[SSHP] End of life

The two put on the cloak of invisibility and walked into the street.Hermione was using a spell to clean up the traces of their footprints in the snow, all the way backwards.Harry wanted to turn his head to take one last look at the scene behind him, but Hermione held his hand tightly, and he bit his lower lip and didn't look back.

The snow is falling more and more.They walked slowly, looking at each other one by one.Harry stopped abruptly at a junction, and he felt something calling him strongly from the side of the fork.Hermione looked at his face a little nervously, he shook his head, and walked firmly towards the direction that called him.

After walking out of two or three houses, there is a small courtyard on the right side of the road.A big hole was blown out of the roof of the small building on the second floor, and the scattered rubble was buried among the weeds.Ivy covered the walls, and some of them stuck into holes.In the dark of night, the house was like a huge black shadow.

Hermione gave Harry a tug.Harry turned his gaze away from the big hole in the house, and found a wooden sign appeared in front of the door at some point, with the golden words on it shining in the night.

"Good luck, Harry. No matter where you are, we will always support you." Hermione read the message on the sign softly.Some people only engraved their initials, while others engraved blessings.Hermione seemed strongly encouraged by the messages.

Harry read the message calmly, then looked up at his strange home again.He has only lived here for more than a year, so of course he doesn't have the slightest impression.The stone path is hidden under the weeds. He has grown very tall. If he just walks in like this, maybe one of his footprints will overlap with the footprints of his parents one day in two periods of time.

Harry reached out and gripped hard on the snow-covered gate.His touch made the door shake, and the hinges rusted and creaked harshly.The snow fell one after another, revealing the rusty carved iron railings. In the night, Harry could see that the railings were originally painted a very fresh light blue.

He bit his lower lip and pushed forward.The door opened slowly.

Harry didn't want to hide anymore.Maybe it would be better for him to expose his identity and die here.He's going home now, the home he left for 16 years, and he doesn't want to sneak in any more.He shook off the invisibility cloak, exposing his whole body.Hermione grabbed his wrist behind her, and slowly let go.

Harry didn't look back.He looked up at the top of the blasted side of the house, at the ivy covering the outer wall, which had withered into a big net in the harsh winter, and walked slowly into the courtyard, passing through the tangled nettles and waist-high dry weeds. Grass, towards the direction of the house.

He stepped into the entrance, stepped on the carpet that had been weathered for many years and had no color, walked up the wooden stairs, and walked along the narrow corridor of the hall.The boxes and chairs piled up at the door fell in a mess, and he ignored them.The rotting wooden door was attached crookedly to the door frame, and he walked in, past the sofa, the baby chair in the corner of the room, and up the stairs.Now he stood under the big hole made by the spell, and he could see the sky when he looked up.

The house is full of snow.There were probably objects and fallen debris scattered on the ground, and Harry could see irregular-shaped bumps under the snow.He ignored it, just looked at the crib in the corner of the room.A vague skeleton remained of the crib, with the shelf partly rotting away and the entire bed tipped over on one side.

Beneath the snow that covered the crib, Harry could see the corner of a cushion.He went over and picked up the mat, which was damp but miraculously not rotten.It was the same shape as the cabinet in the room. It was so old that it couldn't see its color, and it was moldy in some places, and it felt sticky to the touch.He gripped the cushion tightly.

Sixteen years ago, maybe his father, maybe his mother, they washed it, dried it in the sun, and spread it in the crib with the smell of the sun and the warmth of their palms.Maybe they ran their hands over the corners of the mat to make sure it was even.He shook off the snow above and cast a Quick Drying Charm.

He holds the cushion with both hands, as if he is holding the love and warmth that his parents have traveled through time and space for 17 years and still exist and protect him.He turned around hesitantly, Hermione wasn't there.He kissed the battered cushion quickly, shrunk it, and tucked it into the pouch around his neck.

After putting away the cushions, Harry didn't stay on the second floor any longer.He walked downstairs, trying not to look sideways at Hermione, who was standing in the living room, taking care of the stairs and the door.Seeing Harry, Hermione shook off the Invisibility Cloak in her hand, this time Harry didn't say much, walked over to take the piece of cloth gratefully, and covered their heads.

The moment he walked out the door, Harry still couldn't help turning his head.His first home was dilapidated and cold, filled with expectations and the pressure brought by expectations.Harry thought of his second home.He was more or less surprised by his own thoughts, and now, at last, he was willing to admit that it was home.

The Dursleys were gone, and so was he.Aunt Petunia's proud lawn will soon be overgrown.If he doesn't go back, probably in a few years, maybe not even a few years, the wind, snow and rain will pour into the house from the door that was destroyed by the Death Eaters, and the door that was not closed or can no longer be closed, blowing the Newspapers scattered all over the place, soaking the floors, sofas, and then it's going to be as dilapidated as it is here.

That was definitely not the future he wanted.

"Let's go." Harry cheered up, "There is no sword here, we have to go to Dumbledore's house to see. If we can find the sword in his house, it will be much easier in the future. Maybe it can be done in less than a month Everything."

"Then my parents will be very happy. They finally settled in Australia, the house is only half renovated, and they are moving back to the UK."

Harry smiled, to show that Hermione's efforts to moderate the situation were effective.The two searched for the house number from house to house, and it didn't take long before they found the Dumbledore family.

Dumbledore's home is even more dilapidated, apparently no one has been back in years.The two couldn't find any clues about the sword or Horcrux here, but there was a room, probably Dumbledore's former bedroom, with a photo frame on the table, and the photo inside was taken away.Perhaps because of the spell, the person who took the photo hadn't been able to pull the thing out of the frame smoothly.The man broke the picture frame, cutting the picture along with the glass and the entire surface of the picture frame.The remaining remains of the picture frame lay on the table.

In addition to this photo frame, there is also a random graffiti on the wall that is a bit strange.

"For the greater good."

Unlike Harry, who noticed the frame, Hermione obviously paid more attention to this sentence. "This is the words engraved on the gate of Nurmengard Prison." She pointed to the traces that are still very clear after many years. "This was originally a prison built by Grindelwald, but in the end he himself was imprisoned."

Harry frowned, thinking of the Dumbledore biography.The original purpose of building Nurmengard Prison was to detain those who opposed Grindelwald. Unfortunately, Dumbledore's childhood friend, the first Dark Lord Grindelwald, was eventually imprisoned here.Grindelwald wanted to overturn the Statute of Secrecy and give wizards power over Muggles.If the events in that book were not all fabrications, then Dumbledore might have indeed subscribed to such ideals in his youth.There is a photo in the book, the young Dumbledore is affectionately holding the hand of a blond boy, they are all smiling, and they are in perfect harmony.

So what made him abandon his dream of ruling Muggles and instead seek coexistence and communication?Dumbledore's efforts to fight for the rights and interests of Muggles are certainly not fake. If he was disappointed or had doubts when he read Dumbledore's biography, he can now calmly confirm that Dumbledore really has changed.Could it be that the opportunity for him to change was only because of the death of his sister?Or when the short-term enthusiasm of two months faded, he began to dislike Grindelwald's approach?

Harry shook his head.Hermione hadn't read that book, presumably in her mind, Dumbledore was still the embodiment of virtue and wisdom, and their guide.When he had just read that book, he thought that if part of what was said in the book was true, then Dumbledore's past might not be glorious.He wavered, and was also very angry that Dumbledore would only tell him to do this and that but never told him everything. This kind of one-sided dishonesty made him very disappointed.But maybe Dumbledore just didn't think the past was important at all, so he didn't tell him this.Maybe when he asked, Dumbledore would smile at his curiosity and answer.

But what has all this happened in the past to do with their current goals?Even if Dumbledore showed him the record of how many times he had wet the bed when he was a child, what would it do to defeat Voldemort?All just to satisfy the curiosity of a child -- indeed, a child.Because they don't know a little bit of insignificant things, they make a lot of noise and threaten trust and understanding.

Harry shrugged; he had no intention of thinking more.Long-term thinking and precipitation have made him finally choose to believe in Dumbledore, because since he entered school, he has seen that Dumbledore has been protecting the rights and interests of Muggles, and has been doing his best to fight against Voldemort .It is enough to know such a Dumbledore.No matter what position he had before, no matter how he figured it out, their purpose was to defeat the Dark Lord.

Although he was still a little sad, Harry quickly managed to shake off the negativity.He now only expects that after defeating the Dark Lord, he can go back to school and chat with Dumbledore's portrait.By now, he didn't want Dumbledore to confess anything, he just wanted to know whether Dumbledore loved him or not.Perhaps in the eyes of others, Harry has already been loved by many people, so there is no need to dwell on this.But for Harry, he is Gryffindor who grew up under the influence of Dumbledore. He is not a king, but a knight.He's not afraid to sacrifice himself for an obviously right cause that benefits the majority, but he needs to be validated and to know if it's all worth it.

"Harry - Harry? What are you thinking?"

"Not thinking about anything," said Harry, and he even smiled mildly to avoid the problem. "We've been through three places and found nothing. All that's left is the Bagshot's. If we do find some Things, then pick a safe place and give us a day off."

Hermione didn't seem to agree very much, but she didn't say anything, just showing a face that would not affect her work whether she was on vacation or not.

Harry shrugged again. He took out the Invisibility Cloak and draped it over himself, motioning for Hermione to get in too.The two walked out of Dumbledore's dilapidated old house and walked towards the square.They'd have to go deeper into the valley to find Bagshot's home before the Polyjuice Potion wore off.