Author's Notes: Once again, thank you to all of last week's readers, and especially to those who submitted a review.
ProfessorChris: Well, of course Harry has to talk to Ginny before he goes on his final adventure. For all they know, that's the last time they'll ever see each other again. As for the flashback sequence, I am a softy at heart and I can never see myself allowing that kind of thing to happen to a child in any of my stories. Thanks for the support.
thebladeofchaos: Thanks for the support. I'm glad you find this to your liking.
Last week's Monty Python reference was from the thirteenth episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus from a sketch titled "Restaurant (Abuse/Cannibalism)" and is spoken by Michael Palin's character in the sketch, a restaurant owner, who talks about how his restaurant serves no animal meat of any kind and also admits "we're not only proud of that,we're smug of it." I think you can figure out where the sketch goes from its title.
Also a British reference from last week's chapter is the password to get into The Burrow, which thebladeofchaos picked up on. "London Calling" is, of course, one of the biggest hits from British punk band The Clash and one of the greatest bands of all time. The song is also the title of the album it's on, which is also one of the greatest music albums of all time.
This week's Monty Python reference is a little hard to find unless you know what to look for. If you do, then it's a no-brainer. Good luck!
And to everyone, 2,000 hits. I'm amazed by all your interest. It took my Zelda story 20 chapters to hit this mark, and you guys have done it in just six!
Alright then, lets get on with the show.
Chapter 6: A Prophesy at Godric's Hallow
Harry saw his snowy owl, Hedwig, flying toward Number 12, Grimmauld Place. It was the morning of August 25, 1997, only a week before the Hogwarts Express would take all the students except for Harry back to Hogwarts for another year of school. Well, Malfoy won't be showing his face around Hogwarts anytime soon, Harry thought as he opened the window and let Hedwig into the house, And Snape won't be around. That thought nearly made Harry want to forget about Voldemort and return to Hogwarts to finish his education, but he knew what he had to do. He closed the window and then took the letter Hedwig was holding in her talons. Harry gave her a treat as she flew back into her cage on the nearby table.
Harry looked at the letter and saw that it was addressed to him, Harry Potter, Number 12, Grimmauld Place. The ink was bright green. It was from Hogwarts and Harry found the letter sealed with the Hogwarts stamp. He opened the letter and found a single piece of paper inside. He read the letter.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Dear Harry James Potter,
I have received your request of a postponement of your seventh year of schooling at Hogwarts through Professor Geoffrey Gryffindor.
It is regretful that you will not be returning to Hogwarts this year, but it is the school's policy to allow students to abstain from the school for whatever reasons they have. It is my hope that you will finish your Hogwarts education as soon as you possibly can.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Interim Headmistress,
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
(Not deceased)
P.S.: Good luck on your quest, Harry. I wish you to remain safe.
Harry chuckled as he read the final line. A little too late to be safe now, professor, he thought as Geoff walked into the room, wearing the black robes of a Hogwarts professor. But Harry could see that black just didn't fit his personality or his appearance.
"I never liked black very much," Geoff said as he looked up at Harry, "I always found it to be a dreary colour with no meaning. I have always liked the red and gold of Gryffindor."
"I think there's a very good reason for that," Harry replied.
"Ah well, I can't really wear my usual robes today. While I don't fear Voldemort, I do fear his followers, those bloodthirsty Death Eaters," Geoff admitted as Gary came walking into the room with his black trench coat on, "I actually met some of them in my days at Hogwarts, like poor Regulus Black. Only 19-years-old and he had to meet that sort of end."
"Yeah, I met him too. Such a terrible waste of a good wizard," Gary replied, "Of course, that wasn't as bad as what those blokes did to the Longbottoms, but we got Jerome for that. That was brutal, what we did to him."
Harry looked at Gary, and then back to Geoff. "Jerome? What are you guys talking about?" he asked.
"Anthony Jerome was a Death Eater that I went to Hogwarts with," Geoff answered, "He had done some pretty nasty things, and he was the one who found out where Frank and Alice Longbottom were after Voldemort's fall. Gary and I killed him seven years ago when we were tracking down Death Eaters. He was the last one of the ten we got to at that time."
"Why did you stop with him?" Harry inquired, "Did the Ministry finally get too close for comfort at that time?"
"That was part of it," Geoff admitted, "But by that time, Voldemort was returning to Britain and Gary and I decided that we had done enough. But enough about that. Harry, get your cloak on and come with us. We are going somewhere important now."
"Where?" Harry asked as he walked over to his trunk, now half-unpacked, and got his wizard's robes out.
"Godric's Hallow," Gary answered for his brother as he got his trench coat on, "Perhaps there is something that will help us find the remaining Voldemort horcruxes there."
Geoff laughed at this. "When we get back, we will actually be finding one of those damned things quite quickly," he said as Harry finished putting on his robes, "Alright Harry, we are ready to go."
"I'm not sure I can apparate there, though," Harry told Geoff.
"Because Gary is tagging along on this one, none of us are going to be apparating anywhere," Geoff replied as he looked at his brother, "Okay, we are all set, so lets go."
Geoff led Harry and Gary out of the door of Number 12, Grimmauld Place and out into the London air.
"Where is Godric's Hallow, anyway?"Harry asked, "No one has ever told me where it is."
"With good reason," Geoff replied as he walked up to the magically-modified muggle automobile on the street in front of them, "It's small and out of the way, just as it should have been. It is actually near the Gryffindor Mansion in Great Yarmouth. It's just a little south of there. It's a nice, small muggle village that is very peaceful. As far as I know, they have never cleared the ruins of the cottage James and Lily were hiding in. Part of the local lore now, actually, if I recall correctly."
Harry and Geoff slid into the back seat of the car while Gary got into the driver's seat and started driving the car to the countryside east of London.
--
It was about an hour past noon when the three travelers arrived in the small muggle village of Godric's Hallow. Gary stopped the car a short distance away from what appeared to be just a pile of stone. Getting out of the car and walking toward this, Harry noticed that what appeared to be the base of a wall was still standing about two feet tall. And in the middle of the rubble, Harry saw the remains of a staircase.
"Ah, Mr. Gryffindor, welcome back," Harry turned to see an old man shaking Geoff's hand, "It's good to see you again."
"Good to see you too, Nathan," Geoff responded as he turned toward Gary and Harry, "You know my brother, Gary, already. This here is Harry Potter."
Nathan gasped upon hearing the name Harry Potter. "Of course! Now I see the scar!" he said as he approached Harry, "Oh, my name is Nathan Ramsey, and it is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter!" He reached out his hand and shook Harry's hand enthusiastically.
"Harry, you are probably wondering how I know Nathan," Geoff correctly guessed, "Well, Mr. Ramsey was a professor of mine at Hogwarts. He taught Muggle Studies, actually. A very interesting class, if I do say so myself."
"Well, considering that you basically have a muggle for a brother, you should know a thing or two about how they survive," Gary said with a hint of bitterness in his voice, though obviously not aimed at Geoff himself.
"Yes, well, we are who we are, Gary," Geoff said with what Harry felt sounded something like guilt, "And there is nothing we can do to change that. So, Nathan, is the road here clear?"
"Oh, yes, it is," Nathan replied, "Why do you ask, Geoff?"
"Oh, nothing," Geoff replied as he approached the ruins in front of the group of four, "It's just I prefer to stay out of sight as much as possible."
Harry, Gary, and Nathan followed Geoff to the ruins when Geoff started to rub his temples when he got to the edge of the remains.
"Geoff? Is something wrong?" Harry asked.
"No, I just have gotten a bit of a headache all of a sudden," Geoff replied, "It's not a problem." But moments later, Harry heard a deep inhalation of breath from Geoff's mouth as he grabbed the sides of his head with his hands and collapsed to his knees. His eyes were shut and his face was looking up toward the sky with his mouth wide open. His entire face showed that he was in excruciating pain.
"Geoff!" Harry cried as he reached for his new companion, when Gary stopped him.
"It's alright," Gary explained, "He is having a vision right now. He will recover soon enough."
"It looks like he is having a seizure," Harry said as he looked back toward Geoff.
"That is what a muggle would call it," Gary agreed, "But the minds of certain wizards and witches, like Geoff's, actually see important things about the future when this happens to them. What muggle doctors see as brain cells firing off together at random is actually a stream of visions that some wizards and witches can see in their minds and interpret."
Harry suddenly remembered what happened to Professor Trelawney on the day he had taken his test in his third year with her in Divination. How she suddenly entered a trance similar to that which Geoff was in now, except she did not appear to be in the pain that Geoff was obviously in now.
"I've never seen a seer in this kind of pain before, though," Harry commented.
"That's because Geoff is not a true seer. He has the powers of one, but chose not to refine them," Gary replied as Geoff appeared to be coming out of his trance, "He never really liked the idea of Divination classes."
"Yeah, I can understand why," Harry responded as Geoff fell forward onto his hands before standing up slowly.
"What did you see, Geoffrey? What did you see?" Nathan asked his former pupil.
"I saw," Geoff began, still wobbling on his feet a little, "I saw a battle, on these ruins. I saw you, Harry, and I saw Lord Voldemort, fighting each other back where this all began so many years ago. I saw flashes of orange as a great battle rages here in Godric's Hallow once again. The fates of both the muggle world and the wizarding world rest on this one battle, the last in this dark war. Then I saw a body that was falling down, but never hit the ground. I don't know what that means, but that's what I saw."
Harry looked back at the ruins of the place that he was born in, now knowing that here was where he and Voldemort would fight each other for the last time. At least one of them would die here. Maybe we'll kill each other here, Harry thought as he stepped onto the ruins of the house. He felt a strong attraction to this place. As he walked through the remains, the others continued in conversation.
"So, anyone here willing to bet any money on today's Quidditch World Cup finals?" Nathan inquired.
"What do you have for the spread?" Gary asked.
"Ireland beats the United States by 200 points in the third and final game," Nathan replied.
"I'll take the under," Geoff immediately said, reaching into his small sack of money and pulled out twenty galleons, "The American team is better than they are given credit for. Maximus Brankovitch III is a great captain for his team and one hell of a seeker. There's a reason the Fitchburg Finches have won the US Cup so many times so recently."
"Not to mention that Max is a friend of yours," Gary pointed out with a chuckle.
"Ireland is the reigning champion," Nathan reminded, "And the finals are in Spain, so Ireland will effectively have home-field advantage."
"Ireland is going to underestimate the US team quite a bit again," Geoff pointed out, "While I am surprised the United States made it to the finals and have pushed it to a third game in the first place, they will be less than 50 points back when the Snitch is caught. And Brankovitch will catch it this time. Twenty galleons on the United States to beat the spread."
"I'll register that bet," Nathan responded, taking the galleons, "Needless to say, the ending of the 423rd Quidditch World Cup should be an interesting one. It already has been interesting."
"With the best-of-three format they use now, most of the best teams make it through. No more unexpected upsets, although the USA may count as one," Geoff said as he started to look around, "Now, where did Harry get off to?"
Harry was still gazing around the ruins of the cottage, now looking at the remains of what appeared to be a staircase. He returned to the group when he heard his name called.
"I'm surprised you aren't in Madrid right now for this, Geoffrey," Nathan said.
"I'm a little busy with things here at the moment," Geoff replied as the group began to walk away from the ruins of the house, "And my sister Guinevere is going to be there watching and recording it. I'll be watching the game as soon as I meet up with her."
"Brother, perhaps we ought to get going back to London now," Gary suggested to Geoff, "We have some work to get to there."
"I'd like to visit my parents' graves first, actually," Harry requested.
"Yes, we'll let Harry do that before going back to London," Geoff decided, "It's only right." And with that, Geoff led Harry to the graveyard behind the church in the village.
--
Author's Notes: Yes, yes, I know now that Godric's Hallow is probably somewhere near the Wales-England border and not to the east of London, but I started this story before I learned that, and I didn't want to rearrange that detail.
Also, if you tell me that I have placed this Quidditch World Cup too early, I'm going to go over a bit of a discrepancy in the notes after next week's chapter to explain that. For the record, the number I put in the chapter for this World Cup isn't even the correct one.
And yes, Maximus (Latin for "greatest" or "largest") Brankovitch III is from Quidditch Through the Ages. All rights reserved to J.K. Rowling and all that jazz. I'll explain what's so significant about that next chapter.
I originally had the house Harry visits in this chapter being nothing but a pile of rubble, but I decided to keep some parts of the house standing. The locals don't repair it, so it just falls apart on its own over time.
Well, I think that's all for now. Until next week, read, review and enjoy.