Unofficial Portkey Archive

8. Going Home

As the night sky slowly began to turn red, Harry climbed to his feet and let Arthur Weasley know he needed to get back to his relatives house. They had talked a little over the course of the night, but spent more time simply mulling over their individual thoughts as they shared the bottle Arthur provided. Harry took one last look back at the Burrow, which was missing several windows and some of the wall of what used to be the twins room before Apparating away.

Silently slipping back into the kitchen on Privet Drive, Harry let out a long sigh as he saw the wall he had stuck Hermione to the night before was still rubble. With a wave of his wand the pieces sprung neatly back into place. One of the few bodies he had recognized when he joined the battle had been that of Malfalda Hopkirk, so he didn't think he needed to worry about any letters arriving today. Hiding underneath the table he found the discarded head of Nagini. Something was telling Harry to save it, like Dumbledore had the diary and ring, so he found a good size jar to hold the remains.

Remembering Hermione's little burst of anger, Harry went to see what needed repairs in the cupboard under the stairs. He hadn't noticed last night, but apparently she had also blown the door clear off its hinges, which Harry quickly fixed before opening. Inside he was surprised to find everything as it had been when he was a child, with the small exception that Dobby was the one sleeping on the bed instead of himself. Not liking the idea of anyone sleeping in there, much less someone that had recently saved his life, Harry carried the elf out to the other room and slipped him into the bed he had created for himself.

A glint of gold caught Harry's eye as he was turning to take in the two girls in the room. Hanging neatly from a coat rack by the door were Hermione and Gabrielle's dresses from the wedding, both completely clean. Harry looked down at the crusty mess his robes had been reduced to and surmised that Winky had cleaned up the clothing before going wherever she ended up for the evening. A jolt suddenly went through Harry's head. If Hermione's dress was hanging up over there, then what was under the blanket? Harry could feel the same tingling sensation in his palms as he had when they were kissing the night before and his hands had found themselves sliding underneath the back of her gown. Fighting off the urge to investigate, Harry returned to the kitchen to begin making breakfast for everyone.

Winky had taken up residence in a kitchen cupboard, Harry found out when he pulled out a frying pan, and after sliding her in the opposite end of the bed from Dobby, he began his all-to-familiar morning routine. Within a minute of the bacon hitting the pan, Harry heard a noise from upstairs, but he knew his cousin would be too terrified to come out of his room with Vernon still knocked-out, wherever he ended up. The soft squeak of the door hinges announced Hermione's arrival.

"Harry, what are you doing?"

"What it looks like, I'm making breakfast," he answered without turning to her. He was preparing himself for her to scream at him for dosing her with potion last night, or for what happened between them at Grimmauld Place, or even both.

"What happened to my clothes?" she asked unsteadily. Harry slammed his eyes closed trying to find a way that her words could mean something other than what he thought they meant.

"I think Winky cleaned them after I left last night," he told her while blindly poking at the bacon.

"And how did I get like this?"

Harry's insides felt like they'd turned to stone as he turned his head to chance a peak at her. She was standing in the doorway wearing one of his Quidditch jerseys. The queasy feeling left so fast it made Harry a bit light-headed, and he found it impossible to take his eyes off of her exquisitely bare legs sticking out from underneath the shirt.

"I put you and Gabrielle to bed fully clothed," he finally managed to tell her. Hermione slowly made her way over to him as Harry turned off the stovetop figuring it was about time they had the talk he promised her last night.

"You said you left… again?" she asked while staring at her clasped hands.

"I'm sorry, I just had to see the Burrow. When I got there, Mr. Weasley was sitting all alone drinking something," Harry told her while massaging his throat, which still burned a little. "I sat with him until the sun started to come up, then came back here."

"That was nice of you," Hermione said almost to herself. She was close enough to touch, but Harry fought the urge to, not really sure where they stood.

"The Weasley's are all staying at Grimmauld Place. I told him we'd bring Gabrielle by after we were sorted out here," Hermione merely nodded, still not looking at Harry. He took a large breath to prepare himself, "Hermione, what happened last night?"

Placing his hands on her shoulders, Harry could feel her quiver slightly. She slowly raised her eyes to his, "Harry," the sadness in her voice made his heart sink, "we just can't." She was pleading for him to understand her; Harry slowly began to pull away.

"So, you don't really like me…" he whispered sadly.

"That's not it at all, it's just… I don't know if it's a good idea for me to stay with you…" she trailed off.

"Is this about the prophecy?" Harry asked while trying to tell himself he would accept it to keep her safe.

"No Harry, I know you'll win."

"Hermione, I just spent an entire night sitting with someone who just lost his wife. He didn't talk much, but when he did, it was about how happy Molly had been recently. Even with… how it ended, he was grateful for the time they had together, that they had a chance to be happy. Leaving you behind like I did earlier, I just don't think I could do that again, and I want to take a chance. I need you Hermione, until the end, in any way you'll have me."

A spark lit behind her eyes, but they filled with tears. "No, Harry. I'm just not good enough for you."

"What!?"

"I don't deserve you," Hermione said, her voice breaking. "When I saw that curse heading for me I completely froze! I should be dead right now, but you saved me. If I stay with you, you'll just keep doing it again and again until one time, your luck will run out and you'll end up dead. When that monster looked at me with those eyes of his, all I saw was you tumbling through the air like you had in third year. I couldn't look away and everything just seemed so hopeless. I'm sorry Harry, I just can-" she tried to flee without finishing her sentence, but he held her back.

"What if I don't let you go?" She stood shaking her head, not meeting his eyes. "There's no shame in losing track of things when you see that curse flying towards you, believe me I've been there, and seeing that bastard in person is so much worse than following along in some pensieve memory. Hermione, even the Minister, who used to be in charge of the Aurors mind you, ran away from him. You'll do better next time," she let out a small squeak that let him know she was looking forward to it about as much as he was. "Until then, I'm refusing to let you go. I'm useless without you, and without me, we're all screwed." She hiccupped a little at his joke, "Better?" he asked her as he wiped the tears from her face. He gently held her face as she smiled up to him then slowly (slow enough to give her plenty of time to stop him), he brought his lips to hers. Hermione's hands curled up into Harry's hair as she stood on her toes, until he put one arm under her bum and lifted her up to his height, pressing her tightly against his chest.

They continued on for a while, until Hermione screamed out Harry's name, causing him to drop her back on her feet and spin around. The pan he had left on the stove, along with some of the counter, was covered in bright blue flames.

"Where's my wand?" Hermione yelled. Harry had no clue, so he just shoved his own into her hands. She swept it through the air violently causing the flames to flare up before blowing themselves out.

"What's all the yelling down here?" Emma Granger asked bursting into the kitchen wearing an old pair of Harry's pajamas.

"Mum!" Hermione shrieked while shoving Harry's wand back into his hands almost as if she was afraid to get in trouble for using it. Harry was stuck looking between the women, Emma obviously looking a bit rumpled from her night sleep, while the shirt Hermione was wearing bore a different class of wrinkles, having ridden even higher up her thighs he could almost make out… no, he shouldn't be looking there, especially right now.

Emma arched her eyebrows looking between the teens, "I'll just go wake your father then," she said before exiting with a slight smirk.

"Sorry about that," Hermione mumbled out once they were alone again. "That hasn't happened since I was eleven."

"So, that's why you weren't allowed in the kitchen?" Harry asked her.

"Our pastor delivered my Hogwarts letter. He had gotten himself invited over for dinner to explain it all to us. I was so happy that when Mum and I went to get desert ready, well, the ice cream melted. The Pastor just sat back laughing as my Dad tried to put out the flames, until Dad's arm caught fire as well. For the rest of the summer, I'd get excited about something new I'd read about, run into the kitchen to tell Mum, and the whole place would ignite," Hermione smiled to herself. "It's a good thing I got my wand when I did. The night I figured out that I'd be in the same year as you I nearly burnt the house down."

"Your pastor showed you how to put them out?" Harry asked her. "I'd say you did more than a few `simple spells' before coming to Hogwarts."

"You remember that?" asked a startled Hermione.

"It's hard to forget. That train ride was the most terrifying and exciting thing in my life, up to then at least."

"I was absolutely terrified that I'd be ages behind everyone else," agreed Hermione.

"Are you admitting to being wrong?" Harry asked her with a smile, earning him a smack on the arm.

Harry made Hermione find her own wand before he would allow her to help him cook, which turned out to be a good idea. Every time they accidentally brushed against each other, the flames on the stove needed to be contained. Between that, and the fact that whenever Hermione was more than a couple feet away Harry's eyes were glued to her legs, it was quite a while before the food was ready.

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While Hermione was upstairs fetching her parents Harry went for Gabrielle and the elves. Dobby and Winky both dashed off for the kitchen as soon as their eyes opened, while Gabrielle (wearing the emerald green jumper he had gotten from Mrs. Weasley his first year) had to be silently led to the table.

Dobby and Winky had reset the table for eight people (Harry realized they had counted the Dursleys and ignored themselves). It took Harry until the three Grangers came down to convince the elves to sit at the table, at least until the Dursleys showed up, which he knew wasn't likely to happen anytime soon.

Harry had to fight the urge to stare at Hermione; slightly afraid of the way her father (who was wearing his only other pair of pajamas) might react. They ate in almost complete silence, and no one could dissuade the elves from serving them all. When Neville Longbottom landed in a heap between Harry and Hermione, he was a bit unnerved at the sight of two wands poking him in the chest.

"Harry! Are you alright? We were chasing a group of Death Eaters around the front of the house, but they left and that Auror friend of yours made me take Katie back to my house. She wouldn't tell us what happened, but other people were saying V-V-V-V-Voldemort was there and you fought him. What happened?"

Quickly lowering their wands, Harry and Hermione seized Neville into a slightly awkward hug. "Neville, what are you doing here?" Hermione shrieked almost directly into his ear.

"Harry wanted to talk with… someone," he told her while glancing at Harry.

"It's fine Neville," Harry reassured him. "Is she coming?"

"Who are you talking about, Katie?" Hermione asked them.

After getting a nod from Harry, Neville called for Saldie, his elf. The creature that popped into the room was a bit shorter than Winky, and wearing a yellow dress that seemed to have something running around all over it.

"What's going on here?" Hermione asked them.

"Hermione, remember the memory where Tom was shown the two things?" she quickly nodded, "The elf from there was Saldie's mother," Harry told her. He could almost see the information click into place in her mind and cut her off as she opened her mouth to question the creature who was now cowering behind Neville's legs. "Later. There's other things we need to deal with first," he motioned across the table.

Harry told Neville and Saldie to sit down as he got up to fix plates for the new arrivals before any of the elves could, but quickly found out they were a seat short. In the end it took all three Gryffindors to convince her to take Harry's vacated chair as he went upstairs to change out of his robes.

Apparently Winky, on her hunt for clothes, had decided to arrange everything in Harry's trunk, including putting the now sparkling clean Gryffindor sword in with his possessions. He looked around what had been his room for the last six years. The only traces that he even existed were his trunk and Hedwig's cage; Harry decided it was time to find another place to put them. Remus had agreed to help find a place for them to stay in Godric's Hollow, but it was a little hard for him, given Harry had no idea how much time he'd even be able to spend there. For now, Grimmauld Place would do, after all, what's the point of owning a house if you can't store a few things there?

"Harry?" Hermione quietly called from behind him. He turned to find her holding the clothes her family had borrowed for the night neatly folded, and she was wearing some of her regular clothes. He was slightly disappointed at losing his distraction from earlier.

"You went home for some clothes?" Harry asked her.

"It was odd. Winky just snapped her fingers and a little pile of clothes landed in front of us all. You've been up here a while, so I thought I'd check on you."

"I was just gathering my things," he told her as he tossed the clothes on top of the sword in his trunk before shutting the lid and placing Hedwig's cage on top. "I think I'm leaving here. For good."

A soft smile came to her mouth, "I thought as much. Where will we stay, Grimmauld Place?"

"I'm not exactly sure. I want to go to Godric's Hollow as soon as possible, after that I was just thinking we'd figure it out as we went along."

"Oh Harry. We really have to speak with Remus today and make up some sort of plan. Do you suppose Ron is still coming?"

They shared a very sad look before he shook his head slowly, "Mr. Weasley says he'll come around eventually, but after the way he was acting last night…"

"He will Harry. We've all been friends too long for this to be the end," she told him in her most hopeful voice. "You don't suppose we shouldn't, you know, not see each other, for his sake?"

"No," Harry firmly told her. "I'm through letting anyone else dictate how my life goes. Mr. Weasley's right, he'll get over it, it just might take a while." Hermione flashed him a very relieved smile before stretching up to give him a quick kiss.

"We should go. Gabrielle still hasn't said a word, no matter how hard Mum tries to get her to talk."

Harry nodded slightly before he realized, "How are they going to get in the house? Remus has to tell them the secret."

"We'll gather them around your mirror and call him," she said after a moments thought.

As they made their way to the stairs Hermione suddenly pulled Harry to a stop, "Do you want to say good-bye to your relatives?"

Harry sighed as he looked back down the hall, "Not really, but I suppose they do need to know I'm leaving. That and I still need to Ennervate Vernon."

Hermione tried to chide him about his use of magic until he told her his reasoning for being safe. He motioned for her to stay behind as he entered his aunt and uncle's room; Petunia shrieked and tried to hide under the bed as soon as the door began to move.

"I'm sorry about last night, but it really was completely necessary. I'm leaving in a few minutes, for good, just so you know, but there are still a few other people downstairs, so you might want to wait for us all to go," Harry quickly told a groggy Vernon and shaking Petunia before turning around and walking away without a second thought.

Once back in the kitchen Harry called Remus and got him to tell the Grangers, Gabrielle, Neville, and the three elves the location of Grimmauld Place. Soon enough Hermione Apparated away with her Mother, Harry brought along Dan and Gabrielle, and Neville followed Harry carrying a freshly arrived Hedwig. The elves popped in behind them with Harry's trunk just as the house sprang into view, and the Grangers walked away muttering something about leaving the stove on and needing to feed the cat.

"Harry! What's going on?" Hermione yelled to him.

The realization hit Harry quickly, "Sirius' Dad put Muggle repelling charms on the house and they can't get in!"

"What do we do?"

Harry softly swore to himself, "We'll have to take them home. Neville, take them and ring the bell, someone will let you in," Harry yelled back as he ran after Dan.

The dentists were quickly deposited back in their house, and Hermione couldn't resist gathering up Crookshanks before they Apparated back to Harry's house to plan their next course of action.

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There was a flurry of activity inside the old house. Fleur and Gabrielle were clinging together wailing while Remus and Mad-Eye were trying to hold the curtains closed over the portrait of Mrs. Black. Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, Tonks, and all the Weasleys in attendance had come to check on the noise; Neville was clearly confused, and the three elves stared fearfully at the mounted heads lining the steps.

Wishing to avoid another confrontation, Harry silently led the way up to the drawing room, pulling Neville and Remus along. The soft click of the door closing from behind reassured him that Hermione had also followed.

"Harry… What is this place?" Neville asked.

"It's my house," was his simple reply, which clearly wasn't any help to his friend. Harry motioned to the tapestry on the wall, "This is the `Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.' Formerly home to some less than kind people, currently the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, and left to me by Sirius."

"Order?"

"Remus," Harry sighed, "you should probably fill him in on this part, being the only member in the room."

"Harry, there's a reason we don't go around telling everyone about the Order. We shouldn't even be mentioning it in front of him, if Mad-Eye were to overhear us right now," Harry had to hold back a smirk as he saw Hermione cast a few charms on the door, "he'd probably burst in hexing us all."

"There are some things I need to tell you all, but he needs to know about this first, so one of us is going to tell him, and I think you know a bit more about it," Harry evenly told him. Remus was still obviously hesitant. "Neville, what do you know about what your parents did and why they were attacked?"

The color was slowly draining from Neville's face as he answered, "They were Aurors, and the Death Eaters attacked us after you stopped V-V-Voldemort because they thought my parents knew a way to bring him back."

"Neville," Remus began, "Your parents were part of a group dedicated to fighting against Voldemort and his followers. They, along with Mad-Eye and a few other ministry employees helped keep us informed of his movements as much as could be expected. We did everything in our power to undermine his plans, but we were outnumbered from the start. Professor Dumbledore-"

"Dumbledore?" Neville questioned.

"Yes, he founded the Order, and reformed it within hours of Voldemort's resurrection. He received some information from a source he claimed to have trusted which eventually resulted in Harry's parents having to go into hiding. I believe he also doled out a similar warning to your parents, but with their being employed by the ministry, they couldn't disappear with as much ease. We knew there was a spy in our midst, and I'm sorry to say most of the Order believed it was me, until the attack on the Potters when Sirius took the blame. We all assumed the worst was over and the remaining Death Eaters would be quickly dealt with, and then, without warning they struck out against your family, Neville. No one really understood why they were the ones targeted, but from what Sirius overheard in Azkaban, they believed that your parents were capable of defeating their Lord, and by conquering them, might find a way to bring him back. Dumbledore had been slightly on edge after that Halloween, but after the Longbottoms were attacked he told us all the game was through and disbanded the Order."

"So, no one really knows why they attacked us?" Neville quietly asked. Harry was about to answer, but Hermione spoke first.

"Neville, why do you keep saying `us' about the attack?"

"I remember it, sometimes. Especially when I dream. It's gotten better, over time…"

"You were there?" Remus asked.

Neville meekly nodded, "Mum had Saldie take me away when we were cornered." Three House-elves arrived in rapid succession as one of them was named.

"Does Master need anything?" Saldie asked.

Neville simply shook his head. Dobby, seeing a break in the conversation, tugged on Harry's sleeve.

"Is what they're saying true? Does this house belong to Harry Potter?" the elf asked.

"Yes, and I'm sorry about the heads downstairs, no one could get them down," Harry quickly replied. Dobby jumped with enough enthusiasm to throw both hats he was wearing to the ground before popping back out of the room, closely followed by Winky.

Saldie was sent on her way after being asked to send up Harry's trunk and keep everyone away until they called for her. Hermione, Remus, and Neville rearranged themselves around the table as Harry dug through his trunk, unable to figure out how Winky had organized it. Finally finding the Pensieve and its base, (in opposite corners) Harry found the others staring at the mess he had just made.

"Harry, why do you have a sword?" Neville asked.

"I'm not sure," Harry told him after spotting the gleaming hilt of Gryffindor's sword poking out from underneath his clothes. "It kind of fell out of the air last night as I was fighting Voldemort's snake. I suppose I should ask McGonagall about taking it back to Hogwarts, since she's here." Neville looked confused again, "It belongs in the Headmaster's office," Harry told him, the recognition was almost instant.

"That's the sword you killed the Basilisk with, isn't it?" Neville asked, to which Harry simply nodded and placed the sword on the table next to the Pensieve. The others in the room all looked at it with interest and Harry realized none of them had ever seen it so close, so he turned it over so they could all read the name on the hilt before taking a seat next to Hermione on what was now his favorite piece of furniture.

"He's going to come for this since you killed his pet, isn't he?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, but you're a bit ahead of everyone else," Harry told her before letting out a deep sigh. He hadn't planned on telling Neville anything about the Horcruxes, but it did run almost parallel to the prophecy, which he really had a right to know, as far as Harry was concerned. "Okay, both of you," he said looking between Remus and Neville, "have got to swear not to tell anyone about anything we talk about, agreed?" The other men slowly nodded their acceptance. "Where do I start?" he muttered to himself.

Hermione took some initiative, "Actually Harry, I have a question. Last night you told me to find Neville if you died, why?"

Her voice had a slight quiver to it, and Harry knew she was putting on a strong face to support him. "Some of this you don't know, so bear with me," he told her after taking her hand. "We all know about the prophecy from the ministry, well, we assumed it was a prophecy, but actually, it was just the record of one. Yes, my name was on it, but when it was made, there was a chance it wouldn't have been me at all."

"How do you know that?" Remus quickly asked.

"Because even though the record smashed without anyone hearing it, the prophecy was made to a person, and that person told me."

"Dumbledore knew, didn't he?" Neville asked.

"Professor Trelawney fell into a trance during her interview with Dumbledore. She told him the prophecy, but neither of them knew there was a Death Eater standing outside the door until it was too late." Hermione was about to interrupt him again, so he squeezed her hand to silence her, "They were in the Hog's Head, and luckily, the bartender tossed out Snape before he heard the whole thing." Remus had a look as if he were expecting everything he'd heard so far, while Neville still looked a little lost. Focusing on the image of his former Divination teacher hovering above the bowl Harry placed the memory into the Pensieve and prodded the surface with his wand.

Harry closed his eyes as the words that had cursed his life echoed through his head and heart at the same time. The eventual silence in the room was only broken by Hermione's sniffles. Harry opened his eyes to look at Remus. The older man was completely unfocused with a few stray tears wandering down his face; Neville had turned nearly as pale as the ghosts roaming the halls of Hogwarts.

"So everything the Daily Prophet's been printing is-" Remus started.

"Mostly true," Harry told him, "but they don't know that."

"Does that mean it could be… me?" Neville whispered.

"It could have been, but Dumbledore thought, and apparently whoever labels the shelves in the ministry agrees, that when Voldemort attacked my parents and gave me my scar I became `the one,'" Harry told him.

"You disagree?" Hermione asked somewhat disbelievingly.

"Honestly, I don't know anymore, but what I believe doesn't matter. Voldemort believes in the prophecy; he thinks that by killing me, he'll be one step closer to immortal, and I wouldn't put it past him to go after Neville when he's through with me, just to be safe. Snape only overheard the bits about our parents and when we were going to be born, so Voldemort spent the better part of a year trying to get the complete record from the ministry to find out what he missed. If he were to wake up tomorrow and decide it all meant nothing, then I'd be just another wizard fighting the git, not some sodding `Chosen One.'"

"But it said you have a power he doesn't," Neville said.

"Neville, you've known me for six years now, do you honestly think I have some mystery power that you've never seen?"

"Maybe it's something you don't even know about," Neville replied almost urgently. "You've been conjuring a patronus since third year, and you took on Lestrange and V-Voldemort all by yourself at the ministry!"

"Dumbledore saved my sorry arse that night, and it took him," Harry said pointing at Remus, "five months to teach me how to do the patronus charm; the first time it really mattered, I stuffed it. If Hermione hadn't been given that Time-Turner the Dementors would've kissed me that night!"

"There's no need to exaggerate," Remus cut in, "they never would have kissed a student."

"No Moony, they would have. One of them had lowered its hood and was pulling me up to its mouth when my patronus came across the-"

"You never told me that!" Hermione yelled before anyone else could cut in.

"I guess… it never came up. Really, what's more important, one scabby grey face or the fact that there were a hundred of them swarming around us?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Neville asked them, and it became obvious to Harry just how much Neville didn't know.

"I'll show you later," Harry told him, "it really doesn't have anything to do with this," he gestured to the spectral form still hovering over the Pensieve.

"Right," Remus said. "Just how long have you known this Harry?"

"Dumbledore told me after I left the ministry that night, and right now the only people that know the whole thing are in this room. Ron knows that the Prophet's got it right, but besides that, it's just us."

"Dumbledore told you all of this just after Sirius died and that maniac possessed you?" Remus growled out as he stalked over to the nearest cabinet.

"Well… he had to tell me something, I was destroying his office. If he'd let me go on any longer I probably would've resorted to hexing him."

CRUNCH - the wooden shelf Remus had his hands on splintered as his hands convulsed. From behind Harry could see his former professor's shoulders shaking with rage; he wondered if it was an after-effect of his recent transformation, or perhaps years of repressed anger. Hermione sprung up from the sofa and put her arm around Remus' shoulder, whispering urgently to him. After catching her glance, Harry led Neville out into the hall where they found Saldie had taken her order to guard the room quite seriously. She was standing out on the landing shrewdly observing the rest of the house with her arms folded, but when Neville appeared, her scowl turned to a bright smile.

"Master, is everything alright, do you need anything from Saldie?"

Neville politely declined just as Dobby popped up next to her.

"Harry Potter sir! Dobby must ask you a question!" He asked the elf what he needed. "Dobby would be most honored if he would be allowed to leave Hogwarts and come work for the House of Potter!"

Harry wasn't really surprised, "Does that mean you want me to ask Professor McGonagall if you can leave?"

"Dobby has already talked with the Headmistress, and she says that if Harry Potter agrees, he is free to leave Hogwarts whenever he wishes," Dobby told him bouncing with excitement, causing Neville to snicker slightly.

"Dobby, I'm not even sure how much time I'm going to be spending in this house," he told him after elbowing Neville.

"Dobby will travel to where ever his Master wishes him to go!"

"Hold on," Harry told him. "If we do this, you will not call me `Master', understood?" He received a quivering nod. "And second, you will have to accept wages and holidays and whatever else Hermione says you deserve, okay?" Now the elf really didn't want to agree. "What about Winky?" As soon as Harry mentioned her she joined the gathering.

"Dobby will still visit Winky on his day off, unless Harry Potter has need for another elf?" Dobby added hopefully.

"Winky, do you want to leave Hogwarts? You might not be with Dobby all of the time, but I could still hire you, if you want. You would have to agree to the same things Dobby did, not calling me `Master,' and accepting pay and time off." Both elves cringed at the mention of money. "How about I let you work out your pay with Hermione. Whatever you talk her down to will be fine with me."

"Are you that afraid of getting in trouble with her?" Neville asked him.

"Shut it," Harry warned him.

"I saw you holding her hand in there. When we were at your aunt's earlier her dad asked me what they should get you for your birthday, but her mum just said you'd already gotten the best thing they could ever give anyone. You're dating her, aren't you?" Neville demanded. It really showed how close of a friend Neville considered her that he would stand up so bluntly to Harry in her defense. Ron hadn't cared this much when Harry suddenly kissed Ginny in front of him.

"You don't… fancy her, do you?" Harry asked, slightly worried over the answer.

"No. I like her and she's a great friend, but I think it would be a little too much like dating a teacher, for me at least. What about you?" Neville pointedly replied.

Harry took a moment to watch Crookshanks and Hedwig dart down the hallway in pursuit of a mouse. "We're… working on it, I guess. It's still pretty new, Neville. She's been my best friend since forever; all of a sudden last night, we end up kissing. It might be a bit strange for a while, but I'm not giving her up for anything."

"Are you sure that's smart, given, you know, that prophecy?"

"No. But after talking to Mr. Weasley last night, I think it's an even worse idea to not take a chance while you can," Harry told Neville who seemed to seriously take the words to heart. Harry looked back to Dobby and Winky, "Well, are you staying with Hogwarts, or coming to work for me?"

"Of course Dobby will come work for Harry Potter Sir," he screamed. Winky still looked apprehensive.

"Winky, are you worried that there won't be enough work for the both of you, since I don't have a family?" She sharply nodded. "How about this: Dobby will stay with me, wherever I happen to be, and you can be in charge of keeping this house, and maybe redecorating it a bit," Harry added looking at one of the many snakehead door knobs. "Plenty of people come through here, and right now the Weasley's are staying over. You might end up doing a fair bit of cooking for them since Mrs. Weasley… you know. Dobby can still visit you here whenever he wants, and I'm sure I'll be in from time to time."

Winky shared a look with a very happy Dobby before breaking into a broad grin and nodding happily before they both left to notify McGonagall. Neville was laughing again, so Harry hit him with a mild stinging hex.

"What?" Neville asked somewhat incredulously, "We should be laughing while we still have a chance, right?"

Damn it he had a point. "I suppose, just try to hold it together in front of Hermione. It's going to be a bit unpleasant when she finds out."

"She'll understand, besides, she gets to work out their wages," Neville happily reminded him. Harry made a mental note to figure out just how much money he had in Gringotts.

Reentering the room, Harry found Hermione and Remus back in their respective seats. The older man apologized for his outburst, but didn't offer any further explanation; Harry would have to get the story later from Hermione.

"So Harry, why are you telling us all this today? Is there some way that I can help you?" Remus asked.

"Yes Remus, I'm asking you for help, but there is a lot more we have to go over before you can agree to. Neville, I just think you have a right to know the real reason your parents are in the hospital," Harry told them. He shared a look with Hermione, "Neville, I'm not really sure you want to know the rest."

"I want to help Harry. I know I'm not the best at most things, but anyway I can help you, I will," Neville said.

"Neville, the best way you could help us now would be to go back to Hogwarts and make sure everybody stays on their guard, just incase the Death Eaters find another way in," Hermione told him. "You might want to consider reforming the DA, I'm sure Luna would be willing to give you a hand."

"But that's Harry's job," he replied.

"Not anymore. Hermione and I aren't going to be returning to Hogwarts, unless by some miracle we find a way to defeat Voldemort before the end of the year," Harry said. Remus and Neville immediately voiced their disbelief.

"It's true," Hermione told them. "There are more important things to consider. There are things that need to be done before anyone can even considering going after Voldemort, and Harry and I are setting out to do them."

"Surely it doesn't have to be the two of you, just bring the matter to the Order, and we'll deal with it for you," Remus pleaded.

"No," Harry calmly replied. "Dumbledore and I were working on this, actually it's partially the reason he died. What we were doing needs to be an absolute secret, he wouldn't even tell McGonagall. If Voldemort had any clue about what we're working on, things would get very bad, very quick."

"How can you even be sure the two of you can do, whatever it is that you're doing," Remus asked them.

"We can't be sure," Harry softly replied.

"And that's partly why we're coming to you with this now. If something happens, we needed someone we trust to carry on with it," Hermione continued on before turning to Harry. "If you were serious about everything falling to Neville if you… Well, if that's the case then it might be a good idea to tell him."

Harry looked from Hermione to his friend who had once again lost most of the color in his face. "Neville, you need to understand this before you agree: if something happens to Hermione and I it'll be up to you and Remus to pick it up. I suppose Ron could help too, if he's come around by then. No one else can know about this, not your Gran, not your elf, no one. You can walk out of this room right now without anyone thinking any less of you."

Neville sat in thought for minute before answering, "I understand."

Remus spoke up, "Harry, as grateful as I am that you're willing to put your trust in me, I will not let the two of you go running off on some crusade on your own. I'm coming with you."

"I thought you might say that," Harry told him. "That's part of why I asked you to help us find Godric's Hollow."

"Not to belittle what you're trying to do, but just what could be so important to make Dumbledore refuse to tell anyone about it?" Remus asked.

"Right now," Harry slowly began, "Voldemort is immortal."

"No," Remus quickly interjected, "there has to be someway to finish him; some curse or other weapon that just hasn't been found yet."

"Harry's right," Hermione told the others. "We could utterly destroy his body, but his spirit will remain just as it did before."

"But how?" Neville asked. "That's just not natural."

"You're right," Harry told him. "Voldemort found a way to commit a crime against nature. He's split his soul and encased it outside his body in something called a Horcrux. As long as a Horcrux exists, he can't be killed."

"Did Albus have any clue where this Horcrux was stored?" Remus asked.

"Horcruxes," Harry corrected him. "Voldemort believed that he'd be stronger with a seven-part soul. He made six of them, with the seventh part remaining in his body."

After burying his face in his hands for a minute, Remus came back around, "And do we know where any of these objects are?" Harry went back over to his trunk and pulled out the diary, ring, and jar containing Nagini's head.

"These were three of them," Harry told them as he placed them on the table. "I destroyed the diary in the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore found the ring last summer, but nearly lost his hand in the process, and I killed Nagini last night."

"This is great," Neville shouted. "That's half of them already gone!"

"But it's taken four years to get to that point," Remus clarified, quickly eroding Neville's burst of happiness.

Harry shook the Pensieve, dropping Trelawney's image back inside before adding two more quick strands from his mind. After another prod, images of Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup floated up. "These are numbers four and five. Voldemort wanted objects of significance for his Horcruxes. The diary, while being just a book, was also proof that he is the heir of Slytherin. The ring and the locket are both heirlooms of Slytherin's, and the cup belonged to Helga Hufflepuff."

"He was trying to collect pieces from all four founders, so as best as we can figure out, the last Horcrux was something that either belonged to Ravenclaw or Gryffindor," Hermione added.

"But we have no idea what that could be. There's also the danger now that he knows I have this sword he might come after me to make it into a replacement for one of the two he knows I've destroyed. He almost told me as much last night," Harry finished.

"If he wanted things from the founders, why the snake?" Neville asked.

"Dumbledore's best guess was to underline his connection to Slytherin, but there is another part of it. Voldemort preferred to only make Horcruxes from significant murders. The sixth and final one was supposedly going to be made from my death, being destined to kill him made it important enough. That didn't work out, so as part of his return he made Nagini one. Trelawney made a prediction to me in third year; she said Voldemort would arise again greater and more terrible than he ever was. I think making his final Horcrux fulfills that," Harry told them all.

"What does murder have to do with making a Horcrux?" Neville asked.

"It's creation requires the supreme act of evil… cold blooded murder," Hermione answered.

"So, we need to find this cup and locket, then figure out this mystery object and locate that before we have a chance at defeating him," Remus clarified.

"Almost. Dumbledore found out where the locket was being stored, in a cave Voldemort visited before he attended Hogwarts. I went with him to retrieve it, but somebody had already been there and replaced the real one with a fake," Harry said as he pulled the locket from his pocket. Neville picked it up and opened it.

"Do you know who wrote this note?" he asked after reading it.

"No idea, just their initials," Hermione answered.

"And I'm guessing since they referred to him as the `Dark Lord' that it was a Death Eater," Harry added.

"So we need to find this R.A.B. to figure out what happened to the real locket?" As soon as Neville said the initials Remus' head perked up.

"Let me see that," he said, snatching the note from Neville. After scanning the writing his jaw dropped, "It can't be!"

"What?" Harry and Hermione simultaneously demanded.

"It has to be! Regulus," Remus shouted.

Harry and Hermione both bolted to the tapestry on the wall. Stitched next to the burn mark that used to be Sirius was another name.

Regulus Arcturus Black

"How did we not notice this before?" Hermione asked herself as much as anyone else before grabbing Harry's arm almost painfully. "It was here!"

"The locket, are you sure?" Remus asked her.

And Harry remembered. When they had been cleaning out this room Sirius had found it behind a picture of his Grandfather and Grindelwald. "When we were cleaning out in here, nobody could get it open, so we threw it out with the rest," Harry told him.

"What happened to the things we got rid of," Hermione urgently asked Remus.

"Sirius and I incinerated the bags out back then vanished the ashes," he told them.

"I doubt fire would have destroyed it, is there a chance you missed something surviving and vanished it with the rest?" Harry quickly asked.

"There was nothing left, just ashes," Remus said.

"Then it couldn't have been in with the rest of the rubbish, if the fire had destroyed it you would have heard the screaming," Hermione said.

"Screaming?" Neville asked.

"When you kill the soul fragment you can hear Voldemort scream," Harry replied.

"Does he know when one is destroyed?" Remus asked.

"We don't think so. There's so little of him that's not been corrupted by evil that Dumbledore believed he doesn't feel the way we do. We know that he didn't know the diary had been destroyed until Malfoy broke down and told him," said Harry.

"How could the locket have been lost between here and the back door?" Hermione asked the others in the room. Harry immediately remembered what Sirius had told him.

"Kreacher," he shouted out, and the decrepit elf popped into the room at Harry's feet. "Have you ever seen this locket before," he sharply asked.

The elf's eyes grew large as he struggled the urge to answer. "Kreacher has," he eventually croaked out.

"Did Sirius' brother bring it into this house?" The elf simply nodded. "Did you take the locket away after we'd thrown it out?"

"Kreacher must not answer Master," the elf began muttering and backing towards the door.

"Kreacher, is the locket in this house?" Harry demanded. The elf's muttering increased and he appeared to begin sweating.

"Dobby!" Harry barked out.

The eccentric elf's usual greeting failed to show as he saw Kreacher struggling against himself in the corner. "What has Kreacher done against Mas- Harry Potter sir?" he asked with more anger than Harry thought he was capable of holding.

"He's refusing to tell us where he hid this locket," Hermione told him while pointing to the Pensieve. "Dobby could you and Winky search the house? He's hidden it somewhere in this house, and it's very important that you don't touch it, alright? Just find it and show us where he's hidden it."

"Of course Miss Hermy!" the elf said before vanishing out of the room. Kreacher was in the corner twisting his ears and banging his head against the wall while Hermione was shrewdly looking at Harry. He was pretty sure she had caught Dobby slip, but was focusing on the matter at hand. The four people in the room waited in silence for only a minute before Dobby came back, proudly holding one of the stuffed heads from the stairway.

"Dobby, I told you not to touch it," Hermione shouted.

"The locket is in the mouth, Miss Hermy, Dobby did not reach in."

Ignoring the shouts from the others, Harry snatched the head from Dobby and pulled the locket from the slightly open mouth, Kreacher let out a wail and resumed banging his head.

"Is that it?" Neville quietly asked.

"Yes it is," Harry told him as he ran his finger along the ornate `S' on the locket.

"Now how do we destroy it?" Remus said.

Kreacher yelled and made to grab the locket from Harry, but Dobby stopped him. "You will NOT harm Harry Potter!" he yelled after landing a solid punch between Kreacher's eyes. The elves began rolling on the ground. Kreacher tried to bite Dobby, but with no remaining teeth, it was quite ineffective.

"Dobby, stop!" Harry yelled; the elf froze in place. "Kreacher, you are to tell no one about anything you saw today." The ancient elf looked as if he might start crying any moment, then Harry noticed he was staring at the stuffed head now on the floor. It had been the last one along the wall, quite possibly his mother. He couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the creature. "Go put this back where it belongs," he said after handing it over to him.

"Harry, what did you do to Dobby?" Hermione asked him. The elf was still lying frozen on the ground.

"Dobby, get up, are you alright?" Harry asked somewhat concerned.

The elf jumped to his feet, "Of course M- Mister Harry Potter, did Dobby find the correct necklace?"

"Yes Dobby, thank you."

"Miss Hermy," Dobby began, but Harry quickly silenced him.

"Not now Dobby please let us finish first." The elf nodded and popped away.

"Harry, what's going on with him?" Hermione asked.

"When we're done with this, please?" She nodded after seeing his pleading expression.

"So now, can we destroy the locket?" Remus asked, getting everyone back on track.

"It appears that we simply need to destroy the physical object that's holding the soul fragment, but if I remember correctly, we all tried to force the locket open when we found it, and it didn't budge," said Hermione.

"So you think there's some sort of curse keeping it from being damaged?"

"Not necessarily. Harry destroyed the diary with a Basilisk fang, and Dumbledore did the same with a stinger from a Manticore. The snake simply had its head chopped off. Between the Manticore guarding the ring, and the lake full of Inferi protecting the locket when it was in the cave, I would guess the major difficulty is getting the Horcrux, not destroying it," Hermione told them, causing Remus and Neville to stare at her with gaping mouths.

"Obviously there are a couple of stories that you haven't been told yet, but I agree with Hermione," said Harry. He set the locket on the table and drew his wand. "Prior Incantato." The locket shook on the table for a few seconds before the same bluish smoke began to rise from it that Dumbledore had produced from the ring. After the voice of Voldemort faded away Harry turned to see the other three people staring quite oddly at him. "What?"

"What did that say?" Neville asked.

"I don't know what it means, but I assume its part of the Horcrux spell," Harry told them.

"How do you not know what it means?" Hermione asked him.

"It's the same stuff we heard from Dumbledore's memory, didn't you look it up yet?"

"Harry," Remus cut in, "what you just made that locket say came out in Parseltounge."

"Oh. Well, really I don't care what it means as long as we can destroy the bloody thing," said Harry.

"And how do we do that?" Neville asked.

"No idea," Hermione replied.

"In his memory, Dumbledore said he wished he'd brought me along when he found the ring, any idea why?" Harry asked her.

"Nothing concrete, my best guess would be that your wand might be able to affect the Horcruxes since its brother created them," said Hermione.

"That is a possibility, but we don't really know a proper counter-curse for this situation, and I'm not entirely sure we should be experimenting," said Remus.

Harry noted Neville's confusion over the issue, but was a little surprised at Remus simply continuing on. "Did you know about my wand?" Harry asked.

Remus nodded, "Sirius told me your story from the graveyard."

"If we don't want to try using a spell against that locket, maybe a fang from that snake will work?" suggested Neville. "I mean, Ron said they had a hard time healing his Dad after it attacked him because it wasn't a normal snake. This is the same one, right?"

"Yes, but it's been dead since last night, so I doubt it has any venom left," said Hermione.

Harry remembered Slughorn's attempt to collect venom from Aragog's corpse. That had been close to a full day after the massive spider had died, Nagini had been dead half of that now. "Actually, there should be plenty left, right Remus?" The older man nodded. "What I don't know would be how to get one of her fangs out to even try," Harry told them.

"Hagrid's downstairs, maybe he could," Neville suggested. They all quickly agreed, and after hiding everything but Nagini's remains, Dobby led Hagrid into the room.

Harry felt a little ashamed from refusing to answer almost all of Hagrid's questions, but Hagrid took it in stride. It took the gamekeeper less than a minute to break-off a fang; on his way out, Hagrid let Crookshanks and Hedwig into the room. The owl had a bald tail hanging from her beak, so Harry assumed she won the race to the mouse.

Harry put the jar back into his trunk with the other two disabled items. The four people huddled around the table where Slytherin's locket laid next to the fang. In one swift motion Harry swept up the fang and drove it down onto the locket. For a second, nothing appeared to happen, until a hole dissolved around the fang and it slipped into the heart of the locket.

A horrible piercing scream filled the room. Neville made to cover his ears, but the locket burst open sending a wave of power that knocked them all to the floor unconscious.

><><><><><>

Harry woke what he hoped was only a minute or two later. He could feel a hand slowly stroking his hair and something was scratching his nose. He opened his eyes to find Crookshanks licking him, "All right, I'm up," he mumbled to the cat.

"Thank goodness you're okay," Hermione whispered before giving him a quick kiss followed by a very firm hug, and Harry suddenly remembered they weren't alone in the room.

Remus was helping Neville to his feet as Harry picked up the now-hanging-open locket. "Do all the Horcruxes do that?" Neville asked.

"No, none of them have," Harry answered, the concern evident in his voice.

"These objects of the founders' are supposed to have all sorts of fabulous powers, the explosion must have been you un-doing them," said Hermione.

"That does sound very likely," agreed Remus.

"So, that's four out of the six, can we be happy yet," Neville asked.

Harry flipped the sofa back on its feet and sat down heavily. The way Neville asked, he almost sounded desperate, but really, over half of Voldemort's soul was now gone. What had seemed nearly hopeless an hour ago now appeared possible. It would be really, really hard, but possible. "Yeah Nev, I think we can all be a little happy." He clutched the locket tightly, remembering his excursion with Dumbledore, and there was a small amount of peace to be found from completing the mission they set out to do that night.

"So," Remus started, "what do we do now?"

"I could do with a spot of lunch," Harry said almost jokingly, but as soon as he said it, Winky popped in the room with a tray loaded with sandwiches.

"How did she know that?" Hermione asked after Winky vanished again.

"She'll always hear Harry now," Neville told her with a smile.

"Why is that?"

"Well," Harry sighed, "since they learned I own a house, they kind of insisted on coming to work for me."

"You enslaved them again?" Hermione screamed. "They were perfectly happy being free, why would you do that?"

"They're not enslaved, I've hired them on with the stipulation that you arrange their wages," Harry told her.

"Me? But you're the one that hired them, how am I supposed to know how much you even have available to pay them?"

"I can guarantee that they won't accept your first offer, and I'm pretty sure I can afford whatever they'll agree to," said Harry.

Hermione nearly ran from the room, and Harry felt a little sorry for the elves knowing that they were in for a long talk. Neville and Remus both burst out laughing as soon as the door shut.

"It's really not that funny," Harry bitterly told them.

"So what really is next?" Neville asked after he caught his breath.

"Godric's Hollow," Harry simply stated. "I need to see where my parents are buried."

"If you want, we can leave tomorrow," Remus told him. "There is going to be a funeral of some sort tonight for the Delacours and Molly. We could leave in the morning."

Harry wondered if he would even be invited given the current attitudes of Ron and Ginny, but he decided he'd go, even if he had to wear his invisibility cloak.

"I'll come too, if you want Harry," said Neville.

"Thanks Neville, but you stay home and relax while you can. You learned a lot today, and I wouldn't be surprised if you have trouble sleeping for a while. Could you call Saldie in so I can ask her a few questions?"

Harry reset the Pensieve and pulled out the box of memories from Dumbledore. "There's a lot of information about Voldemort's history in here, and I'll try to add what I know to it and put it someplace safe, incase you need it," he told the other men before tipping in the memory of Hepzibah Smith.

Harry played the memory from the bowl for the others and asked Saldie, who broke down crying when she saw her mother, if there was anything else the man in the memory might have stolen. The eccentric witch had owned many expensive items, including an entire library of first editions, but Riddle had only stolen the two pieces that had belonged by the founders.

"Do you think Ron would want me to come over tonight?" Neville asked Harry as he was repacking his trunk.

"You could always ask him, I think he's still here."

"From what I heard earlier they are planning on a very small ceremony," Remus informed them both.

"I think Katie liked Mrs. Weasley, I thought she might want to go pay her respects," Neville quietly said.

"Did the two of you have fun last night?" Harry slowly asked.

Neville nodded, "Until… She's still at my house, I think. Gran was fixing her up when I left."

"She was hurt?" said Harry.

"A blasting curse broke her arm, but Gran will take care of that no problem. She got plenty of practice with me growing up. I had to make her swear not to tell Katie any of those stories…"

"Do you like her?" Harry asked as Remus wandered off to a corner, trying not to interfere.

"I - I might. I haven't had a lot of experience. Last night when we were just hanging around with Fred and George and the other girls was a lot of fun. It didn't even seem to matter that she's older than me."

Harry laughed a little, "Older is better, in my opinion. Neville, just so you know, the night they made us go dancing, Katie and I kind of kissed."

"Kind of?"

"Well really, it was just for a second, and when she opened her eyes she Disapparated without a word. I don't fancy her or anything, I just thought you should know."

Neville thought for a minute before shrugging his shoulders. "That's alright. I kissed Ginny at the Yule Ball, so I guess we're even," he said with a smile.

A month ago that news surely would have sent a surge of jealousy through Harry, but now, he didn't care. "Well then, at least your night ended better than mine. Why don't you go home and make sure your Gran isn't showing Katie your baby pictures? If there's anything else we need to talk about I might see you tonight"

Neville had a very worried expression on his face. "You don't think Gran would really show her…"

"Does she know that Katie's the one you went to the wedding with?"

Neville nodded before his eyes widened in fear. He ran from the room, Saldie on his heals, and Apparated away as soon as he got outside the house.

"If what Frank said holds true, this friend of his has probably been under interrogation since he left this morning," Remus said with a smile. "And speaking of young witches…" he baited.

Harry reapplied the silencing and locking charms to the door before turning to Remus, "I need to know if I'm making a big mistake…"

><><><><>

An hour later Harry and Hermione were walking down a very deserted Diagon Alley. The most Hermione had been able to talk Dobby and Winky to accept for wages was a sickle a week, combined, and Harry thought she could use a break. The main reason for their trip was to get Hedwig a new perch, but since he was a bit light on money, they found themselves walking up the front steps of Gringotts.

As soon as they entered the lobby a Goblin appeared and said, "Mr. Potter, if you would please follow me."

They were led down a hall with progressively fewer, more ornate doors until they came to the office at the end. Sitting behind a glittering golden desk was the Goblin Harry had met the day before.

"It's a pleasure to see you so soon Mr. Potter, and…"

"Oh, Hermione Granger," said a slightly flustered Hermione.

"Of course, now Mr. Potter as I mentioned yesterday there are a few matters that must be dealt with in regards to your estate," Ragnok said as he pulled out a thick folder. "How aware are you of your account holdings since you received your inheritance from Sirius Black?"

"Well, I received a house along with an elf, and a bit of gold according to Professor Dumbledore. According to a tapestry in the drawing room that makes me somehow related to the Blacks."

"Yes, but mostly in a legal sense. I believe your late Godfather arranged that to keep control of the family assets away from his cousins, and I also believe Professor Dumbledore was understating things by a `bit,'" Ragnok said with a smile.

"That's possible," Harry admitted, "he probably knew what my uncle's reaction would have been." Hermione visibly tensed at the mention of the man.

"The gold, along with the personal property required us to enlarge your vault somewhat, and the property deeds were added to your portfolio-"

"I'm sorry, personal property?" Harry interrupted.

"Yes, my records here show there was a trunk being stored in the vault belonging to Sirius Black which was transferred upon the execution of his will," Ragnok said.

"Excuse me, but you mentioned something about deeds. Was there more than one?" Hermione asked. Ragnok looked to Harry who verified her participation in the conversation.

"Yes, aside from the house there is also a property deed for a plot of land in Bristol. Our records show that the home on the property was destroyed in November nineteen eighty-one. Those deeds were added to the two in Godric's Hollow that shall be transferred into your name on your birthday, along with the remaining assets from the Potter Estate. The Estate has been in the hands of our investment bureau, apart from the yearly deposits to your vault, your caregivers, and tuition payments for your schooling. We need a decision from you, Mr. Potter, on how to proceed with the Estate handling," Ragnok paused seeing the blank look on Harry's face. The mention of Bristol had confused him; he had a feeling he had forgotten something about the place.

"Did you say I own two places in Godric's Hollow?"

Ragnok shuffled down the stack of papers and pulled out two sheets and a large brass key, "Yes, one is a small building in the main part of the village, the other is the land your parents' home was on until its destruction. The building has been sealed since your parents' death, but should still be in relatively good shape; the Muggles in the area are unable to see it at all. This key will allow you access inside," he said after sliding it across the desk.

"And about the estate?" Harry asked as he pocketed it.

"Your parents' will turned most of their money into investments. As of your birthday they fall under your control and you need to decide how much you would like to liquidate."

"You mentioned something about deposits?" Hermione asked. Harry was starting to wish he hadn't left Remus behind as they approached the bank.

Ragnok again shuffled through the file, "This is a list of the yearly interest deposits to your vault."

Harry quickly scanned down the list of steadily growing numbers. The last deposit had been for just over two thousand Galleons. He hadn't seen the inside of his vault since the few weeks he'd stayed in Diagon Alley before his third year, but even then it hadn't looked like the pile of Galleons had shrunk from the time he'd received his key. "Do I have to liquidate anything? You seem to be doing a pretty good job managing things from the look of things."

"You would trust us to continue on with the current arrangement?"

"That'd be fine with me," Harry replied drawing a sly smile from the Goblin.

"Very well then, if you would just sign here," he said producing yet another parchment. "Would you like a copy of your current holdings, for reference?"

"Err, sure. That'd be great, thanks." Harry wasn't sure if he'd even understand whatever they gave him.

Ragnok made a quick note and slid it onto a tray, where it vanished. "Very good, it will take a few minutes to prepare, in the mean time is there any other business I can help you with today?"

"Possibly a few things. I was wondering if I could setup an account to draw a certain amount from my own vault on a regular basis," Harry told him. Hermione looked at him curiously, but he was sure she'd like what he was doing.

Ragnok flipped through a large ledger on his desk, "There appears to be an empty vault on the same level as yours, and we could setup a monthly deposit in whatever amount you would like."

Harry thought for a minute, "Could we set it at twenty Galleons a month for now?"

The other two in the room looked confused for a second, but Ragnok filled out another form and sent it on its way.

"Also I was wondering about a high-security vault. I know Professor Dumbledore had the Philosopher's Stone in one, but that vault did end up being broken into. Is there a more secure place here?"

"Harry-" Hermione began, but Ragnok stepped in.

"Of course, Mr. Potter. We did learn from the incident you mentioned that the thieves in question had placed the Imperious Curse on one of our security goblins. If you would like, I could prepare a similar vault, but restrict access inside to whomever you deem worthy. There would be a modest fee for keeping such a vault."

"Any fees for that, or the other account can be taken from my main vault," Harry told him. "Would everyone, even the Goblins checking the vaults be trapped inside the door? How would you conduct the random checks for intruders?"

Hermione clearly had no idea what he was talking about, but Ragnok seemed slightly impressed by Harry's question. "We would exclude that door from our search, which is still another six years away. To properly key the door we will have to bring whomever you want granted access down to the vault."

Harry nodded. "Can elves be summoned from there, or would I need to call them from up here?"

"They are allowed entrance on all levels except that one." Ragnok paused as a ledger and small golden key appeared on his desk. "Here is the key to your new vault, and the information you requested. If there is nothing else, I can take you below now and key the vault door."

"I was hoping to make a withdrawal while I was here," Harry admitted sheepishly.

The Goblin let out a noise halfway between a laugh and a cackle, "Of course, we can stop on the way down. Right this way." He led them over to a door Harry didn't notice on his way in which led directly out to the cart tracks.

"Hold on tight," Harry murmured to Hermione as he climbed in. Hermione grabbed Harry's arm with both of her trembling hands as soon as the cart launched away from its starting point; she didn't open her eyes or let go until they had come to a full and complete stop.

"Sorry, I guess I should have warned you about that," Harry told Hermione after helping her stand. She glared at him for a second before following Ragnok to the vault door. "Is there a way to allow an Elf access to this vault without needing my key?" Harry asked.

"If you would like to call your House-elf I could key it in now," Ragnok said.

Harry called for Dobby and Winky, both of whom nearly cried out of happiness when Harry told them what they were there for. Ragnok had them place their hands on the door and muttered something in Gobbledygook. Harry produced his key, and the door swung open.

The inside of his vault was easily triple the size he remembered and filled with stacks of gold that rose up to his chest. Harry stared dumbstruck for a minute before refilling his moneybag. When he turned and saw Hermione, her mouth was hanging open.

"Harry, this is incredible. Ron always said you had money, but…" She trailed off leaving Harry to wonder if she had doubted Ron's cause of jealously.

When Harry spotted the dusty trunk in the corner he quietly asked Winky to take it back to Grimmauld Place and bring him back the box of memories from his trunk. After she returned Harry asked to be led to the vault he had setup on their current level to have the elves keyed in there also.

Once they returned to the cart, Dobby and Winky tried to return to the house, but Harry made them get in the cart. Harry again had Hermione clinging to him, who in turn had Winky gripping her in fear. Dobby seemed to enjoy himself a bit too much. The spunky Elf started bouncing with joy until Harry restrained him, slightly afraid he might fall out into the underground lake.

After a long dizzying ride, the cart finally came to a stop in front of what looked to be a solid stone wall. Harry eventually noticed a slightly lighter portion the same size as the other vault doors.

"I take it the only people you would grant entry to are yourself, Miss Granger, and your House-elves?" Ragnok asked.

Harry originally thought of having just himself, Hermione and Remus, but decided that if Dobby and Winky could enter, they could get the box out if something happened to either Hermione or himself. Harry had realized during the course of the meeting upstairs that he should probably draw up a will sometime soon, and the thought crossed his mind that it was possible for himself, Hermione, Dobby and Winky to all be caught, maybe even killed, in the same location, in which case the Goblins wouldn't be able to reopen this vault. "It would probably be prudent to have yourself keyed-in with us," Harry told Ragnok.

The Goblin blinked in surprise before sharply nodding and placing his hand with the other four on the stone. They were shown the proper way to open the door, and once inside, Harry found the darkest corner possible to hide the box of memories he was carrying.

Harry swore he heard a dragon roaring as they piled back in the cart; after another high-speed ride and several words of gratitude, Harry and Hermione stepped outside to rejoin Remus and Tonks, who had insisted on accompanying them.

Hermione wanted to visit Flourish and Blotts to see if they had any more information on Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, so Tonks suggested they split up to get back as soon as possible.

"Harry, can I ask you a favor," Tonks asked as soon as Remus and Hermione had left them.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"The ministry is sending me away tomorrow, and I won't be back for a couple weeks," she told him.

"Is something wrong? Why are they sending you away?"

"I can't really say, but it's just a precautionary thing. Normally I wouldn't mind it, but with the way things have been going, and the look Remus had when you two came out of that room this morning… Can you please just watch out for him? I should be back by the next full moon, and all the ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion are in my room at headquarters if Hermione's really up for trying to make it."

"I'm sure she'll make it, especially if he's still with us," Harry reassured her.

Tonks smiled a little, "I spent most of the last year worrying myself sick over him, and all those missions Dumbledore kept sending him on. You know this is the first time I've actually regretted becoming an Auror? I just don't want to be that far away."

"Where are you going?" Harry asked her.

"Sorry, can't say. Besides, would you tell me where you're taking him off to?"

"I thought you knew," Harry said after checking to make sure nobody was within earshot. "We're going to see-"

"Not out here, Harry," Tonks cut him off. "You can never be sure it's safe to talk in public, remember that."

"Okay Moody," Harry teased. She shoved him through the door of Magical Menagerie in reply.

The witch behind the counter hardly glanced up from her copy of Witch Weekly as they approached the counter, "Morning, how can I help you two?"

"I want the fanciest perch you have," Harry simply replied.

The witch pointed her wand at the back of the shop and through the clutter of cages came a golden perch with several rubies encrusted along its length. "That would be this, but it really is meant for-"

"I'll take it," Harry firmly told her. Hedwig deserved it, he told himself.

The witch blinked in surprise and for the first time actually looked at Harry. "Oh, of course Mr. Potter. That'll be seventy-four Galleons."

Harry quickly paid, and she wrapped up his purchase before Tonks pulled him back out of the shop.

"What's the rush?" Harry asked her as soon as they were outside.

"Just saving you some embarrassment," Tonks said. When he didn't respond she continued, "I take it you didn't notice what she was reading?"

"It was just a magazine," Harry replied.

"With an article about England's most eligible wizards," she told him with a smirk. Harry stopped mid-stride, she couldn't mean… "Yes Harry, you're in it. You'd probably be number one, if you were of age."

"But Hermione," Harry sputtered.

"You two haven't really spent enough time out in public to be noticed, and I'm sure she's smart enough to know that it's just rubbish. It did mention you were dating Ginny, along with some advice on how to win you away from her." Harry's stomach turned at the thought.

"Wait, you've read it?"

Tonks blushed a little, "One of the other Aurors brought in a copy. Kingsley's on it as well, right below you."

Harry sighed and looked at the display of the shop they were standing in front of. It was a small jewelry store with a selection of rings, necklaces, and bracelets in the window; his eyes were drawn to a necklace that had a miniature golden snitch on it, complete with beating wings. Hermione had seemed a bit upset after their trip to Gringotts and he wondered if a small present would cheer her up.

"Just because you're on that list doesn't mean you need to go out and buy Hermione a ring," Tonks told him slyly.

"I'm not looking at the rings," Harry quickly told her. "It's just, Hermione seemed a bit upset earlier, and after last night, I just thought maybe I could get her something to cheer her up…"

"Did you forget her birthday?"

"No, it's on September nineteenth."

"Well, at least you know. My boyfriend when I was your age didn't even think to find out."

"I doubt I'll ever be able to forget. My Firebolts registration number is nine-nineteen," Harry said.

"That's just cheating," Tonks muttered as Harry walked into the shop.

Inside Harry found an entire case of the same necklace he had been admiring in the display, though none of their wings seemed to move. An old wizard came in from the back and greeted him.

"Looking for a something to give your lady-friend?" he asked while motioning towards Tonks.

"Err, yes, but not her. Is there a difference between these necklaces and the one in the window?" Harry asked.

"Not at all, I tied the display piece to myself so its wings beat in time with my heart. Under normal circumstances the necklace will bond itself to whomever is wearing it."

"How do you bond it to another person?" Harry asked.

"Quite honestly, I don't know. My House-elf enchanted it for me."

Harry called in Dobby, and ten minutes later, left the shop with two small packages and a laughing Tonks.

"That little Elf will do just about anything for you, won't he?" She asked.

"Be nice to him, he's been a good friend over the last couple years," Harry defensively told her.

"He wasn't a good friend before?"

Harry sighed a little, "His intentions were always good, but with bad results."

"Could your hiring him on be what has Hermione upset?"

"I think she's fine with me hiring them, and I told her she could negotiate their wages-"

"That's what she was talking to them about. I've never seen her that frustrated, even when she was begging to tell you more in her letters before your fifth year."

"She was begging?" Harry asked.

"Well, I guess demanding would be a better word. I caught her and Ron trying to sneak you an owl once. If we hadn't gotten you out when we did, I think they would have arranged their own rescue mission. How're things with him going?"

"Not good. Mr. Weasley says he'll come around, and I kind of feel bad about leaving him out of everything right now, but I can't afford to wait for him," Harry said. "Hermione even suggested putting things off between us for his sake, but given the state of things I don't want to miss out on any chance I have to actually live and be happy, as selfish as that sounds."

"Harry, if anybody deserves to be a little selfish about things it's you. I spent the better part of a year trying to make Remus realize that there's no bad time for love. Maybe I just should've had you talk to him," Tonks told him with a wink.

"I spent most of that same time period with my head up my arse, so I don't think I would've been much help. I really wasn't sure it was worth taking a chance until I talked to Mr. Weasley last night," Harry said.

"That poor guy. He has to deal with losing his wife and two of his children turning into complete prats in one night. Hermione told me you stayed up with him last night, that was pretty great of you."

"Honestly I think I got more out of the conversation than he did-"

"Don't sell yourself short Harry, and besides, you were there for him when he needed somebody to listen. Remus went through the same thing last summer; I know he and Bill Weasley spent a lot of time together after that, and it meant the world to Remus to have someone there to just listen."

"I still haven't learned my lesson. I had to corner Remus earlier and ask him if really is a good idea to even think about having a girlfriend."

"And what did he tell you?" Tonks asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That I'd better stop worrying about it before I waste a year without realizing it. He also reminded me that my parents got married and had me in the middle of a war, and they were two of the smartest people he's ever met, so it can't be a bad idea," Harry said.

Tonks chuckled a little, "He could've saved me a whole lot of heartache if he would've just remembered that sooner. And just for the record, I'm happy for you both."

As they approached the bookstore, Hermione and Lupin emerged carrying a very thick book each. "What'd you find?" Harry asked.

"Histories of both the founders," Hermione replied. "Harry, did you know about this funeral tonight?"

"Remus mentioned it earlier."

"Do you think they'd want us there?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

"I was thinking of going, but under my cloak. I'd rather not cause a scene, but it's Mrs. Weasley, so how could we not go?"

"I'll speak with Arthur, if you want. I'm sure he'd rather not force the two of you to hide yourselves away," Remus told them.

"Just tell him we'll be there, even if he can't see us," Hermione told him with a sad smile.

They all Apparated out of the alley just as the delivery owls for the Daily Prophet swooped in. Less than a minute later the witch behind the counter of Magical Menagerie fainted.

><><><><><><><

Hedwig, who was looking extremely proud of herself, joined Harry as soon as he set foot inside Grimmauld Place. Professor McGonagall came out of the kitchen to see who arrived and quickly ushered them in. Bill, Fleur, and Mad-Eye were all seated at the table reading the paper with Hagrid looking over their shoulders.

"'Arry! Wha' the bloody hell were ya thinkin'" Hagrid yelled.

"What'd I do?" Harry replied defensively. Bill looked up and slid the paper towards him.

The Chosen Bird?

Last night He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters attacked the wedding reception of William and Fleur Weasley, both employees of Gringotts wizarding bank. Within minutes several injuries and deaths were sustained, including the parents of the bride, and the mother of the groom, but help arrived in the miraculous form of several House-elves, reportedly on loan from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After several Aurors were incapacitated, the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, became locked in a deadly duel with You-Know-Who, only to be saved by Harry Potter, the Chosen One. According to several eyewitnesses, Potter traded taunts with the Dark Lord, both occasionally speaking in Parseltounge, until a Killing Curse was sent towards a nearby witch. Potter summoned the witch, who has been identified as Hermione Granger, a close school friend, out of harms way. When You-Know-Who attempted to strike again, he was thwarted not by Potter, but by a snowy owl, which streaked in through the night sky and repeatedly gouged You-Know-Who's head. Potter, seeing a chance to fulfill his destiny, drew a sword and attempted to strike down the Dark Lord, who unfortunately Disapparated away.

This reporter has also learned that through some twist of fate, it was none other than Harry Potter who had arranged for the elves of Hogwarts to be at the wedding, and the owl in question is his own.

What can we all expect next from Harry Potter and his Chosen Bird?

Underneath the article was a picture of Harry summoning Hermione away from the curse, and another of Hedwig attacking Voldemort while Harry swung Gryffindor's sword.

"You're not gonna let this go to your head now, are you?" Harry asked Hedwig, who was perched on his shoulder. The owl affectionately nipped his ear while several people in the room laughed.

"Great, now it's all just a big joke," came Ron's voice from the doorway. He quickly stormed away with Bill yelling after him.

Harry sat down heavily at the table and put his head in his hands. He really wanted to believe Mr. Weasley, but things were just not getting better soon enough.

"Wha's the matter with Ron?" Hagrid asked.

"He and Ginny are both trying to blame me for their Mum's death," Harry told him. "That, and he found Hermione and I last night."

"Found yeh where?" Hagrid asked. Harry looked up to him, willing him to understand so he didn't have to say it in front of McGonagall. The Headmistress caught his look and let out a surprised little gasp.

"He found us kissing upstairs," Hermione shyly said causing Hagrid and Harry both to blush uncontrollably.

"Ee will get over eet," Fleur announced. "Zay both need to mature sometime, and when zay do, you weel `ave your friends back. Thank you `Arry, for saving my seester." Fleur gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she left to find Bill. Only McGonagall noticed the glare Hermione sent after her.

"Be careful Potter, I've seen too many good men that let their woman come between them and what they need to do," Mad-Eye said.

"Alastor! Is that really necessary, especially with Miss Granger in the room? How many of your Aurors could have done what he did last night?" McGonagall screeched.

"Somebody's gotta tell the truth," he grunted before limping away.

"Don' you worry `bout nunna them, Harry. Same to you, `Ermione. `Sup to you ta decide what you wanna do with your own lives," Hagrid said before leaning down to Hedwig and stroking her head. "I knew you were a special one when I found ya."

McGonagall smiled sadly at them before escorting Hagrid out of the kitchen. Harry slid out a chair for Hermione who joined him at the table.

"Mad-Eye's really off his rocker if he thinks I'm going to let you go," Harry said. "Are you alright? You've seemed a bit upset since Gringotts."

"I'm sorry Harry, it's just been a confusing day. So many things seem to be going well, but it's all offset by the way Ron's acting."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. I was hoping he'd come around in time to leave with us, but now, I don't think that's going to happen," Harry said. "I'm sorry for going around you and setting up that vault for the elves. I'm probably going to have to order them to take it as is. You can still work out their time off."

She smiled sweetly at him, "You're being more generous than even I tried to be with them."

Harry called Dobby and Winky then handed them the key to their vault without first telling them what it was for. When they finally heard how much they were getting paid Winky nearly fainted in shame, but they grudgingly accepted the order before popping away again.

"That went well," Hermione joked. "I think we'll deal with the time off after they've had some time to adjust."

"I got this for you today," Harry said handing her a small box. Hermione opened it to find the tiny snitch quickly beating its wings. "I had Dobby enchant it. The wings are tied to my heartbeat, and if I think I'm in trouble it's supposed to warm up. It also should help you to find me, if you ever need to. Just hold onto it and Apparate."

"That's wonderful, but you really didn't have to get me anything," Hermione said before leaning over and kissing him.

Harry produced another box, "I got one for myself too, just incase." When Harry opened the box the snitch inside was beating its wings fast enough to rise up a bit. Hermione pulled hers out of the box and handed it to Harry who put in on her.

"Oh, it tickles," she said after tucking it under her shirt. Harry put on his own and immediately had to fight the urge to itch it. "Will this always work, no matter where we are?" she asked.

"According to the jeweler, yes. He said wizarding wards or distance don't restrict the enchantments House-elves use. That's partly how they can always find their Masters," Harry said.

"I'll never take it off," Hermione honestly told him.

"Neither will I," Harry replied, earning him another kiss.

They decided to return to the Granger's house to avoid another confrontation with Ron, and after finding out the funeral time and gathering their pets Harry Apparated to the Grangers back garden so Hermione could try out her necklace. She arrived with a crack that would put either of the Weasley twins to shame.

"That was a bit louder than normal," Hermione said as the echo died away.

"Elves usually pop in pretty loud. I guess that's the trade-off for being able to find someone," Harry said as they walked through the back door. As soon as he was inside Emma attacked him with the fiercest hug he'd ever experienced.

"Where have you two been," she managed to get out between sobs. "You were supposed to be back ages ago!" Harry looked over to the table and saw a very white-faced Dan looking down at a copy of the Prophet.

"Really Mum, we said we'd be back as soon as we could; it's hardly been ages," Hermione said as Emma transferred the hug to her daughter.

"Harry," Dan asked once they were all seated around the table, "what's this `Parseltounge' they mention?"

"It's snake language Dad. Harry can talk to them," Hermione told him.

"How did you manage to learn that?" Emma asked.

"When Voldemort gave me my scar he kind of transferred to ability to me. I didn't even realize I could do it until I had a chat with a boa constrictor at the zoo when I was ten."

"What did it say?" Dan asked.

"Oh, it was kind of sad that it had never been to Brazil, and after my cousin knocked me out of the way, I sort of made the glass vanish and it slithered away. He was nice about it, said thanks on his way out." The dentists were having a hard time believing Harry. "Really I didn't know it was anything special for a long time, but in second year I kept hearing voices all over the school. Really thought I was going mad until Hermione figured out that I was hearing the basilisk in between the walls."

"That's the thing that petrified her?" Dan asked.

"Yes. That thing had to have been at least fifty-feet long, and Harry killed it with a sword from the headmasters office," Hermione told them. "Actually, the same sword from that picture."

A loud crack shot through the room as Dobby arrived with two trunks and Hedwig's still-wrapped perch. "Harry Potter sir, you must return to your house!"

"Why? What's happened?" Harry asked as he jumped to his feet.

"There is trouble between Winky and the Bad-Elf! Harry Potter must come!"

"I'll be right there," Harry said, and Dobby popped away. "This is for you girl," Harry told Hedwig as he waved his wand over the perch causing the paper to disappear. The owl happily bobbed on his shoulder for a few seconds before flying over to it. Harry told the three Grangers he'd be right back and Apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

The entryway was only occupied by three elves. Winky had apparently managed to remove the portrait of Mrs. Black, only to literally end up playing tug-of-war with Kreacher over it. Dobby was screaming at both of them, while the portrait was howling at everyone.

"Everybody stop!" Harry shouted, the elves all froze in place, dropping the portrait facedown, thankfully. "Explain," Harry said while pointing to Kreacher.

"The nasty elves are trying to destroy Kreacher's Mistress. He must not let her die, no, Kreacher loves his Mistress."

"Winky, what were you going to do to the portrait?"

"Winky is doing as Harry Potter asks. She is cleaning his home, and getting rid of the noisy picture," the little elf answered.

"Kreacher, is there a basement here?" Harry asked the elf as he saw the tears leaking from his eyes.

"Yes, Master."

"Does it have a room where you could put this portrait so it can't disturb anyone else in the house?" Kreacher nodded. "Take it, and all of the heads from the stairwell down there. As long as you keep your nose out of everyone else's business, you can stay down there."

"Master doesn't want Kreacher to return to the school?" Kreacher asked.

"As long as you keep to yourself, you don't have to. No snooping, no spying, no disturbing anyone else in the house, including Dobby and Winky, understood?"

"Master is too kind," Kreacher said as he bowed, then muttered, "The vile Half-Blood usurps Mistress' home, but refuses to kill her. Kreacher wonders why."

Dobby made to lunge at Kreacher, but Harry held him back. They watched as the old elf levitated the portrait around a corner, closely followed by a train of floating heads. "You two are in charge of making sure he doesn't do anything sneaky, okay? I wish I could just send him away, but he knows too much about what goes on in this house. Make sure he doesn't learn anymore." The elves eagerly took their assignment before Harry returned to the Grangers.

Hermione had taken the sword of Gryffindor from his trunk to show her parents, and Dan was already sporting a cut on his thumb. Harry looked at the other trunk Dobby had brought. It had belonged to Sirius, but he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to open it. He decided to wait until he had Remus with him. The last Marauder would probably know more about, and appreciate seeing its contents. "Would it be alright if I kipped out for a while," Harry asked the others in the room.

"Is everything okay?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I just didn't sleep last night. It's starting to catch up." Emma quickly led him away, lightly scolding him about not getting a proper amount of rest.

A few hours later Harry felt someone gently shaking him awake. "Not now, Dobby, just ask Hermione," he mumbled and tried to roll over.

"Well, she says it's almost time to go," Dan said causing Harry's eyes to pop open.

"Right. Sorry about that."

"Is what Hermione told us about you and this madman true? You're the only one?" Harry stared down at the bed sheets and slowly nodded. Dan sighed, "I appreciate what you were trying to do last night at your aunt's, and as much as I would like to keep my daughter out of this whole mess, she's determined to dive in head-first no matter what either of us tell her. Keep her safe, Harry."

"I plan to," Harry told him. "Without her I wouldn't have lived to see my twelfth birthday, the least I can do is see her through the end of this."

"Just make sure you see yourself through it too. I may not know her as well as her mother, but I can tell you she'd be devastated to lose you," Dan told him before leaving the room.

Harry quickly dressed and fond Hermione waiting for him with his invisibility cloak draped over her arms. "I almost had to stun my father to get this away from him," she told him with a small smile. "Dobby stopped by to make dinner while you were sleeping. Are you really okay with Kreacher staying at the house?"

"The elves are going to keep an eye on him, and really, I think all he wanted was to be alone with that crazy portrait. He doesn't have much of a reason to do anything bad if he has what he wanted." They walked into the kitchen where a plate of food was still waiting for Harry, and Dobby was tucking a blanket into a kitchen cupboard. "Dobby, what are you doing?"

"Dobby is staying with Harry Potter sir, so he is preparing his sleeping place," he answered.

Harry quickly called for Winky and sat the two elves down at the table. "I will not have either of you sleeping in a cupboard," he told them in a very low, serious voice.

"But Harry Potter sir, it is the proper place for a House-elf to sleep," Winky answered.

"No, I will not have it. You two will have proper beds in actual rooms."

"But Harry Pott-" Dobby tried.

"NO!" Harry barked out, making the both the elves, and the Grangers, who were watching from the doorway, jump. "I spent a bloody decade of my life living in a cupboard, and I will not allow any of my friends to suffer the same thing. Winky, I'm sure there is an empty room at Grimmauld Place you can take over, and Dobby, even if it means you have to share one with me, you will sleep in a room. This is an order, and if you don't like it I will send you straight back to Hogwarts." Harry never noticed his voice rising to a scream, or the tears falling down his face. Dobby and Winky were both quivering by the time Harry looked down at his own shaking hands. "I'm sorry I yelled, but that doesn't change my order. Winky, will you take a room for your own?" She vigorously nodded, trying to please Harry anyway she could. "And Dobby?"

"Dobby will sleep wherever Harry Potter tells him to," the still shivering elf replied.

"Thank you," Harry told them before walking outside. He was still wiping his face and trying to shake the images of so many lonely nights in his cupboard when Hermione joined him. "Am I in trouble for yelling at them?" he asked in a small voice.

"Of course not Harry. Your heart is in the right place, and you did have a good reason for saying what you did. They were both dreadfully afraid you were going to send them away after you walked out."

"I just can't handle the thought of someone else having to spend the night in some spider-filled hole."

"I know, Harry. They know now. They're going to need some time to adjust to being treated fairly."

"I know," Harry said after lightly kissing her forehead. After checking his watch, Harry pulled his cloak over them and Apparated to the trees in the Weasley's back garden.

Harry hugged Hermione to his chest underneath his cloak as began to appear across the pond from where they were standing. Floating at the waters edge were three rafts, each covered in wood and what Harry assumed was a body wrapped in some white fabric. When Mad-Eye Moody appeared Harry noticed his magical eye staring at them and proceeded to tighten his arms around Hermione's chest. What the former Auror had said earlier made him want to offer up a rude hand gesture, but he restrained himself for Hermione's sake. Moody simply leaned over and whispered something into Arthur Weasley's ear, who nodded and sent a small smile in their general direction.

All seven Weasley children, Fleur, and Gabrielle portkeyed in together, including Charlie, whose skin had a nasty bluish-tinge, was being supported by Fred and George. Harry hadn't noticed Percy talking to any of his relatives at the wedding and wondered if he had been sent. He was about to quietly ask Hermione's opinion when Mr. Weasley's friend Perkins turned and began addressing the group. Due to the distance, and the fact that he was facing away from them, Harry and Hermione couldn't hear what was being said, but the way that first the Weasleys, then several other people broke down crying was enough to convey the emotional scene evolving. After Perkins had finished, Arthur, Bill, and Fleur each stepped up to one of the bodies, and with a wave of their wands sent them drifting out to the center of the water, once situated they each shot out a single ball of fire, which slowly consumed the pyres. Once the last remnants of fire had slipped below the water, the gathering slowly broke up. Hermione turned to face Harry and he wiped away her tears before Apparating them back to her parents' house.

><><><><><><>

Harry awoke very early the next morning to the familiar feeling of Dobby poking him in the arm. "Harry Potter must wake up, his breakfast is ready and the wolf-man is waiting." Dobby obviously didn't understand Harry when he told the elf he didn't hire him to be an alarm clock.

After showering and putting on the clothes that had been laid out for him, Harry went downstairs to join the Grangers, Remus, Tonks, and Dobby at the table. He was scolded by two people and an elf for skipping his supper the night before, then forced to eat a second helping of everything on the table.

"How are we getting there?" Harry asked Remus who handed him an old backpack in reply. The older man had his head propped up with his hand and looked quite tired himself.

"Is that a portkey?" Hermione asked.

Remus slowly shook his head, "It's for your brooms."

"But I don't own a broom," Hermione informed him.

"Umm, have to share," Remus said before falling asleep on his hand.

"Are we going to be able to do magic while we're there?" Hermione asked.

"Well right now there's nobody watching, but just to be safe I registered a couple of phony names in the area, so as long as there aren't any Muggles looking you should be okay. Oh wake up already," Tonks said, poking Remus hard in the ribs. He simply grunted and sank back in his chair. "Since neither of you have been where you're going, and this sack of dung can't Apparate, we got you train tickets to a town up in Scotland. You'll fly the rest of the way." She checked her watch, "Your train leaves in about twenty minutes from King's Cross, so we'll Apparate there as soon as you're ready."

"Present," Remus mumbled before beginning to snore.

"Oh yeah, Hagrid heard that you're taking a little trip and decided to send you your birthday present a bit early," Tonks said pushing a box across the table.

Harry opened the box to find a black leather coat that buttoned itself as soon as he put it on. The inside had to have at least twenty pockets, some deep enough for his entire arm, and one with a perch and water dish for Hedwig.

"He says it's Manticore hide, but I don't know of any place that he could have found enough to make a coat that nice," said Tonks.

"I think I know," Hermione said while rolling her eyes just a little. Hagrid must have convinced Dumbledore to take him back to see the one he killed. "Manticore hide is really strong, Harry. Most jinxes and hexes should simply bounce off you if you're wearing that."

"Is there a way to get any more?" Dan asked from across the table.

"Exactly what I was thinking," Harry admitted. He walked over to his trunk and set aside his Firebolt before writing a quick note to Hagrid thanking him for the present and asking if he had enough leftover hide to have a coat made for Hermione. "Dobby, take this to Hagrid. I'll call you later today after we find a place to stay, and you can bring all these with you then," Harry said while motioning to his, Hermione's, Remus', and Sirius' trunks.

"Is it all right if I leave the mirror you lent me with Mum and Dad?" Hermione asked once Harry sat back down. "It is yours, so I thought I'd ask," she added after catching his confused look.

"That's a great idea, and I gave it to you, not lent," Harry said. "Just make sure they realize that saying your name into it won't do anything."

"Are the three of you going to be together all the time?" Tonks asked. Harry nodded, and Tonks slipped a hand into Remus' jacket, pulling out his mirror. "No sense carrying them all with you, and this way we can help limit the owl traffic to you all," she said while slipping it into her own bag.

Hermione went over how to use the mirror before hugging both of her parents tightly. Harry stowed both Hedwig and Crookshanks into separate pockets in his new jacket before helping Tonks pull Remus to his feet, they Apparated to Kings Cross, where Tonks made a bit of a scene kissing Remus good-bye. She thanked Harry and Hermione for caring for her `pet wolf' before setting off for wherever the ministry was sending her. Remus had reserved a private compartment for them, and as soon as they reached it, he conjured a pillow and stretched out across one side.

"Why do you suppose he's so tired?" Harry asked Hermione after releasing Crookshanks and Hedwig.

"Well, he did mumble something about it being Tonks' fault before you joined us, and she said she felt the need to give him a private going away party," a blushing Hermione said.

"I didn't need to know that."

"You didn't have to see the looks my parents gave each other after she said that."

Hermione sat down next to Harry and pulled out one of the books she had purchased the day before. As she read, Harry drifted off to sleep; the fact that Remus was in the compartment with them, and the similar terrain to the journey to Hogwarts brought about remarkably vivid dreams of the train ride before his third year. Roughly an hour into the journey Harry jolted awake and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead; Hermione had drifted off and was currently lying across his lap. Harry pulled the book out from in between them and dropped it on the floor before pulling her a little closer; Hermione in turn threaded her arms around his waist. Once Harry managed to get back to sleep, his dreams were much more pleasant.

Remus attempted to shake them both awake some time later. The older man looked quite a bit better after getting some rest, but was smirking uncontrollably at the position he found the teens in. "Do I need to remind you, Hermione, that your parents seemed quite relieved an `adult' was coming along to chaperone this little excursion?"

"Bugger off," Hermione mumbled into Harry's shirt. Both men erupted with laughter, knowing full well she would be mortified when she realized she had told off a former professor. Rolling slightly towards the sound of their laughter, Hermione gave Harry a sleepy smile, "Morning."

"Did you not get enough sleep last night?" Harry asked her.

"I was fine, but then I got… comfy."

"Well, I don't have a problem with that, but I think our `chaperone' might," Harry told her as she rubbed the sleep form her eyes.

"He won't if he still wants me to make his potion." Remus didn't really look upset, but her words certainly took some of the fun away from the situation.

"I don't remember you being this grumpy when you were staying at headquarters," Remus smirked.

"You happen to have interrupted a perfectly nice dream," Hermione said with a little blush. "Where are we?"

"Stranraer. It's a short walk out of town, and we'll fly from there. The closest inn is in Drummore, down the peninsula; Harry, do you want to go there first, or straight to Godric's?"

Harry swallowed the lump in his throat before answering, "I want to see my parents."

"There isn't much cloud cover, so we'll have to fly low, just above the trees," Remus announced, much to Hermione's relief. They quickly made their way out of town, and as soon as they were airborne, Harry released Hedwig to fly alongside them. On the flight down Crookshanks decided to poke his head out from underneath Harry's coat. The cat seemed to enjoy the flight almost as much as Harry, who had Hermione tightly hugging him from behind. After they touched down and stowed their brooms, Remus led them through a small iron gate; as soon as Harry saw the rows of gravestones his legs stopped working.

Hermione came alongside Harry, intertwining their fingers, "We're here Harry. You're not alone." He found himself silently led over to Remus; the older man had stopped when something caught his attention under a nearby tree.

"Well, this is new," Remus said. Harry looked up and saw an unusually well kempt piece of grass in front of a large headstone, currently occupied by a large black dog. When Remus spoke, the dog lifted its head and eyed them sadly for a moment before moving off to the side and lying back down.

When he noticed his own last name on the stone, Harry was drawn forward until he found himself kneeling in the grass, slowly running his fingers along the letters spelling out his parents' names. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but after drawing in one long, rattling breath Harry noticed he was alone. He quickly spotted Remus and Hermione, who had Hedwig perched on her shoulder, waiting near the gate.

"Remus wanted to give you some time alone with them," Hermione told him with a small smile.

"It's getting late, we should probably see about getting a place to stay," Remus told them as he pulled out their brooms. "I'll show you the village tomorrow."

Harry's voice failed him the rest of the night. After another quick flight, Remus checked them into the Queen's Inn. Unfortunately there was only one room available, so after Dobby dropped of their luggage and a light dinner, Harry climbed into the double bed with Remus, leaving the single for Hermione.

Sometime after midnight Hedwig, who was looking to be let out for the night woke Harry up. He watched her drift off before picking up a t-shirt and changing it into a sleeping bag. Filled with an overwhelming urge to be near his parents, he Apparated back to their grave, unrolled the bag, and curled up inside feeling more alone than any of the dark, dank nights he'd experienced in his cupboard on Privet Drive. He was already sleeping fitfully when Hermione appeared. She watched him silently for a few minutes before slipping into the bag and wrapping her arms around him.

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