A/N: This chapter has been beta read by my marvelous beta, Super MkatR.
Chapter 11 - The Headstone
In Harry's opinion, getting permission from the Dursleys was not hard at all. All he needed to do was to send Hedwig with a note saying that if he could not do a Christmas' trip supervised by Professor McGonagall he would have to return home for the holidays. The reply came in a couple of days and it was just as Harry had expected: Don't you dare to return for Christmas. Attached was a permission slip signed by Aunt Petunia. The Transfiguration teacher seemed surprised with how quickly he got the permission signed, but she did not find anything wrong with it.
When the Christmas holidays arrived, Harry was glad that Hermione had made him to do all the hard work before, because now he could just relax in front of the common room's fireplace and have fun with Ron and his siblings. Fred and George stole all kinds of sweets from the kitchens, so that the boys could organize really small parties in the common room, which was practically empty.
Harry was learning wizard's chess. He quickly learned that he was awful at it. However, Ron was very good and he could beat not only Harry, but also Fred, George, Percy, Lee Jordan and any other who was willing to challenge him. Harry was doing what he could do to help Ron in having fun, since his friend was a bit despondent, because Scabbers had not shown up yet anywhere.
On Christmas Eve, Harry woke up early as his mind was thick with anticipation. Professor McGonagall would be taking him to Godric's Hollow that day. He ate breakfast all by himself, because the other children wanted to sleep late during the holidays, and so he nervously waited for the Professor in Entrance Hall.
Ron and Hermione thought Harry was being very brave to visit the place where his parents died, but neither of them expressed an opinion about the so delicate topic. In her last letter, Ginny wished him good luck and that he would find the answers he was looking for and said that if he needed to talk to her she would be there for him. Harry congratulated himself for his idea of sending Ginny's gift before she travelled to Romania. The mirror was wrapped in a little box and was sent with a note asking her to open it on Christmas morning. Harry hoped Ginny took the mirror with her, because after that day's journey, he knew he would need someone to talk to.
Minerva was peeved.
Sometimes dealing with Albus Dumbledore was more tiring than with her eleven years old students. That day in particular, she did not have the patience to discuss with him about philosophically distinct points of view.
Dumbledore tried to stop Harry Potter from seeing his parents' house for stingy and obscure reasons, which only he knew about. However, Minerva gave her word to a child and she did not intend to break it. It was a simple concept, without philosophy. She knew that perhaps Harry was going to learn some painful truths about the war and about the betrayal suffered by his parents. The war was long gone and what was done was done. The boy had the right to know. It was his past and his life. If Albus' theory that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was not gone forever was correct, the sooner Harry was prepared the better. Still, Albus kept digressing about "innocence" and "youth" and other things that she was not paying attention to.
She looked at the clock. She was going to be late.
Harry was beginning to worry when Minerva McGonagall finally showed up wearing a travel cloak and an angry face.
'I'm sorry I'm late, Potter. I had a small setback in the headmaster's office.' The woman explained as she was walking down the stairs at a furious pace.
'It's alright, Professor. I understand.' Harry was a little frightened by the Professor's mood, but he hurried up to follow her.
'Do you have everything you need?'
'Yes, ma'am.'
'Good. We'll walk to the property's gates and then we'll Apparate. Have you ever Apparated before, Harry?'
'No, ma'am.'
'Then prepare yourself, because it's a bit uncomfortable.'
A few minutes later, Harry discovered that Professor McGonagall was right. Apparation was very uncomfortable. After the sensation of compression was over, he took some time to recover his breath and to check if all his bones were in the right place.
'I don't think we let any part of you in Scotland, Mr Potter.' McGonagall smirked.
'I'm sorry, Professor. I just…' Harry lost his words when he realised where he was. It was a small village covered with snow. Some people were quietly walking down the main street, probably after finishing the Christmas shopping. Apparently, none of them realised the sudden apparition of two people behind the bushes, who now stood between the church and the graveyard. 'Are we there?' He asked.
'Yes, this is the famous Godric's Hollow.'
Harry seemed curious. 'Famous, Professor?'
'Godric's Hollow, Harry, is famous for being the place where the great wizard Godric Gryffindor was born and raised.' The professor explained. 'This village was and is also the home of many notable wizards and witches.'
'Do only wizards live here?'
'No. Muggles also live here, that's why the wizarding population must remain discreet.'
'Which other wizards lived here, Professor?' Harry asked, while his attention remained on the graves that spread beyond the low wall of the graveyard.
'Well, I can cite Bowman Wright, who forged the first snitch in history; Batilda Bagshot, a famous historian; and Albus Dumbledore. There are other celebrated names that you probably are not acquainted yet…' Minerva stopped talking when she realised that the boy was not probably hearing a word. Harry was in deep thoughts and his gazed fixed at the graveyard. 'Would you like to go there, Harry?' She softly asked.
'Are they buried here?'
'Yes.'
'Then I would like to go, Professor.'
Harry walked among the headstones, lost in thought. He had a lump in his throat from the feelings stirring within him. His gaze ran through the headstones and at each name he read, his anxiety and his fear increased. What would he feel at seeing his parents' headstone? Some names were familiar to him, Abbott, Diggory, Dumbledore… Perhaps relatives or ancestors of people he knew…
Harry's breath froze when he saw the white marble with his parents' names. It had their names, the dates of birth and death and an inscription:
"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."
Harry, being only eleven, did not understand well the meaning of that sentence, but it sounded like it had a very deep meaning.
He only realised he was crying when his glasses began to fog over. The perception that the remaining of what once were his parents, which was under that moist soil and cold snow, seemed to make his lost more real. That was the proof that James and Lily Potter, his parents, once lived in the real world and not just in his heart. Harry did not know for how long he cried, but he knew he had never mourned the loss of his parents before, at least not in that way.
During all the time, Minerva waited in silence and her own heart ached with that child's pain.
When Harry was ready to leave, Minerva conjured a beautiful floral wreath with yellow lilies, which were the favourites of her former student, and then they left the graveyard in silence.
A/N: Hey! Harry finally saw his parents' headstones and in the next chapter we're going to see The Potters Cottage.
Please, tell me, what did you think of this chapter?
See you in the next chapter,
Inês
scrappy8: Thank you! Yes, they will :D
Guest: Thanks! I love Minerva too. She cares about him.