Leaving Home

Harry remained at the Weasleys' house for a week after the wedding, but by then he was sure he had to leave. Ron agreed with him reluctantly, as did Hermione. They seemed worried about leaving everyone behind though.

"Harry, just a few more days?" Ron pressed through the day, though not harshly. Harry almost thought of leaving him here, if only to stop his questioning and to settle Mrs. Weasley's fear of losing a family member, but Ron wouldn't hear of that either. He finally agreed that today would be the day they left, and went to pack a bag of stuff.

It was just after noon that they were finally ready to leave. Everyone assembled in the dining room, and it was a very sober affair. Mrs. Weasley was trying her best not to cry as she hugged each of them. She took special care to give a kiss to Ron's forehead, then she left the room before she started blubbering uncontrollably. Mr. Weasley, not normally so emotional, gave each of them a stiff sort of hug.

When he came to Harry he whispered, "You take care of yourself, and come back. Molly will never forgive you if you don't." He gave a small smile of encouragement.

The twins gave him some joke materials from their shop.

"You never know when that stuff might come in handy." Fred said.

"Yeah, great for distractions and whatever else." George added.

Harry thanked them both. He wished their business well, and promised to be their best customer when he came back. They laughed and agreed.

Ginny was next to say goodbye. She hugged her brother and Hermione, and then looked at Harry. She hugged him as well, crying slightly.

"I'll hate you if you don't come back Harry Potter." She told him fiercely.

He returned the hug, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"I'll be back Ginny." He told her, the words like a phoenix tears on her soul.

… …… ………… …

With all the goodbyes out of the way, they gathered their stuff and walked out of the house. The whole Weasley clan watched them walk away from the house until they were out of sight. Ron and Hermione turned to Harry.

"Where do we go from here Harry?" Hermione questioned.

"Godric's Hollow." He replied without a moment's thought.

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks, but they didn't seem to disapprove. So they were off to Godric's Hollow. Apparation was still like being squeezed between two very large boulders, but no one complained.

When they reappeared, they stood before the village that was Godric's Hollow. It wasn't a large and extravagant place, but quaint and charming. If people seemed to notice three odd teenagers just popping in unexpectedly, they didn't say anything.

Walking through the town, they came to a place where the land looked like it had been built on before. The soil was turned, and there were little pieces of brick and wood still in it, as though cleaning it had been a long process and no one had bothered to finish.

Harry looked at it for a while without saying anything. Ron and Hermione didn't know what to say. Hermione for certain hadn't had any fantasy of it all being as it had sixteen years before. Harry supposed he hadn't either, but he'd hoped to find something of a trace…even the smallest clue to his parents' lives.

… ……… ……… …..

"Well if I didn't know any better I'd swear you were James Potter." A voice said behind them. They turned to see a woman looking at them.

"You knew James Potter?" Harry asked her.

"Knew him? Not well I suppose. Used to go to school together, but I didn't know him all that well." She said. "You must be his son." She said, dawning on it suddenly.

Harry looked at her, wondering who she was. She looked to be in her late thirties. She had a casual appearance, wearing jeans and a long T-shirt. Her brown hair was piled messily on her head, and her face was round and kind.

"Well come along then. You can't stand out here all night." She told them. "I'll make you some tea." She said, as if that was more of a persuasion.

Harry didn't know who she was, but he knew how he felt about people he could trust, and she didn't seem like a bad person. Besides, he reasoned, maybe she knew something about his parents that she could tell them.

Author's Note: Hey people who are reading this. Sorry about the updates being so few and far between, but I've been so busy. I don't know how I feel about this chapter, but as long as it pushes the story along… Hope you're enjoying it so far! Please, Review and tell me what you think!