Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition
Round 4
CHASER 2: [historical] May be based on a real story or legend, but is usually based in a real historical time period and place
Words – 2570
Prompts –
4. (character) Ron
7. (colour) Orange
11. (emotion) Scared
LEGEND IN THE HOLLOW
"Hi there, Lily, what are you doing?" Harry bent over and looked over his daughter's shoulder.
"Figuring out our family tree—well, trying to, at least. Apparently, there are these people called the Peverell brothers, and we descend from them. I don't suppose you know anything about them?" Lily looked at her father as he gently pushed his spectacles up his nose.
Harry looked at the piece of parchment Lily was studying. Memories flooded back to him. He was seeing this after a fairly long time.
"Why do you want to know about this, Lily?" he asked.
"No reason." Lily shrugged. "Albus told me last year about Scorpius's family tree. Scorpius himself showed it to me. So, I just wanted to find out about ours." She diverted her gaze to the parchment. "So, do you know anything about it?"
Harry sat down opposite her on the couch. "I do, actually. But I don't think I'm the right person to tell you about it. I'm not the most familiar with the story."
Lily frowned. As she opened her mouth to say something, the doorbell rang. "I'll get that," she said and scurried off to open the door.
"Well, if it isn't my most favourite niece!"
Harry heard Ron step into the house and smirked when Lily sarcastically replied, "Don't play favourites. And, you do know that you have the key to the door. You can walk right in."
"Bloody hell, Lily, just come here and give me a hug," Ron said and ruffled his niece's fiery red hair. "Why didn't you go with 'Mione and Ginny?" he added as he walked in.
"Albus and James needed new robes. Rose needed quills and Hugo…I don't know what Hugo wanted. Anyway, I wasn't really interested." Lily flashed a smile and plopped down beside her dad, while Ron sat on the opposite side. "After the boys finish, they have to meet up with Scorpius, and Mum doesn't really let me leave her side, and I feel really bad when Rose feels obliged to stay with me, so here I am."
"Whoa, what are you reading, Lily?" Ron exclaimed and bent over to peer at the parchment spread across her.
Lily frowned and said, "Our family tree. Dad said he knows something about the Peverell brothers, but he won't tell me. Do you..." She trailed off and looked at her uncle expectantly.
"Your grandma told me the story of the Peverell brothers when I was a little bit older than you." Ron slumped back on the sofa. "My word, I never thought I would have to recount this again."
Lily waited so that Ron could go on. Ron looked at Harry and arched an eyebrow.
"Tell her, Ron," Harry said, nodding.
Ron looked back at Lily. "I'll tell you, but I'll stop if you are spooked."
Lily nodded, and Ron began.
"A long time back, there were three brothers—Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus. They were born in Godric's Hollow, but one fine day, they decided that they didn't want to stay there anymore. So, they set out to live their lives.
"After some time, the three of them came across a river—one so deep that travelers would have drowned there. However, the brothers, who were immensely skilled in magic, waved their wands and created a bridge over the river."
Ron paused for dramatic effect. Lily impatiently pressed on, "Oh, go on, Uncle Ron!"
Ron smiled and continued, "When they started to cross the river, the three of them came across a dark, hooded figure. It was Death. Death was angry that the three brothers had somehow managed to cheat him unlike the others, who had drowned. In a devious moment of appreciation, he graciously offered to give gifts to the three brothers." Ron took in a breath.
"Antioch Peverell, the eldest, asked for a wand that was more powerful than any other. So, Death crafted him one from a nearby elder tree. It was the—"
"The Elder Wand," Lily finished for Ron.
"You know what, I won't even ask how you know that," he said. "But no more interruptions…" He glared at Lily playfully, which caused the girl to giggle.
"The second brother, Cadmus Peverell, asked for something that could bring back people from the dead. Something that would positively spite Death. So, Death gave him a crafted stone, and Cadmus set off with it."
Lily frowned as if she wanted to say something but thought better of it.
"The third brother, Ignotus Peverell, asked for something that would provide him with protection and allow him to go on his journey without Death following him. Most reluctantly, Death offered the youngest brother a cloak of invisibility made from Death's own robes." Ron finished.
"What happened after?" Lily pressed on.
Harry grimly looked at Ron and then said, "I think that you should see something before Ron tells you the rest of the story."
Lily's brows furrowed as her dad pulled her up and clutched her hand tightly.
"Are we going to Apparate?" Lily eagerly asked.
Harry smiled at the expectant face of his daughter. He looked at Ron and said, "You know where to meet us, Ron."
And in a whoosh, the father and daughter were gone.
Godric's Hollow had been a home for countless witches and wizards. There had been cruel ones like Antioch and Cadmus Peverell and then there were the great ones.
Godric Gryffindor, the first person who lived there and who gave it its name, the Dumbledores, all while ending at the Potter family.
The last ones who lived there.
Harry felt nostalgic coming back to the place his parents had lived, even though he really did not have any memories of it.
A historical place indeed.
"Where are we Dad?" Lily asked while looking around her.
"It's where I was born. It's where my parents passed away," Harry replied.
Lily looked away. She knew about her dad's parents and how they had been taken away from him when he was just a baby. She said, "I'm sorry if I upset you. I really should not have asked about the Peverells."
"No, it's fine, sweetheart. I want you to know this," Harry reassured Lily and guided her towards the place he had grown to love and hate at the same time.
"Here's where your grandma and granddad are, Lily." Harry looked at the graves of his mum and dad. He regretted the fact dearly that they had not lived to see their son and his children live their lives.
"This is Godric's Hollow, isn't it? I'm named after her, aren't I?" Lily asked as she looked down at the grave of the original Lily Potter.
"All three of you are named after some people your mother and I loved and respected,"
Harry answered.
Lily walked around the courtyard and came upon a rather large stone slightly covered by moss.
She gasped and cried out, "Dad, this grave…it says that it's Ignotus Peverell's!"
The girl had not expected this at all and took a few steps back out of fear.
Harry turned around and noticed this. He briskly walked towards his daughter. "This is what I wanted to tell you about, Lily. You sure you want to hear it?"
"She can handle it," a voice stated.
"You really have to come out of nowhere, don't you," Harry said, evidently frazzled.
Ron overlooked Harry's snark. "I'll continue my story, no thanks to you two," he said and sat down smack on the ground.
Lily giggled and went over to join him. She had almost forgotten her fear and was eager to hear the rest of it.
By now, the sun was setting, and the sky had become a beautiful orange. It made the graveyard seem heavenly though it was not too welcoming.
It was not a rare sight, and James had even remarked that Lily's hair was no different than the colour of the sky.
Still, when the girl looked around her, the graves seemed to be illuminated and the trees seemed to be shrouded with the wisp of autumn.
Ron continued his story. "Antioch made his way to a village where he killed a man he had quarreled with. The murder was in cold blood, and Antioch, drunk with power, proceeded to scare the living daylights out of the rest of the villagers. Coincidentally, that night, another man who wanted the elder wand slit Antioch's throat. And, Death got his revenge on the first brother."
Lily's breath hitched. A gentle girl by nature, she couldn't believe that someone could be so cruel... but she swallowed her fear and brushed it away.
Ron, unaware of Lily's reactions, continued, "The second brother, Cadmus, used the Resurrection Stone, to bring back a woman he once loved. But the woman, whose spirit was in the afterlife, withered away. Cadmus, utterly disappointed, hanged himself, depressed and full of woe. And, Death got the second brother as well."
At this point, Lily got up hastily. Seeing this, Ron moved towards her, clearly wondering if he'd said too much.
Lily reassured him half-heartedly, "I'm fine, Uncle Ron. Tell me, were Antioch's and Cadmus's bodies brought here?"
"I really don't think I should say anything else."
"I'm not scared. Tell me." Lily crossed her arms.
"Yes," Ron sighed. "It is said that Antioch's body was brought to his birthplace, and the elder wand was lost to the world. Cadmus and the stone, too."
"Only," Lily said, "the wand and the stone were in Dad's possession during the war."
Ron sighed again and nodded.
By this time, Harry had come over from his parents' grave. "Lily, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Dad," Lily said and turned to Ron. "The last brother?"
"Death wasn't able to catch him because of the Invisibility Cloak. When he reached the end of his life, he removed it and passed it onto his son and welcomed Death as an old friend. So, Death was able to get all three brothers at last." Ron finished and looked at Harry.
A silent conversation passed between them, and Harry asked his daughter again, "You sure you're okay?"
Harry knew that the girl, even though she denied it, was actually spooked.
Although Lily assured him that she was fine, she actually wasn't.
Her face fell. "Maybe a little scared...alright, terrified," Lily admitted silently.
"It scared me out of my wits when your grandma told me this story," said Ron. "Though I think she might have been a little more subtle with the scariness."
Harry put his hand around Lily's shoulders and brought her closer to him.
"We are the descendants of which brother?" Lily asked.
"Ignotus Peverell," Harry replied. "This is where Death took him, and he passed his legacy on to his son."
By now, the sun had almost set, and the sky had become a mellow orange. It appeared to set right behind Godric's Hollow. The graveyards were melancholic, and the orange was spreading like a slow fire. Any minute now, the sky would grow dark.
It felt like, somehow, beneath the vermilion sky, the spirits of the dead were arousing.
Lily shivered, and Harry drew her even closer. He kissed the top of her head. Ron opened the creaky gate of the graveyard and stepped out.
"You know, this might be officially, the first time I'm coming here. Your father and aunt came here once, but I think that's a story for another day," Ron said, grimacing.
Godric's Hollow sure had a dark history. The birthplace of Godric Gryffindor, the Peverells, and the Dumbledores, all leading to the Potters. Even though the latter two had risen to be the greatest, one couldn't overlook the house's past.
The three of them looked at the house one last time and vanished in a blink of an eye.
That night, Lily laid back on her bed and thought about the gifts the Peverells had gotten.
Scorpius had told her once when she was almost eleven that the person in possession of all the Peverell belongings could be considered the true master of Death.
But, before Scorpius could say anything else, he was told to shut up by his father. Draco had told Lily she was too young for this and that the time would come when she would know everything.
Lily now knew that her father had once possessed all three of Death's gifts.
But he couldn't be, could he? He surely couldn't be the Master of Death. It was impossible.
Harry knocked on Lily's door and slowly came inside. He knew that the girl was a little shaken up.
In the back of his mind, he also knew that she had come upon the same conclusion that Albus had two years earlier.
"Dad, you had the Elder Wand, didn't you? And the stone and the cloak?"
"That's what I came to talk to you about." Harry entered her room. "During the war, yes, I did have all three of them. But, you see, as legend says, a Master of Death can only be one who is obliged or driven by the hunger to murder someone. To perform terrible acts," Harry said.
"Antioch and Cadmus wanted to possess all three themselves, but they weren't able to. Ignotus made sure that they couldn't. You see, other than hiding from Death himself, Ignotus hid from his brothers. He knew them very well. When they died, instead of challenging Death further, he gave himself over and passed on the cloak to his son, as your uncle said." Harry paused.
"The cloak had been passed on through generations, but I only got the other two from Dumbledore."
Lily looked at her father and said, "So, you were the master once, but you aren't anymore."
"You could say that."
"Right…" Lily nodded. "I guess I was a little bit of a wimp about the Peverells."
"You took it better than your brothers."
Lily shrugged. "Thanks for telling me all of this. I'll thank Uncle Ron later."
"Take it from me, he won't even remember if you thank him or not. Though if you ask your uncle George, he'll tell you to prank him."
"That may be a better idea"
"Do notbring me into it." Harry laughed.
Harry was relieved that Lily had not been creeped out upon hearing this. Harry was not proud of the fact that he had been well near the point where he could wield the Deathly Hallows and become the Master of Death.
He proceeded towards the door when the girl hugged him from behind.
"You being the Master of Death, or almost close to being it, doesn't change anything." Lily smiled. "You're the best dad ever."
"I'm also the only dad you've got," Harry joked.
"Hey, you're using my own tricks against me, "Lily indignantly said.
Harry kissed the top of her head and went outside the room. "What can I say, I learnt from the best."
Lily closed her eyes and her mind swam back to the graveyard. The orange sun, the sky, and the graves. It was peaceful yet pensive. Though Lily had been quite scared upon hearing about the Peverell brothers, the Godric's Hollow graveyard wiped it off.
Seeing the peaceful graves of her grandparents had brushed it away.
It really did not matter whether Lily had dark ancestors or not. Her family was the best she could ever get, and that made up for it.
A great, big, ginormous thank you to my team for beta-ing this story. You guys are awesome.