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The woman turned out to be a very nice one. Her name was Adriana Ramon. Her son's name was James, after Harry's dad. She had met his father at Hogwarts when she was in her fifth year. James was obviously a good deal older than her, but she had said that she thought he was cute. She told Harry and his friends about how she followed him with her best friend, Michelle. He had come to see Dumbledore about something in the beginning of the year. She told them that when he left that day, they figured they would never see him again, after all they didn't even know his name. A few weeks later, however, he was there again. This time he did notice the two rambling girls that were stalking him. She thought they were going to get into so much trouble, but he was really nice. He introduced himself as James Potter, and instantly, they were amazed. Adriana had been a Keeper on Gryffindor's Quidditch team, so she had heard all great things about the amazing James Potter. She said that James and her had kept in touch for many years after that, James being like a father-figure to her. Her father had died before she was born. She told them how James was her mentor and how she was very saddened to hear of his death and his triumphant son.
When she finished her tale, all was quiet. Hermione had found it odd that she just so happened to be living in the same place where James used to be. Harry, on the other hand, was thinking no such thing. Instead, rage was boiling up inside him. It really wasn't fair! He was the son of James Potter, and the only thing he remembered about his father was a blinding green flash and screams. Then there was this woman, like so many others, that had such great memories of his dad. Hearing how this woman got to know his father like her own upset him. Then to think about her living in what should have been his house made him even more enraged. It took all of his self-control to appear to be normal. Ron wasn't sure what to think. He could tell that Harry was a little jealous of Adriana. At the same time, he figured she might be able to help them. It was funny that she was a witch. He also wondered where her husband was. She hadn't mentioned him at all, but she was wearing a ring. That seemed odd.
Adriana fixed the window with a simple repairing spell, and then continued to clean the house through magic. She told them all about Godric's Hollow and emphasized that almost everyone in the neighborhood were Muggles so they had to be careful. Hermione was very happy when she brought up that fact, because it allowed her to question why she chose to be there.
"So why are there only Muggles around here?" Hermione asked innocently.
"Well, dear, after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came here and destroyed the Potters, all magicians left. Everyone was happy He was gone, but then the realization set in that he might not be completely gone. Harry here saved many of us, but no one really thought just a baby could simply destroy the most powerful man alive at th-"
"Voldemort," Harry interrupted angrily as Adriana flinched at the sound of his name "was NOT the most powerful man alive! Dumbledore was!"
Adriana looked stunned. She wasn't sure how to proceed. "Yes, okay dear. Fine. Dumbledore was the most powerful man alive, but even so, people were afraid. No one thought a baby could just kill You-Know-Who. So after a few months everyone fled Godric's Hollow. At the time, I was living a few blocks away from here. I happened to be at my sister's that day, however, taking her kids out trick-or-treating. I was too afraid to come back home for another month, so I stayed with my sister. When I got back, people were leaving."
"What made you decide to live here?" Hermione interrogated. She wanted to know everything she possibly could about this woman.
"As I said, I was in Gryffindor's house. I was very proud to be there. I felt I lived up to the standards that were expected of people in Gryffindor. So, when I left Hogwarts, I wondered where I could possibly live. I researched it a lot, and felt that I should live where the great Godric Gryffindor once did: Godric's Hollow."
"This used to be where Godric Gryffindor used to live? Bloody hell!" Ron said
"I never knew that!" Hermione exclaimed. She was surprised, although, now that she thought about it, she had never come across anything about the residence of her house's founder. It made sense. She wondered if Adriana knew anything else about Gryffindor that she didn't.
"Do you know, by any chance, how long my parents were here for?" Harry asked her. The gears in the back of his mind were turning at a rather rapid pace. He was very anxious to hear the answer. One that he was pretty sure he already knew somehow.
"Oh, they lived here forever, dear. Your father grew up here. Just like his father and so on." She replied, not catching what he was thinking.
Harry could not believe it. If his father had always lived here, then his ancestors were from Godric's Hollow. So were Godric Gryffindor's. He wasn't positive if that truly meant anything, but he was pretty sure it did. Words Dumbledore had said to him many years ago rang through his head: "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that sword out of that hat." Maybe Dumbledore was talking about more than one meaning of a "true Gryffindor."
They sat and talked with Adriana for another few hours about Harry's father and then they said that they should probably get going. They asked her where exactly the Potters were buried and she gave Harry a look of pity and then offered to bring them there. They accepted. The cemetery was a beautiful one. Unfortunately most were. Towards the back, near the gate, in a corner plot was where Lily and James Potter were buried. There was a single tombstone with the inscriptions of their birthdates and death-date. That was it. Harry was compelled to cry and Adriana could tell it was her time to go. She said goodbye, and with a crack she was gone. Ron and Hermione looked at their friend and decided that he needed some alone time. They told him that they would be back in an hour or so and they went off in the car for a little drive.
Harry sat alone next to his parents' grave and just sat there. He could not stop thinking about how they were wrongfully taken away from him. He started to cry and could not stop. After what seemed like a flood had passed through him, he managed to look at the gravestone again. Something inside of him just wanted to give up and die so that he could be with his parents again. The Dumbledore's words of wisdom came back to him again. He recalled the time Dumbledore had told him that if he were to just die, his mother's sacrifice would be a waste. He had to fight. He had to fight so that it wouldn't be a waste. He closed his eyes and started to talk to his parents in a hushed voice. He told them all about what was going on and how he was feeling. He didn't know what good it would do, or even what the point of doing that was, but he was glad he did. It felt nice to be able to just say what he felt. Every time he mentioned Voldemort's name, however, a searing pain went through him by means of his scar. It was almost like he was being told not to bring Voldemort into his problems or something.
His eyes were still closed when the worst pain went through him. He had just finished saying everything on his mind when he had a vision of Snape killing Dumbledore. Shortly after that, it was Voldemort killing his parents. Green lights were flashing all around him. The pain was excruciating. It was almost like he was under the Cruciatus Curse again. It felt like white hot knives were being driven into him over and over and over again. It was unending, and Harry struggled to open his eyes, but they wouldn't. His body was betraying him as it felt like his flesh was being sliced open. What seemed like an hour later, the pain subsided enough for Harry to see the head of Voldemort. It was almost like the time he saw Sirius for the first time in the fireplace with the Floo network. Voldemort said one thing before disappearing and the pain coming back: "You can't win." His laughter flooded Harry's mind as it felt like a knife was going straight through his heart. His scream was loud enough to wake the dead.
Hope you liked this chapter, although, now I actually have to write more because this was the last chapter I had. Sorry for the gap from this chapter and the one before it. I went on vacation for a few days and got back yesterday. I've been reading fanfics all day today and then figured I should update my story. I really hope you will review. It is very helpful, and if you write HP fics or POTC fic I'll probably review your stuff too.
Lauren