Complete and Utter Poppycock

Chapter 12: Godric's Hollow

Chapter 12: Godric's Hollow

It was weird now that Ron was gone. It didn't look like Hermione slept at all as her eyes were read and puffy. Harry didn't say a word to any of us. We ate breakfast together in silence. We packed up out things as Hermione dawdled most of the time. We lingered for over a good hour before Hermione was finally ready.

We Apparated on a heather-covered hillside. The instant we arrived, Hermione dropped Harry's hand and walked away from him, finally sitting down on a large rock and sobbed.

I decided to take action and place enchantments around the area to ensure our protection. It went on like this for a while. As Hermione would cry often times, especially during the night when she thought Harry and I were sleeping.

We kept trying to figure out where the Sword of Gryffindor was, but there wasn't any luck. Hermione took out Phineas Nigellus's portrait to fill in the gaping hole of Ron's presence. He appeared on several occasions, but only when he had to be blinded. We found out a few things from him: Ginny was banned from Hogsmeade, Snape had forbidden gatherings of three or more students of any unofficial societies.

The weather grew colder and colder. We couldn't bare to remain in one area for too long so we meandered up and down the country. We've already spotted Christmas trees twinkling. I went by the supermarket several times under the Invisibility Cloak buying peanut butter and jam and canned fruit, which lead to somewhat of a decent dinner.

"Hermione?"

"Hm?" She was curled up in the armchair with her book The Tale of Beedle the Bard, as she was deciphering it.

"Hermione, I've been thinking, and —"

"Harry, could you help me with something?" Apparently, she wasn't listening to him. She held out her book to him. "Look at the symbol," she pointed to the top of a page. I leaned over as I was right across from her and looked at a triangle with a circle in the center, and a vertical like going through it.

"I never took Ancient Runes, Hermione."

"I know that, but it isn't a rune and it's not in the syllabary, either. All along I thought it was a picture of an eye, but I don't think it is! It's been inked in, look, somebody's drawn it there, it isn't really part of the book. Think, have you ever seen it before?"

"Isn't that the symbol Luna's dad was wearing around his neck at the wedding?" I said.

"Well, that's what I thought too!"

"Then it's Grindelwald's mark," Harry said.

We stared at him.

"What?"

"Krum told me. . ." He recounted the story that Viktor had told him at the wedding. Hermione looked astonished while I just felt dumbfounded.

"Grindelwald's mark?" said Hermione. "I've never heard that Grindelwald had a mark. There's no mention of it of anything I've ever read about him."

"Well, like I say, Krum reckoned the symbol was carved on a walk at Durmstrand, and Grindelwald put it in there."

She fell into the armchair, frowning.

"That's very odd. If it's a symbol of Dark Magic, what's it doing in a book of children's stories?"

"Yeah, that's weird," I said.

"And you'd think Scrimgeour would have recognized it," said Harry. "He was Minister, he ought to have been expert on Dark stuff."

"I know. . . Perhaps he thought it was an eye, just like I did," Hermione said, "All the other stories have little pictures over the titles."