Wow…two jobs, my grandpa's unexpected passing, and parting with the girl I liked leaves little time for writing…never the less, I've done my best with this chapter, and I hope you enjoy it…the next one will be up as soon as possible.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to the "formidable" JK, but the plot is entirely mine, and yours to enjoy.
Chapter VI
The Secrets of Godric's Hollow
"We'll be late," Hermione started impatiently. "You have been in that bathroom for the last twenty minutes," she went on, rapping impatiently on the door to the bathroom.
"I will be ready, Hermione," Harry attempted to reason with her fruitlessly. "Only a few more minutes."
The love of his love growled in frustration, and departed down the stairs to wait in the entrée. She walked back and forth, checking her watch every few seconds. Ron and Luna were supposed to have arrived fifteen minutes previously.
Hermione jumped in surprise, as simultaneously, the blare of a car horn sounded, and Harry apparated right behind her, adding to her shock.
"Well, come on then," he said, and practically pushed her out of the front door. She did not even receive a chance to protest on his unceremonious attitude.
Painted black, with its engine rumbling loudly, a large, somber car waited in front of them. Luna was visible behind the steering wheel, and Ron was in the seat next to her. His back was turned, as he was explaining, or even possibly, scolding his children, who were sitting in the back. Luna, however, nudged him as Harry and Hermione approached.
"Harry! Hermione! How are you," greeted his best friend warmly.
"We're fine, Ron," said Hermione slightly huffily. "And we would be better, if my slowpoke of a fiancé here was only a little faster getting ready," she threw a haughty glance in Harry's direction.
"Thank you, love," Harry replied. "I will try to be better organized from now on."
Hermione's expression became a bit more approving, but she did not answer. Nor did she notice the silent snicker Harry and Ron shared.
The car began to move. Slowly, it gathered velocity. Soon, it was racing down the street. At once, Ron pushed a button on the dashboard that immediately rendered the car completely invisible. Four pairs of eyeballs were inconspicuously hovering in the air.
Just as unexpectedly, the car shot straight up in the air. Hermione gave a shriek of surprise; she despised flying.
"Godric's Hollow is an hour away," Ron informed the car's occupants at general.
James and Madelyn eventually quieted down as the exhilaration of the sharp takeoff wore down, and sleep began to claim their senses; Madelyn's head dropped first on the seat behind her. Hermione was clutching Harry's hand tightly, breathing quickly, and evidently on edge - she liked prolonged flights even less. His attempts to make her relax were failing miserably. Ron, in the meanwhile, was looking out the window in interest, murmuring "amazing!" under his breath occasionally. Luna twiddled the steering wheel from time to time, and her detached expression was focused on the front windshield.
As the end of the rather silent flight approached, the car made a descent towards the ground. A small village was visible, its stark white houses contrasting against the greenery of the surrounding fields and woods.
The heavy car landed with a bump and a squeal of the tires on the main street. They needn't have worried of being seen or heard, because there was not a soul in sight. Ron pressed the button on the panel again, and they were visible again.
Driving through the village was not a pleasant affair. Many of the houses were abandoned, windows were broken, and some doors were open, as the houses had been evidently burglarized. The atmosphere was one of uneasiness and anticipation, as if the abandoned houses held a secret that could be revealed any moment.
"Where is the house located?" asked Luna.
"Turn left here," Ron said quietly.
Luna described a circle with the steering wheel and the car turned. A few more minutes passed in tense expectation as they drove on.
Suddenly, a shriek sounded behind them, and Hermione was badly startled. In the rearview mirror, Harry saw the flash of a curse he had last encountered in the final battle - Avada Kedavra. Immediately, two brooms jumped from behind a corner, and the hooded riders flew low, quickly closing the gap between themselves and the car. They must have heard the engine.
"Step on it!" Harry shouted.
Luna retained her cool head, and depressed the accelerator pedal as far as it would go. The engine revved, and the car's speed picked up. Ron jammed the button to make the car fly.
Nothing happened. Their pursuers had put on a burst of speed and were now closer than before.
"Why are they behind us?" Hermione asked in alarm.
"Who cares?" Ron shouted her down. "Go!"
He slammed the button on the dashboard again. The car flickered and then disappeared from view. Shooting up unexpectedly, it narrowly missed an ancient tree, brushing the top branches as it flew overhead.
The cloaked pursuers angled their brooms upward. Again, Luna jammed the accelerator to the floor, and the car shot forward, at last managing to speed far ahead of the brooms, rendering them incapable of nearing again.
"Phew," said Ron. "That was a close call."
"What did they want?" was the first question out of Hermione's mouth.
"Me," Harry replied bitterly. "Isn't it obvious? Somehow there was a leak that I'm alive and kicking; and our vigilante has cronies tailing us whenever a chance to do so comes along."
His words were met with silence. Hermione gave him a fearful look, while Ron was deep in thought. Luna's expression had become slightly clouded over, but maintained its general vacancy. The children were quietly sobbing, as the last event was too much to take in for their young minds.
The car described a circle in the air, and still invisible, it began a journey back towards Godric's Hollow. Wary of attack from any side, Luna killed the engine when the village came into sight once again. However, this time around, there was not the slightest hint of a disturbance. The eerie quiet only intensified the sinister atmosphere that was hanging over the village.
Luna applied the brakes; the car landed with a small bump and came to a halt shortly thereafter. Harry and Ron told the rest to stay inside, and quietly exited the vehicle. Casting Disillusionment charms over themselves, they approached the corner from which the cloaked figures had burst out earlier. There was no trace of them now.
Wands drawn out, Harry and Ron stopped, leaning against the wall of the house, and silently agreeing, they were to jump, and stun anything that moved.
"One - two - three!" Harry whispered, and with a shout to take the expected opponents by surprise, they took the plunge forward.
"They're gone," Ron said bitterly, and spat on the ground.
Indeed, there was nobody in the alley. The only evidence of a struggle was the body of an aged man, lying face down on the asphalt.
Dropping all pretenses, Harry rushed forward, Ron following closely on his heels. The former collapsed on his knees, and turned the man's body on its back. A gasp of horror issued from him.
It was Olliviander, the wand maker. His face was expressionless, bruised and beaten. Two glassy, unseeing eyes, were staring towards the heavens. He had evidently been tortured, possibly struck unprepared and by surprise. The coat he had been wearing was thrown a little aside, its pockets turned inside out. The attackers had been searching for something, but must have been interrupted, just when Harry and company had arrived earlier, and the chase ensued. Then they had fled the scene.
"They could be returning," Harry said. "Come on, help me move the body away from here…"
With joint effort, Harry and Ron moved the wand maker's body towards the graveyard that was visible just beyond the end of the alleyway. As they walked along, however, Harry noticed a piece of paper falling out from the Olliviander's pants' pocket.
"Ron, wait!"
Carefully, they put him down. Harry picked up the scrunched piece of parchment, and glanced down to read it.
Enoevarb Odaedeth Morfesir
He instantly recognized the spell. The blood drained from his face, and with effort, he grabbed Olliviander's hands.
"Let's go," he said in a wooden voice.
Quicker than they thought they could do it, Harry and Ron managed to provide a grave for Olliviander, and left in unmarked, in case the hooded individuals returned.
Ron questioned him on the way back to the car, but Harry remained speechless. They reached it in a few minutes, and climbed inside.
"Luna," Harry said, cutting across Hermione who had started to speak. "Do you know the way to Godric's Hollow?"
"I do, yes," she replied serenely. "Why?"
"We need to go there right now. I have a hunch," Harry said cryptically.
"Harry, what is going on?" Hermione said in distress, casting worried looks at her soon to be betrothed.
In response, Harry took the parchment out of his pocket, and handed it to her. Within seconds, Hermione's expression was as pale as his, and etched in simultaneous anger and fear.
"Who would…" she began to say, but her voice broke.
"Voldemort," Harry said in a whisper. "Someone of his circle is behind all this. Those were possibly Death Eaters. Who else would be looking for a resurrection spell?"
Hermione did not reply right away, but instead, she sank in thought.
A short time later, Luna stopped in front of a dismal building. It had once between been a pearly white, but the event it played host to nearly twenty years ago, and the time that had passed since then, had taken their toll.
The roof was sagged, mould could be seen near the foundation and plants were crawling around the walls. The windows were matted with dirt and grime, and one window frame was devoid of glass - it might have been blasted by a stray curse.
Opening the rusted gate, whose hinges squeaked loudly, Harry walked in the overgrown yard, closely followed by Hermione, Luna and Ron, and their children. They stopped, taking in the scene of disrepair and destruction before them.
Snapping out of the reverie, Harry walked around the back. He saw the ancient oak tree, and the two graves beneath it, just as he had last seen it shortly before the final battle, two years previously. He walked over to the bleached tombstones and stood in silence for several minutes. Hermione watched him from afar, as he eventually turned away, and directed his steps towards rear entrance of the house. She hastened to follow, but kept her distance
A brilliant light enveloped the interior of the house. Creaking, snapping and clouds of dust hovered over the roof. Attracted by the spectacle, the rest of the party watched in confusion, and then in delight, as they heard Harry shout "Reparo!" repeatedly.
At last, he walked out of the front door, and with a final wave of his wand, the yard instantaneously transformed; gone were the tall reeds and yellow grass, the fence shone with a new coat of paint, and the gate opened and closed quite smoothly.
"Shall we go in?" Harry offered.
Immediate sounds of the idea's approval came from Ron, Luna and Hermione, and they followed Harry inside.
The interior was very cozy. Returned to its original state, untouched since James and Lily's passing, the comfortable, yet modest lifestyle of Harry's parents showed. Pictures of Harry as a baby, Lily holding him, and James by her side, adorned the walls. His parents waved and smiled from their photographs; Lily was particularly affectionate to her son, constantly looking down at him. The real Harry felt a twinge in his heart.
Furnished with a couch, a coffee table and a few chairs, the living room was simple, but sufficient. The rest of the house was arranged in a similar matter - perfectly suitable for a family of three.
"Alright then," Harry said distantly. "One reason we came here for is because of a book that I remember Professor Dumbledore mentioned in his memories. He gave it to my mother, when she graduated from Hogwarts."
"What was the book about?" Luna asked, rather pointedly for a change.
"Dark Magic. Curses," Harry explained. "I don't remember the title, but I know it's pale yellow in colour. My mother kept it here, and after her death, there was no trace of the book - that makes me think she hid it well, and we have to look for it."
"But why? What's so special about the bloody book?" Ron asked, slightly irritated at Harry sudden lack of sense in his desire to locate the mysterious tome.
"It's simple," his best friend argued. "The book explains the resurrection spell."
"Well then," Hermione interrupted enthusiastically. "Let's look!"
And with that, she dashed off in search of the library. Luna, in the meanwhile, remained to entertain James and Madelyn, who followed the exchange of the adults with interest. Without further discussion, Harry and Ron split up to help Hermione locate the mysterious book.
**
Hours later, after many anti-cloaking, revealing and summoning spells, some of which only Hermione knew of, the book was at last uncovered from the depths of the basement. It was embedded snugly beneath the stone floor, and restraining charms had been placed on it, including one that threw a person back if they ventured too close. However, the combined effort of the trio (much reliant on Hermione's knowledge, of course), succeeded in finally yielding the book from the stone's grasp.
Covered in dust, but otherwise untouched, the tome lay inconspicuously on the coffee table. There was no title emblazoned on the front, nor an author's name. Gingerly, Hermione placed the book in her lap, and opened it slowly. Harry, Ron and Luna leaned closer in anticipation. There was an inscription on the front cover.
Ms. Evans,
My years are growing heavy. Tom Riddle is gaining strength, and I feel I may soon be rendered more powerless than before to fight him. As a result, I will pass my most valuable knowledge to a few select and trusted individuals. You are one of them.
A powerful, dark secret resides wit in these pages, and they are the sole recording of it. To protect this sensitive knowledge from falling into the wrong hands, its security is entrusted to you, Lily Evans. Keep it safe.
Yours,
Albus Dumbledore
9.IX.1979
Hermione felt a shudder run through her. With a shaking hand, she opened the next page, and began reading, as three other pairs of eyes around her scanned the words as well.
Night was falling outside, and dark clouds began rolling in. Just as the fireplace roared into life, a thunder sounded in the distance, and rapid, large drops of rain began to assault the windows.
A/N There it is…I hope you enjoyed it, and a review is always welcome. :)
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