Halloween dawned bright and blustery, wind whipping through the corridors unabated. Students pulled their cloaks close as they made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry was at his seat at the Head Table, methodically eating his breakfast with an economy of motion that didn't fit his character. After ten minutes he took a final slice of toast and held it between his teeth as he stood, swinging his jacket over his head. He took a few strides down the table to Snape's chair where he stopped and whispered something to him. As Harry approached, Snape stiffened slightly, but relaxed as his colleague began to speak. After a few long moments Snape nodded curtly before waving Harry away. Harry clapped the older man on the back before continuing down the length of the table and jumping the stairs that lead down from the platform. Soon, he was making his way between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables, stopping briefly to kiss Luna on the head before continuing out of the hall.
Hermione watched as her best friend robotically processed his breakfast and sat surprised as he approached Snape congenially before continuing on his way. She started to stand when he paused to talk to Luna but was stopped by a hand that came to rest on her forearm. Looking down, she found Neville's deep brown eyes looking back up at her, "Let him go 'Mione, he needs to be alone today." She started to object but Neville cut her off, "Look around you Hermione, everyone in this hall is looking forward to the feast tonight. They want to celebrate Halloween, a holiday both Muggleborns and Pure Bloods alike can agree on as a good time. Those of us that grew up in the wizarding world also see it as the day that Harry first vanquished Voldemort. But do you know what Harry celebrates today?" Hermione didn't have to think long and soon her eyes widened with the same realization she had made years ago but never considered how it would affect her friend.
"Right, the anniversary of the day that he became an orphan. Mine is coming up in a week, technically anyway. Harry is on his way to Godric's Hollow to visit my Godparents. I offered to go with him when he asked me for the location of their grave sites but he told me that he needed to go alone. He'll tap us if he needs something, and you know just as well as I do that he can take care of himself." Hermione glanced at the door to the hall that Harry had disappeared through. She blinked the tears out of her eyes and reached out to tap Harry, shoving as much comforting emotion as she could at her best friend. A few seconds later she felt his return hug and turned back to the Gryffindor table and retook her seat between Ron and Ginny. "Oh crap," Neville groaned, "this means we have Snape for Defense Against the Dark Arts today."
Harry arrived at the war memorial at the center of Godric's Hollow. Neville had warned him that there was a statue of his parents but he still wasn't prepared for the overwhelming emotions. He looked up at his parent's faces, both looking down lovingly at a small bundle of blankets that could have only been him. He took a deep breath and let himself work through his feelings before he turned to the direction of the church and shoved his hands into his pockets as he began walking toward the side gate.
Soon he was coming around the back of the church and into the small local graveyard. He walked to the row that Neville had indicated and stopped as he saw a figure kneeling down at his destination. He smiled to himself as he recognized the man and continued walking to his parent's graves, leaves crunching beneath his feet. He stopped between the two gravestones and smiled at the man who had stood as he approached, "Good morning Uncle Moony." Remus Lupin pulled Harry into a one armed hug before holding him out at arm's length. "I didn't know you would be free today or I would have brought you with me, have you been here before? No, of course you haven't. How did you know where to come?"
Harry knelt and set flowers at the foot of each stone before standing and answering Remus. "Neville, he's been here tons of times with Madame Longbottom so he was able to point me in the right direction." He stroked his mother's headstone, smiling as he saw it engraved with symbols representing his parents, Remus, and Sirius surrounded by a circle of braided infinity symbols. "Sirius and I snuck in here last year and added those," Remus began, looking down at a similar mark on James' stone, "we might have been a bit drunk and not thinking of the consequences, but we felt that it needed to be done." Harry's face broke into a grin at the antics of his uncles and then turned to face the town proper. "Do you…" Remus turned and followed the direction of Harry's gaze, "do you want me to take you to where it happened?"
Harry took a deep breath and stood with his face into the wind, his hair ruffling as he squinted against the air. "Yeah, I think I need to Moony. I remember some of that night, I remember the fear on mom's face, I remember dad and Tom yelling, I remember mom crying and begging for my life, but I don't remember the good things, and I think I need to go there and find them." Remus slid his arm around Harry's shoulder and turned him back toward the church. They walked in silence as they navigated around the church and back toward the center of town. They bypassed the war memorial without stopping to look, it was nice that it was there, but to those closest it was nothing but bad memories. Remus led him down a side street and toward a cottage at the end of the road, and as they approached the image of the cottage shifted from a quiet bungalow to a localized disaster zone.
A wrought iron fence surrounded the property that stemmed from an arch over the entry path from the road. From the arch a wooden sign hung limply from one chain with "The Potters" charred into the face. As they stopped under the gate lights came on inside the house and outlined the wreckage inside the front door. Part of the ceiling had been caved in and more than one pane of glass was broken out. "The wards recognize you as a resident, that is why the lights have turned on, among other things." Harry nodded and walked slowly up the stone path to the doorway, fingers tracing graffiti messages from well wishers. As he pushed the front door out of the way and stepped into the foyer his mother's voice rang out, "Don't go outside without mommy Harry dear, I'll be right along." It cut through him like a knife and he grabbed the doorway for support. Beside him Remus flicked his wand and silenced the babysitting ward before placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"You alright? I forgot that was there, it didn't go off the whole time Albus and I cleaned out all of your parents things. I guess it wouldn't for anyone but you. When we're done here we should go and look through some of those things, maybe you can learn some more about your parents by going through their project notes." Harry gave him a tight smile and stepped further into the house, moving gingerly around the fallen ceiling. Flicking his eyes through the hole it left he saw the familiar wallpaper that decorated his nursery. He continued into the living room and took a look around. Anything that was movable was gone, but the smell of the place flooded his senses. It smelled like his mother's perfume, his dad's broom oil, alchemical powders from experiments after dinner. It smelled like wet dog and cookies and milk warmed up on the cooker. It smelled, Harry finally decided, like home. All the time spent in the Dursley's cold, expressionless hovel was nothing compared to the warmth he felt in this empty room.
Well, nearly empty anyway. A built in bookshelf that stood between the doorways to the kitchen and the dining room held a single tome. "Looks like you missed one Moony." Harry called over his shoulder as he reached for the book. Remus gave him a puzzled look and then comprehension dawned as Harry pulled the book from the shelf. "That must be the book of wards. Every wizarding home has one, but only those permitted are even able to see it, let alone pick it up. You should take that with you." Harry cracked the tome and flipped through it, subtly absorbing the knowledge from Potters long past. "This covers the wards on the Ancestral Home as well Moony, I should be able to get us in when we're ready, assuming there is anything left." Remus was leaning over his shoulder at this point, excitedly reading about the complex ward schemes that were protecting the cottage from vandals. As he read one particularly noteworthy entry about teleporting offenders to the local muggle police department without their wands, he heard a voice from outside.
"Come on out Potter, we know you're in there with your little wolf friend, come with us and we won't have to kill him." Instinctively Remus snarled and turned toward the voice, his senses on high alert. Harry's calm hand on his shoulder stopped him from charging outside. "They've come to my home Moony, and I'm going to show them what a huge mistake that was. Stay in here and stay low, I've already tapped Albus but it will take time for backup to arrive, I need you to stay frosty, them knowing you're here means they came prepared and that means silver." Remus opened his mouth to object but Harry was already pushing past him and making his way around the debris to the front door. As he got there, he counted seven Death Eaters in plain view, and he suspected there were more surrounding the back of the house. With a quick thought, he was able to locate an additional five covering the rear in case he tried to escape that way, but escape was not in his plans, not today.
"This is where you choose to challenge me?" Harry's voice carried out across the yard and down the street. "You come to site where I vanquished your master, on the anniversary of his fall and you hope to make me bend my knee?" Curtains were moving up and down the cul-de-sac, further down he saw a few brave witches step from their homes. With his left hand he slowly drew his Walther and with his right he flicked his wand into his hand. A few spells flew at him from his left and right but he spun and flicked his wand, diverting the non-lethal spells into the grass around him. "What's this? Did Big Daddy Voldy tell you not to kill me? You're going to have to try harder than that to subdue me, I'm not some scared schoolboy anymore." As a flurry of spells flew at him he stepped through the space between him and the closest Death Eater, sending two bullets into the man to his left and sending a bone-breaking curse into the wand shoulder of his initial target. The two men fell with screams and drew the attention of their comrades to Harry.
As he set himself in a defensive position, using spells and his shields to deflect the spells down and away from the neighboring houses, Remus chimed in with a sickly gray looking volley of spells from the upstairs window of the nursery. Harry heard a callout to charge the house and some of the pressure eased on his defenses. Reaching out to the ward stones, Harry pushed power into a few choice wards and felt them spring to life. Inside he heard men scream and the softer sound of wood clattering to the ground. Inside he heard the gruff laughter of his father's friend and flashes of light came down the stairs. With an effort of will Harry stood and returned the spells of his foes back to their sources. As they frantically threw up hasty defenses Harry began to methodically return fire, shattering their shaky shields with overpowered spells and sending them reeling. At this point ten of the twelve attackers were on the ground, only a few of which were still moving.
One of the two standing men was slowly stepping backwards toward the house, "Give up yet?" Harry taunted him, grin spread wide across his face. The Death Eater finally paused beneath the window Remus had been firing from and as flash of metal flew towards the destroyed window. "Go and save your wolf Potter!" At that instant the anti-apparition wards fell and the men who could move disappeared. Harry dove through the air, appearing inches from Remus before grabbing on tight and moving them through the house and to the yard out back. A small explosion rocked the street and the two of them landed in a pile of groaning limbs.
Remus recovered first and untangled himself from Harry, "What was that? A grenade?" Harry coughed and nodded, pushing himself to his feet. Firefighting wards were already taking care of any residual flames and smoke as the two of them walked back into the house. "I guess they decided to fight fire with fire," Harry gestured to his sidearm before climbing the stairs to the second floor. The nursery, already having survived a massive magical backlash, didn't look much worse for the wear, but shards of shrapnel imbedded every surface around the point of detonation. Harry walked to the nearest wall and pried a piece of it out with his knife. Looking at it in the light from the window he let out a low whistle, "I don't think the Death Eaters like you very much Remus, how much damage have you been doing to them this time around?" He held his hand out to show his friend the piece of metal he had dug out, the silver glinting plainly in the sunlight.
A feral grin was all he got in return from his honorary uncle. A deep voice came from the hall in reply to Harry's question, "More than most, less than you of course Harry." The two men turned to find Kingsley Shacklebolt peering around the corner of the door frame and inspecting the damage from the grenade. Harry reached out and shook the man's hand, "Kingsley, what brings you to my humble abode, could I offer you some tea?" The Auror let out a loud belly laugh and nodded his head before leading the way down the stairs and into the empty dining room. With a flick of his wand Harry conjured them a sturdy table and set of chairs as junior aurors bound and processed the Death Eaters that were unable to escape after the battle. Dobby arrived shortly with tea service and the three men discussed the events of the day.
"Dumbledore knew that an Auror squad reporting to Godric's Hollow on Halloween would give a better impression than a group of Order wizards showing up and scaring the locals. Even better, some of your neighbors had already called us so we were already mobilizing when his message came. I'm glad you two are okay…" he stopped and looked at Harry who at this point looked a little run down now that the adrenaline had left his system, "you are okay, aren't you Harry?" The young man flicked his eyes upwards and a sad smile spread across his lips.
"I'm fine Shack, I'm just slowly absorbing the residual memories of the home, mum and dad cooking and flirting, Sirius and Remus coming over for Sunday dinners and then not leaving until Wednesday. Those kinds of things." Kingsley had been briefed by Dumbledore about the boy's expanded abilities but this was his first time experiencing the lad using them. "I'm using the echoes of this place, the pain mum and dad felt that night to rebuild what happened," tears were streaming down his face now, despite the smile he held against the flow, "did you know Dad was winning Moony?" He choked out a laugh at this point, startling both older men. "He imperio'd then engorgio'd a bee from the yard and set it on Tom before he brought part of the ceiling down on top of him. Tom kept trying to catch him with the killing curse but dad was too quick, his small jabs piercing Voldy's defenses, he almost had him a few times. But Tom, of course, had been chugging his way through power rituals and eventually one of the killing curses hit home. By the time he climbed to the top of the stairs to find me and mum he was nearly in pieces, blood everywhere, a few broken bones too. Mum hadn't had time to grab her wand when he came charging in, had nothing to protect us with, nothing but herself. She begged him Moony, you know that, but I can feel it now, I feel her love wrapping me in a hug as I sit here." The two men looked at each other, shocked to hear about these lost details from the only survivor of the assault. They sat in silence as Harry took deep breaths and tried to control his emotions. The young man's voice pierced the relative silence minutes later.
"Mum is the one that vanquished him, you know." Kingsley and Remus returned their attention to Harry, silently imploring him for more information, "She started humming this gaelic nursery rhyme, god I don't even know the name but it is humming in my head right now. She started to glow and Tom started to scream at her to move out of the way, but she wouldn't. It was so bright Moony, and then she kissed me, just here," his fingers traced his familiar scar before they fell to the table, "and Tom screamed one last time, sending that vile green curse at her. It came in contact with the aura surrounding her and we were all hit with this backlash. When Sirius got there mum and Tom were dead, but I was there, crying for her, babbling gaelic lyrics." Harry's head fell into his palms and he shook as sobs rocked his body. Remus set a calm hand on his back and began to rub slowly. Kingsley stood, squeezed Harry's shoulder, and stepped from the room, barking orders at his subordinates to process faster.
Soon enough they were all gone, all evidence collected, all prisoners transferred. Kingsley gave Remus a nod before stepping outside the wards and apparating back to the ministry. "Do you want to go back to Hogwarts now Harry, maybe talk to Luna or Albus?" Harry nodded and stood, his face red and blotchy he motioned Remus to follow suit. Were he thinking clearly, he would have recognized that the effort of will it took for him to push himself and Remus through the Wards at Hogwarts was less than it should have been. They arrived outside the Headmaster's office and Harry gently reached out to his friends, letting them know he was okay, and inviting them to Dumbledore's office. He was silent as they rode the staircase up to the door and didn't pause as he turned the handle and walked into the office of his mentor. Dumbledore came around his desk and pulled him into a brief hug before holding him at arm's length. "You've been through quite a lot today Harry, are you sure you want to relive it so soon?" Harry smiled weakly and took a seat, "No, but Remus can tell most of it. Oh, and I hope you don't mind but I've invited my friends up to hear about it at the same time, I'd rather not tell a tale twice if I don't have to." Dumbledore bowed and returned to his seat behind his desk, calling a house-elf ask asking it politely for refreshments when his guests arrived.
As he walked his friends through his day, they joined him on the roller coaster of emotions that he had ridden just hours before. From his parent's gravesite to the site of Voldemort's attack, to his recollections of the night his parent's were murdered. Remus kept a hand on his shoulder the whole time, lending him strength as he recounted everything. Luna's hand gripped his tightly and when he began to explain about confronting the Death Eaters it felt as if she was cutting off the circulation to his fingers. As he told about saving Remus from the silver-laced grenade she threw herself into his arms, her tears only flowing harder when he told of his mother saving his life. When he got to the end, the entire office was silent, Dumbledore looking at him pensively over his steepled fingers. Without a word he stood and paced over to one of his many shelves of books and pulled a book from a lower shelf. He handed it to Harry as he passed his chair and leaned against the front of his desk. "See if you can find the lullaby in there Harry."
Harry glanced at the book and slowly absorbed the knowledge within, hearing the songs as they rushed into his consciousness. It took him a minute but he finally locked n on the familiar melody and listened to the lyrics for the first time in fifteen years. The memory of his mother singing it to him clicked into place and he heard his mother's voice echoing in his head.
Gu robh neart na cruinne leat
'S neart na grèine
'S neart an tairbh dhuibh
'S àirde leumas.
May you have the strength of the universe
And the strength of the sun
And the strength of the black bull
Which jumps the highest.
The translation was in the book Dumbledore had handed him, and it was the first time he heard it in his own language. He quickly flipped through the pages of the tome and found the lullaby halfway through the section on lullabies. He smiled sadly at the book and passed it to Hermione who had her hand outstretched once he found the passage. She read the whole lullaby through a few times and then read the history of it before she finally acquiesced to Dumbledore's polite cough and hand motion for her to return the book to him. "Harry," she began, turning in her seat to face him, "Do you know which parts Lily sang to you? Or was it just humming the melody or what?" She looked like she was on to something so he sat back and took himself back to the last night he saw his mother, to the minutes before the attack began. He was being fussy about something, probably being tired and not wanting to sleep, and Lily was pacing the nursery, humming the tune to him. She seemed to be doing it absently as she walked, her free hand tracing the furniture as she went, occasionally straightening some small detail. A smile teased baby Harry's lips and his eyelids began to flutter as his mother began again from the beginning. The real Harry was frowning in his chair though, there was something different about the song his mother was humming to him. At the end of each verse there were a few extra bars of music and then the infant in Lily's arms glowed a soft golden color momentarily before it faded and the lullaby began again.
Harry brought himself out of the memory before Voldemort's attack began anew. "She hummed the whole thing Hermione, but she altered it at the end of each verse, and whatever she did she was casting some kind of protection on me. She didn't have her wand though so I have no idea how she was doing it." He turned his gaze to Dumbledore, "Do you have any idea sir? It seems like some pretty advanced magic, even for her." Dumbledore was bent over the book of songs, his finger tracing his slow progress, as if he was investigating each word before he moved forward. It was a long minute before he looked up and he gave the room an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry Harry, there are tales of course of evoking magic through singing, but I never researched it myself and I haven't run into anything that would lead me to believe it wasn't anything but a lost art. You've heard, of course of bards - those that could weave magic though their voices by telling tales or singing songs. Beetle of course took on the title of Bard but he was no more than a talented researcher and story crafter." At Harry's confused look Dumbledore gestured to Remus who turned and almost immediately found a slim volume decorated in bright purple and gold. Harry took it from his friend and flipped through it, noting the amusing illustrations that were obviously meant for a younger mind. "They're children's stories for witches and wizards Harry, I'm sure Ms. Lovegood, Mr. Longbottom, and the Weasleys are quite familiar with them, especially since I gifted every surviving parent of the Order from the First War with a copy after Tom's initial fall. I wanted them to look forward to their children growing up in a world full of hope, rather than the world of darkness they were living in at the time." Here Dumbledore sighed sadly and sat back in his chair, "Alas."
Harry looked at his mentor as he sat in his big ornate chair behind his desk. He looked like he felt every one of his 115 years, the events of the day seeming to bring back to him every decision he made that led to the loss of life. Harry realized he was drawing in the man's emotions and he reigned in his passive legillemency before standing and drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "Sir, you did everything you could do for mum and dad, and you did everything you could to keep Sirius safe. As much as you'd like to blame yourself you can't be omniscient and, excusing my language sir, we're dealing with a whole nest of squarely bastards. Remus and I made it home alive, we did a lot for the cause as well, we showed the villagers in Godric's Hollow that they can stand up to those pushovers. Once the tide turns against them they run away with their tails between their legs. Did Shack tell you? They called the Aurors before I had a chance to tap you for backup." An unconscious grin was spreading across Harry's face, "You should see if you can get Xenophilius to run the story, I can see it now, "Dozens of Death Eaters Diverted by Potter." He ran his hand through the air to emphasize the title.
Luna stood at this point and wrapped an arm around his waist, "Maybe you should let daddy handle the writing Harry." She stretched on her toes to peck his cheek and turned him towards the door, turning to the Headmaster as she led her boyfriend out of the room, "He's just a bit delirious because of the adrenaline that is leaving his system. I'm going to try to get him to bed before he collapses entirely. Ronald, Neville, a little help?" The boys jumped to attention and said their goodbyes, Hermione and Ginny following suit - both girls stopping to give Remus a hug as they left the office. The boys took over hauling Harry when they reached the point where Luna needed to split off to get to Ravenclaw tower. Leaving her friends, Luna began skipping down the long hallway to the tower, as she turned the last corner she saw that there were a group of girls waiting in the hallway. She smiled politely at them and stepped around them to get to the bronze knocker. As she turned her back to them she felt their hostile emotions before she heard the spells being cast. Like a cat she dropped to the ground as a cascade of light flew over her and impacted the entrance guardian. An alarm spell was triggered by the action but she had no idea how long it would take for anyone to come to help her. She rolled to her knees and flicked her wand a the three girls.
Expecting their first volley to take her down, the girls were not expecting any kind of retaliation, and the alarm blaring like a klaxon wasn't helping their concentration. Luna's rapid fire stunners probably wouldn't have connected at anything but the close distance they were all standing in. As her attackers crumpled to a collective heap on the ground Professor Flitwick came zooming around a corner, some complicated charm work propelling him through the air and down the hallway. As he alighted on the opposite side of the girls from Luna he took a moment to catch his breath as he surveyed the scene. "Ms. Lovegood care to explain the meaning of this?" His words dripped with disappointment and Luna slowly got herself to her feet and offered her wand to her head of house. "These three girls ambushed me as I was on my way to the common room and then bed. I felt their aggression before their spells went off and dodged out of the way, Harry's been giving me private lessons." The blush that took over her face betrayed the fact that the lessons weren't entirely academic in nature. "I fired a burst volley of stunners at them to disable them and then you came flying around the corner. I think the alarm threw them off or I don't think I would've gotten my spells off." Flitwick frowned down at the girls and summoned their wands to himself. He looked down at Luna's wand, which she was still offering him and then shook his head. "It was three against one my dear, there is no way you picked this fight yourself. Go on to bed and I'll talk to you in the morning if I need your corroboration on anything."
Luna shrugged and returned her wand to the sheath Harry had gotten her the week before. She turned to the knocker and, after apologizing for letting the spells hit it, answered its riddle and pushed the door open. Before she disappeared into the common room the Charms professor's voice called out to her, 'Oh Ms. Lovegood, do you have any reason why they attacked you? Did they say anything at all?" Luna stuck her head back through the door and once again shrugged, "Nothing that I heard, probably something to do with Harry." Flitwick nodded absently and waved her away. He started to cast prior incantato on the three wands and blanched at the spells that came out. "Oh my…what could you girls have possibly been thinking?" With that he cast a message patronus and sent it to gather Professor Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey.