James and Lily
A good-looking couple has arrived in Godric Valley.
They were young, the men were handsome, the women were beautiful, and even their black dog was majestic. There weren't many people in the village, but anyone who passed by always took a second look.
Queenie quite liked the village; although the air was just as humid, it was much cooler than London. Her bare legs beneath her skirt were already feeling a slight chill—especially when they were in the shade—but Queenie didn't care, as long as it looked good.
In the center of the village was a small square, in the middle of which stood a square, pointed stone monument covered with letters. Queenie assumed it was a monument commemorating the founding of the village or a memorial to the ancestors, so she climbed the steps to look at it, only to find that there was no other description besides a list of names.
"Woof woof—"
Queenie was drawn by Sirius's calls and turned around to see him circling around Harry, occasionally nudging him with his furry head as if to comfort him. Harry stood there blankly, staring at her unfocused.
Queenie quickly stepped back to his side. "What's wrong?"
Harry didn't react and kept staring in that direction. Only then did she realize that he was looking at the stone tablet.
Hmm... but no matter how you look at it, it's just an ordinary stone tablet.
But Harry's expression was truly worrying. Queenie guessed it might be something related to wizards that ordinary people couldn't see, since Sirius clearly knew what was there too.
“Harry?” she called him anxiously.
After a long pause, Harry responded in a daze, "Yes—it's my parents..."
Harry initially paid no attention to the obelisk; it looked like a monument, one of those found in many small towns in England. But as they passed it, the monument disappeared, replaced by a trio of statues—a disheveled, bespectacled man; a beautiful, elegant woman with long hair; and a baby boy sitting in her lap with a smile that seemed to heal all wounds. Although the statues were still made of stone, and although the hair color of the three was impossible to identify, Harry knew they were his parents and himself.
A cool and gentle summer breeze blew from the valley, brushing past the Potter family statue. The stone face seemed to be softened by the gentle breeze, otherwise how could he see the stone smiling?
Harry stared at the statue, as mesmerized as he had been when he was engrossed in the Mirror of Erised.
He finally confirmed that stones do not smile.
But his parents would.
...Harry's parents?
Queenie gasped and went back to the stone tablet to examine it closely. Apart from the engraved names and her blurry reflection, she still couldn't see anything, and Potter wasn't among those names.
Oh—is this not a monument, but a tombstone of the Potters disguised by magic? To commemorate their fight against Voldemort and the birth of the wizarding world's savior?
Queenie immediately stepped back down the stone steps, gave a proper three bows, and pulled Harry to join her. Then, she clasped her hands together in front of her and introduced herself formally, "Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter, my name is Queenie Campbell, and I am Harry's girlfriend." She paused, then carefully corrected herself, "Currently, I am Harry's girlfriend."
"..." Harry finally snapped out of his daze, interrupting Queenie with amusement, "Uh, it's just a statue of my mom and dad, no, um—"
Queenie, “…” Very well, then her actions just now were incredibly stupid.
“Wait, why did you say ‘currently’?” Harry noticed her choice of words.
“Oh, because we might break up someday—” Queenie said, making it sound as if breaking up was nothing to her.
Harry forgot all about looking at his parents and stared at Queenie; he had to make her take back what she said.
The black dog also looked terrified. Queenie wants to break up? Why? Harry didn't behave well last night?
“—Or get married,” she added.
Harry's mind immediately raced. His parents got married right after graduation? That meant he could be with Queenie in as little as two years? Forever?
Queenie raised an eyebrow. Look, Harry's face turned red again. He was like a cat that couldn't resist a cat toy, with the other end in her hand.
She stroked his chin, and asked contentedly, "Want to stay a little longer, Harry?"
“No.” Harry shook his head. Queenie couldn’t see his parents’ statues, and she might feel rejected, a feeling he knew all too well. He pointed in the direction of the church. “I think my parents might be there. I can see the cemetery behind the church.”
“Let’s go then.” Queenie took his hand and gestured for Sirius to follow.
"Woof woof—" Don't worry, James, Harry and Queenie will definitely get married! He promises!
The stained glass windows of the church shone like jewels in the sunlight, much like the glass windows on the top floor of the maritime museum they had seen before.
They entered the cemetery through a narrow door on the side of the church, and the atmosphere immediately became solemn.
Rows of tombstones stand quietly among the lawns, the bright green of the tombstones contrasting with the dark color of the stones, as if in a silent collision between life and death.
Harry didn't know where his parents' graves were, and neither did Sirius—he went straight after Peter and didn't have time to do anything else.
They started their search from the first row; not all the graves here belonged to wizards, but also to Muggles from the village. Harry glanced past the cross-shaped tombstones, quickly checking the surnames on the stones, occasionally pausing to examine the inscriptions.
Harry stopped in front of a granite tombstone. Queenie, thinking he had found the Potters' grave, looked at the tombstone. "Uh, Kendra Dumbledore and her daughter Ariana?"
Harry explained, "That's Professor Dumbledore's surname. Hmm, could he be from his family?"
“I think so.” Taking advantage of the fact that no one was in the cemetery at the moment, Sirius transformed back into human form. “I’ve never heard of two families with the name Dumbledore in the wizarding world. Could he have lived here as well?”
"Fourteen years old." Queenie calculated her age based on the birth and death dates recorded on the tombstone. "She's so young..."
“I’ve never heard of a young wizard who died at the age of fourteen. Maybe something happened, a magical upheaval?” Sirius struggled to recall the few bits of magical history he had. “But back then, the relationship between wizards and Muggles was still quite tense, with frequent conflicts… Uh, never mind, if you want to know, just ask Dumbledore.”
They continued deeper into the cemetery, finding the Potter family's tombstone two rows behind those of Kendra and Ariana. The tombstone was made of white marble, and Harry knelt down, gently touching the inscription. The sun had baked the cold stone to a temperature diametrically opposed to death. Looking at James and Lily's names, Harry was surprised to find himself not as grief-stricken as he had imagined; at least, he didn't feel the crushing pain in his chest.
Perhaps it was because Queenie was standing on one side of him, Sirius on the other, and Hermione and Ron were standing further behind him.
Harry withdrew his hand and stood up. "Mom and Dad, I—um—" He scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "I've grown up."
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