𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 \\ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗷. 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

𝑋𝐶𝑉𝐼𝐼𝐼.

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙮-𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

GODRIC'S HOLLOW WAS covered in beautiful snow when they apparated to the quiet village, late in the evening. Caroline pulled her hat over her head better, gloves covering her hands. When she looked up at the sky, she smiled. The North Star was there, beaming proudly above her. Guiding her where she was supposed to be. Caroline and Harry took in the sights of the town, where they should've grown up. "I still think we should've used Polyjuice Potion." Hermione said quietly, as Harry took Caroline's hand.

        "No," Harry said quickly, sharply. "This is where we were born. We're not returning as someone else." he said.

        "They walked these streets. The last place they lived, was here." Caroline said meekly, imagining her parents footsteps in the snow during the one Christmas they shared. They would've smiled, and held her tightly as her mother taught her about the stars.

        Harry gripped Caroline's hand a little tighter, and the three began walking through the village. Bells tolled in the distance, from the nearby church. A man left a shop lit with lights, laughing. "Harry, Carol, I think it's Christmas Eve. Listen." Hermione said, noticing a small choir singing from the church with the bells.

        But Harry and Caroline were looking at something beside the church. A graveyard. "Do you think they'd be in there, Hermione? Our mums and dads." Harry wondered.

        Caroline knew they were there. She felt it. "Yeah, I think they would." Hermione affirmed. They entered the graveyard, searching.

        There was a soft stream of snow landing over the village. Hermione went a different way than Harry and Caroline, who opted to walk together. When they found what they were searching for, a tear slipped down Caroline's cheek. Hermione called for them, but they didn't answer. They had found them, at last.

        Caroline knelt towards her parents' shared gravestone. It was right beside Lily and James's. She wiped snow away from the stone, and Delilah and Hector were there. Delilah died three days after Halloween, when her husband and best friends were killed. But Caroline now knew that it wasn't a choice. She wanted to survive, wanted to live. But she was murdered.

        The sad girl brushed her tears away and stood up, retreating back to Harry. His eyes were red, so she placed her head on his shoulder, crying silently. It felt more real than it ever had. Harry and Caroline could've grown up together, with their parents. The innocent family who adopted Caroline would still be sane and alive. No one would be dead, not Sirius, not Jacob, not Andy, not Cedric, not Moody, not Hedwig. If it happened differently...

        Hermione then found the pair, freezing as she read the names on the gravestones. She knelt down, using her wand to grow a small wreath at the base of James and Lily's grave, and then a similar one at the base of Hector and Delilah's stone. They didn't speak as Hermione stood up, she knew what they would've said. Harry sighed, wiping his nose and pulling Caroline closer. "Merry Christmas." Harry said to the both of them, Hermione taking his arm to comfort him.

        "Merry Christmas." Hermione returned, Caroline wiping her eyes. She didn't want to cry, so she just stared, her head in the crook of Harry's neck, where he wanted it to be.

        After another few minutes, they left the graveyard. Caroline knew where she wanted to go. Her house was across the street from Harry's. Remus had told her the road, so she found it. "This is it." Caroline said once she came upon the quaint house.