40 Days

December 24, 1997

We stood in front of his parents' graves, staring down. What would I do if I knew I had only three more years left to live?

Harry's face was blank as he stared down at the grave. "Maybe I should have brought something."

I raised my wand through the air, and a wreath of Christmas roses blossomed. Harry caught it in the air and laid it on his parent's grave.

When he straightened, he stepped back away from me and looked away from the grave. "Let's go." He reached for my hand to tug me along firmly away from the graveyard.

We trudged silently in the snow until we came upon a row of houses that had a dark mass at the end. It was a wrecked cottage, covered entirely in snow and dark ivy. Harry reached out and touched the broken gate and a sign rose out of the ground in front of us.

On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981, Lily and James Potter lost their lives. Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard ever to have survived the Killing Curse. This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family.

There were messages scribbled over the sign, over sixteen years worth of magical graffiti. Idiots, I thought. "They shouldn't have written over–"

My mouth snapped shut when Harry yanked me around hard, and we faced a muffled figure hobbling up the lane towards us. She stopped a few yards from us, gazing straight at us, and beckoned us to her.

I pulled back, but Harry walked forward as she began to beckon more vigorously.

"Are you Bathilda?" Harry asked, his tone suspicious.

When she nodded and motioned for us to follow her he didn't even check with me, yanking me along behind him.

"I'm not sure about this." I whispered to him.

"We have to."

We followed her into one of the cottages. The smell of old age, of dust, of unwashed clothes and stale food assaulted us as we stepped inside.

The woman began to light candles clumsily and Harry stopped her by waving his wand; the candles flaring to light. Harry was tense next to me, and I looked around the room curiously.

"Diffindo." My head jerked up as Harry cast the cutting curse at Bathilda Bagshot.

"Harry!" I jumped for him, knocking him over, and a loud hissing filled the entire room.

Harry elbowed me off him roughly. "Stupid! That was stupid Hermione!" He pulled me backward towards the staircase as the shaking body followed us, the odor of decay overpowering.

I couldn't speak as I watched in horror as her body split apart to reveal Nagini who struck out at us as we stumbled up the stairs. Harry lost his grip on my arm as he yank me, grabbing wildly at me and ripping at my hair to pull me up faster making me shriek.

We dodged into the hallway, as loud strikes and thumps followed as the snake tried to bite Harry. Harry grunted as we backed away letting go of me. He wobbled, clutching at his head. "He's coming! Hermione, he's coming !"

I reached out yanking him into the bedroom; the snake followed us closely and it leapt and clamping onto Harry's arm. My mind grasped desperately for spells and I yelled. "Confrigo!"

Explosions ricocheting across the room and glass cut at us, flinging us both backwards. Ripping the snake out of Harry's arm. Harry pulled me into his arms and jumped out the secondary story window.