A/N: Wow! I was floored by the reception my story got. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, reading those encouraging comments made me want to write faster. I'm thinking about uploading a chapter a week. That should give me enough time to write them and my beta's time to correct them. A huge shout-out goes to my wonderful beta's! =)
Harry Potter and the Rousing of the Lion
Chapter 2 - Old Business
Hermione woke up early the next morning to the soft hoots coming from Hedwig. As she glimpsed outside the window, the day looked unlike any of the previous ones. The sky had turned black, filled with thick, dark clouds. She felt the day was getting ready for the tasks ahead of them.
She sat up from the kip she had made for herself on the floor last night. She laughed as she recalled the discussion she and Harry had over their sleeping arrangements. Harry had immediately offered Hermione the bed, which she refused with the excuse that he was going to need the rest a lot more than she was. Harry, wanting to be the perfect gentleman, refused, so they went back and forth arguing until Harry realized the pointlessness of arguing with Hermione, who, after all, could be a lot more stubborn than he was. Harry did try to compromise by saying, although blushing slightly, that they should share the bed, just as they had done the previous nights. Hermione didn't have this in her list of possibilities. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, she gently declined, saying that she moved around a lot and would disturb his rest. The real reason was that now that she had expressed all her feelings towards him, she didn't trust him, or herself for that matter, to be that close, at least not now.
"Ok, Hermione, tonight we'll do it your way. Tomorrow," he looked at the puzzled expression on her face, "well, tomorrow we'll see."
She shook her thoughts by thinking of today's events. She had to keep herself as calm and collected as she possibly could. He would definitely need her every step of the way; she was there, after all, for moral support. She got up and stretched herself to her limits to shake off the stiffness of her back. Hedwig flew over to her, dropping Dumbledore's letter in front of her. She took a deep breath as she opened the letter.
Ms. Granger,
I have read your letter carefully, and after looking over all the points you made, I must agree with you. Harry needs to learn to leave his past behind him, something which, as you pointed out, he never learned how to do. Since it was you took matters into her own hands in order to help him, I will grant you the honor of being his companion on this task. A word of caution, though, you must understand that for same reasons you mentioned, Harry is emotionally unstable. Not that he would hurt you, but you must take heed to not absorb the torrents of emotions he will be experiencing. I am sure that Remus, Molly, and even I would gladly accompany Harry on his journey, but have decided to side with you yet again. If you feel up to the task, it's yours. Remember now, help him, but don't do it for him.
Hermione stopped reading and debated with her subconscious. "Is there anyone else that I think should be doing this with Harry? No. Can I handle being his shoulder to cry on? I've done pretty well so far. Can you handle it? Only one way to find out."
As per your request, all travel arrangements have been made. As for your escort, an "objective" but tactful member of the Order will arrive at 9 a.m. Please be ready to leave by then.
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Hermione glanced over at the clock that read 7:30 a.m. She sighed in relief seeing that they would have enough time to get ready. She grabbed her bag and went to bathroom. As she stepped out of the shower she thought about the proper dressing attire she should use. Not having much to choose from, and considering there was a storm brewing outside, she chose a pair of black slacks, and a white blouse with a red jacket over it. It wasn't exactly the color of choice, but it would have to do.
She walked back to the room finding him breathing slowly, an obvious sign that he was still asleep. She walked over to his closet to pick out what he should wear. She didn't have mush to choose from here either, considering the huge sizes of his hand-me-down clothes.
"I've got to get him some clothes of his own. I can't believe the only clothes they've ever bought for him are his underwear."
She opted for pair of his black school slacks, a navy blue buttoned down shirt, and a black jacket. After leaving everything ready in the bathroom, she went over to wake him.
"Wake up, sleepy head," she said as she ruffled his hair with her hand.
"Ugh, five more minutes," he complained as he covered his head with his pillow.
"Come on, Harry, you've got to get ready."
"You know, I may not be the smartest bloke around, but it gets confusing between 'go to sleep' one minute and 'wake up' the other. You've got to make up your mind," he gave her a smile, and lay back down pretending to be asleep.
Hermione simply walked around the bed, got a good hold of the mattress, and with all her strength she lifted it, throwing Harry off the side. The look of shock on his face was priceless. She merely shrugged at him.
"Oops."
"Oops? What do you mean, 'Oops?'"
He called back to her, pretending to be angry with her. She pretended right back, holding his gaze. After about a minute, they both started to shake and finally burst out laughing.
"Come on, Harry, get yourself cleaned up. We have around forty five minutes to be ready."
"Don't you mean forty four minutes?" he asked cheekily, to which Hermione gave him a scowl. "Just kidding, so where are we going?"
Hermione was quiet for a while, thinking of the best way to answer.
"We're going to go places where you will hopefully find what you need to be able to let go and move on."
"Well, that settles it. That's the longest way you could have possibly thought of to say absolutely nothing. Well, kind of. Alright, keep your secrets, although it's only fair to warn you that I owe you big time for that wake-up call."
With that he turned and went to get ready, leaving her deep in thought about just what he might do.
She decided to busy herself by tidying the room up a bit. After folding the sheets she had used, and organizing his letter-filled desk, she went down towards the kitchen. It being early, she knew she was about to encounter Harry's Uncle Vernon, something she had been happy to avoid until now. She decided the best course was to be quick and polite.
"Good morning," she said as she walked over to the fridge, filled two glasses with milk, grabbed some toast on a napkin, and walked out. She had just exited the kitchen when Harry came down.
"I see you have just met good old Uncle Vernon," Harry said sarcastically.
"Not really, he just glared at me. His face looked just about ready to pop, though, and I could have sworn I saw steam coming out of his ears." Hermione replied, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yep, that's him."
"Drink up, it's almost time."
They finished their milk and toast quickly and quietly.
"Here, I should take these back. I don't want you on the receiving end of my uncle's, um, outbursts."
Hermione was a bit uneasy with the whole deal. She could hear sounds coming from the kitchen, but couldn't make out any of them. Just as she was about to go into the kitchen herself, she heard a loud knocking on the door. She looked through the peep hole and was shocked by who was standing behind it.
"Tonks! What are you doing here?" Hermione's tone was not too friendly. Tonks was certainly not what she thought Dumbledore had meant.
"Well, it's a pleasure to see you, too, Hermione."
"Sorry, it's just that, well, you're…"
"Not completing the requirements for the ideal escort on grieving mission?" Hermione looked down at the floor. She didn't mean to be rude to Tonks, she was just not what she expected. At least this time her hair was brown and she was dressed rather formally. "I'm just kidding, Hermione. I'm not angry or anything. In fact, I'm actually proud of you. You seem to have a very good grasp of what Harry needs, better than most I would say, and let me say that I agree with you completely. The last thing he needs right now is someone be molly-cuddling him. She has a good heart, Molly, but she just can't control herself. Speaking of which, where's your handsome hunk now?"
Hermione blushed deeply with this last remark. "He went to leave some glasses in the kitchen a while ago. I was just about to…"
CRASH! THUMP!
They heard the sounds coming from the kitchen as they raced inside, wands at the ready. The sight before them was the last thing they could have ever imagined. Vernon was laid out on the floor, face down, apparently knocked out, with ceramic shards around his head. Petunia was standing over him with what was left from a plate in her hands, with a look of utter terror on her face. Harry meanwhile was leaning against the cabinets with a shocked expression directed towards his aunt.
"What the hell happened here?" Tonks bellowed. "Harry, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Shocked, a little confused, but fine."
Hermione rushed to his side to make sure he was alright as Tonks turned to Petunia. She put on her best mean Auror face and inquired again in a soft deep threatening voice, "What happened?"
Petunia was trembling slightly. "Well, um, Harry came in to leave those glasses in the sink over there when Vernon began his usual verbal taunting and bashing at Harry. He was already on edge when she," she mentioned looking at Hermione, "left the kitchen. When he saw Harry, I guess you could say he missed mistreating him. He was enraged even further when Harry totally tuned him out. As Harry began to leave the room, Vernon got up as if he were going to slap him. Next thing I know, I'm standing here having broken a dinner plate on my husbands head." Petunia began to sob at the end. "Please, I know it might be asking too much, but could you please fix this with your, um, thing."
If Tonks was angry at the Dursleys before, she was enraged now at Petunia's dismissal of magic. She looked intently at Petunia who looked liked she was folding under Tonks stare.
"Obliviate. Obliviate. Wingardium Leviosa. Reparo. Scourgify."
In an instant both the Dursleys had their memory modified, Vernon was back in his seat, the broken dish was fixed, and the floor was cleaned. Tonks turned to face Harry and Hermione, still clearly angry at what had just taken place.
"Let's go, we're going to be late," she produced a steel horseshoe from her pocket motioning them to grab on.
"This portkey will take us to our first stop."
Harry felt the familiar tug behind him and was transported out.
-------------------
They landed hard on what Harry saw to be a heavily wooded area. Harry managed to keep his balance this time, but he helped Hermione to her feet. Harry had no idea where they were.
"Ok, now can I know where we are, and where we're going?"
"Just outside Ottery St. Catchpole, and to the Diggory's house, of course," Tonks answered. From the look on Harry face, she could tell he had no idea. She turned to Hermione who was looking down at the ground, "You mean, you didn't tell him where we were going?"
Hermione shook her head. She took a deep breath and decided to get it over with.
"Tonks, could you give us a minute," she asked, seeing that Harry was rather angry about not being told about any of this. Tonks nodded and walked several steps ahead to be out of earshot.
"Why didn't you tell me where we were going?"
She would have preferred his angry screaming to emptiness in his voice.
"Would you have come if I told you?" she asked back.
"Hermione, that's not the point, the point is…"
"The point, Harry, as we talked about yesterday, was to deal with your past. You've never dealt with any of this. You've just buried it deep inside you. Well, all those feelings you never dealt with consumed you at the beginning of the summer. You have to grieve for those you have lost. I'm not asking you to forget them; all I'm asking is for you to leave the guilt behind. It is an unnecessary burden you're carrying, it's weighing you down, and it's something that you need to learn to let go of. Most importantly, you need to learn to mourn."
Deep down, he knew she was right. The problem was that he didn't know how to do any of it. He took a deep breath and walked towards Hermione, leaving his anger behind with each step.
"How do I do that, Hermione?"
"I don't really know, Harry, but I'm here with you to help you figure it out."
Harry couldn't help but give her a small smile. She was there to help. To be with him. His one true constant. His guardian angel.
"Ok, let's go."
They walked over to Tonks.
"You ready for this, Harry?"
"No, but it's as ready as I'm gonna be."
They were walking uphill towards what looked to be a large clearing where a house could be seen in the distance. Harry never knew much about Cedric, or his family. His was sure, though, that this was where he learned to play quidditch.
"Harry," Tonks began, shaking his thoughts about Cedric, "I must say that I'm happy, or better yet surprised, of how you handled yourself with your uncle back there. Not many people could tune out that man. Can I ask how you did it?"
Harry thought for a minute before he answered.
"I don't know," he looked over at Hermione, who wasn't looking at him, "I guess my guardian angel helped me through it," he answered simply.
Tonks looked at him as if to decipher his meaning when she glanced over at Hermione and nodded silently.
The rest of the walk was spent in silence. As they got closer, they saw that the house was, in fact, an enormous log cabin complete with a porch with a picnic table on one side, and several rocking chairs on the other. There, sitting on the rocking chairs, were Cedric's parents. Mrs. Diggory appeared to be knitting a rather large quilt, while Mr. Diggory smoked from a short pipe. As they approached, Mrs. Diggory went into the house, as Mr. Diggory stood up to greet them, standing tall and slowly, menacingly, scratching his beard below his chin.
"Tonks," Mr. Diggory greeted her with a nod.
"Amos," Tonks replied the same way. "This is Hermione Granger, I believe you saw her briefly at the Quidditch World Cup, and Harry, of course."
"A pleasure, Ms. Granger," he said to Hermione nodding as well, "but if you'll excuse us, Harry and I have a long talk ahead of us."
Amos put his arm around Harry's shoulder and guided him towards the forest behind the cabin. Harry took a breath and let himself be guided towards the forest behind the house.
"I must say, Harry, that having you here, two years to the day of Cedric's funeral is not what I thought it would be," his tone cold and very business like. "When Dumbledore contacted me to ask my permission to allow you to come here, well, let's just say I had my doubts. I won't lie to you, Harry, for a long time I held you directly responsible for what happened to my son."
Mr. Diggory paused, allowing his words to sink in.
"When you came back from Merlin knows where, with the lifeless body of my son, you were the easiest person to blame. It was also more comforting to call you a liar instead of dealing with the enormity of your accusations. I'm not as blind or as stupid as Fudge was all last year, but like many of us who witnessed the horrors of the first war, we would rather reassure ourselves by calling all of you liars instead of dealing with reality."
He looked up towards the cloud filled sky. It was still dark since only a few rays of sun could pierce through the thick dark clouds.
"I spent countless nights looking up at the stars, searching, praying for and answer, for some form of understanding. If the answer was there I never found it, so I started to pace around the grounds. It was then that the answer showed itself. I found this."
He pointed towards a tree trunk that had a snitch carved into the bark.
"When Cedric was just a young boy," he started to reminisce, now in a friendlier tone, "all he wanted was to play quidditch. Quidditch was the world to him. He would fly all over the grounds and the forest. He would drive his mother crazy with the stunts he'd pull. As he grew up, he seemed to loose the love for the game. He became more serious, quieter. When you arrived at Hogwarts, you caught Cedric's attention immediately. When he came back that summer I found him carving this, so I naturally asked him about it. He told me that when he saw you fly, he could see in you the joy he used to feel. 'Dad, he just found out he's a wizard, a famous one at that, and now he's the youngest seeker in a century.' He would say this, not in a jealous or angry tone, but giving you high praise. He said that when you took to the field, you looked like you didn't have a care in the world, you just played the game because you loved it, and you barely even knew enough about it."
He paused to allow Harry to digest everything he was saying.
"I also remember the way he admired you after you won the cup in your third year. Modest as always, he never talked about the game in which he beat you, instead he would say to me, 'Dad here's a kid who has an enormous amount of pressure on him, who defies the odds with everything he does, and he still keeps his wits about him and enjoys playing a simple game of quidditch. I mean he's competitive, no question about that, but he's the ideal sportsman in the pitch.' Safe to say it took me a while to understand what it was he saw in you."
Harry had tears coming out of his eyes. He had no idea that Cedric held him in such high regards. He couldn't see how somebody older and wiser could be praising him like that. He never even thought about all those things Mr. Diggory mentioned. Mr. Diggory grabbed Harry by the shoulders and turned Harry to face him.
"I want you to know, Harry, that none of us blame you for what happened. I'm sure that Cedric, being the kind of person he was, would not have allowed it to happen any other way."
Harry hadn't realized they were now standing before a huge oak tree. On the base of the tree, in white marble with copper lettering, was Cedric's tombstone.
R.I.P.
Cedric Diggoy
1978 - 1995
Beloved son, Gone,
Never Forgotten.
"I'll leave you here a moment to collect your thoughts."
Mr. Diggory turned and walked back to the house. Harry stared at the tombstone for about an hour without saying anything. He was replaying in his head everything he had just been told, everything he remembered about Cedric, everything Hermione said earlier. Thunder could be heard in the distance as a soft shower started to fall. The day, along with Harry, was beginning to mourn.
"I don't really know what it is I'm supposed to say," he started, his voice just above a whisper. "I don't even know if you can hear me."
He looked up towards the sky, the soft raindrops mixing with his tears.
"I have lived my life blaming myself for everything that happens around me. While I still think you died because you were with me, I won't forget the enormous sacrifice you made for me."
He tuned back to look at the tombstone.
"I never saw it as a sacrifice before, given that you really didn't get much choice in the matter, but your dad, who knew you a lot better than I did, says he's sure you would have protected me. Deep down, from the little I got to know you, I know it to be true. I just want you to know that I would have willingly given my life for yours. I promise you that I will try to live my life in an attempt to meet those qualities you mentioned to your father. I owe you at least that much. As for Wormtail, the Death Eater that killed you, I'll get him for you. He's done too much damage already."
He stood there, still looking at the tombstone. In his mind he thanked Cedric for everything he did for him, and everything he learned from him. As he did so, he felt a burden lighten in his chest, as if there had been a fist clenched around his heart that finally began to loosen its grip.
He felt someone's arms circling around his waist. He knew it was Hermione. He knew she had come to comfort him. As he felt her tighten her arms around him and place her forehead on his back, he realized that he liked the feeling of her arms around him. They told him that she was there, to care for him, to love him.
"Come on, Harry, let's get out of this rain, we have more places to visit before the day is up."
--------------
Far away, deep in the Lacandona jungle located in the southeastern part of Mexico, the outline of a man could be seen behind a rising screen of smoke. The man looked to be old, his brown skin was worn and his gray hair reached the floor. He was staring, unblinkingly, into the base of the smoke screen, just where the fire ended and smoke began. His eyes were brown, but the life seen in them was of a man in his prime. A man whose knowledge could surpass any living person on the planet. His grim, studious expression changed into a small smile.
"The first ray of light pierces into the lion's cave. Soon, there will be enough light to wake him."
Concentrating again, he threw some red flower petals into the flames, his mind focused, eyes never blinking.
-----------------------------
Harry and Hermione were sitting side by side on the picnic table on the Diggory's porch. As soon as they got back, Tonks quickly performed a drying spell on them while Mrs. Diggory handed them a mug of hot chocolate. It was around noon, although the day didn't show it, keeping its cool and ominous appearance. The rain had let up, but they knew it would get worse later.
"Harry," Hermione whispered, "Are you going to want to continue today? I don't want to push into something you might not want to do yet." Harry raised an eyebrow, giving her a quizzical look. "Well, I mean not again."
Harry thought about it as he finished his hot chocolate.
"Might as well," he said finally. "Like you said, its something I've got to do, and the sooner I do it, the better I'll feel, I think."
Hermione smiled at him, and gave him a small hug.
"Don't forget, I'll be with you every step of the way."
They got up and walked over to the grown ups, who stopped talking as they reached them.
"Ready to go then?" Tonks asked.
"Yeah," Harry answered. He turned over to face the Diggory's. "I'm very sorry for loss, and I thank you for allowing me to come by to pay my respects."
"Harry," Mrs. Diggory started, "Like I told you that day in Hogwarts, we don't blame you. We were more than happy to do this, not just for you, but for us as well. We will all miss Cedric, but those that die never leave us. They are simply waiting for us in the next life. They are waiting patiently for us, for the longer we make them wait, the happier they'll be, remember that."
Harry nodded in acknowledgement, thanked them again and turned to Tonks.
"Let's go."
She took out a 5 inch chain link from her cloak and motioned them closer.
"Impervios, Impervios. That should keep your clothes dry at least. It looks like the storm is about to break out, and where we are going, well, it's better if you stay dry."
They took hold of the chain and portkeyed away from the Diggory's home.
----------------------------
They landed on a puddle of muddy water. Rain was pouring and visibility was low.
"Not one of my best landings," Tonks yelled through the rain. "Hermione, take the path to the left, there, at the end, you'll find it."
Hermione nodded to her and grabbed Harry's hand, leading him behind her. He didn't know where they were until he saw a row of tombstones to his right and heard ocean waves crashing in the distance.
"We're in the Sacrosanctum Albion Sepulcretum, that's Latin for Sacred Cemetery of Great Britain, the oldest wizarding cemetery in all Europe. All the old families bury their family members here."
Harry saw that it was in fact a wizarding cemetery given that some gravestones had moving stone animals on top of them or enchanted flowers. Others even had impervious charms placed on them.
The walk was difficult due to the mud and small rivers that were made along the path. Up ahead, the trail broke off into two. Each of them had what appeared to be a menacing steel looking archway over it. The one on the left was made of pure silver, and had moving metallic snakes all around it. As they approached it, a large snake rose to look down on them. Harry could see that they weren't real, but they reminded him of the ones he saw in the Chamber of Secrets. The snake looked at Harry and nodded, then tuned to Hermione and shook its head. The meaning was simple, he could enter, she could not.
"This is path leads to where many pure-blooded families are buried, families like the Malfoys and the Blacks." Hermione mentioned. "As you know, Sirius ran away from home when he was sixteen, so he's not buried there, not that he wanted to. Dumbledore told me there was only one place where he would like to be buried."
Harry wanted to ask her where she knew all this from, but decided not to because she had probably come across it in a book. The rest, he figured, Dumbledore had told her. She moved towards the other archway. This one had a golden glow, warmth coming from its golden bars. It had runes carved all over it, and at the top was golden lion, sitting down on his hind legs, looking proudly towards the passageway. He looked down at Hermione as she approached him. He nodded to her, allowing her to enter, when something curious happened. As the lion turned to look at Harry, it immediately rose up in attention, and then bowed to him in a very formal, ceremonial manner. Harry was confused as to the meaning of it. Hermione stepped back, grabbed his hand, and pulled him through the archway.
"Why did that lion just bow to me?"
"I don't know," she said, looking lost in thought.
They stood now before a red tiled wall. Written in golden lettering on each tile was a surname. Hermione reached out and touched one that simply read POTTER. The wall broke off to the sides, granting them access, but the tile reading POTTER was still floating in front of them. It began to glow, illuminating the trail around them, as it began to glide down the path. They followed in silence with the anticipation of what was coming. In the end of a long row, they found that this area looked to be newer. That's where he saw it. In the distance, contrasting all the other formal, royal-looking tombstones, was a gray granite rock the same height as them. The carvings were rough but legible in the light.
Here lies
Sirius Black
Loyal Friend,
Loving Godfather
Harry completely broke down as he fell to his knees. He thought he was prepared for this, apparently he wasn't.
Hermione knew he was crying his heart out, even though she could barely hear his cries over the howling winds. She wanted to go up to him, to hug and comfort him, but she knew she had to give him some space. So, she stood there behind him, crying on her own for both Harry and Sirius.
Harry started to remember the images he had seen at the beginning of the summer but quickly tuned them out. He imagined the Sirius he grew to love as a parent, standing in front of him, looking down at him with a small smile. He tried several times to speak, but as his mouth moved, nothing came out. He closed eyes, gulped, and tried again.
"Sirius, when I had just realized that you died, I was angry with you. I was angry, because I felt you left me, here, alone."
Harry paused as he looked over his shoulder at Hermione and reminded himself that he was anything but alone. He took a deep breath and stopped crying.
"With the Diggorys' help, and especially Hermione's, I'm trying to understand, to grieve. I felt so lonely when I realized you were gone, but now I feel that you and my parents had something to do with her coming to my rescue. I never knew my parents. I mean, I know of them, I know they loved me, I just can't remember any of the good times. From you, I got so much in the little time we spent together. You understood me. You never talked down to me or treated me like a child. We were friends, best friends. I could talk to you or ask you about anything without feeling foolish or embarrassed about it."
He turned to look over his shoulder at Hermione again.
"In fact, I could really use some advice from you right now. Cedric's father told me to remember, to treasure what I had learned from those that were now gone, and, like Mrs. Diggory said, I'll see you, my parents, Cedric, and everyone else someday, but not yet. I will learn from my mistakes. I will always remember you. I want you to know that I feel that soon I'll be mentally ready to prepare myself for this fight. You gave up so much for me, I can only try to carry on in your place. I will miss your barking laugh, and your mischievous grins. I will miss you most of all. You kept your end of the deal as my guardian. I love you. Goodbye, for now."
Harry again felt the grip of the hand around his heart loosen a bit more.
----------------
Just as Harry finished, a lightning bolt flashed in the heavens illuminating the graves that were beside Sirius'. He knew whose they were, so he slowly walked over to them with less fear and more determination. Harry found the headstones to be, just like the others around them, formal and royal looking.
R.I.P R.I.P.
Lily Potter James Potter
1960 - 1981 1960 - 1981
Beloved Wife and Mother Beloved Husband and Father
"Mum, Dad," he began turning to each tombstone, "I know we left a lot of things unsaid, but now I'm beginning to feel, to understand what love really is. I always imagined what it was like to be loved by someone so much that you would do anything for them. What it was like to be loved by a parent, a guardian, someone who loves you for you. I guess you could say I'm a slow learner since it only took me about sixteen years to do it. Well, better late than never, I guess."
He walked closer to the graves, having one at each side of him.
"Mum," he reached out and put his left hand on top of her tombstone, "I hope I grow up to be worth your sacrifice. I now know that you could have just stood aside, but you didn't. You willingly gave your life for me, and, in doing so, your love saved me. I'll work hard to become the son you always wanted me to be, to experience the love you felt for me."
He turned his gaze over to his father's grave.
"Dad, you also gave up your life for me. You dueled with Voldemort, knowing in the back of your mind that you couldn't win. Knowing that, you still rapidly stepped forward, blocking his way, delaying him, trying to give Mum and me time to escape. I know how brave you were, and I'll remember it when I feel my courage failing. I wish I can be just as brave as you were when my time to face him comes. Maybe, someday, when this war is over, I might even have a family of my own, and care and provide for them just as you did." He moved his right hand and placed it on his father's tombstone.
Immediately after Harry placed his hand on his father headstone, a huge lightning bolt came down from the heavens. It stopped and inch from Harry's head and created a dome of light, circling Harry and his parents' graves. Everything went quiet, even the rain could not see seen or heard. It was then he heard a voice he knew it was impossible to be hearing.
"Harry," it was his father. "Harry, don't be frightened. If you are listening to me now, it means that the worst has happened, and all my efforts to prevent it were in vain. I could not leave to next world without leaving you a message, a message that only you could open, that only you could hear, and that no one could know about. There are secrets that are a part of a family, which should remain in the family. I don't know how long it's been since I died or what has happened to you. I can only try to make sure you have all the weapons you can at your disposal, just in case this prophecy is actually true. If you haven't heard of the prophecy, ask Sirius or Albus Dumbledore, you should hopefully know who they are by now, if not, well, all in due time. Now, pay attention, Harry, because this is very important. I can only hope that you know about enough things to understand what I'm about to tell you. We, that is to say you and I, as those before me, are direct descendents of Godric Gryffindor. He had many talents that he wanted to pass on to those in his bloodline, however, he knew that as the generations passed, less of those talents would be found in his descendents. In order to prevent this, he gave each of his three children a ring. This ring he ordered for them to pass down, in secret to the first born male of each family."
Harry felt a tickle in his right hand and was shocked as he saw a simple gold band appear in his right ring finger.
"The ring was charmed to look for the Gryffindor inside its user and extract it. Fortunately, the ring only worked for those in our family, and because of the complexity of the charm placed on them, it worked only for the first born male. Godric called in a favor from an ancient order of wizards. He asked them to become the guides of those of his descendents that could unlock the power within them. Now, you must know, none of our most recent ancestors have been able to do it. Your grandfather searched through all of the historical records he could find to figure out if anyone of us ever succeeded. None have ever done so. He also told me that I was the last. Of all the Gryffindor descendents, I was the only one left. He believed that the power of the other rings had passed to our ring, which might help unlock the power inside us. Neither he nor I could do it. I can only hope that you can succeed where we have failed. You probably have many questions, but don't worry, the answers will find you. Know this, successful or not, you must pass this ring on to your first born male child upon his graduation from Hogwarts. If something should happen and you have produced and heir, don't worry, the ring will find him, just as it found you. My son, I want you to know that your mother and I love you very much. Don't walk around scared of death, it is an inescapable part of life. Don't fear death, fear the unlived life. Live, Love, cherish every moment. We will always be proud of you, and we will never really leave you. We'll be with you in spirit, always and forever. May our love give you comfort in the darkest of places, and may it also help you to overcome any obstacle that you might face."
The dome of light disappeared, to all those around, nothing had happened. Harry started walking forward. He had too many things in his mind, to many things to digest.
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The curandero closed his eyes and smiled again. He knew it was almost time to embark on his journey.
"The sun has crept into the cave; soon the lion will need his guide. Soon, he must begin to remember his past and be ready for his future."
He stood up, waved his hand over the fire and it disappeared. He bowed his head, and as the winds dispersed the smoke that remained, he vanished.
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Harry found himself to be standing on the edge of cliff that looked over the sea crashing into the rocks below. He enjoyed being back in the rain. It was no longer fierce and menacing; it was but a light breeze washing over him. On the horizon he could see clearer skies, the sun peeking its head below the clouds, beginning to set.
"Wow," he thought, "before nobody would tell me anything. Now in a month's time I'm told I am Voldemort's nemesis, his would be executioner, and now that I'm the last descendent of none other than Godric Gryffindor."
He looked up at the sky.
"No pressure, right?"
He had no idea how long he had been watching the clouds moving in the sky, clearing away the darkness. He felt Hermione standing beside him, staring off into the horizon. She could feel his gaze.
"Knut for your thoughts?" she asked, without looking at him.
"They're worth a bit more than that," he responded cheekily.
"How are you feeling?" she asked timidly.
"I have a lot on my mind, but definitely better. I owe that to one person only," he said, turning to look at her. When she turned to look at him, he continued, "I only hope Hedwig accepts an owl treat for it."
"Well, I'm sure she will," she remarked looking off again.
Harry thought she looked quite adorable when she was pouting. He sneaked around behind her and put his arms around her waist.
"Now, that old business is settled, it's time for new business," he whispered in her ear.
She turned to look at him with a questioning look. He put his hand on her cheek and caressed it softly. She closed her eyes enjoying his touch. He closed his eyes and moved his face towards hers, slowly. Just as he could feel her breath over his lips he was stopped.
"Don't," she muttered, "don't do it unless…" she looked into his life-filled eyes, "don't do it unless you mean it. I don't want you to feel that you owe me something for helping you through this. What I said before, I meant it, but don't think that because of that you should feel the same way. I mean, there are so many beautiful girls at Hogwarts that you could be with. I mean, Cho's not the only one out there who likes you. I could ask Parvati or Lavender about it, they know about all the rumors at Hogwarts. They're both beautiful and I'm sure Parvati would like to go out with you again. I know that I…"
Harry cut her off by moving in and kissing her tenderly. Hermione was shocked at first, but the feeling she felt as she kissed him surged through her body. She could feel all of Harry's emotions as they deepened their kiss, delicately touching, exploring the insides of their mouths. They broke off slowly, still being face to face.
"Well, what do you think? Do you think I meant it?"
"Well, um, I…"
He kissed her again. There, silhouetted by the orange rays of the setting sun falling behind them, they kissed slowly, lovingly, both wanting to experience their first kisses totally, committing them to memory. They broke off again, and Harry rested his forehead against hers.
"How about now?" he asked.
Hermione was unable to speak so she smiled and him and snuggled up against him.
"Let's go home," she said a moment later.
He took her hand in his and walked slowly back towards Tonks, who had an enormous smile plastered on her face.
"I trust everything went accordingly," she said looking at each them. They both blushed at the comment. "Well grab on, then," she said holding out a rubber chicken.
They looked at her skeptically, but said nothing as they grabbed on and were transported back to Privet Drive.
A/N: I took the quote of "Do not fear death, fear the unlived life," from Tuck Everlasting. Also, curandero is Spanish for Medicine Man. Please read and review.