Back to December: Chapter 1

A/n: Hey all, I know, I know its been a really long time since I've uploaded anything on here, but I have a good reason I swear! I'm in the Army Reserve and was activated so I really haven't had enough time to do anything on here. You can ask my mom, I barely talked to here for two years! So yea…. On a separate note, this is my updated version of "The Missing Potter" I love the concept of that story, so this follows that concept, but its different. Better, at least I think so…

Enjoy! I hope you like it, and I've planned a lot of parts to this story, I just got to keep it up, and I will try my darndest, but again, life happens right?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except my car, which I do own. I don't own my apt, I technically don't own anything in it, since I wasn't the one who paid for most of it. I have an awesome clothes/shoe collection, but I def do not own anything related to Harry Potter, that is all.

On to the Story!

Hermione wasn't quite sure why she was so excited, among other emotions, to go to Godrics Hollow. She knew that it was one of the oldest all wizarding communities, and the Godric Gryffindor had lived there, hence the reason for the name "Godric's" Hollow. She also hoped that Dumbledore would have left the sword there, so that her and Harry could continue on their mission to destroy all of the Horcrux's. But that wasn't for certain either. She knew why Harry wanted to go there, not only to get closer to his goal of defeating Voldemort, but also this is where it had happened the first time.

They had been planning this for weeks it seemed like, and Hermione was sure that she was over-preparing, but she couldn't help but feeling like something was going to happen. But, then again, she had been feeling like that since the end of last year, since Dumbledore's funeral.

"They… they'll be in there wont they? Your mum and dad? I can see the graveyard behind it." They neared the church in Godric's Hollow, and the graveyard that Harry hadn't yet been able to visit in his 17 years, one that he should have never had to visit, at least not this young, if not for Voldemort.

Hermione felt him hesitate, and she reached down and grabbed his hand, pulling him gently forward towards the gate.

They had gotten half-way across the square towards the graveyard when Hermione stopped and looked, something had changed she had felt it. Eyes wandering she saw the memorial, it hadn't looked like that moments before.

"Harry, look!" It had changed from some sort of War Memorial, with names written in stone, there were three people. A man with un-tidy hair and glasses, a women with long hair, and a kind face, and a small baby. 'James and Lily,' thought Hermione, a slight pain filling her chest. 'This shouldn't have happened.' she couldn't help but cry inside her head. Harry stood there and stared at it for a moment, but to soon for Hermione he was pulling her along.

"C'mon" and the two continued their trek towards the church graveyard.

Hermione pushed open the kissing gate as silently as she could, and the two edged through carefully. Hermione constantly on the look-out to see if anyone was near. The snow in the graveyard was deep and untouched on either side of the walking path.

Hermione barely heard Harry's exclamation, something was wrong, and she felt it. They shouldn't be here, no, that was not true, she shouldn't be here. "Keep your voice down!" She whispered.

She waded through the snow, head constantly looking, looking for Harry's parents tombs, and looking for anything that seemed out of place, she couldn't shake the feeling that she really shouldn't be there.

Looking closely at each tombstone, she saw one that made her start. "Harry, here!" she whispered to him.

"Is it-" she knew he was asking if it was where his parents were, but that wasn't what she saw."

"No, but look!"

The tombstone read:

KENDRA DUMBLEDORE AND HER DAUGHTER ARIANA

where your treasure is. there your heart be also.

So, some of what they were told was correct, but who knew what else Rita Skeeter had said was also true? Hermione could still not forget her bright green quill, and even though Rita no longer had it, didn't mean she didn't still make up, or embellish her facts.

Harry stood rooted to the spot, unable to look away from this particular grave for a time. So Hermione decided that she would move on, and continue the search for his parents. They didn't have much more time here, they needed to leave before the people in church were finished worshipping, they could not be seen!

She stopped, "Here!" then she looked closer at the headstone "oh no, sorry, I thought it said Potter."

But something on this headstone had stuck out, Hermione bent down and rubbed some of the moss away from the tombstone to get a better look. "Harry, come back a moment"

"What?" he asked reappearing by her side

"Look at this!" She pointed to the mark that had caught her attention, "it's the mark from the book!"

She didn't hear Harry's response, lighting her wand, even though her instincts told her not to, she bent down to read the name, "it says Ig-Ignotus I think… She vaguely heard Harry "I'm going to keep looking for my parents alright?" and he left her there alone crouching next to the gravestone.

A few moments after he left, she stood up, realizing that the grave with the marking held no answer to her question, before extinguishing her wand she saw something glitter in the snow. Slowly she made her way over to it, cautiously knowing that she shouldn't, but her curiosity getting the better of her.

There, lying in the snow, seemed to be a silver chain of some kind. Bending down, Hermione picked it up, pulling it out of the cold, white substance. The was a ring on the chain, as she pulled it up into her wand light, she couldn't shake the feeling, a de ja vu type feeling, that she had seen this ring before. She reached down to grab it to take a closer look, when, as soon as her hand connected with the cold metal, she heard a familiar voice from across the still graveyard.

"Mia, this is special okay? Keep it safe, and keep it with you, and you will never forget."

Hermione looked around. Harry was a few yards away, and it sounded like it was his voice. She looked back at the chain and slipped it silently into her pocket.

Looking up at the grave stone in front of her, she felt a pang in her chest and tears began to well in her eyes. This was it, this was why they came here.

"Harry," she called out to him, her voice wavering "they're here….right here." Her voice faded as she said those last two words. Her eyes trained on what was in front of her. She felt Harry stand next to her, felt him read the words slightly aloud, to himself. But she could not pull her eyes away.

JAMES POTTER LILY POTTER

BORN 27 MARCH 1960 BORN 30 JANUARY 1960

DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981 DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

She heard him read that last line, felt him bristle next to her. She knew that from somewhere, like someone had said it around her, not directly to her, a long time ago, and she could not remember where.

"Isn't that a Death Eater idea? Why is that there?" Harry exclaimed, pulling Hermione from her thoughts.

"It doesn't mean defeating death in the way the Death Eaters mean it Harry." She knew this, she knew why that was on there, "it means… you know… living beyond death. Living after death." It was a muggle concept, she knew, that must have been where she heard that saying. It was something that she was taught at a young age by her parents, there was a life after death, that life was only a small portion of time in the eternities that most believed in.

Hermione felt, more than heard the tears fall, and she reached for her best friends hand, knowing that he needed her support right now. She too was struggling with tears. At first she thought it was just because she knew what kind of life Harry had because of his parent's death. He shouldn't of had to deal with the Dursley's prejudice of his heritage. He shouldn't be the one to have to defeat Voldemort.

He should be at his seventh year of Hogwarts trying to figure out what he was going to do when he graduated, playing Quidditch, having fun, living in the present. Not having this weight of the future on his shoulders.

She found herself wishing that he hadn't had to do that. Why did his parents trust Peter? Why hadn't they just had Dumbledore as their secret keeper? Why had James, of all people been so reckless, when he knew his family was in danger? "Why James?" she whispered so softly that Harry couldn't hear her. "Why?"

It had been weeks since they had been to Godric's Hollow, and every night since then Hermione had been having very strange dreams. They started off normal, dreams about her and Harry, spending time together. Although she could not recognize where they were.

And then, an older man started appearing in these dreams, he looked an awful lot like Harry, so, Hermione deduced, that it must've been James. And these dreams continued for about a week. Nothing specific in the dreams that she could remember, just images and feelings. In these dreams she felt, complete, something she hadn't felt in a very long time.

Then, after leaving the Lovegood's house, they started getting even stranger, and every time she would wake up from these she would reach for the ring, still in her pocket, because for some reason it soothed her back to sleep. It gave her a feeling that somehow, everything would be alright.

Then one night, she remembered a birthday, it seemed to be hers. But, she was very sad. She was very young in the dream, but couldn't understand why, or why she was so sad. It seemed like someone very important was missing. Like someone who should've been there wasn't.

Then came the nightmares, for a while it was the same nightmare, over and over. But when she woke up she could not remember what it was. Only that it was not something that should be remembered.

So she stayed focused. Ron came back and the "Golden Trio" was back together, and the dreams stopped. She thought it was just stress, and her body's way of trying to cope with all that had happened this past year or so, what she refused to acknowledge in her waking hours, her body showed her while she was sleeping.

At least the strange dreams were gone.

Okay! So first Chapter's done, let me know what you think! Have a great day, reviews are totally welcome and encouraged! It'll be about a week before I get the next chapter up, so be patient with me! I'm working, slowly but surely. I have plans for this! Trust me, it'll be good.