The Girl Who Saw Tomorrow II » Harry Potter

2.3 | Alive in Retrospect

Godric's Hollow was a charming little village in the West County of England, named after Godric Gryffindor and most notable perhaps for being the site of Lord Voldemort's first downfall.

The summer's night was quiet. In the short distance, the clock tower of the church showed half-past midnight.

The muggle quaint cottages lining the cobbled streets were dark and silent, all its occupants asleep. However, the odd sort of chill that spread over Little Winging and Budleigh Babberton persisted here also.

In the village square stood a group of four looking at the memorial that appeared as an obelisk to the eyes of a muggle. However, the three wizards and one witch saw as it truly was, a statue of three people: a man with untidy hair and glasses, a woman with long hair and a kind, pretty face, and a baby boy sitting in his mother's arms.

"I was invited when they opened it to the wizarding public," Remus Lupin breaks the still silence of the night. "I- I couldn't bring myself to return so soon... I felt terrible but-"

"It's understandable," Margaret tells him earnestly, looking sideways at Sirius who was still as the statue, and Harry who had been kneeling in front of the memorial to see his parents' faces.

Not having visited the little village in over a decade, Sirius had not a clue about how much it had changed. He had expected the change yet the familiarity brought back all the memories like a tidal wave sweeping over him...

Despite the fact that he had been here the night they were killed, it was so strange standing there without Lily and James.

Sirius remembered spending warm summer days with James in that very square, with James telling him all about the strange muggle things like popsicles or the two of them going to the movies in that rusted old cinema with Mr and Mrs Potter.

He remembered the day James and Lily got married in the very St. Jerome Church that stood to the side; the day they told him they were expecting a baby; the day they asked him to become the godfather; the day they first brought Harry to his home...

Everything was there... Yet nothing was the same.

Lily and James were no longer here. It was not the place Harry had his happy childhood the way he was meant to.

It was no longer the Potters' home but remained as no more than the place they had died in. They were gone forever, leaving behind their son and the memories their friends had of them. They were nothing but statues, still as time went on.

Harry took a deep breath, tearing his eyes away from the statue of his family. How strange it was to see himself represented in stone, a happy baby without a scar on his forehead...

"C'mon," he says quietly.

It took Sirius a moment to unfreeze; he only began walking when Remus put an arm around his shoulders and guided him away from the memorial, the four of them crossing the street towards the darkened church.

Margaret glanced over her shoulder to see that the statue had turned back into the war memorial. If she looked closely in the darkness of the alleyways, she was able to see the shadow moving. She knew for a fact that Mad-Eye Moody, Bill Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks were scouting the area to ensure their safety.

There was a lych-gate at the entrance of the graveyard where the four stopped.

Looking past the headstones in the darkness, Harry felt a thrill of something beyond excitement; perhaps it was fear. Now that he was so near, he wondered if truly wanted to see it...

"It's-" Remus's voice catches; he clears his throat before continuing, "It's a little deep in the ends... Straight and towards the right."

"You're not coming?" asks Harry.