Chapter 139

Godric's Hollow

With a few days left until Christmas, everyone in the house spent their time studying the books they had, trying desperately to find some clue, some hint, of what they were looking for. After the explosion at the muggle building, Lily suspected they'd be hesitant to help, though she had been surprised when Sirius had arrived with the Muggle Prime Minister.

After a brief investigation, it had been confirmed that the explosion had been because of Voldemort, and so the Prime Minister had insisted that they keep the details secret, but when the time came, they'd definitely have support. Lily knew she shouldn't have been surprised; anyone would be pissed after losing friends to a maniac.

There was something Lily had been wanting to do, though she'd struggled with telling anyone about it. She had thought about it, because she didn't want to reveal her semi selfish reasoning, but she finally had the courage to speak up.

"I know this might not be a good idea, but I want to go to Godric's Hollow," Lily said. "I know now isn't the smartest time, but…"

"But you want to go there to see your parents," Ginny said. "I can understand that."

"It's not selfish mate," Ron said. "But I'm definitely concerned, given You-Know-Who is looking for all of us."

"It might be a good idea though," Draco said. "I know Sofia told us about Lily and Ginny both having part of a Horcrux but given that's where Riddle was first split from his old body, there might be some kind of clue there."

"You think so?" Lavender asked.

"It's possible," Hermione agreed. "I know that the area was left as a monument to Lily's parents, and to Lily."

"I never knew that," Lily said softly. She felt her eyes stinging, with tears threatening to pour out.

"We shouldn't all go, at least not in one group. We should be in small groups," Pansy said.

"I'll go with Lily," Ginny said. "Lily can use her ability to change her appearance, and I'll use one of the Polyjuice potion sets we have."

"We'll be on the edge of the village," Hermione said. "Fleur and I can maintain a perimeter."

"Whilst Pansy, Ron, Lavender, and I can look around the outer side of the village," Draco said. "The second anyone's in trouble, we send up red sparks, and all converge."

"Sounds like a plan," Lily agreed. "We just need to be careful."

"That's for damned sure," Ron agreed. Lily hoped they'd be able to find something, but that, for the moment, was secondary. What she wanted was something she'd thought about for ages, but had never actually taken the time to get, which, in the moment, made her wonder why.

She wanted closure, and to say goodbye properly to her parents.


With it being close to Christmas, and snow falling everywhere, Lily and Ginny kept close together for warmth as their boots left their imprints in the snow, crunching with every step. "Damn, it's cold," Ginny muttered.

"No kidding," Lily agreed, looking around. "Seems like everyone's happy for Christmas."

"They don't even know how close they are to losing everything," Ginny muttered, as a couple laughing and talking passed by them.

"No one does; that's the point of what we're doing, I guess. They'd panic if they knew the truth, wouldn't they?" Lily asked.

"Probably," Ginny agreed. "If we can keep everyone safe, so much the better."

"Can you imagine if I'd grown up here? It's so peaceful," Lily said, as they walked down the street, crossing the road, ignoring the harsh chill in the wind. "I wonder what I'd be like, growing up here, probably playing out here with friends."

"What happened to your muggle friends?" Ginny asked. "From before you came to Hogwarts."

Lily sighed softly. "Didn't have a lot of them, though we got on well enough. I played football with some of the kids, but after I left for Hogwarts, well, I still saw them every so often during the holidays, but not so much over the last three years. I guess it's just how things go," she replied, brushing her currently blonde hair out of her eyes. She looked a little different from her usual self, since she needed to remain undercover, and Ginny looked like a different person as well thanks to the Polyjuice potion.

"Do you regret that?" Ginny asked.

"A little," Lily confirmed. "I know we were different, but they were good people. I got on well with them. I liked them, but it felt like we were just drifting apart."

"I'm sorry to hear that; I know how much your friends mean to you," Ginny replied. "It's not easy to say goodbye to people, or to drift away from others."

"Unfortunately, life can happen like that, from experience. I mean, let's face it, we'll always be together, but one day, we could end up not seeing Ron and Lavender, or Hermione and Fleur, for a while. Life is… well, life." Lily said, before stopping, realising where they had reached. "We're… at the graveyard," she said softly.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ginny asked, meeting Lily's eyes. "I know you've wanted this for a while, but… doing it isn't going to be easy."

"No, but… I think I need to do this," Lily told her, sighing. "I've never been here, though I could've asked Uncle Sirius to take me anytime I wanted."

"Why didn't you?" Ginny asked.

"I'm not sure," Lily replied, as they walked through the entrance, a kissing gate, looking around. "I think a part of it is that I was afraid. I'd thought of what I saw, the flashes I kept seeing thanks to the Dementors, and everything I kept seeing. I just… kept thinking of it, of what I saw, what happened… all of it."

"I can't imagine how that was, I mean, you were one, and you saw Riddle kill your mum," Ginny said softly, as they walked past a few graves. "Abbot… think it's a relative of Hannah?"

"Maybe," Lily agreed, nodding. "This one… there's a strange symbol, but it looks familiar."

"How so?" Ginny asked.

"I dunno," Lily replied, brushing some dirt and snow from the grave, looking at the symbol and studying it. "It looks old, and the name, Peverell… a name you've heard?"

"No, not one I remember, but we can speak to Hermione if we need to," Ginny suggested. "If there's anything she doesn't know, then it's not worth knowing."

"You're not wrong. Just ask a question, and she immediately wants to answer it," Lily chuckled, as they moved forward, checking other graves, before freezing. "Ginny, look," Lily said softly, looking at the graves they were now in front of.

"Kendra Dumbledore, and her daughter Ariana," Ginny read aloud, looking at it.

"His mother and sister. He never told me exactly what happened, but he blamed himself for his sister's death, I think," Lily said.

"How do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"Well, he told me that he and Elphias Doge was planning to travel around the world, but after his mum died, he had to stay home and watch over his brother and sister. The way he spoke, I could hear some kind of guilt when he said his sister was killed," Lily explained.

"He never told you more?" Ginny asked.

"I think he would have, in time… but there never was enough time," Lily replied. "Look at this inscription; Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

"That's kinda sweet," Ginny said, smiling sadly at the grave. "I think it means that treasure is where your heart is, with family."

"I like that," Lily agreed. "It's quite beautiful, and it follows on what kind of person Dumbledore was."

"Definitely," Ginny smiled, kissing Lily's cheek. "My heart, and my treasure, is you."

"That's so sweet," Lily smiled. "And you're my treasure, now and always."

"Never forget that, and don't ever think I'm not going to be letting you do anything without me," Ginny smiled at her.

"Yeah, I'm not going to be that stupid anymore," Lily promised, as they walked on, checking more graves.

"How many wizarding families have lived here?" Ginny asked.

"No idea," Lily replied. "But probably a few, given that it was named after Gryffindor, right?"

"Right," Ginny agreed. With each step they took, the snow kept crunching under their boots. "We can't stay here much longer though."

"I know," Lily agreed, before being stopped by Ginny. "What is it?"

"They're here," Ginny said softly, indicating a large grave just ahead of them. Lily walked over to the grave, and saw her parents name on the grave, along with their dates of birth and death.

"The last enemy that shall be defeated is death," Lily read aloud. "Who would choose that for their grave? I doubt Uncle Sirius would."

"Maybe it means something good, like after we die, we pass on to a new life or something?" Ginny suggested. Lily smiled at her.

"That's one of the many things I love about you; the way you can always see the good in anything. You got that from your dad," Lily complimented.

"I like to think so," Ginny agreed. "Go on… talk to them," she prompted.

"What… what do I say?" Lily asked. Ginny smiled, and cupped Lily's cheek with her hand.

"You don't need me to tell you that," she said softly, looking into Lily's eyes, before conjuring up a bunch of flowers for Lily. Lily accepted them, smiling back, and placed them on the grave.

"I… I should have come here a lot sooner," Lily began, tears starting to sting her eyes. "I don't think it was for a bad reason; I didn't know what I'd say to you. I dreamt so many times of us all being together, and then I'd always wake up. Even when I looked in the Mirror of Erised, I didn't know what I'd say."

Lily paused, feeling a tear gently rolling down her cheek. "There's so much I want to be able to say, so many things I want to ask. I guess… when I saw you in the Graveyard when I fought Riddle… you both said how proud you were of me. To be honest, that moment never left me, hearing your voices talking to me, and supporting me. Uncle Sirius always said that you'd support me, but hearing it from your own mouths, so to speak… it meant a lot."

Lily felt the tears flowing more now; she knew she should have done this sooner. "I just… I wish I had a chance to know you better, and that you'd be able to be here, to tell me everything's going to be okay. But I suppose I need to be the one to tell you that I'll make sure everything's okay. I'll keep trying to make sure you're proud of me," Lily promised. "I also want you to know that I'm happy. I'm in love with Ginny, and we're going to be together, always."

"I'll protect her, Mr. and Mrs Potter, I promise," Ginny spoke up softly, holding Lily's hand. They stood there for a few moments, before turning and walking away, exiting the graveyard.

"You think we'll actually find anything in my old home?" Lily asked.

"I don't know, but we have to try, right?" Ginny asked. Lily nodded.

"I wonder what it looks like now," Lily mused, as the two of them walked down the street.

"Off hand, I'd say it looks like no one ever tried to rebuild it," Ginny said, seeing the wreck of the Potter home, which was covered in vines, and looked like it was about ready to topple over at any time. The grass was overgrown, and there were nettles in multiple places.

"I wonder why not," Lily mused.

"Maybe they couldn't?" Ginny suggested, as Lily touched the gate. As she did, a sign rose from the ground. Lily smiled as she read it aloud.

"On this spot, on this night of 31st October 1981, Lily and James Potter lost their lives. Their daughter, Lily, remains the only witch to have ever 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," Lily said. "When was that updated, I wonder?"

"Probably either when Fudge learnt about your transition, or when Scrimgeour did. If anything, I'd say the latter; White would have undone it just to be offensive," Ginny suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Lily agreed. It was then that she noticed the magical graffiti.

"Good Luck Lily, wherever you are; Long live Lily Potter; If you read this Lily, we're behind you," Ginny read out. She chuckled softly. "I guess some people already know the truth then."

"It's nice to have some support," Lily smiled, but frowned as a shadow seemed to be approaching. Lily and Ginny turned and saw the hooded figure. Both drew their wands, ready, but as the figure neared, they saw the visage of an old woman beneath it.

" Are you Potter?" the woman asked. Lily didn't know why it sounded strange, but she looked at Ginny.

"Who are you?" Lily asked, unsure of what was happening.

" I have something for Potter. I am Bathilda Bagshot," the woman spoke again. Lily looked at Ginny, who nodded. They both felt the cold chill, and something didn't seem right.

"What do you have for Potter?" Lily asked, still unsure about giving her identity away. "Why are you waiting here?"

" I knew Potter would come. The Wise One knew it, and told me to wait," Bathilda said. " Come; you are not safe here."

Lily and Ginny watched the woman turn, heading towards a nearby house, with both following her, ready to send sparks if needed.

" Did she mean Dumbledore?" Ginny asked mentally, using their link.

" I don't know, but we need to find out," Lily replied mentally. She knew something was wrong, but until she knew what, Lily knew they needed to tread very carefully.