A/N: This chapter has been beta read. Thank you so much, Super MKatR.

Chapter 12 – The Potters Cottage

While Harry was staring at the building in front of him, he was also meditating, conjuring up the courage to enter.

The visit to the graveyard had shaken him in a way he had not been expecting. The place had exposed emotions that he had very carefully been keeping locked away for so long. Harry had not intended to cry in the presence of Professor McGonagall, but it had been something he could not have avoided. He knew he would see many things in this excursion that would affect him emotionally. Still, Harry should avoid exposing too much his feels before McGonagall would suspend the entire trip, because he was behaving like a cry-baby.

Some minutes earlier, after Harry had straightened up and they had left the graveyard, the boy and the teacher encountered another surprise. In the centre of the square of Godric's Hollow, a memorial rose up in honour of the Potter family. Harry was glad that he could dominate his emotions in that instant.

Now, Harry could take another step in his journey to reunite the pieces of his past, but the experience did not become easier because of that.

The building was a cottage that once was probably very beautiful. Now, the garden was growing wildly over the propriety and the creeping vines were covering fences and part of the construction. The roof was partially collapsed on the left side of the cottage, but apart from that the structure seemed preserved.

There was magic in that place, Harry could feel it. It was a mild sense of pricking in his fingertips and a chill in his head. The sensation was weird, but he had no doubts about what was causing it. Magic. The exercises Harry was doing to dominate wandless magic were making him more perceptive about the magic around him.

'Will we be able to enter, Professor?' Harry asked. He was feeling a powerful magic in that place and that could mean complications.

'I think so, Harry. According to the information I was able to get, the propriety was sealed with a spell, which prevents the entry of any person, but the owner and his guests.'

Harry frowned. "Odd." He thought.

'Who put that spell, Professor? That seems like very powerful magic.'

'Indeed, it's very powerful. That is Goblin's magic, quite similar to the magic used in some vaults at Gringotts.'

That surprised Harry. 'Why are the Goblins protecting the house?'

'Well, the ancient noble houses have strong magical contracts with Gringotts, so that their belongings will be protected. These contracts are prevailing even nowadays. The surname Potter is one of the most ancient and nobles of our society. You came from a powerful bloodline, Harry. You'll understand this better when you're older. But now, I reckon we should enter.'

'Ah, ok.' Harry was trying to digest all that information. 'Do I need to do something?'

'Nothing besides entering.'

Harry placed his hand over the handle of the lower gateway, feeling a little insecurity, but this one opened without resistance. The garden's grass was high, but everything seemed safe. He crossed over the path to the front door, still a bit unsure, but this one also seemed receptive towards Harry.

It's your home. The magic seemed to whisper.

Everything was dark and every surface had the pungent odour of mould and humidity. Professor McGonagall waved her wand and all the candles and gas lamps lit up, providing a soft light. They entered and closed the door.

Harry's eyes perused every single detail. The walls, the furnishings and the curtains were clear, despite the thick layer of dust. He took a step forward and moved to left towards the living room. The room was small with a few furnishings and a fireplace. Some paintings and portraits were scattered across the place.

Harry walked around, while McGonagall waited in silence. He glanced down when something cracked under his feet. It was a broom, well, a small broom. He picked up the object. It appeared to be new despite the time it had been spent there abandoned. The boy startled when the broom escaped out of his hands and started to hover at almost two feet off the floor.

Harry watched, delighted. 'Does it fly?' He asked.

Minerva smiled to the innocence of the question. 'You could say so. To a small child hovering a few feet off the ground is certainly flying.'

'It's amazing.' Harry commented, admiring what once had probably been his toy.

'What do you think of taking it with you, Harry? It appears to be in a very good condition. It's for sure an item of quality.'

Harry's eyes shined with the perspective, but could not keep up his cheer.

'Where could I keep such a belonging, Professor?'

'Well, we can easily fix that.'

Minerva took the liner from a pillow of the old armchair, transfigured the liner into a brown leather backpack with a lacing for closure and cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on the inside.

'You can keep anything you want here, Harry.' Minerva explained, giving him the backpack. 'You could keep all the objects from this house in the bag without needing to worry about the weight or the space.'

Harry suspiciously put the toy broomstick in the bag and saw the item disappearing on the inside. On the outside, the bag seemed to be empty.

'Whoa!' He was surprised with McGonagall's trick. 'One day, I want to be as a good wizard as you, Professor.'

'Now, Potter, these are spells that any wizard can do with some dedication and practice. So, if you have inherited your parents' talent, you certainly won't have many difficulties with them.'

Harry visited each room of the house, picking all the relevant items he could find. In his new backpack, he kept all the photographs, family albums, some letters and several personal items he found around the house. He was surprised when he found a vast collection of Muggles vinyl records and a phonograph enchanted to play them. Still, he got even more impressed when everything fit in the bag that McGonagall had given to him without problems.

Minerva gave him some privacy to explore the house. During that time, the woman sat in an armchair and told Harry to call her if there was any trouble.

The house did not have many rooms. On the ground floor, there was a living room, a kitchen, an office and a bathroom. On the upper floor, there was another bathroom and three bedrooms. Two of them were destroyed. Harry's parents' room was intact. He felt strange while exploring that room. It was as if he was invading his parents' privacy. However, his curiosity won.

Harry grabbed the frames, which were in the furnishing, and a jewellery box from his mother, which was standing over the dressing table. On its inside, there were delicate and feminine jewels, but all of them seemed to be valuable, with gold, silver or shiny stones. Harry smiled, trying to imagine his mother wearing those jewels. It was obvious that she preferred pretty and simple things instead of extravagant things. He guarded the little box, thinking that in the future another redhead girl would look very pretty with those jewels.

The drawers of the commode and wardrobe had many clothing items, bath towels and other objects of personal use, which Harry didn't bother with. The boy opened a drawer of one nightstand and found something that he wasn't expecting, a diary. On the front cover, there was an inscription in golden letters:

Lily Evans Potter

1981

With his heart beating fast, Harry had a long internal debate, considering whether or not he should open that diary. Would his mother get upset if she knew her son read some of her most secret thoughts? Or would she not be? Actually, some diaries were written to be read some day, weren't they? Harry decided to open the diary and to read some words, swearing if something written on it was of a private nature, he would not read more. However, the words he found in the first page, he would have never expected.

July 31st 1981

My dear Harry,

Today it's your first birthday. I wish I could have thrown a beautiful party with the presence of everybody who loves you, even though you aren't old enough to understand that today is a special day, but, unfortunately, that isn't a possibility at this moment. Our world doesn't have many opportunities to celebrate, especially these last few years.

I wish with all my heart that, when you read this diary in the future, the war against Lord Voldemort is just a sad past. Nowadays, it is very real and very dangerous, especially for our family. Every day I am tormented by fear of not being strong enough to protect you, of not having enough time to teach you everything you should know. That is why, my son, you should consider this diary my biggest present to you.

The isn't a common diary. Here I gathered all the lessons I would like to teach you and all the stories I would like to tell you. I put a lot of magic in this book. It has more information than appears to have and no one, but you, can ever read it.

I want you to know that your dad and I are doing everything we can to protect our family, and all we want is to be here to teach you and to see you grow happily and safely. But if our wish doesn't come true, I hope this diary will help you to understand who your parents were and how much they love you.

Your mummy

A/N: Hello!

I'm so sorry for the delay. I've been very busy with some personal issues and I haven't had time to write much. I'm also rewriting my own story, Raised By Someone Who Cares, which I want to rewrite the faster I can.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one is called The Secret Keeper.

Thank you, sbmcneil, for telling me about some of my mistakes.

Inês

scrappy8: Thank you! You're right, that will happen in the chapter called Christmas Morning.

Guest: Thanks! I'm glad. Minerva was very nice to do that for him. Harry trusts a lot in Ginny. Let's see if she will get the mirror. I'm sorry it took me so much to update.