So I know that it's been a while since my last update but I have been really busy with work and have not had chance to type anything up. Thanks for the reviews I have received, the keep me going and make me have a big smile when I feel that I have written something right.
I have had several people write to me about changing the title. Sorry, not going to happen. When I first imagined this story this title immediately came to me. I don't mind reading bashing stories, but I don't really like to write them.
Like J.K herself I already have everything for each book planned out and just have to write it which unfortunately takes time, sometimes this is not available, I really could do with a timeturner, do you reckon old McG would give me one? I promise that this story will be continued until the end and I hope that all my readers stay with me, new readers are always welcome too.
Please Review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I'm Serious.
Sirius: Nope that's me.
Author: That's an old one. Get some new material Padfoot!
Third Year – Summer
Itallics are Memories
A Trip To Godric's Hollow
Harry emptied his school rucksack onto his bed, broken quills and pieces of parchment falling out and littering the duvet. He quickly gathered all the rubbish up and into the bin. A small pop behind announced the arrival of Dobby, his new house elf and first addition to the Potter family. Harry did not see Dobby as a servant, he had spent too much time being the Dursley's slave for that, in fact Harry saw Dobby as a friend and equal, therefore only asking Dobby to do things that he, Harry would be able to do if he wasn't underage.
Harry turned around with smile on his face, kneeling down to give Dobby a welcoming hug. The first time he had done this to Dobby, he had been awkward but now he had grown used to Harry's idea of friendship. He looked at Dobby, taking in his new presentation. No longer was he in the shabby, dirty pillowcase given to him by the Malfoys. No, now he looked every bit a part of the Potter family.
He wore black trousers, with small shiny black shoes. For his top he wore a tunic of red and gold with the Potter crest embroidered onto the top left pocket. Ever since he had got it, the day after returning to the Dursley's Dobby had kept it in pristine condition, he was very proud of his new uniform.
"Is Master Harry ready to go?" Dobby asked looking up at Harry. Harry shook his head.
"Not quite yet Dobby." He had tried consistently to get Dobby to call him Harry, almost succeeding until Dobby came back from Gringotts for him. He had not told Harry what he had been told, telling him that he would have to wait until he became of age to know. All Harry knew was that Dobby was most comfortable calling him Master Harry, he had left it at that, he didn't want to make his friend uncomfortable. "Could you place an undetectable expansion charm on my rucksack please? I want to have plenty of room on case we find some stuff that I'll want to bring back. I know the spell, but being outside of Hogwarts I can't cast it." Dobby nodded snapping his fingers. Harry smiled at him in thanks.
The first week back at the Dursley's had become more bearable with Dobby's presence. To say that Dobby was a gift from Merlin was an understatement, he had very quickly found his way into Harry's heart and he know thought him as part of the Potter family, a small family as at the moment there were only two of them.
The first thing Dobby had done, was to sort out his room. Now, what had once been the smallest bedroom was by far the largest, although you would never know it from the outside. The room had been magically extended so there was more than enough room for Harry to live comfortably. Dobby had decorated the room in the style of the Gryffindor dorms, red and gold. There was even a four poster bed. He felt like he was home, away from home. Almost. Unfortunately he still had to deal with the Dursley's, he had hoped that they would forget he was there but no such luck. His uncle had lists for him every day, full of chores that he wanted done by the end of the day. If not then Harry would know about it. He already sustained several serious injuries, a broken arm and two fractured ribs. As soon as he had been able to crawl to his room he had closed the door and called for Dobby.
Dobby of course had been concerned for him, seeing his master injured. He had healed Harry easily and he had been very grateful. Dobby had then decided that he needed protecting and had charmed his bedroom door so that it would only open to Harry, that way his uncle couldn't come after him. He then also told Harry that if neither of the muggles were around then Dobby would help him with his chores, that way he would not get hurt. It was the first time that Dobby had spoken out on his own, Harry had been very happy that Dobby was learning to think for himself.
As the Dursley's still failed to feed him enough Dobby had made a small kitchen in Harry's room where he and Harry could cook. They both cooked together, both learning different methods of cooking dishes, it was something that they could both bond over.
His first question that Harry remembered asking Dobby was about the fact that Dobby was using magic but he hadn't received a warning from the Ministry of Magic. Dobby had looked down, shame apparent on his face. He had apparently changed his magical signature to his, trying to stop him from going to Hogwarts. Elf magic is not detected by the Ministry as house elves were not considered to be worth anything. When Harry had heard that he had been very angry, just because someone was different didn't mean they didn't deserve to be treated equally. It was no wonder the wizarding world was so far behind the muggle one, they were prejudiced against Werewolves, Goblins and just about any magical creature. Harry had just given the elf a small hug to let him know he was forgiven and that he was different from most wizards, Dobby was first and fore mostly his friend.
They had spent all that first week planning. Ever since learning that his parents had lived in Godric's Hollow he had felt a deep desire to visit there, to get closure over his past. Tonight, he was returning home.
Grabbing his invisibility cloak he turned to face Dobby and smiled. He draped the cloak around the both of them, insuring that they could not be seen. He felt Dobby grab his leg.
Pop.
Harry took a breath and steadied himself. That was a different way of travelling, far better than floo though, grimacing as he remembered his last attempt at flooing. He looked around at the surroundings taking everything in. This was the village where he lived as a baby. He could see a graveyard next to the church that they had popped to.
He felt Dobby tug on the bottom of his robes, he had not wanted to return to his parents wearing Dudley's cast offs, and so had decided on his school robes.
"This way Master Harry. They is in there," he pointed to the graveyard. Harry hesitated, now that he was here, was he really ready to finalise it, to see them truly dead. He started to walk slowly, opening the gate that lead into the graveyard slowly. No one was around at this time of night, hence the reason they chose to come at this time, no one to notice them.
Dobby led him to the far corner of the cemetery and pointed to two graves. Harry stopped. His legs felt like lead and a coldness had come over his heart. He would finally see them, knowing they were dead was one thing, but seeing their graves, it would be true confirmation. He stared at them for a moment more before making himself take the few steps to stand in front of them. Finally standing in front of them he allowed his emotions to rise from where he had quashed them. He knelt down on the hard, dry ground and ran his fingers over the writing engraved on the headstones.
James Potter
Born 27th March 1960
Died 31st October 1981
Lily Potter
Born 30th January 1960
Died 31st October 1981
The last enemy to be defeated is death.
Tears streamed down his face as he finally allowed his emotions to bubble over and release, the first time in a long time. He stared at the graves of the only people to ever have loved him.
"Hey Mum, Dad. It's me, Harry. Sorry it took me so long to visit, I not long found out where we lived." He sniffed. "I've grown quite a bit since the last time you saw me, I'm at Hogwarts now, just finished my second year. It's been, eventful," he said causing himself to chuckle. That was an understatement he thought. "I'm really enjoying learning about magic, and I've made some great friends. Ron and Hermione are the best, they're always there for me." He looked over to Dobby motioning him to come forward. "This is Dobby, he stopped Mr Malfoy from hurting me. I've made him a part of the family, an honorary Potter," he said causing Dobby to blush. He turned back to the graves. "I really miss you both. It's so hard living without parents, Aunt Petunia's not exactly a great role model." He sighed. "I wish you were here," he mumbled fresh tears pouring down his face. He knew it sounded childish, but it was his greatest wish, as the Mirror of Erised had shown to him in his first year, to have a family.
He wiped the tears off his face and look once again at the inscription on the graves. He chuckled. Trust Dumbledore, he thought. Only he would thing that putting an inscription about death would be fitting. It basically meant living beyond death, the next great adventure as Dumbledore would put it. He opened up his rucksack and reached in, carefully withdrawing a white rose he had gotten to place on the grave. He stood silently for a minute before placing the rose, stepping back to admire it. He looked down at Dobby who was also silently crying. He whispered his goodbyes, with promises to come back when he could. He waited for Dobby to calm before asking him softly if he could take them to the house.
Pop.
Harry looked up to see a medium sized cottage, part of it destroyed. He took a step forward placing his hand on the gate. A plaque rose out of the ground.
"On this spot, on the night of 31st October 1981,
Lily and James Potter lost their lives. Their Son,
Harry, remains the only wizard 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."
Harry couldn't believe that his old house was a symbol of hope. That even now it could help to instil courage in times of darkness. He breathed in and continued to open the gate. He felt a slight tingle in his hand. He looked to Dobby.
"Only a Potter can enter the house, there is Potter wards all around the house that went up after you was taken from here. Stopped thieves from taking Potter stuff," Dobby finished. Harry nodded and pushed the gate open feeling the Potter wards accept him. It felt warm, like a very old friend. He walked up the path to the front door which had been blasted open, the remainder of it scattered on the outside and inside on the carpet. He pulled his invisibility cloak off, stuffing it into his bag. He then pulled out a glass sphere. It was the size of a football and light came out of it. It was like a floodlight, lighting up all the dark corners. It was a Lumos ball, it absorbed the light from a lumos spell and increased the output so that it was very bright.
He slowly stepped forward into the house slowly looking around. To his right was the living room, to the left were the stairs to the second floor, to where the bedrooms were. He swallowed, staring up at the stairs. That was where it happened, he thought. He decided to look in the living room first, he would need time to gather his Gryffindor courage before facing the destruction of that night.
He slowly entered the living room putting the Lumos ball down on a nearby table. The ball bathed the room is light, making it look less dreary and forbidding. The room was relatively untouched, the only damage was were the entrance to the kitchen was, it was no longer accessible. It looked like the above room had collapsed into it. He lightly ran his hand over the light green sofa that sat in the middle of the room, before seeing, in the corner of the room, a child's playpen. His playpen.
He approached it and slowly looked inside. A wolf, a dog and a stag. Toys. He had toys. He had seen Dudley playing with his but Harry had never had any. He smiled and reached down to grab them. The moment his hand touched the soft fur he was pulled into a memory.
He was sitting on the back of a big black dog who was walking around the living room. He was giggling. Riding of Padfoot was fun. A strong pair of hands lifted him off the dog.
"Mummy will be home soon. You know she doesn't like you riding on Padfoot," his daddy said. But he wanted to ride on the doggy some more. It was fun. He watched as the black dog turned back into his godfather.
"Pafoo'." Sirius laughed and ruffled his hair.
"Yeah your mummy always ruins all the fun." He tickled him making him giggle again. He looked up as two more men entered the room.
"Hey Mooney, Wormy. Have you got them with you today?" Both of the men nodded in agreement. Sirius looked excited. "Finally! Hey Prongs were ready to give them to him." His daddy nodded.
"It's about time, I wanted them ready for his first Christmas, and it's closer to his birthday now though. Albus has had us so busy with the order, we really haven't had a breather." Sirius nodded in agreement. All four men circled him and sat down. Sirius grinned widely at him as he reached behind him for something.
A small stuffed dog that looked just like his animagus form. He smiled in delight, he loved toys.
"Pafoo'" Sirius nodded.
"Yes, that's my animagus form Harry." He quickly changed into Padfoot, giving a loud bark before switching back. He clapped his hands in delight causing Sirius to bow. "Remus, your next."
Remus stood up and smiled down at him, causing the stress lines on his face to disappear.
"Hey Harry, I have something for you too. This is Mooney" He brought out a small stuffed wolf which he immediately grabbed and hugged. This made Remus beam in delight at the obvious love he had for the toy. He looked back up at Lupin expectedly. This caused Lupin to pale. "I'm not an animagus Harry, I'm a dangerous creature known as a werewolf," he finished. Sirius and his daddy laughed.
"Dangerous," Sirius sniggered. "When did that ever stop us? You just had a furry little problem." Lupin grinned back at them.
"You know, back at school everyone thought I had some rabid rabbit at home when you said that." The four of them burst into laughter.
"I'm next," said his daddy gleefully. A third stuffed toy in the shape of a stag appeared in his lap. "This is me, Prongs." He stood up quickly changing into a magnificent stag. He looked up at his daddy in awe. Silenced by the sight of his daddy. After changing back his daddy gave him a small kiss on top of his head. "Wormy your turn." The small, round man stepped forward bringing out a small rat stuffed toy for him. He picked it up cautiously and watched as the man changed into a rat. He didn't really like the feeling he got from the rat-man. Just as he had changed into a rat his mummy had entered the room. She gave a small shriek as she saw wormy scurrying away to safety. He knew when to stay away from an angry mummy. She placed both of her hands on her hips.
"What have I told you about changing in the house?" The remaining three men looked up at her guiltily as he continued to play with his new toys, although the rat one remained where the rat-man had placed it.
Harry gasped as the flashback, as he realised that was what it had been, ended. Tears had been rolling down his face as he witnessed his life before Voldemort, before the Dursley's.
"Is master Harry alright?" asked Dobby, concern etched on his face. Harry nodded, wiping the tears from his face. It was obvious that his parents had loved him, something that he had known, but never had proof of, until now. He looked back at Dobby.
"I remembered something good. I remember how it felt to be loved," he said softly. He had seen his father's friends, his uncles. They obviously got up to a lot of trouble at school considering that they were animagi, all except Remus. He was rather proud that his father had made friends with a werewolf. He had set aside all predigests, that was what Harry wanted, for people to put aside their petty differences and get along. Most people thought werewolves as savage beasts, but that untrue and unfair observations. They were normal people who had the unfortunate ability to change into a wolf once a month. It wasn't something that most wanted, and it was downright painful, but they were set aside for it. It wasn't right. He loved the way in which they called it his 'furry little problem'. He hugged the three soft toys towards him, glad to have something of his own. He carefully stored them in his rucksack, all the while thinking about his uncles, were any of them still alive? If they were, where were they? He looked in the playpen again to search for the fourth toy, but it wasn't there. Maybe it got lost, he thought, but an uncomfortable feeling settled when he thought of the rat-man named Peter.
He glanced up at the ceiling and took in a deep breath. He needed to go up there, he needed to see it for himself. He looked over to Dobby who was observing him. He gave him a small smile to let him know he was ok.
He grabbed the Lumos ball and walked to the bottom of the stairs. He looked up into the gloom, he was afraid of what he might find up there. Would he have a flashback like he did in the living room? Would he remember that night? He gave himself a mental shove, he would never know if he didn't go up there, wasn't he a Gryffindor? He took a deep breath and holding the Lumos ball in front of him slowly made his way up the stairs.
The first room he came to was on the right, and it was obviously his. The bedroom door lay on the floor of the room with 'Harry's Room' painted on it. He looked inside, bracing himself for the destruction he expected to find, caused by Voldemort's spell rebounding. The side of the room with his cot in was still standing…just. The other side was a different story, it had collapsed into what had once been the kitchen. He carefully walked towards his cot, keeping close to the wall. He knelt down by his cot, seeing black scorch marks on the wooden bars, the only evidence of the dark curse thrown at him. He gently touched the marks, only to be pulled into another memory.
He was crying in his cot. The monster with red eyes had made his mummy fall down. She hadn't gotten back up yet, she always came to him when he cried, maybe she was sleeping. The horrible man had started talking to him.
"So you're the one prophesized to defeat me. No-one can defeat me, least of all a defenceless little brat. I am Lord Voldemort, greatest Sorcerer in the world. I am immortal. And now little Harry I will kill you so there can never be a chance for you to try. Avada Kedavra."
A flash of green light hurtled towards him. He screamed. It hurt so much. Mummy, I want my mummy. He looked up, head still hurting from the nasty green light. The horrible man had gone. Standing in the doorway was the rat-man. He looked scared as he entered the room, the rat-man bent down to pick up the horrible man's wand.
"You destroyed the Dark Lord," the rat-man stammered going white, before breaking out into an evil smirk. "The Dark Lord has many ways of returning, and when he returns I shall be justly rewarded, for killing you," the rat-man finished pointing his wand at him. He had stopped crying and was looking at the rat-man defiantly, he had never liked the small man. A familiar noise broke the silence, a roaring motorcycle.
"Pafoo'" he shouted. The rat-man stumbled back, realising that help was coming, he took another look at him before disappearing with a pop. A voice called from below.
"James, Lily, Harry!" Then he heard a low moan from downstairs. He wanted to see Padfoot, his head hurt so much, why wasn't mummy waking up, he needed her. He heard footsteps up the stairs. Sirius appeared in the doorway.
"Pafoo'," he sobbed, the pain in his head starting to fade. He saw Sirius's eyes light up as he saw that he was still alive.
"Harry! You're alive!" the man all but sobbed in relief. Tears were running down Sirius's face, grieving for the loss of his best friends. Sirius picked him up, pulling him in close, so that he wouldn't see the lifeless form of his mother. "Oh Lily," he sobbed. "How could you betray us Peter?" he yelled out. "How could you betray them?" Sirius started sobbing uncontrollably and he joined along, crying into Sirius's shoulder. He snuggled into Sirius's arms as they exited the house. A loud pop made Sirius draw his wand and pull him in closer.
"Sirius, tha' you?" a gruff voice asked. Sirius sighed in relief putting his wand back away.
"Hagrid. Their dead, they're both dead," Sirius sobbed. "He killed them."
"Wha' bout lil Harry?" Hagrid asked. Sirius shook his head.
"He's right here. I think Voldemort tried to kill him, he's got this mark on his head. How did he survive Hagrid?" The giant of a man shook his head.
"I dunno Sirius. Look, I've got orders from Dumbledore to take Harry. I got ter take Harry to his aunt's. There 'is only livin' family." Sirius shook his head.
"But I'm his Godfather, I want to look after him, I need to," Sirius begged. Hagrid sighed.
"I'm only followin' Dumbledore's orders. He needs ta be safe, there's still death eaters out there." Sirius nodded numbly placing a small kiss on his head before saying goodbye. He reached out for Sirius, he didn't want him to go.
"Take my bike Hagrid, you'll get there quicker."
"Are you sure? You love tha' bike." Sirius nodded.
"I won't be needing it anymore."
Harry fell to his needs, his emotions pouring out. He felt a small hand rub his back. He was glad that he hadn't come on his own, being here, seeing the past. It hurt so much, to know what he had, and what he had lost on that night. He was struggling to decide what he was feeling. He was upset, upset and angry. How could one of their own best friends betray them to Voldemort? It would be like Ron telling Malfoy to give it his best shot, it seemed impossible. What had happened to make Peter do that, what had his parents done to him to deserve being ratted out to the Dark Baldness.
He wondered what had happened to the rat, maybe Sirius caught up with him, but if he did, wouldn't Sirius have come for him, he was his Godfather after all, he seemed determined to take him before Hagrid turned up. Maybe he was dead.
He wiped his tears away again. It seemed that this entire trip had had him crying so much. There was so much to cry over though. He stood up, he still had one more room he wanted to look in, his parent's room.
He opened the door and allowed the light from the Lumos ball to fill the room. Everything was perfectly preserved. Not a speck of dust could be seen anywhere. He looked at Dobby.
"Tis a preservation spell, keeps everything how it was when the spell was casted." Harry nodded in thanks. A double bed sat in the middle of the room with two wardrobes either side. There were also two bedside tables, one for each side. Pictures of his parents and him decorated the walls.
He started to search the room, finding diaries and photo albums, anything that would tell him about his parents. He added his findings to his rucksack, looking forward to going through them at a later date. It was getting late and he was feeling emotionally exhausted.
The last thing he looked at was his mother's Jewellery box. He opened it, surprised to see that it was bigger on the inside. There were necklace and earring sets which were beautiful, but not too overbearing. Most consisted of emeralds and rubies. The thing that caught his attention the most was that of a small ring, in the centre of the box. It was a ruby with emeralds on either side. It was extravagant, just rightly beautiful. He picked it up, looking at it carefully. The ruby reminded him of Ginny's hair. He blushed, where that came from he didn't know he thought, putting the ring back down. Dobby looked at him excitedly.
"Dobby knows what that is Harry sir!" Harry looked at Dobby questioningly. "Tis a soul ring sir. When you hold it, if you already have met your soul mate, then you will think of her. The Potter soul ring has been around for as long as anyone can remember, and almost all of the Potter's soul mates are red-heads. When you give the person who is your soul mate this ring you will start the soul bond process. As the relationship becomes stronger so does the bond, eventually after consummation the bond is completed, legally it would count as being married." Harry nodded in understanding. He was too young to be thinking about marriage, but he did like Ginny more than any other girl he had ever met. When he was older, maybe he would understand the feeling.
He quickly closed the jewellery box and put it carefully into the rucksack. He wondered if his father had known his mother was his soul mate. He gave the room another quick look before deciding to leave.
"Come on Dobby. Let's go back to the Dursley's."
A small pop and the Potter house stood empty again.
So did anyone catch the doctor who quote thrown in?
Also the stuff from the grave and the writing at the Potters House is from the Deathly Hallows.