lily's face felt strange to him. The stone could not capture the mischievousness of James' smile or the sparkle in Lily's eyes. They looked beautiful together even though it was a mockery of what could have been — a serene, happy family. James' ego would have grown tenfold if he had seen this, were he alive.
Sirius jerked slightly, when he felt someone tug his sleeve.
"C'mon," whispered Harry.
Sirius led him again, his feet effortlessly carrying him through the well-worn paths. He could hardly remember the buildings around him properly and yet he knew exactly where he was going as he headed to the church. The exact place where Harry's christening had been held with only James, Lily and Sirius in attendance. It was a muggle custom that Lily had insisted on and when Sirius had learnt that it was the godfather's duty, he had thrown himself into it readily, eager to fulfill his responsibility to Harry.
And yet, when it really mattered the most, you threw away that responsibility to go after that rat, said the unforgiving voice inside his head.
Sirius could make out the kissing gate behind the church which he knew led to a graveyard. How many times had he seen that place and yet he had never imagined that it would be his best friends' final resting place.
The sky was getting steadily darker as they reached the kissing gate and Sirius reached forward and pushed it open with a shivering hand, from both the cold and the apprehension of what lay beyond.
Rows upon rows of snowy tombstones protruded from a blanket of pale blue that was flecked with dazzling red, gold, and green, wherever the reflections from the stained glass of the church hit the snow.
Sirius spoke up for the first time, in a hoarse voice, "I have no idea where they could be. We'll have to look through."
Harry nodded as they set off together, deeper and deeper into the graveyard, gouging dark tracks into the snow behind them, stopping to peer at the words on old headstones. He was dreading while simultaneously yearning to see James and Lily's graves soon.
Harry stopped suddenly and Sirius felt a thrum of panic, when he noticed the name Kendra Dumbledore, a short way down her dates of birth and death, and Her Daughter Ariana. There was also a quotation:
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
"I never knew Dumbledore's family could have lived here," wondered Harry aloud.
"Dumbledore himself lived here," said Sirius.
"What?" asked Harry, shocked.
"I remember Lily telling me once in a letter," said Sirius, frowning. "His family was friends with Bathilda Bagshot, who also happened to be your neighbour."
"Bathilda Bagshot? The author of Hogwarts: A History was our neighbour?" asked Harry, stunned by this revelation.
"She still probably lives around here," said Sirius distractedly, before turning away from the headstones of the Dumbledores. "Come on," he said, a bit impatiently. He wasn't here to discuss long gone neighbours and Dumbledore's family.
Every now and then, Sirius came upon familiar surnames and he could tell from the dates that it had either died out, or the current members had moved away from Godric's Hollow. Deeper and deeper amongst the graves they went, and every time he reached a new headstone, he felt a little lurch of apprehension and anticipation.
After about fifteen minutes of relentless searching, Sirius stopped dead in his tracks, his breath hitching and Harry ran straight into him. Harry peered from behind him and moved towards the headstone, kneeling beside it. But Sirius couldn't move, as the uncomfortably painful sensation of his heart clenching, took over him.
The headstone was made of white marble and this made it very easy to read, as it seemed to shine in the dark. Sirius didn't even need to kneel or approach closer.
JAMES POTTER
BORN 27 MARCH 1960
DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981
LILY POTTER
BORN 30 JANUARY 1960
DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
It looked so inevitable. This was it – his best friends, his family, were here right next to him and yet they had never been more further out of his reach.
His eyes felt hot and his vision was hazy when Harry read the last sentence aloud in a hoarse whisper, "'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death…' What does that mean?"
Probably something that Dumbledore came up with, thought Sirius. It seemed so noble and yet so cold. Maybe, Dumbledore should have kept it simple. Beloved parents and dear friends. It sounded more appropriate to him. But, Sirius attempted to divine its meaning for Harry's sake, trying to put himself into the way that Dumbledore would think.
He kneeled beside Harry and produced the daffodils from inside his coat and placed them near the headstone. He grazed the cold marble with his palm, rubbing away the frost as he answered, "It means to live beyond death… not physically, but rather in the hearts of those who will always love you."
Harry placed his hands on the snow beneath him and tears filled Sirius' eyes when he saw that primal gesture – of wanting to be close, to touch something of his parents. The parents that he had never known and Sirius knew then, that what he was feeling, was nothing compared to what Harry must be going through.
Sirius placed his hand gently on Harry's shoulder and Harry immediately leaned into him. He could feel Harry shaking with suppressed sobs and the weight of Sirius' grief finally overwhelmed him. He held Harry tighter, his chin on top of Harry's head as he cried for all he had lost, while thanking the stars that Harry was alive – James and Lily's final gift to him.
oOo
After a long time, Sirius told Harry that it was time to go. Harry nodded as he stood up shakily and looked at his parents' grave for one last time, as if committing it to memory, before he set off with Sirius outside the graveyard.
"Can we—can we see where the house is?" asked Harry, tentatively.
Sirius was not surprised by Harry's request but it was still very painful to agree to see the place, where all his nightmares began and ended.
They headed back the way they had come and beyond the war memorial. The street was lined with cottages on both sides, Christmas decorations twinkling from the windows and Sirius could imagine any of it as being James and Lily's home.
He turned towards an adjacent street and walked forward, his cold hands buried deep into his pockets. There was a dark mass that stood at the end the street and Sirius felt like he was back to that terrible night of the last of October, 1981.
Sirius stopped outside the gate and gazed at the building, flashes of James' body lying on the base of the stairs assaulted his mind's eye.
The hedge had grown wild and the grass was waist-high. Most of the cottage was still standing, though entirely covered in dark ivy and snow, and the right side of the top floor looked exactly as he had last seen it – blown apart, where the curse had backfired.
He saw Harry lay a hand on the snowy and thickly rusted gate and immediately cautioned, "I don't think we should—"
But, Sirius was interrupted when a sign rose out of the ground in front of them, up through the tangles of nettles and weeds, and in golden letters upon the wood it said:
On this spot, on this night of 31 October 1981, Lily and James Potter lost their lives. Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard ever to have survived the Killing Curse. This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family.
And all around these neatly lettered words, scribbles had been added by other witches and wizards who had come to see the place where the Boy-Who-Lived had escaped. Some had merely signed their names in Everlasting Ink; others had carved their initials into the wood, still others had left messages. The most recent of these, shining brightly over sixteen years' worth of magical graffiti, all said similar things.
Good luck, Harry, wherever you are!
If you read this, Harry, we're all behind you!
Long live Harry Potter.
"How dare they write on it?" growled Sirius indignantly. People had come and visited this place as if it was a tourist spot and it irked Sirius to no end.
But, Harry beamed at him. "I think it's brilliant!"
Sirius raised an eyebrow skeptically. What made Harry think that, he did not know.
Harry said, "Thank you for bringing me here, Sirius."
Sirius smiled sadly and ran his hand fondly through Harry's messy hair. "You don't have to thank me, Harry."
"I think I'm ready to go home now."
Sirius was grateful. As much as he had longed to come back to the place of both the best and worst times of his life, it was getting to be too much for him. He stretched out his hand and Harry grasped it as they Disapparated back to Rosedale.
oOo
A/N: My longest chapter yet! Sirius is clearly undervaluing his grief here and thinks Harry has lost more and so appears to be strong for Harry, even though he too lost just as much.
Reviews are much appreciated!
