The Last Command

"Hey, Harry. C'mon, you can't sleep all day."

Harry groaned and pulled a pillow over his face. Judging from the amount of light from the orange glow behind his eyelids, it was definitely past his normal time for awakening.

Ron pulled the pillow from Harry's grasp. "Harry, what'd Snape do to you yesterday?" Ron tossed the pillow aside and yanked the covers off Harry. Harry opened one eye and glared at his friend. Ron chuckled in response. "Come on, it can't be that bad!"

"Actually, yesterday is the first day all week I haven't been intensely dueling someone. I'm sore, I'm tired, and I was really looking forward to sleeping all day." Harry tried to snatch the quilt from Ron, who stepped out of reach.

"Nope, Harry, it's been a week since the wedding. Hermione and I were going to go with you to Godric's Hollow today."

Has it only been a week? Harry mused. "All right, all right. I'm getting up."

He stretched and slowly worked his way out of bed, loosening each muscle individually. He grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom, hoping a hot bath would soothe his tight, sore body.

Stepping into the steamy bath, he lowered himself into the water. He let it soak into the knots in his shoulders, and he started to drift off into sleep. Shaking himself awake, he forced his eyes open and grudgingly began to wash.

Harry must have taken longer than usual, because someone knocked on the door. "I'm almost done!" he called out.

"If you say so, mate! Mum made lunch, and it's ready downstairs if you want it," Ron responded.

Harry stomach made a low grumbling sound, and he realized he was hungry. "All right, Ron, be there in a minute." He drained the tub and dried off. Quickly throwing his clothes on, he ran down the stairs and sat at the table.

Ginny, Hermione and Ron had already started eating by the time Harry got there, but they offered him a smile and let him pile food on his plate. He went over what had happened with Snape the day before. Hermione looked pleased.

"It's about time you learned some proper research methods, Harry. I think this is really good for you."

Ron rolled his eyes and shoveled a bite of potatoes in his mouth. Ginny was unusually quiet throughout the meal.

Harry stood long after everyone else had finished and gathered his plate. Ginny placed a hand on his arm. "We need to talk. I would like to be able to come with you today," she murmured.

"Ginny, I..." He sighed.

"Harry, please. Hear me out. I know we can't date, but that doesn't change the fact that I care about you. Today isn't going to be easy for you, and I would like to be there for you." She smiled at him.

"Ginny, I broke up with you because I care about you too. What if something were to happen... if you were seen with me? It would defeat the purpose of us not going out..."

"You can't keep me locked away in a cupboard, Harry."

Harry winced at the comparison. "I'm not trying to. I just... I don't think I could handle it if something were to happen to you, not on my account."

"You care about them too," she said, indicating Ron and Hermione, "but you are letting them come."

Harry snorted. "I couldn't stop them if I tried."

A gleam appeared in Ginny's eye and she smiled. "Just try and stop me."

Harry sighed in defeat, and took his plate to the sink with Ginny following right behind.

Hermione came into the room. "Harry, are you coming? Ron and I are waiting."

"Yes, and Ginny's coming too."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond. They walked to the fireplace. Hermione took a pinch of Floo powder, stepped into the fire, and called out, "Dragon's Breath Tavern."

Ginny and Ron followed. Harry braced himself for the dizzying ride, announced his destination, and, barely managing to stay vertical, stepped out at the tavern in Godric's Hollow.

Hermione had been the one who found out about the Dragon's Breath when they were staying at the Dursleys'. Like The Leaky Cauldron, it was a Wizarding tavern that existed in the Muggle village, hidden by a concealment charm from the Muggles.

Hermione consulted a map, and the group set off toward where Harry's house once stood. Harry looked around, hoping to find something that seemed familiar, but nothing did. A hand grasped his, and gave a light squeeze. He looked over at the hand's owner, Ginny, and gave her a small smile in return.

At last, Hermione announced, "This is it." She gestured at a building. Harry looked at it. It looked like the Dursleys'. Every house on this street looked like the Dursleys'. He sighed. He closed his eyes, hoping to just feel.

Hermione spoke softly, "Oh, Harry. Remember the house was destroyed. It's been 16 years, the Muggles must have developed..."

Harry took a deep breath. "It's all right, Hermione. I still need to be here."

Hermione gave him a sad smile and nodded.

They stood there for quite awhile. Ron shifted from foot to foot. Ginny occasionally touched Harry's back. Harry closed his eyes again, and tried his best to remember what the house in front of him should look like. A soft wind picked up and brought him out of his reverie. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he was pretty sure he hadn't found it here. He turned to his friends, just as an angry old man came out of the house next door.

"Get out of here, you hooligans. Planning on stealing something from the Myers, simply because they're on vacation. Well, mark my words; I'm calling the police. You've got no business in this neighborhood." He waved a cane at them and came closer.

"I'm sorry sir, it's just, I used to live here, when I was younger, and..."

"Save me your lies; the only folks to have lived in that house are the Myers, and they've lived in that house for the last 15 years. I should know; I've lived here just as long."

"Sir, I lived there before then. When I was a baby." He peered at the man through his glasses. "In the house that was here before."

"There wasn't a house there before. It was rubble. I looked at that lot. Chose against it; it was better to demolish a house and start from scratch than to have to get rid of all the debris. All of the old neighbors left at the same time. Something about this area being cursed. Never could get any solid proof from them. Now, get out of here, before I call the police."

Harry gave up, and slumped his shoulders. "C'mon guys, let's go to the cemetery." He silently hoped that he would find what he needed there.

They stopped at a flower shop on the way there. He picked up two mixed bouquets, and the four headed to his parents' cemetery.

All four gasped as they stepped through the gate. There was a crackle of magic around them they couldn't ignore. This cemetery was ancient, there was no doubt about that, and it definitely had not been limited to mostly Muggle use. A large monument stood in the center of the field of tombstones. Every member of the party felt inexplicably drawn to it.

Hermione was the first to notice the writing at the base of the large statue. She let out a gasp. "This has to have been magically preserved. Even the best tomb keepers wouldn't have been able to keep this in shape!"

GODRIC GRYFFINDOR

Was etched into the gray stone. Hermione was right; it had to have been magically preserved, as there was no wear on the stone at all. The monument itself was of a man with shoulder length hair, dressed in robes. His arms were folded, with one hand gripping the handle of a sword, and he looked as if he were watching over the cemetery.

There was magic pulsing around them, and Harry felt compelled to at least acknowledge the man who founded his House at school. He gave a slight bow of his head. "Thank you, sir. For giving me my first home that I can remember." He gestured towards the sword. "Your sword saved my life, your hat too... um, just... Thank you," he finished awkwardly.

The pulse of the magic changed slightly, though no one else seemed to notice it. Harry closed his eyes, and started to walk, trusting that the magic was guiding him to something he needed to see. The others watched as he carefully avoided smaller monuments and tombstones. He stopped and turned. Slowly he sank to his knees in front of a rather large headstone.

Ginny was the first to move after him, with Ron and Hermione following shortly behind her. She stood behind him, with her hands on his slightly shaking shoulders. He looked up at the headstone, and reread the words chiseled into it.

Here lie Lily and James Potter

They gave their lives so that their son might live.

Lily Potter James Potter

1960-1981 1960-1981

Harry placed the two bouquets at the headstone. He hadn't thought he would cry. Nevertheless, tears were flowing freely down his cheeks. His friends seemed to know not to come near him. He didn't want to be comforted, not yet, not now. He fingered his parents' names and dates. As he finished tracing his mother's name for the second time, he felt the wind pick up for the second time that day.

He gasped as a pink glow traveled from his fingers up his arm. It seemed to embrace him. All the magic he had been feeling since they entered the yard wrapped around him and held him close. He heard whispers of his parents' love. He heard voices of people he never met, but knew to be his ancestors. The pink light grew brighter and gathered around him and in him. Slowly it started to dim, and he started to sob in its absence, but he realized that the light was the only thing to fade. The love, his family's love, was still there.

Bright green eyes shimmering with tears, he looked at his friends. They all seemed to be in shock. One by one, they came over to him. In an awkward four-way hug, they held each other. Sure that they must have felt some of what he had, he looked at their tear-streaked faces. He smiled at them, and acknowledged the love they were giving him.

"I think I found what I was looking for," he said, half-laughing through his tears.

No one responded. They stayed in their huddle until Ron's stomach growled in protest. Harry reached for his parents' headstone again and gently touched it. "Thank you, Mum, Dad. I love you," he whispered. The group stood, and holding each other up, left the cemetery.