Out of the Books

Chapter 21 - Godric's Hollow

The better part of the following days passed in searching the Noble and most Ancient House of Black for any sign of the silver locket, which Voldemort had turned into a Horcrux.

James, Lily, Sirius, Harry and the twins were basically turning their current place of residence upside down. Every day Ron and Hermione joined them to help searching as well; and as often as their work schedules allowed it, some of the other Weasleys would also come over. All the while Remus was trying to get a hold of Mundungus Fletcher. The small-time criminal had nicked quite an amount of valuable items from Sirius's house, when the last Black heir had been believed dead. If the Locket was among the stolen goods, it was of importance to question Mundungus about it as soon as possible, before it changed its owner too often and they totally lost track of the Horcrux.

Almost a week had gone by with always the same routine of Ron and Hermione flooing over from the Burrow before breakfast and helping everyone, who was at Grimmauld Place at that time, searching through masses of dusty boxes, cupboards and dressers.

After dinner the Potters, Weasleys and their friends usually gathered in the sitting room, telling stories from their past in their respective worlds, playing card games or chess. James, Leo and Amy were also practicing their Tae Kwon Do skills for one hour each evening in the former drawing room of the old town house. The first time they did so, Harry, Ron and Hermione were watching, but especially Ron was so fascinated by this way of fighting that he joined in their practices from the next evening on.

Although Harry couldn't claim that he didn't enjoy the busy but peaceful routine, spending the time with people he deeply cared for; and at the same time finally having started his Horcrux hunt, he felt that their effort was neither very effective nor efficient.

Compared to the force and brutality with which Voldemort was now showing the world that he was back, almost a dozen of his fiercest opponents spending their time exclusively on searching a trinket, which might even be destroyed already, just seemed a fatal wastefulness.

Soon Harry realized that he thankfully wasn't the only one feeling restless. His parents and Sirius apparently weren't completely satisfied with their lack of success either.

"Blasted box!" cursed Sirius when a long wooden splinter embedded itself in his finger while he was trying to force the lid of a large crate open. "This would be a lot easier, if we at least had our wands," he added with a frustrated sigh, as he let himself collapse against the wall next to Harry and Leo.

The three of them had sorted through mountains of rubbish in the attic for the last two hours.

"Yeah, I want my own wand too. Maybe then I can finally do that Lumos-spell," agreed Leo wistfully.

Leo and Amy were still eager to finally learn some magic and Harry was patiently supporting them, even though they still hadn't managed to get as much as a spark out of his wand. The twins were quite upset about their lack of success but didn't even think of giving up, while Harry secretly feared that Amy and Leo might not have any magic in them, being born into a Muggle world.

Leo leaned his head back against the wall. He had expected his new life in a world full of magic to be more exciting than emptying never-ending masses of dusty boxes.

"How long are we actually supposed to stay inside?" he asked listlessly while Harry pulled the splinter out of Sirius's hand with a wave of his wand.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. When we all agreed to keep your presence secret it was easy to say, we are all staying here in the house and search for a hint of Regulus's hiding place for the locket. But I guess it turns out that this isn't exactly the ideal course of action, is it?"

Leo shook his head vigorously. "No, definitely not."

Sirius chuckled and stood up. "Well, I think it is time to do some proper planning for letting the Marauders run loose again. We'll talk about it over dinner. For now let's finish those remaining four boxes back there."

That night at dinner everyone, who knew of Harry's family being alive, was present. Harry was sitting between Amy and Ron, with Leo and Hermione sitting across from them. Leo was excitedly telling his sister that they might be leaving the house soon, and finally see some more of the magical world than the interior of this gloomy house.

Ginny sat between her father and Charlie, shooting sad glances at Harry every now and then. The two of them had avoided each other ever since Harry had broken up with her, and although they had promised to stay friends, it was obvious that they behaved very awkwardly around each other.

Sirius was sitting next to James at the other end of the table, waiting anxiously for Molly to finally sit down so that he could propose the idea of going out.

"We literally took apart Grimmauld Place and came up with nothing," he said when everyone had started eating. "We should start thinking about the next steps we want to take."

"I finally found Mundungus. He said he has never seen the locket. He can't remember it being among the things he 'has taken care of' during your absence, Sirius," Remus piped up, his resentment of Fletcher apparent in his voice.

"Yeah, I thought so." Sirius sighed. "Anyway, I thought the first thing we should do, was getting a wand for Prongs, Lily and myself - and for the kids of course," he added when he saw Leo open his mouth, about to draw attention to the fact that he and his sister needed wands too.

Mrs Weasley creased her forehead in worry, but didn't say anything. She had known that sooner or later Sirius and the Potters would want to be more active in the fight against Voldemort. She remembered how she had once argued with Ron about him, Hermione and Harry constantly getting in danger. Ron had answered, "Mum, if you don't use your queen, your enemy will capture it anyway." Molly hadn't liked it, but in a way her son was right. As long as Voldemort was around, all of them were in danger, whether they were fighting or hiding.

"We need to go looking for a good wand maker, since Mr. Ollivander has disappeared from Diagon Alley." Mrs. Weasley took part in the discussion, determined to prevent any rash action by planning everything carefully.

"Lily, didn't old Mr. Hyalin also make wands? I know he was making staffs," said James thoughtfully.

"Yes, he was specialising on staffs, but he is a certified wand maker." At the blank looks of all the others she added, "Mr. Hyalin lived a few blocks away from us in Godric's Hollow, but he was already very old when we lived there, so we need to check out whether he is still there."

"I can do that tomorrow at work," offered Mr. Weasley.

When on the next day Mr. Weasley had confirmed that Hyalin's Finest Staffs was still in business in Godric's Hollow, it was decided that they would make a trip to the village on the following Saturday.

Considering the fact that James and Lily were believed dead and hadn't been around for one and a half decade, the risk of anyone recognizing them was small. But as to not take chances they would travel in two groups: Lily, James and the twins, taking Padfoot along as dog would floo straight to the wand maker, while Harry, Hermione and Ron would first go to Gringotts together with Remus and Tonks to get the money for the wands. Ginny had pondered for quite some time, whether she wanted to join them, but in the end she preferred to stay home with her parents. Around noon the two groups would meet at Mr. Hyalin's shop. This way hopefully nobody would be making a connection between Harry and his parents.

As a further precaution, Fred and George were providing Barber Balls for Lily and James to change the colour of their hair, as even for wizards it was hard to change their appearance without help, if they weren't Metamorphmagi.

"They are a side product of our Hairy-Rainbow line," said George proudly.

"In comparison to the Green Hair-Monster or the Pink Shocker, the Barber Balls are dead boring," continued Fred in the Weasley twins' trademark of taking turns with speaking.

"But I guess they will be pretty useful in our case," explained George proficiently.

"One single ball will instantly change the colour of your hair into strawberry-blond, light brown, chestnut or black for six hours," finished Fred in the manner of a salesman.

Two days later on Saturday morning, James, Lily and their two younger children were standing in front of the fireplace in the kitchen of the Black's town house.

Harry, his two friends, Remus and Tonks had already left the house for Diagon Alley, as the security measures at Gringotts hadn't been loosened since last summer and they had to count on standing in line for quite a long time.

Leo and Amy had watched them vanish in the fireplace in fascination, fully knowing that their own first travel by Floo powder was only a few minutes away.

"Okay, travelling by Floo powder is not difficult, although it takes some getting used to it," explained Lily, now black-haired, to Leo and Amy. "You have to throw the powder in the fireplace, step into the flames and say loud and clearly Godric's Hollow."

The twins nodded, looking excited and apprehensive at the same time.

James smiled at his children. He looked strange with his now light brown hair. "Don't worry. As soon as you throw the powder into the flames, they will not be hot anymore. But I recommend that you close your eyes against the sooth and ashes." With another wink at the twins he stepped towards the fireplace, where Sirius was waiting for him. "Sirius and I go first, then you come after us and Mum will come through last, okay?"

The two men were swallowed by the green flames and Leo and Amy looked at each other nervously.

With slight trepidation Leo grabbed a handful of the sandy powder, cast a last look at his sister and mother, and threw the Floo powder into the fireplace.

His father had been right with his recommendation to close one's eyes while travelling from one chimney to the next. As soon as Leo had spoken his destination, he was rapidly spun around in a whirl of bright colours and sooth. Quickly he screwed up his eyes and hugged his own body tightly, when his left elbow scraped against a rough brick wall. As fast as it had started, the spinning sensation stopped abruptly and Leo failed to keep his balance, falling out of another fireplace, landing inelegantly in front of Sirius's and James's feet.

As Sirius needed a new wand as well, he didn't transform into a dog yet. He would do so after they had left the shop.

James helped his son to his feet with a smile and while Leo was still struggling to catch his breath, Amy and Lily had already come through, Amy looking just as ruffled as Leo felt.

"Where are we?" asked Leo, looking around in the small and plain room, which was empty apart from the fireplace they had emerged from. Across the room there was an old wooden door with some words carved into it, but time had made the carvings illegible.

"It's the public fireplace of Hyalin's shop," said James.

The room adjacent to the arrival chamber was a large dusty and dim workshop. Material needed for wand making lay scattered on worn tables. In a corner there stood several wooden sticks, each of them at least one and a half meters long, waiting to be processed to staffs or wands.

On the far end of the room an old man stood stooped over a work table, his back to the visitors, and was sorting through a bundle of very fine silvery threads in the bright sunlight, which was seeping through a small round window above his head. Apparently he hadn't heard them enter.

"Good morning," said James loudly.

The man slowly put the bundle down; Lily guessed that it was probably unicorn hair; and turned around to his customers with some effort, squinting at them.

Amy had to bite back a gasp. She had never seen such an old man before. His very small face was framed with long strands of thin white hair and his parched skin had so many deep wrinkles that it was not easy to make out his features on the first glance. His lips had lost all colour and small dark eyes, which were hidden deeply in their hollows, stared alertly and intensively at the five people in front of him.

"Good morning," he rasped with a voice that sounded like sandpaper. "Who of you needs a wand? You?" He pointed a long filigree finger at Leo and Amy, who nodded timidly.

"Well, actually all of us need one," said Amy after swallowing nervously.

The old man, who was obviously Mr. Hyalin shook his head. "You have to speak louder, girl. My ears aren't the best anymore," he said with a crooked smile.

"All five of us need a new wand," she repeated much louder this time.

An excited, almost boyish grin appeared on his old face as he slowly hobbled towards his visitors. "Five wands," he mumbled. "Maybe a nice staff for the young lady," he said, looking at Lily. "You're powerful enough to use one."

Lily shook her head, smiling. "No, a wand is just fine for me."

Mr. Hyalin's gaze snapped back to Amy and Leo once more, scrutinizing them for a long minute, before turning back to the adults. "Let's fit you for your wands first," he told Sirius and bade him over to his worktable.

During the next two minutes Mr. Hyalin did nothing, but stare intensively at the younger wizard in front of him, making Sirius feel unusually self-conscious. Finally the old man was finished with whatever he was doing and gave Sirius a satisfied grin.

"Now, let's see. Twelve inch, hazel, core of dragon heart string." He walked back into another room, probably his storeroom and came back a minute later, holding a long and narrow box right under Sirius's nose. Sirius took the wand out of it and immediately felt how a wave of warm tingling rushed through his body, the wand in his hand emitting a few sparks.

"Wow!" He stared at Mr. Hyalin in astonishment. "Right in one. Mr. Ollivander took more than half an hour to find the right wand for me."

Hyalin chuckled lowly. "Yes, Ollivander really makes the best wands, but he has no clue about fitting a wand to its user. Okay, who is next?"

Lily came forward and stood opposite Mr. Hyalin, letting him assess her for a fitting wand - eleven inches willow with a core of phoenix feather. When she was finished, James got his wand of twelve inches mahogany wood, with a core of dragon heartstring, just as Sirius had.

In the middle of James having his wand found, the door to Mr. Hyalin's workshop opened and Remus entered, carrying a leather bag, filled with golden Galleons.

"Thanks, Remus," said Sirius as he took the money from his friend. "We are almost finished here. There are only the kids left now for getting their wands."

"The children, yes." Mr. Hyalin sighed heavily. "You know that the wand is only a channel for the power of a witch or a wizard. Well, with these two children there is nothing to channel. They were born without magic."

For a minute, shocked silence lay over the dusty workroom, before Leo and Amy started protesting loudly.

"No, that can't be right. Mum and Dad are magic, and Harry is too. So we have to be magic as well!" Leo cried out indignantly.

"Please, Mr. Hyalin! Maybe you have not looked right," said Amy desperately.

The adults remained silent, while the twins were dealing with this heavy blow. Although they had hoped that Leo and Amy would show signs of magic as soon as they held their own wands, it didn't come as a surprise that they didn't.

"Amy, Leo," said Lily quietly. "Let's go."