𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 \\ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗷. 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

𝑋𝐶𝐼𝑋.

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙮-𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

THEY LANDED IN a beautiful snow covered forest. It was freezing to be outside, but it was worth it to Caroline. She sat against a tree beside Hermione, her frozen fingers sorting through the photo book and frames she had taken from her house. "Look at this one." Caroline said, placing the photographs in chronological order. Hermione looked over, seeing the first picture being Caroline and her parents when she was just born.

"Is that the Marauders?" Hermione asked, looking at the next picture in the book. Four men were beaming, Remus and James holding little Caroline.

Caroline looked at them all. There was one, still in the hospital, of Caroline, Delilah, Harry and Lily. That was the day Lily and Delilah decided their children would end up together. It was one of her favourites. The pictures in the book abruptly stopped the day before they died. The last one felt comforting. Sirius and Remus sitting close together, watching Caroline and Harry wrestle over a toy in Harry's home.

She then moved on to the more important ones, the three that were framed. Caroline, Hector and Delilah on Caroline's first birthday. The Marauders, Harry and Caroline on Easter. Finally, perhaps one of the best ones, Harry and Caroline napping together. Caroline's curls were all over Harry's face but he didn't seem to mind, holding one of her stuffed animals. Caroline smiled, using her wand to fix the frames and remove the dust of all the pictures and the book.

Harry stepped outside of the tent. He had been resting from the attack on the snake. He walked over to the girls, who instantly looked up at him. "Are you feeling better?" Caroline asked as Harry took in the sights of the forest.

"You've outdone yourself this time, Hermione." Harry said, electing not to answer.

"The Forest of Dean. I came here once with Mum and Dad, years ago," as Hermione spoke, Harry sat down at the base of a tree trunk slightly opposite the girls. "It's just how I remember it. The trees, the river, everything. Like nothing's changed. Not true, of course. Everything's changed. If I brought my parents back here now, they probably wouldn't recognize any of it. Not the trees, not the river... not even me." Hermione said quietly, sadly.

Caroline nodded. "As long as they're safe, nothing else matters." she said, speaking of the Grangers and Eloise. She found a picture of Peter Pettigrew holding her, so she destroyed it.

"Maybe we should just stay here. Grow old," Hermione suggested. But that wasn't possible. "You wanted to know who the boy in the photograph was. I know. Gellert Grindelwald." Hermione handed Harry the book she and Caroline took from Bathilda's house

Harry looked at the photos Rita Skeeter had put in her book. "He's the thief I saw in Gregorovitch's Wand Shop. Speaking of which, where is my wand?" Harry asked. Caroline inhaled slowly, and Harry noticed this. "Where's my wand, Carol?" he questioned once more.

Caroline moved and lifted up the blanket the two were sitting on where Harry's wand was, broken. "As we were leaving Godric's Hollow, I cast a curse and it rebounded. I'm sorry." Hermione said slowly.

"We tried to mend it, but wands are different." Caroline said, her face freezing from the cold.

"It's done," Harry said, a sharp tone to his voice. "Leave me one of yours. Go inside and get warm. I'll take the locket as well." Harry stood up, Hermione handing him the locket and her wand, taking her things and going inside the tent.