When Harry woke up on Halloween's day, he wished he could have been happy or excited. The corridors of Hogwarts were filled with the smell of pumpkin wafting in all imaginable places. Official announcements and rumors about the Halloween banquet in the evening made everyone dream and salivate. They were even told by Professor Flitwick when they walked into the Charms class this morning that he would teach them how to make objects fly.
All this would have thrilled Harry if it wasn't for the fact this was the tenth anniversary of his father's death. Professor McGonagall told him last week, the day after he asked her about it, that he would be allowed to leave after the day's classes. His mother would meet him at the gates, and they would Apparate to Godric's Hollow. He would only be allowed outside the school's grounds for a few hours.
Harry had no memories of his father. It was as if he never knew him. At the same time, he did sometimes wish he had a father, as happy as he was with his mother. But his mother was always so sad on these days that he couldn't help but want to be with her on that occasion. He felt her sadness, and he couldn't be happy knowing how hard this day was for her. As a result, he didn't meet any success while trying to make the feather fly. No matter how he tried to focus on it, his thoughts always returned to his mother, wondering how she felt right now.
They had been arranged in pairs to practice the spell, and Harry found himself with Seamus Finnigan. What had to happen finally happened when Seamus touched the feather on a hundredth attempt. Instead of flying in the air, the feather exploded into his face, to the amusement of everybody in the class. They were provided with another feather and Harry kept failing at making it fly. It had seemed so effortless to his mother, back when he was nine and she made him fly over his bed to prove him that she was a witch.
"Harry, focus on the spell," Hermione rebuffed him. "You've been staring at it for two long minutes without doing anything."
He made an inaudible sound with his mouth just so she may think he heard her. Ron and Hermione had been paired together, and it was hard to tell who between Ron and Hermione was angrier about this. Ron was Harry's best friend since he arrived at Hogwarts. As for Hermione, matters were a little more complicated. The truth was, there were times when Harry liked her. Since arriving, Harry had borrowed a few books in the school's library, eager to learn even more on the world of magic. There were far more to read here than at home, and Hermione helped him when their paths crossed in the library. She even suggested him a few works. She had also complimented him after the class when he succeeded to answer one of Snape's questions, the one about aconite. Truth was, Harry had been lucky on that. He didn't learn it in his potions manual, but in some of the random books he read maybe one year ago, and he just happened to remember it on this day.
There were times he could have considered Hermione as a friend, but ever since he and Ron went to the Trophy Room one night after Malfoy called a duel and she followed them, she wouldn't speak to them, except to blame them for something or another. They were forced to run away from Filch and his cat, Mrs Norris, and had ended up face to face with an enormous three-headed dog. When they finally made it back to their common room, Hermione complained, in her own words, we could have been killed, or worse, expelled. This girl definitely needed to sort out her priorities.
Ron was at the end of his patience and was shouting the formula, Wingardium Leviosa, while swinging his arms all around in large movements. For all that, this did not make his feather fly.
"You're going to put your wand into someone's eyes," Hermione complained, something which Ron almost did an instant ago. "And you're saying it wrong. It's Win-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, with the gar nice and long, and no emphasis on the sa."
"Do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron retorted. Harry was sure he would regret it right away.
Hermione did the wrist movement just like Professor Flitwick taught them, swish and flick, and pronounced the formula perfectly. The feather rose in the air, getting higher until it reached the ceiling, while Professor Flitwick only asked of them to get a few feet in the air.
"Oh, well done!" the small professor, all excited. "Everyone see her. Miss Granger succeeded."
However, Seamus chose this moment to make another attempt, causing another explosion which Harry barely managed to avoid. This time, he couldn't hold back a laugh with the rest of the students.
At the end of the class however, his humor had returned to its usual gloom on this day. Ron was no better, his bad temper erupting as he, Harry, Dean and Seamus walked out of the class, Harry staying a little behind them all.
"No wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare. Who would like to be friends with her?" Ron loudly said.
Harry felt a stab in the ribs when someone ran into him from behind. Just as Hermione quickly walked past them all, he saw her face for a brief moment. She was in tears.
"I think she heard you," Harry told Ron, his gaze not leaving the girl who was almost running.
"So? She must have noticed she's got no friends," Ron said.
The Transfiguration class in the afternoon went as usual, McGonagall pushing them to their limits despite the day they were. The professor was quite surprised when she noticed Hermione's absence and asked students where she was. None answered. However, during class, in a rare moment where McGonagall's attention might have failed, Harry heard Parvati Patil tell Lavender Brown that Hermione had shut herself up in the girls' toilets, crying. Ron looked awkward when he heard them, but this didn't last long for McGonagall ordered them to focus on their transfiguration spell again.
At the end of the class, the professor asked Harry to her desk. "Potter, Hagrid will be waiting for you in the entrance hall. He will lead you through the park to the gates. Your mother will be waiting for you there," she said in a whisper. No one but Harry would hear it.
Harry nodded, recovered his things then left the class. Ron was waiting for him outside.
"Are you sure you don't want to attend the banquet? They say there's going to be thousands of real bats flying all around, and Dean heard a vampire would visit us," he told Harry as they started their way to the common room.
"I can't. I've got to go to Godric's Hollow."
"You could at least partake to the beginning," his friend suggested.
"No, or we won't have enough time. I've got to go."
"As you wish. But really, I don't find it nice that your mother forces you to go there at Halloween."
For the first time since he met Ron, Harry wanted to punch him in the face. Instead, he just yelled. "Hey, I asked to go. And it's been ten years since my father died. Did you forget you too?"
"No, no." Ron raised his hands in innocence. "I'm sorry."
This had attracted quite the attention from other students in the corridor who now looked at them. Harry resumed his way with Ron, but they didn't talk until they reached Gryffindor's common room.
Ever since he arrived at Hogwarts, Harry had experienced what his celebrity entailed. People were whispering behind him everywhere he went: in the corridors, in the Great Hall, in the classrooms, in Gryffindor's common room, and even in their dormitory. After two months, the whispers had quieted a bit, but he could still hear them regularly. It was difficult for him to leave the common room without someone telling to a friend who he was while pointing him. But despite this, all everyone was thinking about today was Halloween. No one realized it had been ten years now that Voldemort tried to kill him and that his father died. No one offered condolences, not even the boys with who he shared the dormitory, not even Ron.
He walked into their dormitory and put back into place his school material, not exchanging a word with anyone. Dean and Seamus were talking excitedly about the upcoming banquet, Ron remained silent, and Neville was absent, probably looking for Trevor again. Harry didn't linger and left the dormitory.
Halloween wouldn't be a cheerful day this year either. He watched the common room filled with activity as he went down the stairs. Many people were already hurrying to the banquet. Harry got the distinct impression to belong to another world in this moment. His mother may already be waiting at the gates. He continued his path. When he arrived at the portrait, it opened. Parvati walked in, her expression just as joyful as all others'. As she walked past him, something came up to his mind.
"Parvati, is Hermione still in the toilets?" he asked.
"Yes. My sister Padma, I just saw her, and she was coming back from them. She said Hermione is still crying there."
Halloween would not be a happy time for someone else. Harry resumed to walk. The corridors were filled with pumpkins and students about to go to the banquet. As he progressed, he heard the laughs, the screams of surprise when Peeves surprised a student, and the ghosts talking between themselves. He had donned a heavy cloak for the outside since it would be cold tonight. He envied the other people who would just feast while he was away, but he needed to be there for his mother. He would be the only one tonight to not participate to the banquet.
Well, there was someone else. Harry stopped in his track. Hermione annoyed him quite often, but... He looked at his watch. His mother would be at the gates soon. Well, maybe...
He turned away and crossed the corridors who were already deserted, except for a few lone students who were hurrying to the banquet, afraid they might miss something. He also saw Professor Quirrell on his way. It took some time, but he reached the girls' toilets in the end. He hesitated for some time. Maybe he should just go to the gates. He decided what to do and knocked on the toilets' door.
"Go away! Leave me alone!" No doubt, it was Hermione's voice.
Harry wasn't sure if it was a good idea to insist, but something told him it was the right thing to do. "Hermione, it's me. Harry."
"Go away!"
"Look, I'm sorry for what Ron said." He felt stupid and awkward saying that.
"Leave me alone!"
"Hermione, I just... came to wish you a good evening. I... Can I come in, please? Is there someone else inside?"
"Leave me alone!"
"Look, I just want to see if you're okay before I leave. Can I come in?"
He knew he shouldn't enter the girls' toilets, but it was just to make sure Hermione was fine.
"I'm alone," Hermione finally said, her tone lower.
"Can I come in?" he asked. There was no answer. He waited some time. "Look, I'm coming in. If you don't want me to, just say it." No answer came again. When he had waited sufficiently long, slowly, carefully, and after checking around to make sure no one would see him, Harry went in.
The girls' toilets were not much different from those for the boys, except maybe one item for obvious reasons, but he didn't really pay attention to this, seeing Hermione curled up against the wall, her arms hiding her face.
"Are you alright?" It was a stupid question again, but he was at a loss of words. Probably for the better for both of them, she didn't answer. "Can I sit next to you for a moment?"
He thought she wouldn't answer, but he saw her nod imperceptibly between her arms. So he went to sit against the wall, just like she did.
"Why aren't you at the feast, like everyone else?" she asked in a weak voice.
"I'm going to Godric's Hollow. It's October 31."
He was looking ahead at the other wall, but he thought he heard Hermione's movement to straighten her head a little. "Your father died ten years ago today?"
"Yes." Finally, someone remembered it, even if Harry had to point her in the right direction. Hermione's erudition might be annoying from time to time, but it was also useful and, in this case, comforting. "My mother and I we go there every year on Halloween, to my father's tomb."
He didn't add anything else. The truth was the silence made him feel good.
"I'm sorry, Harry," she said.
"Thank you. You're the first to tell me that, today." She had no idea what it meant for him.
They remained silent for some more time.
"Everyone is saying I'm annoying," Hermione said after a moment.
"Sometimes," Harry acknowledged, after a hesitation. "But there are other times you are brilliant, even funny. And kind, too. You were the only one in the train who was willing to help Neville find his toad."
Even she made a muffled laugh at the memory. The first thing she told him and Ron when they met on the Hogwarts Express was has anyone seen a toad. That was before she told Ron his spell was not very good when he tried to turn his rat yellow.
"It must be hard for you, this day?" she asked.
"Yes, and no," he replied, uncertain. "I don't remember my father. All I have are photos of him and what my mother told me about him. But it's very hard for her, and I want to be with her for that."
"It's very kind of you."
Harry looked at his watch. Talking about his mother reminded him that she was probably waiting for him at the gates by now.
"I've got to go, Hermione. I'm sorry. My mother must be waiting for me."
"Of course, go." He stood up, but Hermione said something before he left. "Harry, you're very kind. You're a good person."
"You too," he replied without thinking. He realized this was what he thought of her. He thought he saw her smile behind her arms as he left.
Getting out of the girls' toilets, he felt strangely better. Talking to Hermione had done him some good. But now, he had to hurry to be with his mother in time. He didn't want to keep her waiting.
He headed in the direction of the gates. He still followed the same corridor when he saw a figure far away, hurrying in the direction opposite to that of the feast. Harry recognized the back and dark cape of Severus Snape, the Potions Master. What was he doing here? Why wasn't he in the Great Hall, like all other Heads of House? Just as he was wondering if maybe he should follow him, curious to find out whatever Snape might be doing, Harry heard low grunts. They were soon followed by the floor shaking under his feet at the rhythm of gigantic footfalls pounding the stone underneath him. And a horrible smell soon reached his nostrils.
Harry soon saw the origin of all this. It was twelve feet tall, with a huge body similar to a boulder with a bald head shaped like a bowling ball. Grey of color, it had short legs upon horny feet. It carried a huge wooden club that scrapped the floor. Harry instantly recognized it from a picture in one of the books he read. It was a troll.
What was it doing here? Trolls were certainly not allowed in Hogwarts, considering the damage they could do, and the theory that Professor Dumbledore might have brought him in for Halloween looked highly improbable to Harry.
The troll was walking along a corridor which was perpendicular to the one Harry followed. The creature followed its path forward without looking at Harry. After it got out of his sight, Harry reacted quickly. He went back from the way he just took and almost smashed the door when he got back into the girls' toilets.
"Hermione, we must leave, now."
She had jumped when he burst into the room. "What's going on?"
"There's a troll outside."
"A troll?" She seemed not to understand, but in an instant her eyes got clear. "A troll? In Hogwarts? Inside the castle?"
"Yes," Harry insisted, annoyed he had to repeat. "And it's in the corridor right next to us. We've got to go, now."
Hermione didn't react quickly enough, so Harry just grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the toilets. Outside, the pestilential odor persisted, and even got stronger. Harry slowed down and put his finger on his lips to tell Hermione to do as few noises as possible. He didn't let go of her hand.
"What's a troll doing here?" Hermione asked, clever enough to whisper it.
"I don't know," Harry replied. "But whatever it is, I don't think he will hug us when we meet."
They arrived at a crossing between two corridors. The smell was sickening. He looked at Hermione and made a movement with his hand, indicating they had to advance. Slowly, they moved forward. But the moment they set foot in the crossing, a huge foot slammed right in front of them, and the troll appeared with it. Whatever hope Harry might have had that the creature missed them, it evaporated when he looked up and saw the bowling ball that was his head staring down at them both.
"RUN!"
This time, Hermione didn't need to be told twice. She ran at the same time as Harry in the opposite direction. He didn't need to hold her hand anymore. Behind them, they heard the troll roaring as the floor was shaking, each new shock being closer to the next than the previous. The troll was running after them.
"How did he get in there?" Hermione asked as they ran.
"I don't know, and for now I don't care."
They arrived at the end of the corridor, diverging between two paths, one on the right and the other on the left.
"This way!" Harry pointed to the left and ran there, followed behind by Hermione, and not far away behind them the troll. However, they met a dead end very soon.
"This way? Really?" Hermione asked, panicked. "There's another corridor right here. Let's take it."
They ran towards it, and... VLAM!
Harry ended up on the floor after his nose came into direct contact with the wall. This wall was painted like it was a corridor, and they ran right into it. Probably a trick by Peeves or Fred and George. He saw that Hermione had experienced the same inconvenience and had fallen to the floor. He stood up, his nose and forehead still hurting, and he got Hermione back on her feet.
"We've got to go. The troll..." he began, but the troll was already here, blocking the only exit to this corridor. They were trapped.
"We are trapped!" Hermione cried.
"I KNOW!" Harry shouted, enraged. The troll was now slowly approaching them, dragging his club behind him. They had some room to step back, which they did, but soon they would meet the end of the corridor and the troll would have no problem smashing them to pieces.
"Okay, Hermione, listen to me," Harry began, trying to sound calm despite his shaking voice. "I'm going to distract him. I'll attract him on the far left of the corridor. You'll go to the right. When there's an opening, you run. You find someone, quickly, and you tell him about the troll. I'll try to hold him off."
"But he's going to kill you, Harry!" She had screamed, and it made the troll even more furious. He approached more quickly.
"ON THE RIGHT, NOW!" He pushed her in the direction he wanted, then used the one spell he learned well from Quirrell. "Flipendo!"
The jinx pushed back the troll. Harry positioned himself the most on the left of the corridor as he could. He didn't leave his eyes from the troll who roared, furious, and brought his club up, about to crush Harry with it.
"Flipendo!" Harry had targeted the club this time, and he succeeded. The club was pushed back just a little, the troll lost some of his balance, but he managed to bring his weapon down all the same. It smashed the floor right in front of Harry, projecting some debris. Harry covered himself with his sleeve, but the troll was already preparing another attack. He made it quicker than Harry expected. When he cast the spell this time, he missed completely, and he had to jump on the side to avoid the club.
Harry was on the floor. He saw a glimpse of Hermione on the other side of the troll. She had managed to get past him. Now Harry just had to find a way to survive. The next attack of the troll came to him before he had time to get up, and he jumped just enough to avoid it again. The troll had gone mad, and he was smashing faster and faster. Just he was about to bring his club on Harry for the fourth time, Harry heard a spell he had just learned today.
"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!"
Instead of the club, it was the troll's hand that smashed against the floor, and way short of Harry's position. The troll looked at his empty hand, probably wondering where his club was. The weapon was hovering just over his head, maintained in the air by Hermione's spell. Just as the troll was beginning to lift his head up, she stopped the spell and let the club fall down, which crushed the troll's head with a loud crack. The troll staggered. Harry crawled away as the huge creature was slowly falling towards him. When it did, he avoided its head by an inch as the floor and walls of the corridor trembled one last time.
He looked at the troll, then at Hermione who stood right there, her wand still raised. Harry stood up and looked again at the troll, hearing a hoarse breathing.
"Is it... dead?" Hermione asked.
"I don't think so. I think it's just been knocked out," he replied.
"It's the first time I use magic in real life. I mean, in real life, not just to practice or to learn."
"Well... you did it quite well."
Hermione laughed nervously.
A series of loud footsteps were heard all of a sudden, and Harry feared another troll might be coming. But these were the footsteps of professors, McGonagall, Quirrell and Snape.
"What on earth happened here?" McGonagall asked in disbelief as she looked at the scene and both Harry and Hermione. "Miss Granger, why aren't you in your common room like all the other students? And you, Potter, what are you still doing here?"
Of course. With all this agitation, Harry had forgotten. His mother must be worried sick. How would he explain that to her?
"Professor McGonagall, it's my fault," said Hermione.
"What?" the professor reacted.
"I... I was here the whole afternoon. I was... I just wanted to be alone, so I stayed here, and Harry came to see if I was okay. The troll surprised us. We tried to escape him, but..."
"We got cornered here," Harry completed. "And... we tried to fight him off the best we could."
Minerva McGonagall seemed astonished by what they were telling her. But she recovered her self-control and assurance pretty instantly. "Well, in that case, let me tell you that you both are very lucky. This troll managed to get inside the dungeons, but somehow he moved to superior floors. We had the Great Hall evacuated because of this. Not many first-years could have taken on a full grown mountain troll. I'll inform Professor Dumbledore of this. And... you each win ten points for Gryffindor... only because you were lucky. However, Miss Granger, since you missed one of my classes for no valid reason, I remove ten points from Gryffindor. You should get to the Gryffindor Tower right away. Students are finishing the feast in their houses. Professor Snape, please escort her."
Snape nodded, but Harry could see he wasn't happy. He didn't know if it was because he was obeying orders from McGonagall, or because he had to escort a Gryffindor back to his common room, or because Gryffindor won additional points, or because Harry had survived the troll. Perhaps for all these reasons. There were two things Harry couldn't miss as the Head of House Slytherin pushed Hermione away: the look Hermione sent to him, and the way Snape was limping.
"Professor Quirrell, please take care of this troll. You are our expert, after all," McGonagall told him.
"Y-Yes. Of-of cour-s-se."
McGonagall approached Harry. She had a severe gaze. Harry wondered what she was about to do. "Potter." She raised her wand and Harry thought she would transfigure him into something he would certainly not like. But instead, a warm wind went all across his body, from head to toe. When he looked at himself, he saw that all dust and traces of debris from his adventure were gone. "There's still someone waiting for you at the gates. I suggest we head there as quickly as possible."
Harry nodded and followed suit. McGonagall obviously didn't need a map to find her way through Hogwarts. They arrived quickly at the entrance. When they entered the park, night had fallen. They found Hagrid waiting for them.
"You've taken your time," he said in a rough voice. "What's going on? I heard screams in the Great Hall. Someone told me a troll had entered the castle."
"Hagrid, please. Just escort Potter to the gates. Lily Evans must be waiting impatiently," the professor said.
"Of course. This way, Harry." As soon as McGonagall was a little away, Hagrid asked him what happened. Harry told him what had happened, both in the Great Hall and the dungeons, as far as he knew, and with him, Hermione and the troll.
"Well, that is a story!" He gave a pat on Harry's shoulder which almost made his legs dig into the ground. "You're your father's son, Harry. There is no doubt about it now."
Harry laughed nervously. He was still recovering from his encounter with the troll, and he was a little afraid of how his mother might react to him being so late.
Harry had seen Hagrid for the first time when he led the first-years to Hogwarts after they disembarked from the Hogwarts Express. He also invited Harry to his home on Friday afternoon, during his first week at Hogwarts. Harry had gone out of courtesy, and had also brought his friend Ron, but Hagrid was surprised, and even saddened when Harry told him he didn't know him and never heard his name before arriving to Hogwarts. Hagrid then told him he was the one who got him and his mother out of the ruins of their house in Godric's Hollow, ten years ago. He had known both his parents well while they were at Hogwarts, and had continued to know them afterwards. Rubeus Hagrid was apparently a former member of the Order of the Phoenix as well. Harry had asked his mother about it in his first letter, and she had confirmed everything Hagrid said. Ever since, Hagrid invited Harry from time to time at his house near the forest. Harry had to admit he was kind, and he quite liked the very tall man, but the food he prepared left something to be desired.
They didn't need much time to reach the gates, and like Harry expected, his mother was right there. The gates opened by themselves. When Harry looked upon her face, he saw no anger, no worry, only sadness.
"You're late," she stated plainly.
"I'm sorry, Mom. I can explain you..."
"It doesn't matter. The important is that you're here now." She smiled at him. Then she looked up. "Thank you, Hagrid."
"You're welcome. It's good to see you again, Lily," the gamekeeper replied.
"Let's go now." She passed her arm around Harry's shoulders and brought him against her, walking down the path with him. The gates closed behind them. "Now, explain to me what happened."
Harry told her everything. His mother had no reaction during the whole story. When it was over, she just said: "I don't know how a troll managed to get inside the school. It never happened in my time. I'm glad you're safe though. It's the most important." She paused for a moment. "Who is this Hermione Granger?"
"She's... a friend." Harry had hesitated, but he realized while saying that it was true.
"You never talked about her in your letters."
"I thought I did."
"Not that I remember."
"Well, it's more recent. Her parents are Muggles, just like yours."
She smiled again. "I'm glad you're making friends."
Indeed, he was. Harry never really had any friends in the world of Muggles. Maybe it had to do with the fact he had to hide the fact he was a wizard. Here, despite being famous, he could be himself.
His mother stopped all of a sudden. "We are going to Apparate," she declared.
"I thought it was too dangerous."
"Not very much. And I got used to Apparating again recently. You'll risk nothing. Take my hand and hold it firmly. I must warn you it will not be pleasant."
Harry prepared. He wasn't sure what to expect, but when his mother's hand twisted inside his, everything went black, and he gripped her even more tightly. It was as if he was thrown into a compactor. He could not breathe, his hair was flattened, his rib cage was being crushed, his eyes were pressed into their orbits, his legs crashing into his pelvis, his feet contracting.
Then it was over, and all the pressure was released. Harry breathed huge chunks of air.
"Are you alright?" his mother asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Harry grabbed the first thing he could and used it to remain standing, still out of air. He thought he would vomit, but perhaps he couldn't because he didn't eat tonight. The smell of the troll was a memory that came back, increasing his nausea, but nothing came out. He didn't know how long he remained there, just gasping for breath, but after a while he straightened up.
'I'm fine,' he said.
"The first time is always harder. You'll get used to it," his mother told him, though in the moment, it was hard to believe her.
She took him by the shoulders again and they walked among the gravestones. They had apparated into the cemetery itself. No one was to be seen around. Harry knew that not far away were the ruins of the house where they used to live. His mother thought there was some kind of magic that stopped anyone from rebuilding on the ground. They might visit it after seeing the tomb, but his mother seldom wanted to go there. It was too hard for her.
They came here so often in the past that they knew the exact way to find the tomb. It wasn't long before they stood in front of it. It was made of white marble, like all the others. Nothing differentiated it or set it apart. The words on the stone were simple, yet very visible.
James Potter, born 27 March 1960, died 31 October 1981
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Harry never understood the words. His mother tried to explain them to him once, but he still didn't get the meaning. His father was dead, and he would never come back. This was a certainty, and a known fact.
His mother usually brought a bouquet of flowers with her, but there were already many on the tomb and all around it. Each year, there were flowers left here by unknown strangers. Harry took some solace in knowing that some people, even after ten years, had not forgotten his father. However, this time, he realized his mother had brought nothing. The confusion didn't remain long. She raised her wand and made a circling movement with it. A long, ornamented crown of colorful flowers took shape around the head of the grave.
They remained before the tombstone for a very long time, in silent, just staring at it, his mother refusing to let got of his shoulder. Harry looked at her a few times to make sure she was correct. Tears were rolling out of her eyes, but otherwise she seemed fine.
"I suppose you didn't eat tonight," she said after a while. Harry realized he was indeed very hungry. He shook his head. "Well, then we better find some place for dinner. Come."
She wiped the tears from her face and brought Harry with her towards the village, back to the living