Fragile

Chapter 10

My legs feel as if they are about to give out; they feel like jello. Hermione and Harry are walking a step in front of me through the dead grass and fluffy white snow on the way to Godric's Hollow. Ron lags behind Sage and I as we silently walk on and on. Hermione told us that the reason we can't apparate there is because alarms could possibly go off, especially when my face is plastered on buildings, telephone booths, and inside shop windows. I think it's a lot of sh-

"We're almost there guys!" Hermione's voice gets lost in the vast amount of wind. In the distance I see it; Godric's Hollow, a run down, and abandoned community sits in front of our view just barely. The snow gently falls on the rooftops and lands in our hair as we enter. Garland decorates some houses, but it looks cold and unwelcoming. A graveyard lies by the houses, and makes the scene even more depressing. I hear a few shouts and a dog bark, but then it goes completely silent.

"Well this pace is kind of depressing isn't it?"

Harry glares back at me, "This is where my parents died. Or do you not care enough, and only care about that dark mark of yours?" His voice is icy and cold towards me and I stare blankly. Gosh...where did that attitude come from?

"Oh, I'm sorry Chosen One..." I put extra emphasis on "Chosen One" because I know it irritates him. I feel lips curve up into a smirk. And the side of his mouth twitches with frustration. Hermione grabs his arm with force before he could try to do anything to me. The back of Sage's hand slaps my arm and she looks at me sternly with a what-the-heck kind of look.

I shrug looking at her like it had to be said at some point, "What?"

She shakes her head, rolls her eyes, and looks away from me; an annoyed expression is worn on her face. We keep walking through the snowy stone streets. It's not a blizzard outside like it was the past few weeks while we stayed at our tents.

"Do you think that my parents are in that cemetery?"

Harry gestures over to the dark cemetery to our left.

"Yeah...I suppose they would be if they died here," Hermione says softly.

"Well why don't we go and see then?"

Ron finally spoke out for the first time out of the whole trip to Godric's Hollow.

We all slowly walk around the cemetery brushing off the thin layer of snow from each of the stones. There is one stone in particular that catches my attention immediately. The same symbol that was in Sage's book a week before was now engraved into the cold marble gravestone.

"Er...guys. Come here," I shout looking up finding it harder to see the dark figures through the snow in the middle of night. I look back down at it trying to find some sort of message, but having no luck. The mysterious mark seems to stare back at me; a cold chill runs through me. It doesn't seem to be a good mark, whatever it is, but I do know it has some sort of importance. I feel someone step next to me; I look up to see Ron.

"There's that mark again..."

He seems to be stumped too as he scrunches up his face a bit. We've had no hints as to what it means. Harry and Hermione follow behind Sage who is jogging towards me. They all see it too and we stand in the snow, the wind howls making a flurry of snow land back on top of the stone.

"We need to see Xenophelius, because I think that this mark will help us," Harry says immediately. Everyone nods in agreement.

"Well... um Harry I found something for you," Sage says in a nervous voice. Her eyes glisten in the moonlight when she looks up. She carefully walks around the side of the gravestone, and makes her way through the snow with slow and cautious steps. Harry follows behinds her followed by Hermione, Ron, and I. When we stop at the second gravestone, Sage brushes off the thin layer of snow revealing the names: James and Lily Potter. Hermione crouches down and takes out her wand. She the point of her wand is just barely touching the front of the stone underneath all of the writing. In front of her wand appears a small wreath with small white ornaments, and a red bow on top. She carefully puts her wand back into the waist of her pants and steps back in between Harry and I. We all stand there solemnly watching the snowfall in front of the delicately carved words.