GAH I AM SO SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG! I've been on a "staycation" recently - had cousins I haven't seen in eight years come over and we had SUCH a great time, but I was also SUPER busy. There was a wedding in the family, too, and I was a bridesmaid, and then we all went down to D.C. for a couple days, so I've barely had time to sleep, let alone write. Anyways, I finished this up this morning and figured I ought to post it. Warning, though: I haven't had time to start on the next chapter before I posted this one like I usually do, so the next wait might be just as long as this one. Maybe longer.

Disclaimer: Story idea is CaseyLove's, anything you recognize is JKR's. Also: YOU MUST READ CASEYLOVE'S BEGINNING OF THIS STORY FIRST! (just in case you missed it the last four times)

Chapter Ten: Godric's Hollow

Although neither Hermione nor Harry forgave Ron quite as readily as Ginny did, tensions between the four teenagers in the tent eased, and Ron and Hermione were even back to holding hands by the end of the week. Ginny managed to convince Harry that the locket would be perfectly safe even when it was not physically attached to them, and as a result, the atmosphere in the tent was greatly lifted, and even the routine two weeks of traveling day after day seemed just a little more bearable.

However, one evening as Harry and Ginny sat together on the rug, James drinking wide-eyed from a bottle in Harry's arms, Harry decided to open another can of worms.

"So," he said, carefully setting down James' now-empty bottle and handing the infant over to Ginny for burping, "I've been thinking, and I've thought of one more place we could go. I dunno if we'd find a Horcrux there, but it's worth a shot for the Sword of Gryffindor."

Hermione shot him a wary look. "Harry...where is this place?"

"Godric's Hollow," he said quietly. The already quiet tent seemed to suddenly ooze a deafening silence, and he hurried on. "I mean, Dumbledore lived there as a kid, it obviously had meaning to him. Maybe he'd put the sword there."

He could see the skeptical looks on all of their faces, but he couldn't think of any other place to look. And besides, it was his home, the place he'd been born and lived, briefly. It was the first place he'd ever been happy. The place where he'd had parents. He needed to go back.

To his surprise, it was Ginny who spoke first. "I agree with Harry," she said. Ron and Hermione both stared at her in surprise, so she continued. "I mean, where else are we going to go? We aren't making any more progress than we were two weeks ago, and we can't keep hiding out here forever."

"I guess so..." Hermione said slowly. "But I still think it's too risky. You-Know-Who is bound to have a trap set up."

"Great," Ginny said, finally tired of sitting around and doing nothing. "Then you and Ron stay here with James and Harry and I will go. I'm sick of sitting around in this tent, we need to do something."

It took a lot of arguing, but eventually Ron and Hermione agreed to stay in the tent with James and let Harry and Ginny go to Godric's Hollow.

After three straight days of planning, Harry and Ginny stood beside each other at the front of the tent, their hands clasped.

"Be safe," Hermione said for the millionth time that day. She was holding James against her, holding him tightly, and only Ginny knew how afraid she was that neither of them would come back. They'd talked about it last night, much later than either of them should've been up.

"We'll be back," Ginny promised, leaning over to give Hermione one last hug and kiss James' forehead once more. She took a deep breath and turned to Harry. "Let's go."

They gripped each other's hands tightly, waved to Ron and Hermione, and then, with a loud CRACK, Disapparated.

When Ginny opened her eyes again, they were in a small town square, standing next to a war memorial. Snow was falling gently around them. Opposite of them was a large brick church, the warm candlelight of the windows making patterns across the cobblestones. As Ginny was taking all this in, she heard a song start up from inside the church; within seconds, she recognized it.

"Harry, I think it's Christmas Eve! Listen!" They bent their heads towards the church, both listening intently.

"I think it is," he finally whispered. "Happy Christmas, Ginny."

"Happy Christmas," she whispered back, and right there in the middle of the town square, they kissed, their lips warm and soothing to each other, until Ginny gave a gasp and pulled away.

"Harry, we-we haven't gotten anything for James!" she said, and she sounded so distressed he knew they'd have to get something.

"Well, we're here, aren't we?" he asked, sweeping his arms out. "There's plenty of shops. We can slip inside one of them and grab something."

"Excellent," she replied, grinning mischievously, and they set off across the square. A shop that advertised baby supplies was hidden next to a large bookstore, and they entered it together, both jumping slightly at the tinkle of the bell.

It was only dimly lit inside, but the supplies on the shelves were all new and fairly well-stocked, considering the time of the season. They hunted around for awhile until finally, Ginny found something she figured Harry would approve of.

"Harry, look at these!" she said, bringing them over to him. It was a set of four stuffed balls, one resembling a Quaffle, two a Bludger, and the fourth a rather large Golden Snitch.

"Perfect," he announced. "Shall we go?"

"No, we need some nappies, too, and while we're at it, he could use some larger clothes."

"Can't you multiply the clean nappies and put a charm on the clothes?" Harry asked, following her to the back of the store.

"Nappies, maybe, but the clothes are sort of frayed, anyway. I don't know how much longer I can keep enlarging them, they might burst," Ginny replied, plopping two boxes of nappies into Harry's arms. "And it's Christmas, for the love of Merlin."

Harry shrugged, and they picked out three outfits for James before heading to the cash register. Thankfully, the cashier was an old, wizened woman with nearly no teeth. She took forever ringing up the purchases, but didn't bat an eye at the set of Quidditch balls, nor so much as glance at Harry or Ginny.

They left the store, heading back out into the square, holding hands. Though Ginny was happier than she'd been for a good while, she could still feel a bit of a prickling on the back of her neck that made her on guard. Harry, too, was glancing around perhaps a bit more often than was needed, but she couldn't blame him as they continued past the middle of the square.

Suddenly, he froze, and her hand was on her wand (hidden in her jacket) before she even turned. "Harry, what-" she began, but then she saw, too, and stood absolutely still. Where the war memorial had been, there was now a statue of three people: a man with untidy hair, a woman with a kind, round face, and a baby boy in the woman's arms, smiling up at her.

Harry moved a little closer to the statue, staring at it hungrily. Ginny followed him, looking up into the faces of Harry's parents for the first time. She could see Harry in every bit of James' face, and could see the shape of his eyes on Lily's. Lily, in particular, interested her. Ginny, having had her own child, understood the sacrifice Lily had made for Harry. If it hadn't been for the brave woman on the statue, Ginny would not have even been standing here now. She could have been dead, a Death Eater, or at Hogwarts right now. She would never know.

"C'mon," Harry finally croaked, and they continued towards a graveyard behind the church in silence. "D'you think they'll be here?" Harry asked when they'd reached the kissing gate, his voice so quiet Ginny could hardly hear him over the loud carols from the church.

"Yes," she said. "I can't think of anywhere else they'd be." And together, they pushed open the gate and went inside.

The snow was soft and white, undisturbed and perfect. The moment they entered the graveyard, it was as though all other sounds had vanished, leaving them in a perfect bubble of silence. Unsure of what to do, Ginny walked over and brushed some snow off of the nearest tombstone to see the name. Abbott.

A memory of a pink-faced girl with ponytails came to Ginny's mind, and she smiled sadly. Hannah was a year above her, and though they weren't close, they'd worked together a few times in Dumbledore's Army, and Ginny knew her to be a nice girl.

She moved to the next tombstone, and the one after that, and so on, watching Harry out of the corner of her eye. She knew this would be a big moment for him, and she wanted to be right there with him when he found his parents.

She went to brush the snow off of another headstone, and found herself staring at a very familiar name. Dumbledore. "Harry..." she called, her hesitant voice much too loud in the silence.

He came crashing over, leaving a haphazard trail through the snow. "What? Did you find them?"

"Not yet, but...look at this," she said, pointing to the headstone. Harry crouched and brushed some more snow off the stone. Two more names appeared: Kendra and Ariana.

"So it's true," he whispered. "Dumbledore did live here." Ginny could hear the anger and hurt in his voice, and she squeezed his shoulder gently.

"Remember, Harry, everyone has their secrets," she said. He didn't look at her, just brushed away more snow and finally uncovered the quote on the tomb.

"'Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,'" he said slowly. Ginny knew Dumbledore must have chosen those words, and she thought they were beautiful, considering that his mother and sister had died so young. "What d'you suppose that means?" he asked.

"I think...I think it means that you should love the things you treasure," Ginny replied slowly. "And for Dumbledore, I think it means he treasured his mother and sister, even if it was a little too late, but he always loved them."

Harry was quiet for a while, digesting her words, then he stood up. "Let's keep looking."

Ginny just nodded, not really knowing what to say to him. She watched him walk off in the opposite direction and just shook her head. She went back to brushing the snow off of headstones, not knowing what she was going to say or do when Harry finally found his parents.

She'd been searching for about ten minutes and was starting to get cold when she came upon an interesting headstone. She bent over and studied the symbol emblazoned at the top of the grave. A triangle enclosing a circle, with a line dividing both shapes exactly in half. What in the world...? She bent down and brushed the snow off the name. Peverell.

"Ginny," came Harry's voice out of the dark, and she straightened immediately. She could tell from his voice that he'd found his parents at last, and she hurried to him, only a few rows away. He was staring at a large, white, marble headstone that, for some reason, had no snow on it. Two names were etched clearly into the stone.

James Potter

Born 27 March 1960

Died 31 October 1981

Lily Potter

Born 30 January 1960

Died 31 October 1981

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death

Ginny stared at the headstone, feeling a sadness that weighed on her entire body and made her want to lie in the snow and never get up, to be buried under the fluffy whiteness. She tried to imagine growing up without her mother and father. Such a thing was, to her, unimaginable, and yet Harry had done it. She reached over and took his hand, which was cold and trembling, and squeezed. He squeezed back, and when she turned to see his face, the expression of pain made her heart contract.

"What...what does that mean?" he asked, his voice both too quiet and too loud in the silent graveyard. "'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death'? Isn't that a Death Eater idea?"

"No, of course not," Ginny said instantly. "It means...it means living beyond death, living after death. With love. Not the way the Death Eaters meant it." When Harry still didn't look convinced, she went on. "Harry...you've heard what Remus, Sirius, Hagrid, and everyone else has said about them. Never has anyone ever once mentioned that they were Death Eaters. Don't you believe that for a second."

He just nodded, and she saw the tears falling down his cheeks. Gently, she wiped them away and leaned her head on his shoulder. He held her tightly, so tightly she could barely breathe, but she made no objections, leaning into the warmth of his chest, feeling it rise and fall beneath her. It had been so long since the two of them had really had "alone time", and she wrapped her arms around him as well, trying to let him take comfort from her.

When he finally let go, she raised her wand, concentrated as hard as she could, and produced a wreath of red and white Christmas roses for him to lay on his parents' grave. Harry caught them and laid them gently on the ground in front of the headstone. He traced his fingers lightly over each of his parents names, then stood.

"C'mon. Let's go," he said, tears still choking his voice. Ginny wrapped her arm around his waist, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and together, they made their way back to the shadowy form of the kissing gate.

So, I hope I did okay. It was really interesting to explore this chapter from Ginny's point of view, especially as a new mother. I hope I did it justice. Anyways, the next chapter is going to be something CaseyLove hadn't mentioned putting in, but something I've always wanted to explore, so I hope it works out okay!

Please leave me a review!

lovelovelove -D-