Chapter 34
Christmas Presents
“Professor Lupin!” said Harry in surprise. He hadn’t expected to see his old Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in Potter’s Cove, though now that he thought about it he was an obvious choice for Dumbledore. In addition to being a member of the Order of the Phoenix and someone Harry knew he could trust, Lupin had also been one of his father’s best friends. It was even likely that he had been to Godric’s Hollow before and knew the area.
“Welcome Harry, I am glad you made it all right,” said Lupin, walking to the door to greet Harry. He placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder and smiled his friendly, fatigued smile. “It’s good to see you. Come sit by the fire, you must be tired and freezing.”
Lupin took Harry’s bag and led him to the center of the living room in front of the giant fireplace. With a flick of his wand the logs inside burst into flame.
“Thanks.”
Harry sank down into one of the many mismatched chairs which were placed in the living room of Potter’s Cove, a soft, squishy maroon one that had become his favorite over the summer. He stretched his legs out over a small table next to it and soaked up the warmth from the fire. Lupin was right “ he was cold and tired. Looking down at his feet he noticed the hems of his robes were frozen stiff.
Lupin settled down into a wooden chair lined with leather across from him. “So, how have you been holding up?”
Harry could have asked him the same question. Professor Lupin looked more haggard and worn than ever. His face was covered with gray stubble from not having shaven recently and the flesh beneath his eyes sagged even more than ever, making him look old and weary. Despite all this, however, his eyes glowed bright, warm, and alert.
“I’ve been all right,” Harry replied as he kicked his shoes off. He noticed a small pool of water accumulating at his feet from the melting snow and was about to clean it up, then realized it was his house and he didn’t care. He looked around fondly at the now familiar living room of Potter’s Cove. “It’s definitely good to be back here though.”
“Yes, I agree,” Lupin replied, looking around at the wood and stone interior of the house with his own expression of fondness. “This has always been a great place to visit and take a break from your problems.”
“So you’ve been here before?”
“Oh yes, many times,” Lupin said with a nostalgic smile. “Two weeks every summer since our third year, as a matter of fact. Four weeks after Sirius moved in. Some of my fondest childhood memories are in this place.”
“Really?” Harry asked interestedly. He had thought it likely that Lupin had visited the place, but had no idea it had been that often. “What was it like back then?”
Lupin stretched his legs out as well, the smile on his face becoming more pronounced as he thought back. “Well, first there was Mr. and Mrs. Potter “ your grandparents, of course. Wonderful people. Very kind, very unassuming. It didn’t matter to them in the least that I was a werewolf. They always welcomed myself, Sirius, and…well, the rat.”
His countenance clouded slightly at the mention of Peter Pettigrew, but quickly returned to normal as he continued.
“Then there was the village. I understand Dumbledore has asked you to stay away from it, so as not to alert anyone to your presence…”
Harry nodded.
“…which is a good idea, of course, but a pity all the same. A very charming place. We spent nearly every day there, loafing about, Sirius and James usually getting into mischief. It was a good thing we were underage and not allowed to use magic, or we would have gotten into a lot more trouble then we did.” Lupin laughed at this last part, then smiled thoughtfully.
“Though, of course, your father found a way to get around that in our sixth year.”
“He did?” Harry asked, startled. “How?”
Lupin’s eyebrows rose in amusement and for a brief moment Harry thought he was about to tell him, but instead he only smiled and shook his head.
“I’ll tell you next year.”
Harry cursed inwardly.
“Once we were done with the village…” Lupin continued, “…we’d go explore the ruins to the north, then come back here for dinner. James’s mother was an excellent cook. When night came we usually slept outside under the stars and stayed up late imagining new pranks to pull the next year at school or listening to Sirius go on about his latest love interest. Then first thing in the morning James would drag us out of bed to go play Quidditch. There was one time where…”
Lupin seemed to grow younger as he reminisced about past experiences with Sirius and Harry’s dad at Godric’s Hollow. Harry listened intently, devouring his stories the same way Hermione devoured school textbooks. He smiled as he pictured a young Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and James Potter gallivanting about the village of Godric’s Hollow, exploring its secrets and plotting new ways to get into trouble at Hogwarts. It occurred to him that in Lupin he still had a link to the past, a link he thought had disappeared forever with the death of Sirius. Before he knew it, almost two hours had passed.
“But enough stories for now, we’ve got the entire holiday for that,” said Lupin, apparently surprised at himself for having said so much. “I think it’s time we get something to eat.”
“I’ll get it.” Harry sprang up and was halfway to the kitchen before Lupin even got out of his seat. The pantry, thanks to Dobby, was fully stocked with food. “Er…what do you feel like, Professor?”
“Harry, please,” said Lupin, raising his hand in the air. “We’ve fought Death Eaters together. I was there the first time your father changed your diaper. I think after all we’ve been through it’s ok for you to call me Remus. Let’s have no more of this Professor nonsense, shall we?”
“Sorry,” Harry grinned. “What do you feel like Remus?”
The next few days were very enjoyable. They spent the time fixing up Godric’s Hollow (Lupin knew quite a lot about the old place and was able to point out things Harry had never noticed before), talking more about the old days (including how James eventually grew up, became Head Boy, and started dating Harry’s mother), eating, and generally just lounging about (something which Harry hadn’t been able to do for some time and found he enjoyed immensely). During this time Harry came to appreciate Lupin in a new light. Although he was more quiet and thoughtful then his godfather had been and perhaps not as fun, he had a sort of calm, detached wisdom about him that Harry found very helpful.
They were soon joined by Harry’s eccentric great-uncle, Angus Potter, whose portrait they removed from the Astronomy room and placed on the oak mantelpiece above the fireplace in order to give him some interaction with actual people.
“‘Bout time, Remus!” he roared. “Would’ve thought you wanted me to go crazy in here, nothing but dull, half-witted furniture to talk to!” Apparently Angus was already acquainted with Lupin from his school days.
In addition to telling him stories about his father and the past, Lupin also gave Harry a few pointers on dueling with dark wizards. He even offered to duel himself. Harry found this highly useful, as he had surpassed the other students at Hogwarts in dueling skill and it was good to have someone who could challenge him. Lupin even taught him a couple new spells: Caecullis, which caused a blinding flash of light to emit from your wand, temporarily blinding your opponent, (“Just make sure you are looking away or your eyes are covered when you do it,” instructed Lupin,) and Dissipio, a spell that issued a beam of smoke from your wand which temporarily made solid surfaces permeable.
“But what’s the use of that?” Harry had asked, slightly confused.
“Allow me to show you,” Lupin replied, walking over to the stone wall at the back of the living room. “Care for a Chocolate Frog?”
“Er…sure,” Harry replied, even more bewildered.
“Dissipio,” Lupin muttered. A strange, white smoke shot out of the tip of his wand, almost like the foam from a muggle fire-extinguisher, accompanied by a shrill sound like the hissing of a tea kettle. Lupin directed the smoke at the wall. Upon contact with the smoke, the wall seemed to melt a little and became blurry, almost like a watercolor painting in the rain. Then, astonishingly, Lupin reached his arm through the blurry spot, fished around a little bit, and pulled out three Chocolate Frogs. Harry was baffled at first, until he realized that the kitchen pantry was on the other side. He had reached straight through the solid stone of the wall into the pantry. As he pulled his arm out the wall seemed to solidify just as it was before. He tossed a Chocolate Frog to Harry.
“I see,” Harry said, highly impressed. With a spell like that he would no longer need doors or entryways “ he could simply make his own.
“Well I don’t!” boomed Angus from across the room, a skeptical look on his face. “So what, Remus, your plan for the next time you face a Dark Wizard is to find the nearest pantry and pummel him to death with candy? Maybe if you’re lucky the pantry will have some old lady’s tea set so you can sit down for a nice cup of tea while you’re at it! HA HA HA!”
Calmly Lupin held his wand out, pointed it at the mantelpiece where Angus’s portrait was resting, and muttered, “Dissipio.” The white smoke shot across the room in a tiny, narrow stream. As it came in contact with the wood it seemed to blur, then, without warning, Angus’s portrait dropped straight through as if the wood were nothing but air. Angus screamed in surprise as he crashed to the floor, stood up on end just long enough for them to see his look of surprise and terror, then fell forward flat on his face.
“It has other uses as well…” Lupin said with a small smile as Harry laughed.
Before he knew it Christmas had arrived. They spent it at Weasley Place with the Weasleys and the few members of the Order of the Phoenix who weren’t on duty; Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mundungus Fletcher, Tonks, and a couple of wizards Harry hadn’t seen before. Tonks disappeared shortly after arriving and they didn’t get to see much of her, which was a pity as Harry had been wondering what she had been up to lately. Lupin also seemed to have made himself scarce during the same time, and it wasn’t until later that Harry realized the two absences might have been connected.
Apparently Ron had been rather sullen and distracted during the holiday, which, as Ginny had pointed out to Harry when he had first arrived, was most likely due to the fact that Hermione was spending the entire holiday with her parents and they wouldn’t be seeing her until school resumed.
“He says it’s because he’s anxious about the war,” Ginny had said to Harry, rolling her eyes. “Like we don’t know he’s absolutely pining for Hermione. Honestly, he’s like some love-sick, helpless puppy when she’s not around. Pathetic.”
Apparently word had gotten out that Harry had been spending most of his time studying defensive tactics and dueling, as most of his presents turned out to be books and defensive manuals on the subject. His favorite was an enormous volume the aurors had given him entitled, The Auror’s Manual of Counter-Curses, Jinxes, and Hexes.
“That one’s only supposed to be owned by aurors,” Kingsley Shacklebolt whispered to Harry after he had opened it, “So be a sport and don’t let anyone know you have it, eh?” he said with a wink.
The only exception to this was Fred, George, and Ginny’s present, a nice variety set of Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes top-of-the-line prank items.
“I figure that after all the studying you still ought to have some fun. Merry Christmas, Harry,” said Ginny as she gave him a hug.
After a good deal of pestering and the reassurance that Lupin would be there to watch over them, Mrs. Weasley finally agreed to let Ron, Ginny, Fred and George spend a couple of days back in Godric’s Hollow with Harry. They spent most of the time playing in the snow and having small Quidditch games on the miniature pitch in the backyard. Lupin proved to be a surprisingly able Chaser, one time even guiding the Bludger George had hit at him straight into Ron, leaving the way wide open for Ginny to score.
“James taught me that one,” he said to Harry with a wink as Fred and George applauded and Ginny helped Ron brush snow off his red face.
A couple days later the Weasley’s left and before he knew it, it was time to return to Hogwarts. He sat in the living room with Lupin the night before Dumbledore was scheduled to pick him up. They sat in companionable silience, Lupin reading from a book, Harry staring into the dying fireplace, thinking about the time he had spent at Potter’s Cove.
While he had enjoyed his stay there immensely, he realized a small part of him wanted to leave. Was even anxious to get out of there. Somehow the atmosphere at Potter’s Cove had gained a lonely, morose, quality for Harry. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out why.
As he contemplated the last burning embers in the fire, he broke the silence in the room by addressing the small, aching pain he had felt in his heart ever since Lupin had first told him stories about his family at Potter’s Cove.
“I wish I had known them.”
Lupin looked up. He closed the book and set it on the table. Harry felt his eyes on him, though he continued looking into the fire.
“Your parents?”
Harry nodded slowly. “Yes. But not just that. I wish I could have seen you and Sirius and my dad as kids. I wish I could have seen what my grandparents were like. Seen what it was like when my dad first introduced them to my…” Harry felt his throat constrict uncomfortably, “…my mum.”
The fire crackled in the fireplace, casting a warm glow around the room. Lupin said nothing.
“But most of all, I wish I just could have known them. My parents.”
He felt a twinge of emotion as he said it. He looked around at the empty living room of Potter’s Cove. It had once been filled with a happy family. With his family. But now it would remain empty forever, its only inhabitants the ghosts of the past. He wouldn’t mind leaving at all.
“But I never will. Because of Voldemort, I’ll never know what they were like.”
The emotion he had felt quickly turned to anger. His fist clenched involuntarily as he looked back into the smoldering red embers of the fire.
Lupin was silent for a moment, as if waiting to hear if he had more to say. When Harry didn’t say anything he asked, “Is that why you are fighting him, Harry?”
The question came as a surprise.
“What?”
“Is that why you’re fighting against Voldemort, to get even with him?”
Harry looked away from the fire and at Lupin, who was regarding him placidly. Why was he asking him that? It seemed pretty obvious.
“Well, yeah.”
Lupin’s eyebrows rose slightly and he shook his head. “Revenge is a very poor reason to fight anyone, Harry.”
“Why else would I fight him?” Harry asked, slightly irritated.
Lupin remained calm and answered the same way he would have if they were discussing an academic theory at school. “Well, let me ask you this “ what happens after you have defeated him?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean what happens to you after you kill Lord Voldemort? What are your plans?”
The question struck Harry as absurd. What would he do after he killed Voldemort? He had never given it any thought. Who cared what he did? All that mattered was that he made Voldemort pay for what he had done to his family and stopped him from doing it to anyone else.
“Voldemort killed my parents,” Harry replied, avoiding the question. He was beginning to feel slightly angry at Lupin. “He killed them and took away my childhood. What other reason do I need to fight him?”
“I’m not denying that he did all that,” Lupin replied, still calm. “But revenge, in itself, is not a good enough motivation for you to fight and defeat Lord Voldemort.”
“What does it matter why I want to kill Voldemort?” Harry asked incredulously.
“It matters tremendously. Killing Voldemort won’t give you your parents back, Harry.”
Lupin’s words were met with heavy silence. Harry could feel his heart pumping madly in his chest. He took his eyes from Lupin’s and glanced down at the floor. Why was Lupin trying to make things complicated?
“I know it won’t. But it will make me feel better,” he replied darkly. Lupin shook his head.
“It will not. You will be empty, alone, and bitter. In fact, if you do not have any other reason to fight, if you do not have any dreams or desires to look forward to after the threat is over, I doubt you will even be able to face Lord Voldemort. You need to be fighting for the future, Harry, not the past.”
Harry continued looking at the floor. The words sounded profound, though he wasn’t quite sure what Lupin was getting at. Seeming to sense this, Lupin sighed heavily and leaned forward in his chair, causing Harry to look up. His voice was no longer calm and emotionless, but had a tentative, vulnerable tone to it.
“Look, when I was first bitten by a werewolf I was devastated. My former friends and community ostracized me. Even my own parents weren’t comfortable with me around because they thought I was dangerous. I spent the next few years of my life wishing things had turned out different, wondering what my life could have been like if I hadn’t been bitten and mad at Fate for letting it happen. And it got me absolutely nowhere. I may have spent my entire life that way if it hadn’t been for a friend I made at Hogwarts. A friend that showed me that my future was unwritten and I could make whatever I wanted out of it.” Suddenly Lupin’s voice caught in his throat and Harry noticed his eyes tear up.
“That friend was your father.”
Harry thought he was going to elaborate further, but instead he wiped face with his hand to compose himself, took a deep breath, and looked Harry squarely in the eyes.
“Look. Voldemort killed your family and took away the life you could have had. Wondering what that life would have been like and getting back at him for taking it away will get you nowhere, even if you do defeat him. You had no choice in the matter and nothing you do can change what happened. But “ here’s the point “ he can’t take away your future unless you let him.
The words had an interesting effect on Harry. He had very seldom thought about life after Voldemort, figuring he could never really enjoy a real life after the lot Fate had dealt him.
“You still have a future, Harry. A bright, wonderful, future no matter what happened to you in the past. You are young. Intelligent. Talented. You will be able to do anything you want to once you are done with school. What’s more, you are surrounded by friends and other people that care about you. People who welcome you into their own families.
“And someday,” here Lupin smiled, “you will even be able to start a family. A family of your own that no one can take from you.”
Harry felt a warm, light feeling spring up inside his chest. His own family? The thought brought a strange happiness and contentment with it. Lupin nodded.
“Hope, Harry. That is what you should be fighting for. Hope for the future. I wish you could see your future,” he said, a confident and peaceful look on his face that told Harry he believed completely in what he was saying, “it has happiness in it that you can’t even comprehend. I don’t have to be a Seer to see that.”
Harry swallowed, not sure of what to say. Lupin sat at the front of his chair, hands still clasped together and with the peaceful look still on his face, looking expectantly at him. Harry found it hard to answer -- Lupin’s words were completely shifting his paradigm.
“I…I guess I never thought of it like that,” he stammered out finally.
“Well,” said Lupin, standing up and brushing off his robes, “perhaps it is time you did. Good night Harry.”
Harry spent the next hour gazing thoughtfully into the fireplace, then stood up, took Lupin’s mug to the kitchen, and went to bed.
***
The next morning Dumbledore arrived to take Harry back to Hogwarts. Lupin squeezed Harry’s shoulder as he bid him farewell at the door.
“Take care, Harry. Good luck, and” he leaned in closer, “do think about what we talked about last night, won’t you?”
Harry nodded in response and bid farewell. He walked out the door, trunk dragging behind him, took one last glance at Potter’s Cove, wondering when he would see it again, and joined Professor Dumbledore.
“Well Harry, how was your holiday? Everything went well, I presume?” the headmaster asked merrily as they made their way onto the snowy forest path.
“Yes sir. It was wonderful. Thanks for letting me come here,” Harry replied sincerely.
“You are quite welcome. I am glad to hear it. However, the holiday isn’t over quite yet.”
He stopped walking and turned to face Harry, who was surprised at the statement. “I have one last present for you, something I think you will be most interested to see. As we won’t be needing these anytime soon, why don’t I send them ahead for you?”
With a quick wave of his wand Harry’s luggage disappeared, making him feel considerably lighter.
“Now, if you will just follow me, we have a small hike ahead of us.”
Harry suddenly remembered that the headmaster had wanted to show him something in Godric’s Hollow before they returned. He had completely forgotten about it. The headmaster walked through the snow, back along the path that led towards the village.
Wondering how much the headmaster would tell him about this “present” before they got wherever they were going, Harry asked tentatively, “Er…does this have to do with the Half-Blood Price, sir?”
“It does,” Dumbledore replied, saying nothing more.
Harry frowned slightly. Truth be told he had rather enjoyed the short break he had had from the Half-Blood Prince. He had barely thought of the legend over Christmas holiday and he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to get back into it, knowing that it was a dead-end. Dumbledore seemed to be rather interested in whatever he was about to show him, however, so maybe there was something there after all. Reluctantly he felt his interest piqued.
As they walked through the forest (Harry soon realized they were taking the same path that had taken them to the ruins that summer) he thought back to the conversation he had had with Lupin the night before. As he thought of what he might do after the war he began to understand a little of what Lupin had been trying to get across. Maybe he would get away. Leave England for a bit, and leave being ‘The Famous Harry Potter’ with it. Perhaps his friends could come with him. He and Ginny, Ron and Hermione could go out and see the world, explore other countries. Once he was done, maybe he would come back and begin his auror training. Or maybe he would have grown tired of fighting Dark Wizards by that time, and instead he could try out for a professional Quidditch team. Perhaps he would even play in the Quidditch World Cup. The thought almost made him giddy.
And then, someday “ not for several years, of course, but someday “ he would even start his own family. Potter’s Cove would be full once more…
Eventually they arrived at the ruins, causing Harry to come out of his reverie. The enormous boulders and broken pillars of stone he had seen during the summer were now blanketed with heavy, untouched snow. It was hard to get his bearings at first “ everything looked vastly different under the snow “ so Harry trailed closely behind the headmaster. Something about the mysterious and ancient ruins captured his imagination and he felt his curiosity about what Dumbledore was about to show him grow immensely. At length Dumbledore spoke.
“Now Harry. Do you remember what I said to you about the Half-Blood Prince the last time you were in my office, the time we revealed the entire legend to you and during the argument among my colleagues that inevitably follows every time it is brought up?
“Er…” Harry thought back to the night in question. The rest of the portraits in Dumbledore’s office had been involved in a heated debate about the validity of the legend when Dumbledore had taken him aside…
“You said you had your own reason for believing in the legend, something that the other headmasters didn’t know.”
Dumbledore nodded in approval. “You are correct. I am about to show you the reason for my optimism. Ah, here we are.”
Harry looked up to see what the headmaster was referring to. With a twinge of disappointment he saw an empty, stone archway with three lions on it. It was the same archway Dumbledore had shown him in the summer, the one that held the family tree of Godric Gryffindor. While it was definitely interesting, he had thought Dumbledore was going to show him something new.
Dumbledore removed his wand from his robes and ran his open hand down the side of the archway, his gaze fixed on one of the lions.
“Now, before we go in I need to give you a small bit of the story which you do not know. Gryffindor’s Sanctuary,” here he nodded at the empty archway, “was discovered about 250 years ago by Headmaster Cerrigous Caldwell. While the rest of the headmasters and many historians have known about this archway for centuries, no one ever knew the password to enter the Sanctuary until Headmaster Caldwell stumbled across it in an old history book in Hogwarts’s archives. While it was an important discovery, the Sanctuary offered no new clues as to the whereabouts of Wulfric Gryffindor, so succeeding headmasters forgot about it, preferring to spend their time in worthier pursuits.”
He looked over at Harry suddenly.
“But they overlooked something.”
Silence. Harry looked at the archway, half-expecting to see what they had overlooked, but all he saw were the steely grey mountains behind it. Dumbledore looked back at the archway.
“I found it during the third year of my tenure as headmaster. It had slipped my notice the first time I came, but the second time something in my mind must have caught it, for I awoke in the middle of the night several days later, unable to sleep. I rushed back here as soon as I could. I had to make sure it was real…”
“What?”
“Something momentous. The biggest clue we’ve had about the Half-Blood Prince for centuries. Something that would completely change every theory we have about his life and disappearance.”
By now Harry’s curiosity was gnawing at him. He wished Dumbledore would stop talking and just show him what it was.
“What was it?”
Dumbledore smiled and shook his head. “To tell you would ruin the surprise. And I must admit, I’m rather curious to see if your reaction is similar to what mine was. I won’t be able to find out if I tell you. But enough, I will keep it a mystery no longer.”
He turned towards the archway, wand in head, and tapped each of the three lions while saying the words, "Templus, Fortum, Gryffindor." The lions turned their noble heads, let out a surprisingly realistic roar, and the dark interior of Gryffindor’s Sanctuary appeared in the archway. Harry stepped in, followed by Dumbledore, and they waited a moment while their eyes became accustomed to the absence of light in the chamber.
Once they had done so, Harry began walking towards the far end of the hall where the shimmering, golden light marked the location of Gryffindor’s family tree. Knowing there was nothing in the darkness to impede his progress, Harry moved quickly and impatiently, anxious to see what this secret was. He arrived shortly before Dumbledore, who came up next to him.
“Now, tell me what you remember about this room, Harry,” said the headmaster.
“You told me it was built by some of Gryffindor’s friends after he died. Kind of as a memorial to him,” replied Harry, looking intently for any clues.
“Good. What else?”
“Er…all the names on the wall are the descendents of Godric Gryffindor. The ones whose names are lit up are still alive, the ones that are dark are dead. You also said that not everyone who was a descendent of Gryffindor was necessarily brave, and that not everyone who came from Slytherin was evil,” he said distractedly. So far he hadn’t seen anything peculiar on the wall, just thousands and thousands of names, most of which meant nothing to him.
He continued to study the wall, Dumbledore standing silently behind him, watching from the corner of his eye. Harry grew increasingly inpatient. He looked at the very top of the wall where the Potter line and his own name were etched, then slightly down and to the right where the Weasley’s were. Nothing. What was he supposed to be seeing? Was there some connection he was missing? Somebody’s name on the wall he had missed?
He looked for what seemed like an eternity. Finally the headmaster spoke.
“Perhaps I can give you one small hint.” His voice was amused. “Who is the subject we have been talking about?”
Who was the subject they had been talking about? That was obvious, it was the Half-Blood Prince.
Harry looked down at the base of the trunk where Wulfric Gryffindor’s name was etched into the stone. There it was, illuminated by the light of the names at the top of the tree, with the conspicuous, empty space above it showing where his line had stopped. He studied it intently, trying to find what Dumbledore was talking about. Was there something about the spelling? A connection with another name that he had missed?
“Er…I don’t see anything unusual, sir.”
“Keep looking,” Dumbledore replied patiently.
He studied it for a moment or two longer until something caught his attention. The golden light at the top of the wall shone down from above, illuminating each of the names below, including Wulfric Gryffindor’s. Yet from this angle it almost looked like…
Curious, he took a couple steps towards the wall and placed his hand just above Wulfric Gryffindor’s name.
What he saw next took a second or two to register, but when it did the realization made him drop to his knees in shock and emit a strange yelping sound. He suddenly found it very hard to breathe.
“Ah yes,” said Dumbledore cheerfully, “I believe that is exactly how I reacted myself.”
Harry grasped at the wall in disbelief. How could he have missed it? How did he not notice it before? The light from the names above must have shone down in a strange way, making him overlook it. But there it was, right in front of him. And it could only mean…impossible! There was no way. How could it be?
Wulfric Gryffindor, the Half-Blood Prince and eldest son of Godric Gryffindor, was still alive.
Harry Potter and the Legacy of the Founders by VoldemortsPatronus
Chapter Notes: Here it is. I regrettably take back what I said last chapter about wait times.