(A/N: I'd like to thank all my readers and especially: eekii for her smart comments, swimchick1614 for her funny comment, godsowndevil for her doubts on Mark Evans and TheDivineMsD for her comment about the school bell… actually, I thought that Hogwarts had a school bell, but I could be wrong!! A big thanks goes to my wonderful BETA readers, IronChefOr and SarahLupin. The next chapter is going to be quiet emotional… sigh! Enjoy the reading.)
Chapter 16. THE GRAVEYARD
...
You've never seen a man crying,
Open your eyes, then
Because now you're going to see him.
If you've never seen a man crying,
Look at me...
Look at me...
...
"Anna" by Lucio Battisti
That afternoon ended with Friday's usual double Potions; Harry did his best to resist Snape's attempts to provoke him until the bell finally rang. He was the first one to leave the classroom, happy about the Christmas holidays that were going to start that day.
The three friends headed to the Great Hall for dinner and took a seat at the Gryffindor table.
"Hey, Neville! I just found out that you're going to spend your holidays with Seamus," Ron said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, for a change! My grandmother wants me to strengthen my friendships. And you? Are you going to stay at school this year?"
"Me? No, I'm going home, and Harry is coming with me!"
Harry was really looking forward to spending his Christmas holiday at the Burrow and finally enjoying himself with Ron and his brothers. Hermione was going to go back home to stay with her parents, though Harry hoped that she'd change her mind at the last minute and decide to join them.
That evening, everybody was busy packing their things, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione wanted to pay Hagrid a visit before they went to bed. Not wanting to attract too much attention, they crammed under Harry's invisibility cloak and tiptoed out of the half-deserted common room. Soon, they found themselves out on the grounds, walking through the fresh snow.
Hagrid's hut was lit, and gray smoke was coming out of the chimney. As soon as they arrived in front of the door, Harry knocked twice, and Fang immediately started to bark.
"I'm comin'... I'm comin'! Be quie' Fang... oh, it's yeh guys..." Hagrid said, staring over their heads. He opened the door to let them in. Once inside, Harry took off his cloak and Hagrid quickly closed the curtains.
"Hi, Hagrid, we came to wish you a Merry Christmas," Hermione said with a large smile. Harry was busy trying to keep Fang from licking his face.
"Yes... Merry Christmas, Hagrid."
"Thank yeh guys! But yeh know... you shouldn've come a' this time o' nigh'. It's no' safe. Anyway, since yeh're here, we can have a cuppa tea together 'fore yeh go back."
While Hagrid was pouring the tea into three huge blue cups, Harry, Ron, and Hermione took a seat in the large armchairs.
"What're you going to do during your holidays?" Harry asked, while waiting for his tea to cool.
"Oh, nothin' in particular, jus' the usual things fer Dumbledore... Oh, no! I shouldn've said tha'... I should not have said tha'..." Hagrid replied, awkwardly.
"Are you going to do something for the Order?" Hermione asked curiously, but Hagrid quickly denied it.
"Oh, no' at all! I can' tell yeh, and I won'... 'cause it's..."
KNOCK... KNOCK...
Hagrid was cut off by someone knocking at his door, and he looked at them worriedly.
"Quick! Get under the cloak!"
Harry wrapped the cloak around himself and Hermione and then Ron ran around the table, joining them. The three friends stepped backwards, until they reached the farthest corner of the room.
Hagrid put away the cups from the table, and opened the door, looking astonished at who he saw standing there. Mark Evans was smiling at him, with his head and cloak completely covered with snow, which had, in the meantime, started to fall.
"Wha' the hell're yeh doin' 'ere?"
"I'm sorry, Hagrid, but I just need to talk to you for a moment."
Hagrid glared at him reluctantly, but then decided to let him in and closed the door, throwing a worried look towards the place where Harry was hiding under the cloak, sandwiched between Ron and Hermione.
"We must talk about Harry Potter."
Again, Hagrid looked towards the corner where Harry was standing; Harry started to carefully listen to every word.
"It's not the righ' time, Mark... why don' yeh come back tomorrow mornin'..."
"No, Hagrid... tomorrow morning I won't be here, that's why I have to talk to you now."
Harry noticed that Hagrid was nervously playing with his beard. Mark Evans started to speak, slowly pacing the room.
"The young Potter boy is really smart. I realized it this morning during my class. I spoke to him about the Veil of Death... and he seemed really interested to the subject..."
"What've yeh done? You shouldn've done such a thing, Mark... soon as Dumbledore finds out, he'll be really furious with yeh."
"What do you fear so much, Hagrid? Maybe that he will go back to the Department of Mysteries? And what if he does? It would only be his right, trying to communicate with his godfather. Please, don't tell me that you haven't thought about it before! Harry surely is a SEER, just like his mother Lily was!"
Hermione jumped in surprise, and Harry grabbed her arm, fearing that she was going to scream.
"How can yeh say somethin' like tha'? Listen to me, Mark! You won' get closer ter Harry again, d'you understan' me? An' if tomorrow mornin' yeh're really goin' ter leave, well... try not ter come back again! I don' understan' the reason why Dumbledore called yeh. I really don' understan' it...."
"Hagrid, you are his friend... you have spent much more time with Harry than I have, and he's going to believe you... please, you must tell him about their grave. You must tell him where Lily and James are buried, because it is the only way that Harry will be able to go on and face the future. This is the right time to let him know the entire truth..."
"STOP IT, MARK! Now get outta my house! I'm not goin' ter hear 'nother word from yeh..."
Mark looked very disappointed by Hagrid's attitude, and slowly headed to the door.
"All right, then... I'm leaving, and maybe we won't see each other again... but please, think about what I've told you, Hagrid."
Mark Evans left and Hagrid slammed the door behind him.
Harry immediately took off the cloak and went over to Hagrid in front of the door; he was absolutely furious with him.
"You knew this! You knew that my mother was a Seer, and you didn't tell me anything?"
"Listen ter me Harry... there're things tha'..."
But Harry didn't want to listen anymore, and started to shout at him. Ron and Hermione watched, looking deeply shocked.
"The exact same thing happened with Sirius... you knew that he was my godfather, but you didn't tell me anything!" Harry shouted angrily.
"Please, calm down... lemme explain..."
"I'm not a child anymore, there's no need to hide something like this from me! He was talking about my parents' grave. You know where it is, don't you?"
Hagrid didn't answer; he lowered his gaze to the ground, twisting his beard.
"TELL ME WHERE THEY ARE BURIED! IT'S MY RIGHT TO KNOW!"
Harry had completely lost his temper, and was staring Hagrid directly in his eyes with his fists raised, panting heavily.
Hermione grabbed his arm, trying to calm him down, but he pulled away with a sharp jerk. Harry was determined to find out everything he wanted to know, and Hagrid knew it. He raised his gaze to Harry, and spoke slowly.
"They're buried righ' here, at Hogwarts... there's a little graveyard jus' at the west end o' the grounds... Dumbledore gave the order ter place 'em there, after they... they..."
"Harry, NO!"
Hermione shouted at him, but it was too late; Harry had just rushed outside and was headed to the other side of the grounds, not caring about the thick snow that was now falling.
Hermione and Ron immediately went after him, and Hagrid took his fur coat and followed them out into the snow.
Harry kept walking and walking, covering his face with his arms to protect himself from the cold wind that was now violently blowing. He didn't care that his feet were sinking into the deep snow with every step, or that he couldn't see anything in front of him, or that his trousers were completely wet up to the knees. His teeth were now chattering and his body was freezing.
His friends were desperately trying to follow him, but Harry was already far ahead of them.
He walked along the Quidditch pitch and went on; it took him about half an hour to get there, but finally he saw a small stone mausoleum off in the distance.
The snowstorm had reached its maximum, and Harry's strength was abandoning him, even though he was still stubbornly going on. Behind the mausoleum, there was a small hill, and behind that, finally, he saw the small graveyard, half-hidden and full of snow. Harry was surprised that he'd never noticed it before.
He slowly approached the graves, intensely staring at each one of them; they were difficult to read, however, as they were written in ancient runes.
Harry remained still for several minutes, his head covered with fresh snow, his eyebrows frozen, and his lips quivering in the intense cold. Hermione reached him, and stood by his side, breathing heavily from running.
Harry turned to her, and saw that her cheeks were red and her teeth were chattering.
"The names are written in ancient runes... can you read them?" Harry asked, looking overwhelmed by his desperation; Hermione nodded in silence. She moved closer to the first grave and brushed away the snow with her hands, gently tracing the ancient stone inscriptions with her fingers.
"It says here... that this is the grave of Madam Rowena Ravenclaw..."
Then Hermione moved to the next one, which had engraved on it a large lion.
"Here rests Godric Gryffindor... Harry! These are the graves of the Hogwarts founders!"
They looked at each other puzzled; without wasting any time, Harry started to run from grave to grave, checking all of them carefully.
"We have to find them, Hermione... we have to find them!" He said determinedly.
Hermione started to check each grave also, brushing away the snow. Then, she stopped abruptly, and stared intensely at one of them, tracing the ancient runes with her fingers.
"Harry! Harry, come here, quick!"
Hermione called him, almost whispering; he reached her immediately. As soon as Harry was at her side, he stared at the grave in front of him. Then Hermione read with a trembling voice.
"Here rest Lily and James Potter... who have bravely resisted evil... may their sacrifice be an example for all coming generations..."
She stopped, raising a hand to her mouth, desperately trying to keep from crying. Harry was still staring silently at the grave. He then slowly moved and stretched out his arm to touch the ancient inscriptions on the cold stone.
Suddenly, a warm tear rolled down his face. Almost without realizing it, he fell on his knees, softly caressing the grave with his hand. All of his sadness and frustration burst out in a long and silent sob.
He was barely aware of the storm raging above him or the snow, which was now falling even more heavily. Hermione was sobbing like a little girl, with her hands on her mouth, her cheeks streaked by tears. A short distance away from them, Hagrid and Ron were standing motionless, staring at the emotional scene. Both were crying, knowing the desperation their friend was feeling.
Harry wasn't able to think rationally anymore. His mind was numb; he wanted to remain there forever, and he didn't care about anything or anyone. He just wanted his life to end at that very moment...
He stayed like that for a long time, on his knees with his head down, oblivious to what was happening around him, oblivious to time which was inescapably passing by.
At some point, he felt Hermione's hand on his shoulder, but he didn't move or turn to her. She then knelt down by his side, put her arm around his neck, and, hugging him tightly, hid her face in his shoulder. Harry only now realized that she had moved closer to him. Without taking his eyes off his parents' grave, he held her tightly in his arms; both remained like that for several minutes, trying to comfort each other.
Eventually, Hermione slowly stood up, and Harry finally turned to face her; her eyes were red and swollen from crying. Harry felt completely empty; unable to offer any resistance, he obeyed in silence when she indicate for him to follow her.
They walked back to Ron and Hagrid, who were waiting for them. Immediately, Hagrid put his heavy fur coat on Harry's shoulders. Harry raised his head and looked intensely into Hagrid's eyes. His anger was completely gone, leaving desperation in its place.
Now, he only needed the comfort and help of his closest friends to overcome this latest emotional event.
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