Chapter 23

Godric's Hollow

When I managed to breathe again, we found that I was on a snow covered sidewalk with a church in the background, a war cenotaph there as well.

There were tiny little cottages all around the church. It was a village.

"Where are we?" Draco asked, yanking me from my brother.

"Godric's Hollow." Harry replied, making me crease my eyebrows in confusion.

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"Because here is where Mum and Dad are buried." Harry said, making me gasp.

This was the place. Here was where my Mum and Dad lived and were murdered, they were buried somewhere here.

"Harry…please…can we go visit?" I asked.

Harry nodded. "Let's go." he said, taking my hand and leading the entire coven down to the church and the war monument.

When we arrived, though, the cenotaph was no longer a large piece of stone with names of Muggles I could have cared less about inscribed into it. It became a statue of a man and woman with two babies, a little boy and a little girl.

The man's hair was shaggy and dishevelled, he wore round glasses and was rather skinny.

The woman's hair was straight and well kept, her eyes seemed to dance as she held the little girl in her arms.

The little boy looked almost exactly like the man, same dishevelled hair and round glasses, but his eyes seemed to dance like the woman's.

The little girl's hair was shorter and tied into a ponytail, she was reaching for the man's glasses.

I gasped. Two little kids. Both parents, having the times of their lives forever engraved into stone.

"Holy shit." Blaise whispered, breaking the silence as I reached out, tracing every ornate detail of my mother that the sculptor carved.

I could hear her screaming from that night echo in my head.

"Not the twins, please, not the twins! Not my little Hannah!"

"Step aside, step aside, silly girl!"

I could hear my dad laughing as he danced me around the living room, singing Come Fly With Me.

"Faster, Daddy! Faster!" I screamed, giggling as Dad lifted me up, waltzing around the living room with me, laughing.

"Ok, ok, Hellion." Dad chuckled, spinning me around until I was dizzy. "Gonna sing with Michael?"

I nodded, starting to sing. "When I get you up there, where the air is rarefied, we'll just glide, starry-eyed."

"When I get you up there…I'll be holding you…so near." Dad sang, lifting me up and spinning with me. "You may hear, the angels cheer…"

"Because we're together!" I squealed.

"Weather wise it's such a lovely day! Just say those words and we'll beat the birds down to Acapulco Bay! It's perfect for a flying honeymoon."

"They say! So come fly with me, let's fly let's fly away!" I sang, giggling.

"Come on, Hellion. Fly with me!" Dad said, lifting me up in the air.

I squealed happily, giggling uncontrollably as Daddy and I danced.

I let go of the statue, looking up and taking a deep breath. I couldn't get memories like that back.

"Come on, sis." Harry said, leading me away from the statue and into the cemetery behind the church.

"Ok, split up." Hermione said. "Crow call when you find them."

Everyone nodded and split up, looking through headstones to find my mother and father.

I pursed my lips and looked up into the stars. Were Mum and Dad looking down on me now? Would they be proud of me for fighting back? Disappointed that I didn't return to Hogwarts? Happy that I had Harry to look out for me? Angry at how I was brought up?

I felt someone wrap their arms around me from behind, their glasses falling off and prodding me in the back of the neck.

"Sorry, mei-mei." Harry whispered, taking his glasses back and slipping them back on. "You miss them, don't you?"

I nodded. "More than anything." I admitted, looking up at the stars and smiling.

"I found them." Draco said, making me and my brother whip around, heading off to find the coven (and Willow and mysteriously enough Sheila's boy friend.) still searching graves for loved ones, Ivy kneeling at one with tears in her eyes, Blaise wrapping his arms around her. I read the headstone as I passed.

Astoria Duff

1971-1998

True love never dies

I took a deep breath as everyone else flitted away, Hermione calling Harry back to an ancient grave, giving me some time alone with Mum and Dad.

The headstone was white, almost as white as Professor Dumbledore's, a few roses and lilies decorated the edges of the stone, but my eyes were set on the names engraved on it.

Lily Potter January 30 1977-October 31 1998

James Potter March 27 1977-October 31 1998

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is Death

I clenched my jaw, staring down at the ground. Did they know? Did they know their only daughter was kneeling at their grave with her boyfriend right behind her?

I took a deep breath. All this shit had happened to me. My parents being murdered, being brought up by abusive relatives, being bullied all throughout Muggle school, being wanted by the madman that started it all…it all happened to me for a reason. My hand that I was dealt was as shitty as they came, I'll give you that. But in the end, I was that much stronger for it. Who knows where I'd be if I had my parents growing up. Probably a spoiled brat.

I reached out and touched the headstone, my eyes closed as I felt tears sting the corners of my eyes.

Draco wrapped his arms around me, as if he knew I was about to cry.

I wiped my eyes and rested my head against his shoulder, unable to stop the flow of tears now.

Draco entangled a hand in my hair, hushing me as I wiped my eyes, staring at the grave again.

I was suddenly furious. I was thankful that Voldemort made me stronger, but I wanted the fucker dead more than anything in the world…and if I was going down, I was taking him with me.

I grabbed my dagger, holding it to my hand as I broke out of Draco's arms. "I swear that I will not rest until my parents have been avenged." I said aloud, poising the blade of my dagger against my palm. "I swear it by blood!" I said, cutting myself and clenching my fist, letting the blood drip down onto the snow over my mother's grave with a smirk.

"What are you thinking?" Draco asked as I wrapped my hand.

I gave a small chuckle. "After everything that You-Know-Who put me through, you'd think I'd despise him…is it weird I want to thank him?"

"For what?" Draco asked, aghast that I'd say that.

"For making me that much stronger." I smirked, reminding myself of the song by Christina Aguilera, Fighter. "Made me that much stronger, makes me work a little bit harder. Made me that much wiser…so thanks for making me a fighter." I sang. "Made me learn a little bit faster, made my skin a little bit thicker, made me that much smarter…so thanks for making me a fighter!" I looked up at the stars again before looking down, drawing my wand. I wanted to leave something at the grave.

I conjured up a wreath of roses and laid it by my mum's side of the grave, just before the light splatter of my blood. I stood up as Hermione laid an identical wreath next to it, for my dad.

Harry knelt where I had been minutes previously and I gave him some alone time with Mum, like he had for me.

I leaned over the fence of the cemetery, looking into Godric's Hollow. I could see a tree I knew from my dreams of the past. That tree was in the park Draco and I had played in all those years ago.

I heard Carol of the Bells from inside the church. There was a service going on inside as I contemplated things over.

Harry patted my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Come on, sis." Harry said.

I nodded, looking to Mum's grave one last time, seeing an identical splatter of blood and Harry's hand wrapped up. I looked to Ivy's Mum's grave…and there was blood splattered in the snow, too. Ivy's hand was wrapped up.

Draco wrapped an arm around me as we left the cemetery, going out into the village.

There were beautiful snow coloured houses lined up perfectly. One house was decked out in Christmas lights and you could hear Celestina Warbeck's crooning from outside.

Ivy stopped, looking into the house where I could see Mr. Duff decorating the tree as her grandmother laid cookies onto a table. Blaise stopped and went after her.

"You go on, Han, I'll take care of Ivy." Blaise told me.

I nodded, running to keep up with my brother and boyfriend as we stopped, gasping.

In front of me was a cottage that didn't look as pretty as the other ones, it was one that made me feel like someone had stabbed me in the heart and twisted the blade.

A part of the house had been blown clean away, revealing a little nursery.

My house. The house I would have lived in if Voldemort never existed. The house I could have had more brothers and sisters, could have stayed in during holidays…could have met Ivy and Sheila sooner…where I would have had my parents.

My mum could have taught me how to cook instead of Aunt Petunia forcing me to learn by feeding Dudley's fat ass. My dad could have taught me to dance instead of Harry…ok, instead of Draco, but Harry did try to teach me. My mum could have helped me pick out my wedding dress, my dad could have given me away…all the memories that I'd never get to have thanks to one madman.

I reached out the same as Harry and wrapped my hand around a post, wanting to touch some part of the house.

At that, a sign rose up from the ground and blossomed, like a flower with words.

On this spot on October 31st 1998

Lily and James Potter lost their lives.

Their children, Harry and Hannah,

Remain the only two people known to survive the Killing Curse.

This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state

As a memorial to the Potters;

and a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family.

Around the wording was magical graffiti, written in green, blue, red, yellow ink or carved into the wood with different handwriting.

Good luck, Harry, Hannah, wherever you are.

The Two Who Lived live on!

Long live the Potter twins!

Stay fighting, Hannah, we're here for you!

I gaped at the last one. People did care about me!

Suddenly, I heard a very familiar song in the background, coming from the house.

"Safe and Sound." I whispered, jumping the fence.

"Hannah, what are you doing, get back here!" Draco ordered as Harry hopped over with me.

"We're going exploring!" Harry and I said together, going into the house.

"Hannah, it's not safe, get back here!" Draco ordered.

"You're not telling me what to do, Draco!" I growled at him, opening the door.

I heard Draco groan and footfalls after me. "If you insist on entering this death trap, I guess I should come with you to keep you from killing yourself." Draco huffed as we walked in, the door creaking behind us, the smell of dust making me sneeze repeatedly until Draco handed me a tissue.

I saw every detail of the house from my past dreams and gasped, seeing my old toy broom.

"Harry, remember this!?" I asked, running into the living room and holding it up.

"Oh, yeah!" Harry said, taking it from me. "I forgot we used to fight over this!"

"HARRY! IT'S MY TURN!" I screamed at my brother, reaching to pull him down.

"You just had your turn!" Harry shouted back, landing.

"Mine!" I screamed, yanking it back.

"MINE!" Harry screamed back, yanking it back.

"MINE!" I screamed louder as we started tugging it back and forth.

"You're a stupid meanie-head!" I said.

"You're a…poop face!" Harry retorted.

My lip quivered. "MUMMY! HARRY CALLED ME A POOP FACE!" I said, starting to cry and running into Mum's lap.

"Harry!" Mum started.

"She started it! She called me a meanie-head!" Harry protested.

"Well, you know your twin is more sensitive to insults than you are!" Mum scolded, taking the broom from Harry and giving it to me. "Here you go, Hellion."

I beamed, mounting it and starting to fly around.

"Slytherin through and through." Draco praised, kissing my forehead as I stuck my tongue out at Harry.

"Piss off, Mei-Mei." Harry said.

Draco smirked. "Younger sister." he told Harry. "Very original nickname, Potter."

"How d'you know Chinese?" Harry asked.

"I'm a Malfoy, we're bred to learn languages. I know about fifteen myself. French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German, Romanian, Turkish, Russian, Indonesian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Polish, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian and a little Arabic, but I'm not fluent." Draco said, listing the languages off on his fingers.

Harry and I looked to each other and back at him, eyebrows raised.

"Don't look at me like that, Spitfire, you knew that I could speak different languages." Draco said, turning to me.

"I didn't think it'd total to be seventeen!" I said.

"Technically, sixteen fluent and one not." Draco said, shrugging.

"Impressive." Harry said as I got distracted again.

"Come on, let's go upstairs." I said, starting up the stairs to the master bedroom, where Safe and Sound was playing in a music box.

I took the box in my hand and opened the drawer. There were two rings inside.

My parents' wedding bands.

I gasped. "H-Harry…" I whispered. "You might want to look at this." I said, showing him the jewellery inside.

Harry took the larger band and looked at it through the wand light. "This one was Dad's." he said.

I nodded, taking Mum's in my hand. She was smaller, her band thinner with little diamonds encrusted in the silver.

Under them was a note with my name on it.

I gasped, seizing the note and opening it to reveal dainty, flowing handwriting.

Mon petite phénix,

If you are reading this, love, then we've probably been killed by Voldemort and you've returned to the house.

Your father and I want you to know that we loved you so much, and we were so proud that you were our little girl. Our little gifted angel.

Should you be brought up by your Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and something happens, we're sorry we weren't there to save you. Harry made a promise to me a few weeks before I wrote this letter saying he will take care of you for however long you need it.

Should you find a suitor, tell him to be good to you. And if it's that Malfoy boy, IT'S ABOUT TIME! Narcissa and I always knew that there was something between the two of you, and it was due time that you let it shine.

Enclosed in this box are your father's and my wedding rings. They are yours to keep along with any jewellery you may find in this box.

I love you, my little Hellion, stay strong for Mummy.

Love always,

Mum.

P.S. Tell that brother of yours if he hasn't already to get himself a girlfriend!

Love,

Dad.

I burst out laughing and crying at the same time, covering my mouth as I snickered and wiping my eyes as I cried.

"Harry, Dad says to get yourself a girlfriend." I told him, folding the note and tucking it in the hidden pocket of my dress and turning to Draco, patting my breast. "Mum approves." I said.

Draco smirked from over my shoulder. "And why should she not?" Draco said. "It's me!"

I took the jewellery box and tucked it into my purse, Harry taking anything off the dresser.

"What are you doing?" I whispered. "You're grave robbing our parents!"

"No I'm not, I'm just taking the perfume and cologne." Harry said, tucking it into my purse.

"Potter, you're nuts." Draco said.

"This coming from you, Death Eater." Harry retorted.

"Boys, enough!" I said before I heard Hermione.

"Harry! Harry, Hannah, Malfoy, get out of there, someone's coming!"

At this, Harry, Draco and I ran out of the house and hopped over the fence, Draco lifting me up when he steadied himself.

"Malfoy, get Hannah and the coven out of here." Harry said. "Ivy, Hermione, you stay with me."

Ivy and Hermione stood with Harry and I broke out of Draco's arms.

"No." I said. "I'm staying with you. Go back to Sherwood, you guys, I'll be ok."

"Hannah-"

"No, Blaise, go!" I ordered. "Harry, Hermione, Ivy and I will meet you there!" I said, looking to the cloaked figure looking up at the house.

I read their mind and paled. This was in no way good. "Harry, we have to get out of here." Ivy and I said together.

"No." Harry whispered, going up to the figure with Hermione. "Bathilda? Bathilda Bagshot?"

The figure looked to Harry, then to me before lowering her hood.

She was a white haired little old lady, shorter than me by a long shot. She had to be at the maximum four feet tall. Her wrinkled eyes, though…they were what scared me the most. Despite the fact that they were blue…they weren't alive, they didn't sparkle like an old lady's should have around young folks. They were blank, dead…evil. Not what I expected from the author of my History of Magic textbook.

"Harry, we have to go." I told him, tugging his cloak. "Bat-"

"Hannah, trust me!" Harry said, yanking me off him. "She might have the sword of Gryffindor." he whispered to me as Professor Bagshot spoke.

"Are you the Potters?" she asked, her voice just like her eyes, hollow, dead, no emotion.

Harry and I nodded, me losing more colour by the minute as she started to walk away, motioning for us to follow her.

I swallowed, trying to dig in my heels as Harry started to drag me off after her.

"Come on, Hannah, don't be a baby." he said, finally overpowering me and forcing me to follow Professor Bagshot into a little cottage along the way.

But…as we went, I had a feeling someone was following me.

Professor Bagshot opened the door to her cottage, gesturing into the dusty old house.

"In!" she ordered, making me jolt as Harry, Hermione and Ivy walked in, me reluctantly in tow.

"Do you have something for me?" Harry asked as Hermione, Ivy and I looked around.

It was a typical old lady's house. Knickknacks, photos of family, dusty books and old candy. But the one thing that caught my eye was the book on the stand by the fire.

It had Professor Dumbledore's face smiling up at us, his eyes looking over his half moon spectacles. On his hat were the words:

The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

By: Rita Skeeter

Best Selling Author of Armando Dippet: Master or Moron?

I took the book, sliding it into my purse as Professor Bagshot grabbed me, dragging me upstairs with Harry.

As I went up, though, I looked at the framed pictures of me as Harley Quinn on the walls, reading the headlines from the Daily Prophet.

Three Ministry Workers Dead at Rise of New Dark Witch

Disappearance of Department Head Believed to be Work of Harley Quinn

Malfoy Son Kidnapped: Father Believes Doing of Harley Quinn

Department Head's Body Found in River Outside London: Harley Quinn Strikes Again

Harley Quinn: What Will She Do Next?

Professor Bagshot dragged me up to an old dusty bedroom with Harry.

"Do you have something for me?" Harry asked again.

"Harley Quinn." Professor Bagshot whispered, looking to me.

I swallowed. How did she know that I was Harley Quinn?

"Harry Potter…" Professor Bagshot said, completely terrifying me now.

"Harry, can we please just go?" I asked, unable to stay the shaking of my hands.

Harry shook his head at me, nodding to Professor Bagshot and asking his question again.

Professor Bagshot smiled a completely horrifying smile before her pupils dilated, her eyes rolled back into her head as something came out of her neck.

I screamed as Nagini came at me and my brother, Professor Bagshot falling dead to the floor.

Nagini completely ignored my brother, coming towards me. And for the first time I could understand what she was saying.

We have unfinished business, Harley Quinn.

I took a step back, terrified as Nagini lunged at me.

I screamed as she wrapped herself around my middle, squeezing me tightly.

"LET ME GO!" I screamed.

Yesss…hold you…hold you…

"NO!" I screamed, trying to break out, only to be crushed further, feeling a couple ribs crack.

Nagini kept wrapping me in herself, squeezing me tightly as her tongue tickled my neck.

Sssay goodnight to your little boyfriend, Harley Quinn.

I whimpered, feeling her tease my neck with her fangs.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" someone screamed, making Nagini go stiff against me as my scar burned.

Someone forced the snake off me and lifted me back to my feet. It was Draco.

"Draco!" I said, throwing my arms around him and wincing from the pain in my ribs.

As quick as Draco's arms were around me, he threw me off him to the far edge of the room as Nagini lunged.

"DRACO!" I screamed when Nagini bit him in the shoulder, wrenching a short cry from him as he dropped to his back. Nagini slithered down to Harry and Hermione and Ivy.

"Draco!" I said, struggling to my feet and getting to him, unbuttoning his shirt to inspect the damage.

The fang was stuck in his shoulder, blood blossoming from the wound and trickling down his stomach, pooling in the creases of his hard Quidditch trained abs.

Oh. Dear. Skinner.

I shook my head. "Come on, Han, ignore the incredibly hot man candy and patch up this wound." I told myself. "You can ogle his sexiness later." I said as I pulled the first aid kit out of my purse, grabbing my tweezers and pulling the fang out, earning a grunt from Draco.

"Sorry, Dragon." I said, tucking the fang into a plastic baggie as I grabbed the peroxide. "Oh, fuck, Draco, you're gonna hate me for this." I told him before pouring the peroxide onto a cloth and dabbing it into the wound.

"FUCK!" Draco yelled, fisting my skirt in one hand, gritting his teeth together.

"I know, I know." I told him, biting my lip as I grabbed the antidote that Raven had nicked, flicking air bubbles out of it and starting to look for a vein.

"Stop slapping me!" Draco said.

"I'm looking for the vein." I said.

"Why?" Draco asked.

"You were bitten by a bloody snake that was venomous, I'm taking precautions to make sure you don't die on me." I said, finding the vein and poising the needle over it.

"Hannah, love, I'm a big boy, I can handle…" Draco cut off with a grunt when I plunged the needle into his skin, sending the antidote through his bloodstream as I grabbed a needle and thread.

"It's no Essence of Dittany." I told him. "But it'll have to do." I said, dabbing some numbing agent onto Draco's shoulder before threading the needle and starting to stitch him up.

Draco fisted my hair, almost ripping the silk as I leaned over him, stitching the wound closed and biting my lip as I worked.

"So will I live?" Draco asked jokingly as I bit the thread to cut it, standing up.

"I think the odds are in your favour." I said, tucking my stuff away.

"We heard yelling, what's going on?" Harry asked, running upstairs.

"Draco was being a baby as I put peroxide over his snakebite." I said, struggling to my feet again, wincing from my ribcage.

"Yeah, brilliant plan, Potter!" Draco said, standing up. "Your brilliant plan almost got Hannah killed! If I hadn't have gotten here when I did…" Draco trailed off, glaring at my brother.

"Well, sorry, we were dealing with the bloody snake!" Harry said, turning to an almost sobbing Hermione. "Mione, where's my wand?"

Hermione bit her lip, looking down. "Well…" she said.

"Where's my wand?" Harry asked again.

Hermione let a few tears fall before handing Harry his wand…at least what was left of it.

It was snapped. A small fragment of phoenix tail feather holding it together.

I gasped. "Harry…" I said.

"Don't worry about it." Harry said, looking sadly down at his wand as he took it, putting the remnants into the bag Hagrid gave him for his birthday. "I'll have to borrow someone's."

"Mine." I said, taking my wand and giving it to him.

"No, Hannah," Hermione and Harry said together.

"It was my fault Harry's wand snapped, he'll use mine." Hermione said.

"Besides, you need your wand more than I do." Harry said.

I sighed, tucking my wand (secretly thankfully) into my holster. I loved my wand, it chose me and I was the only one that could master it. Ollivander told me so the day I got it.

Flashback

Harry was waiting outside with his new wand, Ollivander taking my measurements and giving me the same speech he gave Harry before handing me a wand.

"Ten inches, hawthorn and unicorn tail hair, nice and whippy, give it a go." Ollivander said.

I took it, feeling loved and protected instantly and waved my wand.

Ollivander snatched it back. "No, no, not the right one." he said, handing me another. "Nine and three quarter inches, elm, phoenix tail feather, nice and loyal."

I took it and waved it, making things around the shop blow up. I dropped the wand instantly, stammering apologies as fast as I could while they sounded coherent.

"Quite alright, dear girl." Ollivander said, taking my wand back and pausing. "I wonder…" he said, going into the back for a minute and coming back with a dusty box.

"Here you are." he said, handing me the box. "Nine inches, rosewood and dragon heartstring."

I creased my eyebrows together at the box. It was tied with a black ribbon and the box itself was green and silver. I untied the ribbon and laid the box down, picking up the wand.

Immediately, I felt a rush of warmth flood through my body, feeling affection for the stick in my hand as I waved it, sending green and silver sparks raining down on me with a blaring of Christina Aguilera's Fighter sounding through the shop.

Ollivander instantly smiled, having me set the wand down in the box, wrapping it up, muttering "Curious…very curious."

"Sorry, but what's curious?" I asked.

"I know every wand I've ever made, Miss Potter." Ollivander told me. "And every wand has had its challenges. But this wand…I'm surprised that this wand chose you." Ollivander admitted "Because no one has ever managed to touch it without being shocked on contact."

I gulped. "What does that mean?"

"This wand is very temperamental, Miss Potter. And very stubborn, even I cannot touch it without it shocking me…and I created it! It must have found a kindred spirit in you."

I smiled. "Cool." I said, paying Ollivander and leaving the shop.

End of Flashback

At this, Draco lifted me up, tucking his wand into his pocket as Harry and I locked eyes.

"Come on, let's get back to the coven." I said. "Harry, Hermione, Ivy, you're coming with us. No ifs, ands or buts."

Harry grinned. "I had a hunch you'd say that, Mei-Mei."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever Ge-Ge." I said.

"That, and we can check your ribs to see if Nagini cracked them." Draco added.

Harry rolled his eyes as my scar prickled. "Ok, ok, let's roll before he shows up."

At that, everyone (Harry reluctantly) grabbed Draco's arm and we Disapparated back to Sherwood to check out my ribcage.