“Harry!”
Mrs. Weasley’s scream, upon finding the messy black-haired boy on her doorstep, caused quite a sensation throughout the house. As she wrapped him into a tight hug, the remainder of the Weasley family thundered into the kitchen like a herd of cattle.
“Harry, m’boy,” Mr. Weasley said, clapping him on the shoulder, “so good to see you!”
Fred and George greeted him cheerily and Bill also extended a cordial hand. Finally, Ron grabbed hold of Harry’s trunk and said, “Come on, mate. Let’s get you settled upstairs.”
Harry followed his friend, grateful for the warm welcome of his adopted family, but he had immediately registered the absence of the youngest of the clan. As if reading his thoughts, Ron said, “Don’t worry. She and Fleur are in Diagon Alley picking up some things for the wedding.”
Harry blushed. Was it that obvious what was on his mind? Changing the subject to the upcoming nuptials, he asked, “So how is the wedding planning going?”
“It’s a mad house,” Ron replied, opening the door to his bedroom. Harry was pleased to see the second bed was waiting and ready for him. He flopped down onto it, his head burying into the feather-soft pillow. He opened his eyes as Ron continued his rant. “Mum is going mad with all the cooking and the cleaning and the decorating. All us boys stay out of her way “ even Dad. Poor Ginny gets sucked into helping her, and I know she can’t wait for this wedding to be over. Oh, and Fleur’s parents have been by a few times. Between their language barrier and their attitude “ let’s just say we now see where Fleur gets it “ it’s driving everyone to insanity.”
Harry smiled. He had been nervous leaving his aunt and uncle’s home, but now that he was here and in the mix of the going-ons in the Wizarding world, his anxiety had fled. This was where he belonged.
“How about you?” Ron asked, turning the conversation back to Harry. “Was it awful there with the Muggles?”
“It’s been worse,” Harry answered honestly. “I actually had a conversation with my aunt.”
“Wow “ a real one?” Ron asked, surprised. He had met Aunt Petunia and the woman had barely uttered a word, though he knew if she had, the words would have been far from pleasantries.
Harry nodded. “She even gave me some letters from my mum.”
Ron knew how much this meant to his friend. “Reading them is probably almost like having a conversation with her,” he said.
“I don’t know yet,” Harry said softly. “Most of them were unopened, and I haven’t read them yet. I will soon.”
“Well you know there’s the garden out back. Or I can leave you alone for awhile so you can read them.”
Harry was grateful for Ron’s sensitivity. “Actually, Ron, that would be nice. I forgot how comfortable this bed was.”
Ron smiled. “Yeah, there are advantages to being home. I bet Mum’ll have dinner ready before too much longer. I’ll come back for you then.”
“Thanks, mate,” Harry replied as Ron left the room, the door clicking closed behind him.
Lifting himself off of the bed, Harry opened the lid of his trunk. The shoebox was nestled between his clothes, protected. He lifted the box out gently, and sat back down on the bed. Ever since his aunt had given him the letters, he had wondered how it would be to read them. Would he hear his mother’s voice? Would he cry? Would he learn anything?
Sifting through the box, Harry noticed the letters appeared to be in date order. Given his aunt’s penchant for order and neatness, he really wasn’t surprised by this. He pulled the first envelope out of the box. This one had been opened. Pulling the letter out, Harry curled himself on the bed and began to read.
Dear Petunia,
My wedding day is rapidly approaching. Won’t you please change your mind and come? As Mum and Dad have already passed on, you are my only remaining relative. It would mean so much to both James and I if you would be here.
I really am happy with the life I’ve chosen. My work with the Ministry and the Order has been very fulfilling so far. I wish you would accept this. We’re sisters, Petunia. Sisters shouldn’t cease contact with each other.
Again, the wedding is next month. There will be a space waiting for you if you and Vernon choose to attend.
With love,
Lily
Harry’s eyes watered as he folded the letter back up. His mother had pleaded with her sister to accept her as a witch. Even though Petunia had been cool and unforgiving, Lily had still tried to melt her sister’s icy exterior with her unwavering love.
Harry spent the next hour alone in the bedroom, reading through the dozens of letters in the box. His mother wrote of the increasing turmoil in her world, her love of her work, and eventually, her pregnancy. Harry cried unashamedly as he read his mother’s words, of her excitement of the baby she was about to have, letters of how happy she and her husband were, and her fear that she might not be a good mother. He smiled sadly as he read those parts “ he idolized the woman; she was perfect in his mind. Her fears were unfounded.
He had read about half of the letters when there was a knock on the door. Ron peeked his head in and said, “Dinner’s ready, Harry. Do you want to come down?”
Harry looked up at his best friend and shook his head. “I’m too in to this,” he responded. With a nod of understanding, Ron left him alone again.
Returning to the letters, Harry pulled the next one out of the box. A few months seemed to have elapsed between this letter and the previous one, and the tone was much darker.
Evil is rising. He is growing ever more powerful. I fear not only for James and myself, but for my beautiful baby boy. You remember Dumbledore? He was the recipient of a prophecy about baby Harry. He said Harry will have the power to defeat the Dark Lord. You-Know-Who is aware of this prophecy though, and Dumbledore thinks he will come after Harry. We have to hide.
I look into the beautiful green eyes of my small son, and I can’t believe someone so little will someday bring an end to this evil monster…
Tears streamed freely from Harry’s eyes now. He could almost hear his mother’s voice as he read the letters. It was comforting in some ways, but in others, it ripped at his heart.
The next few letters told of his parents’ movements, as their locations became known to the Death Eaters.
How could someone betray us in this way? There is a concealed Death Eater in our mix, but who could it be? Our friends have always been so loyal, as we have been to them…
It was the very last letter Harry read, however, that brought his heart to a stop.
The prophecy is true! I never truly held stock in those silly things; I only went along with all of this at Dumbledore’s urging. But it’s correct “ it really is. The part of it that never made sense to me “ those who have thrice defied him “ now is crystal clear. James is of a pureblood family, and yet he refused to join the fight. Defiance one. Though not a pureblood, the Death Eaters wanted my potion making ability. I was the second best in our class, of which they were aware. I refused. Defiance two. I could never figure out what the third strike was, but now I have learned.
You-Know-Who is so advanced into Dark Magic. He knows spells so evil that even advanced textbooks on the subject do not dare discuss them. Recently, on Order business, James stole from You-Know-Who an ancient book which described some of the darkest magic that exists. You-Know-Who found out he took it! Now he’s after us not only to kill our son, but to kill James and recover this book as well. Thrice defied. He’ll kill us, Petunia. He’ll kill my husband and my child and most likely me.
I’m preparing to cast a charm that will keep our location a secret. Only one person will know where we are “ this house, number 16 Apple Drive, Godric’s Hollow “ will be invisible to everyone unless specifically told of its location by the Secret Keeper or the charm’s caster. I wanted you to have it in case you ever decided to come visit me…
Harry felt his jaw drop. There it was, in writing! The address of his parents’ house! He reread the letter several times. His parents had defied Voldemort. His mother knew the end was near. He had to go to their house.
Wiping his face free of any remaining tears, Harry pulled himself from the bed. He had to share this with Ron. He left the bedroom and descended the stairs to the lower level of the Burrow. At the bottom of the stairs, to the right, was a small sitting room. Harry entered and was surprised to find not only Ron, but Ginny and Hermione there as well.
“Harry!” Hermione cried, jumping from her seat to hug him.
He smiled at her. “I see Hedwig found her way to you.”
“I came as soon as I read your letter. I’m so happy you were able to get away from those awful people earlier than we planned.”
Hermione took a step back from him to return to her seat, and finally, Harry’s eyes locked with the one person he had been waiting to see. “Hi, Ginny,” he said softly.
As she looked back at him, he was uncertain what her response would be. Finally, she smiled at him and said, “Hello, Harry.”
Relief flooded over Harry. Her smile was genuine and there was little awkwardness between them. Looking at the three people before him, he said, “I have so much to tell you.”
For the next fifteen minutes, Harry filled them in on what he had learned from his mother’s letters. They were as astounded as he had been.
“You mean,” Hermione whispered, “those letters have been in your aunt and uncle’s home all along?”
“Yes,” Harry replied. “I can’t be angry though. They’re mine now. They’ve pointed us in the direction we need to start our journey.”
“I’m coming with you,” Ginny said firmly.
“No you’re not,” Harry answered her, just as certain.
“Harry, I know you don’t want me to get hurt. I know you think us being together will just entice Voldemort to come after me. I appreciate all of that. However, just because you’re not my boyfriend doesn’t mean you’re still not my good friend. I want to come with you to support you and help you. I want to see him destroyed just as much as you do.” She sounded as though she had been rehearsing the speech for several days.
Harry pondered her statements for a moment and said, “If you want to risk yourself, you can come with us to Godric’s Hollow. We’ll see how that goes. If beyond that I don’t think it’s safe for you, will you then promise to stay away from all this?”
“No,” Ginny replied honestly. “But I promise to listen to your arguments. I just think that an extra mind in all of this would be useful. I do want to come with you to your parents’ home, though.”
Harry nodded at her. “We’ll go tomorrow morning, as early as possible. Now, please don’t be upset with me, but I’m exhausted. It’s been a very long day, and I just want to get some sleep.”
Hermione nodded knowingly. “Of course, Harry. We all understand. We’ll be ready to go first thing in the morning.”
After saying good-night to his friends, Harry made his way back up the stairs to the bedroom he shared with Ron. He changed into his pajamas and crawled into the bed. Tomorrow would be a big day for him. Laying his head on the soft pillow, Harry quickly drifted off to sleep.