Extracts are taken from pages, 266, 268, 272 and 281 of the UK edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling.

There was a sleepy, early morning silence and the dual carriageway was empty as a bottle-green car sped down it making two rabbits hop out of harm's way. An argument was taking place in the back of the car.

"I don't have a short temper!" Albus snapped at his brother who had spent the entire journey teasing him.

"Boys, give it a rest," Ginny Potter said wearily.

"I told you Al has a short temper," James said, grinning at Albus who was scowling.

"I DON'T!" Albus yelled causing Harry's ears to ring and making him think that his eardrums had burst.

"That's enough!" Ginny said firmly and the boys fell silent.

There was a strained silence for ten minutes and Harry regretted his decision to drive to the Burrow - They should've taken the Floo.

"Are we there, yet?" Lily piped up, craning her head around the front seats to get a better view of the road.

"Almost," Harry said, the ringing in his ears subsiding.

However, James and Albus's argument had distracted Harry and the turning for Ottery St Catchpole was approaching fast.

"Wasn't that the turning?" Ginny asked as Harry sped passed it.

Harry felt as if he had left his stomach behind at the turning to Ottery St Catchpole.

"Yeah, I think it was," Harry groaned, resisting the urge to swear.

There was another awkward silence as Harry started working out how to turn back.

"You missed it," Ginny said unnecessarily.

"I know," Harry said heavily. "I know."

"Mum's going to go nuts," Ginny muttered. "We should've taken the Floo."

"I just wanted us to spend time together as a family," Harry said. "Besides, we won't miss much."

"Only Percy telling us about his holiday to Venice," Ginny said pointedly and Harry snorted.

"It would be nice If I could get a holiday," he said grumpily. "But I'm stuck going on raids and doing paperwork. Never mind, I'll send them a message. I'll just find a place to pull over."

Harry took the next turning and got a surprise when he saw a signpost for Godric's Hollow. He continued to drive until he reached a roundabout and he took the turning for Godric's Hollow.

"Godric's Hollow?" Albus frowned, looking at the large sign welcoming them to the village. "I thought we were going to the Burrow?"

"We would've been there by now if you didn't have a short temper, Al," James said and Harry could see Albus in the mirror inflating with fury, no doubt ready to give James a piece of his mind.

"It's no one's fault, it just happened," Harry said firmly before Albus could shout back. "Let's not keep fighting over this, okay?"

With a truce agreed, Harry drove around the village, trying to find a suitable place to cast a Patronus. Harry had never driven around Godric's Hollow before.

The only places he had been to was the graveyard where his parents were buried and the cottage where he had lived as a baby.

'And Bathilda's house,' said the small voice in his head that sounded like Hermione.

Harry ignored the voice; He didn't want to be reminded of Nagini rising out of the remains of Bathilda Bagshot and trying to trap him for Voldemort.

Harry turned left into a familiar road and it took him a couple of seconds to realise that he had been down this road with Hermione that night. The war memorial was looming large in the distance.

Any moment now, Harry's children would see it change into the statue of Harry's parents holding an infant Harry.

His children hadn't seen it before and Harry hadn't told them about it. But now they were here, maybe it was time that Harry owed them an explanation.

The war memorial changed into the statue and there were a couple of gasps from James and Albus.

"DAD, THE MAN IN THE STATUE LOOKS LIKE YOU!" Lily shouted, making them all jump.

Harry parked the car and turned off the engine. He turned to face the back seats, looking at his children who were all eyeing Harry curiously.

"That's my dad," Harry said. "This is the village where I lived with my parents before they were killed by Voldemort. The Ministry put this statue up as a monument."

Lily gasped as Harry looked at the statue of his younger self nestled in his mother's arms. After all those years, it was still strange to see an unscarred version of himself immortalised in stone.

"So that baby is - You?" Albus said slowly.

"That's right," Harry said nodding. "I didn't know that they had this statue until I came across it with your Aunt Hermione. I think it's amazing."

The kids looked at the statue in silence as Harry scanned the area to see if there were any muggles about. The street was deserted, so he got out of the car and sent a Patronus to Ginny's parents informing them of their whereabouts.

He looked at the statue taking in his parent's faces and marvelling at how the sculptor had perfected the tender look as they gazed down at the stone baby. Harry knew that he had worn that look on his face over the years whenever he looked at his children.

Once he had had his fill of looking at the statue, Harry reluctantly headed back to the car where Ginny was answering questions from a very persistent Albus.

"Is it true that your parents are buried here, dad?" Lily asked as Harry got back in the car. "Mum told us just now."

"Al was asking a lot of questions," Ginny said, grimacing.

Harry sent her an apologetic look; No one should have to be on their own when Albus starts asking questions.

"Yeah, they're buried in the graveyard behind that little church," Harry said. "We can go back and visit them another day if you want."

"Why can't we visit them now?" James asked as Harry turned on the engine. "We might as well take a look around."

"We're due at the Burrow," Harry said tersely as he reversed away from the statue. He wasn't sure if he would be ready to visit his parents grave with his children just yet.

"We visit mum's parents almost every day," Albus said. "We haven't visited your parent's grave yet."

"I didn't think you would want to come with me," Harry said quietly. "It's a bit boring looking at a grave and there's not much you can do here."

"We don't care about that, dad," Lily said. "They're our grandparents and we want to go and say hello."

"I don't think you can say hello to a gravestone, Lily," Albus said dryly. "It can't exactly hear you."

"You know what I mean, Al," Lily said, giggling.

"We might as well take our time, Harry," Ginny said. "It's going to be hectic when we arrive at the Burrow."

"You've got a point," Harry said. The last thing he would want would be to arrive and get cornered by Fleur for a conversation.

"Besides," Ginny said, giving him a nudge. "It'll give you an excuse not to listen to Percy go on about his holiday."

James and Albus snorted and Harry saw Ginny catch their eyes and give them a wink.

"Come on, dad can we please see our grandparents graves today?" Lily begged.

"Yeah, please?" James said, imitating Lily's voice and causing her to giggle again. "I'll be good. Not too good, but I won't fight with Al."

"And I won't let James wind me up," Albus said, putting an arm around James's shoulder and James returned the gesture. "Besides, didn't you say that you wanted the five of us to spend time together as a family? This could be our chance."

Harry was touched that his parents grave meant so much to his children that they were willing to put aside their differences. Maybe he wasn't going to regret this trip after all.

"Alright then," Harry sighed and his children cheered as he drove around the roundabout and took the turning that led back into Godric's Hollow.

Harry pulled up at the church and they got out of the car. The kids went to stretch their legs but ended up doing handstands against the church.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Ginny asked after she saw Harry's expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry said gruffly. "I just didn't think the kids would care so much about my parent's graves."

Ginny took his hand gently and squeezed it.

"They think the world of you," she said softly, looking over at the church where the kids were laughing together as they did handstands. "And I think James and Lily would want to know more about the people that they're named after. It's easier for Lily because she's got Luna, but it's harder on the boys because the people that they're named after are dead."

"You're right," Harry said. "I've been meaning to show them the grave, but I didn't want death to define their childhood as it defined mine."

"They can't get away from it forever," Ginny said. "They have to confront it sooner or later. Let me just send another message to the Burrow and we can go into the graveyard."

Ginny sent another Patronus to the Burrow telling Mr and Mrs Weasley of their plans and she took Harry's hand as he called the kids over and led them to the entrance of the graveyard guarded by the kissing gate.

James and Lily rushed ahead racing each other, but Albus stayed with Harry and Ginny, kicking at the dandelions and sending their seeds everywhere.

The graveyard was a stark contrast to when Harry first visited it with Hermione; Instead of being barren, wild plants, flowers and stinging nettles grew out of every corner and crevice.

"They're over there," Harry said pointing to the area where his parents grave was.

"There are a lot of graves in here," Albus said, looking at the nearest one closely.

"Quite a few members of the old wizarding families are buried in here, Al," Harry said.

"There's tomb many people in here," James said, grinning cheekily. "No wonder it's dead packed!"

Albus groaned at the joke, but Lily giggled and Ginny had trouble keeping her face straight and had to turn away from James to hide her laughter.

"There's a time and a place for that sort of joke, James," Harry muttered.

"Sorry," James said, looking at Harry with concern. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

"Save it for the Burrow," Ginny said to him softly, patting him on the arm. "And watch out for the nettles."

"James's jokes are getting worse," Albus said quietly to Harry and Harry snorted.

"Don't encourage him," Harry muttered and Albus grinned, before going off to look at some of the other graves.

James mentioned to Lily the possibility of fairies living in the graveyard and they went off to search for them, leaving Ginny to look for the grave on her own.

"Dad, I see a Dumbledore," Albus said, looking at one of the graves curiously. "Ariana. That doesn't look like Albus."

"She's Dumbledore's sister," Harry said, stopping and looking at the grave. "And that name there, is Dumbledore's mother, Kendra."

Albus looked at the grave closely, studying the inscription.

"Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also," he read. "That's a nice thing to put on a grave."

"Dumbledore must've put it there," Harry said. "Did you know that he used to live here as well? That's why his mother and sister are buried here."

"Where's Dumbledore's grave?" Albus asked, looking around for it.

"He's buried at Hogwarts," Harry said. "In a White Tomb. You'll see it when you start there."

Albus wandered to an old, weathered tombstone and put his hand on it.

"Ig-Ignotus Peverell," Albus mumbled. "That's funny. I thought that said Potter for a minute."

"He's our ancestor," Harry said.

"How do you know that?" Albus asked, frowning up at Harry.

"It's because of him that we have the Invisibility Cloak that James has been going on about constantly," Harry said, chuckling at Albus's expression.

"You mean he's the Third Brother from the tales of Beedle the Bard?" Albus said slowly. "Rose has been telling me that that was a myth."

"The Chamber of Secrets was supposed to be a myth, but that didn't stop it from being real," Harry said and Albus nodded, taking Harry's words in.

"I've found them!" Ginny called, standing by the white tombstone. "Come on, Harry."

Harry felt a jolt in his stomach and he couldn't move; it was as if his feet were glued to the ground. But Albus took his hand and together, they walked to the grave and the five of them gathered around it.

"Here they are," Harry said, the familiar feeling of grief returning. "My parents, your other grandparents."

He looked at the inscription that was clear as day:

James Potter Born 27th March 1960 - Died October 31st 1981

Lily Potter Born 30th January 1960 - Died October 31st 1981

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

It was never easy to read those words nor to stand on this spot. But having his family with him made it slightly easier to stand where James and Lily Potter lay beneath him as bones or dust.

"They weren't very old when they died," Albus said, looking at their dates of birth and death. "They were only twenty-one."

"They died well before their time," Harry said sadly and Ginny took his hand.

"Your Uncle Fred was only twenty when he died," Ginny said sadly.

Harry squeezed Ginny's hand and caught her eye, wanting her to know that he was there for her as much as she was there for him.

"That's so sad," Lily sniffed.

"I know, Lily," Harry said. "Shall we say something to them? Let me go first. Hi, Mum. Dad. I've brought my family to visit you. These are my children, James, Albus and Lily. I'm sorry you couldn't watch us grow up. You're never forgotten."

Harry bowed his head and Ginny squeezed his hand again.

Harry saw her motion to James to say something and James stepped forward.

"Hello Gran and Grandad," he said confidently, his voice echoing around the graveyard. "I'm James Sirius and I like Quidditch, telling jokes and I'm starting Hogwarts next September. I'm going to be in Gryffindor just like you. Gryffindor where dwell the brave at heart!"

James lifted an imaginary sword over his head and a fleeting image of a younger version of his father doing the same thing sprang to Harry's mind.

He chuckled and nodded to Albus who stepped forward.

"Hi, I'm Albus," He said quietly, running his hand along the tombstone. "Albus Severus. Thank you for your sacrifice. Without you, we wouldn't be here. I look a lot like you, grandad but I have your eyes, grandma. And don't worry about your son. He's a good dad and we're looking after him."

Albus's words were too much for Harry; his vision got clouded and he felt a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't help but grin and he ruffled Albus's hair. Albus stepped back and put an arm around Harry, melting into him as Lily stepped forward.

"I'm sorry that you died so young," she said, sounding as if she had a bad cold. "I'm proud that I have your name, nana. You would've been brilliant parents and grandparents if you were still alive. I know that I've never met you, but I love you both so much!"

James stepped forward and put his arm around Lily.

"That was good, Lils," he said, squeezing her shoulder briefly.

For a while, they simply stood at the grave, honouring Harry's parents. Harry didn't know how long they stood there immersed in their thoughts, but the next thing he knew, the sun had risen over the church, casting long shadows in the graveyard.

They wanted to stay here forever, but none of them wanted to be the first to suggest that they move.

"It doesn't seem right to walk away without laying down any flowers," Ginny said finally.

"This place has got loads of flowers," James said, scanning the edges of the graveyard. "I can go and pick some with Al and Lily."

"I don't fancy being stung by nettles, James," Albus said.

"You don't need to worry about that," Harry said, pulling out his wand and twirling it in a circle.

Several large flowers appeared out of thin air and Harry handed some to the boys.

"Here you go," Harry said. "Plenty of flowers for everyone."

Lily, however, didn't seem to be impressed by the flowers. She was frowning at them disapprovingly.

"What's up, Lily?" Harry asked her.

"I want to lay something special for them," she said.

"Is there anything particular that you have in mind?" Ginny asked her.

"There is, actually," Lily said brightly. "I'd like a Lily."

Harry and Ginny exchanged looks with raised eyebrows and Lily was watching them closely.

"I want to lay a Lily for my nana Lily," Lily said earnestly. "To show how much I love her name."

"That's a lovely thought, love," Ginny said, beaming at her.

"It's brilliant," Harry said, conjuring a white lily for Lily which she took with shaking hands.

James, Albus and Lily set the flowers down at the grave and the white lily lay at the centre, looking beautiful and majestic. For a while, the five of them were silent as they paid their respects to the young couple who fought to keep their son safe.

"They lived in a cottage not far from here, didn't they?" Ginny said, looking at Harry.

"That's right," Harry nodded.

"What happened to it?" Albus asked.

"It was destroyed when Voldemort tried to kill me," Harry said. "It's a ruin now. But witches and wizards still come to the house to pay their respects."

"Can we go and see it?" James asked.

"If you want," Harry said. "But it's not a pretty sight."

They made their way back to the kissing gate. James and Lily ran ahead again, but Albus stayed by Harry and Ginny's side.

"Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if your parents hadn't died?" Albus asked.

"I did when I was younger," Harry said. "I used to think that I would've had a brother or a sister, or both and I'd spend my summer holidays here instead of the Burrow. But I know I wouldn't have made the friendships that I have made today if I hadn't lost my parents that night. But it doesn't do well to dwell on dreams, Al. You have to remember to live."

Albus nodded and carried on in silence, quite content with Harry's answer and watched James and Lily racing each other, their laughter echoing down the road.

Their happiness was a welcome tonic to the grief in Harry's heart that always appeared whenever he visited his parent's grave. But that grief wasn't as strong this time. It turned out that having his family with him was just the thing that Harry needed.

As they were walking up the road, a silver Otter soared down to them. Harry recognised it as Mr Weasley's Patronus. Mr Weasley told them that the family at the Burrow understood what they were doing and told them to take care.

"At least you've missed Percy going on about his holiday," Ginny said, winking at Harry.

"Uncle Percy will probably tell dad about it at work though," Albus said, grinning and Ginny laughed.

"Just as he's cornered him in the lift," Ginny said, causing Albus to giggle.

Ginny then proceeded to do an exaggerated impression of Percy telling Harry about his holiday and by the time she had finished, Albus was roaring with laughter.

Harry laughed with Albus, his troubles melting away.

They were close to the cottage - Harry could feel it - He knew that the kids were going to get a shock when they saw it and his stomach squirmed with trepidation, preparing himself for the moment he sees it.

Harry told the kids that they were almost at the cottage and Lily gasped as she saw it and James looked at the cottage with a grim face. Albus took Harry's hand and held it tightly.

The cottage looked as it always had when Harry came to visit it - wild and abandoned. Harry swore that the grass had grown even taller and ivy snaked around the ruined house like a Boa Constrictor.

"Well here we are," Harry said brightly. "Home sweet home."

"It doesn't exactly look like a homely place to live," Albus said, looking up at Harry as if he were mad.

"It was," Harry said. "Once, I suppose. I just don't remember."

It felt strange to look at the cottage that was once home and not have any memory of it.

"Could we go in?" James asked, moving towards the gate.

"It doesn't look safe, love, " Ginny said. "I don't think you should touch it."

"Stay here, James," Harry said. "It's best not to disturb it."

They looked at the cottage in silence; It had not changed since Harry first visited Godric's Hollow with Hermione. He looked at the front door which was blocked by the thick ivy.

This was where James Potter gave his life in the hope that his wife and small son could escape. His last words played in Harry's mind like a piece of film:

"Lily, take Harry and run! It's him! go! I'll hold him off!"

But his father had forgotten his wand and never stood a chance. Harry learnt from that mistake and kept his wand with him at all times.

"It looks like it would've been a lovely home to grow up in," Lily said sadly, bringing Harry back to reality.

"I know," Harry said, patting Lily on the shoulder.

"That hole in the top floor," James said slowly. "That must've been where you got hit with that curse, dad."

Harry suddenly heard his mother's voice in his mind, pleading with Voldemort and screaming the same words that Harry would hear whenever he got too close to a Dementor:

"Not Harry, not Harry! Please not Harry!"

"Stand aside you silly girl. Stand aside now."

In his mind's eye, Harry saw the blinding flash of green light and remembered the burning pain on his forehead and the high, cold cruel laugh.

"Dad?" James's voice sounded muffled as if he were underwater.

Harry felt James tug on his sleeve and he snapped himself out of the memory however, the bright green light was still burned to his retinas.

"Dad, are you alright?" James asked, looking at Harry with concern.

"I'm fine," Harry said gruffly, touching the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. "I only remembered the green light - loads of it. My mum stood in front of my cot, begging Voldemort to let me live. She wouldn't get out of the way, so Voldemort killed her. That was a big mistake."

There was a hushed silence and Harry ran a finger along his scar again.

"How come?" James asked.

"There is a power," Harry said slowly. "A power which Voldemort didn't understand. It is a power so pure and whole, it is known to transform someone, making them perform the impossible and it is one of the most important things in the world."

Harry waited for one of his children to ask what it was. To nobody's surprise, it was Albus who asked the question.

"What is it?"

"Love, Albus," Harry said softly, squeezing his son's shoulder gently. "Love."

His children nodded, their eyes brighter than usual.

"There's a lot of ancient magic that many wizards don't know much about," Harry said. "My mum didn't know that her sacrifice made it impossible for Voldemort to touch me. It protected me for many years. Her sacrifice will never be forgotten."

"And I can assure you that we love you three as much as your nana loved your father and we would die for you in a heartbeat if we had to," Ginny said, her eyes shining fiercely.

Lily sniffled and hugged Ginny whilst James turned away to wipe his eyes. Albus wrapped his arms around Harry and buried his head in Harry's shirt. Harry reached over to James and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey," Harry said softly. "It's okay. Do you want to see something really cool?"

He gently untangled himself from Albus and stepped forward, touching the gate. A sign sprang up and the kids let out sighs of wonder. The five of them gathered around it to read:

On this spot, on the night of 31st October 1981, James and Lily Potter lost their lives. Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard ever to have survived the Killing Curse.

This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family.

There were many messages of support written on the sign and they spent time reading them.

"That's so nice of all those people to come here and wish you good luck, dad," Lily said.

"Yeah, I think it's brilliant," Harry said, grinning broadly.

"Who's Ruby?" Albus asked, pointing at a comment that was written in what looked like pink lipstick. "Only, she wants to marry you, dad."

"A lot of women wanted to marry your father, Al," Ginny said, winking at Harry. "But I beat them to it."

"You might want to tell that to Ruby," Albus said dryly.

Everyone laughed and they continued to read the messages of support.

"These are cool, dad," James said weakly. "Here's someone who travelled all the way from New Zealand. Blimey!"

"Told you so," Harry said, grinning broadly. "It's nice to see that people still care after all these years."

"You were the baby who defeated Voldemort," Lily said. "Of course they care."

"Everyone loves you, dad," James said. "But not as much as we do."

Harry was taken by surprise as James wrapped an arm around him. It felt overwhelming for Harry to have his family with him at the cottage where he had briefly lived with his parents.

"You're not alone now, dad," Lily said. "You have a family and we're whole again."

"Hey, maybe we can write a message of our own," James said suddenly.

"There's not a lot of room, James," Harry said, looking at the sign.

"There's a little bit down there," Albus said, pointing at the spot on the sign. "Do you have a quill, dad?"

Harry dug in his pockets and found a quill and a bottle of ink and they spent the next ten minutes going over what they wanted to write on the sign.

James and Albus were squabbling over the exact wording and Lily was going off on a tangent so, Ginny got them to meet halfway and eventually they were able to write a message that wasn't too long. They stood back admiring their handiwork.

"I think we did a good job," Ginny said, scrutinising the message. "Good luck to anyone trying to read it though."

Ginny gently nudged Harry in the ribs and Harry snorted.

"You try writing a message with everyone changing their mind all the time," Harry grumbled, nudging Ginny back. "But I think you all did a good job. Well done, all of you. It's great."

Harry looked at the short message with pride; His children had impressed him with their enthusiasm and compassion. He was sure that his parents would be as proud of them as much as he was.

"This is a nice day out," Albus said and there were murmurs of agreement from James and Lily.

"We don't usually spend that much time together as a family," Harry said, stuffing the bottle of ink and quill back into his pocket. "I'm either stuck at work or we're surrounded by other family and we don't have much time together."

"We should do this more often," Lily said sadly. "This was a fun trip despite the sad parts."

"Why do you think I insisted that we take the car to the Burrow instead of using the Floo Network?" Harry laughed.

"We all know it's because you don't want to listen to Uncle Percy go on about his holiday, dad," James said, grinning at Harry.

"You're just as bad as your mother," Harry grumbled and everyone laughed.

"Have we got any food?" Lily asked suddenly. "We were in such a rush this morning that we didn't have time for breakfast."

"I've got some muggle money for emergencies," Harry said, rummaging in his pockets again. "Tell you what; how about we get some lunch in that pub and then we can make our way to the Burrow and you can tell your cousins about our wrong turn?"

"Sound's great," James said, a cheeky grin forming on his face. "I've always wanted to try a beer."

"You'll have to wait a lot longer for that, you're much too young!" Ginny said and the grin disappeared from James's face and Albus and Lily laughed at his pouting expression.

"I can't wait to tell Hugo," Lily said happily.

"And I can't wait to tell Rose," Albus said. "It's not every day we come across our grandparent's graves. It just goes to show that some things are worth dying for."

Albus looked up at Harry and not for the first time today, Harry felt a tug at his heartstrings. Harry crouched down and hugged Albus and his son melted into him. Harry felt James and Lily hug him and Ginny crouched down and hugged her children and Harry before they parted.

The five of them then stood there looking up at the ruined cottage for one last time. No one wanted to be the first to suggest that they move, but James's stomach rumbled and they all laughed before they made their way to the pub with James and Lily running ahead.

As Harry walked with Ginny and Albus, he couldn't quite believe how well this day had turned out.

After the Potters had left, the sign was still there and the black ink was glistening on it. The slanted, spidery handwriting was hard to read at first, but if one looked closer they could make out what it was saying:

Thank you for your messages of support. Whilst scars still remain, our family is whole again. This trip to Godric's Hollow, whilst an emotional experience has shown us the importance of love, life and family.

Always cherish your loved ones and never take them for granted.

From Harry, Ginny, James, Albus and Lily Potter.

Thank you for reading.