On Monday, July 25th, 1994, Sirius decided it was time for Harry to see his parents' grave.

Around 2 P.M. Sirius pulled Harry aside and said quietly, "Harry, I'm going to take you to visit your parents' grave this afternoon. I do warn you that it may be very emotional for you, but I believe you need to make this visit.

Sirius took Harry by Side Along Apparition and next thing Harry knew he was standing in front of a headstone.

The headstone was made of white marble and the engravings on it were quite easy to read.

On the left side of the headstone was engraved:

JAMES POTTER

BORN MARCH 27 1960

DIED OCTOBER 31 1981

On the right side of the headstone was engraved:

LILY POTTER

BORN JANUARY 30 1960

DIED OCTOBER 31 1981

Just beneath these engravings was a sentence that was engraved left to right so that part of it was below each of the other engravings.

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Harry looked slowly at the headstone and a rush of emotion came flooding down on him.

Tears came cascading down his face as though he was a giant waterfall. Not just ordinary tears either. Tears with a burning sensation in them.

Harry felt every emption in the book: pride, grief, loss, anger, gratitude, and yearning.

He felt pride in the type of people James and Lily had been and was proud to be their son.

He experienced the grief that came with coming face to face with the reality that James and Lily really were gone and could never come back.

He thought of what he had lost when he hadn't grown up with his own mom and dad. How they had never tucked him into bed or read him nursery rhymes. How they had never baked him a birthday cake. How they hadn't been there with Harry when he had gotten his wand and how they hadn't been able to see him off to Hogwarts at King's Cross.

He was filled anger. Anger at Voldemort for killing his mom and dad and stronger anger still at Pettigrew for betraying them.

Harry also felt a strong sense of gratitude that his mom and dad had laid down their lives so that he could live.

And he was filled a deep yearning, "Please, please, let them come back. Even if just for once."

Harry thought through all these thoughts to himself and he felt even more emotional as they rushed by him.

For a while, the tears just fell, and the emotion just poured out. It wasn't the easiest trip for Sirius either, as it brought back bitter memories of the loss of two of his closest friends.

But he kept his distance and allowed Harry to weep.

When Harry's tears did start to subside, Sirius approached Harry and pulled a wreath of roses out of his right hand pocket.

Harry gently laid the roses on his parents' grave.

Still too choked up and emotional to say much, Harry simply said, "Mom, dad, thank you and goodbye."

When Harry and Sirius were back at the house, Sirius asked Harry, "How do you feel now?"

"That was a really hard and emotional visit, " admitted Harry, "But I think it was good for me. All the emotions I have about the deaths of my parents that I have never dealt with before came flowing out of me. It was hard and it was brutally emotionally painful. But, and I don't know how to fully explain this, it was healthy for me. It was healthy for me to face those emotions and release them. I've had all these emotions bottled up inside me for years and I was never even allowed let alone made to deal with them. I wouldn't say that I've fully accepted what happened. But just to let out all the emptions I had bottled up inside for years felt like a release after it was over. I'll still have these feelings and emotions, but I feel like I can better process them and cope with them now."

"That's why you needed today's visit, " said Sirius seriously, "You needed to face and release that emotion before it destroyed you from inside. "

"There's one thing worrying me though, " revealed Harry, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Isn't that a Voldemort and Death Eater idea?"

"All I know, " said Sirius honestly, "Is that James and Lily had requested the line be put on their grave. I don't know what it means to them. But rest assured, James and Lily were the people you think they were. They'd have given themselves dementor's kisses before they'd have joined Voldemort."

"Sirius, " said Harry quietly, "Thank you for taking me to my parents' grave today. You were right. I needed that."

A/N: I personally believe that the phrase the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death was originally created by either Grindewald or Dumbledore during the time of their youths when they were consumed with the Deathly Hallows. At this point, Harry and Sirius do not know about this part of Grindewald's and Dumbledore's pasts. I believe James and Lily would have applied a different meaning to this phrase though I'm not fully sure what that might be. I do remember feeling unnerved by this phrase when I first read Deathly Hallows.