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Author: Ari Story: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Rating: Young Teens Status: Completed Warning: Violence; death Reviews: 67 Words: 32,959
Arthur and the search team stepped out of the Floo in the Starring Wands just in time to see Ginny exiting the pub, followed by a big, muscular red-haired man. "Does anyone know where zey're going?" Mrs. Delacour asked in her heavily accented English. Lupin, Charlie, Kingsley, Tonks, Mrs. Delacour, and Arthur looked at each other, then ran to follow the big man and Ginny. They burst through the door to find that no one was in the back yard of the Starring Wands. "Where'd they go?" Lupin asked, as Mrs. Delacour stepped forward pulling out her very long, thin wand. She smartly tapped the same brick as Hermione had, and the doorway to Brogue Road opened in front of them. Through the red- and blonde-haired crowd, Arthur just spied Harry's shocking head of black hair disappearing into a shop. "Into that shop!" Arthur declared loudly. He rushed forwards, the others right behind him. ~*~ "Thanks for lending us your boat, Mr. O'Doyll," Harry said, handing the man a small bag that clinked as it changed hands. The head start that the teens had gained had been eaten away by the search for a boat, and the opening of the store that sold them. "T'at's alright, me boy," he said, pocketing the gold and handing Harry a small key. "T'is'll take yeh to t'e boat." Harry smiled and took the key. "How do I activate it?" Mr. O'Doyll motioned for them all to gather around the Portkey and touch it. "Yeh say… pin' o' mead!" The Portkey activated, whisking the four away just before Arthur and the rest of the search party arrived inside the shop. "Where did you send those children?" Arthur demanded. ~*~ The boat was a magically enhanced one that sailed at twice the speed of a normal sailing yacht, even without any wind. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny made their way to the island-village of Godric's Hollow with only one or two corrections of the course. The boat was, of course, sailed by magic. "I can see land, Harry," Ron said, standing on the front of the ship. "I think it's Godric's Hollow." Harry looked at the map in his hands. It looked to be the right distance away to be Godric's Hollow. "I guess we'd better start slowing this ship down, then," Harry said, tapping his wand on the side of the boat, followed by Ron, Hermione and Ginny. They could immediately detect a change in the speed of the yacht as it reacted to their wishes, and five minutes later, they all stood on the dock at Godric's Hollow. "This island's beautiful," Ginny whispered, looking at the giant mountain in front of them. It was almost impossible to think of such a mountain in the Irish Sea, but it was there, as plain as the wand in Harry's hand. The mountain seemed to be a little too small to create valleys that might give the island the name of Godric's Hollow. Nevertheless, Harry and his friends set off towards the mountain, leaving the boat properly tied up at the docks. ~*~ "I'm sorry, bu' until t'ey return wit me boat, I have no way of getting yeh to t'e island," Mr. O'Doyll said, on the receiving end of five wands. "Where were they going?" Mr. Weasley demanded. "Godric's Hollow," said Mr. O'Doyll, watching the wand up close to his nose nervously, "but I told t'em, I told t'em tat since You-Know-Who arrived tar, tar's no one liven tar." Mr. Weasley frowned, but put his wand away. The others followed his example. Mr. O'Doyll breathed deeply. "I taught you were really goin' teh curse me," he said, relieved not to be facing the working end of Mr. Weasley's wand anymore. The search party was already heading out of the door. ~*~ Crack! Charlie's head jumped up. Figures in dark clothes were swirling around the street, cursing and hexing anyone within sight. Dementors descended on the scene, attacking those not quick enough to reach their wands. The mist and cold that accompanied them was stopped by the wards on the area, but the fear and emptiness they induced still affected the wizards. "Death Eaters!" Mrs. Delacour yelled, and immediately the witches and wizards shopping pulled out their wands and pointed them at the Death Eaters. Only a few amongst the crowd ran, and they were only the very young. The search party pulled out their wands to help fight the Death Eaters, who had been stunned to temporary immobility by the fact that the crowds were fighting back. Eventually, they simply Apparated away, not even casting the Dark Mark into the sky, though there were at least three casualties. The Irish shoppers seemed to nod in unison and relatives and friends moved to the bodies of the fallen ones. There was still a chill in the air from the Dementors, their mist still floating above the scene of the fight, but unable to penetrate the wards on Brogue Road. "Well," Kingsley said, scratching his bald head as he looked around at the shoppers, "at least we know the Irish's fighting spirit'll come in useful when it comes to Death Eaters." Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley, Charlie, Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Delacour all looked at each other, still shocked. ~*~ Godric's Hollow was a crater in the middle of a dormant volcano. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were standing on its edge, looking down at the village located in the centre. It had taken only a few minutes for them to fly up from the docks to the lip of the crater. Harry and Ron nodded to the girls, then lifted their brooms. Hermione was still apprehensive; she had never been comfortable flying, but to remain with the group, she'd have to live with her fear. After all, she'd be on Ron's broom, so she could hold onto him for dear life, as she had no broom of her own. The quartet flew down to the valley floor and looked around at the ruins of the once-prospering village. Apparently, the Muggles had moved out after the magical community fled Voldemort's presence. "Let's have a look around," Harry said, then smiled crookedly. "Tell me if you find anything to do with my parents." With that, the quartet spread out, looking in dusty shops and deserted buildings, slowly making their ways up the street. Hermione gasped and covered her mouth with her left hand, sending up blue sparks from her wand with her right. She was standing in the cemetery of the island, staring at the two gravestones in front of her. She had moved the grass aside from one of the gravestones, to find James Potter's name staring back at her. Harry, Ron and Ginny came jogging around the corner, catching sight of Hermione and running full-tilt towards her. "What'd you find, Hermione?" Harry asked her, coming to a stop behind her, looking over her shoulder. Hermione pointed at the two gravestones. Harry, Ron and Ginny crowded around to read them. The left one said, Here lies And next to the message on the stone was written: May his son live as fair and well as James did. This message was written in a hand that was not completely unfamiliar to Harry. He recognised it, but could not say who wrote the messy scrawl. Lily's gravestone was a little better cared for, as though someone had recently come and removed the grass that should have obscured the stone completely. Dear Lily Evans-Potter "Wow, Harry," Ginny said, gripping his hand in her own. "Do you think Hagrid returned to bury your parents after Voldemort showed up? I would have thought he was too busy with you." Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Harry stood in silence for a time, each thanking the Potters for many things. After a moment of silence, Harry looked up at the others. They all broke out of their trances in their own time and looked to him. "Let's find my parents' house," he said, and the others nodded. They all left the cemetery to look for the Potters' House. Harry hung back and picked some wild flowers from a bush. When he returned to the graves, he found Ginny laying flowers on James' grave. Harry smiled and placed his flowers on his mother's grave, then steered Ginny away from the cemetery and down the street. Harry's mind, however, was ticking. He had recognised that scrawl after a second look. It was that of a certain half-giant. Why didn't Hagrid take me straight to the Dursleys'? Harry asked himself. And how did he build two graves, plus find the marble for the gravestones? Unless… ~*~ Author's Notes: Again and for the last time: yes, this was written before Deathly Hallows. That is why it has the same title. This is what I thought was going to happen when I found a spare three weeks between the end of my re-reads and the Deathly Hallows release. Thanks to my beta, ILoveCats, who is a most definitely a godsend and a brilliant person when it comes to my constant repetitions and plot-cutting.
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