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Chapter Text

I was standing on the platform, waiting for the train that was going to take me to a whole new world of adventure and excitement. The only problem was, the train wouldn't come to this platform. I had to find platform 9 3/4, at least that's what my ticket said. It was then I saw him. In all honesty, he looked stranded. He seemed desperate about something and was panicking. I was overjoyed seeing him, since, like me, even he had an owl with him. Which meant only one thing. He too was a wizard.

"Hi, I am John Smith and you are?"

He looked at me and then at my owl and replied, "Harry, I am Harry Potter. Hey, do you happen to know how to get to platform 9 3/4?"

"I was hoping you'd know it," I replied.

We both stared at each other helplessly and then I heard a group of people talking about muggles. The group had a kid who seemed much older than we were, identical twins, a kid who looked our age, and a girl who looked the youngest of the lot.

I was helped to get to platform 9 by Percy Weasley. Harry and I got into a carriage and pressed our way through the crowd before we found an empty compartment. After we got settled, I looked at him and thought I should begin a conversation, and just then Ron Weasley joined us.

"Can I join you guys?" asked Ron.

"Of course! Hi, I'm John," I replied.

"I'm Ron,"

"I'm Harry Potter,"

There was a silence that lasted a few seconds where Ron kept staring at Harry, and I was staring at both of them awkwardly.

"Are you really Harry Potter?"

"Yes"

"Can I, um, can I see your scar? Do you really have one?"

Harry showed his forehead to Ron and me. There was a small scar there, in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Most of the conversation after that was about Harry Potter, and also some about the magical world. Harry has a muggle cousin named Dudley. He also told us about a muggle friend named Daisy. We also met Hermione and Neville. Hermione talks a lot and Neville lost his toad.

Harry doesn't really want to be here. I was shocked to hear this. He loved his life as a muggle, and then he got his letter. Ron told us about a lot of things, wizards, witches, Hogwarts, Quidditch and Chocolate frogs.

It was a nice train journey to Hogwarts, quite enjoyable. It was exactly what I was hoping to get. Well, that's when the conversation turned towards me.

"So, John! Are your parents wizards too?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, they... were..." I replied, keeping a straight face.

But I didn't really manage to steer the conversation away. If anything, my response only brought a reaction out of them.

"Oh!" gasped both of them.

"How?" asked Ron, stammering.

"Yeah, happened when I was a baby. My Aunt told me it was an experiment gone wrong," I replied.

"I am so sorry. So, you grew up with your Aunt?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, I grew up a muggle, but she told me about a year ago," I replied.

"You grew up a muggle?" asked Ron, shocked.

"Yeah"

"Why?"

I honestly didn't have an answer to that question. I was not going to tell them the truth. But, what could I possibly say to make them believe my lie?

I couldn't think of one. So, I went with, "I don't know! I think she wished I wouldn't have magic in me," I lied.

They continued to pester me with questions about my aunt, and I kept dodging them. In hindsight, I should not have gone with the, "I think she wished I wouldn't have magic in me!". That was a mistake.

But soon, they got diverted. Ron continued to tell us about the wizarding world. He has older siblings here, and the stories he has heard from them, he shared with us. That was quite nice of him.

The train journey was just perfect, I easily made so many new friends in just a few hours.

And Hogwarts... Oh, Hogwarts was so beautiful, more beautiful than I thought it would be. Did you know that first-years rowed to Hogwarts? Over the lake... Using a boat.

Ron, Harry, Neville and I were in one boat. Harry was nervous, he was a bundle of nerves. I guess, so were Ron and Neville. Ron had this look in him, that he was here to achieve something. He was nervous too, but that was because he wanted to get into Gryffindor.

The water was icy... like not just cold, it was icy. I absolutely loved it and the air around us. And then we caught sight of the golden castle. The castle, in the night, under lights, is a different kind of beauty. I almost forgot everything and just stared at the castle.

But eventually, we got down. We walked into the castle.

And then came the sorting ceremony. Harry, Ron, Neville, Hermione and I, all got sorted into Gryffindor. It truly was a great ceremony. There was some great food and desserts... The desserts were just heavenly.

Dumbledore made a speech. McGonagall was quite strict, are you even surprised? Snape was menacing, Hagrid was cheerful and that's all I can write at the moment.

I'm in Hogwarts now and about to spend my first night. Honestly, I don't even know why you were worried. This is awesome!

Chapter Text

"Are you sending someone an owl?" asked Seamus.

"Yeah, forgot a couple of things at home!" I replied. I can't stop writing to you and they have all started noticing.

The first few days have gone by in a flash. Most of the lessons have been interesting. Defence Against the Dark Arts was a bit weird and History of Magic was just plain boring.

There is a girl in my class, Hermione Granger. I'm sure I have mentioned her before. She knows a lot of things about a lot of things, even though she's a muggle-born witch.

And then Friday happened.

I was sitting beside Harry, and Ron was on the other side of him at breakfast.

"What have we got today?" Harry asked.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," Ron replied.

Harry then got a note from Hagrid, he invited Harry for tea. After breakfast, we went to our potions call.

Professor Snape came into the class. Almost instantly, he started throwing a bunch of questions at Harry. Obviously, he couldn't answer any of them.

"Clearly, fame isn't everything. One point will be taken from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potter," said Snape.

The whole class was nervous. Every single one in the class was nervous.

There were mistakes made, possibly purely down to fear of making mistakes. A lot of them were clumsy, dropping beakers and pots. Ingredients were being mixed in the wrong order, ingredients were missing. And Snape was totally intimidating.

I didn't understand why Professor Snape was being so mean to Harry. And then it happened. Neville added the ingredients of the potion in the incorrect order, got himself injured, and Snape started off again.

"Why Potter, did you think it'd make you look good if Neville got it wrong?" exclaimed Snape. He sounded annoyed.

Having had enough of Professor Snape, I replied, "You're being extremely unfair to Harry, Professor. How was he supposed to know, Neville would make a mistake?" I asked.

Of course, I could have stopped there. But, no, I didn't. "You should have though. Before coming to Hogwarts, I thought teachers here would be more helpful, you've just been rude," I finished, took a breath and braced myself for the wrath of Severus Snape.

"What did you just say, BOY? How dare you speak to a Professor like that?" exclaimed Snape, angrily.

I kept silent, the whole class was silent. And Snape went on.

"Detentions, for a week! And, 10 points will be taken from Gryffindor."

The class was over pretty soon, and I came out happy as I had managed to get the first thing I wanted to do. To gain the respect of my classmates. I was quite surprised to get away with a week's detention and just 10 points too.

Well, once we got out of the class, I had Harry to contend with.

"I hate this, every single bit of this. How on earth am I supposed to know the answers to those questions? And why does he hate me?" muttered Harry, angrily.

"I don't think he hates you, Harry. Probably just the celebrity status that you have," I replied.

"Which, I have nothing to do with!" he replied.

"You do actually, you survived You-know-who mate. You are the boy-who-lived," replied Ron.

"Whatever! Anyway, want to join me at Hagrid's?" asked Harry, glancing at both of us.

"No, sorry! Can't join! I have some work to do," I replied. But Ron agreed and they went to Hagrid's for tea.

Fun on the other hand had just begun for me. I was walking towards the library when I bumped into Hermione.

"You lost the house 10 points," she remarked.

"Thanks for reminding me that," I replied.

"You should count yourself very lucky, Professor Snape isn't someone to be messed around with. That was careless and reckless."

"Not as embarrassing as you looked, while Snape was asking those questions to Harry," I replied. You should have seen the look on her face when I said that.

"Nothing embarrassing about knowing answers to questions," she retorted. But I could see the hurt in her eyes, behind the facade of confidence.

"How does it feel to be an insufferable know-it-all? Maybe you should focus on getting some friends," I retorted.

And I think I crossed a line.

Hermione looked shocked and hurt the moment I uttered those words. No facade this time. Her eyes began to well up, and at that very moment, Percy Weasley walked over to me.

"Professor McGonagall wants to see you," said Percy and walked away.

"Not lucky after all!" snapped Hermione with a throaty voice and ran away from me.

I wanted to stop her and apologise, but I had other things to do. I went to Professor McGonagall's office.

"Mr Smith," she greeted me with a grin on her face. Oh, I knew I was screwed.

"Good Afternoon, Professor," I greeted her.

"You've managed to get a week's detentions in the first week of your very first year at Hogwarts. Even the Weasley twins didn't manage to do that," she remarked.

"It is hardly a surprise, Professor! I am new to this world, remember?" I replied, with a smile on my face.

McGonagall's expression turned. She glared at me and I remained silent, having no idea how to respond to that.

"Your detention for today will be with me, at 5 PM. I have sent a letter to your Aunt explaining the confrontation you had with Professor Snape," she remarked.

I had a small chuckle in my mind, thinking what your reaction would be, but kept it to myself. Well, now that I'm writing to you, I'll be expecting to hear what you actually thought about it.

"Respect, Mr Smith... Respect is a very important virtue to have," exclaimed McGonagall.

"Sorry, Professor, will not happen again," I replied.

The rest of the day was uneventful and boring. I had to read some boring book from the library about "Discipline" and had to write a big essay about it. Professor M read my essay and asked me to rewrite certain parts.

By the time I reached back to my dormitory, dinner was over, so I got some sandwiches and pumpkin juice that Harry and Ron had saved for me. I tried to find Hermione, but she had already gone to sleep, I think.

I will make this right.

…

Far away, a brown-haired, blue-green-eyed woman unsealed a letter and chuckled after reading it.

"Oh, Johnny! What are you doing?"

She gave a small laugh and threw the letter back on the table.

Chapter Text

"Good Morning, Harry," I greeted.

"Good Morning," replied Harry, yawning.

"Did you know that you speak in your sleep?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I do. I had a weird dream, but I can't remember it well," he replied.

Harry, Ron and I went down for breakfast, and that's where I found the newspaper.

…

"GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST"

Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July,
widely believed to be the work of dark wizards or witches unknown.

Gringotts' goblins today insisted that nothing had been
taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied
the same day.

"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your
noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts
spokesgoblin this afternoon.

…

"Harry, what happened at Hagrid's yesterday?" I asked.

"Nothing really! We just talked about classes, Snape hating me, Ron's brother Charlie and his Dragons, and..." paused Harry for a second, and I looked at him curiously.

"I completely forgot, there has been a break-in at Gringotts," he exclaimed.

"Gringotts?"

"Yeah, the wizard bank," he replied.

"I know what Gringotts is, I meant to ask what happened," I replied, calmly.

"Well, when Aunt Petunia, Hagrid and I went to Gringotts on my birthday, Hagrid had some Hogwarts work to do, and the vault he emptied, I think, was the same that was attacked, on the same day," said Harry excitedly.

"Slow down! Why do you think so? I mean, a lot of vaults could have been emptied on the same day right?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess, but you should have seen Hagrid's face yesterday when I asked him about it."

There was silence at our table for a minute or two, and then Ron spoke.

"What are you guys doing today?" he asked.

"I have something to do, why what happened?" I replied.

"I thought we could play Wizard's Chess," suggested Ron.

Harry said yes, and I excused myself shortly thereafter as I still had a mistake to rectify.

I went to the library, hoping to find Hermione, but she wasn't there. I still had some homework to complete, so I decided to do that. Guess what? I love doing homework too, things are going excellently well.

The weekend went by quite peacefully. Harry and Ron were busy playing Chess, and I spent most of it at the library.

This week has been pretty peaceful too. I had 4 detention days, Thursday was the last. Thankfully it was with Professor McGonagall. She just asked me to write some lines and let me go early.

The worst ones were with Filch, where he made me clean and polish trophies. I mean, why? Why ask me to do manual labour when everything can be done using magic? Why this cruelty on me, or Filch? Ugh!

Meanwhile, Harry is now the seeker for Gryffindor. Harry and Malfoy had a confrontation during Quidditch class, things happened, and at the end, McGonagall saw Harry catch a Remembrall and made him the Seeker. I suppose it runs in the family, right?

I was almost caught one evening, writing to you.

"What are you doing?" asked Harry and I quickly covered the letter.

"Me? Nothing mate, just writing some updates to my Aunt. She often gets worried about me," I replied. "What are you doing at this time of the night?" I asked, curiously.

Ron appeared behind Harry.

"We... We were just... We were just going for a walk," mumbled Ron, nervously.

"A walk? Okay, let's go," I replied. But I could see it in their eyes, both of their eyes that they were up to something.

"No, no, you need not come," replied Ron instantly.

"I need not come, or I should not come?" I retorted, chuckling. "What's up, guys?" I asked curiously.

"Malfoy challenged me to a duel, at midnight, trophy room," replied Harry.

"And I'm his 2nd," added Ron.

"Oh! A duel? How nice… Do you guys know any spells?" I asked.

"No," replied Harry, shaking his head.

I thought for a moment. On the one hand, it would have been fun to see Harry and Ron duel it out against Draco. But, on the other hand, Draco wouldn't challenge Harry, would he? I decided to do the responsible thing, instead.

"Malfoy's tricking you. He won't be there," I told them. "He'll probably tell Filch about this," I suggested. After a pause, I finished, "Trust me, this is a trap."

"How do you know?" asked Ron.

Of course, why would Ron believe me?

"Malfoy boasts a lot. He's an attention seeker, not brave. There's no way he's coming," I replied. Ron did not look convinced. If anything, he was convinced that he was going to be Harry's 2nd.

"Plus Harry, why would he challenge you? You're the boy-who-lived after all!" I added, chuckling.

Harry gave me a chuckle and replied, "Well, there's only one way to find out"

Ron and Harry left the tower room, and went down the staircase, only to meet Hermione. I couldn't hear their conversation, but I knew that she disapproved of their late-night adventure.

Harry has a certain rebellious nature to him and so does Ron. I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying this!

I asked Harry the next day about the duel, and he admitted that Malfoy didn't actually show up. He also told me about Fluffy and how he thinks Fluffy could be guarding whatever was there in Gringotts.

I, however, did not tell him that he was right!

I'm yet to make any progress with Hermione, I suspect she's been avoiding me. Or, more like, she hates my guts and is just angry with me. Either way, I'm going to have to do something about this girl.

Chapter Text

I have made progress finally thanks to Ron. You will not believe what he did!

It was Halloween morning. We were in our Charms class, and Professor Flitwick was teaching us about "Wingardium Leviosa", the levitation charm.

Ron and Hermione were paired together, and I was with Harry. Hermione and Ron got into an argument about how the spell worked, and Hermione showed Ron it was to be done.

After class, while we were talking about Halloween,

"I can't wait for Halloween dinner!" I said, quite excitedly, might I add.

"Neither can I, the decorations are already looking so wonderful," remarked Harry, in response.

"No wonder she doesn't have any friends, she's a nightmare!" exclaimed Ron, loudly. It was almost like he wanted her to hear what he thought of her.

"I think she heard you!" said Harry, looking back at Hermione.

I had a brief glimpse at her face and found she was in tears. She definitely heard Ron and I suspect, I had something to do with her tears as well. I was a bit nasty to her a while back, wasn't I?

I left the conversation with the boys immediately and went after her.

"Hermione… HERMIONE… wait up!" I called out. She didn't seem to have heard me, or simply, she didn't care. I ran after her and caught up with her pretty soon.

"Hermione, are you alright?" I asked.

"Leave me alone!" she snapped and continued storming away.

"You shouldn't be upset over what Ron said," I told her. That was a bad move. Of course, she should be upset over what Ron said.

"It isn't just Ron. You said it weeks back. I hear it almost every single day... Someone make a similar remark," retorted Hermione, while her eyes welled up.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said those things. I was pissed off at Professor Snape, and when you cornered me over losing the house points, I lost it," I replied. After a pause, I repeated, "I'm sorry!"

There was silence for a good half a minute, and I decided to seize the opportunity.

"You're the smartest witch in our year, probably smarter than me. You shouldn't really care about what others think about you," I remarked, confidently.

"Did you just..." she stopped midway and started walking again.

"Did I just, what?"

"Never mind! What part of leaving me alone did you not understand?" she asked.

I knew I had her. Now, she was just milking my apology. The tone of hurt and disgust had now been replaced by annoyance. But not the bad kind of being annoyed, the good one, where she wanted to continue milking this apology from me.

"First accept my apology, I won't let you go without that," I replied.

"Has anyone told you that you're annoying?" she asked.

"It's funny, that's exactly what I was going to ask you!"

I burst out laughing as the moment I uttered those words, Hermione's face went red with anger.

"I am sorry, okay? If you want people to like you, you have to put some effort into it, Hermione. They won't like you if you try to boss them around. Wizards don't go to school till they are 11, we on the other hand started when we were 5 or 6," I told her.

"You are a muggle-born?" she asked, surprised.

"Technically, no. But I grew up a muggle," I replied. Well, that is true, isn't it?

Hermione looked better than earlier, and I decided that the best course of action would be to go to the library with her. I wanted to spend time with her, and now that I was all but forgiven, I figured, why not?

We read some interesting books, books about ancient creatures in the magical world. We talked about muggle schools and the subjects that they have. Hours went by, and it was time for dinner.

By this point, we had built a decent rapport. I was about to do something... I'm not sure I should have. But the excitement got the better of me. I told Hermione a way she could get on level terms with Ron. I thought I should help her get even, that's all.

"I'm famished, we should go to the great hall. Dinner must have started," I said.

"Yeah, sure!"

As we were leaving the library, Hermione spoke again, "Apology accepted! You're not half as bad as I thought you were," she said, smiling.

"Thank You!" I replied.

"And what you said about Ron, is that true?" she asked.

"Oh yeah! You know what? You should try the spell right now. Let's take a seat a few meters away from him, and you can try the spell I told you about," I said. I was just egging her on as much as I could.

"That's not a good idea," she retorted.

"Only if he finds out it was us," I replied and gave an assured glance to her.

We walked to the Great Hall, and as planned took our seat at the table a few meters behind Ron who was sitting beside Harry. The feast began and we were all devouring our food.

And then after a few minutes, I said to her, "Now or Never!"

She gave a slight nod, pulled out her wand and murmured under her breath, "Procidat Incipio," pointing her wand at Ron under the table.

And then we waited for a few seconds.

"Harry, pass me the..." began Ron but stopped midway and glanced at his leg, horrified and shrieked.

"Ron, what happened?" asked Harry, alarmed.

"Get off! Aargh! Stop"

Ron got up and started dancing around as if trying to get something off his leg.

"Ron, what's the matter?" asked Harry, taken aback. Everyone around the pair started to look around, confused and alarmed.

"Spider, I hate Spiders!" exclaimed Ron.

"Spider? I can't see any spider, where is it?" asked Harry, looking around.

"It's there on my knee, can't you..." began Ron. But then Ron's face went from horrified to confused. "It was right here," he exclaimed, frightened.

"Ron, I still can't see it! Are you sure you didn't imagine it?" asked Harry, concerned and confused.

"No, it was right here," sighed Ron, shaking a little. And just then, a few tables away, laughter erupted and spread across the Great Hall.

A few tables away, Hermione and I burst out laughing.

"Ron's face was worth it," exclaimed Hermione, laughing.

"I'm impressed, Hermione. You got that spell right the very first time," I remarked. You really needed to be here and see Ron's face. And Hermione? She really is good!

"It was wonderful, thank you for that! That felt good," she sighed, happily. "Who taught you that?" she asked, curiously.

But before I could answer, Quirrell came sprinting into the hall.

"Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know," he said, panting.

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. He is our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, imagine that!

Meanwhile, Professor Dumbledore asked the Prefects to take the students back to our house dormitories, and that was that.

I thought I should owl you all of this right away.

With Lots of Love,
21815

"How did the troll get in last night?" asked Harry, glancing at Ron.

"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid, maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke," replied Ron, nonchalantly.

Harry and Ron went down for breakfast. The owls flooded into the Great Hall as they usually did, and a letter dropped in front of John, who was sitting beside Harry. John opened the letter and immediately got up from his seat to walk away.

"John, what happened?" asked Harry, but he didn't seem to have listened. "Wonder what's up with him!" he remarked, intrigued.

"He's a bit weird, don't you think? I mean he sends his Aunt a letter almost every week, what's with that?" asked Ron.

"So do I, what's wrong with that?" retorted Harry, surprised.

"Nothing, but I don't know, he seems a bit weird to me," replied Ron.

Chapter Text

"Slytherin in possession – Flint with the quaffle – passes Spinnet – passes Bell – hit hard in the face by a bludger, hope it broke his nose – only joking, Professor – Slytherin score – oh no..."

The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.

"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," mumbled Hagrid.

Suddenly people all over the stands were pointing at Harry. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Ron, John, Hermione, Neville and Seamus gasped as Harry was struggling to hold on to his broom.

"Did something happen to the broom?" asked Seamus.

"No, I don't think so. Unless..." replied John and paused.

"Unless?" asked Ron.

"John, give your binoculars, quick!" asked Hermione, as she pushed his shoulder to make him listen.

"Wait! I know what you're thinking, that's exactly what I'm looking at," replied John hastily. From pointing his binoculars at Harry, John changed direction and looked at the stands where the Professors were sitting.

"I knew it! Here, have a look," exclaimed John and handed the binoculars to Hermione.

"Snape," gasped Hermione.

"What is going on guys?" asked Ron. Hermione handed the binoculars to Ron.

"Look at Snape, he's muttering non-stop and has his eyes fixed on Harry. He's jinxing the broom," exclaimed Hermione.

"I don't think Snape would jinx Harry's broom, I don't believe it," said John, confused.

"You saw it too, didn't you? He was definitely jinxing Harry," replied Hermione. Immediately, she got up and disappeared after uttering these words.

"What's she doing?" asked Ron.

"I… I don't know, maybe she's going to distract him," replied John.

Soon, there was a commotion on the opposite stand. Snape's robes were on fire, and meanwhile, Harry was back on his broom. And quickly enough, he made a dive and caught the snitch by his mouth. There was an uproar in the crowd, the Gryffindors were making all the noise and the celebrations were about to begin.

But Harry, John and Ron were not there at the celebrations. They were in Hagrid's hut holding a strong cup of tea.

"You should thank Hermione, Harry, not me," said John.

"I'll thank her too!" replied Harry.

"It was Snape..." began Ron.

"Rubbish, why would Snape do something like that?" asked Hagrid as he was pouring himself tea.

"Hagrid, you didn't see what we saw. He was muttering non-stop, and his eyes were fixed on Harry," replied Ron.

"I don't think Snape was jinxing Harry's broom," said John.

"What?" gasped Ron in shock. "Are you serious? We literally saw him," he remarked.

"Yes, Ron. I know what we saw. But think about it, why would a Professor jinx a student? Like that doesn't make sense," replied John.

"It makes perfect sense! Hermione lit Snape's robes on fire, and then Harry became alright. How are you explaining that?" asked Ron. John remained silent but he looked disturbed.

Harry however got excited by a thought that came to his mind. "Hagrid, what's the 3 headed dog guarding?" asked Harry excitedly.

"Fluffy? How do you know about Fluffy?" asked Hagrid, shocked, as he dropped the teapot.

"Fluffy?" asked Ron and Harry together.

"Yeah – he's mine – bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub last year – I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the…" blabbed Hagrid and stopped himself before revealing everything.

Ron and Harry were looking at Hagrid eagerly.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid, gruffly. "That's top secret, that is," he added.

"Does Snape know about this top secret?" asked Ron.

"He must! He was limping last week. I'm sure he was the one who let the troll in on Halloween, as a distraction. He might have wanted to steal what the dog is guarding," added Harry.

"Now, y'all should stop messing around. Snape did not jinx your broom. I don't know what happened, but it wasn't Snape. Whatever Fluffy is hiding, is between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel..." said Hagrid and stopped abruptly.

"I shouldn't have said that," muttered Hagrid and looked furious with himself.

Thanks to you I have made significant progress in my relationship with Harry. It had been about a week after the quidditch game. One morning I received your letter asking me why I hadn't written in a while. I read the letter while Harry was sitting beside me.

"What happened?" asked Harry.

"Nothing, why?" I asked in return.

"You haven't written to your Aunt for a while, and every time you receive one of those," he pointed at the letter, "You look worried," replied Harry.

"She's just worried about my studies," I lied in response. Sensing an opportunity to get to know him, I continued. "So, Harry, how are you liking your magical life?" I asked.

"It has been nice, better than I thought. I still miss my school, my friends, Dudley, Daisy, Aunt Petunia, but yeah I am feeling much better now than I did a couple of months back," replied Harry. There was a sense of satisfaction and happiness in his tone.

"That's nice! Must have been a shock when you found out about this world, right?" I asked.

"Shock is one way to put it," chuckled Harry. "It was a Sunday morning, about 8-10 days before my 11th birthday. Daisy and I were walking aimlessly outside when I saw this owl in broad daylight dropping something in front of my house. It was a letter from Hogwarts," continued Harry.

"I picked it up and showed it to Aunt Petunia. I had never seen her like that. The moment she saw the letter, she shouted at me and asked me to leave the house. I didn't understand what was going on, but we left," he added.

I was staring at Harry, keenly as he narrated the story.

"Later, when I got back home, I asked her what it was all about. She tried changing topics, but I knew she was lying or hiding something. That evening she told me about this world, she said she didn't know much, and that someone would come on my birthday and explain everything to me. She told me not to tell anyone about this," he continued, calmly.

"Daisy still doesn't know that I'm at Hogwarts. I had to lie to her, and all my other friends at school, that I was going to another country to study. On my birthday, Hagrid came to our house and told me about my parents, You-Know-Who, Diagon Alley, Gringotts and many other things," finished Harry.

He sighed after speaking for about 2-3 minutes with pauses in between.

"Wow, I didn't know that..." I replied. "What about Dudley?" I asked.

"Explaining to him was easier. Actually, he was excited about all of this. He kept telling me how easier my life was going to get," chuckled Harry. There was silence between the two of us for a while and then I spoke again.

"Harry, I don't know if I should be asking this, don't answer if you don't want to. What about your Uncle? You never mention him whenever you talk about your muggle life," I asked, cautiously.

"My Uncle? Well… He died when I was young. He met with an accident only a few months after I came to live at Privet Drive," he replied.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Harry," I said.

So, there you go. Everything is going as per plan. When should I tell him about Flamel? And are you going to do something about Daisy?

With Lots of Love
21815

Chapter Text

"John, have you completed your History of Magic assignment?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, here, have a look," replied John as he handed Hermione a parchment.

"Thanks, I just wanted another perspective. I'll return this to you tomorrow," replied Hermione, smiling. John and Hermione soon left the library, and were on their way to the Gryffindor common room, when they saw Harry and Ron coming towards them.

"Hi, Harry, Ron!" greeted John.

"Hi, Harry!" greeted Hermione.

"Hi, did you find anything about Nicholas Flamel?" asked Harry.

"No," replied John. Instantly, Hermione glanced at John, confused. "Did you guys have any luck?" he asked, in return.

"No, we looked at a lot of books but didn't find him anywhere. The guy could literally be anyone," replied Ron. John and Hermione left for the common room as Ron and Harry went to the library to try their luck again.

"You never looked for Flamel, why did you lie?" asked Hermione as she abruptly stopped on the way.

"I didn't lie. I did look for him, just not today. I have tried my luck, but couldn't find the guy in any of the books I checked. I know I have heard of him somewhere, just can't seem to think where," he replied. However, Hermione didn't look fully convinced.

"Do you want my help?" she asked.

"No, but if you come across his name anywhere, just tell me," replied John.

…

A couple of hours passed and Ron was getting bored now. He felt this whole search operation was pointless. But he wanted to give Harry company, and so stayed with him.

"John and Hermione seem awfully close, don't they?" he remarked.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, unbothered.

"Well, they spend a lot of time together. They sit in class together, they eat together, they study together," remarked Ron.

"She is a muggle-born, he grew up a muggle. Of course, they are going to spend a lot of time together. Also, they are the best students in our class, it makes sense why they study together," replied Harry nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I suppose," sighed Ron.

"He helps in our homework too, without him there is no way we'd be getting through our work," chuckled Harry.

"That's true. Also, nowadays, Hermione is a lot more bearable," sighed Ron.

"She saved my life during our quidditch game, don't forget. I was thinking I should get her something for Christmas," replied Harry. Ron shrugged in response.

The days before Christmas went by rapidly. The Christmas holidays were nearing, and everybody's spirits seemed high. It was the day before the holidays started. Hermione and John were sitting by the lake after class.

"So, what are you doing for Christmas?" asked Hermione.

"I… I uh, I will probably stay at Hogwarts," he replied.

"Oh! Why?" asked Hermione, shocked.

"I like it here. Plus, I wouldn't have much to do back home anyway," he replied.

"Don't you want to be with your Aunt for Christmas?" asked Hermione, intrigued.

"She's going to her Mom's place for Christmas," replied John, calmly

"What about your Uncle?" she asked.

"My Uncle?" retorted John.

"Yeah, you never talk about him," remarked Hermione.

"My Uncle, I uh... I mean my uncle is... He is sort of out of the picture," replied John and looked awfully uncomfortable. "Bad marriage," he added.

"Oh! That's sad," she replied.

"What about you Hermione?" asked John.

"I'm just going home for Christmas, no plans as such," she replied.

Just then a Hufflepuff boy came towards them and spoke, "John Smith? Professor McGonagall wants to see you," he informed. John and Hermione looked at each other wondering what it could be.

"I'll see you later," said John, who got up and went with the Hufflepuff kid. They reached Professor McGonagall's office and she greeted them at the entrance, almost as if she was waiting for them to arrive.

"Thanks, Mr Diggory," she said. The boy left, and John was left wondering what was going on.

"Mr Smith, something has happened. Headmaster wants to have a word with you," remarked McGonagall.

"Professor Dumbledore? Why what happened?" asked John.

However, she didn't say another word and they both made their way to Dumbledore's office. To John's surprise and mild shock, Severus Snape was walking towards them, having just left Dumbledore's office.

"Professor Snape!" John remarked.

"What have you done this time?" asked Snape as he sneered.

"I have no idea," said John and turned his head towards Professor McGonagall. "Can you please give me a minute with Professor Snape?" he asked.

"Sure, Mr Smith" she replied.

"What is it? I haven't got all day," asked Snape.

"Professor, thanks for saving Harry!" said John and gave a weak smile. Severus looked taken aback but said nothing, he just nodded at him and left. John made his way up the staircase and saw Professor McGonagall who was standing in front of the Gargoyle.

"Orange Marmalade," said Professor McGonagall. The Gargoyle sprang to life, and the wall behind him split in two. They stepped on what looked like an escalator, which took them higher and higher until a gleaming oak door with a brass knocker in the shape of a Griffin became visible.

Harry was sitting in the Great Hall, while Ron was sitting to his right and Hermione to the left. They weren't talking though. Hermione was stirring her cup mindlessly, while Harry seemed to be lost in a world of his own thinking about 4, Privet Drive, Daisy, Dudley and Christmas. Ron was eating sumptuously and wasn't bothered by what was going on around him. And then John came, he strode down the hall with the same confidence as he always did.

"What took you so long? You've been gone for nearly 2 hours," asked Hermione.

"Guess who I just met," he replied with a smile on his face. Harry, who till then hadn't noticed the conversation, glanced at John.

"Who?" he asked. Hermione looked at John curiously.

"Dumbledore," replied John, excitedly.

"What?" asked Ron and all 3 of them were curious to know.

"Yeah, apparently, Professor McGonagall had been told by Professor Flitwick and Snape that my charms work and potions were extraordinary. Dumbledore told me that I was going to be given special training after the holidays," replied John. However, that was a lie.

"Woah! That's brilliant," said Ron.

"Snape said you were great?" asked Harry, shocked.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. I guess, he didn't hold a grudge after all, for what I said earlier this year," replied John, smiling.

"That's unbelievable, you are probably the first 1st year to be given special training," said Ron and Harry nodded.

Hermione all through this was silent. She was hurt that she couldn't also get this training. But was happy for John and gave a quick hug and congratulated him.

Later that evening, the common room was full. Ron, who was tired and sleepy after dinner, came to what he thought was an empty dormitory but heard some faint voices.

"... he found out?"

"He's Dumbledore!" whispered John, in reply.

"John! What are you doing here? Who are you talking to?" came Ron's voice. John turned quickly and stared at Ron.

"Ron! Hi! This? This is a 2-way mirror. I was telling my Aunt about the training," replied Jon, hastily.

"Oh! Okay," said Ron in a drowsy voice, went to his bed and dosed off. John heaved a sigh of relief.

The next day at breakfast, John caught hold of Harry before Harry left for Christmas.

"Hey, Harry! I wanted to ask... Rather tell you something," said John.

"Yeah"

"You should probably not keep this a secret from Daisy," suggested John.

"Why?" asked Harry, surprised.

"Well, you were telling me about how you'd rather not keep it a secret from her but did so because your Aunt told you to. I was thinking that, if you decided to continue lying, you'd have a lot of trouble doing that, right? I mean, details and all," remarked John.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true. But how am I supposed to tell her? This would sound absolutely crazy. It did to me when I first found out," asked Harry.

"That... my friend..." he paused for a second and continued, "Is your problem. I was just giving friendly advice," replied John.

"I'll think over it," replied Harry.

Chapter Text

Harry woke up with a jolt. His scar was hurting. He rubbed on his scar, but nothing happened, the pain remained. It was a very different kind of pain, it felt weird. It was almost as if someone was pricking him with 5-10 needles at the same spot continuously.

It was the 4th time in a week he had woken up this way, and in all those times, he had experienced the same nightmare. His parents would disappear in a flash of green light. There would be a faint scream of, "NO!". Followed by a high voice cackling with laughter.

After lying awake for some time, Harry went back to sleep. In the morning, he decided to tell somebody about his nightmares. Since both Ron and John were at Hogwarts, he decided he'd write a letter to them telling them about this, asking if he should do something.

"Hi, John! Thank you so much for your Christmas present, I hope it brings me all the luck in the world," wrote Harry. And he continued, "No need to be alarmed, but for the past 3-4 days I have been getting this nightmare, the same one every time."

Harry then went on to describe the nightmare in as much detail as possible. He finished off with, "PS: Tell Ron about this too, he may know something."

Harry re-read his letter and went to Hedwig.

"Give this to John, and stay at Hogwarts if you want. I'll be going there in a few days anyway," he said to Hedwig.

…

Ron was staying at Hogwarts along with Fred, George and Percy for the Christmas holidays since his parents decided to visit Charlie who was in Romania. He was having a blast at the almost empty Hogwarts. One fine afternoon, the twins along with Ron were having an intense snowball fight. After a good one hour, they came into the Gryffindor common room, cold, wet and gasping for breath. John, who was sitting in the common room, noticed Ron coming and decided to wait for some time before telling him about the letter.

"Ron!" called John.

"Hey, John!" said Ron cheerfully. "Why aren't you at the library?" asked Ron and started laughing immediately.

"Ha-ha! Very funny," replied John and continued, "Will you come here for a minute?" he asked.

Ron got up and went to where John was sitting. He got up and dragged Ron out of the common room.

"Where are we going?" asked Ron, confused.

"Somewhere quiet!" replied John.

They went outside the common room and were now walking through a deserted corridor. John stopped suddenly, looked around and gave Ron the letter. Ron, who had gone from feeling joyous to perplexed was now feeling serious. He read the letter silently and after a minute, he gave the letter back to John.

"I don't know!" he replied.

"Neither do I," replied John. There was silence between the two and finally, John started talking.

"I'll just write to him telling him not to worry. His scar is not something any of us understand. If this continues even after he comes back, we'll go to Professor McGonagall," remarked John.

"He has had these nightmares before. But only once or twice," added Ron. After a moment's pause, he continued, "What did you give him for Christmas?" asked Ron. "What's this luck he's talking about?" he added, intrigued.

"I just gave him a totem," replied John. "It is supposed to bring luck to anyone who owns it," he added. The true purpose of the totem that John didn't tell Ron or Harry was that it was a Portkey. A Portkey that'll take Harry whenever he wishes, directly to 4, Privet Drive.

Later that day John sent an owl back to Harry telling him not to worry as decided earlier.

Two days before the term was to begin, Harry came back to Hogwarts. He hadn't had any nightmares since that day. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that the whole idea was stupid. There was no reason to worry after all. He told John and Ron all about the way muggles celebrated Christmas, which wasn't very different to how Wizards/Witches did. He told all the fun things he did during the holidays with Dudley and Daisy. They had gone to the Zoo with Aunt Petunia, they had gone to the movies, the snowball fights, the baking fiasco. It was a fun afternoon spent by the three of them.

In the evening, when Ron had gone to play Wizard's Chess with Percy and the twins, John asked Harry if he had told Daisy about him being a wizard.

"So, Harry, did you tell Daisy that you are a wizard?" asked John.

"I did," replied Harry, his face going slightly red.

"And?" asked John curiously. "I can tell by the look on your face, that she took it well," he added, smiling.

"She did, surprisingly better than I expected. She kept asking me how France was, how they taught in their schools if I could speak French and so on. I tried to steer the conversation away, but finally, I just blurted it out," he replied, smiling.

{… Harry and Daisy's conversation …}

"I need to tell you something," began Harry.

Daisy was grinning at him. "Okay… What is it HP?" she asked. "Do you have a girlfriend now, Potter?" she added laughing.

"What? NO! I.. I uh... I am a wizard," replied Harry in a low voice, still hesitant and hoping a little that she wouldn't hear.

"You're a what, Harry?" she asked, still laughing but mildly confused.

"I am a wizard," repeated Harry, a little more confidently.

"What's that supposed to mean?" retorted Daisy.

"It means, I did not go to a school in France," replied Harry. There was a visible confusion on Daisy's face. Harry waited for a few seconds for her to say something, but she didn't say anything. Not knowing what to do, he decided to tell her everything. He started off with the letter and how he had hidden from her about it, about his scar (which till then was just thought of as a birthmark), about how his parents died, Voldemort, about Hagrid, Hogwarts, everything.

Daisy had a lot of questions and Harry answered them as much as he could.

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? Why did you lie about France?" asked Daisy. There was a look of disappointment in her eyes.

"I wasn't supposed to. I shouldn't be telling you this now," replied Harry, helpless. "There's something called the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. Muggles, I mean people with no magic in them aren't supposed to know about magic," he remarked.

Harry was staring down at the floor. He was wondering if telling the truth was a good idea.

After a minute, Daisy spoke again. "So, why tell me now?" she asked.

"I didn't want to lie to you. I couldn't keep lying to you," sighed Harry.

"Okay HP!" she said. The room was filled with an awkward silence for what felt like ages, but Daisy spoke cheerfully.

"So, you're telling me that you can move stuff with your wand, without touching them?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I can make them fly," replied Harry as a smile appeared on his face.

"Show me," retorted Daisy, instantly.

"I'm not supposed to do magic outside of Hogwarts," replied Harry.

"Why?"

"Underage magic is not allowed. I can't use magic outside of Hogwarts till I'm 17."

"You lot have so many rules," sighed Daisy, disappointed. "One of these days, I'm going to see you do magic," she added.

That day was nearing, and she will never forget that day for the rest of her life.

Chapter Text

Harry woke up early on the first day of the new term. He put on his glasses and looked towards Ron, who was still sleeping. The moment he got up, his eyes fell on a small package that was kept at the foot of his bed. He picked it up and read his name on the label. Thinking it must be a Christmas present, he unwrapped the package and something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor, where it lay in gleaming folds. Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch like water being woven into the material. Harry noticed that there was also a note.

He opened the letter and read, "Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well. A Very Merry Christmas to you."

There was no signature. Harry stared at the letter wondering who sent it, and what it was he was holding. It looked like some type of a cloak, but it felt so weird to touch. Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and walked towards the mirror. He was shocked by what he was seeing. His head was suspended in mid-air, and his body was gone. He gave a mild shriek and removed the cloak. Now he could see himself properly. He threw the cloak back on his shoulders and saw that he had become invisible again. His heart was racing, what was it that he was holding, he wondered if it was some kind of an invisibility cloak. He removed the cloak and ran towards Ron to wake him up.

"RON! Wake up!" roared Harry, excitedly.

"Harry! Leave me alone" said Ron half asleep.

"You wouldn't believe what I have here," exclaimed Harry.

"What?" asked Ron, still half asleep.

"It's a cloak. Look I'm invisible!" replied Harry.

Ron woke up with a jolt and looked around. Harry was nowhere to be seen. "Harry," he called out. No response came. And then suddenly Harry removed the cloak and Ron gasped.

"Harry! What is that?" he asked, grabbing the cloak as Harry handed it to him. "These are so rare, so valuable, where did you get it?" he asked, feeling the cloak.

"I don't know," replied Harry and handed Ron the letter. After some time, Ron spoke again.

"Maybe it was Professor McGonagall or something. Who else could have sent you this?" he asked.

"No idea!" replied Harry.

Harry told John and Hermione about the cloak and the letter later that day. Both of them were surprised by its existence.

"Invisibility cloaks are so rare, Harry," said Hermione. Gave a pause and continued, "If this did belong to your father, then this must be at least 10-15 years old," she remarked.

"She's right," added John. "Invisibility cloaks don't last that long. But this has. This one must be really special," he added. After a moment's silence, he continued, but in a low voice. "Harry, if I were you, I wouldn't go about telling everyone about this," he warned.

Hermione nodded and Harry seemed to agree. The first day of the term went well for Harry. Oliver, the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team was already talking about strategies and intense training sessions. Later in the evening, Harry, Hermione, Ron and John were sitting by the fireplace after dinner.

"I still can't believe we haven't found out who this Nicholas Flamel is," said Ron.

"I have gone through a lot of books, but no luck," added John.

"Did you try the restricted section?" asked Hermione glancing at John.

"Hermione, it's the restricted section. It is restricted! So no, I haven't tried it yet," replied John looking annoyed. But then he sat up straight. "Harry, you should go and look at the restricted section," exclaimed John.

"How? We need a permission letter from a professor. Who will give me that? And what will I say, when they ask me the reason?" asked Harry, perplexed.

"We need a permission letter, not you," replied John.

"Wh-" began Harry and suddenly it struck him, "The invisibility cloak!" he shouted.

"No, no way. That's a bad idea. You'll be in trouble, Harry. What if someone sees you?" retorted Hermione, concerned.

"It's an invisibility cloak, Hermione. How could anyone see him through that?" asked Ron. He continued, "Harry, go tonight," he suggested.

"Okay, I'll go tonight," replied Harry.

Hermione gave a look of disapproval but didn't say anything. John was looking perplexed, but it was decided. Harry would use his invisibility cloak to go to the library's restricted section to look for Nicholas Flamel. When everybody had gone to sleep, and the common room was empty, Harry slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around himself. Looking down at his legs, he saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling.

"Use it well," the note had said. The whole of Hogwarts was open to him, wearing this cloak. Excitement flooded through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know. He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room and climbed through the portrait hole.

"Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady. Harry said nothing. He walked quickly down the corridor. The library was pitch black and very eerie. Harry lit a lamp to see his way along the rows of books. The lamp looked as if it was floating along in mid-air, and even though Harry could feel his arm supporting it, the sight gave him the creeps. The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope which separated these books from the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read the titles.

They didn't tell him much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelt words in languages Harry couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be. He had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, he looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting-looking book. A large black and silver volume caught his eye. He pulled it out with difficulty because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on his knee, let it fall open.

A piercing, blood-curdling shriek split the silence – the book was screaming! Harry snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on one high, unbroken, ear-splitting note. He stumbled backwards and knocked over his lamp, which went out at once. Panicking, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside, stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, he ran for it. He passed Filch almost in the doorway; Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through him and Harry slipped under Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in his ears. He came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armour. He had been so busy getting away from the library, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going. Perhaps because it was dark, he didn't recognise where he was at all. There was a suit of armour near the kitchens, he knew, but he must be five floors above there.

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library, The Restricted Section."

Harry felt the blood drain out of his face. Wherever he was, Filch must know a shortcut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape who replied.

"The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."

Harry stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see him, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into him, the Cloak didn't stop him from being solid. He backed away as quietly as he could. A door stood ajar to his left. It was his only hope. He squeezed through it, holding his breath, trying not to move it, and to his relief, he managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past and Harry leant against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before he noticed anything about the room he had hidden in. It looked like a disused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls and there was an upturned waste-paper basket – but propped against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.

It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top,

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi"

Harry moved closer to the mirror to get a better view. The moment he got close enough, he almost shrieked loudly, for he saw a bunch of people standing behind him in the reflection. He quickly turned behind, but there was no one behind him. He saw the reflection again and noticed to his surprise Ron, John, Daisy, Dudley and Aunt Petunia amongst the people. He looked closely at the people who he couldn't recognise, all the while wondering, what this mirror actually was.

It took him a few moments to realise, but the moment he did, he stumbled backwards in shock. He had only seen them in photos till now, but there they were standing behind him in the reflection. His Mom, Dad and Uncle Vernon. The panic that he had come into the room with had now turned into an unexplainable feeling. There was an involuntary smile on his face, he felt elated, and he stood there for a long time admiring the reflection in the mirror.

The next morning Harry told Ron, John and Hermione about his late-night adventure.

"You were very lucky, Harry," remarked Hermione.

"What did you say you saw in the mirror again?" asked John.

"Well you were there, Ron was there too. And besides Ron were Daisy, Dudley, and Aunt Petunia. Standing beside Aunt Petunia was my mother, my dad and Uncle Vernon."

"Let's go see this mirror tonight," said Ron.

"I want to have a look too," said John.

"We can't all go, we'll be seen," replied Harry.

"We'll do this... The invisibility cloak can't cover all 3 of us. So you and Ron take the cloak," remarked John.

"What about you?" asked Ron.

"I'll trust my luck. And if I get caught, you guys go on, Filch won't be able to see you. I'll just lie that I wasn't feeling sleepy or something," replied John, nonchalantly.

"That's a bad idea," retorted Harry.

"Yeah, if you get caught, you'll be in big trouble. You have a certain reputation, John," said Hermione.

"What reputation?" asked John, though he knew full well what it was. Since his first confrontation with Snape, he had had similar but less offensive confrontations with Snape. He also argued and questioned in class, he was never afraid of talking back. Though every Professor in Hogwarts liked John, he always seemed just a tad short of coming off as arrogant and ill-disciplined.

So, later that night, despite Hermione's valiant efforts to stop the execution of the plan, the plan proceeded. Ron and Harry were easily covered under the cloak, and John was treading beside them carefully, trying not to make a sound. Harry guided them to the room where he saw the mirror. John was indeed lucky, as this time, nobody heard or saw the three walking. Once they reached the room, Harry pointed to the large mirror. He walked towards it and saw the same reflection he had seen the previous day.

"Look, that's you and John, those 2 are Daisy and Dudley, and they are my parents and my Aunt and Uncle," said Harry pointing at the people while he named them. But Ron and John couldn't see anything.

"Can't see anything mate," said Ron.

"Stand in front of the mirror," said Harry, and moved aside for Ron to come closer. "Now can you see them?" asked Harry eagerly.

"No… I'm alone… Wait, I look different, a bit older… and I uh, I am HEAD BOY," said Ron getting excited. "I'm wearing the badge as Bill used to, and I'm holding the house cup and the quidditch cup too… I'm QUIDDITCH CAPTAIN too," he added, excitedly.

Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Harry.

"Do you think this mirror shows the future?" asked Ron.

"How can it? All my family are dead. Let me have another look..." replied Harry.

"You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time," retorted Ron.

"You're only holding the Quidditch Cup, what's interesting about that? I want to see my parents," said Harry and tried to push Ron away, but just then John stopped the pair of them.

"Guys stop! What do you think you're doing?" he said in a strong whisper. "The amount of noise you're making, Filch will definitely hear us," he added. Just then, they heard a sudden noise outside in the corridor. Ron and Harry quickly covered themselves with the cloak as John stood behind the mirror.

It was Mrs Norris, Filch's cat. She was standing there looking at thin air and after a minute it turned away.

"Harry, let's go, it's not safe to be here anymore," remarked Ron, hastily.

"John, come on," said Harry as he and Ron made a move.

"I'll come, you guys go," said John and stayed back to have a look in the mirror.

…

The next day at breakfast, Harry and Ron were talking about what they had seen in the mirror, as Hermione joined them.

"What happened last night?" she asked Harry. Harry recalled the events and told her about what he had seen, Ron told her what he had seen in the mirror.

She listened eagerly and said, "It can't be the future, maybe it is showing you what you want to see," she remarked. "Where's John?" she asked, looking around.

"He… I don't know, haven't seen him since last night," said Harry, a sudden thought coming to his mind, "Have you seen him, Ron?" he asked.

"No, I haven't," replied Ron. All 3 of them were thinking the same thing. What if John was caught by Filch?

"You don't think..." began Harry but didn't finish the sentence. John was missing from their classes too. By the end of their classes, they were wondering if he had been expelled, punished by Professor McGonagall or even worse.

"I… saw… her," he said, in a stuttering voice and continued, "I haven't felt like this in a long time," he continued.

"John, it's okay, what's happened has happened. There's nothing we can do about it," she replied. "Look at me… John!" she called out in a throaty voice. John looked up at the 2-way mirror.

"Jane, I don't know what that thing is... How it knows... It… It was there, and then it was blank, and then it showed me," mumbled John, shivering and stuttering.

Hermione was extremely worried about John. She asked Professor McGonagall as casually as she could if she had seen him anywhere. But the Professor hadn't. Hermione went to the library, but John wasn't there either. The only place she could think of was the lake.

From afar she couldn't spot John, but as she went nearer, she could see the outline of a person sitting behind a tree. As she got closer to the tree, she could hear faint voices. The closer she got, the louder the voice became, and she instantly recognised it as John's.

She was about to call out his name when she heard him cry. It sounded like he was talking to someone.

She could barely hear broken sentences,

"... broke me..." he said.

"... illusion ..." said a woman's voice.

"Yeah… Dark magic..."

Not wanting to snoop anymore, Hermione decided to leave John alone. It was the first time she had heard him cry. Something about the whole thing made her really sad. She wondered what John had seen in the "Mirror of Erised" and left for the common room.

"I'll be fine, but I'm never going back there. That mirror is pure evil," exclaimed John.

"Write to me if anything else happens. And don't go looking at the mirror again," she replied.

"I won't!" he said, wiping tears off his face. But then another thought came to him, "Jane, do you know of any invisibility cloaks that have lasted a couple of decades or more?" he asked.

"No, why do you ask?" she replied curiously.

"Did you know that James owned one? Somebody gifted Harry an invisibility cloak, the note said it belonged to his father," remarked John.

"Oh! I had no idea," she replied, shocked.

Chapter Text

It has been an eventful couple of weeks. It obviously began with Harry getting that invisibility cloak and that wretched "Mirror of Erised". I took a break from class for a day, but I didn't tell anyone about it. Turns out, they were worried about me, but I managed the situation pretty well.

"Hey, guys, what's for dinner?" I asked, trying to sound cheerful and excited.

"John! Where have you been? Did Filch see you yesterday?" asked Harry.

"We were worried about you, mate. Where were you?" asked Ron.

"No, Filch didn't see me. I was just bored, you know? That's why I didn't come to class," I replied.

Ron and Harry sighed in relief, though Hermione didn't have any noticeable reaction. Later, after dinner, she asked me what I saw in the mirror.

"So, John, did you see the mirror? What did it show you?" she asked me.

"I did! It was interesting. I saw myself sitting in a mansion, you know the type that muggles own? It was near a beach. It's funny, I have always wanted to live like that," I replied. Hermione did not look entirely convinced, but she didn't prod further. I don't think anybody suspects or knows what a wreck I was.

The following few days, I saw Harry leave at around midnight. I suspected he was sneaking off to see the mirror. I tried to talk him out of it but didn't work.

"Harry, what are you doing?" I asked.

Harry didn't respond, he seemed to be lost in a completely different world.

"Harry!" I called out. Harry heard me this time.

"Were you saying something?" asked Harry, nonchalantly.

"I uh, no. Actually, I was going to ask you when you were planning on forgetting the mirror!" I replied.

"You know?" he asked, looking sheepish.

"Hard to miss really, that mirror is not doing you any good," I told him.

"You don't understand, none of you understands!" he replied, sounding annoyed.

"I don't understand? I lost my parents when I was young, and I think about them every single day. So, Harry, I understand," I replied.

That was as big a lie as any, wasn't it? Harry's behaviour was worrying, if I have to be honest. He went looking for the mirror and he was getting what he needed. I don't know what that mirror is, I am going to find out.

"I'm sorry! You do understand, then why should I stop seeing that mirror?" asked Harry.

"Because, these past few days, you've been really out of focus in a lot of things, quidditch included. I heard Oliver telling you yesterday that you were not at your best during the practice session. He doesn't know that you are spending most of your time thinking about something that you can never have," I told him.

Harry obviously still went to see the mirror that day, and the next, but then came Dumbledore. That man is God, knows everything that goes on at the castle.

"So, back again Harry?" asked Dumbledore. Harry was so engrossed in his thoughts, that he had not even noticed Dumbledore sitting on one of the desks in the room while entering it.

"I uh… I didn't see you, sir," replied Harry, shocked.

"Strange how short-sighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.

"So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry, "You, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised. I expect you've realised by now what it does?" he asked.

"It… well, it shows me, my family..." replied Harry.

"And it showed your friend Ron himself as Head Boy," remarked Dumbledore.

"How did you know?" asked Harry, surprised.

"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently. "Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?" asked Dumbledore, calmly.

Harry shook his head.

"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?" suggested Dumbledore, smiling.

Harry thought for a moment and replied, "It shows us what we want, whatever we want..."

"Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible. The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It is not advisable to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"

The following morning, Harry told everyone what had happened the previous night. Everybody was now in agreement that the Mirror of Erised was something that was evil. A few days passed and everything was back to normal.

And then one evening, Harry got bad news. He came into the common room tired, drenched in sweat and extremely frustrated.

"Snape's refereeing the next quidditch match," he exclaimed.

"Harry, that's bad. Don't play the next game," said Hermione. Just then I came into the room after my "Charms class with Professor Flitwick". I was not with Professor Flitwick.

"Yeah, pretend that you have a broken leg," suggested Ron. "Or actually break your leg!" he added.

"I can help you with that Harry," I chuckled, but stopped after I got a glare from both, Hermione and Harry.

"Gryffindor doesn't have a reserve seeker, if I back out, that's it, we're lost," replied Harry dejected.

"What's up, guys?" I asked.

"Snape's refereeing the next game," said Ron.

"So?" I retorted.

All three of them glared at me as if I had said something extremely unreasonable. "I'm not kidding this time, I actually don't understand what's the problem. Yes, he'll be biased against Gryffindor, but when isn't he?" I asked.

"It's not quidditch we're worried about, it's Harry," replied Hermione.

"You guys don't actually think... Oh, not you too Hermione?" I retorted, surprised.

"Why is it that you're so sure, Snape will not attack Harry?" asked Ron.

"Because of Dumbledore! Snape won't last a minute alive if he attacks Harry. Plus I don't even think he wants to in the first place," I replied.

"Didn't stop him last time, did it?" replied Ron.

Just then, Neville toppled into the room. He had hopped from the library till here as Draco had put the leg locker curse on him. Hermione and I, both had our wands pointed at him instantly.

"Go on," I said, putting my wand down, and she performed the counter curse easily.

"Neville, have this," and I offered him and the others each a chocolate frog. "And Harry, if you happen to die, don't worry, I'll be your reserve seeker," I said. All I got was an angry stare from Hermione and a look of confusion from Ron. Harry however was focusing on the card that he got in his chocolate frog.

"I knew it! I knew that I had seen his name somewhere before," said Harry excitedly and handed the card to Ron.

I knew they had to find out someday, I wasn't planning on it being then. Ron read the card out loud,

"Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicholas Flamel"

On hearing these words, Hermione ran up to her dormitory and brought down an enormous book.

"Hermione, what's going on?" asked Ron impatiently. Hermione flicked through some pages and said, "Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of The Philosopher's Stone!" she replied and kept flicking the pages of the book she was holding.

"The what?" asked Harry and Ron at the same time.

"Elixir of Life!" I replied growing impatient.

"What do you mean?" asked Ron confused. Hermione then went on to read a big passage about Flamel's works.

So yeah, that's all that happened in the past couple of weeks.

I was also actually meaning to ask something. Does Severus have a grudge against Harry? As far as I know, he absolutely loves him, well, in his own way. And another thing, is Harry in trouble? Find out and tell me as soon as possible.

With Lots of Love
21815

Chapter Text

"Harry! Calm down! So you're telling us that you overheard Snape threaten Quirrell?" asked John.

"I saw Snape going into the forest, minutes after I caught the snitch. He met with Quirrell there. They were talking about the Philosopher's Stone," began Harry, hastily.

"Snape said something about Quirrell not wanting him as an enemy. Quirrell looked petrified. There was also something about guarding," he continued.

"I think there are other things guarding the stone, and maybe Quirrell's defence is the only thing protecting the stone from Snape," finished Harry as the other three looked stunned.

"So, Snape's after the stone and Quirrell knows about this?" asked Ron.

"It seems like that, doesn't it?" replied Hermione.

A couple of weeks went by, but nothing happened. Hermione, however, had started worrying about exams.

During dinner one day, "So, how was your lesson with Snape?" asked Hermione.

"It was good, he taught me a potion. It's a potion that'll paralyse the drinker. It's simple but quite effective," replied John. "I think he's warming up to me. He was quite happy by the end of the lesson. He even gave me Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Bean," added John.

"I'm so worried about the exams, they're only 14 weeks away," remarked Hermione.

"Only?" retorted John, chuckling.

"Yeah, Only! I have so much revision to do," replied Hermione. She went on and on about how she had planned out her study to fit all the subjects and give all of them ample amounts of time.

After dinner, when both of them were walking up the stairs to the common room, it happened.

"So, as I was saying, since there is so much to remember in History of Magic, I have planned to..." she stopped speaking after hearing a thudding noise.

She looked back at John who had fallen on the stairs, his eyes were closed, his body was shaking, and he looked like he was having a seizure. Panicking, Hermione ran to the common room, hoping somebody would be there. She found Percy and they both rushed back to the stairs to a motionless John.

"Please, don't be dead, don't be dead," muttered Hermione as she tried to check if John was breathing. Percy, who didn't know how to help John, did the next best thing. He called Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall confirmed that John was still breathing, and she had arranged for him to be taken to Madam Pomfrey. The Gryffindor common room was silent. John wasn't exactly friends with everybody, but everyone knew him as the guy who stood up to Snape. A few of the first years like Parvathi, Lavender, Seamus, and Dean came and talked with Hermione, mostly to find out what exactly had happened. She told anyone who came to meet her that he had collapsed on the stairs, but she knew that all of this had something to do with Snape. Ron and Harry were shocked when they found out about it. They were at the Great Hall when John had collapsed.

"What do you mean he fell?" asked Ron perplexed.

"We were walking up the stairs, I was just a few steps ahead of him. And then I heard a thud, looked back and he was shaking, his eyes were closed, he looked like he was having a seizure, he couldn't move, he didn't shout or scream, he just collapsed. I came here hoping to find someone, and I found Percy, he called for McGonagall, and John was taken to the Hospital Wing," replied Hermione.

"Hermione!" said Harry softly as he saw her eyes filled with tears. "John will be back soon. He probably just ate something funny," he remarked.

Hermione wiped her tears and whispered, "This was Snape," she said. "He has poisoned John. I know it!" she exclaimed.

"Snape? Why do you think Snape did this?" asked Harry.

"Before dinner, John was telling me about his extra class with Snape. Snape taught some potion it seems. John said that at the end of the class, Snape looked happy, he even gave John Bertie Bott's!" replied Hermione.

"When was the last time we saw Snape be nice to anyone?" asked Harry suspiciously.

"Exactly my point, what if he poisoned John using Bertie Bott's?" replied Hermione.

"Can we see him?" asked Ron.

"McGonagall said no, I asked her, and she said no visitors till tomorrow morning!" replied Hermione. With a heavy heart, worried and feeling helpless, the golden trio went to bed, praying that John would be fine soon.

They woke up the next morning and went to the Hospital Wing right away. To their utter disappointment, John wasn't there.

"Madam Pomfrey, where's John?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, we wanted to see him," added Ron as Harry nodded along.

"John? The poor boy was in a lot of pain. He's not here, he's been transferred to St Mungo's," replied Madam Pomfrey.

"St Mungo's?" asked Ron shocked.

"Yes," she replied.

"St Mungo's means bad. It's for serious injuries," remarked Ron to the confused pair of Harry and Hermione.

"I have missed you so much! Did you realize that these few months have been the first time you have been away from me?" she asked.

"I have missed you too!" replied John, smiling.

"So, how did you do it?" she asked.

"I didn't do anything! I just asked Severus to use all the hatred he has for me, and make a potion out of it," he replied. After a few moments, he asked, "So, any updates?"

"Nothing, well I couldn't find anything. As I told you earlier, Severus doesn't have a grudge against Harry. Well, not enough to make him kill Harry, anyway! And as to the other thing, I don't think Harry is in any trouble." she replied.

"And what about Daisy?" he asked. Just then the doorbell rang. The Smiths lived in a muggle part of the town, hence they had to live the muggle way.

"John, open the door, will you? And no magic!" she said and continued, "I have a surprise for you."

John went to the door, opened it and saw a girl, about 10 to 12 years old, brown-haired, taller than average for her age, standing outside holding a bag.

"Hi, you are?" asked John, confused. But then it instantly dawned on him.

"Hi, I am Daisy Taylor-Williams," she replied, equally confused. She looked up and down at John and then looked at the door number.

"Daisy, come on in," came the voice of Jane Smith from inside the house. Colour drained from John's face as he found himself gesturing at Daisy to come on in. John looked at Daisy and then at his Aunt, and all his fears came true.

"Jane! Can I have a word with you?" whispered John, angrily. Jane excused herself and went inside a room where John was pacing angrily.

"What on Merlin's name have you been doing?" asked John.

"What do you mean?" retorted Jane, smiling.

"You know what I mean!" exclaimed John.

"Calm down! This is what we had planned ages ago," she replied.

"What is Daisy doing in this house?" asked John.

"She's a smart student, she's just here for some extra training from her teacher," she replied, calmly.

"Her teacher?" retorted John.

"Oh! I think I forgot to mention, I am a teacher now. I teach muggles Math. It was a surprise to me when I found out, Daisy was a student in that very school." she replied, smiling.

"Are you going to tell me with a straight face that you didn't know? You orchestrated this whole thing," replied John, annoyed.

"You wanted this, I have just made your life easier!" remarked Jane, feeling annoyed.

"I didn't ask for your help. I wasn't even sure about this," he replied. Jane put her arm around John, kissed him on his forehead, and left the room.

"Daisy, sorry I'm late. That was my nephew, he just got home today," said Jane with a warm smile on her face.

"It's okay, Mrs Smith," replied Daisy. A couple of hours went by and John did not come out of the room. Finally, he heard footsteps going outside the house and voices that said "Bye". He came out of the room a few minutes after that, still looking furious.

"What were you doing inside?" asked Jane, nonchalantly.

"Burying myself in anger and disappointment!" he replied.

"Don't be so dramatic," retorted Jane.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"I don't understand your problem here. The reason you are here and not at Hogwarts is to meet Daisy, right? You got yourself poisoned for it, you asked help from Severus of all people, and now that you're here, you seem angry at me for making your life easier," exclaimed Jane.

"I was going to watch her, not meet her. How do you think the conversation between Daisy and Harry will go down in the summer? asked John. But he continued without waiting for a reply, "Hey, Harry, I met a guy a few months back, his name was John, we became friends, and then he left randomly a month later," he said in his best impression of Daisy. "Oh! That's odd, I have a friend named John too, he too disappeared from my class for exactly a month," he finished with an impression of Harry.

After a moment's silence, he continued, "Now thanks to you, I can never ever be in the presence of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Daisy," he snapped.

"Do you know how many people named John exist in this country? The answer is a lot. You'll be fine, don't worry!" replied Jane, smiling.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11 is here!
Hope you like this chapter. Regardless of how the reviews of this chapter turn out, I'm proud of this one. This is the first chapter of mine that is entirely original. While working on the last few chapters, I had been feeling a bit low, and after much deliberation, I decided to pull this off right away. I feel like I'm back with all my energy and hope you'll like it. Enjoy!

The mood in the Smith household that day was one of silence, not because words weren't there to be spoken, but because they were, yet weren't spoken. John who wasn't angry anymore felt a bit sorry about earlier but was in no mood to apologise. Jane on the other hand had gotten used to a silent house. The next day when the doorbell rang, John looked at Jane and asked, "Is she going to be here every day?"

"Not every day, No, only on the weekends!" replied Jane. John opened the door, and made a quick turn and walked into his room. If Daisy knew better, she'd have known John was upset about Daisy, but she didn't and hence chalked the behaviour down to a fight. As time went by, Daisy started noticing how different that day was. The usually chirpy and charming Mrs Smith seemed much more subdued. One of the reasons Daisy loved coming here was Mrs Smith's attitude, her personality, the warmth that she had, and just the uncanny ability to react perfectly to every situation. Mrs Smith was also relatable amongst the students due to her age. She was the youngest teacher in her school by a margin of at least 10-15 years. But this day was different, she wondered if it was due to a fight with her nephew. So, towards the end of the class, she decided she should say something.

"I'm making some tea, do you want some?" asked Mrs Smith.

"Sure, thank you" she replied. As Mrs Smith got up and went towards the kitchen, she followed. "Are you ok, Mrs Smith?" she asked, trying to sound as polite and as less nosy as possible.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine! Why do you ask?" Mrs Smith replied.

"No reason, I just thought you were a bit more silent today than usual" she replied.

"I was, wasn't I?"

The room was filled with even more silence. Mrs Smith gave Daisy a cup of tea and sat down beside her.

"Have you completed the questions?" asked Mrs Smith.

"I have! It took about 20 minutes," she replied.

"You need to get the number down to 15..." After some 5 minutes, just as Daisy was about to leave, Mrs Smith spoke again, "Really, I am fine. It's just that he," she pointed at the room where John was, "well, I am seeing him for the first time in over half a year. We've both been a bit moody since yesterday." John came into the room, gave a cursory glance to the pair, and went to the kitchen. The moment Daisy left, John came and sat beside Jane.

"Jane, I'm sorry about yesterday," he said and gave a quick hug to Jane.

"I'm sorry about this too, I should have told you earlier that I was planning something like this."

"Okay, so, I was thinking, now that Daisy has seen me, there's no point in trying to be stealthy. I have a month, and I have to use it well!"

"Yes, you do," replied Jane.

Even though John had made an elaborate plan to take a month's break from Hogwarts and come home, he had not made any plans on what he'll be doing. As the week began, he found himself wandering the neighbourhood, just walking around all the streets. He made it a point to go to the school where Jane taught, towards the end of the day, to get a glimpse of Daisy, which happened on 2-3 occasions throughout the week. The week flew by in a flash, and it was the weekend again. John decided to go out and spend some time at the abandoned park reading a book. He had only walked a few steps when he saw Daisy coming from the opposite side.

"Hi, Daisy," he said, wondering if he could have said something else, or maybe he shouldn't have said anything at all.

"Hi" she replied.

"Extra class, huh?"

"Yeah"

"Have a nice day," he said, smiled and walked away. After walking a few steps away from Daisy, he thought to himself, "Have a nice day, what a load of nonsense, how could I not come up with something better than that?" The next day, he found himself sitting in the hall when the doorbell rang. He promptly got up, opened the door, greeted her, gestured her into the house, closed the door after her, and came and sat down at the table, adjacent to where Jane usually sat. Daisy sat down at her usual chair and removed books, notebooks and her writing material from her bag. John picked up one of the books Daisy had removed and was looking through it when Jane came into the hall.

"Aunt Jane, I didn't know that you took English," he said pointing at the book he was holding.

"I don't," she replied, as she was going through the Math book.

"I have my exams from tomorrow, tomorrow is English," said Daisy.

"Your exams? You have them this early?" asked John curiously.

"No, these aren't the main ones, it's just practice, mock test sort of thing," she replied.

"Can I borrow this, till you're here?" he asked, holding the English book.

"Yeah, sure!" she replied. A the end of the class, while John was returning the book,

"Thanks for lending me this," he said.

"You're welcome! Why did you want it anyway?" she asked.

"I was bored, and I found that book interesting," he said.

"Are you serious right now?" she asked.

"Yeah, I like reading," he replied, not sure how else to respond to that.

"You're weird," she remarked and made her way out of the house.

"I'm weird? Why would you bring your English book to a math class?" he asked, trying to make fun of her.

"I was planning on going to the park from here. It's quiet there!" she replied. John hadn't realised this, but he was walking outside the gate with Daisy.

"Yeah, I have been there, it's a good place," he replied. He had walked a good 50 meters when he realised what he was doing. "Good luck with your exams!"

"Thank you!" she replied and he smiled and walked back home.

John's routine in the following week was pretty much the same as it was in the previous. He would spend most of his day randomly roaming the neighbourhood, go to the school at closing time, notice Daisy from afar, come back home with Jane. The weekend arrived and John decided that it was time to connect properly with Daisy. So, when Daisy came for her class that day, he talked her into skipping class. Getting permission from Jane was easy since she knew what he was up to.

"Thanks for this, I was extremely bored in the house, and I badly needed company," he said.

"Thanks to you too, I have never really skipped this class. It's a good change of pace, but sometimes I have wished to take a break, you know?" she replied.

"Yeah, you can ask for breaks, Aunt Jane is not mean!"

"No, no, it's not that. She's really sweet, but I don't usually need it."

"What do you mean? You could hang out with friends, do something fun," he asked.

"I don't have a lot of friends. I know a lot of people, but friends, hardly any," she replied.

"You don't have any friends? How is that possible?"

"I have 1 very good friend, best of the kind really, but he's not here. Apart from him, no, I don't have a lot of friends."

"What about school? Your classmates?"

"School? I don't like my classmates at all… Bunch of bullies!" she replied, anger and frustration evident in her tone. John suddenly felt bad for her, he had no idea about whatever she was facing in school.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," he replied.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Nothing specific, I just wanted to get out of the house. We could just hang out at the park, go to the lake or something." They decided to go to the park.

"So, umm… wait, what's your name? You never told me your name!" she asked.

"John," he replied and continued, "you didn't know my name till now?"

"No," she said embarrassed.

"It's alright, I don't think I have ever mentioned it. So, what were you going to ask?"

"So, John, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you have school? And where did you come from? I didn't even know till you came that Mrs Smith had a nephew."

"I am homeschooled! I was actually with my father all this time, just came here to spend some time with Aunt Jane."

"Homeschooled? Wow, I have never met anyone who was homeschooled. I bet it must be brilliant."

"It has its advantages," he replied. They spent hours just chatting about random rubbish.

"So, you said earlier that you had a friend, but he wasn't here anymore."

"Oh! Him, yeah, he went somewhere else to study. Transferred Schools!"

"That sucks," he replied.

"Harry was the first person I met in this place. 6 years ago that was!"

"6 years? That's a long time."

"Yeah, the 3 of us were really close. We spent most of our free time together."

"3?"

"Harry has a brother, cousin, named Dudley."

"Oh! Dudley? So, he transferred too?"

"No, he's still here! But I don't talk to him all that much," she replied. It was getting late, so they left the park and decided to go home.

"It was good talking to you," she said as they reached her home.

"Yeah, you too, today was fun," he replied. "Bye, see you tomorrow!"

"Bye," she replied. John was beaming when he got home.

"How was today?" asked Jane who saw John's beaming face.

"Fun, that was fun," he replied. As they were talking about John's day, there was a buzzing noise that made them stop talking.

"What's that noise?" asked Jane

"I don't know," he replied and got up.

"Wands at the ready, John!" she said. Both of them got ready with their wands, but nothing happened. As they tried to trace the origin of the buzzing sound, they realised that it was coming from John's bag that he had brought from Hogwarts.

"Oh No! No, no, no!" muttered John and rushed towards his bag and removed what looked like a wristwatch.

"What happened?" asked Jane.

"Harry's in danger," he said, handing Jane the watch.

"What is this?"

"Every needle is someone, and they point to their status, specifically if they are in danger or not. I scanned Ron, Harry and Hermione when I got an opportunity and created this watch. Look, Harry's status is pointing at Danger."

"How can Harry be in danger, but Ron and Hermione are fine?" asked Jane marvelling at the watch.

"I don't know, but this can't be good," he replied. "Do you think I should return to Hogwarts?" he asked.

"I don't know, but whatever danger Harry is in, surely people like Dumbledore and Severus can help, right?"

The worried faces of John and Jane told the whole story. John decided to stay put for the moment but decided to keep the watch with himself there onwards.

It was a warm Sunday afternoon. After Daisy was done with her class, both of them decided to go to the lake. On their way to the lake, they had the misfortune of meeting Dudley.

"Dicey, what are you doing here? And who's this? Your brother?" asked Dudley mockingly.

"Shut up Dudley" replied Daisy.

"Dicey?" asked John, trying not to laugh.

"Stupid nickname," she replied.

"Well, if it was given by Dudley, what else could it be?" replied John.

"What did you just say?" retorted Dudley.

"What's this guy name, and why is he called Dudley?" asked John.

"His name is Dudley," replied Daisy.

"Man, your name is Dudley? I'm so sorry! Imagine being called Dudley!" he said and started laughing. Dudley who had gone quiet for a few moments was clenching his teeth in anger and embarrassment.

"Say another word, and I'll knock your teeth out" taunted Dudley.

"Will you now?"

"Pretty boy won't be a pretty boy anymore!" retorted Dudley.

"Dudley the Ugly would know all about that, wouldn't he?" retorted John back.

That was it, Dudley flung himself at John and tried to throw punches. It was chaos out there, as Daisy tried to stop the boys from hurting each other. They both landed a few punches, but John was surprisingly strong for Dudley, even though he was shorter than him. After a few seconds, they stopped fighting.

"Dudley, go home, NOW! Or Aunt Petunia will hear about this!" said Daisy authoritatively and turned to look at John, "And John, apologise to him" she said.

"Sorry DtU," he said, as Dudley walked away muttering something under his breath. "What was that?" asked John.

"Nothing, I was just telling Daisy to ask her brother to stay away from me," he said and left.

"Why does this guy keep calling me your brother?"

"I have no idea, but that, that was the best thing I have seen in a long time!" said Daisy with a broad smile on her face.

"He bothers you a lot, does he?"

"No, not really! It was all fun and stuff till Harry was here, but since he left, Dudley has been meaner to me! You're bleeding, let's go home."

"It's alright, it was just a punch," he replied, but Daisy wasn't listening, she dragged him home.

"John! What have you done?" asked Jane the moment she opened the door.

"Good old fistfight, that's all"

"I'll get you some ice," said Jane and left to get some ice and a cloth. Daisy left for her house soon after that. The moment she left, Jane turned to John.

"What on earth were you thinking?"

"What? The guy was a bully, I just gave him some of his own medicine!"

"What if he had gotten hurt?"

"He had gotten hurt? You're joking, right? First of all, do you know how big Dudley is? And second, really? He had gotten hurt?"

"It was hardly a fair fight, wizard versus a muggle!"

"I didn't use my wand! What sort of an idiot do you think I am to use my wand in front of a muggle and at another?"

"Are you telling me that you wouldn't have if it had gotten worse?"

"I didn't let it go bad! Calm down Jane, Dudley is Harry's brother, I'll apologise to him when I meet him properly. This was just for fun!"

The following week, John made sure that he was at the school during closing time every day, and then to walk home with Daisy to her house.

"You don't need to do this every day! Dudley wouldn't dare do anything to me, he's mostly all talk!" said Daisy.

"I'm not risking it, especially since it was me who said those things! Plus, I'm bored at home anyway."

"Thanks, but I'm fine, really!" she said. As they were nearing her house, a sudden thought came to her mind. This had been bugging her for a while now, but she had always brushed it aside. "If you don't mind me asking, how does a person as young as Mrs Smith have a nephew as old as you?"

"Complimenting her to me is not going to win you any brownie points! She's not that young!" he smirked. They both had a hearty laugh, and Daisy replied,

"I'm glad that we met"

"So am I, but don't get used to it!" he replied.

"Why? When are you leaving?"

"I don't know, one of these days!" he replied.

The week went by swiftly, and it was time for the weekend again. Jane did not allow Daisy to skip her class again. So, it was only after class that Daisy and John went to the lake. It was a peaceful day, spent well in a peaceful place. As it usually was, most of their conversation was about things that were completely random and funny. From topics ranging from food to science, time travel to swimming, they talked it all.

"So, let me ask you something," said Daisy with a spark in her eye.

"Go on"

"What would you do if you found out that magic existed, but you couldn't use it?"

"What sort of question is this?"

"Just imagine, you're in a world where lots of people know magic, they can use magic, but then there are others who don't have those powers or skills. If you were one of them, how would you feel?"

"Wow! That's a deep one! I don't know, I'll probably just forget about it." he replied worried about where this conversation was going. He was hoping and praying to the old gods and the new that she wouldn't tell him about Harry.

"Come on! Be a bit more creative! There's no way you'll forget magic exists"

"Okay! There are magical people, and there are non-magical people, let's call them No-Maj! If I was a No-Maj, and if I found out that magic exists, I'll probably want to see it being done. I'll want to see people doing magic. I would want to see all the things that they could do like read minds, fly, etc."

"Now that's more like it! I'd want to see it being used too! Do you think these No-Maj people could learn about it?"

This question rang loud alarm bells in his head. He had to somehow change the topic of the conversation as he was in serious danger of saying something he shouldn't.

"It depends, doesn't it? Why can some people do magic, and others not? What is different between the two? Maybe you're born one. It could be that these things aren't something that you can learn like Math."

"I wish we could," she replied. Quickly realising she had let it slip, she said, "I mean, if magic existed, I'd definitely want to be a witch!"

"Yeah me too," he said. Being born a wizard was as big a boon as it was a curse, he thought. But probably the worst thing was to be born as a muggle and be the best friend to the greatest enemy of the Dark Lord. They stayed at the lake till the sunset and returned to their homes. John checked his watch and saw that Harry's needle was still pointing at danger.

"Jane, you wouldn't believe the conversation I had with Daisy," he said. He told Jane about the questions she asked and how close she was to revealing Harry's secret.

"I told you not to sway Harry into telling Daisy about everything," she replied.

"She'd have found out anyway!" After a few minutes, he spoke again,

"Jane, I need to go to Hogwarts!"

"Why? What happened?"

"Nothing, well, nothing till now! But I'm worried. The needle still points to danger. I have had my fun, but I believe it's time for me to return."

"Have you told Daisy you're leaving?"

"Yes and No, but it's best it stays this way," he replied.

That's all for now, people! Do share your thoughts on this chapter. Did you like it? Would you want to read something similar in the future?
PS - Chapter 12 will be out by Friday!

Chapter Text

Chapter 12! Enjoy...

"John! It's good to see you, man! Are you alright?" asked Seamus who saw John at the Great Hall.

"Seamus, yeah I'm good. All better!" replied John.

"What happened? I mean on that day?" asked Seamus.

"Oh! That, that day I just messed up my potions, did something wrong I suppose," he replied. "Do you know where Ron, Hermione and Harry are?"

"Ron's in the hospital wing, a dog bit him or something. Harry is in the common room I think." John rushed to the hospital wing and saw that Ron was lying on one of the beds.

"Ron! Are you alright? What happened?" asked a breathless John.

"John! What are you doing here? You recovered?" asked Ron in return.

"Yeah, I'm okay, I recovered last week itself. What happened to your hand?"

"I… I can't tell you that, ask Harry," he replied. After talking to Ron for a few minutes, John went to the Gryffindor common room to find Harry and Hermione.

"John! You're back!" said Hermione as she gave John a big hug.

"You had us worried there, how are you?" asked Harry.

"Hi guys, I'm fine. I recovered last week itself, and here I am."

"What happened? It was Snape, wasn't it? We tried to tell Professor McGonagall, but she didn't listen. And then there was Hagrid and..."

Hermione stopped speaking and looked at Harry who was looking back at Hermione with confusion.

"Hagrid and? What's going on guys? Why is Ron in the hospital wing?"

Harry and Hermione gestured to John to have a seat in the corner of the common room.

"John, so much has happened since you left," said Harry and continued, "Hagrid got a dragon egg," he said in a whisper and gave a pause, but continued again after a moment, "Hagrid got a dragon egg and was looking at books about dragons in the library. That's when we found out. We tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't listen. A few days later we saw the dragon hatching in Hagrid's hut. But unfortunately, stupid Malfoy saw it too. Since dragon breeding is banned, we thought we'll help Hagrid get rid of the dragon. We wrote to Ron's brother Charlie about this, and he said some of his friends will help. Ron is in the hospital wing because the dragon bit his hand. Today, Hermione and I are going to Hagrid's hut and will take the dragon up to the Astronomy Tower," finished Harry.

"I've been gone a month and you guys have already managed to dig yourself into a mess," replied John after hearing the whole story.

"There's actually one more thing, Draco probably knows our plan," said Hermione.

"How?" asked John but continued speaking before anybody could reply, "No, don't tell, I'd rather not know. Wow!"

Even though John tried to reason his way into helping them, Harry and Hermione refused his help point-blank, stating how he had just recovered from Snape's potion and that this task will be done by them.

The doorbell rang and surprisingly it was Mrs Smith who opened the door.

"Good Morning, Daisy," greeted Mrs Smith.

"Good Morning, Mrs Smith," greeted Daisy and looked around the house but couldn't see John. As she took her usual seat, she asked Mrs Smith about where John was.

"Mrs Smith, where is John? Has he gone out?"

"John? He left yesterday itself Darling, he didn't tell you?"

"No, he didn't," replied an extremely disappointed Daisy.

The next morning when John woke up, the talk of the common room was the giant hourglass, and how Gryffindor had 150 points less than it had on the previous night. Soon the story would start spreading, and Harry went from being a hero to the most hated boy in the whole school. John heard first hand what happened the previous night, how they forgot their invisibility cloak, how Filch caught them and finally that Harry, Hermione and Neville were given detention and 50 points were taken from Gryffindor for each of them.

The exams were only a couple of weeks away and the 4 of them (Harry, Hermione, John and Ron) spent most of their time in isolation preparing for the exams and also avoiding people. A week went by and one afternoon Harry came to the library and told the other 3 about how he had seen Quirrell coming out of a classroom, almost about to cry. Apart from John, everyone was convinced that Snape had found out all the things needed, all the things apart from getting past Fluffy, to steal the philosopher's stone. John left the library citing that he was fed up with studying and took a detour to Snape's office.

"Professor Snape... Severus, do you have a minute?" asked John.

"Mr Smith, no I don't, but since you're here anyway, you may as well speak," replied Snape coldly.

"I have something to show you," said John and gave his watch to Snape. Snape took it from John and observed it for a good 2-3 minutes before speaking again.

"So, what are you doing here?" asked Snape.

"What do you think?"

"It looks good," replied Snape.

"Looks good?"

"Yeah, your watch, it's a good piece of work!"

"What? I didn't mean for you to look at my watch and judge its quality. Look at Harry's status, it shows danger."

"Ask him to stay away from Longbottom, he should be fine," replied Snape.

"You seem to be in a fun mood Severus, I, unfortunately, am not. This has been like this for over a month now. And you're welcome, my friends seem to think you're after the Philosopher's Stone. It's only because of me they haven't reassured themselves of that. Now, you don't want Harry to hate you, do you?"

"Are you threatening me, Mr Smith? That's not something you'd want to do!" retorted Snape.

"What are you going to do? Summon the Dark Lord?" retorted John back.

"How dare you..."

"How dare I? Now, tell me if Harry is in any danger."

"Yes, if he keeps interfering in Hogwarts business!" replied Snape.

"I'll try to stop him from doing that. I came here actually to ask for a favour," said John.

"What?"

"Not now, I'll ask when I need it." With that John left Snape's office.

The following morning, notes were delivered to Harry, Hermione and Neville at the breakfast table. They were all the same,

"Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr Filch in the Entrance Hall.
Prof. M. McGonagall"

"At 11 PM? Why so late?" asked John as he looked over Hermione's shoulder at the note she was holding.

After their Potions class that day, John went to Professor Snape, to ask for the favour.

"Professor Snape"

"Not you again, what is it now?"

"I was hoping to ask a different one at a later time, but I need the favour and I need it now. Give me detention, I want to join Harry and Hermione in the forbidden forest."

"Gladly," replied Snape.

In the evening, Ron, Harry, Hermione and John were sitting in the library practising their charms and memorising the recipes of potions.

"I know what you, Harry, Neville and Malfoy will be doing at 11 PM," said John looking at Hermione, as the other 2 shut their books to listen. "I don't know why, but you guys are going to the forbidden forest with Hagrid."

"What?" exclaimed Ron as Hermione and Harry looked at John curiously.

"The forest? How do you know?" asked Hermione.

"I was talking to Professor McGonagall, that's when I found out," he replied.

All 3 of them were giving worried looks at John. John himself was anxious as he had noticed only a short while back that even Hermione's needle was pointing at danger now.

"Guys, don't worry! You'll be with Hagrid. Plus, if there was any danger, they wouldn't give you detentions at the forest," said John.

Just as he finished saying this, a note came for John, addressed from Snape.

"Detentions at 11 PM, meet Argus Filch in the Entrance Hall
Professor Severus Snape"

"You got detentions too?" asked Harry.

"I didn't submit my homework, that's why. But, I didn't think he'd add me to your group. I thought it was going to be writing something, or polishing trophies for Filch." lied John.

PS - This chapter got a bit delayed, but I promise to release the next one by end of this week. Ciao!

Chapter Text

The 13th Chapter is here, on a Friday! Make of that what you will 😜
Enjoy!

At 11 o'clock that night they said goodbye to Ron in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Neville. Filch was already standing there with Malfoy. They marched off across the dark grounds. As John promised, they heard a distant shout from Hagrid,

"Is that you, Filch? Hurry, I got to get started."

"If you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf, think again, it's the forest you're going into," said Filch, looking at Harry's happy face. At this Neville let out a little moan and Malfoy stopped dead.

"The forest?" asked Malfoy, but a cold look from Filch.

Hagrid then explained to the lot about how he found a unicorn dead the previous week, and how there's unicorn blood all over the forest now. They were to split into 2 groups and look for the injured unicorn in the forest. Since Malfoy wanted Fang, Hagrid split the 2 groups as Malfoy, Fang, Neville and himself in one group whereas John, Hermione and Harry in another.

"Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, send out green sparks, and if you're in trouble send out red sparks," said Hagrid. The 2 groups left in separate directions inside the forest.

"What could be hurting the unicorns, werewolves?" asked Harry. John was wondering the same thing. His mind was on the fact that both Hermione and Harry were shown to be in danger, and the fact that unicorns were found dead and injured didn't seem like a coincidence.

"No Harry, werewolves aren't fast enough. I have read a lot about unicorns, they are quick and powerful magical creatures," replied Hermione. There were traces of unicorn blood all over the place. As they kept walking, they could hear a faint sound of running water.

"We have been walking for 15 minutes," sighed John. Just that moment they heard a rustling of leaves. "Get behind that tree," whispered John.

Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby, it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. They squinted their eyes up the dark path, but couldn't see anything. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved. John removed his wand slowly and was now pointing in the general direction.

"Who's there?" he called out.

And into the clearing came, was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. Harry and Hermione's jaws dropped.

"He's a centaur," whispered John.

"Good Evening," greeted the centaur. "Students, are you?" he asked.

"Yeah," replied John as Hermione and Harry stood there petrified.

"There's something different about you," said the Centaur looking at John.

"I'm John, this is Harry and Hermione. Have you seen a unicorn nearby? There's unicorn blood all over here," asked John.

"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."

"Have you seen anything?" repeated John getting frustrated.

"Mars is bright tonight," replied the Centaur. Harry, John and Hermione looked at each other confused. Looking at their confused faces, the centaur continued, "The forest hides many secrets."

Suddenly there was movement behind the trees, and John got his wand up again, but it was only a second centaur.

"Good evening," greeted the second centaur.

"I was just asking, have you seen an injured unicorn in the forest?" asked John.

"Mars is bright tonight," replied the second centaur.

"Thank you! Well, if you do see anything, let us know," replied John and the three of them walked ahead.

"What was that?" asked Harry after they got a few metres ahead.

"Your guess is as good as mine," replied John.

"Do you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" asked Hermione. Nobody replied, since neither Harry nor John had any idea about what was going on. They were now walking through the dense, dark trees. All 3 of them looked behind nervously from time to time. They had walked for nearly 40 minutes now. Deeper and deeper they went into the forest until the path became almost impossible to follow. They were now closer to the heart of the forest. The blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by.

"Look..." said Hermione and all 3 of them came to a stop. They could see something bright gleaming on the ground. They inched closer to have a look. It was the unicorn and it definitely was dead. Its long slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves. As they took a step forwards towards it, a slithering sound along with the rustling of leaves made them stop and hide behind a tree. Then out of the shadows, they saw a hooded figure come crawling across the ground. It reached the unicorn and lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side and began to drink its blood. As they watched in horror, they saw another figure come out of the shadows. This figure was a man who was in his late 30s, possibly early 40s.

Seeing the man, John nudged Harry and Hermione, gestured them to keep quiet and came out from hiding with his wand pointing at the man.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked. The man looked up and saw John who was standing with his wand pointed at the man.

"Master, shall I finish this boy off?" asked the man in a whisper looking at the hooded figure.

"Finish him!"

The man took out his wand and in a swift motion pointed his wand at John and cried, "Avada Kedavra!"

A jet of green light issued from the man's wand and went towards John. John, who was prepared for this, dodged the curse easily by apparating out of sight and back in. Then, he flicked his wand at the man, red sparks flew from his wand that the man deflected. The pair exchanged spells at each other, that was either countered, blocked or dodged easily. Harry and Hermione were watching the scene with utter shock.

"Who are you boy?" asked the man as white light from the man's wand collided with the white light from John's wand.

"That is not the answer to my question," replied John and cast a spell at the man which he tried to dodge, but failed. He got pushed back a few metres and he stumbled. Just then, Harry felt a pain piercing in his head as he'd never felt before, it was as though his scar was on fire. Hermione let out a shriek as Harry, half-blinded, staggered backwards. The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees. But this had caught the attention of the man and the hooded figure.

"Harry Potter," said the man.

"You are a death eater, aren't you?" asked John. But he wasn't expecting an answer, he just wanted to distract the man for a second. The man paused and looked at John surprised, but before he could react, John waved his wand around and a ball of wind caught the man and was pulling him towards John. The man was struggling to set himself free and failed.

After a few seconds, John set the man free but immediately cried, "Expelliarmus!"

The man's wand flew from his hand and fell to the ground. John flicked his wand at the man again, a jet of green light hit the man and he fell motionless. The cloaked figure was gone and all that remained were the bodies of the man and the wounded unicorn.

John muttered something under his breath and the body of the man disappeared. He sent red sparks to the sky and looked at Harry and Hermione. Harry was sitting on the ground while Hermione was standing beside him looking back at John.

"Harry, are you alright?" asked John.

"Yeah, I'm feeling better, thanks," he replied. John sighed in relief and sat down. He looked at Hermione who was still standing and then back at Harry.

"Who are you?" asked Hermione bluntly.

"Who was that man? Is he dead?" asked Harry.

"I… I'm… Okay… I know you both must have questions. After what happened today, I owe you both answers too. But, I beg you not to tell anyone about what happened here. When Hagrid comes, I'll talk to him. You both, don't utter a word, especially not about what you just saw. Tomorrow morning, you'll get your answers." replied John and looked hopefully at Harry and then at Hermione.

They seemed mildly convinced by his answer.

... Stay Tuned ...

Chapter Text

Chapter 14 is here! Enjoy...

There was silence between the 3. Normally they'd have been talking about why Harry's scar hurt, or who the hooded figure was, but the only thing that was going in Hermione and Harry's mind was, how John was able to defeat a wizard by duelling. Harry was reminded of the dreams he used to have, where there was a scream and then there would be a flash of green light.

"Tell me something, what was that spell you used on that man? The green coloured one" asked Harry. Just as he finished asking, they heard a galloping noise and then they saw another centaur. This one looked different from the 2 previous ones. This one looked younger; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.

"Here we go again!" sighed John.

"Are you alright?" asked the centaur looking at Harry.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine!" replied Harry.

'You are the Potter boy," said the centaur. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The Forest is not safe at this time, especially for you."

"We just found that out, the hard way," replied John wondering how long it'd take for Hagrid to come.

Ignoring what John said, the centaur continued, "Can you ride? It'll be quicker this way!"

"Hmm… No, I don't know!" replied Harry and looked at John.

"Hagrid will be here any moment, till then Harry is safe here," added John. Just then, they heard footsteps and Harry and Hermione were happy to see that it was Hagrid.

"What happened? Harry, are you alright? Who's in trouble, we came as quickly as we could," asked Hagrid. He then looked at the centaur, but the centaur was about to leave.

"Good luck, Harry Potter, the planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times." He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest.

"Hagrid!" exclaimed Harry and gave him a tight hug.

"Hagrid, we found the unicorn, it's dead!" said Hermione in a low voice.

"Poor creature, stayed alive for a while before dying," replied Hagrid. With that, the group returned back to Hogwarts. John had a few words with Hagrid towards the end, but even he returned to the castle after the long night.

It was early morning in a few hours and the sun was out pretty early. John had woken up early and immediately went to Dumbledore's office. On his request, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape came to Dumbledore's office soon thereafter.

"What is it, Mr Smith? I imagine this has something to do with the stone?" asked Dumbledore calmly.

"Professor, it does. Tom Riddle is after it, but I assume you already knew that" replied John and looked at all 3 of them. His assumption was true. "Yesterday, in the forest, why did you send Harry and Hermione in there?" asked John.

"Mr Smith, only if we had to explain our decisions to you," replied Snape.

"Severus! The boy deserves to know," replied Dumbledore. "John, we don't know what Tom is planning. Quirinus is involved, but we don't know to what extent. Harry and the others were sent into the forest with Hagrid to help him and us. A group of kids would raise less suspicion than a bunch of Aurors, wouldn't you agree?"

"No, I don't agree! Harry was almost attacked yesterday, thanks to you!" replied John angrily. "We met Voldemort yesterday along with a death eater." McGonagall shook her head in disbelief as Snape looked taken aback and unphased at the same time.

"Mr Smith, what happened yesterday?" asked Snape. John, who was expecting this question, removed his wand and placed it near his temple. A silvery-white substance came out, then John placed them inside a small bottle and handed it to Dumbledore.

"You can watch them in your pensieve," replied John. "I told you, Professor Snape, that Harry's life was in danger. You shrugged it off and here we are," added John.

All the 3 professors took multiple turns watching the memory.

"That's Goyle Sr," said Snape.

"You know him?" asked John.

"Not that well, his son is in my house, same year as Harry," replied Snape.

"Where's his body?" asked Dumbledore.

"It's there where I left him, I put an invisibility charm on his body!" replied John. "I have already told Hagrid about this." Once they had settled on what to do with the body, they left Dumbledore's office. But, just when John was about to leave, Dumbledore asked him to wait.

"John!"

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore," said John.

"You saved Harry's life yesterday, but at a cost."

"That's why I am here, Professor! As to the cost, I'm not sure how to pay it."

"They'll be curious to know! What are you planning to tell them?"

"I don't know, the burden of knowledge is a heavy one, and I don't wish for them to carry it," replied John.

"I trust you to decide what's best! By the way, nice work on that watch!"

"Thanks, Professor, I actually got the idea from my dad," replied John with a smile. Dumbledore smiled back and with that, John left Dumbledore's office.

Harry and Hermione had just finished telling Ron about their night. They had skipped over the part where they had seen the cloaked guy and the other man who was killed by John but had told Ron about the centaurs and the unicorn blood. Just as they had finished, John came into the great hall and sat beside Hermione.

"John, where were you?" asked Ron.

"I… I was in Dumbledore's office. You know, discussing the extra classes that I had missed. I don't think I'm going to be having them anymore."

"Oh! Why?"

"I was gone for a month, and now exams are nearing. I just thought, if at all, maybe next year I can have some," replied John. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, immediately recognising the lie. Hermione was starting to wonder what all John had lied to them about.

On their way to the class, John pulled Harry back from the group.

"Today, evening, come to the lake at 6, and don't tell Ron," said John in a whisper. Harry nodded and started walking again. John had a much more difficult task telling Hermione. She seemed to be ignoring him and only responded with a nonchalant nod when he did manage to get her to listen. The evening came and Harry went to the lake along with Hermione.

"What did you tell Ron?" asked John the moment Harry and Hermione reached.

"He's playing quidditch with Seamus, Dean and a few others. I told him that I had potions to study," replied Harry.

"Good, he can't know about this," said John.

"Why?" asked Hermione.

"You can't know this, none of you are supposed to, I wouldn't be telling you if not for yesterday," replied John.

"John! Who are you?" asked Hermione.

"I'm John Smith," replied John.

"No, but who are you really?" asked Hermione.

"I am John Smith, I'm not lying. I have told many lies, but that's not a lie."

"Who was that man you killed yesterday?" asked Harry.

"And, how did you even do that?" asked Hermione.

"What all have you lied about?" asked Harry.

"Why did you lie in the first place?" asked Hermione.

"Okay! Okay! Calm down, stop this barrage! I'll answer your questions," replied John. There was silence for a minute and then John sat down and gestured at Harry and Hermione to do the same. Once they sat down, he began.

"My name is John Smith, and I'm here to protect you," he said, looking at Harry.

"Protect me?"

"Protect you, yes. Your life, Harry, your life is bound to be in danger. It's just who you are, there's nothing any of us could do about it."

"My life is in danger? From whom?"

"No prizes for guessing," replied John.

"You-Know-Who?" asked Hermione.

"Voldemort, yes! You didn't think that he was actually dead, did you?"

"Hagrid said that he might be alive," replied Harry.

"Hermione, what is the power of unicorn blood?" asked John.

"The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips," replied Hermione.

"Now, Harry, tell me, who did we see yesterday?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and Harry replied after a few seconds, "You are not telling me that, that was Vol… You-Know-Who?"

"I am telling you that, that's why your scar hurt," replied John.

"So, he has been living off unicorn blood all this time?" asked Harry.

"I don't know, maybe, maybe not! But tell me this, Philosopher's Stone, what is it?"

"Elixir of Life! Wait... Does You-Know-Who want the stone? Snape's stealing the stone for You-Know-Who?"

"It's not Snape," said John.

"I saw him, John. You cannot be defending Snape still," replied Harry.

"It's not Snape, it's Quirrell," replied John.

"Professor Quirrell?" asked Hermione, confused.

"Not sure what he's planning, but it's Quirrell who's after the stone, not Snape."

"We should tell Professor McGonagall about this," said Hermione.

"They know, Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, all of them know it's Quirrell."

"What?" gasped Harry and Hermione at the same time.

"They know it's Quirrell, why haven't they done anything?" asked Harry.

"I don't know, I presume it's because they know he's involved with Voldemort. We don't know what his plan is, but if we wait long enough, maybe we can end Voldemort too," replied John. There was silence between the 3 again, this time for a good 2-3 minutes.

"So, who was it yesterday? Who did you kill?" asked Harry.

"He was a death eater! Death Eaters were those that were the followers of Voldemort. After he was presumed dead, a lot of them went into hiding, some were put in Azkaban, some pleaded for mercy and some lied that they were under the imperius curse," replied John.

"How did you kill a death eater? You're just 11 years old, a first-year student at Hogwarts. How did you do it? Who are you really?" asked Hermione.

"What I am about to tell you, only 3 people in Hogwarts know this, and only 1 outside of it. I am going to tell you this, because I believe you deserve to know, after what happened yesterday. And I need you to promise to me that you won't tell this to anyone. When I say anyone, I mean anyone, not even Ron. I am John Smith, that part is true, but what isn't is that… Is that, I'm not 11 years old. Well, I'm 11 years old, but I'm actually not," replied John. Harry and Hermione were looking at John dumbstruck. "I'm a lot older than that, I'm 27 years old. Why do I look like 11? I sort of de-aged myself, it's a long story why I did this. But in short, I did it to come to Hogwarts, so that I can be here to protect you," he said looking at Harry.

"Wait, so you're not 11? You're 27, but look 11 because you de-aged yourself? How does that work? And, why does Harry need your protection?" asked Hermione.

"I know it's a difficult thing to process. In time, you'll get to know more about me. For now, just know that I'm not your enemy. I lied to protect you. You're too young, both of you, to carry the burden of truth. Harry, your life will always be in danger, till the time Voldemort is killed. There's so much you don't know. But there will come a day when you'll find out everything there's to know," replied John.

So, what are your thoughts on this chapter?
PS - I have only received 1 correct answer yet for what '21815' is... You could be the 2nd 😃

Chapter Text

Thank you so much for your reviews people. I absolutely love them and appreciate it! :D
Chapter 15 is here! Enjoy...

The days went by pretty quickly after the discussion. They were extremely busy with their exams. Harry's scar hurt now and then. Harry and Hermione knew that it was because of Voldemort being back, but didn't know what to do. John had become someone that the trio didn't talk to anymore. Ron, who didn't understand what was going on, would often ask Harry about it, but Harry would just shrug it off saying everyone was busy. Hermione in particular had completely stopped talking to John. This was noted by everybody in their class, since John and to an extent, Harry and Ron were the only ones who talked to Hermione. Most of the others found her annoying. One day, Seamus even asked John if he had gotten into a fight with Hermione.

One fine day, after the exams were finished, the trio were lying down on the grass.

"Finally, no more revision," sighed Ron happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."

Harry was rubbing his forehead. "I wish I knew what this means!" he burst out angrily. "My scar keeps hurting – it's happened before, but never as often like this."

"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suggested.

"I'm not ill," said Harry. "I think it's a warning... it means danger's coming…"

Ron couldn't get worked up, it was too hot. "Relax, Harry!"

Just then, John came running towards the trio, panting, he asked, "Guys, where did Hagrid get the dragon egg?"

"The dragon egg? Hagrid said he won it in a game of cards! Why?" replied Harry.

"Hagrid wants a dragon, and he just happens to get a dragon egg?" asked John.

"He got lucky?" said Ron.

"What if that's not what happened?"

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"We should go to Hagrid's right away," said John and looked at Ron. "Ron, there's something we haven't told you, something that I told them not to tell you."

"What?" asked Ron suspiciously.

"We saw something in the forest, during our detention. A cloaked figure drinking unicorn blood."

"Ugh! Why would someone do that?" asked Ron. After a few seconds, he continued, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Ron, unicorn blood is used to keep someone alive. We didn't tell you because we were afraid. We are afraid that it may have been You-Know-Who," replied John.

"What?" gasped Ron.

"And we believe that he's the one after the stone and that's why Harry's scar has been hurting."

"Snape wants to steal the stone for You-Know-Who?"

"We don't know yet," replied John.

"Why are we going to Hagrid's?"

"Ron, what's guarding the stone? Fluffy! That's why we're going to Hagrid's."

They left for Hagrid's immediately and on the way Hermione spoke to John for the first time since he revealed.

"How do you lie so well?" asked Hermione in a whisper, but moved ahead without waiting for a response from John. They went to Hagrid's and their suspicion proved right. Hagrid had in fact told the stranger about Fluffy.

They rushed back to the castle immediately.

"We need to tell Dumbledore about all of this," said Ron. Harry and Hermione glanced at John who nodded. But, just then, a voice from behind made them jump. It was Professor McGonagall.

"What are you all doing inside?" she asked.

"Professor McGonagall, we want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione.

"Professor Dumbledore? Why?"

"It's about the Philosopher's Stone," said John.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."

"He's gone?" asked Harry frantically.

"I don't know how you all know about the stone," said Professor McGonagall and gave a stern look to John. "But, the stone is well guarded, so I suggest you all go and enjoy the sunshine and stop worrying about the stone." With this, Professor McGonagall left immediately.

"Now, what do we do?" asked Ron.

"We, we... I don't know what we should do," replied John. There was a genuine concern on his face, which both Harry and Hermione noticed. They sat and made plans, but every plan they thought of sounded worse than the previous.

"Hermione, you should wait outside the staff room and follow..." said Harry but stopped talking as he heard a buzzing sound. They all heard a buzzing sound, but none of them knew where it came from, none of them apart from John.

"Is there a bee here?" asked Harry as he was frantically moving his hands around his head. John, meanwhile, had gotten up and had run away to the Gryffindor common room.

"What's up with him?" asked Ron. They all noticed that as John had run away, the buzzing sound too had gone.

"Let's go," said Harry and ran towards the direction John had gone as Hermione and Ron followed. When they reached the common room, they bumped into John who was now going in the opposite direction.

"John! What happened?" asked Harry.

"I have to go, something's happened to Jane," replied John and rushed out of the common room.

"Jane? Who's Jane?" asked Ron, looking at the other 2 who were just standing still trying to understand what was going on.

"Jane's his Aunt," replied Hermione.

"What's happened to her? Where is he going?" asked Ron. There was chaos amongst the 3 as they couldn't make head or tail of what was going on. They waited in the common room for 10 minutes, but John didn't show up. It was soon dinner time and John still hadn't been seen. As they made their way to the great hall, they met Professor McGonagall on the way.

"Professor?" called out Hermione.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"When will Professor Dumbledore be back?"

"He's a very busy man, I don't know when he'll be back," replied McGonagall sternly.

"Professor, do you happen to know where John is?" asked Harry.

"He didn't tell you? Mr Smith has gone home, his Aunt was attacked earlier today."

"What?" gasped Hermione as both Harry and Ron looked at Professor McGonagall in shock.

"How is she? Who attacked her?" asked Harry.

"We don't know, Mr Potter. I'll inform you when we find out more," replied McGonagall.

The trio walked slowly to the table when Harry glanced at Hermione looking worried.

"Do you think it's a coincidence that right now, in Hogwarts, both Dumbledore and John aren't there?" asked Harry in a whisper.

"No, the stone will be gone today," replied Hermione gloomily.

The trio returned back to the common room pretty soon as they were all worried about the stone and also what had happened with John's Aunt. Harry and Hermione weren't sure if they even believed it, but because Professor McGonagall had said it, they thought it must be true.

"Why didn't he tell us?" asked Ron.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry.

"John! Why didn't he tell us that his Aunt got attacked?"

"I don't know, Ron! Maybe he was in a rush, maybe he himself didn't know at the time. I mean, last we saw him, he said something about his Aunt being in trouble and left." replied Harry.

"He has been a bit distant recently, hasn't he? Think about it, ever since you all came back from the forbidden forest, he has seemed a bit distant," said Ron.

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other wondering what to say. Harry was actually feeling a bit guilty about how things had turned out. Sure, he felt lied to at first, he didn't know how to behave around John who was suddenly a much older man than himself, but the more he thought about it, he also felt a bit grateful for the fact that John was there that night. If not for him, Harry wondered if he'd have been caught by that man and You-Know-Who. He was also worried about keeping John's secret from Ron. Most of all, he was now worried about the stone. If John was right about Quirrell, then Quirrell would try and get the stone for You-Know-Who today. Hermione on the other hand had been furious that John had lied to her, that he had been lying to her for months. She didn't know how to process the fact that John wasn't actually their age, but older, much older. She was also frustrated at not knowing how he had de-aged himself in the first place.

"We don't know, Ron! Maybe he has been, I haven't really noticed. We have been busy with exams since then," replied Harry.

"You two stopped hanging out as well, did you two have a fight or something?" asked Ron looking at Hermione.

"Ron! Would you just let it go? No, we haven't had a fight, we have just been busy with the exams," snapped Hermione. There was silence between the 3 for a few seconds, and then Harry spoke up.

"I have been thinking, I'm going to go and get the stone first before You-Know-Who gets it."

"What?" asked Hermione.

"No you can't!" said Ron.

"Why not?" asked Harry.

"If you're caught by someone, you'll be in trouble," replied Hermione.

"And, how are you going to get past all the enchantments that are placed as security? And what if Snape sees you there?" asked Ron.

"And, what am I going to do sitting here? Watch the stone being taken by.. Qui… You-Know-Who?" retorted Harry.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Ron.

"I'll take my invisibility cloak with me, and I'll figure something out once I reach the trapdoor. I just remembered, Hagrid gave me a flute for Christmas. I'll use that to get past Fluffy. After that, well… after that, I'll figure something out," replied Harry.

"I? We're coming with you mate," said Ron.

"Yeah, you're going to need all the help you can get," added Hermione.

"Will the cloak cover all 3 of us?" asked Ron.

"I… don't know!" replied Harry.

They waited for the common room to get empty, and once it had, Harry got his invisibility cloak and the flute that Hagrid gave for Christmas from his trunk. They were stopped by a brave Neville, but Hermione hit Neville with the body-bind spell, and they got past him easily.

The trio had thus begun their midnight adventure successfully.

That's all lads! Will be back soon with Chapter 16

Chapter Text

My sincere apologies everyone! This chapter should have been released last week, but I was tied up at work and never got the time to upload it.
Chapter 16 is here... Enjoy!

The moment his watch started buzzing, he knew where the sound was coming from. John got up and ran towards the common room to get away from the trio. As soon as he had gotten a safe distance away, he looked at his watch, and saw that Jane and Daisy's needles were pointing at "Mortal Danger". He rushed to his trunk and took out the 2-way mirror, but Jane didn't respond. He composed himself for a second, collected a few things and decided to go to Professor McGonagall. He met the trio on the way and was unable to decide what to tell, he just said that Jane was in trouble and rushed to Professor McGonagall.

"Professor McGonagall! Look at this, I need to go home, RIGHT NOW!" he said frantically.

Professor McGonagall took a look at the watch. There were 5 needles, one each for Ron, Daisy, Hermione, Harry and Jane. Harry's needle was still pointing at "Danger". Ron and Hermione's needles were pointing at "Safe", but Jane and Daisy's were pointing at "Mortal Danger".

"When did their status change?" asked McGonagall.

"A few minutes back"

"Okay! Use the floo network," she said. "Mr Smith, inform me immediately if you need Aurors or any other help."

"No Aurors, but I'll inform you if I need help," replied John and rushed to the fireplace to go home.

Jane was returning home after spending a nice cosy afternoon with a gentleman. After a long time, she was happy. She was walking back home when she suddenly looked back. But there was no one behind. She had this feeling in her that she was being followed, but she shrugged it off as just an imagination. Few minutes went by and she had looked back twice since then but had failed to see anything. She had made it a point to carry her wand everywhere she went. Even though she was dressed in muggle clothes, and had spent her time with a muggle in the muggle world, she always had her wand with her. But whatever she had in her mind disappeared the moment she saw Daisy walking towards her from the opposite direction.

"Daisy!" called out Jane.

"Mrs Smith, how are you?"

"I'm fine, actually, I'm doing great! How are you? How have your holidays been?"

"They have been great! It has only been a few days, so, no revision, no studying whatsoever, life's fun," replied Daisy.

"Good, have fun!" replied Jane smiling.

"Mrs Smith, will John be coming here anytime soon? I was hoping to introduce him to Harry," asked Daisy after a few seconds of silence.

"I… I don't know!" replied Jane. "I'll tell..." she stopped speaking as she heard a loud crack.

Jane turned around and saw 2 men, clearly wearing robes and not muggle clothes. Daisy, who was already facing in the direction, was wondering where the 2 men had come from.

"You'll die for what he did," said one man. Jane had one hand inside her pocket ready with her wand.

"Mrs Smith? Who are these 2?" asked Daisy whose heart was racing.

"I have no idea," replied Jane. "Daisy, go home!" she whispered.

"Is that your daughter? We'll kill her too, happily," added the other man.

Jane gave a chuckle, and said, "Do I look like a mother of a 12-year-old?"

But before they could respond, Jane had her wand out and cried, "Petrificus Totalus"

The man it was aimed at fell back with a thud. The other man aimed a spell at Jane, which she blocked easily.

"DAISY!" called out Jane, "I said, GO HOME! NOW!" shouted Jane momentarily looking at Daisy.

Daisy was feeling a lot of things at that moment, like fear, confusion, panic, anxiety and even more confusion as she had no idea what was going on. She was initially wondering what clothes those 2 men were wearing. And the talk of death just sent her into a mode of panic. But, she had yet to realise that, what she was witnessing at that moment, was wizardry and magic. The moment she heard Mrs Smith shout, she turned back and started running. She had barely moved a few metres when she felt something hit her and she fell forward and was unconscious immediately.

"Daisy!" gasped Jane. She cast a shield, dodged a couple of spells, and ran towards Daisy and apparated from there immediately.

John had arrived at a house. But the house just seemed empty.

"Jane! Are you home?" shouted John at the top of his voice. But he got no reply. He ran to all parts of the house, but couldn't find Jane anywhere. He called out her name a few times but got no response. He was fearing the worst. If he couldn't find Jane at their house, then that'd mean that she could be absolutely anywhere. He had no clue how he was going to find her. He went outside the house, but he couldn't see anybody on the street. He came back home and searched the house again looking for anything suspicious. Few minutes had passed when he heard a loud crack. He rushed to the hall and there was Jane holding Daisy.

"Jane! Jane! Are you alright? What happened?" asked John as he rushed towards Jane and helped her lay Daisy on the sofa. Jane was in tears, she rushed towards the door, which was ajar, and locked it shut. She leaned on the closed door and sunk towards the floor and started sobbing.

"Jane, what happened to Daisy? Were you attacked? Please, say something," said John as he went towards Jane and knelt in front of her.

Jane gave a tearful look to John but got up suddenly.

"19919," she said and pointed her wand at John, suspiciously.

"21815," he replied. The moment he uttered the number, Jane threw her arms around John and started crying. They hugged each other for a good 30 seconds before Jane spoke.

"She was hit, I couldn't save her!" she said crying.

John went and checked up on Daisy and said, "She's just unconscious, Jane! She's not hurt, must have been a stunning charm," replied John. He went and got some water for Jane and handed her a glass as he sat down beside her.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I was coming back home, from..." she paused for a few seconds and continued, "it doesn't matter! Well, I was walking home..."

"Where were you coming from?" asked John, his expression was one of curiosity and mischief.

"Shut up"

"Sorry, go on!"

"As I was saying, I was walking back home when I saw Daisy walking towards me. I had this feeling that I was being followed, turns out I was right. But at the time, I couldn't see anybody, so I shrugged it off. We were talking when 2 men apparated. One man threatened me, that I'll die. I told her to run, but things escalated quickly and she was hit by a stunner. I managed to escape with her," finished Jane.

"Woah! But why threaten you? Like, how do they even know you?" asked John confused.

"I don't know, John! That guy said something about how I'll die for what someone did. I'm guessing that someone is you. But how they know about us, I have no idea," she replied.

"You don't think they were death eaters, do you?" asked John.

"Could be," replied Jane.

They just sat on the floor, one head lying on another's shoulder for what felt like an eternity.

"Wait, what are you doing here?" asked Jane suddenly.

"You have my watch to thank," he replied and handed Jane his watch. It was then they both noticed that Jane and Daisy's statuses were still at "Mortal Danger".

"When did you scan me?"

"Last time I was here," replied John. "You didn't think I'd want to know if my sister was in trouble?"

"You never told me," she replied smiling.

After a few minutes of staring at each other, John spoke up.

"Jane, if they were death eaters, who attacked you, then they did so because I killed a death eater, not long back. And if they know about us, what's to say they don't know where we live?" asked John.

"No!" gasped Jane, shocked at the possibilities.

The twins got up and got themselves ready for what was about to come. They carried Daisy and lay her down in Jane's bedroom and closed the door. It had only been a few minutes when they saw 2 men apparating a few meters outside their house.

"Ready?" asked John as he got his wand out.

"They're going to pay for hurting Daisy! I haven't had a proper fight in a while," replied Jane.

The twins made their way out of the house onto the deserted street to face the same 2 men who attacked Jane and Daisy earlier.

"Who are you?" asked John.

"You're here! Now, this does put a smile on my face. I get to kill you for what you did to my friend," replied Man 1.

"So you're a death eater?" asked John pointing his wand at the pair of them.

"The Dark Lord will rise today and all of you will die soon," replied the man.

John and Jane glanced at each other.

"And how is Voldemort going to do that?" asked Jane.

"Master has his followers everywhere, even in Hogwarts. He'll rise, more powerful than before, with the help of the Elixir of Life," replied the man.

"Voldemort won't be able to do anything till Dumbledore is alive," replied Jane.

"Well, he's not in Hogwarts now, is he?" taunted the man.

"He isn't?" whispered Jane looking at John who nodded.

"Enough talking, time for you to die," said the man.

What followed was a bunch of spells directed by both pairs at each other that was either blocked or dodged. The pair of them were an equal match if not stronger than the twins. As spell after spell was cast, the twins managed to shield everything that was thrown at them. The 2 death eaters tried stunning, body bind, disarming, even the unforgivable curses, but the twins easily defended them or apparated their way out of it. But, finally, one of the death eaters had John under severe trouble, as John was struggling to defend.

"This is for Goyle," he said, casting a spell. The moment it hit John, he fell backwards with cuts all over his body.

"JOHN!" scream Jane and ran towards the lying John. He seemed barely conscious but in a lot of pain.

"PROCIDAT INCIPIO" she cried, slashing her wand fiercely at the 2 death eaters and apparated with John to inside the house.

The 2 death eaters were now in a completely different place, or so they thought. Both of them were in a desert. There was nothing or nobody around them apart from sand for as much as the distance they could see. They were both stuck in different but powerful illusions created by Jane.

"What is this?" shouted one man.

"Crabbe? Where are you? I can't see you," replied the other.

"I can't see you either"

Jane meanwhile had John lie down in his bed. She was furiously bandaging John and muttered a few words which seemed to heal some of his wounds.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" he chuckled but fell unconscious immediately.

"Please don't die," she whispered, kissed his forehead and walked out of the house with a fierce determination and plan like never before. By the time she got to the 2 death eaters, they had managed to come out of the illusions they were trapped in.

"You monstrous bi..." said Crabbe Sr but was interrupted swiftly by Jane.

"Stop talking," she said and pointed her wand at the pair of them and with a swift motion of her wand, she muttered, "Aqua Eructo" and an immense jet of water sprouted from the tip of her wand which engulfed both the death eaters in a ball of water. They struggled and struggled, but failed to get themselves free.

Jane released them of their struggles but she instantly screamed,

"Sectumsempra" pointing the wand at the death eater who wasn't Crabbe.

The death eater fell back in a thud, his body covered with uncountable lacerations.

Crabbe Sr sent a jet of green light aimed at Jane, but she disapparated immediately and apparated behind Crabbe.

"Expelliarmus" she muttered and Crabbe's wand flew out of his hand.

"You'll pay for what you've done," she said coldly. "But before that," she added and walked away.

"Bombarda Maxima," she said pointing her wand at the ground.

The ground exploded and a deep hole was formed. Jane levitated the other death eater's body and threw it into the hole and proceeded to close it up after taking his wand. She turned and walked towards Crabbe who was lying on the ground.

"This is for hurting Daisy and John," she said and pointed her wand at Crabbe Sr and cried,

"Crucio"

Crabbe Sr wriggled and screamed with pain, it was torture of the worst kind he had ever felt. After about 30 seconds, she stopped his pain.

"Goodbye Death Eater," she said and again pointed her wand at Crabbe Sr who was lying on the ground void of all energy.

"Incindio" she muttered and Crabbe's body burned with fire. His screams could be heard throughout the whole street. It was one of the most horrific things Jane had ever done. She went to the place where she had buried the other death eater alive. There was a pool of blood around him.

"I'm not going to kill you, I don't have to at least. You'll die of blood loss anyway. But in case you survive," she said and pointed her wand at the death eater and muttered,

"Obliviate"

Jane apparated back home. She saw that Daisy was still lying unconscious on the bed. She checked up on John who was also unconscious. His wounds were healing well. There was a sudden rush of emotion that she felt. She crumbled down to the floor, there were tears in her eyes. She cried and cried, for how long she didn't know. But she stopped when she heard Daisy's voice from another room.

"Mom?" called out Daisy in a low voice. Her head was aching, her voice seemed low, she felt extremely tired.

"Daisy!" exclaimed Jane as she came running into the room. "Are you alright?"

"Mrs Smith? What happened? Where am I?" she asked suddenly realising that she wasn't lying on her bed in her house. She started to remember the events leading up to her getting unconscious, though most of it was vague.

"Daisy, you're in my house," replied Jane. She gave Daisy some water to drink and went to the kitchen. Daisy drank the water and got up to follow Mrs Smith.

"Mrs Smith? Who were those men? What happened?" she asked. As she walked into the hall, she glanced at the bedroom and saw someone lying on the bed. She proceeded to the kitchen.

"Drink this," said Jane as she handed Daisy a replenishing potion.

"What is this?"

"Something that'll get you back to your feet in no time," replied Jane. Daisy drank the potion and felt much better.

"Thank you, Mrs Smith," she replied, handing Jane the glass back.

"I should be wiping your memories now," she said.

"What?" asked Daisy confused.

"Nothing," replied Jane. She was confused about what to do. The right thing would be to wipe Daisy's memories or alter them. But the right thing wasn't always the correct choice. Jane couldn't do it. She knew that she should, but she couldn't. Hence, she decided to take a different approach.

"Daisy, those men were there to kill me," she said. "You are aware of the magical world, aren't you?"

"Magical world? I… I don't know what you're talking about, Mrs Smith. What magic?" she asked, but her lie was way too obvious for anyone to spot.

"Daisy, don't worry. I know that Harry told you about where he really is, what he really is. I'm the same. And those people that tried to hurt us today, they were also the same," she replied.

"You are? You are a wizard?"

"Witch, yeah!" replied Jane.

"Why did they want to hurt you?" asked Daisy, her head still spinning.

"I'll inform your mother that you're sleeping here tonight. No more questions! I'll speak to you tomorrow," said Jane. "Here, drink this," she added, handing Daisy another glass of potion. The moment Daisy drank it, she fell unconscious, or more accurately, asleep.

Hopefully, Chapter 17 will be out later this week... Ciao!

Chapter Text

Chapter 17 is here, ladies and gentlemen!

John gained consciousness after a couple of hours. He opened his eyes wide and looked at the ceiling and then at Jane who was sitting asleep on a chair beside the bed, her head lopsided to one side. He looked at her and he could see the mild bruises and cuts on her face and her arms. He sat up and immediately felt pain all over his body. Whatever that spell was, that he got hit by, had definitely left its mark. He looked over his body and could see bandages all over the place, and he could also see that his bruises were beginning to heal. He looked up at his peacefully sleeping sister. For a few moments, he got lost in a world of his own, reminiscing of how wonderful his life was and how it had been turned upside down by a seemingly harmless woman. But he broke out of his imagination when he heard his name being called.

"John, are you awake?" asked a sleepy Jane.

"Yeah... Yeah, I just woke up," replied John.

"How are you feeling? Does it still hurt?"

"Yeah, a bit. But I'm alive, thanks to you," replied John smiling.

"You would have done the same for me... You have done the same for me," replied Jane, now waking up properly. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Umm... Well past midnight," replied John.

They both sat there staring at each other. Both of them had faced multiple situations like that day. And every one of those situations had taken a heavy toll on them. As they sat and stared, there were flashes of memories that zoomed past. They thought of all the difficult times that they had faced, and in all those times, there was one thing common, them.

John noticed that there were tears welling up in Jane's eyes.

"Jane, what did you do with them?" asked John.

Jane sat there speechless. The truth was, she didn't know what to say. And the way Jane looked, John had a good idea of what might have happened. He hugged his sister tightly, in the most comforting way he could.

"I know that you hate torture, and I know that you also like it. But just remember that, without you, none of us would be alive. Plus, if people had taken extreme measures against death eaters, we may not be in the situation that we're in now," he said and patted her on the back and released the hug to look at her face.

"I haven't done something like this in a long time, I have controlled myself all this time, but I couldn't today," she replied.

"Well, they made the mistake of hurting me, hurting Daisy. They had it coming," said John.

They sat there in silence and that's when a thought came to John. He rushed out of his room and searched for his watch, which was there on the table. He looked at it and saw that all the needles were now pointing at "Safe". Jane who had followed John into the hall grabbed the watch from his hand and saw that everyone's status was "Safe".

"Does this mean that You-Know-Who isn't back?" she asked.

"This means... my dear sister... that Harry Potter is living up to his legend. He has got the stone and not Quirrell," he replied. John explained everything that happened in Hogwarts leading up to the moment he left.

"I have to go to Hogwarts," he said.

"I'm coming with you," she replied.

"What about Daisy?"

"She's sound asleep and not going to wake up anytime soon. You, on the other hand, are still hurt, and I don't know if you have any internal injuries. It's best I accompany you, make sure everything is fine there and get you to Madam Pomfrey. I'll get back home before it's morning," she replied.

"Okay!" replied John.

The twins used the floo network to get to Hogwarts. They met with Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore there, and to their relief found out that everyone was indeed safe, and that Voldemort hadn't got the stone. Harry however being in the hospital wing did raise some worries, but they got assurances from the Professors that he should be fine. John and Jane then explained what had happened to them. Upon hearing the story, McGonagall ordered John to go and see Madam Pomfrey. Pomfrey was aghast in hearing what had happened. But, she assured Jane that John did have internal bruises, but that he would be fine after a potion and a good sleep.

John woke up the next day, and the moment he opened his eyes, he saw Ron and Hermione sitting opposite him. He looked up and realised that he was in the hospital wing.

"You okay mate?" asked Ron.

"Feeling much better," replied John.

"Where did you disappear yesterday?" asked Hermione.

"Jeez! Let the guy breathe, Hermione," said Ron and chuckled as he saw John doing the same.

"It's a long story guys," replied John. "But before that, where's Harry?"

"Harry is there," replied Ron and pointed at another bed where Harry was lying.

"What happened after I left?" asked John.

Ron and Hermione recited the events of the previous night, how they had gone past various enchantments, how Ron had played a brilliant game of Chess, how Hermione had helped Harry in solving the puzzle, but they didn't know specifics of what had happened after Hermione had left Harry. All they knew was that Dumbledore had arrived late and Harry was then taken to the hospital wing.

A couple of days went by and Harry woke up. Harry recited everything that had happened between him and Quirrell, how Voldemort was there, the mirror of erised, everything.

John then told the trio about why he had left Hogwarts suddenly. He told them that someone had attacked his Aunt and that he had to go see her to make sure she was okay. Harry and Hermione suspected there was more to the story, but they chose not to ask him about it in front of Ron.

On the evening of the house cup results, final additions to points were done and Gryffindor had won the house cup after a long time. That was an evening to remember. The next day they got their results, and to no one's surprise, John and Hermione came top of the class, though Hermione had edged John by a very small margin. On that evening while Ron was away playing quidditch, Harry and Hermione joined John to have a nice little chat near the lake.

"So, are you going to tell us anything more about you?" asked Harry.

"I have lied to you both, and for good reasons. It actually feels good to live a life without lies, I mean without lies to some people. There isn't much to tell, Harry! I can tell one thing though... I don't have an Aunt," replied John.

"What?" asked Harry and Hermione together.

"Well, she isn't my Aunt. She's my twin sister. I couldn't call her my sister now, could I? What with me being 12 and not 27!" replied John.

"You have a twin sister? Wow, that's so cool!" replied Hermione.

"I can see that you're talking to me again," said John after a few seconds.

"Well, I don't know, it has been a very eventful year, hasn't it? And I just looked back at things you've done, and you haven't been all that bad," replied Hermione with a chuckle.

"We never actually thanked you for saving our life in the forbidden forest," said harry.

"And you'll never have to," replied John.

They got on the Hogwarts express the next day after the end of a wonderful year. Harry was looking forward to seeing Daisy, Dudley and Aunt Petunia. He wondered what all he should tell about the term he had. He was of course going to hear a few surprising things from his best friend Daisy about a certain classmate and guardian of his.

John reached home and after a few days, he told Jane about a holiday he was planning. It had been a rough couple of years for them.

"Jane, come here for a minute," said John, lying on the sofa lazily. Jane walked all the way from her room to the hall.

"What?" she asked.

"We should go somewhere, holiday types," he replied.

"We should... the last time we went was… well, it was a long time back," replied Jane.

"We can't go like this, can we? I'll have to get myself back to my original self," he said.

"Yes, you have to," she replied.

"Where should we go?" asked John.

"I don't know, you chose," replied Jane.

"We'll have to go somewhere, where you'll have enough gentlemen to..."

"Ugh! Shut up! Don't finish that sentence," replied a blushing Jane as she threw a pillow at John's face who burst out laughing.

These past few chapters have been very different from what you perhaps expected. The story has taken a turn that most of you might not have seen coming! What are your opinions on how the story is going?
PS - Chapters 18 & 19 are ready and will be released post a bit of editing next week.

Chapter Text

Chapter 17 marked the end of Year 1.

My frequency of releasing the chapters is going to go down henceforth. I'll try my level best to release a chapter once every week or 10 days. Thank you all for your support! Enjoy.. Here is Chapter 18 :)

Daisy had been doing this for a while now. One could argue that she had been doing this ever since she found out that Harry was a wizard, and that there was a whole world full of magic, magical creatures, people using magic for everyday tasks and so on. She had started spending a lot of time on her own, imagining all the things she would do if she was a witch. Daisy's whole mindset had turned upside down when she found out about Harry. It all started from wondering about all the things Harry would be learning about, all the things that magic could accomplish. Amidst all the trouble she was having in school, she had figured out a way to mentally transport herself into a whole world of imagination. She had spent so much time in these imaginations, that she had even started to create stories in her imagination and put herself into various situations. A few months in, she met this charming boy who would become a friend that she never had ever since Harry left. It was only during this period that she ever really stopped her imagination. But then this boy disappeared without even saying goodbye, and she went back to her world of imagination. And recent events had just taken things up a notch if it was even possible. On one unfortunate evening, Daisy's favourite teacher, Mrs Smith was attacked by 2 men. It was then that Daisy had realized that her favourite teacher was secretly a witch. Mrs Smith then told about the world of magic, what all people could do. She even talked about how Harry Potter, her best friend, was a famous personality in the magical world. Daisy had also asked Mrs Smith if John was a wizard, to which Mrs Smith had replied yes. Daisy wondered whether this had anything to do with why he had disappeared. Mrs Smith also told Daisy about how muggles are not supposed to find out about magic, and that Daisy had to be extremely careful not to reveal it to anyone. In the first few days after the attack, Daisy replayed the moments before her unconsciousness again and again. What was terrifying at first, soon became a fascination. Daisy's world of imagination was going to take a break again, and this time it'd be because Harry was coming home.

She bombarded Harry with a million questions from the moment he set foot on 4, Privet Drive. Harry, who himself was excited about how his first year had gone, answered every single question Daisy had. The most interesting thing about the 2 was that they both decided to keep certain information from each other. And coincidentally, it was about one man. Harry had chosen to skip some details about his life, You-Know-Who, the legend he had, the Philosopher's Stone, Quirrell and so on. But he had entirely omitted John from the things he told Daisy. It was an instinctive decision, he told himself. He never really decided what to tell and what not to. He didn't really have an answer for why he didn't mention John. Daisy, on the other hand, had mentioned absolutely nothing about John or the attack on Mrs Smith to Harry. In the first two weeks after Harry came home, Daisy spent every single minute she spent with Harry asking all varieties of questions. It was only after that she realized that there was this whole thing she had never mentioned. Perhaps, it was because she didn't really know how to approach the subject. And the fact that Mrs Smith had gone out of town didn't really help the matters.

But, the day came when these 2 talked about a certain John Smith.

"Harry, just like here, even in the magical world, there must be fights that happen, right? Have you ever seen a fight between 2 people, which involved only magic?" asked Daisy one lazy afternoon to Harry, who had gotten used to questions by now, but wasn't sure how to answer this particular one. He could say yes, but then Daisy would ask him the details about it. And that would mean bringing up John, and he didn't want to do that.

"Fight? As in a duel? I have only seen older students practice duelling, never seen an actual duel," lied Harry in response.

"Guess what? I have," replied a beaming Daisy.

"What? You have seen a duel? When? Where?" asked a suddenly curious and bemused Harry.

"Well, a few weeks back," she replied.

"A few weeks back? What are you talking about?" asked a now mildly concerned Harry.

"There's something I haven't told you," she replied.

She then went on to tell Harry about how 2 men attacked Mrs Smith while Daisy and she were talking on the street, and how within the first few minutes, one of the men attacked Daisy and she fell unconscious. She told Harry about all the things that Mrs Smith told her. Harry's mind was travelling at million thoughts per second. The moment he heard Mrs Smith, he got reminded of John and how his Aunt, actually his twin sister, also got attacked a few weeks back.

"Daisy, so you're saying Mrs Smith, who is your teacher, is also a witch? By any chance, is her name Jane Smith?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, how did you know?" asked Daisy. She was genuinely surprised that Harry knew about Mrs Smith, but it dawned on her immediately that John was probably somebody Harry might know.

"I… I have a friend at Hogwarts, his name is John… John Smith. His si… his Aunt was also attacked by death… some bad people a few weeks back," replied Harry.

"You know John?" asked Daisy.

"Wait, you know John?" asked Harry in reply.

"I do," replied Daisy.

There was a look of shock on Harry's face. After a few seconds of silence, Daisy continued, "He came here a few months back, to visit Mrs Smith. We sort of became friends, but he disappeared after a month."

"He came here? When was this exactly?" asked Harry.

"Just before Easter, I guess? Why? What happened?"

"Nothing, he never told us what he did. He told us that he visited his Aunt, but we had no idea they lived here," he replied. But what he actually was thinking was very different. John was in St Mungos at that time. So, was that a lie? Why did he lie and why did he come here of all places, he wondered.

"So, John, do you know him well?" asked Daisy.

"Yeah… Yeah I know him well, he's one of my best friends along with Ron and Hermione," replied Harry.

They spent the rest of their day talking about the various spells Harry had learned at Hogwarts.

As the days went by, Harry realised more and more how much he needed the summer holidays. He wasn't really interested in coming to Hogwarts last year, but as time went by, and as Harry discovered new things and new people, he started to enjoy his life at Hogwarts. But now that he was back home, there was a sense of relaxation and homeliness that he enjoyed. Hogwarts and the world of magic were extremely interesting, but coming back home, to his familiar territory and to people like Dudley and Daisy, whom he had known ever since he was a child was a completely different feeling. There was also the fact that Aunt Petunia and Dudley gave a King's welcome to Harry when he arrived home. Aunt Petunia, for the first couple of weeks, made all of Harry's favourite dishes. She was also eager to hear all about his classes, friends, and his life at Hogwarts. Harry skipped some parts of his life that could have been perceived as dangerous but told her almost everything else.

Aunt Petunia was a mother to Harry. If there was one thing he was always grateful for, it was that Aunt Petunia never made Harry feel like missing his mother. After Uncle Vernon's death, Aunt Petunia had taken a job as a baker in the nearby bakery. In the few years after that, she opened a bakery of her own, a business that had moderate success over the years. The other great thing about his muggle life was Dudley. Dudley, who was originally responsible for Harry going to Hogwarts, told him about all the new pranks he pulled on people in his school. He also wanted Harry to start using his magic in the house, but Harry told him that it'd take at least 5 more years for that. There was something that was bothering him though. Few weeks into the summer holidays, Harry was yet to receive a letter from his friends. John had told him that he wouldn't be writing to Harry, but Hermione and Ron had promised otherwise. Harry had written to Hermione and Ron, but he didn't get a response for that either.

One fine afternoon he got a call from Hermione, but it was Dudley who picked up the phone,

"Hello, is this Harry Potter's house?" asked Hermione.

"Hi, this is?"

"Hermione… Hermione Granger" replied Hermione.

"No, sorry, this is Dudley Dursley's house, bye!" replied Dudley. Harry, who was cleaning the dishes, heard Dudley's part of the conversation and came to the hall.

"Dudley, who is it?" asked Harry in a whisper.

"Oh! This is the number he gave, sorry for disturbing you," replied Hermione.

"Hermione," whispered Dudley looking at Harry.

"Hermione?" whispered Harry but then he raised his voice, "Hermione? Wait, that's Hermione on the phone?" asked Harry. Dudley nodded and proceeded to speak on the phone.

"Your boyfriend is not home," he said to Hermione. With that Harry flung himself on Dudley, pushing him aside to take the receiver for himself. After a mild tussle, Harry had his hands on the receiver.

"Hermione! Sorry about that, it was my idiot cousin," said Harry as he glared angrily at Dudley.

"Harry! How are you?"

"I'm fine Hermione, how are you?"

"I'm doing great, why aren't you responding to our letters?" asked Hermione.

"Your letters? I haven't received a single one from either you or Ron," replied Harry.

"What are you talking about Harry?"

"Wait, you have sent me letters?"

"Yeah, so did Ron, but we never received any reply from you."

"I wrote a letter to both of you a few weeks back, but since I never received any response, I thought you must be busy with something else," replied Harry.

As the confusion died down, Harry and Hermione talked on the phone about what they had been doing during the holidays. Harry even mentioned John and how he had met with Daisy during the time he was supposed to be in St Mungos.

The day after his birthday, Harry got a visit from a house-elf.

Harry was sitting in his room, reading a book on famous quidditch games. That's when it happened. There was a loud crack and out of thin air appeared a little creature with large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. Harry noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm and leg holes.

"Er… Hello?" said Harry nervously.

"Harry Potter!" said the creature in a high pitched voice. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir… Such an honour it is..."

"Oh! Thank you… Uh… Who are you?" asked Harry.

"Dobby, sir… Dobby the house-elf," replied Dobby. Harry had very briefly known about house-elves, but this was the first time he had seen one in the flesh.

"Hello Dobby, pleased to meet you," said Harry politely, well, he didn't know what else to say. "Please, have a seat," he added.

With that, Dobby burst into tears. "S… Sit down! Never… Never ever…"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything," replied Harry quickly not knowing how to react to a crying house-elf in his bedroom.

"Offend Dobby!" choked Dobby. "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard… like an equal..."

A conversation that began like this ended with Dobby telling Harry that he mustn't go to Hogwarts that year because his life was in danger. Harry's life was in danger from You-Know-Who. Dobby kept telling Harry that his life was in danger, but how, he never did.

And then Dobby revealed something else.

"Dobby, I have to go to Hogwarts. I like my muggle life, but I can't stay here. I have a lot of friends there and there are loads of people who'll protect me if Vol… If You-Know-Who attacks somehow," replied Harry.

"Friends who don't even write to Harry Potter?" said Dobby slyly.

"They have been, but I haven't..." said Harry but stopped when he realized something. "How do you know I haven't been receiving letters?" asked Harry.

"Harry Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best..."

"Have you been stopping my letters?"

"Dobby has them here, sir," said Dobby. Stepping nimbly out of Harry's reach, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. Harry could make out Hermione's neat writing, Ron's untidy scrawl, and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid.

"Harry Potter mustn't be angry… Dobby hoped… if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him… Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir…"

Harry wasn't listening. He made a grab for the letters, but Dobby jumped out of reach.

"Harry Potter will have them, sir, if he gives Dobby his word that he will not return to Hogwarts. Ah, sir, this is a danger you must not face! Say you won't go back, sir!"

Harry was growing increasingly impatient with how things were turning out with this house elf. He decided that the best thing would be to shut him up.

"Ok, I will not put myself in danger," replied Harry. After a reassuring stare, the house-elf handed Harry the letters and left with a pop.

The next day, Harry decided to call Hermione and tell her the events of the previous evening. He also wrote a letter to Ron and told him that he never received any letters from him. After a few days, Harry got a reply from Ron. Ron had invited Harry to his house, "The Burrow". He had also mentioned that they would directly go to Hogwarts from there.

So, after a few more days, Harry said his goodbyes to Aunt Petunia, Dudley and Daisy and went to "The Burrow" to spend the rest of his holidays.

2000 miles away from England, in a swimming pool in Seyðisfjörður were John and Jane Smith.

"I love this place," exclaimed Jane.

"I still can't believe it's sunny here at 9 PM," replied John smiling.

The twins had spent over a month in some of the most beautiful cities of Iceland. They would spend most of their day roaming around the city. It had become a routine for them, to spend their day outside, come back to the place that they had rented, spend a couple of hours in the pool and then go to the nearby pub. It was the best few weeks they had had in a long time.

But as the days went by, John's thoughts went from enjoyment to concern.

"Is that Rúnarsson guy coming today?" asked John as he sat down in the pub.

"No, not today, but we'll hang out tomorrow," replied Jane. "Why?"

"No reason," replied John.

"What's on your mind?" asked Jane.

"Nothing, I was just asking randomly," replied John.

"Yeah, when was the last time you were interested in who I was with?"

John sat there silently.

"That's right, never! So, why suddenly ask me about a guy you haven't even met?" asked Jane.

"I… I was hoping to talk to you about… about the coming year," replied John.

"Okay..."

The twins sat there staring at each other, and then Jane spoke again.

"What do you want me to say?" asked Jane.

"I want you to tell me what our plan is," replied John.

"How am I supposed to answer that? We don't have a plan, John!"

"Well, then let's make one," said John.

"I am coming to Hogwarts, I'm the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and apart from that I don't know what we can do," replied Jane.

"You being the next Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher wasn't something we expected. I mean, how were we supposed to know that Dumbledore would offer you the job? But that is all! We have the opportunity here to make the best use of this gift, and we still don't know what we are going to do," replied John.

"The only thing we can do is wait," replied Jane.

"Wait for what? Ginny to die?" asked John. There was silence at the table and after finishing his drink, John walked out of the pub.

PS - New year, a new beginning!

Chapter Text

Chapter 19...

The next morning, Jane woke up and went as usual to the garden, to see John and make plans for the day.

"Had a good night's sleep?" asked Jane sipping her coffee. John was reading a newspaper and continued doing so as if he didn't hear her speak. Jane sat there enjoying her coffee and the weather and after about 10 minutes, she spoke again.

"So, where are we going today?" she asked.

"Nowhere," replied John, there was a clear undertone of disinterest in his reply.

"What?" asked Jane surprised.

There was no response from John again. Jane sat there for a few more minutes and after realising that the silence was there to stay, she got up and went inside the house. After about an hour, Jane came back to the garden, but she couldn't find John. Wondering where he may have gone, she came back inside. Few hours went by, but there was no sign of John.

Now, had this been their house back in England, Jane wouldn't have been worried. But in their few weeks time in Iceland, John had never once disappeared like this until now. In fact, other than sleeping and her intimate moments with men, Jane had barely spent any time away from John.

As the day went along, Jane found herself being extremely worried, but also calm since she knew that if there was any trouble, John was more than capable of taking care of himself.

It was now 14 hours since Jane last saw John. The weather outside was gorgeous, even at this time of the day. And it was then that Jane saw John walking in through the gate. She half-ran towards him but slowed down as she looked at his face. There was something off about him. She wondered if he was still angry, but brushed away the thought immediately.

"John! Where were you?" asked Jane. But John ignored her and walked past her into the house.

"John! JOHN! What's going on?" asked Jane following him into the house.

"Nothing," he replied coldly.

"You can't be still angry," she said. But he seemed to ignore her again and walked away to his room. Jane followed and stopped him from closing his door just in time. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked, louder than before.

"What the hell is wrong with me? There's nothing wrong with me," he replied. There was no life in his reply, it just sounded cold and disinterested.

"Why are you behaving like this?" asked Jane.

"Behaving like what?" he asked in reply.

"Okay, where were you?"

"Why are you asking me so many questions? I don't need to tell you everything I do," he retorted angrily.

"Why are you being so snarky and irritable?"

Tempers were about to flare in the house and all it needed was a spark.

"Maybe, because I'm being bombarded with questions," replied John.

"You don't get to disappear like that, especially not in another fuc… not in another country! You've no idea what all was going through my mind all day," she said.

"I thought I would go have some fun in the city alone, well you were going to meet your boyfriend anyway, so I thought, why not!" replied John, irritated.

"My boyfriend?"

And then came the spark.

"Well, whatever he's to you, it's sort of difficult to remember, considering the number of men you..." replied John but stopped midway as he knew he had crossed a line.

"Why? Go on, finish what you were going to say! The number of men I sleep with, that's what you were going to say, right?" asked Jane.

"I didn't say that," he replied.

"But you sure as hell thought it," retorted Jane. "How dare you say something like that to me?"

"I didn't say that," he replied again.

"John! I don't know why you're being so rude right now, and I have certainly no idea what's wrong with you, but say something like that again and I'll obliterate you," she remarked angrily. The volume in the house had gone by a notch.

"Maybe I'm being rude right now because my sister's focus has changed from our mission to… other things," he replied.

"And here we are finally! So, it is about what happened last night"

"It's not about last night! It's about the last few weeks. We took a vacation because we both deserved it, but it seems to me that you've lost sight of our mission," replied John.

"And how is that? What do you expect us to do? We both know that Ginny's going to die. We both want that not to happen. But, we have no idea how it is going to happen."

"We have to do something, we can't just sit around doing nothing," he replied. There was silence in the house for a few moments. The mood in the house had changed. From the tempers that were flaring, it was now one of concern, worry and helplessness.

"John, listen to me, I'm sorry for… I'm sorry for creating this perception that I don't care. But the truth is, I do care. And yet I don't actually know what we can do. Ginny must right now be at The Burrow. She's safe and most likely happy and excited to go to Hogwarts. She'll be safe at Hogwarts too, but, for some reason, she'll be in danger. Now, what we can do is stay vigilant and careful," she replied and put an arm around John who immediately rested his head on it.

"I'm sorry for lashing out, I hate this… with every single fibre of my being. If we can't even protect Ginny, how on earth are we going to protect Harry?" he asked looking at Jane.

"I know you're desperate to succeed, John. I may not look it, but so am I. All we can do is our best, rest is not in our hands," she replied.

"Why didn't you go out with Rúnarsson?" he asked suddenly.

"Well, for one, I'm not sure I want to continue our thing, and secondly, how could I when I was worried about you," she replied.

"I'm sorry!"

"It's fine, now I have an excuse," she replied. They sat there, holding hands lost in their own thoughts for at least 10 minutes before John spoke.

"Are you hungry? I'm famished," he said.

"I haven't had anything since morning," she replied. So, John went to the kitchen to make some food for them, while Jane helped him. They cooked and then they ate.

As they were lying on the bed in John's room, "John! Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you had never met her all those years ago?" she asked. John knew exactly who she was talking about.

"It's been 7 years, sister," he replied.

"We wouldn't be here, for starters," she replied.

"I don't know, but our lives would be definitely different," he added. After a few minutes of lying around and staring at the ceiling, he said, "Why did you think of her suddenly?"

"No reason"

"Life before her was wonderful, wasn't it? I mean, life with her was also wonderful, but before her, it was so calm and fun!" sighed John.

"It can be wonderful after her too," she said. "You have to move on at some point in time, John!"

"What if I don't want to move on?"

"Is that why you haven't been with anyone since her?" she asked. John didn't answer the question, but she already knew that'd happen. They lay on the bed for a few more minutes before Jane spoke.

"Would you mind if I stayed here for the night? I don't want to sleep alone," she said.

"Yeah, I mean no, of course not! Sure, you can sleep here if you want," he replied. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking how we are going to defeat Voldemort!" she replied.

"He'll die and he'll pay for what he has done to all of us," he replied.

Harry was blown away by The Burrow. Even though he had been to Hogwarts, Gringotts and Diagon Alley and had been around wizards for a whole year, The Burrow felt completely different and astounding. He was already friends with Fred and George and knew them well since he was in the quidditch team. But, he also found Ron's mother Molly Weasley really kind. Arthur, Ron's father, was working for the ministry and found Harry extremely interesting. Though to be fair it wasn't just Harry he found interesting, Arthur found muggles and the way they lived really interesting.

Harry soon told Ron and the Weasley twins about Dobby. But they seemed nonchalant about the whole thing. Harry had also noticed how clumsy Ginny was whenever Harry was around her. A few days later, they got a letter from Hermione telling them that she'd be joining them to Diagon Alley the week after.

"That's settled then," said Ron.

"Yeah, we'll go to Diagon Alley to get all supplies next week," said Harry.

"Do you know if John's coming?" asked Ron.

"John? I don't know, he's vacationing somewhere," replied Harry.

"Oh!" exclaimed Ron. "I thought I'd invite him here, but I didn't know where he lives. He has never really told us anything about his home, has he?"

"Well, even if you had invited him, he wouldn't have been able to come. And as for his home… Eh.. he lives with his Aunt, doesn't he? Must have never come up in a conversation," replied Harry.

As decided, the following week, the Weasleys along with Harry went to Diagon Alley to get all the supplies for the coming year. Harry of course got sidetracked due to an unfortunate floo powder accident, where he said "Diagonally" instead of "Diagon Alley". Harry ended up in a dimly lit wizard's shop, where he overheard Lucius Malfoy and Draco talking to the owner of the shop. Once he managed to get out of the shop, he was fortunate enough to meet Hagrid, and then a few moments later Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys.

"Harry! Where were you?" asked Ron.

"Knockturn Alley," replied Hagrid.

"Wow"

"We've never been allowed there," said Fred as the Weasley twins joined Ron and Hermione.

"Harry! How are you?" asked Hermione as she gave him a polite hug.

"Hi Hermione!" said Harry returning the hug.

Ciao! Will be back with Chapter 20 soon...

Chapter Text

My apologies to everyone... It's been way too long since I published a chapter. The truth is, I have been extremely busy at work, and I barely get any time to write. Also, I have been suffering from a few health issues. But all those things don't matter anymore. I'm back now, and I sincerely hope I get to write a lot more than I have been able to.
I'm back with Chapter 20 of this wonderful story. Hope you guys like it! :)

After Ron and Harry came back from Gringotts, Hermione introduced her parents to them. Ron was extremely awkward with her parents, for he had never really had a conversation with muggles before. Harry however did much better. They talked for a few minutes before Arthur Weasley caught up to them.

"Molly, look, they're exchanging muggle money," said Arthur as he approached the Granger family. "Hello, I am Arthur Weasley, I am Ron's father," he greeted as he shook hands with them. Seeing how Arthur was excited to talk to muggles, the trio decided to leave them to talk and left to explore Diagon Alley. Hermione was curious about Arthur Weasley, so, while the trio got delicious butterscotch and chocolate ice-creams, she quizzed Ron about him.

"He has always been like that," said Ron as he licked his ice cream. "Dad loves muggle things, he always talks about how muggles have managed to live and survive without magic."

"Yeah, he even asked so many questions about my muggle life," added Harry.

"It's quite rare in this world," said Hermione. "I have rarely seen anyone so interested in muggles. Most of the wizards throughout centuries have been exactly the opposite to muggles."

"Talking of Ron's father, you should see Ron's house," said Harry to Hermione. Ron's face went red with embarrassment.

"It's not that great," said Ron.

"Why Harry?" asked Hermione. Harry explained his first thoughts on that house. How he was blown away by all the things that were done by magic.

As they walked their way through Diagon alley, they came across the latest edition of the Nimbus broomstick, the Nimbus 2001. Harry and Ron spent a few minutes admiring the broomstick, but they were soon dragged out of the store by Hermione.

The golden trio very rarely had the opportunity to spend quality time together in their first year without it involving detective work that they never had to do in the first place. And hence, this felt like a nice change of pace for Harry. Whether it was because of Hermione's presence wasn't something he was worried about. Ron had a similar feeling at that moment. Having grown up along with so many siblings, it always felt a bit crowded in the house, with one person or the other being nosy. But once Harry arrived, things seemed to have gotten infinitely better.

And finally, it was time to go back to Flourish and Blotts where they were going to get their books for the year. The golden trio made their way to the book shop, and to their surprise and dismay, the shop seemed to be crowded, way more than usual.

"I wonder what's going on here," said Ron.

"Maybe there are many people like us here to get their books for the year," replied Harry.

"Could be," replied Ron. But as soon as he said that, the trio came across a big banner outside the shop which said,

GILDEROY LOCKHART
will be signing copies of his autobiography
MAGICAL ME

Today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

"You're joking," gasped Hermione.

"What happened?" asked Harry as he saw the visibly giddy Hermione, which was extremely unlike her.

"Gilderoy Lockhart is here, we can actually meet him," replied Hermione excitedly.

"Who's he anyway?" asked a bored Ron.

"He's such a legend, he has written so many books. I am surprised we don't have some of his books for our classes," replied Hermione. Ron and Harry glanced at each other, amused by the sight. Seeing Hermione this excited was a rare sight.

"Wow, we should definitely meet him then," replied Harry politely.

They made their way inside the shop, slowly, having to move through a crowd.

"We're never going to find Mum and Dad," sighed Ron.

And soon enough they heard the scream of Mrs Weasley, "RON! RON! We're here," came the voice of Mrs Weasley. They had to move in a different direction now, and after a few minutes of pushing and struggling, a few "Excuse Me" along the way, the trio reached where Mrs Weasley was standing along with Mr Weasley, Ginny, Fred and George.

"There's a big crowd in here today," said Mrs Weasley.

"Yeah, we can see that," retorted Ron.

"Some popular wizard is signing books today, Jilbroy Lockeart," added Harry.

"Gilderoy Lockhart, dear," corrected a half-blushing Mrs Weasley. Ron and Harry couldn't believe what they were witnessing, and they caught Fred and George hiding a giggle too. They had barely completed buying their books when suddenly they heard a shriek,

"Harry Potter… It's so good to see you, dear," said an elderly woman. And in no time the attention of the crowd gathered at Flourish and Blotts turned towards Harry.

"Oh No," sighed Harry silently.

"Good Luck mate," whispered Ron in his ear.

They could hear whispers from all around.

Harry barely managed to get some words out of his mouth, "Hello… Hope you're doing well, have a nice day," he said, with half a smile, looking at the elderly woman. But his words were drowned by another.

"Harry Potter," came the voice. Soon they could see the sparkling Gilderoy Lockhart dashing towards them, through the crowd. Lockhart pulled Harry towards him and dragged him to the front.

"Nice big smile, Harry," he said and the next second a short man standing in the front took a picture of Harry standing uncomfortably beside Gilderoy Lockhart.

Lockhart let go of Harry but put an arm around his shoulder and started speaking, "Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! When young Mr Potter walked into Flourish and Blotts this morning, he only wanted to buy my Autobiography, MAGICAL ME, which I shall be happy to present to him now, free of charge," he gave a pause for the applause from the crowd to die down. "He had no idea however that he'll also be receiving my entire collection of works. Anything for the boy who lived, eh?" he finished with a laugh. The crowd gave loud applause, while Harry stood there embarrassed. He had no intention of taking the gift that was being given to him. But he found it even more difficult to reject it in front of so many people. Also, he was starting to dislike this Lockhart guy. He finally managed to make his way out of the limelight, to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing with her new cauldron. He was soon followed by Hermione and Ron.

"What a lovely guy!" said Hermione gleaming.

"Lovely guy? Did you see the look on Harry's face?" retorted Ron.

"Yeah, Hermione… I'm not the biggest fan of what just happened… I don't know… I am sure he did all those wonderful things, but he seems a lot like an attention-seeking publicity stuntman," added Harry. He saw the change in the expression on Hermione's face and was about to get prepared for an onslaught when he heard a voice from behind.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" came the voice of Draco Malfoy. "Famous Harry Potter, can't even go to a bookshop without making the front page," he added, sneering.

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Potter," said Malfoy and Ginny went scarlet.

"Shut up, Malfoy," raged Ron.

"Weasley, empty-handed as usual, why am I not surprised?" responded Malfoy and laughed hysterically. Ron made a leap towards Malfoy but was controlled by Harry and Hermione.

"He isn't worth it, let's go," whispered Harry.

"Yeah, you better run," added Draco but stopped mid-sentence as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Now, that's no way to speak to a celebrity, Draco," said Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father. He was standing beside his son along with another wizard who was giving a dirty look towards them. The amount of ruckus created by the children had also attracted the attention of Mr and Mrs Weasley, who made their way towards the group. War of words reached its peak thereafter as Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy traded blows, at the end of which the war of words turned to a fistfight. The group that surrounded them desperately pulled the pair away from each other. But the deed was done, and a seed was sown that would bloom into a terrifying flower by the end of the year for the Weasleys.

Lucius Malfoy dragged his son away from the scene while the man with him followed behind him, looking back over his shoulders multiple times in the process.

"How dare that blood traitor lay his hands on you?" asked that man in his usual deep voice.

"It doesn't matter… He and his family will pay. We just have to sit tight and watch," replied Lucius. Draco, who was high on adrenaline himself looked up at his father's face curious what he meant by that statement.

"And who was that with that Potter boy?" asked the man.

"That was his mudblood girlfriend, Hermione Granger," replied Draco instantly.

"You don't get to speak like that, especially when she outscored you in every subject," retorted Lucius, annoyed. Draco fell silent after that.

"I meant the boy beside Potter," interjected the man.

"He was just another one of the Weasley boys," replied Lucius.

"Like father, like son, I suppose, eh?" he replied while Lucius nodded ignorantly.

Thoughts?
PS - Chapter 21 will be published later this week.

Chapter Text

NEW CHAPTER ALERT! Just like I promised, here's chapter 21. It's a slightly longer one, well... longer than my usual for this story. Enjoy!

Question : Who was that guy with Lucius at Flourish and Blotts?
Answer :

You will find out eventually. It's an OC! So, not that big of a surprise, but he has a purpose in this story...

John and Jane returned back home from vacation a few days prior to their departure to Hogwarts.

"How does it feel to be a teacher at Hogwarts, especially since you were a student there once?" asked John out of the blue, one rainy evening.

"Once?" retorted Jane grinning.

"You know what I mean," replied John.

"Well, aren't most professors in Hogwarts ex-students? So, in a way, I'm not doing something that is new or unique. But generally speaking, I guess, I am a bit nervous. I'll definitely be one of the younger teachers, if not the youngest. But I have been teaching muggles, so I don't think this will be extremely different to what I have been doing recently," replied Jane.

"How will you treat me?" asked John, and burst out laughing.

"Detention brother dear, detention. Detention is what you'll get if you don't behave yourself," teased Jane.

"Oh, come on, surely you can be a bit lenient to your brother?"

"You mean, I should treat you like everybody else and not let anyone suspect how we are related?" retorted Jane.

"Well, it never hurts to have a bit of fun, does it?"

That remark only earned John a glare from his sister. As they spent their time preparing for a year at Hogwarts, new conversations about their time to come popped up.

"Will you favour the Slytherins as Severus does?" asked John.

"I most certainly will not. Severus can do his thing, and I'll do mine," replied Jane.

"You're not a true Slytherin. If I were teaching at Hogwarts, I'd definitely grant the Gryffindors some leeway," replied John.

"And that's why I am doing what I'm doing, and you're doing what you're doing," snapped Jane.

"Hey... no need to be so rude," responded John.

In a different conversation, "Do you know what you're going to teach them?" asked John.

"Defense against the dark arts," replied Jane.

"I know that," scowled John. "I mean, what will YOU teach them? Do you even have a lesson plan? Or are you planning on embarrassing yourself like a babbling bumbling band of baboons?"

"Wow, it's been a while since I have heard that. And of course, I have a lesson plan. I have discussed all of this and more with Minerva, Severus and Professor Dumbledore," replied Jane.

In yet another conversation, "John..." called out Jane from her room, where she was completing her packing.

"Yeah," said John as he entered the room holding a large and old book.

"What are you reading?" asked Jane.

"You called me here to ask that?" replied John, annoyed.

"No, I called you to ask if you're accompanying me to Hogwarts," replied Jane.

"No, I'll have to transform first. I'll take the train to Hogwarts with the kids," replied John.

"Why do you want to do that?" asked Jane, puzzled.

"Why would I not do that?" retorted John.

"The professors know about us. You don't have to pretend to be someone else more than you have to," replied Jane. This was a side he rarely got to see of his sister. Aside from the teasing, the banter, the friendly trauma, the twins shared a bond stronger than what most siblings had owing to their shared trauma. And hence, whenever a situation came up that was difficult for one, the other was always there to support and provide comfort. And John's transformation was one of them. It was a complicated and difficult process to undergo. Not to mention the risk involved. It was well over a year ago when the twins finally decided to go through with the plan that involved John's transformation. And ever since then, Jane had been apprehensive and uncomfortable with the idea. What also worried her, apart from the execution of the magic, was the tremendous amount of willpower and mental strength required to be a different person altogether. And John knew all of this. He had successfully convinced Jane to go through with the idea. And every time this subject came up, he had found himself required to give his twin reassurance. And the time had come to do it once again.

"Jane... I get that you're worried about this, about me. But you of all people know what confidence does to a person. I'm confident in our ability, in your ability to perform this magic. We've done it more than once, and now we have to do it again. And, since I'm going to do it, I might as well do it properly. All the students take the train to Hogwarts. It is one of those things that everybody does. I have to be a part of it. And to do that, we have to do the transformation here, before I set foot out of this house," replied John. Jane got up and kissed John on his cheek and hugged him tightly. John hugged her back.

"I'll be fine," he whispered. After a minute or so Jane let go of the hug.

"And we're doing this for me, aren't we? It's only right that I go through this for it," he added. Jane gave him a disapproving look but didn't say anything.

And finally, the day of the departure arrived. Once John's painful transformation was complete, Jane left for Hogwarts. Jane had decided to apparate to Hogsmeade, and then head to Hogwarts from there. John on the other hand headed to the station to go to platform 9 ¾, where he was going to board the train. He had reached the platform a good half an hour prior to departure. And hence, he decided to wait at the platform instead of boarding the train. He sat down on one of the seats. He could see a lot of young wizards, some with their parents, some with their friends walking around on the crowded platform. There was one particular young wizard that caught his eye, who was walking around with a camera. He looked like a muggle, so John assumed that he was muggle-born. As John sat and looked around the platform, he got lost in a world of his own, looking back at the past 6-7 years of his life. It was almost midnight that day when John and Jane returned from a quidditch match when they found an intruder in their house. A young girl, about the same age as the twins were. And that night had changed and turned the twin's life completely. In the 6-7 years since then, whatever John had done, was a direct consequence of that one night. He was journeying inwards, through his memories when there was a tap on his shoulder. He jerked his eyes, looked up and saw Hermione standing there with her parents.

"Hey, I called your name twice, where were you lost?" asked Hermione grinning.

"Hey Hermione, how have you been?" greeted John as he stood up and gave Hermione a small hug. "Hello, Mr and Mrs Granger, nice to meet you," he added and shook their hands.

"This one seems different compared to others," whispered Hermione's mother.

"Mom, Dad... this is John. He is... he is in my class. He is... also like me. He found out he was a wizard only last year," stuttered Hermione but managed to introduce John to her parents. Her mother gave her a puzzled look but didn't say much about it. Her parents stayed for a few more minutes, and finally, they left, leaving John and Hermione alone.

"My mother knew I was lying," said Hermione the moment she helped her parents out of 9 ¾.

"About what?" asked John, surprised.

"About you," she replied.

"What about me?" he asked.

"I tell my parents everything. But guess what I haven't told them? You... I obviously wasn't going to tell them about you. But then I saw you, I started stumbling while speaking and she definitely knows I'm lying about something," she replied.

"You're overthinking this way too much. Don't worry about my secret. Even if there comes a time when people think you're lying about something, very rarely are they going to come to a conclusion that resembles the truth. Especially in my case, they'll never think that... well, think that I'm old," he finished. The pair of them spent a few minutes sitting at the platform talking about how they spent their vacation. And soon it was time for the train's departure.

"Have you seen Harry?" asked Hermione.

"No... I think I saw Percy Weasley just a few minutes back, but I haven't seen Ron or Harry," replied John.

The pair of them waited for a few more moments, but once it was almost too late, they boarded the train. They had to walk from one end of the compartment to another, but they finally found a place to sit along with a couple of Hufflepuffs.

A few minutes later, Hermione asked, "Are we sure that they boarded the train?"

"Of course, they would have. Why would you ask such a thing?" replied John, puzzled.

"No reason," replied Hermione.

A few more minutes passed. The pair of them sat in silence, and then Hermione spoke up, "Something strange happened during the holidays, with Harry."

"Something strange?"

"You don't know, do you? Of course, how would you? Silly of me. None of us knew how to contact you anyway," replied Hermione but got interrupted by John.

"Hermione... get to the point, will you?"

"Harry got a visit from a house-elf," began Hermione and uttered the entire story Harry told her, while John listened to her patiently. "... and now we don't know if Harry has boarded the train," finished Hermione.

"You're doing it again," replied John grinning.

"Doing what?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Overthinking! Did Harry tell you he won't come to Hogwarts? No. Then why are you worried about him not coming? It was a crowded day today, just like it always is this time of the year. Just because we didn't see them, doesn't mean they didn't board the train," replied John. Even though he managed to give a satisfactory and confident response to Hermione, he wasn't quite sure of things anymore.

"Why would a house-elf do such a thing? Who did the elf serve anyway?" he wondered. He even took out his watch, the one that told him the live statuses of all the important people in his life. And to his relief, the watch was pointing at 'Safe' for everyone, including Ron and Harry. And once he saw that, he gave the watch to Hermione.

"What is this?" asked Hermione.

"It's a watch. Look at the needles of Harry and Ron," he said, handing her the watch.

"Wow... This is amazing, did you create this?" asked Hermione. She had looked at what John was pointing at. And so, at that instant, her focus was on the watch more than her worry about Harry.

"Yes, I did. It's an idea I got from my dad," he replied.

"Oh, that's great. Harry was telling me about a similar clock he saw at Ron's place," replied Hermione.

"Ron's place? Yeah, I'm sure they would have a similar watch," replied John.

"But why do you have this? And who all are in here anyway?" she remarked and got a good look at the watch. There was a needle, one each for Ron, Harry, Hermione, Daisy and Jane.

"This watch is one of the most useful magical objects I own. It tells me the live status of every single important person in my life," replied John casually. Hermione was staring at the watch intently. She looked puzzled and yet curious at the same time. She remained silent for a few seconds.

"Who are you?" asked Hermione suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Who are you really? Why are you doing this?" asked Hermione again.

"I am John Smith. There's nothing more to this," lied John.

"You are a much older person than you want the world to believe. You are obviously skilful enough to look this young. You are doing all of this in the name of protecting Harry. But you didn't even know for sure that Harry was in danger when you decided to come to Hogwarts. You always seem to know more than the rest of us. Why do you want to protect Harry? And why is it that you have to be in hiding or live this secretive life? None of this makes any sense," whispered Hermione quickly without taking a breather.

"Wow, Hermione... calm down! The reason I'm here, looking out for Harry is something that I cannot reveal. You should have never known about me; Harry should have never known about me. But what's happened has happened. There's nothing we can do about it," replied John.

Hermione looked at him annoyed but she knew that she wasn't going to get any answers. But just then something came to her mind.

"Where did you go this easter?" she asked.

"This easter?"

"Yeah, when Snape poisoned you," replied Hermione. John looked at her carefully. He had been expecting this question. But not from her, he was expecting this from Harry.

"Why do I get the feeling you already know?" replied John.

"Yes, Harry told me. I just realised after seeing your watch. Why do you have Daisy on your watch?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Daisy... Daisy is Harry's best friend out of school. Our lives could be in danger because of our connection to Harry. The same goes for Daisy," replied John.

"You keep talking about danger. Everything seems fine. What danger could we possibly face at Hogwarts?" retorted Hermione. John remained silent.

"Okay, but why did you have to visit her last Easter?" asked Hermione.

"Why are you asking so many questions?" retorted John with a smile.

"Because I have a lot of questions," replied Hermione.

"My plan wasn't to visit Daisy. My aunt... my sister happens to live a few minutes away from Daisy's house," replied John.

"Your sister is a witch too, right?"

"Yes," replied John. After a few seconds he continued, "You guys don't know this yet, do you? We have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," said John.

"Yeah, I know. Now that Professor Quirrell is gone, there has to be a new teacher. Don't know who it is though," replied Hermione.

"You are anyways going to find out soon. I might as well tell you right now. Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is... Mrs Jane Smith. Or should I say, Professor Jane Smith," replied John beaming.

"Prof... Jane... Smith? You mean..." gasped Hermione.

"Yes," nodded John.

"... your..."

"Yes, my sister," replied John. "But don't tell that to anybody. Actually, don't tell anybody that she's my aunt either," added John.

"Sure," replied Hermione, still in shock.

The conversation between them fizzled out after that. John spent the rest of the journey chatting with the Hufflepuffs sitting beside them while Hermione spent the journey reading a book. John also kept an eye on his watch but found nothing to be alarmed by. It was only when they got down from the train and a few minutes passed, they realized that Harry and Ron had not boarded the Hogwarts express.

"I knew something was wrong," sighed Hermione.

"Well, whatever they are doing, they are not in any danger," sighed John. "They probably missed the train," he added.

But soon the talk of the whole 2nd year was Ron and Harry's great adventurous journey to Hogwarts through a flying car.

"I can't actually believe this. There's no way they'd have flown here, right?" grunted Hermione as she sat down beside John after pacing the common room for a few seconds.

"I wouldn't put it past them," replied John. Hermione gave him a stare, so he continued, "Well, we did see Snape talking to them. And from a distance, they both looked a bit rattled, to be honest."

"I can't sit here. Let's go wait for them outside," said Hermione. They went out of the Gryffindor room and waited for Ron and Harry to arrive. And arrive they did a few minutes later.

"Harry... Ron... where have you 2 been? I've been so worried. And the rumours..." began Hermione but she was cut short by John.

"Brace yourselves for a hero's welcome," said John with a smile and gestured his hands for the 2 boys to enter. The moment they entered, there was a roar of claps and joyous screams. They were being patted on the back, left, right and centre.

"... absolutely brilliant..."

"... that's the stuff of legends..."

"... inspired! well done lads..."

After a good 10-15 minutes, Ron and Harry finally made their way up the stairs where John was sitting reading a book.

After a few minutes, he spoke up, "So, what happened?" he asked.

"We couldn't enter platform 9 ¾. It was just plain wall suddenly. No idea what happened," replied Harry.

"You mean the gate was closed?" asked John surprised.

"What gate?" retorted Harry.

"The barrier between the muggle platform and our platform is like a magical gate. It's always open," replied John.

"Well, then the gate was closed. But it makes no sense. People ahead of us entered the platform without any issues," replied Harry.

"You ok, Ron?" asked John seeing a small bruise.

"Yeah, it's just a bruise. That tree though, it was absolutely mental," sighed Ron. "And my wand is broken... That's it, I'm dead."

"What do you mean your wand is broken?" asked John shocked. Ron handed him his broken wand. John examined it for a few seconds and returned it back to Ron.

"Don't worry about your wand, we'll fix it," said John. The 2 boys were extremely tired and they dozed off almost immediately. The rest of the students went to sleep one by one leaving John as the only one awake. He made his way down the stairs to the common room. He sat down near the fireplace, a book in one hand, his mirror on the other.

"You there?" he whispered.

A few seconds later he got a reply from Jane, "What happened?"

"Do you know the specifics of what happened to Ron and Harry?" asked John.

"No, not entirely anyway," replied Jane.

"Well, I'll catch you up later. But before that, we have a problem. Well, maybe not a problem, could also be a blessing in disguise," replied John.

"What problem? What are you talking about?" asked Jane annoyed.

"Ron's wand is broken. And you need to get him a new one as soon as possible," replied John.

"What? How did that happen?" retorted Jane.

"Specifics later," replied John.

"He has to manage without one for a few days then," replied Jane.

"You do know his wand specifications, right?" asked John.

"Yes, of course, I remember," replied Jane.

"That's sorted then... Good Night," replied John and went back up. He was finally going to sleep peacefully.

Thoughts?
PS - Chapter 22 will be out coming Monday...

Chapter Text

Chapter 22 is here... Enjoyy!

The first morning at Hogwarts began on a sour note, especially for Ron. Hermione, Harry, Ron, John were having their breakfast at the Great Hall. And the time for mail came. The Weasley's owl Errol dropped a damp red envelope on the table before slumping unconscious on the table.

"Oh No," gasped both Ron and John at the same time.

"It's alright, he's still alive," said Hermione, but the boys' attention was on the envelope.

"It's a howler..." said Ron faintly.

"You'd better open it, Ron," said Neville who was sitting opposite them.

"It's better to get it over with. Just like ripping off a band-aid," added John. Ron slit the envelope open slowly. What happened next was something Ron would describe as one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. Ron sat there, at the table, as if a tidal wave had just passed. The whole hall was silent, though there could be some laughter heard.

"Well, I don't know what you expected, Ron, but..." began Hermione but John gestured for her to remain silent.

"Don't say I deserved it," replied Ron slowly.

"Ron, it's fine… You know how your mother is… She gets angry, but she doesn't remain that way for long," said John calmly looking Ron directly at his face.

"Well, what else did she expect us to do? Not come to Hogwarts?" sighed Ron.

"You do realise that the train isn't the only way to come to school? If you had waited, you could have told your parents, and they would have gotten you both here safely..." replied John but saw the expression change in Ron's face, "But that's not the point. What you guys did was legendary stuff. Years down the line, students will be talking about what you 2 did yesterday. Cheer up..." he finished. Soon enough, Professor McGonagall handed them all their schedules and off they went for their classes.

In the days leading up to the end of the vacation, one of the things on Harry's mind was John, or more specifically, John's time spent with Daisy. While Ron's morning had started badly, Harry's got interesting as the day progressed.

While the group was having their lunch, the topic of conversation changed to their class that afternoon.

"So, what class do we have this afternoon?" asked Harry nibbling at his sandwich.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," replied Hermione at once. And she continued, "I completely forgot to you both. We have a new Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Figures, now that they can't keep Quirrell around," added Ron, though most of what he said was unintelligible as his mouth was full of mashed potatoes.

"Do we know what the new Professor will be like?" asked Harry.

Hermione stared at Harry for a few seconds and then quickly turned her head towards John and then back at Harry. "Well, I have heard that she's nice. Professor Jane, she is called," she replied. Harry was confused by what Hermione had done prior to her reply, but he understood it immediately after hearing the name, Professor Jane.

"Ohh!" was the only thing that came out of Harry's mouth.

It was soon time for all of them to leave the great hall. As they were making their way for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, a boy came running towards them holding what Harry could recognize as a muggle camera.

"All right, Harry? I'm... I'm Colin Creevey," he said breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. Do you think... would it be all right if... can I have a picture?" he said, raising the camera hopefully.

"A picture?" repeated Harry blankly.

"So I can prove I've met you," said Colin Creevey eagerly, edging further forward. "I know all about you. Everyone's told me. About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead. And a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures will move." Colin drew a great shuddering breath of excitement and said, "It's amazing here, isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till I got the letter from Hogwarts. My dad's a milkman, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you," he looked imploringly at Harry. "Maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?" he asked.

"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter?" came the scathing voice of Draco Malfoy. "Line up everyone, Potter's giving signed photos," he added.

"No I'm not," retorted Harry, sharply.

"You're just jealous," added Colin. Harry looked at him, surprised seeing him stand up to a senior, so boldly.

"Jealous of what? A scar?" laughed Malfoy.

"Malfoy, shut up," came the voice of Ron.

"Weasley… you don't want to get in trouble with Mommy again, do you?" and Draco laughed again.

"Harry, let's go... He ain't worth it," whispered John.

"What was that bodyguard? Hey Harry, don't you get tired of him always talking for you," interjected Malfoy again.

John had grown tired of the mess that was being created. He whispered "Procidat Incipio" under his breath and hit the spell at Malfoy. And then he said, "I was just telling Harry that you seem to have something on your shoulder," and pointed at Draco's left shoulder.

Draco immediately looked over his shoulder saw a big dirty-green coloured lizard sitting nicely. He immediately panicked and tried to flick away the lizard. But nothing happened. Anything he did to get the lizard away, failed. The longer the lizard stayed on his shoulder the more he started jumping trying to get it away. The crowd that had gathered around started laughing at Draco's funny gesture and behaviour, while Crabbe and Goyle stood beside him motionless. Even Harry, Ron and Hermione burst out laughing. But they all went silent almost instantly after they heard a booming voice from behind.

"What's going on here?"

Harry, John, Hermione and Ron turned back and saw their new Defense Against the Dark teacher, Professor Jane. The moment she came to the scene, she saw what Draco Malfoy was doing and hit him with a spell. Draco immediately stopped shaking and could no longer see the lizard on his shoulder.

"Detention, Mr Smith... Maybe you need to be reminded of the rules of this school," came the voice of Professor Jane.

"Why? He didn't do anything. It was Malfoy. He kept taunting us," pleaded Harry.

"I think it's time for all of you to go to your classes. The Show's over," said Professor Jane in a commanding tone and walked off. Everybody standing there dispersed almost immediately, including John, Hermione, Harry and Ron.

"I already hate her," said Ron after walking a few steps. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other and then at John, who remained silent.

"It's just a detention, I'll be fine," replied John after a few moments.

"Why didn't you let me have a crack at Malfoy? I swear I would have gotten him to eat slugs or something," said Ron frustrated.

"Honestly? Looking at your taped up wand, do you really think you should be doing any spells? Moreover, what happened at the transfiguration class?" replied John.

"Right, this is practically useless," sighed Ron looking at his wand.

"Right," sighed John.

They made their way to the class. By the time the class was finished, the students were already feeling much better about Professor Jane. Firstly, the classroom smelled much better than it did under Quirrell. And secondly, she seemed to have a much better grasp of the subject than Quirrell did. And to top it all off, they didn't get any homework. Harry however was pretty much lost in a world of his own during the class. Ever since his encounter with Gilderoy Lockhart, Harry had started hating his celebrity status. It didn't bother him much when he initially found out about it a year back. But, in the past month or so, he had experienced a few things that had changed things. Ginny's behaviour towards him was the first thing he found weird. Coupled with the way Lockhart behaved with him at the bookstore. And the worst part was Malfoy. Harry hated Draco's ability to mouth off without facing any consequence. And that afternoon's incident with Colin had made things worse. The class got over and the students were dispersing when Professor Jane asked Harry to wait behind.

"Mr Potter, could you please wait for a moment?" she asked with a stern voice, but she finished it off with a gentle smile.

Once the students were gone, Harry spoke up, "Yes, Professor Jane?"

"I didn't call you out today, but don't think I won't ever do it," said Professor Jane.

"Uhm... I... uh... I don't know..." fumbled Harry in response.

"You weren't focusing in the class, you barely answered any of my questions, you were distracted... want me to go on?"

"Uh... No, sorry, won't happen again," replied Harry.

"It's okay, Mr Potter. Being a celebrity can be difficult. But you have to learn to manage that part of your life. You can't let anybody and everybody get a rise from you," said Jane. Harry remained silent for a few seconds, so she continued, "Now, off you go. But think about what I said," she added.

"Thanks, Professor Jane," replied Harry and walked away, but he had to stop and turn back as he heard his name being called by Professor Jane.

"Harry... Tell John that his detention will be with me from 6 PM today. And that I'll also be sending a note to Professor McGonagall regarding his actions," she said.

"Okay Professor," replied Harry and made a dash for his next class.

When Harry got a chance to speak with John, he told him what Professor Jane had told.

"She's enjoying herself way too much," said John.

"Why give you detention anyway? It's not like you did anything to make Malfoy go mad," commented Ron.

"Hmm... well... you did do something, didn't you?" chimed in Hermione looking at John.

John gave a sheepish grin and replied, "Yes, I did. It was a basic spell that makes a person imagine something. I have taught you that before Hermione, I'm sure you remember, don't you?"

Hermione's face went red with embarrassment. She could not look Ron in the eyes that moment. She had cast the same spell at Ron during their 1st year on the night of Halloween.

"Where did you learn that?" asked Ron.

"In just one of the books," lied John in reply immediately.

John made his way to Jane's office at 6 PM for the detention he had been given.

"John... how are you?" asked Jane the moment he came in.

"I'm pissed off. You see, my sister gave me detention today for no reason at all," replied John sarcastically.

"Well, it got you into a room with me, didn't it? And no one doubts anything," replied Jane.

"When you put it that way," replied John shrugging,

"But you pull that stunt again, it won't be me you'll be having your detention with," warned Jane.

"I had it under control," replied John.

"You did? It didn't seem like it," replied Jane.

"If you hadn't nosed in, I would have released him sooner," retorted John.

"Was it wandless magic?" asked Jane.

"Yes"

"You're growing careless John, you can't control your magic, especially wandless. We're messing with things that we understand little of. You can't afford to be careless, especially now," replied Jane.

"As I said... I have it under control," replied John.

A few minutes of awkward silence passed. John who had started pacing the office stopped mid-flow.

"How has your day been?" he asked.

"Good and busy!" replied Jane. She was busy writing something on a parchment.

"What are you writing?" asked John.

"I'm preparing for my classes," replied Jane without shifting her attention.

"Were you like this in school as well? Always writing, studying, preparing, etc?"

"Hogwarts is very different to what I imagined it'd be like," replied Jane.

"Yes, I can imagine. But that didn't answer my question," replied John.

"You know how I was like. I was the studious one, while you were the troublemaker," replied Jane smiling.

"Yeah, and that's why you got the letter and I didn't," replied John.

"Heyyy! That's not fair. You know how bad we all felt for you. Remember how dad was going mad at, well... you know," said Jane, but cut short her sentence remembering something.

"It's been a long time since you talked about him," replied John.

"It's been a long day," replied Jane faintly.

"I know what will cheer you up. Did you hear about what happened to Ron today?" asked John.

"I heard, but not the full story," replied Jane.

"Well, he faced the wrath of Molly, through a howler," said John.

"Oh No," responded Jane with a shock. "That's bad," she added.

"Yes, it was. She hasn't changed one bit," replied John smiling.

"What exactly happened to them at the platform?" asked Jane.

"Long story," replied John. He got up from the chair he was sitting on and started pacing again. "I'm going to tell you a series of events. Tell me what you think about it," he added. He saw Jane nodding and continued, "Harry got a visit from a house-elf. The house-elf stopped Harry from coming to Hogwarts. Later, Harry goes to live with Ron. They come together to board the train. But they are prevented from coming to platform 9 ¾ because the gate is closed," finished John.

"Why did the house-elf stop Harry?" asked Jane.

"Harry was told that he would face danger at Hogwarts this year. Something along those lines" replied John.

"So, what you're telling me is, the house-elf could have closed the gate?"

"Why not?" retorted John.

"It's possible. But so are a million different things. Even if we assume the house-elf did it, the question is why," replied Jane.

"The question isn't why, but how. We know and only we know that Ginny is going to die this year. Nobody else," said John.

"So, how did the house-elf know that there is going to be danger in Hogwarts this year?" asked Jane.

"The only way the house-elf could have known is if... If it belonged to someone who is going to kill Ginny," replied John.

"We don't know how Ginny is going to die," retorted Jane.

"It can't be someone from the outside. Why would anybody want to kill her? Makes no sense," sighed John.

"We should tell Dumbledore about this," said Jane after a few seconds of silence.

"We should have told him about Ginny a long time ago," sighed John.

"I'll talk to him," said Jane.

"And I'll be with you when you do," replied John.

"No need! It'll only raise questions that we won't be able to answer," replied Jane. John glared at her for that response but he didn't have a good comeback. So, he decided to take his revenge through another ploy.

"Okay, but you need to do me a favour," said John.

"What?"

"Get Ron a wand as soon as possible," replied John.

"He can't manage with a broken one?"

"You know he can't," replied John smiling slyly.

"Is this your way of getting back at me?" asked Jane.

"No... why would you think that? I'm your twin brother. Why would I want that?" asked John but burst out laughing before Jane could respond.

"Stop laughing... What am I supposed to tell him when I give him the wand?" asked Jane.

"You are the Professor... you will figure it out," replied John still laughing.

"Okay... But if I do that, I would need you to keep an eye on Ginny," said Jane.

"Deal"

PS - Next chapter in a couple of days time.

Chapter Text

I cannot express my thoughts in words at the moment. The response I get from all of you has no match whatsoever. The way I get motivated to write after reading your comments is unparalleled. Thanks for all of your support, appreciation and reviews. 3
Here's Chapter 23... Enjoy!

Harry spent the entirety of the week trying to avoid Colin. Everywhere he went, he found Colin with his camera, asking for a photograph. And whenever he had the misfortune of running into Draco, he had to endure the trolls without retaliating. Controlling Ron was also getting difficult by the day as Draco always made it a point to taunt Ron. Harry and John were worried about Ron's broken wand. It had already proved itself a nuisance during their Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration classes. And their worries were proved correct on Saturday morning.

Harry found himself woken by his Quidditch captain, Oliver Wood, several hours earlier than he would have liked. His early morning got worse when he found himself tailed by Colin, asking hundreds of questions about Quidditch. The Quidditch team meeting that he was hoping to be a respite turned out the exact opposite. Their captain, Oliver Wood had spent long hours during the summer break devising tactics and patterns of play that would ensure Gryffindors victory. And Oliver had decided to explain everything on that early morning to his team. Things got worse when they finally decided to put the instructions into practice as they found themselves interrupted by the Slytherin team.

"I don't believe this. I booked the field for today, we'll see about this," hissed Wood and rushed towards the Slytherin team, his team followed.

"Hey, Flint! This is our practice time, you can clear off now," he bellowed.

"Plenty of room for all of us," replied Clint with a cunning smile.

"But I booked the field," shot Wood back.

"We have a special permission letter from Professor Snape too," replied Clint and handed Wood the note he had.

It read, "I Professor Snape give permission to the Slytherin Quidditch team to train today owing to the need to train their new seeker."

"Who's your new seeker?" asked Wood angrily.

From behind a group of Slytherin students came Draco Malfoy, holding his broom.

"Malfoy!" exclaimed Harry. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the new Seeker, haven't you heard?" laughed Malfoy.

"Isn't he Lucius Malfoy's son?" whispered Fred. But his whispers were heard by everyone standing there.

"Funny you should mention his father," said Flint. "You should see the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team," he added as the entire team showed their broom proudly. It was the newest edition of the Nimbus brooms, Nimbus 2001.

Ron, Hermione and John who had been seeing the scene unfold from far away in the stands came rushing towards it.

"Weasley... Have a look at our brooms," said Malfoy the moment he saw Ron. Ron gasped at the sight of the brooms, trying but failing at hiding his expression. "Maybe I can ask my father to provide you with one too. But you'll probably just sell it for money. Would feed your entire family for a month, I expect," he continued his taunt.

John had held Ron's shoulder trying to prevent him from reacting.

"At least his father didn't buy his son's place in the team," retorted Hermione.

"You filthy little mudblood, no one's asking for your opinion," spat back Malfoy.

"How dare you?" roared Ron and made a dash for Malfoy. Draco who was holding his broom had no time to react and just ducked blindly. John who found his grasp of Ron loosening tried to stop him but failed. Ron had barely gotten 2 blows at Draco when students from either side pulled them apart. Draco's face had gone red with embarrassment and anger. He shrugged off the hands that were holding him and got his wand out. Ron had his wand out from his pocket too and aimed it at Draco and cast a spell. But the spell backfired in a completely different direction and hit empty space. Draco in return cast a spell at Ron but before anything could happen out of it, John had blocked it. Harry and Hermione had their wands out by this time. They both tried to calm Ron and get him to back down. But just then a spell from someone in the Slytherin team hit Ron and he fell back.

"Ron... are you okay?" asked John as he rushed towards him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit breathless," replied Ron coughing a little and got up immediately.

The attack on Ron had clearly broken John's anger threshold. He flicked his wand towards the Slytherin team and almost instantly they all got pushed back by a gush of wind.

And then suddenly everything happened at once. John had cast a spell at the direction at the Slytherin team, or so he thought. At the same time, Ron hit presumably Draco with a spell. Harry who had his wand in his hand had tried to block a spell from the other side blindly. The Gryffindor quidditch team was predominantly trying to hold Harry and Ron back. And when everyone finally got back to their senses a moment later, their eyes lay on a body that had fallen on the ground beside Ron. The hair was unmistakable, it was Hermione Granger laying on the ground motionless.

"Oh No," groaned John. He rushed towards Hermione on the ground while the entire Gryffindor team along with Harry and Ron joined.

"We should take her to the hospital wing," said Oliver, in a shaken voice.

Fred, George, John and Oliver carried Hermione to the Hospital wing while Ron and Harry followed behind. Along the way, Ron stared at his wand in shock. His eyes caught Harry who was looking at him in shock.

"I didn't mean for this to happen. I don't even know what happened," said Ron, shaking.

"Not your fault mate. Hermione will be fine. She's probably just unconscious," replied Harry putting an arm around Ron's shoulder, though he had no idea what had happened to Hermione. Madam Pomfrey was absolutely livid the moment she heard what had happened.

"Out... all of you... Now," she shouted angrily.

Harry, John and Ron stayed back outside the wing while the others left promptly. Shortly after that, Harry and Ron's heartbeats sore up as they could see Professor McGonagall walking towards them. She walked past them into the room. It took about 5 minutes for her to come back outside.

"Miss Granger has some internal injuries. Madam Pomfrey is tending to her. Now, all 3 of you tell me what happened," said Professor McGonagall.

"It was Malfoy, Professor... He called Hermione a... a..." fumbled Ron.

"He called her a filthy mudblood, Professor," intervened John. There was a noticeable change in Professor McGonagall's expression.

"And then what happened?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"I hit the Slytherin team with a... a spell and it backfired and hit Hermione," replied John. Ron and Harry looked at him shocked as that was nowhere close to what had happened.

"Your spell backfired?" asked Professor McGonagall surprised. She had noted the expression on Ron and Harry's faces. She could also see Ron holding his broken wand tightly.

"Yes," replied John coldly.

"There's no point in lying, Mr Smith," said Professor McGonagall.

"I'm not lying, Professor. You can examine my wand," replied John and handed his wand to her.

"Okay, Mr Smith. I'm hereby confiscating your wand. You two," she said and looked at Ron and Harry. "You two will have detentions for your actions. This incident will be reported to your parents... and guardians. I'll speak to Mr Malfoy along with his house headmaster, Professor Severus Snape," she added and walked away.

A cold silence took over the void left by the Professor.

"Why did you do that?" asked Ron suddenly looking at John.

"It wasn't your fault. He provoked you, he has been doing that for a long time now. Also, if I hadn't said what I said, you'd probably have been removed from Hogwarts. You guys already have a strike against your name this year," replied John.

"But now your wand has been taken, for something I did," said Ron.

"Don't worry about me," replied John.

"I'm anyways going to go back home. When my mother hears what happened today, I'll be done for," sighed Ron.

"Your mother won't do anything when she hears why you did what you did. She'll be angry but she'll also be proud of her son," replied John calmly.

"What does mudblood mean anyway?" asked Harry slowly.

"It's one of the most insulting things one can say," replied Ron.

"Pureblood wizards have always frowned upon wizards who are muggle-born. There are some that consider them to have impure blood and hence a derogatory term they use for muggle-born wizards and witches is mudblood," added John and walked away.

"What's with him?" asked Ron.

"I... honestly don't know," replied Harry. "Probably just upset," he added.

Ron and Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room a short while later. The news of Hermione's injury had spread like a forest fire in the school. Everybody who lay their eyes on the 2 of them, kept staring and whispering behind their backs till they remained in sight. There was no one in the common room when they got there. They sat in the common room in silence for close to an hour.

"Let's go and have something to eat," said Harry as he got up from the couch.

"You really want to be around people right now? Everybody was staring at us, whispering behind our backs as if we did something wrong," replied Ron frustrated.

Harry didn't have the heart to reply, "But we did something wrong". So, he decided to take a different route, "Sulking in here isn't going to do anyone any favour. What has happened has happened. Hermione will be fine within no time. And to hell with anybody out there says, we know what happened."

Ron reluctantly agreed. On their way to the great hall, they decided to not go there after all, but to go and visit Hagrid. They hadn't visited Hagrid that year yet and that moment was better than ever to go and visit him.

Their afternoon went better than their morning had. Hagrid was always good at that. He was able to cheer Ron and harry up. Also, seeing Hagrid get worked up over what Draco Malfoy had said brought a smile to their face.

"There's nothing our Hermione can't do"

"... poor Hermione..."

The conversation finally changed to Harry's shadow, Colin Creevey.

"You didn't get me a signed photo, Harry?" asked Hagrid laughing.

"I haven't been signing any photos," snapped Harry.

"I'm only joking," said Hagrid.

Hagrid showed the boys what he had been growing for Halloween. Large pumpkins, bigger than Harry had ever seen.

"Well, I have been giving them a bit of help... you know?" said Hagrid faintly.

"Wow, they look great," said Harry, even though he suspected Hagrid had used magic to enlarge the pumpkins.

"That's what even your sister said," replied Hagrid looking at Ron.

"Ginny?"

"Met her just yesterday! Said she was just looking around the grounds. I suspect she was hoping to run into someone else at my house," replied Hagrid winking at Harry.

"Hagrid!" exclaimed Harry.

"Give her a signed photo, Harry," said Hagrid laughing.

"Ha Ha! very funny. Can we change the topic please?"

The boys' spirits ad definitely lifted. After spending some more time with Hagrid, they returned to the castle. This time, they were genuinely hungry. On their way, they ran into Professor McGonagall.

"Potter, Weasley, you'll be having your detentions today evening," she said.

"What about John?" asked Harry.

"This isn't for what you did today. This is for what you did with your flying car, Mr Potter," replied Professor McGonagall.

Their hearts sunk. For a moment there, they felt ecstatic at escaping with barely a detention.

"Mr Potter, you'll be serving your detention with Professor Jane, while Mr Weasley, you'll be helping Mr Filch polish in the trophy room, without magic," she added, handed them a note saying the same and walked away. All the lifted spirits evaporated instantly.

"She knows John was lying. Why else would she send you to Professor Jane while sending me to clean trophies? Argh! There must be hundreds of trophies in that room. Filch will keep me all night," sighed Ron.

John was brooding, sitting near the great lake. He tried to recollect the events of the morning but found his mind cluttered. Mostly, he was just blaming himself for the events of the morning, how everything had turned out. He had spent hours sitting there. But, suddenly, a few hours later, he heard footsteps. He looked back and saw a 1st year Ravenclaw girl walking towards him.

"Professor Jane asked me to give you this," she said with a soft voice, handing him a note.

"Thanks," replied John.

"You have something on your hair, same as Professor Jane," said the girl.

"What?" asked John shocked, feeling his hair. He couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary.

"It's vermirantur, they are found very rarely. My father once wrote about them for The Quibbler," said the girl.

"The Quibbler... you are Luna... Luna Lovegood?" asked John surprised as he got up.

"Yes," replied Luna.

"Hi Luna, I'm John Smith, nice to meet you," said John.

"Nice to meet you too," she replied and walked back the way she came.

John had a smile on his face for a while. After a few seconds, he opened the note that Luna had delivered.

It read, "Now"

John read the only word written in the note and kept it back in his pocket. He made his way to his sister's office.

"Nice touch, sending the note with Luna," said John the moment he entered the office.

"This is not the time to be funny. What on earth were you thinking?" asked Jane, her voice hadn't been louder in a while. Anger and disappointment were obvious in her tone.

"He has been taunting Ron all week, actually even last year. And I have remained patient. But they attacked Ron, what was I supposed to do?" replied John.

Jane walked over to him and sat beside him on the couch.

"John, you have to be careful. You can't let your emotions out of hand. We'll blow our cover otherwise," she said.

"How's Hermione?" asked John.

"She'll be fine in a couple of days. I can't believe it was Ron's spell that did this to her. All of this is my fault. I should have gotten Ron his wand immediately. I thought I'll wait a couple of weeks. If I hadn't thought that, none of this would have happened," sighed Jane.

"It's not your fault. We have a bigger problem," replied Jane.

"What bigger problem?"

"It wasn't Ron's spell that did this to Hermione," said John.

"John... you don't have to lie to me. I know why you're protecting him; I'd do the same, you know that" replied Jane.

"Do I look like I'm lying? Why would I protect Ron from you of all people? It wasn't Ron's spell, it was mine," said John.

"What... what do you mean?" asked Jane, worry all over her face.

"There's something wrong with me. I can't control my magic. It was my spell that backfired and hit Hermione. I don't know why this is happening. It happened earlier this week where the intensity of my illusion was way more than I intended it to be. And it has happened today again," replied John. He was shaking as he spoke.

"John... come here," she said and hugged him tightly. "Is this because of your transformation?" she whispered in his ear.

"I... uh... I don't... know," replied John.

"John... this is serious. We can't continue if this gets out of hand. I'm not prepared to lose you, not for this, not for anything," said Jane.

"Let's wait before we jump to conclusions. It's a good thing Minerva has my wand. I don't particularly trust myself with it anyway," replied John.

"Okay, but let me know immediately if there's something wrong. You will, right?" asked Jane.

"Of course," replied John and went out of his sister's office.

PS - Chapter 24 will be out next week, hopefully, Monday, maybe Tuesday.

Chapter Text

Chapter 24... Enjoy!

Harry was nervous before going for his detention with Professor Jane. On one hand, he knew John's secret. But on the other, he had never really spoken to Professor Jane. He also suspected whether his detention with Professor Jane was an attempt at something else. To his surprise, there was barely any conversation between them throughout his detention. In the beginning, she asked Harry to write an essay on his life, on the people involved, what he liked and didn't like, and so on. And after that, every now and then, she asked him if he had written anything, to which he'd reply, "Yes". She also asked him once or twice to think and write, and not just write for the sake of it. But other than these occasional words, the detention was quiet. Harry found that the exercise given to him had a calming effect on him. From worrying about Hermione, about John's wand confiscation, Ron's task at the trophy room, he found himself dwelling in happy memories. His Aunt Petunia, Dudley, Daisy were now at the forefront of his thoughts. He also fondly remembered the moment he found out that he was a wizard. Even though his experience at the time was different, he couldn't imagine a world without magic anymore. He couldn't think of bad things in his life. Of course, there was the death of his parents, the fact that they died when he was so little. But he never really missed them. It was then that he heard something, a hissing sound. It was a voice, a voice that brought a chill feeling, a voice with ice-cold venom.

"... come... come to me... let me rip you... let me tear you... let me kill you..."

Harry gave a huge jerk and said, "What?"

"Harry? You alright?" asked Professor Jane.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Professor Jane surprised.

"That voice... there... listen," replied Harry. "... come... come to me... let me rip you... let me tear you... let me kill you..."

Professor Jane listened carefully, but she couldn't hear anything apart from the faint sound of the breeze.

"Harry... I can't hear anything apart from the ordinary. What did you hear?"

"It was a hissing sound... spine chilling voice... it wanted to kill," replied Harry, he was shivering a little. Jane got up and walked outside her office with her wand in her hand. It was dark in the corridor.

"Lumos Maxima," she whispered.

There was no one in the corridor. She stayed and looked around for a minute or so and came back into her office.

"There's no one outside," she said.

"I heard that voice... twice," he replied. Jane was busy mixing some ingredients from the various beakers stacked on her shelf.

"Here, drink this," she said.

"What's this?" asked Harry holding the glass that was offered to him.

"It's a replenishment potion. You've had a long traumatic day. I'm not saying you didn't hear that voice, but you are tired nevertheless. And this will help," replied Professor Jane. Harry drank the potion given to him, it tasted minty and it seemed to calm his nerves.

"I did not imagine the voice," he reiterated.

"I know... don't worry, we'll investigate this. If it happens again, come and tell me, immediately," replied Professor Jane. "This session is over... you may go back to your regular life, Mr Potter. If you want to stay for a few more minutes, you're most welcome to do so," she added.

"Thanks, Professor Jane... I'd like to leave. But before I leave, I wanted to ask if you know how Hermione is? They won't let us see her," said Harry.

"Hermione will be fine in a couple of days. Madam Pomfrey is a really good healer. And Hermione's injuries weren't extensive. Don't worry, she'll be up in no time," replied Professor Jane.

"Thanks," replied Harry and left the office. He sped to the Gryffindor common room, hoping to find either Ron or John. But to his dismay, neither was in the common room. Harry's mind was racing. The only thing in his mind was the house-elf's warning. He was confident he hadn't imagined things. But he was also surprised that Professor Jane couldn't or hadn't heard it. He wondered if she was lying, but found no reason to suspect her of that. He got tired of waiting after a few minutes and decided to go to the great hall for dinner. Ron and John were a no-show even there. He came back up after eating and even fell asleep pretty soon after that. He barely heard Ron climbing onto his bed late at night.

The next morning, Ron heard the tale of the chilling voice. He had no explanation for what could have happened.

"Have you seen John?" asked Harry.

"Nope, not since yesterday," replied Ron.

"I haven't seen him either. His bed's empty too, and it doesn't seem like he slept here," said Harry.

"Do you think he heard that voice too?" asked Ron.

"You don't think he's in danger or something, do you?" retorted Harry.

"I don't like the sound of this, Harry," replied Ron. "There are only 2 places where John could be. The lake, or the library," added Ron.

They both left the common room in search of John. To their disappointment, there was nobody in the library. On second thoughts, it seemed like a dumb idea. Nobody was allowed inside the library post 8 PM, so there was no way John could have been there the night before. They made their way to the lake and to their great relief, John was sitting there, on the ground taking the support of a tree.

"Hey... where have you been since yesterday?" asked Ron.

"Right here, what happened?" asked John. His voice seemed a bit different like he was sick. His eyes told the story that he hadn't slept. Harry retold the events that occurred the previous day.

"So, you're telling me that you heard a voice, but Jane... Professor Jane didn't?" asked John confused.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm telling you," replied Harry.

"And you're worried because of what the house-elf told you?" asked John.

"How did you know about that?" asked Harry surprised.

"Hermoine told me, on the train," replied John. There was a hushed silence at the mentioning of Hermione's name. "I asked Madam Pomfrey last night. Hermione will be fine guys. Matter of hours," added John breaking the silence.

"That's a relief," replied Ron.

"I'm ravenous, let's go get some breakfast. I hope they have sausages, eggs and bacon," said John. He seemed to be in a brighter mood than his activities suggested. And his optimistic approach seemed to have rubbed shoulders with other students in the castle. There seemed to be much fewer amounts of cold shoulder and more sympathy. A few students from different houses came and enquired them about Hermione's health.

The boys were digging into their breakfast when the posts arrived. Harry was surprised to get one, while Ron, who was duller compared to Harry and John had been expecting a howler from his mother. But to his surprise, he received not 1 but 2 posts.

Harry had gotten a letter from Aunt Petunia. Aunt Petunia had received a letter from Professor McGonagall detailing Harry's misconduct. Aunt Petunia, who was used to hearing complaints about Dudley was surprised to get one about Harry.

"Harry beat up a kid? That's awesome," said Dudley laughing.

Aunt Petunia had written to Harry asking him about his wellbeing, and had also warned him not to meddle with things that could get him in trouble.

Ron had received a short letter from his father, saying how proud he was of his son for standing up for a muggle-born. He had also written that his mother was unhappy about Ron's behaviour, but she wasn't angry. Ron who was half-jumping ecstatic about his first letter opened the second post ignorantly. A note fell on the floor while he was busy removing a long beautifully designed box.

The engraving on the box read, "Ollivander's". Ron opened the box carefully, and to his shock, there was a wand inside the box. There was a note inside the box as well.

It read, "Made of willow, 14-inch, Unicorn hair core"

Ron picked up the note that fell on the ground. That note read, "From a loved one, use it well"

"Who would send me a wand?" exclaimed Ron closely examining the wand.

"Maybe it was your father," suggested Harry.

"They don't even know that my wand is broken. Why would they send a new one?" asked Ron. A moment later he said, "This wand feels good. You know, it seems nice holding this." Harry glanced at John who sat there silently eating. John glanced back at Harry, gave a slight nod and continued eating.

Just then another set of posts arrived, and to their surprise, all 3 of them fell near them. All of them were scrolls. The moment they saw them, they recognized that it was from Professor McGonagall.

Ron and Harry had received identical notes saying, "After reviewing the incident that occurred on Saturday, we have decided not to take any action against you. But we would like to warn you that any misstep from you would result in serious action taken against you."

"No punishment, Wow! Christmas came early," exclaimed Ron. Harry happily read the note he had received and was about to celebrate their great escape when he looked at John.

"What does your note say?" asked Harry.

"It's what I expected," replied John and handed the note to Harry. Harry read the note in shock and handed it to Ron. The smiles on their faces faded.

John's note read, "After reviewing the incident that occurred on Saturday, you have been suspended from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for a period of 6 weeks. Further investigation will be conducted on the attack on fellow student, Hermione Granger. Your wand will not be returned until a final decision is taken."

"They can't do this. This is beyond ridiculous," cried Ron in dismay.

"Ron, calm down! They can't let this slide. A lot of people saw what happened yesterday. I knew something like this would happen and I'm fine with it," replied John.

Seamus, Dean, Neville all were sitting near the conversation. And on hearing the suspension news, they walked over to where John was sitting.

"Mate, we should go and talk to McGonagall about this," said Seamus.

"Yeah, we will all come with you," said Dean.

"Guys... It's alright. Anything we try and do, it'll be pointless. At the end of the day, what I did, got Hermione hurt. There's no way they can let something like that unpunished," replied John. He took multiple pauses, carefully choosing the words.

After much deliberation, everyone was convinced. Harry knew John's secret; hence he was the one that tried convincing him the least. He even suspected that it might be part of an elaborate plan.

John made a short visit to his sister's office sometime in the afternoon.

"I hope you aren't too disappointed with how things have turned out," said Jane.

"I had hoped for something lighter. I didn't actually think they'd suspend me," sighed John.

"It's all politics. Do you know who drove this decision? Lucius Malfoy... Apparently, if we didn't suspend you, then it'd become an issue of a pureblood attacking a muggle-born. He has never pleaded for justice more in his life," replied Jane sulking.

"Malfoy wanted me gone? Do you think he knows about us, or me? After all, he was a death eater," said John.

"Look at the bright side... It gives you time to rest. I'd suggest you go to Iceland. There are some powerful healers there," she added.

"I don't know, Jane... Let's see," replied John. "Take care of the golden trio, will you? Harry told me about the voices. Could be Voldemort, could be something else too! Be careful," he added.

"I will," replied Jane. They embraced for a few seconds and finally, it was time for him to leave.

Meanwhile, in a different part of the castle, a bushy-haired girl woke up.

"What happened to me?" asked Hermione.

How did you all find this chapter? An interesting chapter, the 25th of this story will be posted in a couple of days. Stay tuned! ❤️
PS - A fan favourite character will arrive next chapter.

Chapter Text

Chapter 25! Enjoy!

"It is said that the greatest tragedy in life isn't death, but a life without purpose," said Albus Dumbledore as he walked behind a young, tall, well-built man.

"Professor Dumbledore," said John as he turned back sharply.

"I'm surprised to find you here," said Dumbledore.

"Are you?" asked John, sceptical.

"No," said Dumbledore, smiling.

"What are you doing here Professor?" asked John.

"I like to come here sometimes. The Hollow has a special place in all our hearts. For some, this is where their greatest fear withered away. There are others who lost a great deal here. There are those whose dreams collapsed here. And there are others like you, Mr Smith, whose life turned upside down here," replied Dumbledore calmly.

"Which one are you?" asked John.

"The Hollow is where I grew up," replied Dumbledore. John's expression was one of surprise.

"I did... not... know that," replied John.

"You'll get your wand soon," said Dumbledore.

"I know... just a matter of a few months," replied John.

"Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it," said Dumbledore after a minute's silence.

"Do you really believe that?" asked John. Dumbledore remained silent. "Did you know that, when I was 11, like so many before me did, and so many after me will, I desired to come to the great Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? And guess what happened? I didn't get my letter. My twin sister did, and I didn't. Professor Dumbledore, do you know what it feels like to be called a squib? To have magic in you, yet not be able to practice it like everybody your age does? Where were you when that happened? Hogwarts didn't seem to be of much help at that time," replied John in a coarse voice.

"As a matter of fact, I do Mr Smith. I do know what that feels like," replied Dumbledore. John looked at him shocked. "But, that's a story for another time."

The 2 gentlemen stood in the graveyard without speaking another word for a good 10-15 minutes. John read and re-read the message that was written on the grave in front of him.

It read, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death"

"Why are you here Professor?" asked John finally.

"I'm here to tell you that your purpose isn't over yet," replied Dumbledore.

"And what purpose is that? Protect Harry from any and all danger?" retorted John.

"That Mr Smith, only you can determine. Just remember that, good people have many ways to make their presence felt, not just one," replied Dumbledore calmly.

"Jane told you... She shouldn't have," sighed John.

"You're upset that she told me, or are you upset that she didn't tell me sooner?"

John remained silent.

"She also told me that Miss Weasley will have considerable challenges to overcome this year," added Dumbledore.

"Death... not considerable challenges... death... she faces death," replied John looking Dumbledore in the eye.

"And that's why you don't want to return? Because you think you'll fail in protecting her from death? Because your magic is weaker than you'd like it to be?" asked Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore, what good am I, if I can't even control my magic," replied John sulking.

"A student, Mr Smith... you will be a student. But you'll be at Hogwarts. Not Godric's Hollow. It's been 4 weeks since we suspended you. Officially, you have 2 more weeks of hiatus. I hope to see you by Halloween," finished Dumbledore. John remained silent. He saw Dumbledore walk a few steps and then apparate away. John however spent the rest of the evening seated in front of Lily and James' grave.

After getting suspended from Hogwarts, John came back home immediately. He lay low in his house for a week. Being back home soon after leaving took a toll on him. By the end of his first week in, he had called for help to his sister. Jane came back home for a few hours one evening and helped John transform back into his original self. John spent the following couple of weeks drowned in books he didn't understand, drinking and sleeping. In his 4th week of isolation, John finally decided to explore the country. John spent every evening at the Hollow during this week, at the end of which, he got a visit from Albus Dumbledore. His brief conversation with Dumbledore had opened his eyes to what he needed to do.

John knew of a healing facility in Iceland. This healing facility specialised in diagnosing wizards and witches who seemed unable to control their magic, among other things. Early on the following morning, John booked a muggle flight to Iceland's capital city, Reykjavik. The healing facility was about 20 miles away from the city. He had only been at this facility once before in his life. And it looked very different from his memory.

There was a receptionist sitting in the front, a few feet from the entrance door.

{Conversation in this part is happening in Icelandic (Unless told otherwise). Since I don't know the language, I'll be writing them in English}

"Hi, I'm John Smith. I have an appointment with Dr Kristin Magnusson," said John and handed the receptionist a note.

"This way," replied the receptionist and pointed John towards the right side of the building. John had to walk about 50 feet and then he came across a room with Dr Kristin Magnusson's name written on the door. He knocked and entered the room. If John hadn't known that the facility was a wizard healing facility, he would have thought that it was just another muggle hospital. Nothing about the place suggested it had anything to do with magic.

"Yes?" asked a faint sweet voice the moment John entered.

"Hi... I'm John Smith," replied John and handed Kristin a note.

"Hello, Mr Smith... I was expecting you," replied Kristin. "Could you please hand over your personal belongings, wands, anything else you might have in your possession?"

"I don't have my wand," replied John while handing Kristin his watch.

"But you have someone else's?" asked Kristin.

John looked at her dumbstruck for a few seconds and removed a wand from his pocket and handed it over. Kristin examined the wand closely for a few seconds.

"Made of willow, 10 ¼ inches long, Unicorn hair, right?" remarked Kristin.

"Yes," replied John in awe.

"I hope you didn't steal this from a dead body," said Kristin with a piercing stare.

"No... uh... What? No, of course not," replied John.

"Relax, that was a joke," remarked Kristin a few seconds later and gave a small laugh.

"Would you like a drink? I have some Wine, Vodka, anything?" she asked looking over his shoulder at the shelves behind John.

"Water is enough," he replied, surprised at being offered alcohol. She walked over to the other side of the room and got John a glass of water.

"You are from England?" she asked.

"Yes," replied John sipping his water.

"So, Mr Smith, what is this problem you've been facing?" asked Kristin. She had been writing things down on a piece of paper, muggle style all the while chatting with John.

John began narrating a brief version of the events that he thought led to what he was experiencing, a lack of control over magic. But he got interrupted a few seconds in by Kristin.

"Mr Smith, I need the whole story. An uncut version, please?"

"I can't tell you the whole story," said John faintly.

"You need help from us. You need to tell us everything for us to provide you with the help you truly need," replied Kristin. There was something about the woman that made John feel different, a bit intimidated, mesmerised even. From the moment he heard her voice, he had been smitten. But nothing could make him narrate his whole story, or so he thought.

"Mr Smith, you have been silent for a couple of minutes now. Could we please wrap this up as fast as we can?" asked Kristin.

"I genuinely can't," replied John.

"Okay... how about this? You need not tell your secrets to us. Just me should be sufficient. I'll keep your records strictly confidential. And you needn't worry, even Voldemort can't get in here," she added and gave a smile at the end.

"I am sorry, you have to underst... Wait..." began John but stopped speaking almost instantly. He got up and looked around swiftly. "There's something wrong... my head's spinning... No... did you... did you drug me?" asked John and fell down with a thud a moment later, his vision went blurry.

"You can trust me, Mr Smith... but now, you need to rest," whispered Kristin in his ear and John's eyes closed.

It was well over a day later that John woke up. His eyes opened slowly, but closed immediately for the room he was in was extremely bright. He opened his eyes again, even slower this time.

"Hello... is there anyone here?" he asked, but barely any voice came out. "Hello... Hello... can anybody hear me?" he continued {English}. This time, his voice was slightly better. He saw the door open and in came Dr Kristin and a man alongside her.

"Good evening, Mr Smith, how are you feeling? You look parched, would you like some water?" asked Kristin. {Icelandic} A rush of memories came back to John in an instant.

"The water... I was drugged... why did you drug me?" he asked and got up rapidly. {Icelandic}

"Mr Smith... Mr Smith... please calm down. We're not trying to hurt you. I'm sorry I drugged you, but it's standard practice," replied Kristin {Icelandic} but John didn't seem any calm. So, the man beside her gestured to her to let him continue.

"Mr Smith... Hi! I'm Remus Lupin. I help Dr Kristin here with her patients. Please drink this," said Remus and handed John the water. "And here, have some chocolate... it helps, trust me..." he added {English}. John looked stunned at Remus. He rubbed his eyes and stared at Remus for a few seconds. He took the glass of water and chocolate that was offered to him.

"You are Remus Lupin?" asked John {English}, still struggling to believe who was standing in front of him.

"Yes, you seem surprised, why do you ask?" asked Remus {English}, amused at seeing John's face.

"I solemnly swear, I am up to no good," said John with a satisfied smile {English} and saw the colour in Remus's face drain. It was Remus's turn to look stunned.

"Dr Kristin... would you please excuse us for a minute?" said Remus looking at Kristin. {Icelandic}

"Sure," she replied and left the room. {Icelandic}

"I didn't know you worked here," said John with a grin the moment Kristin left. {English}

"Who are you? And how do you know that phrase?" asked Remus. He didn't look angry, but more rattled. {English}

"Well, that's a first. I have never seen you angry. Is this your angry face, or are you more surprised how I know that phrase?" retorted John. {English}

"You could not possibly know that... There are only 2 people alive who know it and I'm one of them," replied Remus. {English}

"You're obviously wrong, but that doesn't matter. I need your help. Can I trust that woman not to kill me or something? She does play that pretty and innocent looking card pretty well," sighed John {English}. Remus looked confused by that question.

"Dr Kristin is a great healer. You can trust everyone here to give you good care," replied Remus. {English}

"Did you trust her to tell your secret?" asked John. {English}

"What secret?" retorted Remus alarmed. {English}

"Oh, Loony... you have only 1 secret that you'll never want to be revealed to the world. Don't make me say it out loud," replied John grinning. {English}

"How... how do you..." stuttered Remus stunned at the statement he just heard. He couldn't believe that this strange man knew about his friends, their secret phrase and also that he was a werewolf. "Yes, Dr Kristin knows about my... my condition," replied Remus. {English}

"Okay, in that case, I'm willing to speak with her. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you my secret. A lot is at stake here, and I can't risk it. But, trust me when I say this... Remus... I'm glad I found you here," said John {English}. Remus couldn't decode whether the man in front of him was being genuine, or was trying to play some mind games. But somehow his heart told him that John Smith wasn't lying. After a few moments, he went out of the room and called Dr Kristin back in.

"Hi, Dr Kristin... I'm willing to tell you my story, the uncut version. But I need something from you first," said John the moment Kristin entered the room. {Icelandic}

"What do you want John?" asked Kristin with her characteristic smile. {Icelandic}

"I'm not going to talk to you here, in this facility. Let's take a walk," replied John {Icelandic}. Kristin looked at him curiously and then glanced at Remus who shrugged his shoulder.

"Okay," replied Kristin. {Icelandic}

John was given something to eat and after an hour or so, he was escorted from the room where he had laid unconscious for over a day to Dr Kristin's office.

"Shall we?" asked Kristin the moment John came into her office. {Icelandic}

"Gladly," replied John. {Icelandic}

The pair made their way out of the healing facility onto the pavement and started taking a stroll.

"So, John, tell me something. Why didn't you want us to do this in the facility?" asked Kristin. {Icelandic}

"I wanted to bring you out of your comfort zone. And frankly, I still don't trust you," said John bluntly. {Icelandic}

"I'm sorry, I know that I broke your trust. But I didn't break my client's trust," replied Kristin. {Icelandic}

"What do you mean?" asked John surprised. {Icelandic}

"Jane... She signed off on this. We don't drug our patients without consent. We don't usually need to, but we do have special circumstances," replied Kristin grinning. {Icelandic}

"Jane knew this and didn't tell me? Why am I not surprised," sighed John laughing at how he got played. {Icelandic}

"What could possibly be your story? Why this secrecy? Did you kill someone, Mr Smith?" asked Kristin with a flirtatious smile {Icelandic}. John recognised it immediately.

"Do you usually fraternize with your patients Dr Kristin?" he asked after standing still. {Icelandic}

"Would you mind if I said yes?" she retorted back. {Icelandic}

"Isn't that supposed to be against rules or something?" he asked. {Icelandic}

"Only if someone finds out," she replied. John looked stunned at the way the conversation was progressing. The pair had walked about a mile when they came across a beautiful looking water body, smaller than a lake but slightly bigger than a pond. There was grass cover around it, enough space to sit.

"Shall we?" asked John and gestured to sit. {Icelandic}

"Here? Sure," she replied a moment later. {Icelandic}

They sat admiring the view for a few minutes before Kristin spoke up, "John, what's your story?" she asked. {Icelandic}

"Can I trust you?" he asked again. {Icelandic}

"Yes" {Icelandic}

"Will you be willing to make an unbreakable vow?" asked John. {Icelandic}

"Yes," replied Kristin in an instant. {Icelandic}

"No need," replied John {Icelandic}. Kristin knew that for what it was worth, she had gained a little bit of trust with John.

So, John began from the beginning. From his early childhood, being home-schooled by his parents, the night where the twins found an intruder in their house, the events that followed that night, the night when Voldemort was destroyed or so the world thought, the plan that twins made to transform John into an 11-year-old boy, meeting Harry, first year at Hogwarts and finally to the part where twice in a week, John had an incident with controlling his magic, he told Kristin everything. It took about an hour for John to narrate his whole story. Kristin sat beside him throughout and listened to everything he told carefully. She was so engrossed in the story that for a moment she had forgotten who she was, what she was. And by the time John finished, she had gained enormous respect for the twins who had gone through what they had, who had done what they had done to be where they were. It was time for Kristin to be mesmerized by John.

"... So, that's the story. I almost killed someone... someone that I very much like and admire. And it can never happen again. And I need your help to fix me," finished John. {Icelandic}

Kristin got up and stretched her arms and cleared her throat multiple times. John followed suit and got up and walked beside Kristin.

"Wow... Now I understand why you wanted the secrecy. I promise not to tell anyone what you've just told me. And yes, we'll definitely help you get better. But a word of caution," replied Kristin. And a few seconds later she continued, "there's a very good chance that your condition is irreversible," she added. {Icelandic}

I tried something a little different in this chapter. Hope you all liked it.

PS - Thoughts on Kristin? Was her character any good?

Chapter Text

A light chapter in comparison to some of the previous ones, but hopefully, enjoyable none the same...
Chapter 26 is here... Enjoy!

"I can't believe we spent Halloween evening here. I can't stand much more of this," muttered Ron.

"Let's go," agreed Harry.

"There might still be some pudding left," sighed Ron as the 3 of them left the death day party for the great hall.

And then Harry heard it, "... rip ... tear ... kill"

It was the same voice, the same cold and spine-chilling voice he had heard a few weeks back at Professor Jane's office. He stumbled to a halt, clutching at the stone wall. He looked around vigorously up and down the dimly lit passageway.

"Harry... what are you..." began Hermione but got interrupted by Harry.

"It's the same voice... Can't you guys hear it?" said Harry, struggling to speak.

"... so hungry ... for so long ..."

"Listen...," said Harry. Ron and Hermione stood still and tried extremely hard to listen to any sound, but they got nothing.

"... kill ... time to kill ..."

The voice grew fainter and fainter. Harry was sure it was moving away, moving upwards. Harry dashed up the stairs into the entrance hall, Hermione and Ron followed instantly. He tried hearing for the voice but the all chatter from the Halloween feast made it almost impossible to hear anything else. He sprinted up the marble staircase to the first floor.

"... I smell blood ..."

"It's going to kill somebody," shouted Harry. He continued running up the flight of stairs to the second floor while Hermione and Ron followed him panting hard.

"What... was that... all about? I couldn't hear anything," grunted Ron breathlessly.

"Look... there," said Hermione and pointed ahead. There was something shiny written on the wall.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE

"What's that hanging over there?" asked Ron, a slight quiver in his voice.

The golden trio edged near; Harry almost slipped. There was a large puddle of water on the floor. They inched closer to the message. When they got near enough, all of them realized at once and leapt backwards with a splash. Mrs Norris, Filch's cat was hanging by her tail from the torch bracket.

"Let's get out of here," began Ron.

"Shouldn't we try and help..." interrupted Harry.

"Trust me... we don't want to be found here," replied Ron. But before they could do anything, they heard footsteps. From either end of the corridor, they could hear the footsteps of hundreds of students walking up the stairs. The next moment, students were crashing into the passage from both ends. The sudden silence that fell when the students glimpsed the scene was deafening.

"What's going on here? What's going on?" shouted Argus Filch as he came shouldering through the crowd. Then he saw his cat and fell back, clutching his face in horror. "My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs Norris? What did you do to her? You killed her," enraged Filch looking at Harry.

The commotion created had attracted all the Professors to arrive at the scene including Dumbledore.

"Argus!" said Dumbledore. He had swept past the golden trio and had detached Mrs Norris.

"Come with me, Argus," he said to Filch. "You too, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger," he added.

Filch, Harry, Hermione and Ron followed Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall and Jane to her office.

"He murdered my cat," began Filch but was cut short by Dumbledore.

"Mrs Norris isn't dead, she's petrified, Argus," he said calmly examining the cat. "I don't know how though," he sighed.

"Ask him, he's the one who did it," snapped Filch.

"No... I" began Harry but was interrupted by Dumbledore.

"No 2nd year could have done this Argus," he said.

"You saw what he wrote on the wall. He knows... he knows I'm a... I'm a... he knows I'm a squib," said Filch stuttering.

"I didn't do this," pleaded Harry. "I don't even know what a squib is," he added.

"If I may speak Professor, maybe Mr Potter and his friends just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Snape. The golden trio looked at Snape surprised at seeing him take their side. "But I must also add that, they weren't at the feast tonight," he added.

"We were at the death day party of Nearly Headless Nick," snapped Ron.

"But why were you upstairs? Why not join the feast afterwards? These are a suspicious set of circumstances," replied Snape. Harry's eyes intuitively fell on Professor Jane who had been staring at him. He tried his best to convey that he had heard the voice but didn't know how to do it without telling others.

At that instant, Professor Jane spoke up, "we should take Mrs Norris to Madam Pomfrey without delay. We can investigate the events later. It's getting late anyway."

"Very well... Argus, take your cat to Poppy. Professor Sprout has grown some mandrakes. They'd be helpful in reviving your cat. We'll speak with her," said Dumbledore.

"My cat has been petrified, I want to see some punishment," pleaded Filch.

"Your cat will be fine, Argus. Now go," said Dumbledore. "You too," he added looking at the golden trio.

Harry, Hermione and Ron immediately got out of there and dashed towards the Gryffindor common room. There was no one in the common room when they got there.

"We'd have been in so much trouble, if not for Professor Jane," said Ron gasping for breath.

"Why didn't you tell them about the voices?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know why I didn't... I thought I should, I even glanced at Professor Jane. She's the only one who knows about this," replied Harry.

"Hearing voices is not a good sign, even in the wizarding world," said Ron.

"Only if John was with us... he'd have known what to do exactly," sighed Hermione.

"Had he been with us, Mrs Norris might not have even been petrified," sighed Harry in response.

"John's a genius, but even he's not capable of fighting invisible monsters that only Harry can hear," said Ron laughing. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other silently.

Pretty soon after that, Hermione went to the girl's dormitory while Ron and Harry made their way to the boy's. Barely a few people were awake in the dormitory. That's when Ron's eyes fell on the bed which had remained empty for so long. It wasn't empty anymore.

"Harry... look," he whispered, pointing at John who was fast asleep.

"When did he come?" asked Harry.

"Not a clue mate," replied Ron.

Harry woke up early the following morning. He looked around at Ron's bed and found Ron still fast asleep. But when he glanced at John's bed, he found it empty. He decided to go to the great hall hoping to find John there. There were a few students in the Great Hall when Harry reached there. The smell of breakfast was too much to handle and made Harry feel hungry almost immediately. He was tucking into his breakfast when he was joined by Hermione.

"Good morning, Harry," greeted Hermione.

"Hi Hermione, Good Morning," greeted Harry back.

"Woke up early today?" she asked as she seated herself beside Harry and started buttering a toast.

"Yeah... did you know John came yesterday?" he asked.

"John came yesterday? When? Did you tell him about Mrs Norris?" asked Hermione excitedly.

"No... that's the thing... when we went to our dormitories last night, we saw John fast asleep. I woke up today and found his bed empty. And he isn't here either," replied Harry and looked around once again to make sure he wasn't sitting somewhere else.

"Where could he possibly be this early?" wondered Hermione aloud.

Just then they heard footsteps heading their way and saw Professor Jane walking towards them.

"Good morning, Mr Potter, Miss Granger," she said the moment she came near them.

"Good morning, Professor Jane," they greeted together.

"I was hoping to find you here early. Could you 2 please come up to my office once you're done with your breakfast? It's about last night," said Professor Jane.

"Sure," replied Harry.

"Thanks," replied Professor Jane and left the pair alone.

"She knows I heard the voice," said Harry the moment Professor Jane left.

"I wonder what the chamber of secrets is," sighed Hermione.

Once they were done eating, they made their way to Professor Jane's office. Harry was half-hoping to find John in there, but unfortunately, he wasn't.

"So, Harry... what happened last night?" asked Professor Jane the moment the pair entered her office.

"When we were coming back from the death day party, I heard that voice again," replied Harry.

"And then what happened?" she asked.

"We followed the sound. I sensed it growing fainter and it sort of moved upwards. That's how we ended up at the second floor," replied Harry.

"And that's when you saw the writing on the wall and Mrs Norris?" she asked.

"Yes, it was already there when we got there," replied Harry.

"Mr Pot... Harry, I know you all didn't do it. No need to get so defensive. I just need to understand the sequence of events," replied Jane.

"Professor? What's the chamber of secrets?" asked Hermione who had remained silent till then.

"I don't know what the chamber of secrets is," replied Jane. Harry and Hermione looked at her in disbelief. They were certain she'd know.

"Professor, what should we do now?" asked Harry after a few seconds.

"I'll talk with Professor McGonagall about this. Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall know about the voices. They will know the best course of action. But Harry, the next time you hear the voices, come to me, or Professor McGonagall. Don't go chasing the voice," replied Jane.

"Ok," replied Harry.

"You may go now," said Jane.

"Professor, do you know where John is?" asked Hermione.

"John... John needs some more time before he can come back," replied Jane.

"But Professor, he already came back, didn't you know?" asked Harry surprised.

"What are you talking about, Harry?" asked Jane, taken aback by the revelation.

"Yeah, he was sleeping in his bed at our dormitory last night. When I woke up today, the bed was empty," replied Harry.

"Oh... then I don't know where he might be," replied Jane. With that Harry and Hermione left Professor Jane's office and returned to the great hall where they found Ron sitting alone. They told him the conversation they had with Professor Jane.

"Whoever the maniac was that did this will be caught soon," sighed Ron. Something in Harry told him that it wasn't going to be as straightforward as that.

Over the following few days, the only thing that was being talked about in the school was Mrs Norris and the incident of Halloween night. But there was another thing that bothered Harry and Hermione. It was the suspicious behaviour of a certain John Smith. On his first day back from suspension, which was a Sunday, he was nowhere to be seen. The first time the pair of them saw him was at dinner that day. He barely spoke to them and just nodded on hearing the events of Halloween night. He looked duller than ever before. In the days that followed, his demeanour during classes was also lacklustre. So much so that he lost Gryffindor 5 points from Snape. The usually chirpy, charming John wasn't the one that had come back to Hogwarts. He remained awfully quiet when they ate together, sometimes he didn't even join the golden trio. They finally had some respite in the Chamber of Secrets front during one of their History of Magic class. They finally learnt about the legend of the Chamber of Secrets.

"Do you think the chamber really exists?" asked Ron.

"Honestly, I don't know Ron! Somebody definitely thinks so," replied Hermione.

"Who?" asked Ron.

"The one who wrote on the wall, dummy," replied Hermione.

"Dummy? Who're you calling dummy?" raged Ron but went silent immediately after getting a glare from Hermione.

Harry however had another problem to contend with. Students had started running away at the sight of him ever since the attack on Mrs Norris, and rumours had started spreading about how he was the heir of Slytherin. When he mentioned this to Ron, his reply was classic Ron.

"They'll believe anything... You're not the heir of Slytherin mate," said Ron laughing.

Just when they were engrossed in their conversation, they saw a 1st year Ravenclaw girl hand a note to John, who was sitting a few feet away from them.

"Thanks, Luna," said John and gave her a brief smile. The moment he read the note, he got up and walked away.

"He has been acting weird, hasn't he?" asked Ron. Harry and Hermione sat there silently wondering the same.

As of when this chapter gets released, I'm working on Chapter 33 of this story. And my plan is to complete publishing "2nd year" worth of stories by the end of 2021. So, stay tuned!

PS - Liked this chapter? Would you have wanted to see something more? Anything you want to see being written in the future chapters?
Leave your thoughts on these questions and more... Ciao!

Chapter Text

Chapter 27 is here... A bit more delayed than I had originally planned, but this is me trying out a new thing...
I know who my readers are... So, if you're reading this chapter and are eager to read future chapters,

"Review this chapter by answering this question : On what 2 days of the week would you like the chapters to be uploaded on?"

Till now, I had been doing Monday/Tuesday and one of Thursday or Friday... But, I get a feeling that readers might prefer weekends too. So, please answer the above question and based on the responses, I'll pick 2 days of the week when the chapters will be uploaded.

Enjoy!

Jane sat in silence for the first minute or so after John entered her office. She was hoping he'd initiate the conversation.

"I didn't actually think I had to summon you to my office for you to actually come here," said Jane putting on a bold face.

"Why am I summoned here?" asked John in return.

"What's going on with you? You haven't spoken to me in ages. You didn't even tell me that you were returning. You seem dull during classes, heard the same from Severus, Minerva. What happened to you in Iceland?" asked Jane, there was genuine concern written all over her face.

"Nothing... Everything's fine... I liked my time there," replied John.

"John, don't lie to me. Not to me of all people. I'm quite literally the only person in the world to whom you can tell anything and everything... Were there any complications in your treatment? How are you? What did they say?" she asked defiantly, but only got a few words in response.

"The treatment was good. They took good care of me. There... weren't any complications. I'm fine," replied John in a monotone.

"Then why this gloomy look?"

"I'm not gloomy, just a little tired, that's all," lied John.

"I've had enough of this bullshit... spit it out... What's the matter with you? Are you mad at me for something?" asked Jane, she was getting angrier by the second, and it was evident in her tone.

"I'm not mad, just tired," replied John, with absolutely no change in his tone.

"Okay... if you won't tell me, I'll call them up and ask myself," replied Jane.

"Go ahead," replied John.

With that, Jane had lost her patience with her brother.

"Okay, you can leave," she said. And with that John left Professor Jane's office.

As the days went by, the curiosity and the intrigue that had plagued the whole school died down, but not for Harry, Hermione and Ron. They even tried to sneak back to the scene of the crime, even though it was kept guard by Filch himself. They also happened to have a conversation with the ghost of the girl's bathroom, Moaning Myrtle. But before they could get any further, they were interrupted by Percy.

"Who'd want to scare away all the muggle-borns and squibs out of the school?" asked Hermione.

"Let me think... Who do we know who thinks all muggle-borns are scum? Oh wait... we know one person, Malfoy," replied Ron sarcastically.

"Do you really think he's behind all this?" asked Hermione.

"Could be, why not?" replied Ron.

"The Malfoys are not the heir of Salazar Slytherin," said John who was sitting a few seats beside them. He got up, sat adjacent to Ron and joined in the conversation.

"How do you know that?" asked Ron.

"Because I know who the last heir of Slytherin is," replied John. The trio looked at him astonished at that statement.

"Who is it?" asked Harry excitedly.

"He goes by the name Tom Marvolo Riddle," replied John with a sly grin.

"Tom Riddle? Who the hell is that?" asked Ron. But before John could respond, he continued, "Hang on... I know that name... Tom Riddle got a special service award about 50 years ago I think," added Ron.

"What for? And how do you know this?" asked Hermione.

"Don't know why he got the award. When I cleaning the trophy room, I remember a trophy with this name," replied Ron.

"Ok... so, what exactly are we saying here? This Riddle guy is the last heir of Slytherin... how did he do this to Filch's cat?" asked Harry.

"I haven't told you guys the most important thing," said John. The trio looked at him surprised to know there was more. "Tom Marvolo Riddle goes by another name. He changed his name a few years after his time at Hogwarts... We know him as," added John and bent ahead and gestured others to come closer. "We know him as Lord Voldemort," whispered John. Ron shuddered at hearing the name.

"What?" exclaimed Hermione loudly. John gestured for her to keep quiet.

"What are you talking about?" whispered Harry.

"Yes... Tom Riddle is Lord Voldemort," whispered John back.

"So Vold... You-Know-Who is behind the attack?" asked Harry.

"That, I don't know," sighed John.

"How do you all this? About Riddle and You-Know-Who, heir of Slytherin," asked Ron. John didn't have an answer ready on the top of his head, that he could give.

But before he could think of something, their conversation was interrupted by Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain.

"Harry... time for practice," he said as he walked over to the group.

"Gotta go," said Harry and left and taking the opportunity, so did John. Hermione, who had been waiting for an opportunity to speak with John without Ron's presence followed him.

"Hey," she said as she walked up behind him.

"Hi," he replied and kept walking.

"You've been distant since you've been back, what's up?" she asked.

"Nothing... just a bit tired," replied John.

"I liked studying with you last year... we should do that again," she said.

"I uh... I don't know Hermione... I'd like to spend some time alone if you don't mind," replied John bluntly.

"Okay," replied Hermione, upset with the way the conversation went.

"I'm sorry by the way, for what happened to you," said John and came to a halt.

"It's okay... It wasn't your fault anyway... It was Ron's broken wand anyway," replied Hermione.

"No, it wasn't... It was my mistake that got you hurt. And I apologize for that," replied John and started walking.

"Wait... what do you mean it was your mistake?" asked Hermione trying to keep up with him.

"I miscontrolled my spell and it hit you instead of... instead of the target," replied John.

"Oh"

"Yeah"

"Well, it's alright either way. I'm fine now," replied Hermione.

"Good," replied John.

"I'm sorry about your wand. I'm sure you'll get it back soon," she said.

"I know," replied John and walked away.

Jane had a rather disturbing phone call to handle regarding John. At the first chance she got, she went to the neighbouring muggle town to call the healing facility where John's treatment had happened.

"Hi, Dr Kristin? This is Jane Smith here," she said the moment the call got connected.

"Jane, Hi! To what do I owe the pleasure?" came the characteristically sweet voice of Kristin.

"I wanted to ask you how John's treatment went," replied Jane.

"John's treatment? Hasn't John come back to Hogwarts yet?" asked Kristin surprised.

"No... he has returned. But he isn't himself. He hasn't informed me yet of the results and how the treatment went," replied Jane.

"That's not surprising," said Kristin.

"What happened to my brother, Kristin?" asked Jane.

"I really don't think it's a good idea for us to speak. It's better if you talk to him about this yourself. He probably needs some time to open up about... about everything," replied Kristin. Jane was extremely worried at hearing this.

"Okay, I understand. But, could you please tell me this then? How did he find the treatment? How was his stay there?" asked Jane trying to get some tidbit of information.

"As far as I know, his stay here was pleasant. He enjoyed his time here with me," replied Kristin and quickly corrected herself, "with all of us, I mean."

"That's good to know," replied Jane.

"John even made a new friend here. He really had a good time with another healer here," added Kristin.

"Oh really? I'm glad to know that," replied Jane.

After a few seconds of silence, Kristin continued, "Is there anything else?" she asked.

"No, that'd be all Doctor. Thank you so much," replied Jane and disconnected the call.

Jane wondered who this person could be that had connected well with John. If she knew anything about her brother, it was that the chances of John connecting with another adult for any reason at all were rare, especially since everything they had gone through. But there was something else she had on her mind. And to test the theory, she needed the help of Severus Snape.

The Quidditch season was upon the school. It was one of those things that had the capacity to sway the mood of the school, even from something as intriguing, terrifying and mysterious as the Chamber of Secrets and the attack on Filch's cat.

Harry and the entire Gryffindor team were definitely intimidated by the superior brooms that the Slytherins possessed, though they never showed it externally. The game began as it always did and the Slytherins looked much better from the beginning. But as the game progressed, something else caught the eye of the Gryffindor team as well as the crowd. It was the fact that one of the bludgers seemed to never leave Harry alone. It was as if someone had tampered with it. But brave Harry convinced the team to continue. And his bravery prevailed. It was a close contest between him and Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin seeker, but in the end, Harry's skill came through and he caught the snitch earning Gryffindor the victory. But it came at a cost. The bludger that had been targeting Harry eventually caught up with him and bludgeoned Harry's arm while he was busy catching the snitch.

The Gryffindor team, Hermione, Ron, John, Neville, Seamus, Dean, everyone ran towards Harry as he lay on the floor clutching his shoulder. A few of the students standing around Harry decided to carry him to Madam Pomfrey. Ron was one of them, while Hermione and John stayed behind.

"Somebody did that to get Harry hurt," sighed Hermione, half in tears.

"Hey... it's alright... Madam Pomfrey is really good. You know that more than anyone this year. Harry will be back in class in a day," said John as he put an arm around her.

"Yeah, I know... I don't know what came over me," she replied wiping the few tears that glazed her cheek.

"Let's go to the common room. Celebrations will begin soon," he said and with that, they left for the Gryffindor room.

Harry was told to stay overnight by Madam Pomfrey even though he didn't want to. Harry was desperate to join in on the celebrations, and more importantly, find out the person behind his broken arm. But the answer to that question appeared in front of him late that night. Harry had the shock of his life when he woke up randomly in the middle of the night and found dobby standing innocently beside him watching him sleep. What followed was the revelation that the house-elf was behind the closed entrance for platform 9 ¾ and the rogue bludger. Dobby apologised and hit himself with objects he could find much to the annoyance of Harry.

"... Harry Potter lied to Dobby. He said he'll not come to Hogwarts this year," said Dobby.

But before Harry could anything else from Dobby, the house-elf left.

"Somebody is here. I must go, Harry Potter. And so must you. Harry Potter should go home," said Dobby and disappeared in a puff of dust instantly. Harry looked around but could neither see anyone nor hear any approaching footsteps. He lay there on the bed, wide awake wondering what the threat could be.

"If Voldemort was behind the attack, it'd make sense why everyone is in danger. Not just me" wondered Harry. But he hadn't gotten any information from Dobby. He had hoped to have gotten answers to some of his questions, but before he could ask any of them, Dobby had left. As he lay there, his thoughts wandered from one thing to another and ultimately, he fell back asleep. He only heard the news the following morning.

"Mr Potter, you are good to go," said Madam Pomfrey.

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey," replied Harry. He noticed that another bed had been occupied. But he couldn't see who it inhabited, for the curtains were drawn in. "Who's there, Madam Pomfrey?" asked Harry casually.

"You're going to find out anyway. A boy was attacked last night, by the same... the same way Mrs Norris was," replied Madam Pomfrey.

"There has been another attack?" asked Harry shocked.

"Yes, dear... Don't ask me any more questions," replied Madam Pomfrey. A few minutes later, Harry left the hospital wing and made his way to the Gryffindor common room.

"Oh Harry, how are you?" asked Hermione the moment he walked in.

"I'm fine," replied Harry.

"There's been another attack," said Ron gloomily.

"Yeah, I found out from Madam Pomfrey," replied Harry.

"It's poor Colin, your shadow," said Ron. Harry didn't know who was attacked, but hearing it was Colin made his stomach lurch.

"I didn't hear anything last night," said Harry. "But I know who was responsible for breaking my arm," he added.

Harry then told Ron and Hermione how Dobby had tampered with the bludger, and how he had closed the gate leading to platform 9 ¾.

"If Dobby doesn't stop trying to save your life, he'll end up killing you," sighed Ron. John who was sitting near the trio decided to chime in.

"Dobby is the name of the house-elf, but we don't know who its master is, right?" asked John.

"What do you mean, Master?" asked Hermione.

"House-elves are servants, owned by wizarding families, and other institutions," replied John. He saw a noticeable change in Hermione's expression and continued, "I know it's an upsetting subject to you, but it is what it is," he added.

"How is this legal?" asked Hermione. John didn't have an answer to that question.

"No, we don't know who Dobby belongs to," replied Ron.

"I know a way we can find out, at least, I have a plan," said John and left.

At dinner that night, when the trio were having their food, John left his seat and made his way to the Slytherin side of the tables. The moment he set foot near their area, there was a roar of laughter.

"Hey Scarlet, come here to get suspended again?" said someone from one of the tables.

"I need a help," said John. Another roar of laughter followed. "Does anybody here know someone named Dobby?" he asked.

"We don't know anybody named Dobby," came a reply from another table proceeded by another laughter. The laughter continued as John left the scene and returned to his seat near Ron.

"What was that all about?" asked Ron.

"I wanted to know whose house-elf Dobby was," replied John grinning.

"You only made yourself look like a right nutter," replied Ron.

"No... Now I know which family Dobby belongs to," replied John.

"What?" exclaimed the trio together.

"Dobby is the house-elf of the Malfoys," replied John proud of himself. "I'm certainly confident I'm right," he added.

"How did you figure that out?" asked Harry surprised and shocked at the same time.

"Well... when I got there, most of the Slytherins were laughing, and so was Draco. He continued to laugh with a few others when I mentioned that I needed help. But the moment I mentioned Dobby's name, he went silent, while others continued to laugh," replied John. "Easy peasy, lemon squeazy," he sighed smiling to himself.

"That... was... genius," said Hermione.

"That was," added Harry. At that moment, they both believed they had their John Smith back.

PS - Stay tuned!

Chapter Text

Chapter 28 is here...Enjoy!

A small group of students had gathered around the notice board. They were all trying to squeeze in and read the latest announcement. Harry and Hermione had started walking towards the gathering when they saw Seamus and Dean coming from the opposite direction.

"What's up lads?" asked Harry.

"They're starting a duelling club," replied Seamus.

"Duelling club?" asked Harry surprised.

"Yeah, the first meet up is tonight, at 8," replied Dean.

"Thanks," replied Hermione as they continued walking towards the library.

"That should be fun," remarked Harry.

"I wonder who'd teach us," said Hermione.

At 8 PM that day, there was a large gathering at the great hall. Harry, Ron, Hermione had all been excited and looking forward to it. Even John had decided to come. A few minutes later the students were joined by Severus Snape and Professor Jane. The moment the trio saw Snape, they became agitated.

"Why did it have to be him?" said Ron.

Professor Jane spoke a few words about how they thought it was a good idea to teach the students about duelling. It was time for a demonstration once she was done talking.

"Professor Snape and I will now give you all a short demo on how a duel looks like. Though I must warn you, in a real duel, there won't be these formalities. You'd have to be on your feet," said Professor Jane.

The students were listening to her carefully.

"First, take out your wands and stand in the combative position of your choice. Remember that posture is everything. You should give yourselves room to move around, be flexible," she said pacing back and forth. She came to a halt and positioned herself facing sideways to the crowd, at one end of the hall. She gestured to Snape and he did the same.

"At the count of 3," she said. "1... 2... 3..."

The moment she said 3, Snape cried, "Expelliarmus" and swished his wand at Professor Jane's direction. There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light that flew of his wand.

At the same moment Snape cast his spell, Professor Jane whispered, "Protego" and the flash of scarlet light got blocked off by the shield conjured by Jane. Snape was visibly infuriated at what had happened. And even though nobody was looking at John, they'd have seen a proud brother.

Snape cast another spell at Jane, this time a jet of white light flew off his wand towards Jane and that got shielded as well. A series of back and forth went on between the pair of them. And finally, Professor Jane halted Snape.

"Professor Snape... a moment? I think the students have seen enough to know how a duel could look like," she said. Snape nodded unwillingly and walked back.

"Now... I want all of you to split into pairs. Do not... I repeat, do not use any dangerous spells," she said.

Harry paired up with Hermione, Ron had paired up with George, Fred with Lee, while John went and sat way behind on one of the tables. The duelling commenced and both Professor Jane and Professor Snape started walking around correcting students' stance, posture. A good 10 to 15 minutes had passed. Half the students who had joined the session had left by then. The ones who remained went on to different partners as they were enjoying what they were doing. As the numbers started to go down, Jane noticed John sitting at the back viewing the duels. It was finally time for her plan to commence. She walked over to John.

"Like what you see?" she asked.

"Good job against Severus," said John with a smile. First for him in a conversation with Jane since returning.

"Thanks," replied Jane, smiling back.

"I know what we should be doing. Training Harry" replied John. "He is terrible compared to... well, compared to you and Severus," he added focusing back on the duels.

"There's time for that," replied Jane.

"He is way too slow. His reflexes need work," said John, still focused on the duels.

"I got you something," said Jane and handed John his wand.

"Why?" asked John refusing to take his wand.

"I got special permission from Minerva. It's time for you to get back into action. At least for a night," replied Jane. John took the wand from her hand reluctantly and made his way towards the rest of the students.

John hardly took a few seconds to show his superiority. It was hardly a fair match. But that was about to change.

"Professor Snape, I have an idea," said Jane loudly, so that everyone could hear. "We have seen enough from everyone here, haven't we? Why don't we pair them up? It's time to spice up things," said Professor Jane. Snape nodded at her suggestion. The 2 professors started pairing the students to their choice. And the duelling commenced.

Jane had paired John with Hermione. The moment she said his name and then followed it up with Hermione's, John gave his sister the most vicious look possible. He had no idea why he was being put in this conundrum. Hermione, on the other hand, who knew John's secret, was ecstatic at being paired up against him. Their duel commenced. Hermione tried her best, but nothing could penetrate John's defences. John however had no plans of using any attacking spells against Hermione. He was happy defending. Jane noticed this and after a few minutes, she changed the pairings.

John was now paired up with a 4th year Hufflepuff boy. This gained her another angry glare from John. The duel commenced and once again John refused to use any attacking spells. He defended with ease. But this time, Jane didn't interfere. As the duel continued for a few minutes, Jane found what she was looking for. John was looking visibly tired. So much so that, a few seconds later, John's defences were breached and he fell back with a thud. The Hufflepuff boy gave John a hand and he got back to his feet.

"Thanks, Mr Smith and Mr Diggory," said Jane and moved on to the next pair. She hated herself for what she had done but she hated what she just saw even more. Whatever had happened to her brother, it had definitely made him weaker.

On the other side of the hall, Snape was having fun watching students going at each other. And then came the clash that made all the 2nd years stop what they were doing. A fairly decent crowd had gathered around Harry and Draco once their names were called out by Snape. Harry and Draco stood face to face wands at the ready.

Draco was the first one to get the upper hand as one of his spells hit Harry like a saucepan and he stumbled back.

Wasting no time, Harry screamed, "Rictumsempra," pointing the wand at Draco. Draco fell to the ground on his knees and started laughing.

Embarrassed at what had happened, Draco got back up to his feet as soon as he could and yelled, "Serpensortia," and out appeared a long black snake. The crowd gathered gave a yell and backed up a little.

Harry looked at the snake, not with panic but an air of calm, just like a random conversation with a stranger. He didn't know what came over him. He could see that the snake was moving towards him. He kept staring at the snake and instantly the snake took a detour and slithered towards the crowd. Justin, a 2nd-year boy from Hufflepuff was the one who was right in front of the approaching snake. Alarmed by where the snake was moving, Harry quickly told the snake to stop moving.

Severus pointed his wand and the snake vanished into a puff of black smoke.

"What were you playing at?" shouted Justin.

"What are you talking about? I told the snake to stop moving," replied Harry.

"That's all for today. Everybody, leave the hall," said Snape and looked at Harry curiously.

Ron quickly grabbed Harry and off they went as Hermione followed.

John, however, ran towards Jane, "your office, now," he whispered loudly and continued running.

By the time Jane reached her office, John was pacing there ferociously.

"John, what happened?" she asked alarmed the moment she entered.

"Did you know that Harry was a parselmouth?" he asked.

"No, I did not," replied Jane.

"I hate it... I hate it... I hate it when we don't know something we should be knowing... We should have been told about this," said John, still pacing hard.

"John... calm down... I don't know why you're so worked up," said Jane.

"Don't you see it? The chamber is real... the monster that the chamber houses is a snake. That's why Harry can hear it. Or rather, understand it. Because he's a fu... he's a parselmouth," replied John.

Jane sighed as she connected the dots herself. "Okay... let's say this theory is correct. What do we do now?"

"I don't know... but Harry is somehow going to help us find the chamber's opening. And open the chamber... I'll bet you anything, this is what's going to kill Ginny," replied John. He came to a halt and took a seat at Jane's couch.

"We have to think about this calmly," said Jane slowly.

"Calmly? This is the first lead we've gotten. We've to do something. Figuring out what type of snake it is, would be fairly simple. We've to figure out the person behind this. There has to be another parselmouth in this school who's behind this," said John.

"I'll talk to Minerva and Professor Dumbledore... we'll figure something out," said Jane.

"Talking of Minerva... what was that stunt you pulled today? Why give me the wand and pit me against Hermione, and then that 4th year? What were you trying to accomplish, Jane? Wanted empirical proof that I'm weak? Had your little chat with Dr Kristin, did you? I should have known that she'll spill the details," lashed out John.

"John... please... let me help you," said Jane and put her hand on his hair and ran her fingers through it. "I'm extremely sorry for what I did. I need you to tell me what you're going through. You are all I have got," she added, almost in tears. But John's anger knew no bounds and he jerked away instantly.

"This was a pathetic ruse, Jane... even for you," he said, threw his wand on the table and stormed out of Jane's office leaving her helpless and in tears.

PS - A short one to warm you all up for future...

Chapter Text

I apologise for such a big gap between the last chapter and this one. I was on a mini-vacation and to my disappointment, the release plan I had got squashed due to poor internet.

But, no worries. I'm back with Chapter 29 and it's decent-sized... Enjoy!

"Ron, what happened?" asked Harry as he resisted the urge to jerk his hand away from the hard grip of Ron's hand.

"Harry, you are a parselmouth. And you have no idea what that means?" asked Ron and let go of Harry's arm after walking away from everyone's earshot.

"I don't even know what that means," replied Harry desperately.

"You can talk to snakes," said Ron.

"Yeah, so? I bet loads here can," replied Harry.

"No, Harry, speaking to snakes is rare. Salazar Slytherin was a parselmouth. Very few people have the ability. You're probably the one in Hogwarts who can," said Hermione.

"Salazar Slytherin could speak to snakes?" asked Harry worried, a million thoughts running through his mind.

"Yeah, have you done it before? I mean talk to snakes," asked Hermione.

"Yeah... once, before I came to Hogwarts. It was actually a funny experience," began Harry but stopped as Hermione and Ron didn't look in the mood for a joke.

"And why did you egg the snake on towards Justin?" asked Ron.

"What are you talking about? I did the opposite in fact. I told the snake to stop moving. Why would you think something like that? You heard what I said," replied Harry, slightly offended by the suspicious tone of Ron.

"I heard you speak parseltongue," replied Ron.

"What?" asked Harry, shocked.

"Yes Harry, you spoke a different language," said Hermione calmly.

"I spoke English... at least I thought I did... How can I speak a language without even knowing it," replied Harry faintly.

"This is bad," sighed Hermione.

"Yeah, the whole school's going to think you're the heir," added Ron.

The next morning, Harry woke up with conviction. He was going to apologise to Justin during their Herbology class, and he'd explain everything that happened the previous day. But to his great disappointment, the class got cancelled owing to a blizzard. Hence, Harry decided to go searching for Justin. He walked past classrooms where classes were going on, through dark passages in the chilly climate. He decided to look for Justin in the library. The moment Harry entered the library, he saw John walk past him, who didn't even seem to notice Harry walking in. Harry could see a group of Hufflepuff students. Hoping to find Justin with the group, he walked towards them. The group of students were talking about the incident of the previous night, and how Harry was the heir of Slytherin.

"Justin should be careful around him," said Ernie.

"Are you sure it's him? I mean, he's always around Granger, isn't he?" asked Hannah.

"He could be playing the long game, you never know," replied Ernie.

"He seems like a nice guy though. He's the boy-who-lived, he helped destroy You-Know-Who," replied Hannah.

"And how did he survive You-Know-Who? He was just a baby. Maybe You-Know-Who knew what Harry was," replied Ernie.

"And what's that Ernie? Heir of Salazar Slytherin?" asked Harry as he interrupted the conversation. Everyone turned back, saw Harry behind them and gave a squeal. Harry had even given a couple of them a jump scare.

"Wh... what are you doing here, Harry?" asked Hannah.

"Hi, Hannah... how are you? Hope you're doing fine. Please tell me where I can find Justin," said Harry in his best sassy voice.

"Why... why do you want to know where Justin is?" asked Hannah.

"Just a wanted a chat, you know how it is," replied Harry.

"We will never tell you," Intervened Ernie.

"Look, I want to apologise for what happened yesterday. I would like to clear my misunderstanding with Justin," said Harry.

"Yeah, like we will fall for that," replied Ernie.

"I grew up a muggle mate. My best friend is a muggle. I love and miss all my muggle school friends. My best friend here is a muggle-born. I had no idea till yesterday what a parselmouth was, or that I was one. I'm not the enemy here," said Harry trying to sound as convincing as he could.

"If all you want to do is apologise, we can do that for you. If you're who you say you are, you wouldn't mind that, would you?" retorted Ernie.

"No... I wouldn't," replied Harry. "See you all," he added and walked away. He hadn't even walked a few steps when the loud screams of Peeves, the poltergeist started coming their way.

"ATTACK! ATTACK! ATTACK! THERE'S BEEN ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

By the time Harry and the Hufflepuff students got to the scene, a large number of students had already gathered along with Professor McGonagall and Professor Jane. It only took them about a minute to realise that the victims this time were Justin and the ghost of Nearly Headless Nick. Soon the crowd was cleared from the place.

"I'm sorry," said Harry looking at the devastated faces of Ernie, Hannah and other Hufflepuff students that he had just talked to and left for Gryffindor common room.

The weeks leading up to the Christmas break was gloomy at Hogwarts. The attack on Justin had increased the fear in students, especially the muggle-borns. Hardly anybody travelled alone anywhere. A small silver lining in Harry's life was the lack of talk of him being the heir. What the attack had inadvertently done was to remove the "heir of Slytherin" tag from Harry as soon as it had arrived. Ernie even apologised to Harry days after the attack on Justin.

"You should be careful, Hermione," said Harry.

"I'm not afraid of the Slytherin monster, whatever it is. I know I should be, but somehow I'm not," replied Hermione.

"That doesn't make any sense at all, Hermione," replied Harry laughing.

"Look at it this way. I'm hardly ever alone. You are always with me, so is Ron. And not to forget him," she said pointing at John with her eyes, who was sitting a few seats across them.

"If You-Know-Who is behind these attacks, not even he can protect you," replied Harry faintly.

"Well, I'm lucky then to have the one and only... boy-who-lived with me then," replied Hermione grinning.

"This is not funny, Hermione," said Harry not finding Hermione's behaviour amusing.

"Harry... it's almost Christmas... I don't want to spend my days here thinking about sad and gloomy things," said Hermione. Harry nodded in agreement and that conversation dropped dead.

"Talking of Christmas, what's your plan?" asked Hermione.

"I'm going home," replied Harry. "I'll have a few extremely angry people to handle if I don't," he added smiling.

"I'm going back as well. Cousins are visiting us this Christmas," said Hermione.

"That's nice," said Harry. "Do they know you're a witch?" asked Harry.

"Of course not, Harry!" said Hermione. Harry didn't know what was obvious about that, but he didn't want to prod further.

"Ron's going with his parents to visit Bill, Fred and George are going too, I think," said Harry.

"I thought Ginny was staying here," replied Hermione. Harry shrugged his shoulders in response.

John had deep dived into the collections of the library, especially books on serpents, ever since he found out that Harry was a parselmouth. In fact, he was on his way to the lake, from the library when he found Justin and Nearly Headless Nick. But, before he could alert anyone, Peeves had done his job for him by shouting at the top of his voice on every floor of every building in the castle. There was another thing that bugged him and even distracted him... his fight with Jane. For the first few days after his fight, he was extremely angry at what had happened. He kept a mean face whenever he ran into Jane or was in her class, but the only reason he had done that was to make Jane feel as guilty as she possibly could. But as the days went by, and the more he saw how dull Jane looked, he started to realise that being angry wasn't the solution. If truth be told, he knew in his heart that the mistake was partly his. His first instinct after being back from Iceland had been to go into a shell. A hole even, that he dug for himself, a deep dark hole. And Jane knew what he was doing to himself and tried to help. So, he decided to make amends with her. That evening he made his way to Jane's office and casually walked in.

"John... Hi," said Jane the moment she saw him and got up from her seat.

"Hey," said John faintly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a low voice, her expression screamed out sadness.

"Just wanted to have a chat," replied John.

"Is it about the chamber? Have you found something?" she asked nervously. There was a shiver in her tone.

"No... not the chamber. I'm not here about the chamber," replied John.

"I'm sorry," they said together after a few seconds of silence. John gave a chuckle at continued, "It should be me apologising. I have been an arse ever since I have been back. You didn't deserve that," he said.

"John... it's okay. I should have never pitted you against those other students. I thought I was doing something clever, but never once thought what the repercussions could be," replied Jane. John went and sat on the couch and Jane sat beside him.

"I have been an idiot these past few months. First, I lashed out at you during our vacation. Then I lost control of my magic. Then I lost control of myself. And to top it all off, I made an enemy out of the only person who has been with me throughout my life. You have been the backbone of my life. I don't know what's up with me," he sighed.

"Hey... there's nothing wrong with you. We are both lucky to have each other. We've both been through some shit. And when one of us is down, the other is always there to pull us back up," replied Jane putting an arm around John's shoulder.

They sat there in silence, revelling at the moment. After a few minutes, Jane couldn't resist anymore. She had to ask him. "John... what happened to you?" she asked hesitating with every word she uttered.

"Jane... let's not do this now. I promise to you, I'll tell you one day. But I need some time to myself before I can do that," replied John calmly.

"Should I be worried?" asked Jane faintly. John could see that her eyes were glistening.

"Jane... come here," he said and hugged his sister tightly. "I'm not dying. But I'll never be the same again. That's all," he whispered.

"What do you mean?" whispered Jane back as they remained embraced.

"My transformation had its toll. By transforming, I bent the natural laws. And nature always has a funny way of retaliating. The reason I couldn't control my magic was that I was growing weaker," replied John. The twins pulled apart slowly.

"John... are you saying what I think you're saying?" she asked, worried she might be correct.

"I'm afraid so... Dr Kristin gave me a choice. I could either live normally, without treatment. But I could die at any moment because my body couldn't continue to handle the transformation. Or, I could choose to make me... well, for a lack of a better word, my miniature state, a permanent thing. I'll be considerably less powerful. But I'll live. The strain on my body would no longer be there. Guess what I chose?" replied John smiling. Jane knew this smile. It's the one John put on, whenever he wanted to mask his pain.

"Oh my God, John... why didn't you tell me this earlier? We could have consulted someone else," replied Jane, devastated by what she had just heard.

"Jane... we knew the risk when we made the plan. We knew something like this could happen. We just didn't what that something would be. Well, there's a silver lining if you think about it," replied John.

"What silver lining?" asked Jane.

"We don't have to lie anymore. Technically, I'm 12 now. I just happen to have memories of over 2 decades. But, physically? I'm 12. I'll grow just like all the others in my class will. We couldn't have asked for a better cover," he replied smiling, this time genuinely.

"How are you so... I don't know... calm about this?" asked Jane after staring at John for a few seconds.

"Trust me when I tell you, I wasn't calm when I found out. And have I looked calm all these days?" replied John.

"What made you change?"

"Hermione... and Harry, to be fair. I was sitting a few seats away in the library when I overheard them talking about Christmas, being with family, positivity etc... And the only person I could think of was you of course. I had made up my mind to come and apologise right there and then. Telling you the whole thing was just an instinctive decision," replied John.

"I'm glad you told me..." replied Jane, smiling.

"Well, enough about me. I come bearing other information too," said John.

"Found something?" asked Jane.

"A few things, I would have told you earlier, but... well you know how I was pissed at you and all that. First things first, the house-elf that visited Harry, was the one that closed the gate in platform 9 ¾, also the one that tampered with the bludger. And guess who the house-elf belongs to? The Malfoys" replied John.

"The house-elf did all that? And it belongs to the Malfoys? Wow, that is some news. So, I'm guessing the house-elf found out that Harry was in danger from Lucius Malfoy. Which begs the question, what is Lucius planning? Could he be behind the Chamber? The heir of Slytherin?" wondered Jane aloud.

"But we already know who the last known heir of Slytherin was, Voldemort," replied John.

"Right! Is it possible he has a kid, who's studying here, now?" asked Jane.

"A kid? Well, I don't know if he has a kid. It fits, but how are we ever going to find that out?"

"Dumbledore would know," replied Jane.

"Ok! So, that's that! But, even if there is a kid, and the kid is orchestrating these things, how did Lucius come to know about it? Voldemort isn't back. Even if the death-eaters believe he's out there, he doesn't have a body. If he did, he wouldn't have been after the Philosopher's stone," said John. "And why did the house-elf warn Harry? What's with that? Isn't that against their code or something?" he asked.

"Argh! My head hurts with all this gobbledygook," sighed Jane.

"Let's Park it and move on to the next thing. The Snake! Or what I think is the Slytherin monster in the chamber. If you think about it, it hasn't killed anyone. It has only petrified 2 students and a cat. Why not kill?" asked John.

"Maybe it can't?" retorted Jane.

"Possible, but highly unlikely. I did some reading, but I can't find anything that connects the facts we have. And there's another inconsistency. Harry heard voices way before the first attack. He heard the voices just moments before the attack on Mrs Norris. But he didn't hear anything after that. Not when Colin was attacked, not when Justin was attacked. What's with that?" asked John.

"He would have been asleep during Colin's attack," replied Jane.

"He was talking to the house-elf in the middle of the night. And was awake for a good amount of time after that. But, fine... let's say he was asleep. What about Justin? He was talking to the Hufflepuff students in the library," replied John back.

"Is it possible, he didn't hear it? Due to distance, maybe? Attack on the 5th floor and library is off the corridor on the 1st floor," said Jane.

"And there's the big question. How on earth is a snake moving about without being seen by a single person? It can't be invisible," replied John.

"John... you're hurting me with these questions. Please... I can't think anymore," said Jane after a few minutes of silence, but she had a smile on her face.

"You're just lazy," retorted John.

"Have care how you speak... you're talking to someone a decade and a half older than you," shot back Jane laughing.

"Ouch... Wow! Are you even my sister anymore? I should start calling you Aunt Jane, doesn't have a nice ring though," said John.

"I'll kill you with my bare hands if you call me Aunt," said Jane.

"Well, you started it," replied John laughing.

"Argh... I missed you... I missed this..." sighed Jane.

"So did I," replied John.

"We should go back home, for Christmas. Or we could travel somewhere nice," said Jane.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Moreover, we should be on Ginny duty," replied John.

"Isn't she going home with her brothers?" asked Jane.

"It seems not! They're going, but she's staying back. I asked her about it, she said she has friends here that she'll be with," replied John.

"But it's Christmas... are you sure she didn't lie to you or something?" asked Jane surprised.

"I'm positive, I even heard Hermione and Harry talk about it. I found out it especially weird considering the way she has been behaving recently. Ever since the attack on Filch's cat, she seems jumpy. Whenever someone mentions the chamber, or the heir, or death or anything of the kind, she gets upset, worried, her face goes pale, etc... I chalked it off as a normal thing. But... I don't know, something seems off," replied John.

"It's not out of the ordinary. She is in her first year after all... I wouldn't worry about it too much," said Jane. "But, if you want to stay here, I'm okay with that. Anyways we'll have all the time in the world here, with barely any students staying back," she added.

"That's settled then," sighed John. The twins spent hours talking to each other that night. The holidays arrived and the students went back home happily. As for Harry, Hermione, Ron, John and Jane, horrors lie ahead but it'd wait till Christmas was over.

PS -  Shhhh... This has to be a secret between us...  Year 2 will end with Chapter 35. And guess what? If everything goes to plan, 01/01/2022 will be the day Chapter 35 will be published.
Let's go evvvverrryyyyyonnnnneeeeee... ❤️❤️❤️

A bit much? Lol

Chapter Text

Chapter 30 is here... Enjoy!

"d4," said John.

"Knight to f6," replied Jane.

"c4"

"Pawn to g6," replied Jane.

"Knight to c3," said John grinning.

"d5," said Jane.

"Oh, the Grunfeld? Well... then... bishop to d2," said John. It had been a few years since they played a game of chess. When they were younger, they played chess all the time. Jane was the more methodical and technical player while John was impulsive, rash, but came up with beautiful sequences.

"Bishop to g7," replied Jane.

"Pawn captures on d5," said John.

"Knight takes d5," replied Jane immediately. "Go on, take my Knight," taunted Jane.

"You would want that, wouldn't you? Free development of your Queen. Sorry, but I'm going to kick your Knight away by playing e4," said John in response.

"Knight... captures on c3," said Jane after a few seconds.

"Taking my Knight? Interesting choice, I'll take with my Bishop," replied John.

"c5," said Jane immediately.

"Striking in the centre, how typical... Pawn to d5," said John.

"Bishop captures on c3," replied Jane.

"Pawn captures Bishop on c3," replied John.

That's when Jane decided to take a long think. And finally, after a minute, she said, "Queen to d6"

"Queen to d2," said John after taking a few seconds to think.

"I'll castle," replied Jane.

"f4," said John immediately.

"You're playing aggressively... those pawn pushes are going to come back to haunt you," said Jane smiling.

"We'll see who's haunted," retorted John.

"e6," said Jane. John went back into a long think after Jane played her move. If anyone could transform into a fly and be on one of the walls watching the pair of them play chess, they'd definitely think that the twins had gone mad. Because they were really good players of the game, they rarely needed a board to actually play. Often, just like they were doing now, they'd start a game of chess without a board and just visualize the whole play unfurl.

"Knight to f3," replied John.

"Pawn captures on d5," said Jane.

"Bishop to c4," replied John immediately.

"Bishop to e6," said Jane after a few moments.

"I'll go short castle," said John.

"d4," said Jane. "Brother dear, are you sure you are in your top game? You look rattled," taunted Jane again

After a good 4 to 5 minutes, John said, "f5" and smiled showing his teeth.

"f5? What? Are you sure? You're giving up a piece? Just like that?" asked Jane. John remained silent and serious-faced.

"Bishop captures on c4," said Jane with a satisfied look. She knew that the victory was hers.

"e5," said John instantly after Jane played her move and started jumping excitedly.

Jane tried to ignore him but it only took her a minute to go from the satisfied look to one of pure horror.

"Wait... stop jumping JOHN!" she shouted. "That can't be it... How did I miss that?" grunted Jane.

"I set that up perfectly. You were basically lost the moment you played d4," said John laughing. "d4, f5, Bishop goes anywhere or captures c4, e5... If you move the queen, I'll play f6 and that's it. Checkmate incoming," he added proudly.

"I feel like I have seen something similar before. I basically walked into it, didn't I?" sighed Jane disappointed.

"Yeah, I believe we saw something similar when we were younger," replied John.

The twins had spent most of the Christmas holidays with each other. Apart from the odd discussion about the chamber, Ginny or Lucius Malfoy, they had managed to stay away from the madness of the outside world. But the holidays were about to end soon.

The following day, all the students who had gone home for vacation returned. Harry in particular looked cheerful.

"What's up, Harry?" asked John as he sat down beside Ron. Harry and Hermione were seated on the other side of Ron.

"Nothing, why do you ask?" replied Harry.

"You look cheerful. There's this glow on your face," said John.

"He's been glowing like this all day," added Ron.

"I'm just happy," replied Harry.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell," remarked John laughing.

"It's nothing like that. I just really enjoyed these couple of weeks, you know? So much has already happened this year. I just wanted that break badly. Going back home was just the thing I needed, I guess," replied Harry, tucking into his pie.

"I know what you mean. The last couple of weeks were really refreshing," added John. "How was your holiday, Ron?" he asked.

"Lot of fun," replied Ron but gave a pause for his mouth was too full to talk. "Our visit to Egypt was a lot of fun. Bill's a curse breaker for Gringotts," he added.

The kids enjoyed their first few days post being back from the holidays talking about the wonderful gifts they received, exciting things they did and the delicious food they devoured. But like all good things, their moods started to turn sour once they started receiving truckloads of homework. Every professor emphasized studies that much more compared to earlier. Harry and Ron especially started to feel they were better off back home.

Argus Filch hated the students of Hogwarts. They always caused trouble and he had to clean up the mess they left behind, quite literally. He also hated that despite being in a wizarding school, he never got to learn magic. He hated all the students that wasted their time away playing stupid tricks. If he got to spend even half the time these lot got to study magic, he'd accomplish so much more. Just as he spent his time brooding, he saw a little girl run towards him crying. He saw her go inside the bathroom. He then heard a loud thump and a moment later the girl came running out and left. And a moment later he heard the sobs of the ghost that lived in that bathroom, Moaning Myrtle. He watched the whole scene play out with utter disgust on his face. But his expression got worse when he saw a great flood of water rush out of the bathroom and wet the just mopped floor of the corridor.

"Even more work for me! Mopping all night, like I haven't got enough to do. I hate everybody here," he shouted in anguish and started to mop the floor again. When he was finally done mopping the floor dry about an hour later, he noticed that the ghost hadn't stopped sobbing. Irritated by her sound, he went inside the bathroom. But before he could say anything, he saw a diary lying on the wet floor. He picked up the diary and to his great surprise, it wasn't wet. It was completely dry. He walked out of the bathroom holding the diary in his hand. But to his great dismay, his curiosity about the diary got disrupted by another flood of water rushing out of the bathroom.

"When will they listen to me? This is outrageous I tell ya," he screamed and started mopping once again.

It was their potions class going on in the usual style. Severus Snape had just completed explaining how the temperature and time to spent brewing any potion was just as important as the ingredients and their proportion of the recipe.

"Today's class might as well be given by Mr Obvious," whispered John and chuckled. Harry and Ron gave a small chuckle as well. But they were caught instantly by Snape.

"10 points from Gryffindor for laughing in between class. Would Mr Potter and Mr Weasley care to tell the class the joke?" asked Snape in his characteristically low and cold voice. Harry and Ron went silent immediately and pretended to be reading a line of text in their books.

"Just wondering the point of this class," said John to himself. But he didn't get away with that.

"What was that Mr Smith?"

"Nothing, Professor," replied John boldly.

"If you think you know everything, why don't you show the class how to brew the girding potion?" retorted Snape.

"You are a better teacher than me," replied John smiling.

"10 more points from Gryffindor for interrupting my class. And detention, Mr Smith! You still haven't learned how to talk to your professors," snapped Snape.

"This is ridiculous," sighed John, but the damage was done. Snape was in a sour mood for the rest of the class.

Once the class got over, Hermione walked up to John.

"You really have to watch what you say in Snape's class," she said.

"He was just salty today. I have done much worse and gotten away with it," replied John nonchalantly.

"You deserve this," retorted Hermione and got a glare from John. "Ok, sorry, you don't deserve this. But you should be careful in his class. He has already taken so many points from us this year," she added.

By the end of their last class of the day, John received a note telling him that his detention would be with Argus Filch, to help him clean trophies in the trophy room.

"How many trophies do they have? I can't believe this," sighed John.

"Don't overexert yourself trying to polish them hard. My hands hurt for 3 days last time," said Ron.

"Thanks, Ron," replied John and gave a smile.

Meanwhile, Harry and Hermione were seated at the opposite table whispering constantly.

"Harry, I asked Professor McGonagall as well as Professor Jane. Both of them refused my request," she said in a low voice.

"Hermione... you have to be kidding me. We can't use the cloak for something like that," whispered back Harry.

"Please?"

"Hermione..." sighed Harry.

"Just this once, I promise," whispered Hermione.

"Okay, but just this once. What's the plan?" asked Harry.

"We'll go to the restricted section and grab the book I want. I already know the name. Searching it shouldn't take long. We'll spend about 20 minutes there. I'll get what I want and we'll return. That's all," whispered Hermione.

Harry shook his head in disagreement but replied, "Okay, let's do it."

Hermione flung herself at Harry and hugged him and whispered, "Thank you" in his ear.

"What's up guys?" asked John diverted by the hug between Harry and Hermione. But before they could answer, they all heard the annoying voice of Draco Malfoy approaching them.

"Potter and the Mudblood, what a surprise?" smirked Draco. Hermione's face went red with embarrassment

"Piss off, Malfoy," snapped Ron. John remained silent this time.

"Leave us alone, Malfoy," snapped Harry a moment later.

"You don't have anything to say this time?" taunted Draco looking at John.

"I didn't have to," replied John smiling and the golden trio gave a chuckle.

"I always wondered why you were so pompous. But now that I know your secret, it all makes sense," sniggered Draco. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other alarmed. John however remained calm.

"What secret?" asked John.

"Even Longbottom there would say whatever he wants if his aunt was a teacher in the school," replied Draco. The truth hit John like a brick.

"What are you talking about?" snapped Ron.

"I'm surprised you didn't know, Weasley. I thought he'd have told you all. Professor Jane is John's aunt. That's why he's always talkative. He knows that he can get away with it," replied Draco.

Ron glanced at John and immediately realised that it was the truth. Harry and Hermione looked at John shocked.

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you Draco? You have to be one to know one," snapped John and walked away. The smile on Draco's face wiped away instantly and he walked away.

"Professor Jane is John's aunt? Malfoy has gone mental," sighed Ron. He glanced at Harry and Hermione hoping he'd get a response, but he didn't. "He wasn't lying, was he?" he asked a moment later. Harry and Hermione remained silent, not knowing what to say.

"He wasn't lying," said Hermione after a few seconds.

"You guys knew this?" asked Ron, a little hurt.

"John told me on the train," replied Hermione.

"Why didn't you all tell me?" asked Ron.

"He wanted to keep it a secret," replied Hermione.

"I don't know what he was so afraid of anyway. This has happened a lot of times in the past. There have been so many teachers who have had some relation studying in school," remarked Ron. The silence that filled the void remained. After a few minutes, Ron walked away talking to Seamus and Neville.

"How did Malfoy know?" asked Harry.

"Don't ask me," replied Hermione.

"Do you think he knows about the other thing?" he asked. But the silence told them both that they were afraid of the same thing.

John had joined Filch in the trophy room to help him clean the trophies. He had immediately buried himself in the work. Even though he was physically present in that room, he was mentally absent.

All he could think was, "How did Malfoy find out about him and Jane?"

The only logical reason he could think of was that Draco found out from his father. And how Lucius came to know was an entirely different question that was bugging John. He had spent close to a couple of hours when his thoughts were interrupted by Filch.

Filch didn't say anything but kept muttering something to himself.

"What happened Mr Filch?" asked John.

"Nobody here cares about Mr Filch or his cat. It's been so long since Mrs Norris was petrified. Yet no one here is bothered," said Filch.

"I'm sorry," said John.

"What for?" retorted Filch.

"You hate us all, don't you? I know what it feels like," said John.

"What are you talking about kid?" asked Filch.

"I'm sorry that you're a squib," said John and started polishing the trophies again. Filch remained silent for a few minutes. He didn't know what to say.

"How could you possibly know? You're studying here, aren't you?" said Filch.

John didn't respond and continued with his cleaning duty. When he was finally done an hour later, he got up from the floor and made his way to Filch's office, where Filch had left for earlier. That's when his eye caught the list of Head Boys and Girls Hogwarts had historically. As he scanned the names, he came across Lily Evans and James Potter. He gave a smile reading their names and walked out.

When John went to Filch's office, he wasn't there. Annoyed at his absence, he left the office. But just as he turned back, a peculiar name on a diary caught his attention.

"T M Riddle," it said on the diary's cover. John grabbed that diary from Filch's desk and left before anyone came back.

The following evening, John decided to examine the diary that he found at Filch's office. He carefully opened the diary, and to his surprise, there was nothing written on any of the pages. But before he could go further into his investigation, he saw Harry come running towards him, accompanied by Ron.

"John... my invisibility cloak... it's gone," said Harry.

"Oh..." replied John absent-mindedly. Hermione came walking towards the boys.

"What happened, Harry?" she asked.

"My cloak is gone. I don't know where or who took it. I decided to take the cloak out from my trunk. So that I didn't have to search for it at night. I have searched it thoroughly, twice... and I can't find my cloak," replied Harry desperately.

"What?" asked John surprised. "Your cloak's gone? Are you sure you didn't misplace it?" he added.

"No... I haven't taken it out ever since I used it last year. I even remember seeing my cloak at the start of the year. But after that, I don't remember seeing it," replied Harry.

"Maybe you kept it in your house when you went back during Christmas?" asked Hermione hopefully.

"No, Hermione! I didn't do any of that," replied Harry.

"Someone knew about Harry's invisibility cloak and stole it when he was away," said Ron faintly. "The question is, how did someone get into our common room?" he added.

"Unless it was taken by someone from our house. They'd know the password," replied Hermione.

"Hermione... what if the person behind the attacks is using Harry's cloak? Maybe that's why he hasn't been caught," replied Ron in a low voice so that no one else could hear him.

"Ron... that'd mean..." replied Hermione but didn't finish the sentence.

"That'd mean the heir of Slytherin could be someone from Gryffindor," replied Harry.

Meanwhile, outside the Hogwarts castle, many a mile away, Lucius Malfoy was having a conversation with a Ministry official.

"Mrs Davies, that is not possible," said Lucius Malfoy.

"Mr Malfoy... I know about your possessions. But I'm sure a respectable member of the magical society like you wouldn't want everyone to find out about them, would you?" remarked Emily.

"Are you threatening me?" snapped Lucius.

"Threatening is such an ugly word. I'll proceed with the investigation regardless of your help. With your help, it'll progress quickly. And after all, this is an investigation into the deaths of Mr Crabbe, Mr Goyle and 2 other members who were once death-eaters. Wouldn't you want justice for them and their families," replied Emily.

Lucius remained silent for a few moments. He finally replied, "I'll help you"

So, did you like this chapter?

The beginning of this chapter, or should I say, the first 1/3rd of this chapter is something that quite a lot of you may have had a tough time understanding. I love Chess and I took this chapter's opportunity to create a proper scene involving the game.

I apologise to all those who couldn't make head or tail of what was going on. And if you liked what you read, do share your thoughts.

PS - Chapter 31 is on the way. Monday is probably when I'll publish it... Bye!

Chapter Text

Chapter 31 is here... ❤️

John had decided to take Tom's diary that he found at Filch's office with him to the lake. That was the safest place he could think of where no one would interrupt him. Till then, whatever he tried, he couldn't figure out what was special about the diary. He knew that there must be something special about the diary, but it annoyed him that he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Revelio" whispered John pointing the spare wand he had on the diary. Nothing happened.

"Aparecium" he whispered again and pointed the wand at the diary. Nothing happened this time either.

"This is hopeless... I don't even know why I bother using the same spell a hundred times even though it hasn't worked once," he told himself. Life had gone stale for John ever since Malfoy had revealed to basically the entire school that John and Jane were related. Even though it wasn't as big a deal as he feared it might turn out to be, the effects were still noticeable. He had noticed how students had started treating him differently. Every time he walked into a room, there were whispers to be heard. Even though he gave a chuckle every time someone mentioned the word aunt associated with Jane, he knew in his heart that this should have been avoided. Even Ron had started behaving differently with John. But that was more down to being kept in the dark when both Harry and Hermione knew. Jane however remained nonchalant about the whole thing.

"John... do you know how many students have had a teacher who was a relative or a family friend?"

"No," replied John.

"That was a rhetorical question. Even I don't know the number, but that's not the point. This isn't something to worry about. Yes, now they all know we are related, but who cares? Let them talk about favouritism if they like," said Jane.

"We both knew this would happen," sighed John.

"Yes, we did," replied Jane. "But there's one thing that's a concern. How did it come to this?" she asked.

"Lucius Malfoy," replied John.

"Yes, that's obvious. But how did Lucius find out we are related?" asked Jane.

"You and Daisy were attacked by death eaters last year, remember? I also happened to kill a death eater, right in front of Voldemort, remember? That's how," replied John annoyed at the situation.

"If Lucius knows about us, that's bad," replied Jane.

"I have a lot of things to worry about right now. I didn't need another," sighed John.

"What other things?" asked Jane.

"The Slytherin monster, Ginny, Harry's missing cloak, Tom Riddle's diary, just to name a few," replied John hastily.

"Hold on! What are you talking about? Harry's cloak? What about it? And what diary?" asked Jane.

"Harry was looking for his invisibility cloak. He couldn't find it in his trunk. And he's confident that he hasn't misplaced it," replied John.

"His cloak's missing?" asked Jane shocked. John remained silent. He looked extremely annoyed at everything that was happening. "Why was he looking for it anyway?" she asked.

"Hermione and Harry were going to do something with it. I don't know, I didn't bother asking," replied John.

"Hermione and Harry? I can't believe her. She asked me a few days back, to borrow some potions books from the restricted section. I knew she was lying. I knew that she wanted to research the Slytherin monster," replied Jane.

"Give her the damn permission... At least, if that's what she does, it'll only help us get this over sooner," snapped John.

"Why are you in such a sour mood?" asked Jane. "And what was that diary you mentioned?"

John opened his bag and pulled out the diary and handed it over to Jane. The twins spent close to an hour with the diary, but couldn't figure out what it did.

John had started scribbling absent-mindedly in the diary when he noticed it. Whatever he had scribbled had vanished.

"Jane... I got to go. I just remembered, Harry asked for my help with his potions homework," he said. He got up and left immediately before Jane could even respond.

"What... was... that," said Jane to herself amused at what had just happened.

Hermione, like Harry and Ron, was extremely worried at the fact that the invisibility cloak was missing. The possibility of it being in the hands of the culprit behind the chamber of secrets horrified her. She even told Harry to inform Dumbledore about his missing cloak.

"Harry... we should inform professor Dumbledore that your cloak is missing," whispered Hermione.

"Hermione... what am I going to tell him? Someone stole the cloak, but I don't have any proof that it was stolen. I actually don't even know how long it's been missing for," whispered back Harry.

"But Harry, what if the person behind the attacks has the cloak?" asked Hermione.

"John knows that my cloak is missing, right? Well, that means, so does Professor Jane and Dumbledore, and everyone else. Can we please get back to studying?" snapped Harry.

"Harry... it's not your fault. Whoever stole your cloak, obviously planned it to perfection. And it's very likely that they are behind the attacks. Which suggests that they are powerful. It's not your fault that the cloak is missing," said Hermione.

"But if I had found out earlier, we could have reacted better. Someone stole from my trunk and I didn't even know about it for months. That's just... frustrating," sighed Hary angrily.

She noticed that Harry's mood didn't improve in the days that went by. But what was also interesting was John's reaction to the missing cloak. During their first year, John seemed to have an answer to virtually every question. But this year, things were different. And she had noticed John's change in behaviour ever since they found out that the cloak was missing. So, one fine evening, when Harry had left for quidditch practice, she decided to talk to John. When she approached John in the library, she noticed from afar that he was continuously writing something in a notebook of sorts.

"Hey, John... what are you doing?" she asked and sat beside John.

"Hi Hermione... nothing really," replied John.

"You haven't really spoken to us ever since we found out that Harry's cloak is missing. What have you been up to?" asked Hermione.

"I don't really have anything to say on the matter, Hermione. His cloak is missing, but there's nothing we can do about it," replied John.

"What if the person behind the attacks has the cloak?" she asked.

"It'd make sense," replied John absent-mindedly. He hadn't even looked at Hermione's face yet. All his attention was on the diary.

"What's this notebook? Actually, looks more like a diary," asked Hermione.

"This?" asked John and looked up. "This diary is... hold on, where is Harry?" he asked.

"Harry is at quidditch practice," replied Hermione.

"I have some news... very bad news," said John. "But I don't want to tell you about it now. Let's talk about this when everybody is there. When I say everybody, I mean you, Harry and Ron," he added.

"What bad news?" asked Hermione, alarmed.

"The chamber has been opened before. And I know who opened it last time," replied John. "But I don't want to tell you this alone. Let's meet after dinner tonight. Actually, not after dinner. Let's meet after everyone has gone to sleep. This isn't something that can be discussed in public if you know what I mean," he added.

Disappointed at being left with suspense, Hermione unwillingly agreed to let the matter go until that night. Hermione passed on the message to Ron and then to Harry after his back from practice. That night, once the Gryffindor common room was empty, the 4 of them started talking.

"What is it?" asked Ron.

"First of all, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Professor Jane and I. I had my reasons, but I should have told you myself. It shouldn't have been Malfoy you found out from. So, I apologise," said John. Ron hadn't expected an apology from John, but the moment he received the apology, something in him changed and he accepted it right away.

"It's alright mate, I get it," replied Ron and patted John on the back. John smiled in return, satisfied at that outcome.

"So, what's the bad news?" asked Harry.

"Remember when I had that detention with Filch? I went to his office that night. He wasn't there, but I found this on his desk," whispered John and placed the diary on the table. Harry, Hermione and Ron, all read the name on the diary and exclaimed at once, "T M Riddle?"

"Yes, T M Riddle. And we all know who Riddle is... Voldemort" replied John.

"This diary belonged to You-Know-Who?" asked Ron.

"Yes," replied John.

"Is there anything written in it?" asked Hermione.

"Yes and No," replied John. Harry picked up the diary and examined it and realised that there wasn't anything written on any of its pages.

"There's nothing here," said Harry and handed it to Hermione. She examined the pages and came to the same conclusion followed by Ron.

"I don't get it," sighed Ron. John placed the diary on the centre of the table, picked up a jug of water that was there on another table and poured some on the diary.

"What are you doing?" squealed Hermione.

"Will you shout even louder, Hermione? I don't think everyone is awake yet," whispered John, loudly.

"Sorry," whispered Hermione. But everyone's attention had been captured by the weird behaviour of the diary. The water that was poured on the diary hadn't affected it all.

"What? How did... what just happened?" asked Harry, shocked. The other 2 gasped in shock.

"This diary here is a very interesting artefact. I have tried setting it on fire, pouring water, etc. And nothing happens to it," replied John.

"How is that possible?" asked Harry.

"I... do not know," sighed John, disappointed.

"But, what do you know?" asked Hermione.

John took out his quill and wrote, "Hi Tom," on one of the pages. The moment he wrote the words, they vanished. And a few seconds later, "Welcome back, John," appeared on the diary.

"Welcome back?" questioned Hermione.

"Yes, I have been talking to this diary," replied John.

"What do you mean, talking?" asked Harry.

"After I found the diary, I spent hours examining it. I had no idea what it was, apart from the fact that it belonged to Voldemort. I knew that there was something special about it. And once I found out that this diary replied back, I asked it a lot of questions. And I got some interesting responses," replied John.

"John... I don't think this is a good idea. My dad always tells us that, if a magical object can think for itself, and if we don't know how it does that, we have to be very careful of the object. And this belongs to You-Know-Who," said Ron shuddering at the thought. "Never trust anything that can think for itself," he added.

"And that is a valid point. But, if I hadn't interacted with it, I wouldn't know the things I do," replied John. "Anyways, coming back to the point... the thing I found out about the chamber is that, it has been opened before," he added.

"Yeah, Hermione told us that you told her that... who opened the chamber last time?" asked Harry.

"Hagrid," replied John calmly.

"What?" gasped Hermione.

"No way," gasped Ron.

"That can't be true," said Harry in shock.

"That is definitely not true," said John. "But that's what the diary told me... or should I say... the consciousness of Tom Riddle told me," he added.

"Consciousness?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Yeah... the diary showed me the events that took place about 50 years ago. Hagrid was accused of killing a muggle-born witch by opening the chamber and unleashing the monster within. Accused by Tom Riddle himself. And when the then headmaster found out, Hagrid was removed from Hogwarts," replied John.

"There's no way Hagrid killed someone," argued Harry.

"He does like some weird creatures though," added Ron.

"That doesn't mean he killed someone," snapped Harry.

"Ron has a point... even though I think he's wrong. But this is exactly the thinking that got Hagrid in trouble. Everyone knew his obsession with creatures and that's why everyone accepted it as the truth when Tom Riddle pointed the finger at Hagrid," replied John. "Everyone apart from Dumbledore of course," he added.

"So, who opened the chamber then?" asked Ron.

"Isn't it obvious? Tom Riddle opened the chamber and put the blame on Hagrid," replied John.

"John... you said that he was the last heir of Slytherin. It makes sense... Tom opened the chamber, killed a muggle-born witch, blamed Hagrid for it and got an award in the process," remarked Hermione.

"That is exactly what I think happened. But this means that we have to talk to Hagrid immediately. We have to know what happened, the truth and whatever else he knows about this," replied John.

Everyone sat there silently, recollecting the discussion that had just happened between them.

"Wait a minute... what was Filch doing with this diary?" asked Ron.

"I... uh... do not know... If I were to make a guess, he found this diary somewhere while cleaning... and he kept the diary in his office," replied John. They all remained silent. So, John continued after a few seconds, "if you're wondering Filch's involvement in all of this, I'd tell you to not even consider the possibility. There's no way Filch is doing that to his own cat and he's a squib. He's definitely not behind the attacks," he added.

Pretty soon after that, Harry left and went to sleep since he was tired after quidditch practice. Ron followed him which left Hermione and John alone. Once Ron left, Hermione spoke up.

"There is something else, isn't there?" she asked.

"I don't know... but I have this feeling that there is more to this diary than meets the eye. Also, I have an insane theory, which has no proof whatsoever," replied John.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Filch had this diary on his table. Now, there are a lot of reasons why that was the case. But what if the reason was, he found this diary somewhere while cleaning?" he replied.

"Yeah, you already said that," replied Hermione.

"Think Hermione... if Filch found this somewhere while cleaning, isn't it possible that someone threw away this diary themselves?" asked John.

"Okay... so, what if someone threw away this diary?" wondered Hermione. She didn't understand what John was getting at.

"This diary is very peculiar. Not only does this diary communicate with us, it also remembers who it communicated with. Almost as if it has some sort of memory. And there is one more concerning thing. Tom Riddle is a very charming person, at least that's what this diary seems to depict him as. I have spent enough time with this diary to realise that it is possible for someone to lose themselves in this. And if someone happens to be fragile and they lose themself in this, it is also possible for that someone to be controlled by this diary," whispered John slowly, taking multiple pauses.

"John... what you're saying sounds scary... do you really think this diary is capable of controlling people? Like do you mean, bewitch someone?" asked Hermione with a worried tone.

"It is hard to say... but I would be lying if I told you that the thought hasn't entered my mind," replied John. And with that, they both left their respective dormitories.

Meanwhile, in a different part of England, Daisy was sitting on a bench surrounded by nature, drawing something on a piece of paper. She heard footsteps approaching her and looked back and saw a woman, who looked in her late 30s to mid-40s, wearing faded old clothes walking towards her slowly.

"Mrs Davies, how are you?" asked Daisy.

"Daisy... has anyone told how you are a sight for sore eyes?" said Emily slowly, faking an elderly voice.

"Yes, you have, multiple times," replied Daisy blushing.

"How are you dear?" asked Emily and sat down beside Daisy.

"I'm fine, Mrs Davies," replied Daisy.

"What are you drawing, child?" asked Emily. Daisy handed Emily the paper she was holding. The drawing seemed to resemble a pair of people flying.

"Oh... What artistry and imagination! This is so beautiful," said Emily.

"Thanks, Mrs Davies," replied Daisy.

"Are they flying, my dear?" asked Emily.

"Yes," replied Daisy.

"How?"

"With the help of magic," replied Daisy.

"Magic? Would you want to fly if you had magic?" asked Emily.

"If I had magic, I'd do a lot of things," replied Daisy excitedly.

After a few seconds, Emily asked, "Why do you sit here, all alone, every day?"

"I don't know... I like this place... it brings me a sense of calm. I used to come here with a friend of mine, but he isn't here anymore," replied Daisy.

"Oh... why not child? What was his name?" she asked.

"John... he left because he is studying outside," replied Daisy continuing her drawing.

"And what about other friends?" asked Emily.

"Well... I have Harry, but he too studies outside. He only comes back during holidays," replied Daisy.

Reading a muggle's mind was easier than running a hot knife through butter. And Emily Davies, the special officer from the Ministry of Magic got everything that she came for.

PS - Bye... Have a great day ahead 😁

Chapter Text

Merry Christmas and a happy festive season to all my readers. Have a great and exciting holiday season. 🎄🎄🎄💛💛💛

I'm back with Chapter 32... Enjoy!

Harry had been busy with his quidditch practice, Hermione with her revisions and even Ron had been busy with the truckload of backlog homework he had. This meant that their pending conversation with the Hogwarts Gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid had remained so for a few days now. John's wait finally came to an end the day after the Gryffindor team won a pretty one-sided quidditch game against Hufflepuff.

That afternoon, John, Hermione, Harry and Ron made their way to Hagrid's hut. It took about a minute for Hagrid to open the hut.

"Oh... it's you all," said Hagrid as he opened the door wide.

"You say that like you were expecting someone else," said John as the 4 of them entered the hut. It felt overcrowded immediately once they were in.

"Been expecting someone..." said Hagrid and sat down. "Want some tea? I just brewed a pot," he asked and poured them each a cup. Hagrid looked visibly anxious. He also seemed to be shivering slightly.

"Hagrid, this is just water," said Hermione slowly after glancing at Ron, Harry and John's faces, who had all gotten just warm water.

"What? Oh... must have forgotten to put the tea bags," replied Hagrid. It was blatantly obvious the way Hagrid was behaving that he was afraid of something or someone.

"Hagrid, is everything ok?" asked Harry.

"Everything's alright, Harry," replied Hagrid instantly.

"You look a bit pale," said Ron.

"It's nothing," replied Hagrid.

"Hagrid... we are here to talk to you... about... Umm... well... we are here to talk to you about the chamber of secrets," said John, unsure how to proceed.

"What about it? You haven't been investigating, have you? It's dangerous business," said Hagrid.

"Hagrid... we know what happened last time," said John.

"What... what do you mean?" asked Hagrid. John quickly gestured Harry to continue.

"Hagrid... you were framed, weren't you? What happened the last time the chamber was opened?" asked Harry.

"How do you about that? It wasn't Aragog, he wouldn't hurt a fly," said Hagrid, getting defensive immediately.

"Who's Aragog?" asked John.

"You shouldn't be here... Stop interfering in this," said Hagrid.

"Hagrid... we know it wasn't you who opened the chamber last time. But we need to know exactly what happened... and who is Aragog?" said Hermione.

"They all thought Aragog was responsible for the death of the student. Aragog was..." replied Hagrid but stopped speaking as he heard footsteps. There was a loud knock on the door.

"Hello Hagrid," said Dumbledore as he walked in. His eyes immediately fell on John, Hermione, Harry and Ron. "Good afternoon, everybody," he greeted. They all stood up instantly.

"Hello Professor," said John. But before he could say anything, he and everyone else spotted 2 gentlemen standing behind Dumbledore.

"We need to talk to Hagrid, alone if you all don't mind," said Dumbledore. With that, they left Hagrid's hut.

The moment they walked a few steps, John spoke up. "What is Lucius Malfoy doing here?" he asked.

"More importantly, what is Cornelius Fudge doing here?" asked Ron.

"Who's that?" asked Harry.

"The Minister of Magic, dad's boss," replied Ron.

"The Minister of Magic, Headmaster of Hogwarts and that scumbag. It could only mean one thing," said John. The other 3 looked at him eagerly waiting for him to continue. "Bad news for Hagrid. They suspected Hagrid last time, they are suspecting him now," he added.

The day got worse when news reached them in the form of Professor Jane.

"Good evening!" said Professor Jane as she walked up to them. They were all sitting near the lake too stressed out and bored to do anything else.

"Jane," said John and they all sat up straight.

"I was hoping to... never mind, you are all going to find out anyway. I come bearing bad news," said Professor Jane.

"What happened?" asked John.

"Dumbledore has been ousted, Professor McGonagall is the acting headmaster of our school from now on," said Professor Jane.

"What?" asked John, shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"The Board of Governors have decided to temporarily suspend Professor Dumbledore for his alleged poor governance of the school. Professor McGonagall will be temporarily taking over the duties," said Professor Jane.

"This is Malfoy's doing," said John.

"There's more," said Jane and the 4 of them looked at her fearing the worst. "The Ministry has appointed a Special Investigation Unit, headed by someone called Emily Davies," continued Jane. The 4 of them were looking at her, speechless. "And Mrs Davies will be staying at the school till the person behind the... behind the attacks has been caught," she added.

"What about Hagrid?" asked Harry.

"Hagrid? Hagrid was escorted to Azkaban earlier today," replied Jane. "Well, that's all I wanted to say. Thought you guys should know," she added and walked away.

There was a pin drop silence that lasted a few minutes.

"There'll be an attack every day," said Ron breaking the silence. "How can they remove Dumbledore? The muggle-borns have absolutely no chance now," he added.

"What's Azkaban?" asked Harry.

"Prison," replied Ron.

"Prison?" asked Harry shocked.

"Yeah, Prison for wizards and witches," replied Ron.

"We have to find the entrance to the chamber of secrets," said John after a few seconds.

"Yeah? Good luck with that. How are we going to find out the entrance that people haven't been able to figure out for centuries?" retorted Ron.

"We have Harry, a parselmouth," replied John.

"John... I agree that the Slytherin monster must be a snake. All pieces of evidence point to that. But how will we figure out the entrance?" asked Hermione.

"There are way too many questions and not enough answers. We'll figure something out," replied John.

As the days went by, the anxiety in the school kept increasing, now that Dumbledore was gone. Everybody was waiting for the next attack. It just seemed like a matter of time. What made things worse for the anxious lot was the presence of Emily Davies. At first, when they all heard the news that a ministry official would be staying at the castle, investigating the attacks, there was a sense of relief amongst the students. But a week went by and then another and none of them had any clue what investigation was being carried out. Every time Mrs Davies was spotted by a group of students, they'd notice her roaming around the castle aimlessly. She had barely even talked to the students.

One Sunday afternoon, all 4 of them were sitting in the library.

"I can't focus on my studies," sighed Hermione loudly.

"Hermione, take a break," said Ron.

"What have I even done to take a break? Every time I pick up a book and read a few pages, my mind gets diverted to the Chamber," replied Hermione.

"What I don't understand is, who is Aragog?" asked Harry.

"Could have been a friend of Hagrid's when the chamber was opened last time," replied Ron.

"But if people thought Aragog killed last time, why suspect Hagrid?" remarked Harry.

"Aragog could be a pet, Hagrid has loads of them, doesn't he?" replied John.

"A pet? You mean, Hagrid owned an animal and the animal was suspected of killing that muggle-born witch last time?" asked Harry.

"Fits, doesn't it? Riddle opens the chamber, the snake kills, Riddle blames Hagrid's pet and Hagrid gets punished," replied John.

"How can a snake survive a thousand years? That's a lot, innit?" said Ron.

"And how does a snake move around the castle without being seen by anybody?" asked Hermione.

There was silence for a few moments.

"What if the snake was seen, and that's why they were attacked?" asked Harry suddenly.

"What?" asked Hermione in return.

"You just said that a snake cannot move around the castle without being seen. What if Justin and Colin saw the snake and that's why they were attacked?" asked Harry.

"Why not kill them? I'd kill them," remarked John. The other 3 looked at him shocked at what they had just heard. "I mean... the snake killed last time and then never attacked till the chamber was opened again now. But this time, 2 have been petrified. 3 if you include the cat. Why?"

"I... don't know," replied Harry. Ron and Hermione's faces told the same story.

"Do we know how the snake killed last time? How did the muggle-born die? If it was like a snake bite, wouldn't they have known that it wasn't Hagrid's pet?" asked Hermione.

"Unless Aragog is a snake," sighed Ron.

"Oh, come on... there has to be someone who'd know and who we could ask," said Hermione.

"Ghosts," replied John. "We can ask the ghosts," he added.

"Yes... they've been here hundreds of years," said Ron.

"We'll ask nearly headless Nick. Hermione, you go and ask Moaning Myrtle," said Harry.

"I don't want to talk to her again," pleaded Hermione. But being the only girl in the group, she had to do it.

That evening, Ron and Harry were walking towards the Great Hall after having had a disappointing conversation with nearly headless Nick when they were stopped midway by a first-year Gryffindor student. He had a note for Harry from Headmaster McGonagall asking Harry to come to her office, which was now the headmaster's office.

"I'll be back... I really hope Hermione had better luck," said Harry and left.

He wasn't particularly thinking why he had been called into McGonagall's office. His mind was already cluttered with all the Chamber stuff, Hagrid being in Azkaban, Dumbledore's dismissal and so on. So, when he entered the office, he hadn't expected to see Emily Davies inside with the Professor.

"Professor McGonagall?" said Harry the moment he walked in.

"Mr Potter... you might be knowing Mrs Davies here," said Professor McGonagall pointing at Emily. Harry nodded in response. "She has some things to talk to you about. She'll be asking questions. And if at any point you want to leave, you may do so," she added. Emily gave a look at Professor McGonagall and carried the conversation forward.

"I'm sure Mr Potter wouldn't want to," said Emily. "You want to help catch the person behind all of this, don't you?" she asked.

Harry who had no option but to agree did so, "Yes, of course," he replied.

"Have a seat," said Emily and sat on a chair beside Professor McGonagall. "Headmaster? May we have the room for ourselves?" asked Emily in her politest tone.

"Absolutely..." began the Professor but quickly added, "not! You are not talking to any of my students without my or some other Professor's presence."

"As you say," replied Emily coldly. "But, if I ever get a hint that my investigation is being tampered with, I have the authority to continue this at the Ministry. I'm sure you understand my position," she added. Professor McGonagall nodded in response.

Harry's stomach had already begun turning a little hearing these conversations.

"Mr Potter... are you ok?" asked Emily.

"Uh... Yes, I'm fine Mrs Davies," replied Harry nervously.

"Emily, you can call me Emily," she quickly added and gave a smile. "So, Harry... tell me your story," she asked.

"Excuse me?" retorted Harry.

"Your story... tell me everything you know about the attacks," she replied.

"Umm... where do I begin? There was an attack on Filch's cat, Mrs Norris on Halloween night. There were those words written on the wall, Chamber has been opened, and all that. Then there was an attack on Colin, on the day I broke my arm playing quidditch. Then there was an attack on Justin just before Christmas," replied Harry nervously.

"Is that the full story?" asked Emily. Harry glanced at Professor McGonagall and then back at Emily.

"That is everything that happened, I don't know what else... there is," replied Harry.

"Harry... I want your help here. You are one of the most knowledgeable people in the entire school about the Chamber of Secrets. You know more than most. I need all those inputs," said Emily gently with a smile.

"I am... the most... knowledgeable?" asked Harry, stuttering a couple of times along the way.

"You are not? Is there someone you'd say who knows more than you?" asked Emily. Harry did not have an answer to that question. He wasn't going to throw Hermione or John under the bus. "Okay... let us forget all this. Tell me something about your life before Hogwarts," said Emily.

"My life... before?" began Harry but was cut off by Professor McGonagall. "Mrs Davies... I don't understand the necessity of knowing Mr Potter's personal life. He's a 12-year-old boy, can we treat him like one?"

"Headmaster... I'm merely making Harry here comfortable. He's obviously nervous and is of no help if he continues to be," snapped Emily immediately. "So, Harry?" she asked.

"I studied in a muggle school. I had a lot of friends. I really liked that school," replied Harry.

"That's lovely... what about close friends? Surely it must have been difficult to leave them all behind. And what would you have even told them, it must have been so difficult," said Emily passionately.

"It was difficult... I didn't want to come here at first. But then I gradually settled in," replied Harry.

"Tell me the names of your friends and the thing you like about them," said Emily. Harry was finding it increasingly difficult to understand the point of it all. The more Emily asked the more he hated the fact that he had to answer.

"I'd say... Uh... Daisy and Dudley, my cousin," replied Harry. "Dudley and I have been close since forever. And Daisy too, we've known each other since we were kids," he added.

"Did you tell Daisy about us? The magical world?" asked Emily bluntly.

"Uh... No... No, I did not," lied Harry, but badly.

"You do know that, if a muggle finds out about us, we'll have to wipe their memories? And breaking the Internation Statute of Secrecy is a serious offence," said Emily. She had found her pressure point and she was definitely going to press it.

"Daisy does not know about the magical world," replied Harry strongly.

"It's interesting you say that... Mr Potter, but I'd disagree with you there. She almost certainly knows about us. She told that herself," retorted Emily. Harry remained silent. Whichever way he answered that question, he would get into trouble.

"She told you that?" asked Harry.

"Yes," replied Emily. That was exactly what Professor McGonagall was waiting for. She thanked all the Gods for making Harry ask the exact question she wanted him to ask.

"Mrs Davies? This muggle, may I know when you interrogated her? I'd appreciate it if you could give us a copy of all the muggle interrogation forms that would have been filed by you. I'm sure you filed them, right?" asked Professor McGonagall with a gentle smile.

"I don't think I need to give them to you," replied Emily but she had got the hint. "So, Harry, I'm sure I can help you if you help me. I know that you have heard strange voices multiple times in the past year. Could you tell me more?" she asked.

"I have heard them a couple of times. Once during my detention with Professor Jane and then on the night of Halloween," replied Harry. Emily kept staring at him, so he continued, "They are voices... I can't explain... sort of spine-chilling voices... gives me goosebumps every time. It says it'll kill, tear, etc.," he added.

"But you didn't hear the voices when Mr Creevey and Mr Finch-Fletchley were attacked?"

"No," replied Harry.

"Any other strange occurrences, or something you may have noticed, anything at all?" asked Emily.

"No," replied Harry immediately.

"Harry... it's written on your face..." sighed Emily. "Professor McGonagall, maybe you can convince him to tell what he knows?" asked Emily politely.

"Mr Potter... your cooperation is expected. If you do know something else, please share with Mrs Davies," said Professor McGonagall. Harry knew that the last heir of Slytherin was You-Know-Who himself. He knew about the Tom Riddle diary. He also knew because of that diary that the chamber was opened by Tom Riddle last time. But he had no intention of telling all of that and having to explain everything. Also, the fact that this woman had blackmailed him with Daisy hadn't gone down with him well. So, he decided to take the smarter route by giving an extra detail but withholding everything else.

"There's one more thing. And Professor McGonagall knows about this too. I had an invisibility cloak. It was stolen," said Harry.

"Invisibility cloak?" asked Emily surprised. Professor McGonagall on the other hand had a blank expression. Harry tried to read it and the only thing he could think of was that he was mistaken. Professor McGonagall did not in fact know about the cloak being missing.

"Yes, Mr Potter owns an invisibility cloak. It was his father's," added Professor McGonagall.

"And when did it go missing?" asked Emily writing something down on her notes.

"I don't know... I checked after coming back from the Christmas holidays and saw that it was missing. And I haven't touched it in ages," replied Harry.

"So, you're saying it could have been stolen at any time this year? And from inside Gryffindor common room?" asked Emily. Harry nodded in response. The interrogation finished a few minutes later and Harry left the office and dashed to the Great Hall.

"Harry... you have been gone for an hour, at least... what happened?" asked Ron the moment he saw Harry coming.

After taking a few breaths, Harry retold all that happened at McGonagall's office to the keen ears of Ron and Hermione.

"You told Daisy about the magical world?" asked Hermione shocked.

"I did, ok? I didn't know someone would find out," replied Harry.

"That doesn't mean..." began Hermione but shut up after getting a glare from Harry.

"Give the guy a break, he was just grilled by that woman," said Ron.

"It's good that you told her about the cloak, Harry," said Hermione.

"I think I'm glad I did. I don't know, I assumed John would have told Dumbledore and McGonagall about it, maybe he didn't. McGonagall was shocked for that 1 millisecond the moment I said it was stolen," replied Harry.

"The question is, why go to the trouble of talking to your muggle friend? What was the point of that? She couldn't have possibly known beforehand that you told Daisy about us," said Ron.

"And she blackmailed me... there is no way Daisy told anyone about us. She didn't even tell J... I trust her completely, that's why I told her in the first place," replied Harry.

"Well, if she's any good, we'll be over with all of this soon," sighed Ron.

"Oh my God! I almost forgot... We have to go somewhere quiet," said Hermione and dragged the boys to a corner of the hall.

"What is it, Hermione?" asked Harry worried.

"It's good news, don't worry. I talked to Myrtle and you wouldn't believe what I found out," said Hermione.

"What?" asked Ron and Harry simultaneously.

"Last time the chamber was opened, there was a girl who was killed by the monster within. The girl is none other than Myrtle," said Hermione excitedly.

"What?" asked Harry.

"You're joking," gasped Ron.

"I couldn't believe it myself," said Hermione with pride in her tone.

"Did she see anything? Does she remember what happened?" asked Ron.

"Well, that part was the let-down. She said that she remembers the day very well. She came to that bathroom crying about some boy teasing her. And then she said that she heard a hissing sound. She turned back to look and that was that," replied Hermione.

"What do you mean, that was that? She was dead instantly?" asked Harry.

"That's what she said. The last thing she saw were yellow eyes," replied Hermione.

John had been meaning to talk to his sister for a while now. The last time he had spoken to her alone was when he had found out the interesting property of Tom Riddle's diary. Once he along with Ron, Hermione and Harry had figured out a plan of action, he made his way to Jane's office to try and solve the mystery of the snake.

"Hope you are not busy," said John as he entered.

"Never too busy for you," replied Jane the moment she saw John and got up and hugged him.

"No, but seriously, you aren't busy right?" asked John.

"Well, I have some assignments to check, and the exams are coming up. So, I have some work related to that," said Jane. "Why? What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing really... I just needed to fill you in on a few things and also I needed some help," replied John.

"I needed a break anyway... so, what is it?" asked Jane.

"Remember a while back, I showed you Tom Riddle's diary? Well, I found something about it... an interesting property that it has," replied John. "May I have your wand?" he asked.

"Sure," replied Jane and handed him her wand. John took it gladly and placed Tom's diary on the floor.

"Aguamenti" whispered John and pointed the wand at the diary. A jet of water splashed onto the diary. To Jane's amazement, the diary remained dry whereas the floor beneath and aside was wet. Similarly, John tried to set the diary on fire and he even poured some ink on the diary's pages. And none of them had any effect on the diary.

"Okay... relax, I got the point. You're going to destroy the carpet. So, what is this diary? And how is it capable of repelling any outside interference so to speak?" asked Jane.

"This diary also has another property. This right here," he said and picked up the diary. "This diary is sort of like a memory reservoir," he added.

"You mean like the pensieve we have back home?" she asked.

"Well, something like that. But I don't think new memories can be added to this and viewed. Actually, I shouldn't have termed this a memory reservoir. This does have stored memories of Tom Riddle. But this is also like a really cool, wizarding world's version of an AI," he replied.

"An AI?" asked Jane surprised.

"Yeah... I mean, you can talk to it. And Tom Riddle will write back to you. I have done it and trust me, the responses are eerie," replied John.

"What? What do you mean? I haven't understood one bit of what you have been talking about," sighed Jane.

"Ok, I'll tell you everything from the beginning," said John. He began with how he had accidentally discovered the diary's peculiar property right in that office. And then on to all his tiny little interactions with the diary. And finally, how he had found out that Hagrid was the one who was blamed the last time around the chamber was opened.

"So, that's why Hagrid was arrested?" wondered Jane out aloud.

"Yes," replied John nodding.

"But, what sort of magic is this?" asked Jane and held her hand out for the diary. John handed her the diary as well as her wand.

"Tom Riddle's magic... and quite powerful might I add," replied John.

"Well... that's definitely one reason not to mention a hundred different others why you should stop using the diary," said Jane.

"What do you mean by stop using the diary?" asked John surprised.

"You know what I mean... stay away from it," said Jane.

"No, I don't... I'm not obsessed with the diary," replied John, getting defensive immediately.

"I never said you were," said Jane, "I know my dark magic and this is definitely one," she added.

"I know that... exactly the reason I have a different theory now," replied John.

"What theory?" asked Jane.

"I was thinking... is it just a coincidence that I find a diary of Tom Riddle's at exactly the time the chamber was opened? Perhaps not... But even if we consider it a coincidence, then tell me something. Has there been an attack in the school after Christmas?" replied John.

"But what has the diary go to do with the chamber? Unless... unless you think, this diary was with another student. And that student opened the chamber with the help of... well, more like, under the influence of the diary?" said Jane.

"That is exactly what I was theorising, dear sister," replied John smiling.

"So, what help do you want from me?" asked Jane.

"What?" retorted John.

"You came in here asking for my help... Do you want me to have a look at the diary?" asked Jane.

"Oh that... No, the diary stays with me... for now," replied John. "The help I needed was much more menial in nature," he added.

"I'll be the judge of that," replied Jane smiling.

"I need my wand back," replied John.

"There were talks that you could get your wand back after the year ends. But I asked them to reconsider considering... well, considering our true nature. But nothing can be assured," said Jane.

"Oh! come on... How much longer? What's the point anyways? I feel sort of like an armless person without my wand," sighed John.

"I'll try to expedite it... but with this Ministry official, it'll be difficult. Plus, the fact that there's no Dumbledore," replied Jane, feeling sorry for John.

"What's with the official?" asked John.

"She is different... As far as I know, she has had conversations with every Professor in here except for me. And, quite often, she's not even in Hogwarts. I don't know why she's here, to be honest. And she was appointed by Lucius himself. There has to be something more to it... to her," replied Jane.

"Talking of Lucius, what the hell is he planning?" sighed John.

"Don't ask me," replied Jane. With that, John left his sister's office.

The following morning, at breakfast, John found himself hearing the tale that Harry had in the great hall.

"She talked to Daisy?" asked John surprised.

"She said that she did," replied Harry. Harry had the strong urge to ask him why he hadn't told anyone about the invisibility cloak but resisted his urge as Ron was seated beside them.

"Well, if she turns out to be a good investigator, that'll definitely make things better," replied John.

Hermione then began her narration of the conversation she had with Myrtle. The moment she mentioned the suddenness of Myrtle's death, John's brain went into overdrive. He knew he had read something about a snake, a snake that could kill its prey with mere eye contact. But he couldn't remember where he had read it. And then it came to him. The book he had been reading before coming to Hogwarts, at the start of the year, it was there that he had read it.

"A basilisk," said John. But before he could say anything further, he saw Mrs Davies and 2 other ministry officials, storm into the great hall. Emily pointed her wand at John the moment she came near and an instant later, John's hands were handcuffed.

"Mr Smith, I'm hereby charging you with the attempted murder of 2 muggle-born students and the cat belonging to Argus Filch," said Emily with a thundering voice.

"Wait... what? What the hell are these?" asked John shoving his cuffed hands at Emily's face.

"What?" gasped Harry, Hermione and Ron simultaneously.

"He didn't do it," said Harry immediately. "There's no way," he added.

"Mr Potter, you might disagree once we tell you that we found your invisibility cloak along with a spare wand, whose owner is yet to be identified, inside Mr Smith's trunk," snapped Emily back. John's face dropped the moment he heard Emily.

"My cloak?" asked Harry, shocked and looked at John. For some unexplainable reason, Harry saw John's face and the only thing he saw was guilt written all over it.

...

PS - Next Chapter on 27/12/2021

Chapter Text

Chapter 33 is here... Enjoy!

*** {A few months back} ***

"Here is the list... Once he's awake, he'll need them, once every half an hour for 2-3 hours till he feels himself. Monitor him for the first 12 hours closely and if there's anything that is abnormal, call me immediately," said Kristin. {Icelandic}

"Yes Doctor," replied the nurse. {Icelandic}

...

It had been close to a dozen hours when John's consciousness returned. He opened his eyes faintly but closed almost immediately for the light was way too strong. He tried opening his eyes again, this time slowly. The eyes were extremely sensitive to light but he managed to keep them open and after a few seconds, they got adjusted to the surroundings. He looked around the room, there was a window, a few shelves, a couple of empty chairs. He himself was lying on a bed. After a few seconds, he tried to get up, but the moment he tried, his head hurt. The pain was so piercing and focused that he fell back clutching his head. The sound of him falling back on the mattress alerted the nurses. They came into the room and the only thing John could make out were faint sounds of their conversation. Within a few seconds, he fell unconscious.

...

"John... can you hear my voice?" asked Kristin. {English}

John blinked his eyes slowly. The last thing he remembered was waking up, but couldn't remember much of what actually happened. He clutched his head with his right hand, faintly remembering some pain he felt earlier. It didn't hurt now though.

"Doc... tor," said John in a sore voice. {English}

"It's okay... you will feel like this for a few hours. Don't strain yourself," {English}

"What happened?" he asked. {English}

"We have completed the tests and I have the preliminary reports with me. By the time you're back on your feet, I'll have the full report. Until then, take rest, your body needs it," replied Kristin. {English}

John nodded slowly and closed his eyes.

...

John was walking briskly through the corridors of the healing facility. He was almost about to open the doors to Dr Kristin's office when he saw the door open and out came Remus.

"Good Morning, Remus," greeted John. {English}

"Good Morning, John... had a good sleep?" greeted back Remus with a genuine smile. {English}

"Hardly," replied John. "I had enough rest in the day... I just lay awake most of the night," he added. {English}

"Well... I got to go, see you later," said Remus, patted John on the back and left. {English}

John walked in and was greeted with a smile by Kristin, though not as prominent as it usually was.

"Good Morning, Doctor," greeted John. {Icelandic}

"Kristin... you have been here for almost a week and you still call me Doctor," replied Kristin, smiling wider than before. {Icelandic}

"You are my Doctor," responded John, smiling. {Icelandic}

"So, how are you feeling?" asked Kristin. {Icelandic}

"Full of oxytocin," replied John blushing. And Kristin blushed in return. {Icelandic}

"Glad to know I'm not the only one," she replied blushing. "But seriously, how are you feeling?" she asked, this time a little more seriously. {Icelandic}

"Good... I feel normal. I should, right?" replied John. {Icelandic}

"Yes, yes... everything is supposed to be normal. We have only done the tests yet and they don't have any residual effect," replied Kristin. {English}

"So, what are the results like? I am doing good, aren't I?" asked John optimistically. {English}

"I would prefer not to beat around the bush. John... I can't stress enough, how lucky you are. Had you not visited me, or any other healer, your mind would have collapsed and your body would have crumbled under its own weight," replied Kristin coldly. John's smile had vanished and was now replaced by a serious look. He nodded at her words and she continued, "as it stands, I'm unfortunately unable to provide you with more than two options. You can either remain as you are now, an adult. We will stabilise the magic in you, you will be considerably weaker than you were, but you will live. The second option is, we will help you transform back into your youthful self. Your capabilities as a wizard are hard to judge, but it'll definitely not be as it is now. And the transformation will have to be a permanent one. There could be some side-effects, though we can't be sure what their intensity will be like," she added. John sat there like a brick wall. "If you ask for my professional opinion, I'd suggest you take the first option. Nothing could possibly justify you transforming back," she added further. {English}

"I... uh... I would like some time to think..." replied John, he was shaken. {English}

"Think it through, we will talk tomorrow," replied Kristin coldly {Icelandic}. With that, John walked out of Kristin's office.

The moment he left, Kristin took a few deep breaths to stop herself from getting emotional, she hated doing what she just did.

*** {Back to present} ***

The school was buzzing with what happened at the great hall that morning. There was a sense of relief with large sections of students. Meanwhile, rumour mills had already started their work.

"Hermione... I can't believe this... But it makes sense now, you were the first person he attacked," said Lavender as Parvati nodded beside her. As much as their intention was to console, it only triggered Hermione even more.

"John didn't do it," she snapped.

"Hermione... come on, I know how hard this is. Even we can't believe this. The only reason you are still alive is that you were friends with Harry Potter and you, Harry and Ron were always together. If he had even one moment alone with you, you wouldn't be here talking to us," said Parvati. Hermione left the common room immediately. Harry and Ron, who had both been having similar conversations, followed her.

"Ron... I need to tell you something," said Ginny, who walked up to the boys from the opposite side.

"Uh... what?" asked Ron as the boys stopped for a moment.

"Ginny, can this wait?" asked Harry.

"Ginny... it's nothing Ron, you can go," said Percy who rushed to the scene. Harry left immediately and Ron followed after hesitating for a moment.

"Hermione... wait up," called out Harry. Hermione stopped walking but didn't turn around.

"Where are you going?" asked Harry as they caught up with her.

"I don't know... I just need to be alone, I have had enough of people telling me that John did it," snapped Hermione. Her eyes were glistening and she was nearly in tears.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand how you 2 are so confident he didn't do it," interjected Ron.

"Ron... stop it, will you? Please?" replied Harry, almost pleading.

"Mate, trust me... I don't want it to be him. But why on Merlin's name did he have the cloak with him? And he has been acting pretty weird throughout the year. He even attacked Hermione earlier this year," said Ron.

"You have apologised like a thousand times to me. Till this morning, you thought it was your stupid wand that backfired. And now, suddenly... it was John who attacked me? Make up your mind Weasley," snapped Hermione.

"Hermione... please, will you please calm down? And Ron, come on mate... really? You don't actually think John had anything to do with this?" said Harry, trying to hold everything together. "Let's go to the lake... it's one place where no one will bother us," he added and glanced at Ron and Hermione hopefully. Neither offered any resistance and the trio made their way to John's favourite spot in the castle.

"Whoever stole your cloak, must have planted it in John's trunk. They must have known that they'll get caught soon and hid it in John's trunk to divert the attention," said Hermione.

"I don't think anyone stole my cloak. I think it was John who took it," said Harry faintly. Even Ron was surprised by that confession.

"Harry... not you too?" asked Hermione, hurt by what she had just heard.

"I saw his face the moment that woman accused him of stealing. I don't know... I just got the feeling he was guilty. Plus, think about it... Only 4 of us knew about the cloak. He was in our house, so he could have taken it anytime he wanted. And the biggest reason? Professor McGonagall didn't know my cloak was stolen. Why weren't any of the Professors told? Also, when I found out that my cloak was stolen, he didn't even react alarmed. Because he knew it was him who took it," replied Harry.

"Think of all the times he has helped us... come on, Harry! You can't actually think John's behind this," pleaded Hermione.

"Wait.. hold on... why would he tell the Professors that your cloak's missing?" asked Ron. Hermione glanced at Harry.

"Well... his Aunt is a Professor, you know? So, I just... I thought, he'd have told her and hence all Professors," mumbled Harry in response. And quickly diverted the conversation back to Hermione. "Hermione... I don't think he's behind the attacks... I just think he took my cloak. What for? I don't know... but he was the one who took it," he added.

"What is going on here?" asked Professor McGonagall as she interrupted Emily, John and the ministry officials with them.

"Headmaster, we have reason to believe that Mr Smith is the perpetrator behind the attacks on muggle-born students in this school," replied Emily without stopping. John was being dragged along.

"Mrs Davies, if you are going to arrest or interrogate any of my students, you need to tell me before doing so, not after," replied Professor McGonagall strongly.

"You may be the headmaster of this school, but this investigation takes precedence over your position. And this time, none of your professors are going to be a part of my interrogation," snapped Emily and left Professor McGonagall behind.

Emily took John to her office and gestured to the other ministry officials to leave them alone. The moment they left, she spoke up.

"Mr Smith, do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?" she asked. She was sitting opposite John, perfect to intimidate. The room was dimly lit, it was definitely designed to be an eerie experience.

"You have got the wrong guy," replied John, looking around.

"Have I?" retorted Emily and John nodded. "So, who's the right guy, Mr Smith?" she asked.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be here," replied John.

"Okay... tell me something, why do you have Mr Potter's invisibility cloak?" asked Emily.

John wasn't quite sure how to respond to that question. He was starting to realize that lying may not get him anywhere, but at the same time, the whole truth was definitely not something he could confess to a stranger, especially one appointed by Lucius Malfoy.

"Having Harry's cloak with me doesn't make me the person behind the attacks," he replied.

"Mr Smith... John, you can see where I am coming from, right?" she asked with a smile. "You confessed to attacking Miss Hermione Granger earlier this year. You disappeared for more than 6 weeks and the day you came back was the day Mr Filch's cat was attacked. Nobody has seen the attacker... well, nobody conscious anyway. And from what I have been hearing from your friends, you have been acting differently all year. When we found out that Mr Potter's cloak was stolen, it only made sense to us that the attacker was using it to get by without being seen," she added confidently, staring up and down at John throughout.

"Who are these people who told you that I have been acting differently all year?" asked John instantly. He knew that it couldn't be Harry, Hermione or Ron.

"I'm the one asking the questions here, Mr Smith... and it is about time you start answering," she replied coldly.

"I didn't disappear for 6 weeks. I was suspended," replied John.

"Yes you were... remind me, why was that?" she asked.

"It was for disciplinary reasons," replied John. "There was a confrontation, and my spell hit Hermione and injured her," he added.

"So, you admit that it was your spell that injured her?" she asked. John understood what was going on. Because of his stupidity, he had dug himself a hole and Emily Davies, the official sitting in front of him was making sure John got buried properly.

"Yes, I do," replied John, annoyed.

"So, where were you the night of the first attack, the day the message was delivered and Mr Filch's cat attacked?" she asked.

Jane was going absolutely ballistic at Professor McGonagall. She couldn't believe her ears when she heard that Mrs Davies, the ministry official had arrested John, suspecting him for the attacks. The moment she found out, she rushed to McGonagall's office.

"Professor? This is ridiculous," were the first words that came out of her mouth.

"Jane, calm down," replied McGonagall.

"Calm down? I'm sorry? Calm down? How can I calm down when that b... when that woman arrested my brother for something he had absolutely nothing to do with," snapped Jane.

"Miss Jane, mind your language... I may not be Albus, but you will speak to me with respect," retorted McGonagall.

"Sorry Professor," replied Jane faintly. "But why did she arrest him in the first place?" she asked.

"Mrs Davies found Mr Potter's invisibility cloak in John's trunk," replied McGonagall.

"What?" gasped Jane.

"Yes"

"But how did it get there? John didn't take it," replied Jane.

"Mrs Davies asked for my consent late yesterday to search all the house dormitories for the cloak. She believed that the person who had the cloak with him or her was behind the attacks," replied McGonagall.

"She had to have planted it," said Jane faintly.

"And why would she do that?" retorted McGonagall. Jane didn't have a response for that. The only thing she knew was that John was innocent. And at that moment, for the first time in a while, she had no idea what to do.

"I need to see him," replied Jane.

"Mrs Davies was adamant that she wouldn't allow anyone into her interrogation," replied McGonagall.

"She can't do that... John is supposed to be a 2nd-year student, aren't there rules against that sort of thing? Surely a guardian has to be present," retorted Jane.

"But he isn't, is he?"

"She doesn't know that," replied Jane.

"You can very well try," replied McGonagall and with that Jane left the headmaster's office.

"I returned to the castle on Halloween night," replied John.

"But you weren't at the feast, right?" asked Emily.

"No, I arrived late and went straight to the dormitory," replied John.

"So, no one saw you going directly to your dormitory?" she prodded.

"No," he replied.

Emily started writing down something and after a few minutes of silence, she continued again.

"So, John, tell me about your parents," she said.

"What?" asked John confused by the sudden change in the line of questioning.

"Your parents, Mr Smith, tell me about them," she replied.

"Why?" asked John.

"I'm just making conversation," she replied smiling.

"They're dead," replied John unphased.

"How?" she asked.

"How is this relevant?" retorted John.

"I would advise you to just answer the questions... you are in no position to make demands," she snapped.

"It was an accident," replied John.

"Were they both wizards?" she asked.

"Yes," he lied.

"Oh... so, you grew up in the wizarding community?" she continued prodding.

"You could say that," he replied.

"So, you know about the International Statute of Secrecy?" she asked. And John finally understood the point of this line of questioning. He knew what was coming next and it was Daisy.

"I'm aware," he replied confidently.

"And you are aware of the punishment to wizards who break the law?" she asked.

"I'm well aware," he replied.

"So, why would you help your friend in breaking the law?" she asked. She knew she had him.

"I don't understand what you mean?" he asked innocently.

"Mr Smith, when I asked Mr Potter about his friend, a muggle named Daisy Williams, he all but revealed that he told her about us, the magical community. And he also told me that it was your idea," she replied.

"He did not say that," retorted John instantly.

"No he didn't, but you admit that it was your idea?" she asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about. What Harry does in his personal life is his business. I don't interfere with that," replied John.

"What are the names of your parents, Mr Smith?" asked Emily.

John was losing his patience and with that his resistance. There was something definitely off about Emily Davies.

"I don't know," replied John boldly. He had mentally prepared himself to go down this route, come what may and he was going to go through with it.

"You don't know?" she asked surprised.

"No, I don't... they died when I was young," he replied.

"So, who did you grow up with?" she asked.

"My Aunt," he replied.

"Your Aunt? That would be Miss Jane Smith I presume?" she asked.

"Yes"

"She never told you your parents' names? That seems strange... and you never asked?" she continued prodding.

"No, I didn't... I just took a new name, after my Aunt," he replied.

"So, John Smith isn't your real name?" she asked.

"It is now," he replied.

"Your parents are dead, your Aunt is a Professor here... So, when you were suspended, where did you go?" asked Emily. She had already completed writing front and back on the piece of parchment she had.

"I went home obviously," he replied.

"All alone?" she asked.

John was confused again by the line of questioning. Ever since she had deviated, Emily was prodding John in all but the direction he thought she would. First his parents, then Daisy and now back to his personal life.

"Yes"

"You don't have a guardian at home?" she asked.

"No, I don't," he replied.

"Interesting..." she remarked.

"What's interesting?" he asked.

"Nothing"

After a few minutes of writing, she continued.

"So, what did you do all that time?" she asked.

"Nothing significant," he replied.

"But, that's not true, is it?" she asked smirking.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Do you know a Dr Kristin Magnusson?" she asked. John was stunned the moment he heard Kristin's name.

"Yes, I do," he replied tentatively.

"And yet when I asked what you did during your suspension, you lied," she replied satisfied with herself, having caught John in a lie.

"I didn't lie... What I said was true... nothing significant happened," he replied.

"You wouldn't call getting treated a thousand miles away from home significant? What was it that you were suffering from?" she asked.

"I had issues controlling my magic. And that's why I went to Iceland," he replied.

"Issues controlling magic? That's a stretch, isn't it? You're a 12... beg your pardon, 13-year-old kid, after all," she replied.

"And is this how the ministry treats a 13-year-old kid? By interrogating them without anybody's presence," he retorted.

"We'll get to that part eventually, we still have a long way to go," she replied with a cunning smile. And at that instant, the doors to the office were pushed open wide and in came Jane Smith.

*** {Back to the past} ***

"What would you do if you were in my position?" asked John with a defeated look.

"This is not the end of the world, John... From what you've told me about yourself and your sister, I can confidently tell you that this is just another challenge for you. And you will overcome this as well," replied Remus calmly.

"Dr Kristin told me that I'll be weak. My powers will be greatly reduced. How am I supposed to just live with that?" he asked.

"Do you know how I was when I was bit by the werewolf?" asked Remus.

"No"

"The only reason I'm here right now is because of the wonderful friends I had. Lily, James, Peter, were all there for me when I was at my weakest. You have your friends, your sister there for you. They will help you through," replied Remus reassuringly.

"What about Padfoot? Where is he now, anyway?" asked John, surprised at the fact that Remus had failed to mention Sirius' name.

"Sirius? Don't mention his name... That traitor" sighed Remus angrily.

"That traitor? What are you talking about?" asked John shocked.

"You don't know? He's in Azkaban... he is the reason James and Lily are dead. He is the reason for everything. He was working for You-Know-Who and betrayed us all by revealing James and Lily's location," replied Remus, reliving those memories for an instant.

"No... there's no way... Sirius did not betray them," replied John.

"You don't know... He was their secret keeper, they trusted him with their lives and he betrayed them. He later killed Peter along with a bunch of muggles... He was finally caught and has been incarcerated at Azkaban ever since," replied Remus.

"Remus... I don't know what went on back then... but I can assure you, Sirius did not betray Lily and James. We need to get him out of Azkaban immediately," replied John confidently.

*** {Back to present} ***
"Hermione, what are you doing? We can't avoid them all forever by locking ourselves up in the library," said Harry.

"I'm not avoiding our friends... well, I'm not going to call those vultures our friends... but I'm not avoiding them. I'm reading up on something John said before he was taken away," replied Hermione.

"What did he say?" asked Harry trying to remember the incident from the morning.

"When I told him about my conversation with Myrtle, just before the ministry officials took him away, he said the word, Basilisk. But before he could go on, they took him away," replied Hermione getting her focus back to the book she was reading.

"What's a basilisk?" asked Harry.

Hermione began reading a paragraph from the book loudly, "Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach a gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it."

Harry was listening closely to what was being read to him.

"So, there you go... That's what a Basilisk is... I wonder why John thinks that the Slytherin monster is a Basilisk," said Hermione as she closed the book. Harry remained silent for a few moments, and then it struck him.

"Hermione... Hagrid told us before Halloween about how his roosters were dead. What if the person behind the attacks killed the roosters to protect the monster from it?" replied Harry excitedly.

"That's it... Now we know what the Slytherin monster is, how do we find out where it hides? And how is a large snake roaming the castle without being noticed?" remarked Hermione.

"Miss Jane... I was expecting you," said Emily with a bland smile the moment the doors opened and Jane's raging face became visible.

"It's Professor Jane," retorted Jane and walked towards the desk and sat down beside John.

Emily pulled out her wand muttered something under her breath and swished it around the room. Jane recognized its effects immediately. It was a popular spell used by people who didn't want anybody to overhear any conversation.

"What's the meaning of this? You can't hold a 13-year-old kid," said Jane and looked at John and continued without pausing, "without the presence of his guardian," she added.

"What I can and cannot do is dictated by the situation that is presented to me. You do not have any authority to question my acts," snapped Emily. "Especially since you are under investigation too," she added.

Jane gave a chuckle and replied, "Oh... even I am under investigation, am I? What for?"

Emily took out 3 photos from her bag and sprayed them out on the surface of the desk. "Do you recognize these 3 gentlemen?" she asked. Jane gave a cursory glance at the photos and immediately recognized them as the death eaters who attacked her and Daisy about a year back.

"I don't think I do," replied Jane calmly, though internally her heartbeat was racing.

"Who are you 2? There is proof available for this kid to have used the unforgivable killing curse against a wizard. He has already admitted to having stolen the invisibility cloak and is the prime suspect behind the attacks associated with the Chamber of Secrets. And you are under investigation for killing these 3 wizards. Under investigation is just the official term. But we both know that you did it. And you know what's the most interesting part? There's hardly any information on who you 2 are. The house you call home was uninhabited up until a few years back. There are no records of you ever attending Hogwarts or any other magical school for that matter. Nobody in the magical community seems to know who Jane Smith is. It's almost as if you never existed and randomly appeared out of thin air."

John and Jane glanced at each other a couple of times throughout Emily's monologue. They were stunned at these revelations. And they were even more stunned by the fact that the real investigation the woman in front of them was conducting was a murder investigation and not the attacks at Hogwarts. They both knew that anything they said could come back to haunt them.

"Nothing to add?" taunted Emily. "This is the longest you've been silent for," she added looking at John.

"The school is relying on you to find the perpetrator behind the attacks," said John.

"And you want me to believe that you aren't the perpetrator?" asked Emily.

"Yes"

"Mr Smith... tell me something... Wasn't your wand confiscated? Then how come you were found in possession of this wand? And who does it belong to?" she asked handing John the second wand he possessed.

"This is not my wand. I just happen to have it," replied John.

"Not your wand... I see... So, whose is it?" she asked. John didn't know how to answer that question. Revealing the person it belonged to would only result in... well he didn't want to think of the consequences.

"This wand belongs to a friend of mine," said Jane.

"And what is it doing with your nephew?" asked Emily.

"It's an irrelevant question... It is our business what we do with the wand" replied Jane.

"I know I can't nail you for the things you have done... yet. But carrying an undisclosed secondary wand when you are suspended from using any will get you in trouble. This incident will be reported to your headmaster," replied Emily.

"Will that be all?" asked Jane. Emily nodded and with the twins left the office.

They had walked a few steps outside when Jane put an arm around John and asked, "what are you doing John?"

"I can explain," replied John, guilt written all over his face.

"We both have some explaining to do... We have to go to McGonagall's office right away," she replied. But they didn't have to go that far as they were met on the way by Professor McGonagall.

"Professor..." said John.

"Mr Smith... you are back? That's a relief... Where are you two headed?" she asked.

"To meet you," replied Jane.

"It's extremely late now... and I don't think you would have had anything to eat since the morning. Go back to your dormitory. I'll ask the house elves to send you some food. Whatever it is, can be discussed tomorrow," replied McGonagall. And with that John headed back to the Gryffindor common room and Jane headed towards her chamber. When John reached the common room, it was empty. Everyone had gone to sleep, it seemed.

The following morning, the moment John woke up, he knew it was going to be a long day. He had barely been awake a few minutes when he saw Harry wake up. And soon thereafter, Harry woke Ron up having seen John. They barely spoke a word to each other. They quietly made their way to the great hall. And then finally, Ron spoke up.

"Did you steal the cloak?" he asked bluntly.

"Ron... I wouldn't call it stealing. I borrowed it," replied John.

"You don't get to be cheeky after what you've done," snapped Ron. And John went silent.

"Why though?" asked Harry. "All you needed to do was ask, and I would have given it to you myself," he added.

John did feel stupid about the whole thing. It was Halloween night, the night he came back to Hogwarts when he had taken the cloak from Harry's cloak. At the time, it seemed like a better idea to keep whatever he was doing a secret. In hindsight, he realized that he could have done things so very differently. Before he could reply, they heard the running footsteps and the next instant, they were accompanied by Hermione.

"John... you're back... when did you come back? How are you? What happened yesterday?" she asked rapidly.

"I was back late last night," replied John.

"You didn't take the cloak, did you? I knew you were framed," replied Hermione excitedly.

"He stole the cloak, Hermione. He just admitted it," snapped Ron.

"What?" gasped Hermione and John nodded.

"And he has yet to reply why he did that," added Ron.

John hesitated to reveal the truth. He had taken the cloak to monitor Ginny's activities undetected. And revealing this would mean that he would also need to reveal why he needed to monitor Ginny. And this would lead to an endless pit of questions that went deeper and deeper. And hence John resisted the urge to reply and remained silent.

The lack of response from John infuriated Ron, but he remained silent. Harry too felt uneasy at the lack of answers. He was disappointed at what had happened. Hermione on the other hand felt that John's actions would be justifiable. The rest of the breakfast was completed in silence.

John and Jane met with Professor McGonagall. John confessed to having taken the cloak and also told why he did what he did. The twins also informed McGonagall of the true nature of Emily Davies and the real reason why she was at Hogwarts. McGonagall was not happy about finding that out, but she knew that she could do very little. In a surprising turn of events, their conversation was concluded with McGonagall giving John back his wand.

"I'm getting my wand back? Why now?" asked John.

"We had always planned to return your wand back to you by the end of May. What happened with the cloak and Mrs Davies doesn't change that," replied Professor McGonagall.

"Thanks, Professor," replied John.

He went back to the common room, happy at finally getting his wand back. Later that evening, John was rearranging the contents of his trunk. In all the emotions and discussions that had happened in the previous 24-36 hours, John had completely forgotten the Riddle diary. He was randomly going through his trunk when he realized that the diary was missing. The moment he did, he rushed back to the common room. He couldn't find Harry or the others there. He dashed to the library and there he found the golden trio.

"Guys... Have you seen the diary?" he asked breathlessly.

"What?" retorted Ron.

"The diary, Ron... Tom Riddle's diary, where is it?" he asked.

"How are we supposed to know. We don't go around taking someone else's things," snapped Ron. John was hurt by the response. But he had no time to take pity on himself.

"Ron," exclaimed Hermione furiously.

"John... we don't know where the diary is. We haven't seen it since yesterday or the day before I guess," replied Harry.

"Harry... it's not in my trunk. And I don't remember the last time I saw it. That diary in someone's possession is a dangerous thing," replied John, panicking.

"Maybe Mrs Davies has it," replied Hermione.

"I don't know... she didn't ask me about it yesterday. She would have if she had the diary," replied John.

John seemed to be the only one panicking at the situation. Ron was indifferent, while both Harry and Hermione were distressed at the missing diary.

"Where is Ginny?" he asked, suddenly. A faint buzzing sound could be heard.

"Ginny? Why?" asked Ron, suspicious.

"I just want to know where she is," said John panicking even more.

"And I want to know why," retorted Ron, partially raging.

"I don't have time for this," sighed John and ran outside the library. The trio, who had been taken aback by what had just happened, rushed after him. Ron, who was particularly suspicious and curious caught up with John and pulled him back to a halt.

"Why are you looking for Ginny?" asked Ron, infuriated.

"Ron, we don't have time for these. We need to find Ginny," replied John and pulled his arm from Ron's grasp. But that only made it worse. Before anybody could say or do anything, there was a loud smack. Ron had taken a swing and caught John right in the chin.

"Ouch..." yelped John in pain. Ron pushed John back a few steps and flung himself at him. Harry however reacted quickly and pulled Ron back.

"Leave me alone, Harry. He has betrayed all of us, stolen from you and is now blaming my sister for the stupid diary's disappearance," exclaimed Ron.

"RON! Have you gone mental?" screamed Hermione and rushed towards John. John got up slowly, holding his chin. "John... are you hurt?" asked Hermione.

"Hermione... it's okay... I'm fine," said John weakly. "Ron... I'm not blaming Ginny. I think she is in trouble," he added. "Let's first find Ginny and then I'll tell you everything," said John and then ran towards the Gryffindor common room. But they were interrupted by an echoing voice of Professor McGonagall.

"All students back to their dormitories. And all teachers to the staff room," came the booming voice of McGonagall.

"What? Not another attack," exclaimed Harry. Ron glanced at John momentarily and the 4 of them dashed towards the voice. They had run a few steps when they overheard McGonagall talking to Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape.

"There is a fresh message below the previous one. Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever," said McGonagall.

"A student has been taken into the chamber?" gasped Flitwick.

"Who is it, Minerva?" asked Snape.

"Ginny Weasley," replied McGonagall and with that the 4 of them stood in silence, stunned. John dropped to his knees, distraught.

"No... Not Ginny," sighed Ron with a broken voice.

"Ron... we will get her back," said Harry, even though he didn't believe a word he said. He was in shock. He couldn't believe that the next victim would be a pureblood witch. It made no sense.

"Ron... I'm so sorry," said Hermione in tears and gave Ron a small hug. Ron's eyes fell on John and suddenly, all his fury came back to him.

"You," he exclaimed and dove at John. John was taken aback and fell back awkwardly. Ron was instantly on top of him. He grabbed John's neck and had taken a punching pose.

"Did you do this? Did you do this to my sister?" screamed Ron.

"Ron... no... Believe me, I didn't..." replied John struggling to get words out of his mouth. Hermione and Harry tried hard to pull Ron back but he shrugged them off easily.

"Ron... you're choking him," said Harry, alarmed.

"I have asked you this multiple times and I'll ask you this 1 final time... Why were you looking for Ginny?" asked Ron, unphased.

John had initially been worried about Ginny's impending fate. But the news of her being taken into the chamber had initiated a different thought process in him. There was a single conclusion that remained in his head that troubled him deeply.

"I think..." he said struggling to speak. "I think... she has the diary," he replied coughing.

PS - Chapter 34 will be out soon...

Chapter Text

There are a couple of things that I wanted to address... But, I will resist myself from indulging in them till the end of the next chapter. So, here is Chapter 34... The penultimate chapter in the 2nd year's set of events. Enjoy!

"Mr Weasley..." came the thundering voice of Professor McGonagall. She was walking towards the 4 Gryffindors and had obviously been angered by the state of Ron and John. "What is going on here? Students fighting in the middle of the corridor... were my announcements not audible?" she continued. Ron quickly got up and straightened himself awkwardly. Hermione and Harry stared blankly at their temporary headmaster. John patted his clothes and got up gingerly.

"Prof... Professor McGonagall" exclaimed Hermione the moment McGonagall arrived at the scene.

"Go back to your dormitories, NOW!" snapped McGonagall and with that, all 4 of them dashed back to the Gryffindor common room.

"I have never seen her this angry," remarked Harry the moment they got in.

"That was panic and desperation, my friend... A student has been taken into the chamber," replied John gasping for air. Ron who was still angry at John, apart from his shock at Ginny being taken, stomped away from the group.

"Ron... I'm sorry," said John genuinely feeling bad for Ron. But that didn't stop Ron, he didn't even bother looking back at John and to the dormitory he went. Harry left as well chasing after Ron leaving Hermione and John alone.

"Are you okay?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah... No... well, I'm fine... Ron's just hurting at the moment... We need to find the chamber," replied John.

"Wow... I uh... I thought you would be angry at him for what he did. I was just about to say that it isn't Ron's fault. And that you should forgive him," said Hermione with a smile on her face.

"It's Ron... How can I be angry," replied John grinning.

"You need to start spilling though. You have been acting weird all year, you have been distant and now... why... why did you have to steal Harry's cloak? And what are you hiding from us? And why did you think Ginny had the diary?" asked Hermione turning a lot more serious than she was a moment back. "And how are we going to find the chamber that no one has in centuries?" she added.

Ron noticed Harry hurrying behind him and slowed down.

"Ron..." called out Harry and caught up with him.

"Harry..." said Ron and looked at Harry teary-eyed. "Do you think she is... you know," said Ron.

"No... she is not... We will get her back, I promise," replied Harry.

"Right... she can't be... it doesn't make sense. She is pure-blood, she must have seen something, or known something. That's why she was taken," said Ron hurriedly.

"Ron... take a breath... we will find her," reassured Harry. Internally though, his heart had sunk. This was the worst he had ever felt. Ginny was merely a first-year kid, why somebody would do that to her, he couldn't wrap his head around it.

"You don't think John had anything to do with this, do you? I know that he can't have... I don't even know what came over me. He was... was... uh, I don't know. He has been acting weird this year, hasn't he? And why would he steal your cloak? And I see him sometimes, you know? He always seems lost in another world, except when he's talking to Hermione or talking to you. When he asked for Ginny, something came over me and I took a swing," mumbled Ron aimlessly.

Harry was sitting, staring at his best friend, hurting at everything that had happened. Just then, he saw John enter the dormitory and walk towards them.

"I'm sorry about what's happened to Ginny... I can't emphasize how much I want you to believe me that I had nothing to do with it," said John as he came near the boys.

"John... what is it?" asked Harry. But before John could answer, they saw Hermione walk into the dormitory.

"How's he?" asked Hermione looking at Ron.

"He's fine..." replied Harry. "As fine as one can be after finding out that their sister has been taken into the chamber of secrets," he added frustrated.

"John has something to say..." said Hermione tentatively.

"Things..." corrected John and handed Ron his watch. From the last time Hermione had seen it, back in the train to Hogwarts at the start of the year, a new dial had been added in it. The name Ginny had been labelled to it. Ron took the watch casually and gave a glance.

"What is it?" asked Ron. Though the look of it gave him an idea of what it could be.

"It's a watch. It tells me the status of people who are... who are important to me," replied John.

Ron inspected the watch much more thoroughly.

"And this is why I wanted to know where Ginny was," added John. Ron looked confused and John realised there were many reasons for that.

"I'm not who you think I am... there is something that I kept from you. Harry and Hermione know about this... I just need you to trust me enough to get working with me... We will have a lot of time for storytelling later," said John and looked hopefully at Ron.

"What is he on about?" asked Ron looking at Harry.

"Just go with it," replied harry immediately.

"Okay... so, what is it?" asked Ron.

"We need to find the chamber as soon as possible, but I need you to listen to me without getting angry. I have a theory," replied John.

"This can't be..." gasped Molly in fear when she looked at the clock. Just at that moment, there was a loud crack and Arthur Weasley apparated into the Burrow.

"Molly... something has happened," said Arthur.

"Arthur... what is it?" asked Molly in tears. The clock had been pointing Ginny at Mortal Peril. Coupled with Arthur's untimely visit home could only mean the worst.

"Ginny... Something's happened to our Ginny," said Arthur trembling. "Minerva contacted me, we are going to Hogwarts right away. They have connected a fireplace for us to get there right away," he added.

When the Weasleys arrived at Professor Jane's office, they were welcomed by Professors Jane, McGonagall and Snape.

"Arthur... Molly..." exclaimed McGonagall.

"Professor McGonagall... what's happened to my Ginny?" asked Molly in tears.

"Severus... we should make arrangements for the return of students," said McGonagall. Severus nodded and left.

"Take a seat, please?" said McGonagall and gestured for the Weasleys to do the same. Arthur and Molly sat down, holding each other's hands while Jane stood with her back leaning against her desk.

"Ginerva... Ginny has been abducted into the Chamber of Secrets," said McGonagall weakly, still in shock herself.

"What?" gasped Molly. Arthur who had been told already didn't have a visible reaction to hearing it once more. Jane glanced at McGonagall earnestly.

"Professor Jane? Take them to their kids, please," said McGonagall and left the office. Jane took the opportunity to get some words in.

"Hi... I am Jane Smith... I am the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," said Jane and sat beside Molly.

"Professor? How did this happen?" asked Arthur, still shaking mildly.

"Please... call me Jane... To be honest, we don't know... The Aurors will be here soon, Severus, Filius along with the Prefects and house heads have already begun their search. We will find and get Ginny back..." replied Jane, as reassuring as she could be.

"But, why Ginny? She's just a child," said Molly and started sobbing. There were tears in Arthur's eyes as well. He had been trying to stay strong all this while but he couldn't contain himself anymore.

Jane had just experienced an awful hour of fear. She had been the one to notice the writing on the wall. She had been the one to alert Professor McGonagall and the prefects. She had been fearing the worst ever since. It had only taken 10 minutes for them to realise that the missing girl was Ginny Weasley. And seeing her family made things worse. She could see the pain in Molly's eyes. The pain in Arthur's. At that moment, she found herself feeling helpless and powerless.

"Molly..." she exclaimed sadly and hugged Molly Weasley. "We will find your daughter..." she added and released the hug. She got up and turned away from the Weasleys, wiping the tears off her eye. "I'll send for Fred, George, Ron and Percy..." she said and left them alone.

Fred and George made their way to the dormitory in search of Ron.

"Mum and Dad are here... let's go," said Fred as the Weasley twins went near the John and the golden trio.

"Mum and Dad are here?" asked Ron, shocked.

"Your parents are here?" asked John.

"Yes! They are in Professor Jane's office," said George gloomily. Harry had never seen them like this ever before.

"I'll come in a few minutes," said Ron and with that, both Fred and George left. "You continue..." said Ron looking at John.

"As I was saying... the only reason I took his cloak was to roam the castle at night undetected. When I came to the castle on the night of Halloween, the chamber had already been opened. And since Harry had already told me about the voices, I figured they must be related," replied John.

"Still doesn't explain why you didn't tell us all this from the beginning," said Ron.

"I'm sorry that I didn't..." replied John.

"Now that that's out of the way, tell us about Ginny," said Hermione. Ron meanwhile had gone into a long think.

"Ginny... well... I'm not sure about it yet. But, remember what I told you that night? About the diary being more than what it seems?" replied John.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry.

"Harry... that night, after he told us about the diary, both of you came back to your dormitories. And we were just talking about the diary. John had this feeling that the diary could somehow control people, bewitch people," replied Hermione.

"What?" asked a confused Harry.

"Yes..." replied John.

"And what has this got to do with Ginny?" asked Harry.

"Where did Filch get this diary? We don't know... But what we do know is that he keeps guard all day long where his cat was attacked. So, if we assume that he found the diary in the bathroom, he probably picked it up since it wasn't wet when it should have been. If we assume that, we can say that someone threw it there," replied John.

"That's a big assumption," remarked Ron and went back to his long think.

"Okay... When was the last attack? Justin, right before Christmas... Why wasn't anyone attacked ever since?" asked John.

"You have had the diary since, pretty soon into this term, right?" asked Hermione.

"And the moment I was arrested by Mrs Davies, I parted away from the diary," added John.

"And whoever took your diary came after my sister, why?" asked Ron.

"Who took the diary? Someone from Gryffindor?" asked John and everyone remained silent. "Why would they come after Ginny, a pureblood? Unless..." added John.

"Unless, no one did and it was Ginny all along," finished Hermione.

"That's the biggest load of nonsense," remarked Ron in disgust.

"Well, that's his theory," said Hermione sulking.

"Slytherin's heir... Slytherin's monster... Slytherin's secret chamber... Slytherin could speak Parseltongue... Tom Riddle was the last heir of Slytherin. And I bet you anything... the reason no one knows where the chamber, or how to open it is because only a Parselmouth can," replied John, more and more confident as he kept explaining.

"What if someone else in the castle spoke parseltongue like me? I'm not Slytherin's heir am I?" asked Harry.

"Ok... you know what? It doesn't matter... It doesn't matter whether Ginny was bewitched or not. All that matters is we find and open the chamber," interjected Hermione.

"How this snake has gone unseen so far is puzzling," said Harry. And that's when Ron got excited.

"You said something about the snake having killer eyes, didn't you?" asked Ron.

"Yes... Hermione read out a passage about Basilisks. In there, it said that the snake's glare could kill its target," replied Harry.

"So, why isn't anyone dead?" asked Ron.

"What if we are wrong about the snake?" asked Hermione. "It can be a different snake," she added.

"No," said John suddenly. "You said something that day when you told me the story Myrtle told you... she dies instantly and the last thing she saw were yellow eyes. It has to be a basilisk. I read about them a long while back. As far as I know, they're the only variety of snakes that can kill its prey with just a stare," replied John.

"So, we are not wrong about the snake? How do we explain the attacks this year then?" asked Hermione. Everyone went silent apart from Ron.

"I know how," he replied frantically. "Reflections... none of them saw the snake," he added. And it all fit perfectly to Harry, Hermione and John instantly.

"Mrs Norris saw the snake through the puddle of water," said Ron.

"Colin through his camera," added Harry.

"And Justin must have seen it through Nearly Headless Nick," finished Hermione.

"Pipes," said Harry and glanced at John.

"Pipes? No... what? You're kidding me... Pipes... why did I never think of pipes? I'm such an idiot," cursed John and dashed outside the dormitory. He paused a few steps later and came back. "I'll be back in a minute," he said and left again.

"What just happened?" asked Hermione, surprised.

"The Basilisk's been using the pipes... That's why nobody has seen it roaming the castle... That's why I heard its voices sometimes and not the other times. I was in the library when Justin was attacked and even today we were at the library. Professor Jane's office is the closest to the second-floor bathroom and both times I heard the snake were near there. The opening to the chamber must be there," replied Harry excitedly.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Hermione and sat down on one of the beds. She got back up instantly, like a spring.

"What happened?" asked Harry.

"I think I know where the chamber is... It has to be in the bathroom... inside... has to be. It all fits perfectly," replied Hermione.

"The 2nd-floor bathroom?" asked Harry.

"Moaning Myrtle died there, didn't she? Well, has to be somewhere in there... That does make sense," replied Ron. "We should go and tell them about this... Ginny is in there all alone... And now we can get to her," he added frantically and with that, the trio dashed to Professor Jane's office. By the time they got there, the office had been packed, way more than it could hold. There were intense discussions happening between McGonagall, Mrs Davies and the Ministry officials she accompanied. On the other side, Molly and Arthur were now accompanied by Fred and George.

"Mum... Dad..." exclaimed Ron and immediately hugged his mother. Ron's eyes had turned moist the moment he laid eyes on his parents. Hermione and Harry meanwhile grabbed the attention of Severus Snape.

"What is it Miss Granger and Mr Potter?" asked Severus in his usual cold monotonous voice.

"We believe we know where the chamber is," replied Harry confidently.

"Yes, we have already heard about your detective skills. It's a shame your other skills aren't up to the same level," retorted Snape.

"What? You know? John told you?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, Miss Granger, he did... Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do," replied Snape and walked off.

"Better things to do? What better things has Snape got to do?" sighed Harry annoyed.

"Jane... where are we going?" asked John. He couldn't fathom the idea of doing anything but saving Ginny.

"Well... The perks of having studied in the school, I know a thing or to about the school that only a few people know... Now, we are almost here," replied Jane and kept walking.

"I tell you about the snake, the diary, Ginny, the pipes and you suddenly decide to stroll the castle... Unbelievable," sighed John and followed his sister. After a few seconds, Jane came to a halt and so did John.

As far as John could tell, they were right in the middle of an empty corridor with nothing but walls and the floor in sight.

"Brother dear... would you mind standing back a bit..." said Jane and went up and started pacing in front of a wall. It took about a minute and to his utter disbelief, the wall suddenly turned into an old fashioned door.

"What in the world?" exclaimed John in amazement.

"Welcome to the Room of Requirement," said Jane and walked in opening the doors. However, John's amazement soon turned into confusion the moment he entered. It was a narrow room and the only thing he could see were mirrors. The room was dimly lit, enough to keep track of surroundings. There was a narrow path leading to a set of large, gigantic mirrors, about 10-12 of them all facing each other.

"Jane, what's this room?" asked John, confused. Jane, however, had gone silent ever since entering.

"I... uh... I don't know the meaning of this... This room is supposed to help anybody with what they require, what they want," replied Jane.

"Jane... please tell me you didn't choose this moment to wish for something to help you dress up cute," replied John, amused at the state of the room.

"Shut up... I wished for something that could help me kill the Basilisk. As I understand, they're powerful creatures... serpents that have incredible ability. I'm not sure how powerful a magic would be required to kill a snake," replied Jane hastily.

"Well... Mirrors..." sighed John. And instantly it struck him. "Oh... this is brilliant..." he exclaimed.

"What?" asked Jane.

"Wow!" exclaimed John and started laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Jane irritated.

"Nothing... this room is actually pretty helpful. Turns out, the room thinks reflection would work just fine. No need for powerful magic" replied John.

"Reflection? But how?" asked Jane but understood almost immediately. "No... but, wait... How will the reflection kill a Basilisk? If anything, it'll only petrify it, right?" she asked.

"The evidence we have tells us that anybody who saw the Basilisk through the help of reflection or through a ghost got petrified. And Myrtle died when she directly looked at the Basilisk's eyes. Maybe we can use the mirrors to immobilize the Basilisk. What we do with it post that is child's play," replied John.

"Well... I had hoped for a sword or something... We can only work with what we get, I guess," sighed Jane. With that, the twins returned to Jane's office.

"We should go, right away..." said John.

"Harry, Professor Jane and Professor Snape will be the ones to enter the chamber. If we are right about where it is, that is," replied Mrs Davies.

"I'm going with them," retorted John.

"You're just a kid, Mr Smith... If I had anything to say about all of this, I wouldn't have 2 Professors go in there at all. This is why there are Aurors. There are people who handle this kind of thing. And definitely not with a kid, even if the kid happens to be the Boy-Who-Lived. But, my word matters for very little in here. That being said, there's no way I can allow 2 students to enter the chamber in any circumstance," replied Emily stubbornly.

"John... it's alright..." said Jane.

"I can't let you go in there alone..." whispered John.

"I won't be alone, would I? I have Severus of all people with me," replied Jane reassuringly.

"Professor Snape... got the potion?" asked Jane. Severus nodded in reply. John saw a bottle in Severus' hand.

"Jane... I can't afford to lose you... Don't you dare die before I do... Got that?" said John and clutched his sister's hand tightly.

"And what about me? You think I can watch you die? Now... don't worry... And please let me go..." replied Jane clutching back John's hand tightly. John unwillingly let go of Jane's hand.

"Harry... Relax... You need to relax and calm down, understood?" asked John.

"Got it mate," replied Harry confidently even though internally he was in a thousand pieces.

"We will get Ginny back," assured Jane looking at Arthur, Molly and the Weasley kids.

And with that, off went Jane, Severus and Harry as Fred, George, Percy, Ron, Arthur, Molly, Hermione, John, Emily, McGonagall and everyone else prayed for Ginny's safety.

PS - Thank you so much to everyone, especially to the ones providing me with incredible feedback about the story. Keep it coming and be rest assured that all of them are being addressed in the plot.

Chapter 35 will be out this Friday...

Chapter Text

Happy New Year to everybody reading this. I hope you have a healthy, happy, adventurous and exciting life ahead ❤️

I waited a couple of days before posting this chapter since I am facing issues with the FF website. It isn't showing me my story's stats properly. But it is taking way too long to resolve.

So, here I am, with Chapter 35 of this story... Enjoy! ❤️

"It looks like they're coming back," said Hermione as she got up from the floor. But, John remained seated.

"Please don't be dead... Let Ginny be alive... Please don't be dead," muttered John under his breath.

The 2nd floor was packed with people. There were a couple of Professors, Albus Dumbledore had arrived a short while ago, the entire Weasley family was there, Emily was there too, accompanied by a few other Ministry officials. As Hermione got nearer to the entrance of the bathroom, there was a chill that ran down her spine. There was a sudden pit in her stomach. And then she heard it. A loud scream, an outburst of tears that could be heard by the whole castle and then a sudden silence.

John clutched his head in his hand. Everything that he had been afraid of suddenly became real. He knew what had happened. He knew what he and his sister had been afraid of the entire time had happened and that there was nothing they could do about it.

Hermione immediately dashed to get closer to the scene. She hoped against hope that her deduction was wrong. The first thing she laid her eyes on was the teacher they all despised, Severus Snape and what or who he was holding in his hands. It was difficult to see for the crowd had gathered and everyone taller than she had occupied the space ahead of her. But she knew who it was, it was Harry that Snape was carrying out of the chamber. It was then that she noticed another person walking ahead of Snape, an Auror carrying another body. Hermione's heart sank deeper than it ever had and an uncontrollable stream of tears started pouring down her cheeks. It was unmistakably Ginny Weasley.

But there was something wrong. Hermione's brain was filled with a million thoughts but there was one at the centre of it.

"Why had everyone gone silent?" was the question that was on her mind. And then she saw it. The remaining Aurors that had gone into the chamber only a few minutes back, came back out of the chamber and in the middle of them, cuffed and restrained was Professor Jane.

***{Some time back : Outside the Chamber}***

It had taken Harry a few minutes to open the chamber. While Emily pleaded endlessly with McGonagall, her protests went in vain as Snape, Jane and Harry stepped into the chamber. And a crowd had since gathered on the second-floor corridor.

"The Aurors will be here in no time. Surely we could have waited a bit longer," sighed Emily unpleasantly.

"The life of a child hangs in the balance. We have waited long enough," snapped McGonagall.

John had however stepped away from the crowd and was in fact walking away from it. Hermione who noticed him walking away caught up with him.

"Why didn't you go with your sister?" asked Hermione.

"I tried, but I can't convince anybody without blowing my cover. I'm after all a 13-year-old kid in everyone's eyes. And there's also the fact that I won't be of much use anyway..." replied John finding a comfortable place to sit on the floor, quite far away from the crowd. Hermione reluctantly followed suit.

"You wouldn't be of use? Come on now, you can't be that modest. Need I remind you," said Hermione forcing a grin despite the circumstances and started whispering, "how you saved us from You-Know-Who that night? You even used an unforgivable curse, didn't you?" she asked.

John remained silent in response.

"Do you know who that is?" asked Hermione pointing at a blonde woman standing beside the crowd. John looked up in the direction Hermione was pointing.

"Looks like a reporter... probably from The Daily Prophet," replied a weary John.

"I don't get why Harry had to go with them," sighed Hermione after a few minutes.

"Well, someone has to open the chamber, right?" retorted John.

"Can't he like just open it and stay back?"

"Hermione... you do realise that there's a Basilisk inside? And he's the only parselmouth at hand," replied John.

"What if he can't control the Basilisk? And what if they all die from the Basilisk's stare? This is just way too dangerous," replied a worried Hermione.

John knew that Jane had a plan for the Basilisk's stare, but Harry being unable to control the serpent was something none of them had really spent enough time contemplating.

"Well, they have a plan. Let us hope for the best. Harry couldn't be in safer hands at the moment," assured John.

"He would be safer with you there," retorted Hermione.

John was pleasantly surprised at hearing those words. He hadn't really grasped the impact the night in the forbidden forest had on Hermione and Harry yet. The thought hadn't even brought a small smile on John's face when he remembered he wasn't that person anymore.

"I uh... I'm not sure that's true anymore," sighed John fiddling with his wand.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Hermione, confused.

"Gosh, there's so much you don't know about me," sighed John and gave a chuckle.

"I wonder why," retorted Hermione sarcastically.

"You all should be living your life normally... There are things that just have to remain the way they are," replied John uncomfortably, choosing his words carefully.

"Whatever it is, we can handle," replied Hermione. She thought she was being brave and confident when she uttered those words. But John knew that there was a thin line between brave and stupid.

John gave another chuckle and replied, "I'm sure you can... But I can't tell you regardless."

"What could it possibly be?" asked Hermione, prodding a little more. At that moment, John's resilience broke a little. Ever since he had started living a secretive life, the universe seemed to conspire to challenge his resolve. And gradually, with time, John's resilience towards maintaining his secret grew weary. And at that moment, he was like a bubble waiting to burst. For a second, he had given up and had decided to tell Hermione his story. And then he remembered his sister. They had both given up a lot to be where they were and in his eyes, his sister had much more to lose than he ever had. And this thought curbed his desire. But nevertheless, he decided to tell Hermione some of the truth. He knew there would come a time when he would have to tell Harry and Hermione about his permanent transformation.

"Well... there is something I guess I could tell you..." said John. He remembered Remus Lupin's advice about opening up and decided to give it a shot.

"What?" asked Hermione excitedly.

"I'm no longer... My ability to... Okay, how do I say this? Uh... Something happened a few months back. Well, not a few months back. It's sort of an accumulation of everything that has happened in the last 2-3 years," replied John fumbling with his words. Hermione had never him this flustered.

"What happened?" she asked.

"My transformation was unsuccessful," replied John finally.

"Unsuccessful?"

"Well... yeah... I mean, the transformation in itself wasn't unsuccessful, it's just that it left its side-effects," replied John, struggling to explain.

"What is going on? What happened with your transformation?" asked Hermione, getting slightly worried.

John gathered himself and began the story. "Well, I had transformed myself at the beginning of this year. But, this time around, I was facing problems controlling my magic. This is the first time it had happened. I shrugged it off, but then you got injured. That was when I realised, I was in trouble. So, when I got suspended, I went back home. But, Jane, had advised me to go to this healing facility. After a few weeks, that's what I did. I went there, got myself checked and when I got my diagnosis back, it was... Well, how do I put this? It sucked..." he paused momentarily. "I was basically told that my best option would be to remain my original self. And that if I wanted to transform again, it would have to be permanent. Not to mention, my magical abilities would be reduced," he added. He had turned pale. "So, there you go, Hermione. I don't think Harry's missing me. In fact, now I realise that this is the best thing that could have happened. Severus is infinitely better than me, especially now," he finished.

Hermione was speechless for a few minutes. Once the shock wore down, she replied, "Why would you do this? Why suffer for the sake of Harry?"

"That's all you get... I have spilt enough," replied John grinning.

"That's not fair," pleaded Hermione. But she knew she was getting any more answers. "So, what now? You can't ever go back to how you were?" she asked.

"Nope," replied John.

"Oh my God," sighed Hermione.

"Yeah, well that's what happens when you mess with the natural order," replied John. John had barely finished speaking when they saw a bunch of wizards walking towards the crowd. It was headed by none other than, Albus Dumbledore. "Dumbledore's here," said John.

"Finally..." sighed Hermione. "And so are the Aurors," she added.

7 Aurors had accompanied Dumbledore to Hogwarts and were now in deep discussions with Emily, McGonagall and Dumbledore. After a few minutes of discussions, John and Hermione saw the Aurors make their way into the Chamber.

All the while this was happening, the reporter from Daily Prophet was busy interviewing, which felt more like an interrogation of the crowd.

John who was nervously glancing at the entrance took out his watch.

"What's going on there? It has only been a few minutes," said Hermione straining her eyes. "It looks like they're coming back," said Hermione as she got up from the floor. But, John remained seated.

"Please don't be dead... Let Ginny be alive... Please don't be dead," muttered John under his breath and glanced at his watch.

***{Some time back : Inside the Chamber}***

Severus, Harry and Jane, all had their wands out, illuminated.

"Harry, stay behind the both of us... And any sign of movement, close your eyes," said Jane.

"Here... drink up," said Severus and handed Harry a vial. He then handed another vial to Jane and drank for a third himself.

"What is this?" asked Harry.

"Always questions... This is a powerful potion, Mr Potter... It's called Felix Felicis," replied Snape. Harry stared blankly at Snape, he had no idea what Felix Felicis was.

"Liquid luck," added Jane. "Don't worry, it doesn't taste bad," she said.

The three of them made their way ahead, carefully. Where they were heading, Harry couldn't tell. He was on high alert. At the tiniest of sounds, he closed his eyes only to open them back again slowly. The path that they were going through, seemed like a tunnel, that turned and turned endlessly. And finally, they saw a solid wall ahead on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds.

The moment Harry lay his lies on the serpents, his spirits rose and he knew what he had to do.

"Open," said Harry, in a low, faint hiss.

The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight and the three walked inside, in awe of what they were seeing.

It was Jane who first spotted Ginny, lying on the floor.

"Ginny," muttered Jane and dashed towards her and Harry followed. Severus stood still and observed the surroundings carefully. Something was off and he could tell.

Jane turned Ginny over and lay her flat on her back. Ginny's face was white as marble and her body just as cold. But her eyes were closed. Harry tried to wake her, but she didn't wake up.

"Professor Jane... what happened to her?" asked Harry.

"Your guess is as good as mine," replied Jane. She was busy warming Ginny up. Warm air blew out of Jane's wand and she directed them at Ginny's arms and legs.

Severus walked towards them cautiously and that's when he saw a tall, black-haired boy leaning against the farthest pillar in sight. There was something familiar about his face. It was almost as if Severus had seen the boy somewhere, but he couldn't place where and when it was.

He pointed his wand at him and asked, "Who are you?"

Jane and Harry looked up instantly and saw Severus pointing his wand at a tall boy a few feet away, his clothes camouflaged with the surrounding. Jane got up and had her wand point towards the boy instantly.

"She won't wake," said the boy, in a soft voice.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry. "What have you done to her?" he added. The longer he looked at the boy, the more he felt weird about it. There was something different about him. It was almost as if he was in a dream.

"Severus..." whispered Jane.

"Don't worry... She's still alive, but only just," replied the boy.

Severus walked vigilantly towards the boy. He flicked his wand and sparkle of white light flew towards the boy. But to Harry's shock, it went right through the boy and hit the wall behind him.

"What are you?" asked Harry. "Are you a ghost?" he added. Jane was closely following Snape while Harry stood a few feet behind.

"A memory, preserved in the diary for half a century," replied Tom.

"Tom Riddle?" asked Jane and instantly Severus knew.

"The dark lord," muttered Severus under his breath, audible enough to reach Jane's ears.

"I have been eager to meet you, Harry Potter... How did you manage to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?" asked Tom.

"Severus... We don't have time for this," whispered Jane. Severus had frozen the moment he realised and had remained motionless for a few seconds, till Jane spoke.

"Little Ginny here has helped me leave the diary's pages and now it is time to match the powers of Lord Voldemort, the last heir of Slytherin, the greatest wizard of all time against Harry Potter, the boy who escaped," said Tom.

And then Tom hissed, but Harry understood him instantly, "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four"

The gigantic Slytherin stone was moving. Wider and wider the mouth opened until it made a huge black hole.

"Severus, kill him," said Jane and moved forward towards the hole. This is why she had come into the chamber. They could all sense something slithering up from the hole's depths.

Without wasting another moment, Jane flicked her wand at a pebble lying on the floor. In an instant, it transformed into a one-way mirror. With another flick of her wand, the mirror multiplied into a dozen more, enough to engulf the hole created.

Meanwhile, Severus barraged the corporeal self of Tom Riddle with multiple spells, but nothing seemed to affect Tom Riddle. All of them went through him.

Harry was with Ginny all the while the 2 professors were doing their thing. Whatever Jane had done, hadn't had any effect on Ginny. She was still as cold as before and her face white.

"Wake up Ginny... Ginny..." he kept saying. "Please wake up... Ron, Fred, George, Percy, even your Mum and Dad are waiting for you. Ginny... wake," he kept repeating, but before he was interrupted by a loud shattering noise. Severus' attention too swayed in the direction of the sound. The Basilisk had broken through the mirror barrier Jane had created, to her utter shock. Jane fell back instantly and she closed her eyes immediately.

The Basilisk slithered out slowly out of the hole. Jane lay a good 10 feet away on one side, while Severus was on the other side. Instinctively, he flicked his wand and the sharp, broken pieces of the mirror flew towards the snake, piercing at various parts of the body. Even though it wasn't his intention, some of the broken pieces pierced the eye socket of the Basilisk and to their luck, it was blinded.

The Basilisk started spitting in agony, blood streamed to the floor, its bulbous eyes punctured. Jane opened her eyes slowly and realised that the Basilisk was blinded immediately and got up. The wounded Basilisk rattled briskly towards Jane in agony, almost as if it could smell her scent. But Jane reacted quickly.

She tried stunning the enormous serpent but in vain. And then, in the most barbaric fashion, she managed to levitate the Basilisk and smashed it to the wall. The impact the Basilisk had on the wall it smashed into was evident as the impact points had developed a huge crack. The Basilisk was clearly in agony as it rattled even harder, its tail thrashed the floor and it rattled back at Jane swiftly. Without hesitation, Jane repeated her spellwork and the result was the same. The cracks on the wall had developed even further, the Basilisk on the other was extremely wounded. Yet, it seemed as mobile as ever.

"Why won't it bloody die," cursed Jane as she readied herself to repeat again.

"Miss Smith..." exclaimed Severus.

"A few more times, and we will get rid of this monster," retorted Jane without turning back.

"Miss Smith... Stop this madness," said Snape, this time audibly louder.

Jane turned back and looked at the disgusted face of Severus Snape and the shocked face of Harry.

"Sorry... got carried away," replied Jane.

"Let's the burn the place down," said Severus.

Harry had ignored Tom and had begun moving Ginny. He initially tried carrying her but gave up a few moments later. And then his attention was captured by the brutality of Jane's attack on the Basilisk. He admired how fearless and creative she was. And it was then it struck him.

"The diary... We have to destroy the diary," he said to himself and picked up the diary.

"The diary... we have to destroy the diary," said Harry, this time out loud.

"We will burn that too," replied Severus.

"No," replied Jane and Harry simultaneously. "We can't burn the diary," added Harry.

"Why not?" asked Severus.

"John tried... nothing happens to the diary," replied Jane. And she was surprised at how quickly Severus seemed to take her word for it.

Severus proceeded to light the chamber with fire. Once fire hit the Basilisk, its hissing in agony grew almost unbearable, but it only lasted a minute.

"Ginny needs help immediately... She's still the same... what do we do? What do we do with the diary?" asked Harry frantically.

"Well, there is one thing I'm sure John wouldn't have tried... Give me the diary," replied Jane and held her hand out for the diary. Harry gave her the diary.

Jane threw the diary in the air a few feet away and as it was mid-air swished her wand, pointing at the diary and out came flames from her wand. But these flames were different from what he had seen earlier when Professor Snape used them. They seemed alive, and they also seemed to burn in a darker colour. And almost instantly, they grew in size and took the shape of a dragon and flew at the diary. The fiendfyre blazed hot and the moment it made contact with the dairy, the pages burnt with a dark flame. Severus and Jane gazed at the diary in shock as blood poured out of it that burned away instantly in the fiendfyre. As the diary lay on the floor, burning away, Severus and Jane heard a thud. They looked back immediately and their eyes lay on Harry who was lying on the floor unconscious.

"HARRY... ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" screamed Jane and dashed towards Harry who was lying on the floor a few feet behind. "What happened to you? Harry... can you hear me?" she asked.

"Harry... what happened to him?" exclaimed Severus and knelt down beside Harry. "he is alive... but unconscious... This doesn't make sense," sighed Severus.

"Severus... what was that diary?" asked Jane, still inspecting Harry.

"I don't know... The dark lord never mentioned possessing any artefact with his memory stored," replied Severus. He looked worried at the state of Harry.

From far away, Jane heard a few footsteps. The moment she heard footsteps, her brain went into overdrive. What John had told her earlier about Ginny possessing the diary, being bewitched by it, how she would have been the one that opened the chamber all came into her head instantly. Connecting the dots, she remembered how Lucius had overthrown Dumbledore, even though temporarily from Hogwarts. Emily Davies was also appointed by Lucius Malfoy. The enmity between the Malfoys and the Weasleys was well known. Arthur Weasley had also threatened Lucius multiple times, accusing him of possessing dark artefacts. Dobby, the house-elf also belonged to the Malfoys. If the world found out that Ginny opened the chamber, it'd be the end of the Weasleys. Their entire reputation would be ruined instantly. And the nail in the coffin of her thoughts was the reporter from the Daily Prophet who had suddenly turned up at Hogwarts, unannounced. From the moment she heard the footsteps of the Aurors walking into the chamber, it only took her half a second to connect all the dots and come to a single conclusion.

"Severus... the Aurors are here," she said and closed her eyes. There was a single image in her head, the mirrors she saw in the Room of Requirement and her countless reflections staring at her.

"We need to take Harry and Ginny to Madam Pomfrey," replied Severus, holding Harry's hand.

"There's something I need from you before that," said Jane. The footsteps grew louder and louder.

"What?" asked Severus.

Jane pointed her wand at Severus.

"What are you doing?" asked Severus, alarmed.

"I don't have a choice..." she whispered, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I opened the chamber to get my revenge on the Weasleys... Redheaded fools," she shouted at the top of her lungs. "And you are in my way," she continued pointing her wand at Severus.

Severus drew out his wand instantly, confused at what Jane was doing. The Aurors had heard the voices from inside the chamber and were rushing to the scene.

"Stupefy" cried one of the Aurors the moment she saw Jane and Severus pointing their wands at each other. The spell hit Jane and she fell headfirst on the floor.

"Please don't be dead... Let Ginny be alive... Please don't be dead," muttered John under his breath and glanced at his watch. Tears gushed down his eyes as he found one needle missing from his watch, the needle belonging to Ginny Weasley. He tried to get up and follow Hermione but his knees gave way. He sat down with a heavy heart but got up nevertheless. When he made his way to the crowd, he saw Hermione coming out of it, panicking, with a confused look and moist cheeks.

"Professor Jane... they got Professor Jane," she said breathlessly, controlling her tears.

"What?" asked John, confused, thinking he had heard wrong.

"They arrested your sister... and they are taking her away," replied Hermione, missing most of the words and grabbed John in a big hug, and started sobbing heavily.

"Hermione... Hermione... what happened?" asked John, half-panicking, trying to remain steady. He hugged her back but his eyes wandered at the crowd. It had started dissipating. After a few seconds, Hermione released the hug.

"Let's find someone," whispered John in her ear.

The Weasley family had disappeared from the crowd, and so had the Professors and the Ministry officials. But before John and Hermione took a few steps, they were interrupted.

"You are the nephew, aren't you? Did you know she did it? Or did you help her hurt those kids?" asked the reporter looking at John. "And you are Miss Hermione Granger, aren't you? He tried to kill you earlier this year and you're still friends with him? How is that?" she continued, this time addressing Hermione.

"I don't have time for this rubbish," snapped John and dashed away, Hermione followed suit. Disappointment followed them both as there was a huge gathering outside the hospital wing. But within a few seconds, they were graced with the presence of Professor McGonagall.

"Mr Smith... We have been looking for you for so long... I need you to come with me immediately," said Professor McGonagall. Before Hermione could ask if she could come with them, McGonagall continued, "Yes, you can come too."

John and Hermione were guided by McGonagall to Professor Dumbledore's office. Meanwhile, John and Hermione resisted the urge to ask further questions. But the moment they entered, they saw Severus and Albus Dumbledore and couldn't resist any longer.

"Professor Dumbledore... what is going on? Where is my sister? What happened to Ginny and Harry? Please tell us what's going on," asked John.

"Mr Smith and Miss Granger, first of all, Ginny is alive... But Madam Pomfrey wanted her to be taken to St Mungo's, so that's what we have arranged for. Mr Potter on the other hand," replied Dumbledore and glanced at Severus and continued, "Harry is fine... he was just unconscious. He is awake now and will join the students soon," he added. There was instant relief in John and Hermione's faces.

"But Miss Jane has been arrested by the Aurors. She admitted to opening the Chamber of Secrets," said Dumbledore after a few seconds.

"She did what?" gasped John, in shock. All the relief dissolving into panic.

"Severus?" asked Dumbledore.

"Mr Smith... Jane confessed to opening the chamber and hurting the kids when she heard the Aurors' footsteps. And before anything could be done, she was arrested," replied Snape.

Jane was handcuffed and kept inside what could only be described as a temporary cell for prisoners. And there was a wizard keeping guard outside.

"My luck is about to run out," muttered Jane, just loud enough for the wizard to barely hear her.

"Procidat Incipio" she muttered under her breath.

The guard turned back to see Jane and hear what she said. But the moment he turned back, he was shocked to find the cell empty. He frantically opened the cell and it truly was empty. He rushed out and ran to find his superiors... He couldn't believe his eyes.

"How could someone escape this cell? I was literally outside," he thought to himself.

Jane calmly waited for him to run away. "The illusion never fails," she said to herself and chuckled. She walked outside her cell and within a few feet, on a table was her wand.

"I'm really lucky," she grinned and picked up her wand. And without hesitation, she disapparated out of the Ministry of Magic.

And finally, here we are. This has been such an enjoyable ride and I hope my readers feel the same way. As writing goes, it was bumpy, emotional, fun, intriguing and so much more than words can't describe. And I know for a fact that some of you may feel the same way about this story.

This chapter marks the end of what I like to call the end of "Year 2" worth of action. Thank you so much for all your support, motivation, appreciation and criticism throughout the journey. It has been an unforgettable experience.

As I look forward to continuing this journey, I realise that I need a break. I need a break from writing and I need some time to construct what I would like to think is the meat of this story. If I were Christopher Nolan, I would describe these first 35 chapters of this story as "The Pledge". And I would describe the upcoming action as "The Turn".

And as for "The Prestige", well there is still some time for that. So, stay tuned, stay safe and write to me if you have any thoughts, questions, suggestions, etc.

Finally, I have a small request. I need some help with the brand of story I want to tell. So, if anybody is willing to be my Alpha Reader, do drop a message and we can connect.

PS - I'm targeting mid-February or by the 1st week of March at the latest for releasing Chapter 36.

If you have liked the story so far, I would appreciate it if you could promote the story through any social media platforms of your choice, or even through word of mouth. The more the merrier

Bye ❤️❤️❤️

Chapter Text

"Crucio"

The woman twisted and turned in pain. It was the most intense variety of pain she had ever experienced. It felt like a million needles pierced her skin, all at the same time. She tried to control it but after a while, she could no longer control her screams.

The man stopped the torture for a few seconds. "Answer and I'll stop," he said.

She was too weak to respond. Even if she wasn't weak, she was never going to reveal the secrets.

After a few seconds, "I can do this all day," said the man and pointed his wand at the woman. "Crucio" he muttered coldly and watched the woman scream in pain, begging for him to stop.

After a few minutes, he stopped again. "But, I know now that I have my work cut out. He has friends who are willing to suffer for him. That is admirable," he said kneeling down and staring at the woman's face from a very close distance.

He got up slowly and looked at his wand and then back at the woman.

"Goodbye, Doctor," he said. "Avada Kedavra" he muttered and a jet of green light escaped his wand and hit Kristin.

Harry was standing in the lush green grass. There was a cool breeze blowing gently in the direction Harry was looking. But Harry couldn't see anyone. He turned back sharply and saw an enormous house, that looked more like a palace.

"Come on Harry," said Daisy laughing. Standing beside her was Ron who burst into a laugh. And beside him were John, Jane, Hermione and... and a cloaked figure.

"What are Hermione and Ron doing here?" said Harry to himself.

"We are gonna be late," came the voice of Daisy.

"Late? Late for what?" he wondered. Curious to find out, Harry started walking towards his friends. He had only walked a few steps when he found himself inside this palace. Beautiful lights were hanging from the chandelier.

"Hey look, don't they look beautiful," said Harry and turned to look at his friends. But there was no one beside him. Suddenly, he heard laughter from a room that was on the other side of the palace. The laughter he heard was extremely familiar and a few seconds later, it struck him.

"Lockhart? What's he doing here?" he thought and briskly made his way to the room. But the closer he got to the room, the fainter the laughter got. When he finally reached the room, he pushed the door wide open and found the room completely dark and seemingly empty.

Harry cautiously walked a few steps into the room. From the moment he entered the room, he started smelling something weird. He couldn't place it at first but soon realised that the room smelled exactly like the Chamber did. Instinctively, Harry looked back and to his surprise, there was no door, but only endless darkness and a path that led to where he didn't know. Harry walked a few more steps ahead till he came across a bed. Suddenly, his legs started to ache and the bed looked more and more inviting. Giving up, Harry walked near the bed and sat comfortably.

It had only been a few minutes when he heard the sound of the door in front of him breaking open. A cloaked figure walked in and there was a jet of green light. And Harry woke up screaming in the middle of the night.

The moment Harry woke up, he looked for his glasses and quickly wore them. He picked up the torch from the table beside his bed and lit it bright. He looked around his room and to his relief it was empty. It only took him a few moments to realize what had happened.

"Oh no! Not again," muttered Harry under his breath. And soon enough, Petunia came running into the room.

"Harry... had another bad dream?" she asked softly and sat down beside him. Harry was still lying down. He remained silent. "What happened tonight?" she asked.

"I was talking to Daisy... Uh... I was in this place..." said Harry in reply, trying hard to remember what it was he dreamt.

"It's okay... you are home. There is nothing to be afraid of. He can't get to you here," said Petunia, petting Harry's forehead.

But Harry wasn't afraid of Lord Voldemort. He had tried giving it a thought, on why he was getting these nightmares. It had already happened on countless occasions since he had come back home from Hogwarts. But he never got anywhere in his thoughts.

"I'm not afraid Aunt Petunia," replied Harry boldly. Petunia just smiled in response.

After a couple of minutes of silence, she replied, "don't worry about anything. Everybody needs a good sleep to be healthy, wizard or not. I know I will sound like a broken record, but think about happy things. Try to remove as much negativity from your head as possible. Just let yourself wander in happy memories before you go to sleep," said Petunia soothingly.

Soon thereafter, Petunia left Harry to back to sleep. The following morning, Petunia was frying eggs and bacon in the kitchen when Harry woke up. He walked down to the hall and saw Dudley sitting at the table.

"MUM! HARRY'S UP..." shouted Dudley at the top of his voice.

"No need to shout," screamed back Petunia.

"Morning, Harry," greeted Dudley.

"Good Morning, Dudley," greeted back Harry, yawning.

"Woke up again last night?" asked Dudley digging into his eggs. Harry sulked in response. Just then Petunia came from the kitchen, holding a plate. She handed the plate to Harry and glared at Dudley.

"How many times have I told you not to poke him about his nightmares?" she asked angrily.

"I didn't even do anything," replied Dudley fiercely.

Later that morning, once Petunia had an opportunity to talk to Harry alone, she decided to bring up the subject she had been meaning to for a few days.

"Harry, dear... Why don't you invite Ron to stay with us for a few days... a couple of weeks even?" asked Petunia. "I'm sure it would be a nice change of pace for him too," she added.

Harry was speechless for a moment. He couldn't believe he didn't think of it earlier.

"Inviting Ron? Oh that would be fantastic Aunt Petunia..." replied Harry with a glow on his face that hadn't been there ever since he came back from Hogwarts.

"Good... I am glad you feel the same way," said Petunia.

Harry immediately went back to his room and fetched his quill and parchment from his trunk and began composing a long letter for Ron. In the weeks he had spent since coming back from Hogwarts, Harry had already sent and received multiple letters from Ron. Most of those letters were about Ginny, Professor Jane and the media flare up on the same. His communication with Hermione on the other hand was much more scarce in comparison since Hermione was visiting her cousins. And finally, there was absolutely nothing with John. Harry didn't even know where John lived and frankly, he wasn't sure if he wanted to contact him.

Once Harry was done with his letter, he gave it to Hedwig along with a few treats. Harry had gradually grown fond of his snowy owl. At first, when he got the Owl, he wasn't sure about it. Coupled with sudden celebrity status and being thrown into an alien world, Harry barely had any time to appreciate his pet owl. But, ever so recently, he had started enjoying its company.

One morning, a few days later, Ron's much-awaited reply arrived. And to Harry's relief, Ron had accepted the invitation. But there was another envelope in the mix that had Harry's name on it. It was a beautiful white sealed envelope with 2 dark diagonal stripes on each corner. Harry carefully opened the seal and removed the letter.

Potter

I apologise for what happened to Ginny. I didn't want to believe it for a long time, but I was just fooling myself. It was my dad that gave "The Diary" to Ginny at the start of last year. Please pass on my apologies to Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. I am not writing to them directly. I am not sure how well my apologies will be received, especially at a time like this.

Sincerely
Draco Malfoy

Harry read and re-read the letter multiple times before accepting what was written in it. Draco apologising was beyond Harry's expectations. And how Draco even knew about the diary's involvement was a mystery to him. However, Harry now had confirmation on one thing. It was indeed Lucius Malfoy responsible for everybody's troubles. Everyone who knew the truth about what had happened had only one person to suspect, and that was Lucius Malfoy. Nobody in the public had any knowledge of the diary's existence. For all the ruckus the Daily prophet had created, for all the troubles it had created for Jane and John, for all the annoyance they had created for the Weasleys in the name of justice, even they had no clue about the diary's existence.

The Daily Prophet had portrayed the Weasleys as the ultimate innocent wizarding family. The Prophet had managed to create a soap opera around the whole Ginny incident and the Chamber of Secrets demanding justice for the Weasleys, even though it was built on an entirely false premise. The truth however was known only to a handful of people which included Albus Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Snape, John, Ron, Hermione and Harry. Hundreds of interviews had been conducted with the Weasley family, individually and as a family. Even Harry and Hermione were chased around for interviews. But they managed to evade most of them owing to their muggle surrounding. And the villains of this soap opera were not only the Smiths, but also Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic, and its incapacity to uncover the truth sooner. And at the centre of all of this chaos was Rita Skeeter.

Rita Skeeter who was at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the day the events unfurled often wrote scathing articles about Jane Smith and her nephew John Smith. She also took every opportunity to reiterate John's attack on Hermione as the beginning of the onslaught.

The Ministry's image was being torn left, right and centre. Not only were they criticised for letting the situation escalate, but they were now being called the choicest of words for letting their prisoner escape from right under their noses. Jane Smith's escape from the Ministry on the very day she was arrested did not go down well with the public. There was a massive amount of support to the Weasleys and just as much condemnation against the Ministry.

And things got worse when, for the first time in living memory of most of the public, a prisoner from Azkaban had escaped. And this was not just any other prisoner. This was You-Know-Who's right-hand man, Sirius Black. The streets had ever since been filled with not just outcry for justice, but also fear.

But the one thing that bothered Harry in all of this was the negligence shown to Ginny. Everybody was busy demanding justice, but nobody cared about Ginny's actual health. Harry had yet to visit Ginny at St Mungo's, but from everything he had heard from Ron about her state, she was in the wizarding world's version of "a coma". Even the healers at St Mungo's barely knew anything about what was wrong with her. She hadn't gained consciousness once in all this time.

Harry was in a world of his own, lost in his sadness, anger, grief that he didn't even hear what the person next to him was saying.

"Harry... you haven't said anything for the last 10 minutes. Are you ok?" asked Daisy.

"Uh... what? I'm sorry, I was thinking something else. You were saying something?" asked Harry in return.

"You didn't hear anything I said, did you? What's up with you? You have been distant ever since you came back. Were your exams bad or something?" asked Daisy.

"Exams? What... no, we didn't have any exams," replied Harry hastily.

"You didn't have any exams? What do you mean? You don't have any exams at the end of the year?" asked Daisy.

"Daisy... we didn't have exams this year... We have exams just like muggles do," replied Harry but stopped himself from saying anything more.

Every time he saw Daisy, the only thing that he could think of were the threats posed by Emily Davies. And the only thing Harry thought of doing was to avoid Daisy as much as he could. And that was proving to be extremely difficult since she was his best friend.

"Why didn't you have exams this year?" asked Daisy.

"The memory of the dark wizard who tried to kill me when I was an infant managed to bewitch my best friend's sister into opening the Chamber of Secrets and unleashing an enormous snake. But for some reason, my other friend's aunt who is actually his twin sister took the blame for it and ended up escaping as well. Yeah, so the school decided to cancel exams for everyone below 5th year," is the reply Harry wanted to vent out.

But what he actually managed to reply was, "A student was almost killed by somebody. So, they cancelled our exams and sent us home."

"Wait... what?" asked Daisy, in shock.

"Yes"

"Oh my god! How's the student? Did you know him?" asked Daisy.

"It was a girl," replied Harry and continued, "she is... uh... I don't know... I'm sure she is fine now," he lied.

"Oh my god, Harry! That's why you have been all weird this summer. Couldn't you have told me this earlier? And all this time I thought you were mad at me for something," replied Daisy and grabbed Harry into a hug.

Suddenly, unexplainably, the weight of sorrow and guilt that Harry was carrying around seemed to have lightened up.

Chapter Text

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Rdocjpo Rvs – 19919

John read the note he had received, crumpled the paper and threw it away.

It was finally the morning of Ron's arrival at 4, Privet Drive. With the assistance of Ron's father, they had arranged for a floo network connection to the Dursley's house. It was 15 past 11 in the morning when Ron appeared from the fireplace.

"Ron... you are here! Let me take that for you," greeted Harry and took Ron's trunk from him. Ron dusted himself and gave Harry a small hug.

"Hi Harry," said Ron with a mild smile.

"Hello, Ron... I am Petunia, Harry's aunt," greeted Petunia.

"Hi," replied Ron awkwardly.

"What are you wearing?" asked Dudley looking confused. Ron had arrived wearing wizard robes.

"Dudley... This is my cousin Dudley," said an embarrassed Harry pointing at him.

"This is Ron?" asked Daisy shocked.

"Yes," replied Harry bemused at such a question.

Daisy got close to Harry's ear and whispered, "you never told me he's cute."

Harry's face went redder with embarrassment and he glared at Daisy angrily and then glanced back at Ron.

"Ron... this is Daisy," he said. Ron acknowledged Dudley and Daisy with a nod but nothing more.

"Let's go upstairs," said Harry and guided Ron to his room. Ron was going to stay with Harry in his room. Daisy tried to follow them up but got a strong nod of disapproval from Harry.

A few minutes after they had entered Harry's room, Ron spoke up.

"You've got a nice house," said Ron sitting down on the bed.

"Thanks, Ron... it isn't much, but it's home," replied Harry taking a seat beside Ron. After a couple of minutes of silence, Harry continued, "I'm glad you came here," he said.

"To be honest mate, I wasn't going to... But Fred and George... according to them, I needed a breath of fresh air," replied Ron.

"Oh... well, that's what even my Aunt thought," replied Harry. Ron gave a puzzled look and Harry continued, "yeah... she was the one who gave me the idea to invite you over. I would have thought of it myself... but with what happened to..." he added but stopped mid-sentence. He had been meaning not to talk about Ginny, but that ship had already sailed.

"After what happened to Ginny... Why did you stop, Harry? Might as well say it, the whole world is talking about it anyway," snapped Ron.

"I'm so sorry, Ron... I didn't mean to," stuttered Harry.

"Compassionless gits... all of them," cursed Ron, angrily.

"How is she doing?" asked Harry.

"She's the same... nobody has a clue what to do," replied Ron, sulking.

Harry felt extremely sorry for Ron and more than that, he felt helpless. He wanted to cheer him up, but without coming across as insensitive. But for now, he left him alone with his thoughts. Harry decided to deal with another thing meanwhile.

"Daisy... there's something I wanted to talk to you about," said Harry as he walked into the hall.

"Are you going to do it?" asked Dudley.

"Do what?" asked Daisy, excitedly. Harry gave a confused look to Dudley.

"He likes you," said Dudley grinning at Daisy.

"Dudley, piss off," snapped Harry.

"If you wanted to be alone with her, all you have to do is ask nicely," trolled Dudley, frustrating Harry even more.

"Oh, Harry! You like me?" asked Daisy blushing.

"What? No... he's just being stupid," replied Harry with a red face.

"You don't like me?" retorted Daisy instantly with a mix of sad, serious and shock on her face.

Harry's stomach twisted for a second. He couldn't believe what was happening in front of him. But it only took him a second to realize. But by then, Dudley and Daisy had burst out laughing.

"Oh my god! Seriously?" exclaimed Harry holding his face.

"We got you..." said Daisy still laughing and proceeded to high-five Dudley.

"Haha... very funny," remarked Harry sarcastically.

It took a few minutes for the laughter and teasing to end. When it finally ended, Harry wasted no time in getting back to the topic.

"I do have to talk to you though," said Harry.

"About what?" asked Daisy.

"I was in trouble at school because of you," said Harry.

"Because of me?" asked Daisy, still giggling.

"Yes, because of you," replied Harry.

"What did I do?" she asked, surprised.

"Well, you told someone from the Ministry of Magic that you knew about us... I mean wizards and witches, magic, etc. There was this lady, sort of like the police who questioned me about it," replied Harry.

"What?" asked Daisy, shocked, her expression had turned serious.

"Yeah... Well, I tried to lie, but she saw right through it. Someone from the ministry is going to come to your house soon to wipe your memories," replied Harry, with a very serious face.

"They are going to do what? I won't let them," protested Daisy.

"Daisy... they are witches and wizards. How are you going to stop them? They will come to your house... Remove all memories of magic. They might arrest you too... There is this wizard prison far away. That's where they send the muggles," added Harry. He had not intended to make this conversation a prank, but he realized this was his perfect opportunity for revenge.

"Harry..." gasped Daisy. She was almost in tears. "They can't... they can't wipe my memories," she added, a few tears rolling down her cheek. "I never told anyone about you... I promise," she continued. But that's when she noticed Harry's face. There was an unmistakable twitch, one that he always had when he tried to control his laughter. Just as Daisy's expression started to change, Harry could no longer control and it was his turn to burst out laughing.

"Yesssss" exclaimed Harry, pumping his fists in the air.

Daisy dived at him in anger.

"Don't you..." she said punching him in the shoulder, "ever" she punched again, "ever dare do that to me again," she finished with another punch all the while Harry continued laughing.

"Ouch... that hurts," said Harry but he didn't stop laughing. "You should have seen the look on your face... Absolutely priceless," remarked Harry as he finally stopped laughing.

"I'll get you back for this Potter"

"You started it," retorted Harry.

"It was technically Dudley's prank," argued Daisy.

"You were in on it," argued Harry back.

"Doesn't matter... Yours was much worse," replied Daisy.

"But seriously... I was in trouble at school. You did give it away that you knew about magic. And if my Professor hadn't interrupted, your memory would probably have been wiped," said Harry.

"Harry... don't joke about this," pleaded Daisy.

"I'm not joking... all of this actually happened," replied Harry.

"But I never told anyone," retorted Daisy.

"Did anyone ask you about magic or me or anything about this?"

"No"

"Well, either that woman came herself or she sent someone else, but she knew that you knew," replied Harry. Daisy sat in silence for a couple of minutes. So, Harry continued, "Be careful, that's all I can say," he added.

"I'm always careful," retorted Daisy but once she got a glare from Harry, she corrected herself, "I'll be careful."

"Okay... So I need your help now," said Harry.

"With what?" she asked.

"Remember when I told you someone attacked a girl in our school?" he asked.

"Yeah... that's why they cancelled your exams," replied Daisy swiftly.

"Right... So, that girl... Uh... she was Ron's sister," said Harry cautiously, partially whispering.

"What?" asked Daisy shocked. Harry nodded in response. "Oh my god, Harry... How is she doing?"

"She is alive... but still not conscious..." replied Harry.

"What do the doctors say?" asked Daisy.

"They don't know what's wrong with her... But that's not why I told you that... I need your help in making these few days that Ron's going to be with us, a happy one. I was thinking, maybe we can show him the non-magical world, you know roam around the city, have fun..." replied Harry hopefully.

"That's all? We can certainly do that and more," replied Daisy excitedly.

As it turned out, having a good time with and around Ron wasn't all that difficult. For one, Ron found the most basic muggle things like escalators and telephones fascinating. One day, Ron, Harry and Daisy spent an entire afternoon going up and down the escalator at the mall.

"These are like moving staircases, Harry," said Ron excitedly. Daisy looked bemused at his fascination.

"Yes Ron, they are," replied Harry going along with it.

"Are you sure magic wasn't used to do this?" asked Ron.

"No, Ron... it's just electricity and uh... technology," replied Harry. Unlike Ron's knowledge of how things worked in the magical world, Harry's knowledge of how muggle technology worked was scarce. And hence he used the word technology whenever he couldn't explain how something worked.

And on another evening, Harry and Daisy had taken Ron swimming. The concept of swimming was difficult for Ron to understand.

"Why would you want to swim?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't you?" retorted Daisy.

The fact was, Ron had never done it and nobody had ever taught him how to swim. In fact, swimming wasn't even something anybody did for fun in the magical world.

"Come on Ron, it'll be fun," reassured Harry.

Whether or not the swimming was fun, only Ron would be able to answer. But, playing and splashing the water around was definitely fun.

While returning from the nearby lake, they even got to play with a street dog. Enormously big, the black dog also happened to have really big eyes and it seemed to follow Harry around everywhere they went. And it only left Harry's side when they had to enter the house.

The other part that Ron enjoyed more than he cared to admit were video games. At first, he found them boring. But Dudley's definition of video games helped change that.

"You can do things in here that you can't do in real life... that's what makes it fun," he explained. "Like, you can't fly in real life. But if you see here," he added and pointed at his screen, "I can fly for as long as I want... Of course, I have missions and people to kill, but we can always restart."

Ron stared blankly at Dudley and then at his screen and then back again at Dudley.

"Dudley... we can fly," said Harry laughing.

"Yeah, we have brooms for that," added Ron.

"Brooms? The ones you use to clean your house?" asked Daisy, confused.

"They are like magical brooms... And we don't use them to clean stuff," replied Harry, struggling to describe the difference without sounding crazy.

And just like that, the 4 kids had a blast of a couple of weeks. From topics like Quidditch, Boxing, Football and other sports in both worlds, to foods that existed in one but not in the other world, from fashion styles to movies and entertainment, the 4 of them had indulged in discussing everything. And what Harry had wished for had been accomplished. He had somehow managed to make Ron keep aside the events of the Chamber of Secrets and enjoy his life a bit.

One afternoon, the 4 of them were in the hall playing cards. Ron had just gotten the hang of the game called "All of a kind". Right in the middle of the game, the doorbell rang and all of them looked at each other.

"I'm not going... It's not my turn," said Dudley.

"Daisy... open the door will you?" asked Harry, politely.

"Why should I open the door? You open the door," she retorted.

"Please? Just this once..." pleaded Harry. "I'll get you anything you want," he added. The doorbell rang again.

"Will one of you open the door?" came the voice of Petunia from inside.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," replied Daisy and got up. "I'll take that deal," she said looking at Harry and dashed to the door.

A few seconds later, Daisy's voice came from outside, "Harry... there is someone here to see you."

"To see me?" wondered harry out loud and went to the front door. "I swear Daisy if I don't see somebody standing there looking for me, you're..." said Harry as he made his way to the front door, but stopped mid-sentence as there indeed was someone standing.

"Hello, Harry... I am Remus Lupin... how are you?" greeted Remus.

Chapter Text

"I'm fine... who are you?" asked Harry cautiously.

"May I speak with your Aunt?" asked Remus. Harry thought a second about inviting Remus in but decided not to. He had a suspicion that Remus wasn't a muggle. Remus' wizard fashion sense had seeped into his muggle attire and it was hard to miss.

"I'll call her," replied Harry and went back in and Daisy followed.

"Who's he, Harry?" asked Daisy.

"I don't know..." replied Harry absentmindedly. "Aunt Petunia..." he called out. "There is a Remus Lupin here to see you," he added. There was a sound of something falling on the floor and the next second, Petunia came rushing out.

"Harry... dear, who did you say is here to see me?" she asked frantically.

"Remus Lupin," replied Harry and observed the subtle change in expression on Petunia's face.

Petunia didn't reply and immediately went to the front door followed by Harry and Daisy.

"You," exclaimed Petunia the moment her eyes fell on Remus.

"Yes... it's me, may I come in? Harry here didn't trust me enough to let me in," said Remus grinning.

"Oh yes, of course, come in," said Petunia and in walked Remus.

Harry was taken aback and glanced at Petunia. "I'm sorry..." he whispered.

"Harry... there's nothing to apologize for. Staying vigilant is never a mistake," replied Remus turning back to look at Harry.

"Please, have a seat, would you like something to drink? Cup of tea?" asked Petunia.

"No, it's okay... I just had a cup before I left the hotel," replied Remus sitting down. By then, Ron and Dudley had already gotten up to go stand beside the awkwardly standing Harry and Daisy.

"Let's go upstairs," said Harry and had made the move to take the stairs when Petunia interrupted him.

"Harry, you stay, rest of you all can go up," said Petunia. The 3 of them stood back but after a stare from Petunia, they all took the stairs up reluctantly.

Harry wanted to ask who the dull and poorly dressed man sitting on the couch was but resisted the urge to do so.

"Harry... It's been a long time since I last you..." said Remus smiling, his mind wandered back to the good-old-days for a moment.

"I'm sorry... but who, uh... I don't recognize you," replied Harry, awkwardly.

"I wouldn't expect you to," replied Remus with a chuckle. "It'd be incredible if you had any memories from when you were a year and a couple of months old," he continued. "I am... uh, I was your parents' best friend in school... at Hogwarts," he added smiling.

Harry's jaw hit the floor. "My parents' best friend? You knew my parents?" asked Harry, taken aback. Remus nodded in response.

"Why are you here?" asked Petunia, her tone not as warm as Harry was used to.

"I apologize for coming here unannounced... But I had to meet Harry," replied Remus turning his neck to look at Petunia.

"You wanted to meet me?" asked Harry, surprised, his brain had gone into limbo. Harry, for some reason, had never considered looking for people in the magical world who knew his parents. And to have one sit right in front of him calling himself their best friend was beyond anything Harry could have expected.

"There are many reasons, Harry... I should of course apologize to you for not being a part of your life until now... And life has given me an opportunity to rectify it... I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," replied Remus, a tinge of pride and satisfaction in his voice.

"What?" gasped Harry.

"Yes... I got the call from Dumbledore a few weeks back..." replied Remus.

"That's fantastic," replied Harry, suddenly there was excitement inside Harry. Remus nodded smiling.

"How are you?" asked Petunia with a piercing stare.

"There's still a few days to go," replied Remus, getting a bit uptight. "Petunia... I would like to talk to Harry, alone, if you don't mind... Would it be alright if I come tomorrow, around the same time?" asked Remus. Petunia looked somehow worried at the thought but nodded in acceptance.

"Good... see you tomorrow then, Harry?"

"Sure," replied Harry and with that Remus left.

"Is something wrong, Aunt Petunia?" asked Harry a few minutes after Remus left.

"No dear... everything's fine," replied Petunia, though her response didn't fill Harry with any confidence. He knew there was something she was hiding from him, but he decided not to prod her over it. The moment Harry got upstairs, the other 3 pounced at him for answers.

"Who is he?" asked Ron.

"What did you talk about?" asked Dudley.

"Is he a wizard too?" asked Daisy.

"Wow... guys, calm down..." replied Harry and sat down on the bed. The other 3 looked at him eagerly, for answers.

"He was my parents' best friend... came to meet me," he replied after a few seconds.

"He is your what?" gasped Daisy.

"Best friend of his parents... how hard was it to hear that," interjected Dudley.

"Shut up," snapped Daisy.

"What was here for?" asked Ron.

"Well... guess what? He's our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," replied Harry.

"Woah" gasped Ron.

"What's that?" asked Daisy.

"It's one of the subjects," replied Ron.

"There's something else though," said Harry and all of their attention was back on Harry.

"What is it?" asked Ron. "He said something else?" he added.

"No, it's not that... I mean, yeah, he wanted to talk to me and said he'll come back tomorrow. But it's not that... It's Aunt Petunia, she was acting weird around him. Almost like there was something..." he replied. "Uh, I don't know, maybe I'm imagining things," he added.

"You have been doing way too much of that," said Dudley and giggled. Harry's heart stopped for a second. Nobody apart from Aunt Petunia and Dudley knew about his nightmares, not even Daisy. And that earned Dudley a devastating glare. Harry would have undoubtedly done something more had he had his wand with him handy.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Daisy, bemused at Dudley's giggle.

"I didn't say anything," replied Dudley quickly.

"What?" she asked looking at Harry.

"Nothing..." replied Harry. "Just some boy's stuff," he quickly added. And that only made things worse for Daisy was even more curious now. Ron knew something was up and decided to press on it when they'd be alone.

"Tell me," said Daisy and moved closer to Harry.

"Daisy... Stop it, will you? It's nothing," replied Harry hastily.

"Okay, relax... But there's something," said Daisy and walked towards Harry's trunk that he used to keep all his Hogwarts stuff and sat down beside it. "We had a deal," she added.

"Oh no," sighed Harry.

"Oh yes... You said you'll get me anything I want," replied Daisy. Harry walked towards her quickly and sat down in front of her as if guarding the trunk.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want..." replied Daisy and glanced at Ron to which Ron nodded trying to control his laughter.

Harry looked at Ron. A look that said, "what did you do?"

"I want you... to... give me a ride on your broomstick, Nimbus 2000, is it?" replied Daisy, excitedly.

"What? No, no way," replied Harry.

"You said anything," argued Daisy.

"Anything but this," replied Harry.

"Okay, give me your wand," asked Daisy.

"Absolutely not," replied Harry.

"You can't say no to everything," pleaded Daisy.

"2 people can't ride a broom... and no, there's no way I'm risking somebody seeing us," replied Harry.

"Ron? Back me up, please," said Daisy and looked at him.

"Ron... what are you doing, mate?" said Harry desperately.

"She asked me for some ideas... And this is the safest thing I could think of," replied Ron laughing.

"Thank you," mouthed Daisy.

"No you didn't... why would you do this?" pleaded Harry.

"So?" asked Daisy gesturing for him to get up.

"I uh... We can't... This is not... Ron... Not now," stuttered Harry in reply.

"You broke him," exclaimed Ron and burst into laughter as Dudley and Daisy joined him in the giggles.

"If somebody sees us, I'll take you down with me," said Harry looking at Ron.

"Who's going to see you here?" retorted Ron.

"And they will wipe your memories," taunted Harry looking at Daisy. Daisy's expression turned immediately to fear. "I was just joking," chuckled Harry immediately even though he knew he was lying.

"Will I get a turn?" asked Dudley.

"No," replied Harry strongly. He did not want to set precedence one bit.

"Shall we?" asked Daisy.

"Not now... Let's go in the evening... it'll be darker," replied Harry.

"A ride in the dark? I'll never refuse that," replied Daisy happily.

That evening, as discussed, Harry took his precious Nimbus 2000 out of his trunk. Daisy and Dudley were both equally amazed at the sight of the majestic broom.

"Oh this is going to be brilliant," sighed Daisy.

"You have no idea," replied Harry. He had never taken anyone a ride on his broom. He never had to would be more appropriate since wizards could use a broom of their own.

"Daisy Taylor-Williams, are you ready?" asked Harry.

"Yes, Harry James Potter... let's fly," replied Daisy after taking a deep breath. There was a mix of anxiety and excitement in the air.

The moment lift-off happened, Daisy closed her eyes. She could feel rising up, but the broom barely felt like a vehicle. It was narrow and that meant her anticipation of falling was even higher than she first imagined. She held on to Harry tightly. Harry had decided not to amp up the speed from the get-go, since even he was new to flying with someone else sitting behind him. A few seconds into the flight, Harry decided to fly higher than he normally did in quidditch to avoid being seen by anybody.

"Daisy... are you okay?" he shouted.

"Uh... not so sure, HP," she replied trembling, her eyes still closed. Harry turned back to look at her face and realized her eyes were closed.

"Open your eyes... you are fine... Don't worry, you won't fall," shouted Harry. Daisy slowly opened her eyes and at first, she was taken aback by the height at which they were flying, but a minute later, she was feeling much better.

"This is so good," sighed Daisy.

"You want me to go faster?" asked Harry.

"You can go faster than this?" asked Daisy shocked.

"Of course, I can," replied Harry and increased the pace. He was still not going at top speed, but he was never going to, owing to the danger of losing balance.

"Woo Hoo!" screamed Daisy in joy as the gust of wind against her face increased. This truly was here most adventurous and adrenaline-filled experience.

The ride came to an end a few minutes later. Harry had decided to take as little turns as possible and hence had travelled a long distance to and fro instead of making circles.

"I'm going to land in the grass..." said Harry and gradually decreased the pace of the broom and eventually landed a few hundred feet away from the house. The landing was awkward but no one got injured.

The moment they got down, Daisy gave Harry a big hug and didn't release it for a good minute or two.

"That was brilliant, HP," said Daisy.

"That went much better than I thought," grinned Harry.

"Thank you so so so... so much for this... Oh wow... That was something beyond brilliant," exclaimed Daisy and took Harry in another hug.

"My Lord, I come bearing news," said the man.

"What?" replied a cold voice.

"The Doctor is dead," said the man calmly.

"What about him?" asked the cold voice.

"There is very little we know," replied the man after a moment's thought. The worry in his tone was blatant.

"There is still time," replied the cold voice.

"There is something else... It's about Harry Potter. Capturing him shouldn't be difficult. I could have easily done it today," said the man slowly.

"He's protected... don't act now," replied the cold voice.

Chapter Text

"Thanks, Harry," said Ron the moment Harry closed the door to their room.

"What for?" asked Harry as he got busy sorting the things in his trunk.

"For these past couple of weeks," replied Ron.

"Oh come on, Ron... don't mention it... you would have done the same for me," shrugged off Harry.

"Home was getting difficult, you know? Fred and George have virtually stopped all of their pranks, Percy is holed up in his room... Mum and Dad are constantly whispering behind our backs. It's always about Ginny's treatment. And I felt guilty leaving all of that behind..." said Ron, looking the worst he had in all his time at Privet Drive.

"That's what friends are for... I was actually nervous about Dudley and Daisy, but seems like you guys have gotten along well," remarked Harry.

"It was weird in the beginning... But they are fun," replied Ron.

"I'm glad you liked them!"

"Sorry about the broom ride, mate... I stitched you right up, didn't I," chuckled Ron.

"You did stitch me up... but the ride wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Nobody saw us... and it was pretty fun," replied Harry.

"Now I get why you told Daisy about us... I mean Hogwarts and all," said Ron.

"She still doesn't know about me though... I mean the whole You-Know-Who thing. Neither does Dudley," replied Harry.

"I suppose it's better that way... what good is going to come out of it, anyway? Nothing" sighed Ron. Harry however had other ideas and refrained from responding.

After a few minutes, Ron spoke up breaking the silence.

"What was that Dudley was telling in the afternoon? Something about you imagining things" asked Ron.

"I would have told you about it myself... I just didn't want to talk about it here," hesitated Harry.

"What's the matter?" asked Ron.

"I have been having nightmares..." replied Harry slowly. "I'm actually surprised I haven't woken up screaming recently," he added.

"Nightmares? What kind of nightmares?"

"Well... it's mostly random stuff... but it always ends with a woman screaming and like a flash of green light," replied Harry.

"Oh"

"Yeah" sighed Harry.

After a few seconds, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I have heard you talking at night. But it's mostly gibberish, so I didn't bother telling you," replied Ron.

"Oh, have I been talking while asleep?" asked Harry, surprised. Ron nodded in response.

"It started since you went to the chamber, didn't it?" asked Ron. Harry had not thought about it that way. Ron's tone of asking the question almost suggested a rhetorical nature.

"It can't be because of the chamber..." replied Harry hesitantly.

"How could it not? Ginny is... well... you know? Bed-ridden, you have been having nightmares, Professor Jane is in the wind and even they have been having a hard time from the papers," replied Ron. "The chamber was best left closed," he added sombrely.

"I just wish this would all end soon," said Harry, yawning.

"We all do, mate... Speaking of which, do you happen to know where John is? Haven't heard from him since the end of term," asked Ron.

"I don't where he lives. He has never told me," replied Harry.

"It seems, no one knows... I mean, even I gave an interview once for the Prophet... but there has been none from John," remarked Ron.

"Maybe nobody wants his interview," suggested Harry.

"They would kill for one if you ask me. The papers talk more about Professor Jane's disappearance than Ginny. If they could have gotten ahold of John, we would have had a hundred interviews by now," replied Ron.

"Well, in that case, it's good that no one knows where he is," replied Harry, yawning once more. And with that, the boys went to bed.

"Where are you going to take him?" asked Petunia.

"Nowhere... we are just going to go for a walk," replied Remus. And with that Remus and Harry left.

"We can go to the lake, it's nearby," said Harry once they had walked a few steps.

"Yeah, sure," replied Remus.

After a few minutes of a silent stroll, Remus began the conversation.

"Do you like Hogwarts?" he asked.

"Hogwarts? Yeah... I love it," replied Harry. "It was weird in the beginning... but soon, I made friends and I got used to the magic as well," he added.

"That's good to hear... It must have been difficult leaving your friends from your muggle school," said Remus.

"Lying about Hogwarts was the difficult part," replied Harry.

"Lily used to talk about that a lot too... It was of course even more difficult for her since her sister never got the letter," said Remus, reminiscing his youth.

"Could you tell me more about them?" asked Harry. He had been thinking about what he would ask Remus ever since the day before, and this was on top of the list.

"Your parents? Some of the best people I had the pleasure of knowing. Lily was the most extraordinarily gifted witch you could find. And she was equally caring. She was good to me, in my most difficult times. Something that I will always be grateful for. Your father on the other hand was just the best friend one could have. How do the muggles say it? He would have taken a bullet for me, and I would have for him," replied Remus and started walking again. He had stopped walking mid-reply

"Why did he kill them?" asked Harry, suddenly, after a minute.

"Your parents along with a few of us were the braver ones in the magical community to actually stand up to what Voldemort was up to," replied Remus, he wasn't sure if he should talk about the prophecy yet. Harry was after all not even 13 yet. "Do you miss them?" he asked instead.

"Sometimes... Sometimes I wish I had parents just like all my friends do. Aunt Petunia's great though. She is the best I could have ever wished for," replied Harry.

"I was worried initially when Dumbledore told us that he had decided to leave you with your mother's sister's family. They were all muggles and would never understand who you were and the threat Voldemort posed before that night. But that's the reason Dumbledore did it I suppose. You grew up without all that," said Remus.

"You knew Aunt Petunia too?" asked Harry.

"And her husband too... Met them a few times, at your parents' wedding, once before that and a couple of times after that. Vernon was a difficult man, hated the wizards... But the poor guy tragically died," replied Remus.

"Uncle Vernon hated wizards?" asked Harry, surprised.

"Yes, he did... so did Petunia for a while. Lily and her never really got along for a long time. That was partially the reason why I was worried about you," replied Remus.

"Oh! Aunt Petunia never talks about him though," replied Harry. By then, Harry and Remus had reached the lake and had found a nice shade to sit under.

After a few minutes, Harry asked, "what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Nothing important... I just wanted to meet James and Lily's son. I have already heard some stories, you know?" replied Remus smiling.

"Stories?" asked Harry, surprised.

"Your quidditch skills, breaking the rules, Chamber of Secrets to name some," replied Remus laughing. Of course, Harry just remembered how there was an entire page in the paper once about him, shortly after the events of the Chamber.

"Half of what was written was over-hyped and the other half was just pure lies," argued Harry.

"The Prophet does that to you, believe me, I know," said Remus. "And talking of the Prophet, there is indeed something that I wanted to talk to you about," he added.

Harry looked at him intrigued. "Harry, do you know who Sirius Black is?" asked Remus.

"Sirius Black? No, never heard of him," replied Harry.

"You haven't been reading the papers, have you?" remarked Remus.

"No, not recently. I stopped getting the Daily Prophet pretty soon," replied Harry.

"Well, as far as I know, he has been mentioned even the muggle papers," said Remus.

"He has? Who is he?" asked Harry.

"He... uh... he is a prisoner who escaped from Azkaban," replied Remus.

"Oh" gasped Harry.

"And I don't even know if anyone has ever escaped Azkaban. But that's not the reason I'm telling you this," said Remus. "Harry... everybody in the wizarding world is worried Sirius has escaped Azkaban. And that's because Sirius was one of the wizards in Voldemort's inner circle," he added cautiously.

"Sirius Black was working for Voldemort?" asked Harry, shocked.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that. There are lots of bad things he did before he was imprisoned. But now that he's back, you have to be careful," replied Remus.

"Why?"

"Well, Harry, it's possible he may come after you," replied Remus.

"You're really good at this," sighed Daisy after losing her 5th consecutive game of chess against Ron.

"Yeah, I have been playing for a long time now... You should really see wizard's chess. The pieces move on their own, all you have to do is to instruct them what to do," replied Ron.

"I don't get one thing though... if they destroy the captured piece, how do they come back?" asked Daisy.

"Magic," whispered Dudley.

"Dudley... obviously it's magic," retorted Daisy sharply.

"Dicey's angry," remarked Dudley and started giggling.

"Oh God... don't start calling me that again," pleaded Daisy.

"Dicey?" wondered Ron out loud.

"Yeah... very creative," replied Daisy and quickly followed it up with, "not... That was my nickname a couple of years back. I was going through an angry phase," she added.

And that instant, the doorbell rang.

"They're back," squealed Daisy and rushed down the stairs to open the door. Ron and Dudley followed, but much more calmly.

"You're back," exclaimed Daisy the moment she opened the door. Harry and Remus walked in.

"I should probably introduce my friends," said Harry and pointed at Daisy. "This is Daisy... my best friend since I was about 5," he said and Daisy waved at Remus. "And this is Dudley, my cousin," he added pointing at Dudley who was standing leaning against the stairs. "And finally," he said and pointed at Ron. "This is Ron, Ron Weasley... my best friend from Hogwarts," he finished.

"Ron Weasley," said Remus and held his hand out. "I'll be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," he added. Ron shook his hand and greeted him back. "Hello, Professor!"

"Where's your mother?" asked Remus looking at Dudley.

"She's at the bakery," replied Dudley.

"Oh, that's a shame. I was hoping to get a word in before I left. Nevertheless, nice meeting all of you," said Remus and was about to walk out of the house when he suddenly stopped. Harry who was walking just behind him almost bumped into him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Harry... I completely forgot. I was meaning to ask you if you had any idea where John lives? I need to see him too," asked Remus turning back.

"John?" retorted Harry. "No... no, I don't know where he lives," replied Harry.

"You want to see John, as in John Smith?" asked Daisy from the hall as she came walking towards them.

"Yeah," replied Remus.

"I know where he lives, or at least where he last lived," replied Daisy.

"You do?" asked Remus, surprised.

"You know where he lives?" asked Harry in a whisper.

"Of course, I do... I told you all about it last year too," replied Daisy. That was when Harry remembered the story Daisy had told him about how John had visited Jane for a month during their 1st year at Hogwarts.

"Oh yeah... Now I remember," remarked Harry.

"Could you take me there?" asked Remus. Daisy shot a look at Harry.

"I'll come with... I want to see him too," said Harry. Ron who had been listening closely to the conversation jumped in.

"I'll join you guys as well," said Ron.

"Where are you all going?" asked Dudley as he came walking towards the door.

"A friend of ours from Hogwarts," replied Harry.

"Is that the guy who hit me?" asked Dudley looking at Daisy. Harry and Ron looked at each other and then at Dudley and Daisy, bewildered. Daisy was looking like she wanted to run far away from that conversation.

"What guy hit you? What are you talking about?" asked Harry.

"There was this friend she had... He was actually Professor Jane's nephew or something. He picked a fight with me a year and a half back. But I haven't seen him since. I would love to give that guy a piece of my mind if I see him again," replied Dudley angrily.

"John picked a fight with you?" gasped Harry.

"Professor Jane?" gasped Ron.

"Harry... it was a stupid fight, forget it," interjected Daisy.

"He called me Dudley the Ugly," said Dudley.

"Okay... this isn't happening... Didn't you have somewhere important to be?" asked Daisy looking at Remus. Remus nodded in response.

"Let's go then, I'll show you where he lives," replied Daisy and with that, she bolted out of the house followed by Remus, Harry and Ron.

"How do you know John?" asked Ron looking at Daisy.

"He came here to visit his Aunt... His Aunt used to be our Math teacher at school," replied Daisy.

"Professor Jane used to teach Muggles?" whispered Ron to Harry.

"Seems like it," whispered Harry back.

"Harry... what are we going to do if we see Professor Jane there?" whispered Ron.

"You don't have to worry about me," chimed in Remus. Harry and Ron stopped whispering immediately and were now looking at Remus, wide-eyed.

"I know John... And I also know that it couldn't have been Jane, from what I have been told about her. I believe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and the Prophet is just using her to sell their papers," said Remus.

"How do you know John?" asked Harry.

"John was a... uh..." stumbled Remus. He wasn't sure if John had told them about his treatment. "I met John last year in Iceland... It's rare to meet someone who speaks really good English in there," he added with a chuckle.

"John was in Iceland when he was suspended?" asked Harry, shocked.

"Yeah... for 2-3 weeks, he was," replied Remus. "I'm actually grateful to him. He's the reason I got a job at Hogwarts," he added.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"From what I was told, John put in a good word for me with Dumbledore," replied Remus. The rest of the short walk from Harry's house to John's was completed in silence.

"We are almost there," said Daisy pointing at a house.

"Wow... he lives so close to my house," remarked Harry.

"I hope we find him here," said Daisy and walked up to the door and knocked. 5 seconds, 10 seconds, half a minute passed but no one opened the door. She rang the doorbell and knocked a couple of more times. But no one answered the door.

"Maybe he isn't home... He could be somewhere else, lying low," suggested Ron.

Daisy tried a few more times and after about 5 minutes, all 4 of them left the house and went back home. Remus left for his hotel midway leaving the 3 of them alone, going back home.

"Why would he want to lay low? And what did he mean when he said, Jane was in the wrong place at the wrong time?" asked Daisy the instant Remus left.

Harry and Ron looked at each other but remained silent.

"What is it HP? Ron? Why are you both silent?" kept pestering Daisy.

"Daisy... It's just stuff about the magical world. Nothing important" lied Harry unsuccessfully.

"You're just deflecting. Did something bad happen?" she asked. Upon getting no response in return, she knew something had happened. "What happened to John? Or what happened to Mrs Smith? Is she okay?" she continued pestering.

"Why won't you let it go?" snapped Harry loudly.

"Because you're lying," shouted back Daisy.

"Yeah, well, I am. Alright? I should have never told you about the magical world," retorted Harry and regretted it immediately.

"You and your magical world. With all the secrecy involved, I wonder how truly magical your world is..." snapped Daisy and walked away, presumably to her house.

"Where's she going?" asked Ron.

"She's just angry... We'll talk to her later," replied Harry.

A couple of days went by without much happening. Daisy had not visited them either. Ron's stay with Harry was also coming to an end. He had planned to leave the day after Harry's birthday. It was the morning of the day before Harry's birthday. And the morning also brought Harry his letter from Hogwarts.

"I got my Hogwarts letter," said Harry looking at Ron.

"Mine's probably sent home," replied Ron.

"Look," said Harry and gave the letter to Ron pointing at a particular paragraph.

Ron read the paragraph and said, "Permission form for going to Hogsmeade? Looks like the Ministry has gotten to Hogwarts as well. I don't remember Fred and George ever getting their's signed."

"At least they are letting us go to Hogsmeade. Imagine if they had prevented the students from going this year onwards," replied Harry.

"This is our first time, it should be fun. Hogsmeade is like the only all wizarding village," said Ron.

"Yeah, I hope so," sighed Harry.

"I wonder if Hogwarts will have increased security too," remarked Ron.

"Why?"

"This Sirius Black guy... I mean, I don't think anyone has ever escaped Azkaban. And he was working for You-Know-Who it seems. It was all over the papers when he escaped. And now that Professor Lupin told you that he may be after you, I wondered whether there will be increased security at Hogwarts," replied Ron.

"Well, he picked one hell of a time to escape Azkaban," sighed Harry.

"There are supposed to be Dementors at Azkaban. Dad's told us about them. He always comes home gloomy after a trip to Azkaban," said Ron.

"What's a Dementor?" asked Harry.

"Foul creatures... suck the happiness out of you. I have never seen one though," replied Ron.

Harry remained silent for a couple of minutes.

"What's up?" asked Ron.

"Nothing... I have just been wondering if I should go and apologise to Daisy. I did snap at her that day," replied Harry.

"She was extremely angry when she left," said Ron.

"I was going to tell her about You-Know-Who... I have been wanting to tell her for so long, but I'm afraid if someone finds out that she knows, they will wipe her memory," said Harry after a few seconds. "And she's very particular about it. She gets upset whenever I tell her about the risk of knowing stuff from our world," he added.

"To tell her or not to tell, is your choice, mate... But she already knows so much. I don't think it makes any difference anymore," assured Ron. And that was exactly what Harry wanted to hear.

Late that afternoon, Harry made his way to Daisy's house. Despite trying his best, he couldn't convince Ron to come with him.

"It's your story to tell... she's angry with you... It won't be right if I came in between that," convinced Ron. Though the real truth was, he had other plans.

It was Daisy's mother who opened the door.

"Harry... how are you dear?" she greeted.

"Good Afternoon Mrs Taylor... is Daisy home?" asked Harry.

"Yes, Daisy is home, come in," replied Olivia and in went Harry.

"Olivia, who is it?" came Daisy's voice from inside her room.

"It's Harry dear, should I send him up?" asked Olivia. It had always fascinated Harry how Daisy called her parents by their first name instead of Mum or Dad.

"Harry?" asked Daisy. "Yeah, okay," she added after a pause.

"You both got into a fight?" asked Olivia.

"Yeah, something like that," grinned Harry sheepishly.

"Whatever it is, she was really upset," she said.

"That's why I'm here," added Harry and gave a chuckle. And with that Harry excused himself from the conversation and went up to Daisy's room.

"Hi Harry," greeted Daisy the moment Harry walked in.

"Hey," he greeted back. There were piles of books scattered all over the bed.

"Give me a minute... let me get rid of these," said Daisy and got up to keep some of the books back on their shelves while she kept the others neatly stacked on her table.

"Have you been reading all of these?" asked Harry.

"Yeah... I just began reading these," she replied pointing at the 7-8 books stacked on the table. "And the ones I kept on the shelf were the ones that I just finished," she added.

"Wow" gasped Harry. "What are they about?" he asked.

"They are all fictions... My parents have this big library of books. And I thought why not start reading some of them," she replied.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Harry went with it.

"I'm sorry," said Harry. But he wasn't alone since Daisy had picked the exact same moment to say the exact same words, "I'm sorry"

And that was all it took as they both started laughing at the coincidence.

"I'm sorry, Harry... I got carried away the other day. I hate it when you don't tell me what happens in your life. But I understand that there are some things that you can't tell me. I hate those rules, but I have to live with them, I suppose," said Daisy.

"I should have never snapped at you. The truth is, there are so many things that I haven't told you. And every time I think about telling you, I remember the risk of getting caught. And then I decide not to tell you," replied Harry.

"What things haven't you told me?" asked Daisy.

"I don't even know where to begin," replied Harry with a chuckle. "I got a letter today from Hogwarts," he added after a pause.

"You got a letter too?" asked Daisy, excitedly.

"Yeah, I did... wait... what do you mean?" retorted Harry.

"Oh"

"Who else got a letter?"

"I may or may not have gone back to John's house," replied Daisy, smiling nervously.

"When?" asked Harry, surprised.

"Today" replied Daisy. But before Harry could respond, she continued, "And yesterday," she added. Harry looked at her shocked. "And the day before," she finished.

"Why did you go back? We saw that he wasn't home that day, didn't we?" asked Harry, bemused.

"I thought, what if he had gone out? Or something... But, unfortunately, it seems, he doesn't live there anymore. I haven't seen him once," replied Daisy.

"You are crazy," remarked Harry with a grin.

"Yeah, well, that's how I know he got a letter too. I went there today, in the morning. And there was this envelope outside his house. I picked it up and saw that it had Hogwarts written on it. I didn't open it though. What did the letter say?"

"Just general stuff about books for the upcoming year, basic instructions and so on," replied Harry.

"That makes sense, I suppose," replied Daisy.

"Daisy... Before I tell you what I am about to tell you, I want you to promise me something," said Harry, collecting himself.

"What?" asked Daisy with a straight face.

"That you won't treat me differently after hearing it, that we will be the same as before, that I will remain the same Harry you've always known," said Harry intensely and with the most serious face.

"HP... you're making me nervous now. Why all this formality. It's just me, the Daisy you've always known," replied Daisy, smiling nervously.

"I hope this statement stays the same 10 minutes later," sighed Harry.

"What is this secret that you've been hiding. What could you possibly hide from me, now that I know that magic is real?" she asked.

"A long time ago, years before we were born, there was a dark wizard called Vol... Tom Riddle. He killed many people, wizards and muggles alike," began Harry and immediately got Daisy intrigued.

"Everybody was afraid of him. They even feared uttering his name. There were some wizards of course, who fought him bravely. Some died fighting their battles and some are alive now, to tell the story," he continued.

"And then, one night, when he tried to kill a family, something happened. The father and mother died, but their child survived. The child not just survived, but something happened that night that Tom Riddle couldn't explain. His spell backfired and instead of killing the child, it destroyed him," he finished. And there was silence for a few seconds.

"Wait... that's all?" asked Daisy, exiting the trance Harry had her in. "What happened to Tom Riddle? Who was this child?" she asked.

"I am... I am the Boy-Who-Lived... This scar," replied Harry and pointed at it. "This is the most famous scar in all of the wizarding world. Tom Riddle's spell backfired and instead of killing me, it destroyed him leaving this scar on me. People rejoiced his death and celebrated me as a hero, and gave me the title, the boy-who-lived," he added. As Harry uttered the words, the expression on Daisy's face went through multiple changes. Fear, joy, relief and sorrow all at once.

"I don't under...stand... You said your parents died in an accident," stuttered Daisy in disbelief.

"That's what I thought too... But when I got my letter on my 11th birthday, I found out the truth. That my parents died fighting, and I somehow survived something that nobody could," he replied.

"Oh my god, HP... I don't know what to say," said Daisy and pulled Harry into a hug. There were even a few tears trickling down her cheeks. "At least that wizard is now dead," she added.

"Daisy... Tom Riddle is not dead," corrected Harry. Daisy released the hug and looked at Harry.

"He is not?" she asked.

"Everybody who thought... who thinks he's dead are wrong. He's weak but alive. And there will come a time when he will be back. In fact, he tried to kill me a year back. I somehow survived, yet again thanks to a lot of people. And he's the reason behind the attack on Ron's sister too," replied Harry.

"What?" gasped Daisy. "A year back you were almost killed? Are you joking?"

"No, unfortunately, I am not," replied Harry.

"How are you so calm about all of this? I would be freaking out if it was me in your shoes... Forget that, I'm freaking out now,"

"You don't know how I was when I find out. Every place I went, there was somebody, some wizard, old, young, shopkeeper, you name it... every place I went there was somebody who recognized me from my scar. The moment I entered a place, there used to be dead silence. People come up to me and congratulate me, thank me, for something that I didn't even do. It was mental," replied Harry. "I mean, even Ron was shocked to see me for the first time. We talked a lot about the scar, You-Know-Who on our train journey," he added.

"I can't believe this... any of this... this has to be a prank," said Daisy hastily.

"I wish it was," replied Harry. There was silence in the room for a good 10 minutes. Neither of them uttered a word. Daisy spent most of it rewinding their conversation in her head. While Harry sat beside Daisy, his head rested on the headrest.

"Okay, tell me something. What about John? What was it that you were hiding about him the other day?" she asked finally breaking the silence.

"John... well, the thing is, Professor Jane, was our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Ron's sister wasn't the only one attacked this year in our school. There were a couple of other kids as well. But at the end, when the Aurors arrived, for some inexplicable reason, Professor Jane confessed to attacking the kids. She was arrested and the very day, she escaped and is on the run now," replied Harry.

"Aurors?" asked Daisy.

"They are like Wizard Police," replied Harry.

"There is no way Mrs Smith attacked the kids. She is the best teacher I have ever had. And she was always good to me. She even protected me once from some wizards last year. She couldn't have done it," argued Daisy.

"We know Professor Jane didn't do it. But the world believes the opposite," replied Harry.

"What about John?"

"Well... even he knows that she didn't do it. But he couldn't believe what Professor Jane had done. They were close, but even he didn't anticipate she'd do something like that. I mean, why she confessed to a crime she didn't commit, only God knows," sighed Harry.

"Oh god... They had a special bond, those two. They were much closer than just Aunt and Nephew. It was only for a 3-4 week period I saw, but I know what I saw. This would have broken him," sighed Daisy, feeling sorry for John. Harry chose not to reveal John's secret. That was not his story to tell. There was another period of silence that followed. And it was Daisy again that broke the silence.

"I still don't get why he wants to kill you," she said.

"Because I am the reason he became weak. Something unexplainable happened that night. Something that I had nothing to do with, yet something that I am celebrated for," replied Harry.

And there was a man, a boy now who was there that night, who had answers to their questions, who was close to where Harry and Daisy lived, yet he was too far away.

Daisy spent the rest of the afternoon and the evening thinking about what all Harry had told her. She played every little part multiple times in her head. And it was all way too much to take. She decided to get some fresh air and took her bicycle and went out of the house. She decided to take the usual route, from her house through Harry's to the lake and then back through Harry's till John's house, and then back home. The ride was fun as usual, cool breeze blowing, it was a great day to be outside. She even found an interesting dog standing outside Harry's house on her way to the lake. She was surprised to see the dog having not moved an inch on her way back from the lake. For a moment, she even wondered if it was the same that they played with a few days back after their swim. She cycled away peacefully, now much calmer than she was earlier that afternoon towards John's house. A cursory glance at his house and she knew that it was still the same, closed and unoccupied. But she suddenly stopped peddling and abruptly stopped the cycle. She rolled back a few feet to get a clear view and realised that the letter she saw earlier that morning was now missing. She got down the cycle and slowly walked towards the entrance and then through the gates to the front door. The letter was definitely gone.

She knocked on the door hopefully but there was no response. She looked around again. Maybe the letter flew away due to the strong breeze, but she couldn't see the letter anywhere. She rang the bell and knocked again and yet there was no response.

"John... are you home? Open the door," she called out.

"It's me, Daisy... remember me?" she asked and knocked again.

Something in her told her that John was home. Maybe it was what Harry had told her earlier.

"I'm alone," she said. "Just wanted to see you and make sure you were doing okay," she added. But there was no response.

"I'm actually going crazy," she told herself and turned around and that's when she heard it. The sound of the lock releasing. She turned back instantly and saw that the door was slightly ajar. But John was nowhere in sight. She pushed open the door and walked in slowly.

There was an odd smell in the house. Much similar to how small enclosed rooms without ventilation smelled like. All sorts of things were shattered and their broken pieces scattered all over the floor. The house itself was almost dark with barely any light. Daisy navigated all the mess carefully and slowly and wandered in.

"John?" she called out softly. Fortunately for her, she had spent a good amount of time in that house during her extra classes with Mrs Smith. She could see that there was no one in the kitchen.

She remembered the last time she had seen John in the house, to know which one was his room. She cautiously walked towards it. Just outside the room was a table. There was the Hogwarts envelope on the table and a torn piece of note beside it. The other part of the note was on the floor right beneath. And besides, it was a crumpled piece of paper. She picked up the paper and smoothed it out to read what was written on it.

Cjkz yjdib rzgg. Njmmt vwjpo rcvo cvkkzizy. Dhkpgndqz yzxdndji. Pnz hzhjmt rzgg. Orj ja ocznz rdgg xmzvoz diadidot.

Rdocjpo Rvs – 19919

She couldn't make head or tail of what was written on it. It was the most absurd collection of random gibberish she had ever laid eyes on. She crumpled it back and kept it inside her pocket and walked ahead.

She had just spotted a silhouette at the corner of the room when she heard a coarse quavering voice that was barely audible.

"In here," said John.

Daisy walked in and the closer she got, the clearer the silhouette became. A few steps later she was close enough to realise that there was a young boy sitting in the corner of the room. Instantly she recognized him as John.

"John... John, are you okay?" she asked hastily and dashed towards him and knelt in front of him. From up close, he looked extremely weak. His eyes were puffed and red, a little moist even. There were dark patches under his eyes. His lips looked dry and chaffed. His hair was messy and dirty and his overall appearance was forgettable. And there was his wand lying beside him.

"What are you doing here?" asked John but words didn't come out of his mouth, only air did.

"What happened to you? Why is the house in a mess?" she asked.

"I couldn't save her. I wasn't there when she needed me," mumbled John but Daisy barely understood anything he said.

"Here, let me help you get up," she said and tried her best to help him get to his feet. At first, she failed miserably in helping him up as there was absolutely no effort from his side. But a few moments later, he tried to get up. But the moment he got up slightly, he fell back down with a thud.

"Oh my god, John are you okay? I'm so sorry," exclaimed Daisy.

"I'm okay... I'm okay," said John and tried getting up again. This time, he was successful but was barely able to maintain his stability. Daisy somehow managed to get him to walk up to the bed and the moment he got there, he sat down.

"Let me get you some water," she said and went and came back a few seconds later with a glass of water.

John drank most of it in one gulp and also managed to cough it all out.

"Careful," she said and sat down beside him.

"What happened?" she asked again.

"I knew it would happen and still couldn't stop it. He got the better of me again. I couldn't save her. She needed me and I wasn't there for her. She was there for me when I needed her, but the one time she needed me, I wasn't there for her," mumbled John in response.

Half of it, Daisy couldn't hear properly. The other half, she didn't understand one bit. "I should have been there... She wouldn't be on the run... If I hadn't asked her to come, she wouldn't be here... I should have never let her stay... This is all my fault," he continued.

"John... it's me Daisy... do you recognize me?" she asked.

And the next instant, John burst out crying and hugged Daisy tightly. He kept mumbling the words again and again.

"John?" exclaimed Daisy the moment he hugged her.

"It's okay... Mrs Smith will be fine... she is a really great witch. People will soon realise that she didn't attack those kids," consoled Daisy but to no effect.

A minute or so later, she continued, "Hey... it's okay... she will be fine. Caaalmmm dowwwnnn... Relax... everything will be fine."

And just like that, John released the hug and stopped crying. He looked up at Daisy and instantly backed a foot away.

"Daisy? What... what are you doing here?" he asked.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing? What happened to you? I never thought I'll ever see you in such a state. Are you okay?" retorted Daisy.

"I am... I am... I am okay... I don't know whatever... what came over me," he mumbled in response, still extremely weak.

"Harry told me what happened to Mrs Smith..." said Daisy.

"He did?" asked John, a slight surprise in his voice.

"Yeah, he also told me a lot of other things... but before all that, I need to know when was the last time you ate? And what are you doing in this house all alone? Don't you have somewhere else where you could go?" she asked.

John remained silent at that question.

"Well, I'm taking you back to my home. Olivia and Jacob... I mean, Mum and Dad would love to have you over for dinner," she said.

"No... you shouldn't... I'm fine here," replied John faintly.

"What? I didn't hear that... oh wait, you're too weak to say anything. I wonder why... You're not saying another word... Go, clean yourself up... we are leaving for my house, no excuses," said Daisy authoritatively. She had no idea where she produced that from but it made its required impact.

John was left with no choice but to get up. It took him about half an hour, but when he came back, he at least partially resembled himself.

"You look much better," she said.

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to come to your house, let alone have food," said John, sounding much better than he did.

"I said no excuses," she reiterated.

Though there was an external resistance, internally, John appreciated what Daisy was doing for him.

"Okay, let's go," replied John and with that, the pair left John's house.

"I don't think I can cycle with you in the back... are you sure you can walk that far?" she asked the moment they got out of the house.

"I can create a bicycle," replied John.

"What do you mean?" asked Daisy, surprised. There was a subtle excitement on her face. If what she thought she heard was what John meant, then it was going to be fantastic.

"Here... look," he said and waved his wand at a small rock. Nothing happened though. Daisy looked at the rock keenly and then back at John. John tried again and this time, the rock magically transformed into a small bicycle.

"Oh... my... god... you can do that?" she exclaimed in amazement and walked around the cycle. "This is a real bicycle... I mean it has wheels and everything," she added excitedly.

"This is an actual bicycle, Daisy... not a fake," grinned John.

"This week keeps surprising me," said Daisy. "Let's go," she added.

So, an apprehensive John cycled beside Daisy from his house to Daisy's. It took only a few minutes for them to reach. The moment they reached and got off their cycles, Daisy stopped John.

"Wait..." she said.

"What?" asked John.

"If they ask you questions about who you are, what you are doing and so on, tell them that you are new here and that you are here on vacation," she said.

"Why would I do that?" asked John, surprised.

"You can't possibly tell them that you are a wizard, can you?" retorted Daisy.

"Okay... I'm new here on vacation. Where am I living? Who am I here on vacation with? Where do I actually live? Where do I go to school?" barraged John with questions that Daisy hadn't thought of an answer for.

"They won't ask these questions," retorted Daisy.

"They might if you give them an opportunity to. Relax... I'll handle the questions," said John. Daisy looked completely unconvinced by John's assurance, but she decided to go with it.

Daisy knocked on the door and John stood just behind her. A few seconds later, Daisy's father opened the door.

"Hey... baby girl, you've been gone..." began Jacob but paused the moment he saw John.

"Hello Sir, I'm John Smith," he said and held out his hand.

"Hi John, I'm Jacob, Daisy's father... welcome to our house... and please, don't call me sir, Jacob's fine," greeted Jacob and gestured for them to enter the house. "Olivia... Daisy's home and she has brought a friend," he said.

"I'll be back in a moment," whispered Daisy and went away presumably to talk to her mother, leaving John alone with her dad.

"Have a seat," said Jacob and John sat down awkwardly. A minute's silence later Daisy came back and sat down beside John and behind her came walking Olivia, Daisy's mother.

"Hi," said John standing up and smiling a little.

"Hi, John... I'm Olivia, how are you dear?" she asked smiling.

"I'm good, thank you," replied John sitting back down.

"John, let's go upstairs," said Daisy and got up and briskly walked up the stairs to her room. John smiled weakly at her parents and followed suit. Once they were in her room, he spoke up.

"See? That was easy, wasn't it?" he chuckled.

"It's not over yet... How are you so... I don't know, calm?" asked Daisy, panicking slightly.

"Well... I'm used to lying," grinned John.

"Don't I know about that?" scowled Daisy.

"Calm down... and why to bring me here if you were so afraid of even the most basic questions?" asked John with a chuckle.

"I didn't think about them at the time," retorted Daisy. "By the way, food will be ready in 5-10 minutes... we just need to get through that..." she added.

"Gosh, you're really panicking, aren't you? Your parents seem cool though," said John.

"This is the first time I'm bringing a stranger home... They both know Harry and Dudley. We have all known each other for years now," replied Daisy fidgeting.

"Stranger?"

"You know what I mean"

And just that moment, Olivia came upstairs and knocked on the open door.

"Kids... food is ready," she said and went back downstairs.

Daisy took a deep breath in and walked out of the room. John however was much more relaxed. All 4 of them took their seats around the dining table and the first few minutes went in serving the food. And then Jacob spoke and broke the ice immediately.

"2 boys in 1 day... I am impressed," said Jacob.

"Jacob?" exclaimed Daisy and Olivia at the same time. Olivia's tone was one of stunned shock while Daisy's was more angry and embarrassed.

"2?" questioned John and looked at Daisy bemused with a sneaky smile.

"Why would you say such a thing?" asked Daisy angrily.

"That was a joke," smiled Jacob slyly and John grinned along with him. "See? Even he's laughing," he added pointing at John.

"Don't laugh," glared Daisy looking at John but he couldn't control his smile. In fact, it only made him giggle a little more.

"You've got competition, Son," said Jacob looking at John.

"I can't believe this... who was it, Daisy?" asked John over-dramatically and that brought a smile even on Olivia's face.

"It was Harry," replied Daisy looking at John, her face was red with embarrassment and anger. Without taking a pause, she continued, "It's not like that... he's not... we're not," she stuttered. "And neither is Harry..." she added looking at her father and mother.

"Does he know that?" asked Jacob and Daisy went redder if that was even possible.

"Jacob, stop it now... You've pulled her leg enough," said Olivia. "So, where did you 2 meet?" she asked looking at John.

"We met at her extra class a year and a half ago... I'm Jane's nephew," replied John calmly.

"Mrs Smith's nephew?" exclaimed Olivia, surprised. John nodded with a smile.

"Isn't she out of town? Daisy, weren't you telling me that she left the school last year?" asked Jacob.

"Yeah, I did," replied Daisy unconvincingly. John took the hint and took over, "Yeah... she doesn't live here anymore. She only shifted a few days back. Last year she took a job elsewhere," replied John.

"Oh, okay," acknowledge Jacob. "So, how are your studies?" he asked a minute or so later.

"He studies in the same school as Harry," replied Daisy. John gave her a look and added, "We are in the same class."

"Oh, what a coincidence... Harry only transferred there last year, right? Or was it the year before?" replied Jacob.

"Yeah... a couple of years back," replied John.

"How's the school? How are your studies going?" asked Olivia humping into the conversation.

"It's wonderful... magical even," replied John. The very next instant, Daisy choked on her food and coughed a couple of times.

"Daisy... how many times have I told you not to gulp your food? Eat slowly," said Olivia.

The rest of the dinner went normally. Once Daisy and John were back upstairs, Daisy heaved a sigh of relief.

"I told you," said John.

"Jacob's always teasing me for one thing or another... I'm sorry if he offended you in some way," said Daisy.

"What? No, absolutely not... Your parents are so cool... I love them," replied John.

"I'm glad you like them," replied Daisy.

After a few minutes, Daisy said, "You're really good at lying... you were answering them so calmly."

"The more you do it, the better you get at it... The trick of a good lie is the truth in it. And to never answer more than what's asked. And never ever say something that would lead to more questions," remarked John.

"Gladly noted," replied Daisy and sat down on the bed.

"So... Harry told you," sighed John and sat down beside her on a chair.

"He did..." replied Daisy.

"What all did he tell you?" asked John.

"About Tom Riddle, or as people call him... You-Know-Who... What happened to his parents, Ginny, your Aunt," listed down Daisy.

"So, everything basically," sighed John.

"Don't worry about Mrs Smith... she's a really great wizard... I don't know why she did what she did. But I know that she did what she thought was right. And she's really powerful. Did she tell you that time when there were these wizards that attacked her? I was there too... I fell unconscious almost immediately, but I saw her fight them. It was just... brilliant," said Daisy dreamily.

"I'm not worried about Jane... and as for that time when those death eaters attacked you... She didn't have to tell me about it. I was there that night," replied John.

"What? No, you weren't," replied Daisy, confused.

"I was... you were already unconscious by the time I got there," replied John.

"But you weren't there in the morning," wondered Daisy out loud.

"That's because I left before you woke up," sighed John.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a wizard?" asked Daisy.

"You never asked me if I was one," replied John calmly.

"Wait... everything you told me back then was a lie?" she asked, slightly hurt at the realization.

"No... I don't think I lied to you," replied John.

"You literally said you were homeschooled," retorted Daisy.

"I was homeschooled... that is not a lie," replied John.

"Whatever," scowled Daisy.

"And what about you? You basically told me that magic was real. You told your best friend's secret to a stranger you had met just a couple of weeks earlier," retorted John.

"But I never told you explicitly," said Daisy.

"What you did was more than enough to raise suspicions. And guess what? Harry and I were both questioned about a breach in the International Statute of Secrecy. And guess whose name came up during the interrogation?"

"I told this to Harry and I swear to you too... I never told anyone about magic or Harry or you," pleaded Daisy.

"I don't blame you, to be honest. It is a difficult thing to find out. But even the slightest hint is enough for a ministry official. In fact, wizards and witches can read your mind, did you know that?" asked John.

"What? Really?" asked Daisy in return, excitedly.

"Yes... it's difficult, but it's not an uncommon art," replied John.

"That is so cool... can you read my mind? Wait... have you ever read my mind and what I was thinking?" asked Daisy.

"No" replied John.

"You're lying... yes you have," teased Daisy.

"No, I have never..." replied John genuinely.

"Okay... I believe you," said Daisy.

"What have you been up to during the holidays?" asked John.

"Just general stuff... did you know Ron's here?" replied Daisy.

"Ron? Ron Weasley? He's here?" asked John, shocked.

"Yeah... he came over a couple of weeks back to stay with Harry. He's actually a lot of fun. The weird things he says about wizards... his reaction to normal human things like escalators, television... it's been an awesome time with him," replied Daisy.

"Wow" sighed John with a bright smile.

"Actually, someone else came too. Harry's parents' friend from their time at school. I... uh forget his name... it was something like," said Daisy and paused a moment to try to remember Remus' name.

"Remus Lupin?" asked John.

"Yeah... that's the one," replied Daisy.

"Remus visited Harry? That's nice," replied John.

"He wanted to see you too... but you never opened the door," said Daisy.

"It's okay... I'll see him in a few weeks at Hogwarts," replied John.

That's when Daisy remembered something and she checked her pocket.

"What is this?" she asked handing John the crumpled note she found in his house.

"Where did you get this?" asked John, shocked and re-read the note again.

"Found on the floor, like this in your house," replied Daisy and John heaved a sigh of relief. "What is it?" she asked again.

"It's a coded message," replied John.

"Coded? From whom?" she asked.

"Jane," replied John.

"It is? What does it say?" she asked.

"Let me think..." replied John and a few seconds later, he read out slowly,

Hope doing well. Sorry about what happened. Impulsive decision. Use memory well. Two of these will create infinity.

Without Wax – 19919

"Wait... come again," asked Daisy. John read out the note couple more times.

"How do you it's from Mrs Smith?" asked Daisy.

"19919... you can think of it as our identification... Jane's 19919 and mine's 21815," replied John.

"But how did you know what the note said? All I can see is random gibberish," asked Daisy.

"Well... to break a code like this, you need to know the key," replied John.

"What's the key?" asked Daisy.

"21," replied John. "It's our... I mean my birth date, 21st January," he added quickly correcting himself.

"Okay... how did you use the 21 to get from what's written to what you read out?" she asked curiously.

"A equals 1, B equals 2 and so on till Z equals 26, and the cycle continues. Now add 21 to every letter of your message. Et voilà," explained John taking a sheet of paper.

"Wow... That is super complicated," sighed Daisy.

"Actually, for muggles, this is barely anything... it is one of the easiest ones. But fortunately, wizards are stupid... curse of the magic I suppose," replied John.

"And what do the numbers mean... 19919 and what was yours 21?"

"21851... and I can't tell you that," replied John.

"Why?" asked Daisy.

"Would you rather I lie or not reply at all?" asked John.

"There isn't a 3rd option for telling the truth?"

"No" replied John and got a glare in return. But Daisy knew there was nothing she could do to get the truth out from him.

"Okay, but tell me something... why was this crumpled and on the floor? Isn't this important? And what was it that you read out towards the end? Something about infinity?"

"It's nothing... We happen to have an enchanted set of 2-way mirrors through which we can talk to each other," replied John. "The last part reads and I quote, two of these will create infinity. It's something we discovered when we were kids. If you place 2 mirrors in front of each other, there will be an infinite number of reflections," he continued. "So, basically she wants me to talk to her through the mirror," he finished.

Daisy was looking at him in awe. "It just keeps getting better and better. So cool," she replied. "So, did you talk to her?" she asked.

"No, I didn't," replied John.

"Why not?" asked Daisy surprised.

"Actually, I haven't spoken to her ever since she pulled that stupid stunt. That's the reason she sent the note. It took her a good few weeks to realize the need to apologize. Anyway, I'm not in the mood to talk. So, I haven't," replied John coldly. There was a tinge of utter disgust and anger in his tone.

"John... you don't mean that, do you? Or need I remind you of the state I found you in? Talk to her... Don't you want to know where she is? How she is doing?" asked Daisy but before she could finish, John interrupted.

"She's likely doing well," he interrupted.

"But you don't know that for sure," she reiterated. John remained silent.

"Why were you living here alone? Why not go back to your father's place?" she asked out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?" asked John. The one problem with lying regularly is that you tend to forget your lies.

"When we first met, you told me that you were with your father and had come here for vacation. So, why not go back and stay with him instead of living alone?" she asked.

"Oh... that... uh, yeah... I... how do I say this?" stuttered John. "Uh... Jane is all I have got," he replied with a grin.

"What do you mean? What about your parents?" asked Daisy innocently. John remained silent for a minute but from his face, it become horribly obvious to Daisy.

"Oh my god... No... are you serious?" she asked. John remained silent still. "How did it happen?"

"It's been a few years since it happened," replied John. "Dad went..." he began but stopped himself almost immediately. "You know what? Let's not talk about it now..." he added.

And Daisy understood not to prod any further. But she had found something else to press on.

"All the more reason for you to talk to your Aunt... Or think about this. How would she feel if you don't talk to her, even when she's ready to admit her mistake? Do you really want to do that to her?" she asked. John remained silent again.

After a few minutes, John decided it was time to leave.

"I think I have overstayed my invite... And it's late now anyway. I should go back home," said John.

"Good Night... and reach safely," replied Daisy and gave him a hug which John returned happily.

"I'll think about what you said," said John. "And thank you so very much for what you did today... I didn't realize how badly I needed it," he added with a gentle smile.

"You did the same for me," replied Daisy returning the smile. She accompanied him till he walked out the gate. Just when he was about to leave, she stopped him one final time.

"Listen..."

"Yeah, tell me"

"It's Harry's birthday tomorrow... I'll expect you to come. He will like it too, I know," she said.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not going to be there tomorrow... And I request you not to tell them about the state you found me in or even the fact that you saw me," replied John and without waiting for a response from Daisy, he left.

"Why are you like this?" she whispered and went back in.

Chapter Text

"It's alright, Crookshanks, I'll let you out on the train," cooed Hermione as she walked through the crowd.

"No you won't... what about poor Scabbers?" retorted Ron trailing ever so slightly behind Hermione.

"Don't listen to Ron," she whispered to her new pet.

Hermione and Ron got onto the train just behind Harry, Fred and George.

"I hope we get a place for ourselves. I have so much to tell you," said Harry as he walked through everyone in the crowded train. And just then, Harry found one with a single occupant.

"John... Hi," said Harry as he sat down opposite him.

"Hey... it's so good to see you," greeted Hermione as she gave him a quick hug and sat beside Harry.

"Hey, guys... I had been saving the seats hoping you'd get on the same one as I did," said John with a weak smile.

"So, how were your holidays?" asked Hermione but corrected herself immediately. "Sorry, bad question. I meant, how have you been?"

"I have been... good," replied John slowly.

"Any troubles at the station?" asked Ron.

"Nothing I couldn't handle, just what I had expected. What about you all?" replied John.

"Couple of Hufflepuffs inquired about Ginny, that's all," replied Ron.

"Daisy wanted me to give you this," said Harry and handed John a piece of paper.

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know... it's gibberish," replied Harry.

Dco apw sgbf ujjv? Tvjnm pp kegb yicu vig owndftt csg

John chuckled and replied, "She's learning!"

The conversation quickly shifted to Harry and Ron telling Hermione about Ron's time in the muggle world and in return Hermione told them all about her visit to her cousins. Ron didn't have much to update on Ginny's condition. Harry then told Hermione about Remus Lupin's visit, everything he had told Harry about his parents and then, of course, Sirius Black.

"Sirius Black escaped to come after you? Oh, Harry, you must be really careful," said Hermione the moment Harry finished his narration.

"Careful? What exactly do you think I should be doing?" retorted Harry.

"Not go looking for trouble," replied Hermione.

"I don't go looking for trouble... why would I do that?" retorted Harry.

"Besides, Sirius is not a threat," chimed in John which made the other 3 stare at him shell shocked.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"Sirius is not a threat... He is innocent," replied John nonchalantly.

"Have you gone mad? He killed all those muggles... He went absolutely crazy after You-Know-Who disappeared," argued Ron in response.

"There is no way he did those things..." replied John.

"He was in Azkaban for over a decade... how can you say that he was innocent?" asked Hermione, perplexed.

"He was in Azkaban for over a decade... how can you say he is guilty? By reading the papers? The same ones that are accusing my sister of opening the chamber and hurting the kids?" retorted John louder than he meant to.

His tone took the trio a bit aback, most of all, Ron. Ron had learnt the truth about John from Harry the day before he left 4, Privet Drive. And ever since then, Ron had recollected various moments that he otherwise neglected, which now perfectly explained everyone's behaviour. But hearing was one thing, seeing John in the flesh knowing what he knew about him was another.

A few seconds passed and John quickly realised what he had done and apologised for the same. "Sorry, didn't mean to be so rude. My point is... don't blindly believe everything you hear or read," said John softly.

That had silenced the group for a few minutes.

"How is your sister?" asked Hermione.

"She is doing well... Being on the run hasn't taken a toll on her..." replied John and added, "yet" with a blank expression.

"Why did she do it?" asked Ron.

"She's too intelligent for her own good. She had this big theory on how Lucius Malfoy had planned everything out, half of which, I don't believe. Regardless, she confessed to a crime she didn't commit and is now paying for it," replied John sombrely.

"She sacrificed for us... why would she do that? You know, back home, at the Burrow, every day, I heard either Mum or Dad, or even Fred and George cursing Professor Jane, saying things about her and what not... And there I was, listening to all of it but couldn't say a word in return," said Ron. "And ever since Harry told me about you, I have been wondering if I should tell everyone in my house the same. At least then, they would..." but before Ron could finish, John interrupted him.

"Don't! Please don't tell this to anyone. There are only a handful of people in the world who know about this," replied John.

"You know the whole world is against you right now, right?" asked Ron rhetorically.

"And nothing good will happen even if you tell this to everyone. It will only raise new questions, suspicions and have catastrophic consequences. Everybody who needs to know is right here, right now," replied John. Of course, at that moment, he didn't know how wrong he was.

The conversation between the group then drifted between various topics like quidditch, Hogsmeade visit amongst other things. And that's when Harry remembered something.

"Oh my God!" gasped Harry and started digging into his trunk and pulled out a beautiful white envelope.

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

Harry however handed the envelope to Ron. "You're not going to believe this," he said.

"What is this?" asked Ron as he took the envelope from Harry.

Ron opened the envelope and began reading the letter from Draco Malfoy.

Potter

I apologize for what happened to Ginny. I didn't want to believe it for a long time, but I was just fooling myself. It was my dad that gave "The Diary" to Ginny at the start of last year. Please pass on my apologies to Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. I am not writing to them directly. I am not sure how well my apologies will be received, especially at a time like this.

Sincerely
Draco Malfoy

"It was his father? When did that arrogant git give the diary to Ginny?" asked Ron, infuriated.

"No idea mate," replied Harry.

"And why is Malfoy writing to you, anyway? Who's he kidding with this pathetic excuse for an apology?" retorted Ron angrily and threw away the note which later Hermione picked up.

"It doesn't matter whether he means it or not," replied Harry.

"It was all part of Lucius Malfoy's master plan, or at least that's what Jane said. First of all, Albus Dumbledore was driven out, and then came Emily Davies, who was appointed by Lucius himself. And then he tipped the media about Ginny being trapped in the Chamber. She thinks, it was all to get back at your father and position himself as the top guy, so to speak," replied John recollecting everything Jane had told him. Whatever she had told him began to make sense after seeing Draco's letter.

"Draco wrote this?" exclaimed Hermione holding the letter in her hand, a hint of surprise in her tone.

Harry shrugged in response.

"He is apologising? That's new," she added.

"It's a trick," snapped Ron. "I'm sure his father put him up to this," he added angrily.

"Possible," sighed John.

But before Ron could go off, his attention was caught by the train slowing down.

"If Malfoy has even one crack at me or my family this year, I will..." but Ron paused for a moment. "Are we there already?" he asked and looked out the window. Rain was pelting down, and it was dark and cloudy outside.

"We can't be there yet," replied Hermione.

"Why are we stopping?" exclaimed John.

And within a few seconds, the lamps went out and they were stuck in the middle of nowhere in complete darkness.

Hermione and John, who were sitting the closest to the corridor, took a peek and realised that there was commotion all over.

"Do you think we have broken down?" wondered Harry aloud.

"Dunno..." replied Ron and wiped the window clean to get a better look outside. "Look," he said pointing at something. "There's something moving out there," he added.

Harry, sitting opposite Ron also had better access to viewing the outside world. But he couldn't get a look at what Ron was pointing at.

"I missed it," sighed Harry. "Are you sure you weren't imagining it?"

"Lumos Maxima" muttered John and the 4 of them could finally see each other's faces properly. "Am I the only one feeling chilly?" he asked.

"No," whispered Hermione, her teeth chattering a little.

A moment later, they all heard a sound and they swiftly turned their necks towards the door to their compartment. The next instant, the door slid open slowly.

Harry experienced the next few seconds in slow motion. The sound of the opening door brought with it a dark creature, cloaked and taller than any human. Harry's eyes darted downward and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak. It looked greyish, slimy almost like a corpse decayed in water for a long time. The next instant, the cloaked figure seemed to open its disgusting looking mouth and draw in a long, slow rattling breath that brought an instant chill to Harry. It was a weird feeling, he felt as though the creature was sucking something from within him. And slowly, Harry started to lose his sense of the world around him.

The light from John's wand died out the moment he saw the Dementor.

"Expecto Patronum" cried out John and pointed his wand confidently at the Dementor. But nothing happened. John felt immediate shortness of breath, an instant chill developed throughout his body, yet there were traces of perspiration on his forehead. John closed his eyes and half a second later tried again.

"Expecto..." but before he could finish his incantation, he fell on the floor unconscious.

Hermione and Ron were the nearest to the incoming Dementor. The moment their eyes fell on the dark creature, they instinctively fell back. They were clearly spooked and were both sweating and feeling cold at the same time. Hermione glanced slowly at Harry and saw him slide down to the floor fall into a lump. He was also twitching. Hermione's head turned towards Ron, who seemed to be dealing with the Dementor better than everyone there. She then turned towards John who was by then unconscious. But before Hermione and Ron could do anything, they heard a voice from outside the compartment.

"... have Sirius Black here..."

"Go away..."

And a moment later, they saw a white – silvery thing and the Dementor went away.

"Harry... Harry..." exclaimed Hermione as she tried to stop Harry from seizing and twitching.

Ron on the other hand tried to get John back conscious. "John... Mate, are you okay?"

They both turned back instantly when they heard a voice. "Ron, what happened?" asked Remus.

"Professor?" wondered Ron out loud, surprised at seeing Remus on the train. There was also the surprise of how weary and dull Remus looked.

Harry had meanwhile stopped twitching and was now lying still on the floor. He was however drenched with sweat. The chill that had occupied their environment also seemed to have gone away and a few moments later, the train resumed its journey.

Remus walked inside the compartment and kneeled down to look at Harry. At that very instant, Harry opened his eyes and instinctively retreated, almost banging his head.

"Harry... it's okay, it's me, Remus," said Remus. It took a few seconds for Harry to gain his senses.

"Remus? What... are you doing here?" asked Harry faintly. "What happened to me? Where's that thing... who was that screaming?" he continued, this time a little more frantically.

Hermione and Ron glanced at each other surprised.

"No one was screaming mate," replied Ron. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"But... I heard... there was this woman, she was screaming," replied Harry, every word he said fainter than the previous. By the end of the statement, Harry was barely audible. The surprise in the faces of people around him had made him doubt himself. "Did I imagine that? I can still remember how she sounded, the fear in her voice..." he wondered.

Remus handed the 3 conscious children a big piece of chocolate each.

"Eat... it'll help," he said.

"What was that thing?" asked Harry.

"A Dementor... from Azkaban," replied Remus. Harry looked at Ron the moment he heard Dementor. He remembered Ron telling him about the dark creature.

"Why were they here?" asked Ron.

"Looking for Sirius Black," replied Remus. He had meanwhile turned his attention towards John.

Remus pointed his wand at John, a jet of water splashed out of it, onto John's face and the next moment, John woke up.

"John?" exclaimed Remus as the other 3 looked at John anxiously.

John opened his eyes and looked at Remus strangely. "We should call the Aurors," were his first words.

"What?" exclaimed Ron.

"The Aurors?" questioned Remus, surprised.

"She just broke into our house," replied John.

They all looked at each other confused.

"John... you are in the Hogwarts Express... there was a Dementor looking for Black," said Remus. Slowly John's expression seemed to change.

"Remus? Hi, what are you doing here?" asked John.

"Welcome back, Mr Smith," replied Remus.

In a rush of memories, John instantly remembered the events of the past few minutes. Instinctively he looked for his wand and found it lying on the floor. He picked it up and stared at it intensely for a few seconds.

"I'll be back... I need to speak with the driver, excuse me," said Remus and left the compartment leaving the 4 of them alone.

A few seconds later, Ron spoke up. "That is the worst feeling I have ever felt," he said.

"What happened to me?" asked Harry.

"You fell down and were twitching... The twitching stopped only a few seconds after the Dementor left," replied Hermione.

"But, nothing happened to you?" he asked looking at Hermione and Ron.

They remained silent.

Harry was low-key embarrassed at what had happened. It seemed like the Dementor had affected him the most. Sure, John fell unconscious, but it seemed like Harry's reaction was the worst out of all. He felt weak and shivery.

They all spent the rest of the journey in silence. Occasionally, there were a few words spoken between Hermione and Ron, but even those conversations withered away without substance.

At long last, the train came to a final halt and the 4 of them got down. Soon, they were riding inside a carriage. En route to the castle, they all saw a couple more of the Dementors, standing guard at the gate. The sight of which brought a shudder to Harry.

It took a few minutes, but the carriage came to a still and the 4 of them got down. To Harry and Ron's dismay, they heard a familiar voice the moment they got down.

"Heard you fainted, Potter. Did you actually faint?" came the voice of a chuckling Draco Malfoy.

"Go away, Malfoy," snapped Ron.

On the contrary, Draco walked towards the group and he was particularly looking at Ron.

"Weasley... I'm sorry about your sister," he said the moment he came to an audible distance. There was a strange sincerity in his tone.

"I said, go away," replied Ron strongly, raging inside.

To their surprise, there was no comeback, no snarky remark.

"Take care," he whispered looking at Harry and left.

Ron, Hermione and Harry looked at each other confused. However, none of them was in any state to comment on it. They all made their way into the castle and were walking through the Great Hall when they heard another familiar voice. The commanding voice of their House Headmistress, Professor McGonagall.

"Potter! I want to see you in my office, NOW!" she said.

Harry looked worriedly at the group and a few seconds later, he made his way towards Professor McGonagall.

Ron, Hermione and John went ahead and took their seats at the table.

There was the official announcement of Remus Lupin being their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and there was the announcement of Hagrid, both of which had lightened the mood of the group considerably. There was an incredible amount of gossip and whispering going around all the tables. The news of Harry fainting in the train had spread like wildfire. There were also murmurs about Ginny and John, who also happened to receive constant looks from students around him.

Once the grand feast was over, all the students made their way back to their dormitories. Harry and the group however stayed back to congratulate Hagrid. After a few minutes of chatting, they walked up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. They said their Goodnight to Hermione as she left for the girl's dormitory leaving the boys alone.

However, the boys were in for a nasty surprise, John in particular. The moment Harry, Ron and John made their way up to the boys' dormitory, their eyes fell on the scattered contents of John's trunk.

"What the..." exclaimed John.

"What happened here?" asked Harry as he looked around. There was complete silence from everyone around him.

John pointed his wand at the floor and a few moments later, all his stuff went back into his trunk one by one.

Ron got a glance of his brothers, Fred and George smirking. Though there was something different about this. This didn't look like a friendly prank, more like a nasty one.

John's eyes fell on something on the floor that made his heart skip a beat, his mirror, or more accurately, his shattered mirror. He bent down and picked up the pieces carefully.

"Who did this?" asked Harry but he got no response.

"Harry, leave it... This is just the beginning of things to come," whispered John and with that, he left for his bed.

Chapter Text

"You've got it, right?" asked John. Harry nodded quietly, there was something obviously bugging him.

Professor McGonagall was busy explaining the difference between an Animagus and a Transfiguration.

"Really, what has gotten into you all today?" asked Professor McGonagall suddenly as she turned around to face the class.

Everyone who had Divination earlier that day turned their heads towards Harry, however, none of them spoke up.

"What's up with everyone?" asked Hermione looking at Harry and Ron.

But they remained silent.

After a few seconds, Parvati Patil spoke up, "we just had our first Divination class," she said.

"Ah, of course," said Professor McGonagall, suddenly frowning. "No need to say anymore, Miss Patil. Tell me which of you will be dying this year?" she asked.

Everyone stared at her except Hermione and John who were staring at Harry and Ron instead.

"Dying this year?" whispered John, shocked.

"Yeah, what?" added Hermione in a whisper.

"Me," replied Harry loudly for the whole class to hear.

"I see," said Professor McGonagall. "Then you should know, Potter, that Sybill Trelawney has predicted a student's death every year. None of them has actually happened, so you have nothing to worry about," she added.

When the Transfiguration class got over, Hermione walked up to John.

"I owe you one," she said.

"You do?" asked John, surprised.

"I was stuck between Divination and Arithmancy. Thanks to your advice last year, I don't have to deal with Sybill Trelawney," replied Hermione.

"Did you like the Arithmancy class? Frankly, I found it a little below expectations," said John.

"It was a bit theoretical, wasn't it? Hopefully, we will have better classes going forward," replied Hermione.

John and Hermione reached the great hall where they found Harry and Ron in an intense discussion.

"What are we talking about?" asked Hermione.

"The Grim," replied Ron.

"What's the grim?" asked Hermione.

"It's an omen of death," replied John and Ron at the same time.

"Trelawney said you have the grim?" asked John, surprised.

"Yes," replied Harry gloomily.

"You can't be seriously worried about that, Harry," said Hermione. "Divination is an imprecise branch of magic. Even a broken clock is right twice a day," she added.

"We saw a black dog outside Harry's house," said Ron faintly.

"You what?" asked Hermione, confused.

"No we didn't," replied Harry fiercely.

"Yes, we did. Remember that day we were walking from the lake?" replied Ron.

"Ron... that was just a stray," replied Harry.

"There was a black dog outside your house?" asked John curiously.

"Even you? Please tell me you're not on this bad omen bandwagon," said Hermione looking at John.

"No no, I don't believe in omens. I was just curious about the dog," replied John. But a small thought had got stuck in his head. Just that instant, there was a loud crashing noise and John found himself drenched in soup.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to get soup on you... Oh wait, I did," chuckled Fred.

"Have a bad day, git," added George and the twins left.

"What was that?" remarked Hermione, shocked. Harry and Ron looked at her silently.

John cast a few spells on himself and a few seconds later, he was back to himself, without the soup.

"I'm sorry about them," said Ron slowly.

"It's alright, Ron. They aren't the only ones who hate me and Jane at the moment," replied John calmly.

The double Potions after lunch was just another just like any other class with Snape, a couple of remarks about Neville, Hermione's over-enthusiasm and of course, a few taunts at Harry. The only thing that this one lacked was Draco's nasty comments. The group got split again after their Potions as Harry and Ron had care of magical creatures, their first lesson with Hagrid, while Hermione and John had Ancient Runes.

"Did you and the Weasley twins get into a fight or something?" asked Hermione as they were walking to their Rune's class.

"No, nothing like that," replied John.

"What was that then at Lunch?" she asked.

"What? You mean the soup? He probably just lost balance," replied John coolly.

"Do you think I'm stupid? Something's obviously up between you all, what happened?" she asked.

John remained silent and continued walking.

"Something happened last night too, didn't it?" she continued pestering.

"Leave it alone, will you? Nothing happened last night," snapped John.

"Why are you getting worked up, if nothing happened?" retorted Hermione.

"Okay, you want to know what's going on? Yesterday night, my trunk was trashed, the mirror that I use to talk to Jane was broken. Today, a bowl of soup on my head. Why? Because they think I had something to do with what happened to Ginny. That's all, happy?"

"What?" gasped Hermione. "What are you going to do about it?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" asked John in return.

"You're going to let them do whatever they want?"

"If you think I'm going to stoop to their level, I'm not," replied John.

"Things will only get worse if you let them continue unopposed," advised Hermione and before they could continue their conversation, they entered the class and that was that.

And once their class got over, John sped away from there trying to permanently abandon the conversation. Up next was Defense Against the Dark Arts, finally something to look forward to.

Remus Lupin entered the class. Ron noticed that the professor looked much better and healthier than he did on the train.

"Good afternoon," he said. "Please put away your textbooks and take out your wands. We will begin with a practical lesson," added Remus.

There was an instant murmur that spread across the class.

Winning the approval of the class, especially after Jane was pretty much a cakewalk for Remus. By the end of the lesson, the entire class was practically swooning over their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Read the chapter on Boggarts and summarize it for me, to be handed on Monday. That will be all," said Remus and with that, the students left the classroom with their spirits lifted.

"Mr Smith, a moment?" said Remus suddenly and John stayed back.

Once the room was empty, John spoke up, "Professor Lupin... That was a great lesson," he said.

"Oh, stop it, will you?" chuckled Remus. John gave a broad smile.

"No, but seriously... that was a good start, better than Jane if I may add," said John with a smile.

Remus smiled for a moment but the smile vanished the next.

"How are you?" asked Remus.

"I am fine," replied John.

"Have you spoken to Jane?" he asked.

"I did... a few times, she's doing fine," replied John.

Remus knew better than to ask if John knew his sister's location.

"What happened on the train?" asked Remus. John was expecting this question from the moment Remus asked him to stay behind.

"A Dementor attacked us," replied John sarcastically.

"Really? I had no idea," retorted back Remus.

"I'm not sure I understand the question, Remus," said John trying to be coy.

"I think you do in fact... When I came to your compartment, I found you unconscious. Care to explain how or why that happened?"

"There's nothing to explain"

"Okay"

"That's it? Okay?" asked John, surprised.

"What? You expected more?" asked Remus.

"Is this some reverse psychology trick, Remus? Believe me, nothing happened on the train. I just fell unconscious, you know how Dementors can be?" replied John.

"Okay... I believe you," replied Remus. Though it was blatant that Remus did not believe John's story.

"Thanks... Speaking of which, I was going to ask you a favour," said John.

"Sure, what can I do for you?"

"Not for me, for Harry... I want you to train him and Ron," replied John.

"Train them? How?" asked Remus, surprised at the request thrown at him.

"You know? Just the usual stuff. Get them in good rhythm," replied John.

After a few seconds of silence, Remus replied, "sure... I'll see what I can do," replied Remus and with that John left.

A few days went by and the students had now thoroughly settled into their new academic year. Remus Lupin was the talk of the school. It warmed the hearts of Dumbledore, McGonagall, John and Harry especially to know that Remus was being well accepted in the school. And to his credit, his classes were all excellent. They were engaging, fun and kept the students interested.

Harry's mood however swung like a see-saw. The highs from Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical creatures were well compensated by the lows of Potions and Divination.

John had resorted to writing an encrypted letter to Jane explaining that his mirror could no longer be used for communication. On another front, the initial burst of pranks and rudeness showed to him had died down as the days went by. However, there was one that was fast approaching.

Hermione had gotten extremely busy in the new term, focusing more on studies than ever before.

Ron was the only one who acted pretty much the same. But even he had poor spells where other students would come to him to ask about Ginny. One afternoon, after their Transfiguration class, the group were walking back to the Great Hall when Ron gestured at John to walk a bit behind Harry.

"A minute," whispered Ron.

"What's up, Ron?" asked John.

"Did you notice Harry's wand?" asked Ron.

"Harry's wand?" retorted John, confused.

"Yeah... his wand... It looks different, I'm sure of it. I have seen it before so many times. This one's different," said Ron.

"I don't know, Ron... I mean, why would it look different?" replied John.

"You didn't notice?" asked Ron.

"No... as far as I know, it's the same one... Now let's go, I'm starving," replied John and with that the conversation dropped.

Just after lunch, while the group were leisurely chatting, Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team approached them.

"Hi Oliver," greeted Harry.

"Hi Harry, a word in private?" asked Oliver, he looked pale.

"Sure," replied Harry even though he found no need. Everyone there was in Gryffindor anyway.

Harry and Oliver went a few feet away, where there had some space for themselves.

"What's up Oliver?" asked Harry.

"Something has happened, Harry. I don't like this at all, but I have no choice. Your place in the side has come into question," said Oliver, hesitating with every word.

"What? What did I do?" asked Harry in shock. He wouldn't boast about it, but everyone knew that he was the primary reason for Gryffindor's success in quidditch recently.

"It's not what you did Harry. It's the company you keep. Some members of the team are unhappy with you, specifically with how close you and John are," replied Oliver. "I don't particularly care about it. But I have to worry about the team's morale and spirit," he added.

Harry was shocked at what he was hearing.

"It's Fred and George, isn't it? I can't believe they would do something like this," said Harry angrily.

"Quidditch or John, it's your choice... I hope you choose Quidditch," said Oliver and left without waiting for a response. If it was any consolation to Harry, Oliver didn't seem too happy with what he had done.

Still in shock, Harry went back to the table.

"What's up with Oliver?" asked Ron. "That was one animated discussion you had," he added, chuckling.

"Nothing... just quidditch stuff, practice and all," lied Harry in response. But both Hermione and John noticed Harry's face and knew something was up.

A couple of days later, Hermione found some alone time with Harry in the library. It was getting late and it was almost time for dinner. She was tired of all the hours she had been putting into her studies.

"I have been absolutely swamped this year... I can't believe I was going to take up more electives," she sighed.

"Mmm Hmm" responded Harry ignorantly.

"I still have so much to cover though," she added.

"Yeah," replied Harry.

"Hey..." exclaimed Hermione snapping her fingers in front of Harry's face, which made him jump a little.

"What was that for?" asked a startled Harry.

"Did you even hear what I said?" asked Hermione in return.

"Yes," lied Harry. He knew he heard something, but he had paid no attention whatsoever to what she had said.

"Don't lie... What did I say?" asked Hermione annoyed.

"You... uh... said that... Umm, you have a lot to study," replied Harry making up his response off the cuff.

Hermione chuckled and so did Harry, "nice try, Potter..." replied Hermione smiling.

"Sorry, I was zoned out," said Harry.

"What's up with you? You have been dull these past few days. Is it Trelawney?" asked Hermione.

"Trelawney? No... I mean, Divination classes haven't been any good, but it's not her. It's actually," replied Harry and took a pause.

"What is it?" asked Hermione, impatiently.

"You are not going to believe this... I'm going to be off the Gryffindor quidditch team," replied Harry.

"What? Why?" asked Hermione, shocked.

"It's all because of Fred and George. They have been pulling these nasty pranks on John and now they are trying to get me to push him away," replied Harry. Looking at Hermione's shocked and confused look, he continued. "If I remain friends with John, I can't be a part of the quidditch team," he added gloomily.

"They can't do that, that's so unfair... You're the best player in the team. There's no way you will be removed," replied Hermione.

"Well, guess again, because that's what's going to happen," sighed Harry.

"What is this? That's just childish behaviour. They have no right anyway to get you off the team. McGonagall will never let that happen," replied Hermione.

Harry remained silent at that, internally he knew that Hermione was correct.

"Does Ron know about this?" she asked.

"No, not yet... I haven't told anybody," replied Harry.

It was late in the evening. John was at the top of the West Tower, where all the owls of Hogwarts resided. He was busy reading the letter he had gotten from Jane.

Far away, just out of sight were 2 Gryffindor students, their attention solely on John.

"No points for guessing who sent him that letter," said Fred.

"I know what we can do," replied George. Fred looked at his twin brother, with a gleam in his eyes.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That'd be brilliant," replied George.

"And that might just get him out of the castle," replied Fred excitedly. And with that, the twins left.

Meanwhile, John was intently writing something on a parchment.

"... finally, I want you to get in touch with Padfoot. We have to find out the truth!

Without Wax

21815"

He finished the letter and re-read all that he had written. And once he was done, he attached the letter to an owl and sent it away.

Chapter Text

"Harry... Mate, are you alright?" came the voice of Ron, not once but a few times. Harry instinctively opened his eyes. He jerked back in his bed at the sight of Ron standing in front of him. It was still dark and slowly Harry gained a sense of his surrounding. He began to realise that it was still the middle of the night. It soon dawned on him that he had done something in his sleep causing Ron to stand in front of him and wake him up.

"Ron? What happened?" asked Harry slowly.

"Are you alright? You were talking in your sleep and then you sat up straight, muttered something and lay down again. Then you shouted something which I couldn't understand," replied Ron.

Harry ruffled his hair and realised that he had been heavily sweating. He gave way for Ron to take a seat beside him.

"You are having your nightmares again," sighed Ron.

"This was my first since I came to Hogwarts," retorted Harry.

"What did you see?" asked Ron.

Harry clutched his head trying to remember what he had dreamt.

"I think I dreamt about You-Know-Who," replied Harry faintly.

"You did?" asked Ron alarmed.

"I think... It seemed so real. I don't remember much, but I remember there was this house, an old house, a big one. And he said something about killing somebody," replied Harry. "And then... and then there was this other guy, I don't know who, he was laughing at me... And then I was walking around the lake that's near my house and there was a Dementor," he added.

"The Dementor did a number on you," said Ron after a few seconds. Harry could only agree to that statement. The Dementor for some reason had the biggest impact on Harry, and he was constantly worried about running into one.

The next morning, the gloomy faces of Harry and Ron were there to be seen at the breakfast table.

Hermione decided to whisper into Harry's ears, "did you tell Ron about Fred and George are doing?" she asked.

"No," whispered Harry strongly.

"Why the gloomy face?" she asked, this time for all of them to hear.

"He has started having nightmares again," sighed Ron. This piqued John's interest in the conversation.

"You have?" asked Hermione alarmed.

"I haven't started anything... It has happened just once," replied Harry glaring at Ron.

The glare made sure nothing more was spoken of it that morning.

What started as an innocuous morning turned into a nightmare for John. It all began with the Charms class. A simple body bind curse failed him, from both sides.

"Petrificus Totalus" cried John and pointed his wand at Hermione. But the spell seemed to completely miss her and hit the wall behind.

"What was that? You can't miss on purpose," chuckled Hermione and got ready for her turn.

"Petrificus Totalus" cried Hermione this time, pointing her wand at John. And before John could do anything, the curse hit him and he fell back with a thud.

Professor Flitwick who had been monitoring the entire class' performance noticed John's fall and rushed towards him.

Flitwick muttered something and flicked his wand at John. A few seconds later, John got back to his feet.

"Excellent work, Miss Granger and Mr Smith, you need to work on your reflexes," said Flitwick and went back to monitoring the class.

"I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to, I thought you'd block it," said Hermione.

"It's alright, I'm fine," shrugged off John.

Later in the day came Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall had tasked each and everyone to transfigure a small piece of parchment to a wide variety of things, one after another to test how well the class had a grasp of transfiguration.

It was routine for Hermione. Harry had done reasonably well and so had Ron. To everyone's surprise, John had a hard time with it. Of the 5 attempts, he had botched 3 of them.

That evening, while Hermione and John were at the library working on Snape's potions homework, Hermione's curiosity and anxiety got the better of her.

"You didn't let me get the better of you today, did you?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" asked John, confused.

"I thought you were faking it in the Charms class. But you weren't, all of that actually happened?" she asked.

John took a few seconds to process it, at the end of which, he responded with a meek nod of the head.

"Does this have to do with what happened with your permanent transformation?" she asked.

The incident in the Charms class, his failed attempts at Transfiguration was just the newest entrants in an extensive list of things that John had botched up in the past few months.

"Probably," replied John with a straight face.

"Then you should do something about it," suggested Hermione.

"Can we change the topic, please?" said John bluntly.

"All of you are the same... You'd rather suffer than take help from someone," scoffed Hermione.

It took a minute, but John finally responded.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"What?" asked Hermione, confused.

"You just took a jibe at all of us. Who apart from me do you know who'd rather suffer than take help?" he asked curiously.

"No one," replied Hermione instantly.

"No... No, you meant someone. Is it Harry? Did he do something?" asked John.

"I was just thinking about his nightmare situation," lied Hermione.

"That's not it... You don't even know what happened last night. We barely talked about it in the morning and you haven't seen him since. This is something else," replied John. He sensed a lie and wasn't going to let go easily.

Perhaps this was the excuse Hermione was looking for.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Hermione spoke.

"Harry would never tell you this. And I suppose, you would have found out eventually, so there's no harm in this coming from me. But, Harry's getting dropped from the quidditch team," said Hermione.

"Harry's getting dropped? Why?" asked John, shocked.

"Because of Fred and George," replied Hermione.

A sudden realization dawned on John. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"They're forcing Harry out of the team for being friends with you. Frankly, they have no right to do so. And I have been telling Harry to talk to McGonagall. She will never allow such a thing. But he is adamant," replied Hermione.

"I see," sighed John.

The following evening, John found Harry relatively unoccupied in the common room and took the opportunity.

"Harry... what's up?" greeted John and took the seat beside him.

"Hi John," greeted back Harry.

"I was just meaning to ask you about your wand," said John.

"My wand?" asked Harry, confused. "You mean... the one you gave me?" he added quickly.

"Yes, hope you have grown comfortable with it," said John.

"Yes, surprisingly, it has been a good fit. It has been difficult to keep it under wraps if you know what I mean. Ron's already been giving me perplexed looks. But so far, all's good," replied Harry.

"Nice... Glad to hear that. I knew this wand would fit you well. It will also keep your original wand safe, out of firing zone," said John to which Harry nodded.

After a few moments, John spoke up again.

"It's time we stayed away from each other," said John.

Harry turned to look at him instantly, "what?" he asked, perplexed.

"Right now, our friendship is only going to be detrimental in your life. It's better we stay from each other," he replied calmly.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry, panicking a little.

"I know," replied John and gave a reassuring look to Harry.

"How... Hermione told you?" asked Harry, a little annoyed. "I'm not going to give in to their demands... They don't even know that," he added loudly but paused to whisper, "it was your sister who took the blame. She actually saved the Weasleys from a hell of a lot of embarrassment."

"Harry... This is your life. You are great at quidditch. And as far as Fred and George are considered, they are actually pretty cool. It's just that, right now, there are a lot of emotions at play that is affecting their judgement. Your quidditch should not suffer because of that. It's important that you maintain good relationships with people around you. Don't lose it for me," replied John.

"But... that's not fair," sighed Harry.

"This is the way forward," remarked John and with that got up and left Harry be.

Harry however got up and went looking for Hermione. He was on his way to the library when he found Hermione coming from the opposite direction.

"Hermione..." called out Harry loudly.

"Hi Harry," greeted Hermione cheerfully.

"You're such a tattle-tale," he lashed out.

"What happened?" asked Hermione alarmed.

"I didn't tell you about the quidditch thing for you to go and tell that to John... Now he wants to stay away from me because of this," replied Harry angrily.

"He said what?" asked Hermione, shocked.

"Yes," replied an exasperated Harry.

"This is just childish," sighed Hermione.

"What is?" asked Harry. "Which part is childish? You were unable to keep a secret, that? Or do you mean the part where he decided to stay alone and go through all of this on his own?" he added.

"Harry... I'm so sorry... I didn't know he would..." said Hermione, she was visibly upset. But for once, Harry didn't see that.

"Come on, Hermione! This is not it..." remarked Harry and by then the pair had reached the Gryffindor common room. Harry left her company immediately thereafter and went his way.

As Hermione walked in, the first thing that got her out of her head was Ron's screams.

"OI! GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL," roared Ron. "Hermione... where is she?" he raged as he got up angrily.

Hermione rushed towards the scene and Ron ran behind her cat.

"Ron... what's going on?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, you are here. Get your cat out of here... Always going after poor Scabbers. Look how dull he looks," replied Ron pointing at Scabbers. "Your cat has it in for him," he added.

"Oh, Ron, shut up... It's in the nature of a cat to go after a rat. Crookshanks doesn't know it's wrong," replied Hermione.

"Do I look like I care... Keep that cat away from him," he lashed out.

The few days that followed were a bit tough on Hermione. She was getting the cold shoulder from both Harry and Ron.

Harry had eventually accepted the situation and had discussed with Oliver Wood, his quidditch captain about his decision. Ron had, on the other hand, decided to stay as away from Hermione as possible. He also decided to keep Scabbers close to him, despite Scabbers' surprising reluctance.

"He doesn't even want to stay with me anymore... I have never seen him so scared. All because of that stupid animal," he sighed angrily to Harry, one evening.

Harry however had his attention diverted by the sudden excitement of the rest of the common room. He got up and instantly bumped into Neville.

"Sorry Harry, didn't see you there," said Neville.

"What's going on, Neville? Why is every one..." asked Harry and pointed at the scene in front of them.

"First Hogsmeade weekend," replied Neville.

"Really? When?" asked Harry excitedly.

"Halloween," replied Neville.

"Brilliant," replied Harry and went to Ron to give him the news. And as he hoped, it cheered Ron up. From mumbling about Scabbers and Crookshanks, Ron was now constantly talking about Hogsmeade.

The whole of Hogwarts seemed to be buzzing with the Hogsmeade news, so much so that the buzz spilt over into their classes as well.

One afternoon, at their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Remus Lupin noticed a comparatively distracted class.

"Mr Finnigan and Mr Thomas... grace us with some of your attention too, if you wouldn't mind," said Remus with a smile, looking at Seamus and Dean who were busy in an intense discussion.

"Sorry Professor," said Dean immediately and went quiet.

"Has something happened today?" asked Remus at the class. "Everybody seems distracted, even Miss Granger here who forgot to write down what I was teaching," he added with a chuckle. That last comment brought giggles for a few in the front row.

"We have our first Hogsmeade visit this Halloween," replied Seamus.

"Ah, I see, now it all makes sense," sighed Remus. There was a few seconds of silence post which, Remus closed the textbook in his hand and placed it on the table, intriguing the whole class.

"Hogsmeade visits are fun... But has anyone told you about the Shrieking Shack?" asked Remus suddenly turning serious.

The class had gone dead silent. There seemed to be a couple of murmurs but nobody seemed to know much about the shack.

"What is the Shrieking Shack?" asked Harry, curiously.

"Only the most haunted building in all of Britain," replied Remus in his best spooky voice.

"Haunted?" asked Harry.

"The most," replied Remus and nodded.

"Go and talk to the villagers, they will tell you the stories, the legend of the Shack," said Remus after a few seconds. "Perhaps, I shouldn't have brought it up..." he added and turned around to hide a chuckle. "You are all kids after all," he added.

And just like he expected, there was an uproar in the class.

"Professor Lupin, that's not fair... We are not kids," came one voice.

"Professor, please tell us the story," came another.

"Why is it haunted?" asked someone from the back.

There were a couple of, "Oh, come on..." sighs in the class.

"Okay... Okay, calm down everybody," said Remus. "I'll tell you a small story," he added and everybody went silent instantly.

"Long time back," he began. "People would hear screams at night. The Shrieking Shack has always been abandoned. Nobody alive knows who lived there last. So, where did the screams come from?" he asked. And everybody remained silent.

"Sure, you would say ghosts. And I would ask you, what about it? We have ghosts here too, yet we don't shiver in fear at their sight. Why then fear the Shack?" he asked and again, the class was silent.

"If you talk to the ghosts here, they will tell you that even the ghosts stay away from the Shack," he said and took a pause. He knew he had the students where he wanted. "You see, there are stories of people disappearing," he added. At the mention of disappearance, there were a few audible gasps.

"Yes, you heard me. People, adventurous and brave people who went into the shack to discover its secret never came back. Where did they go? What happened to them? No one knows," said Remus. At this point, even he couldn't believe his creativity and was trying hard to suppress the laughter. He even had John convinced a bit.

"But, the villagers in Hogsmeade know 1 thing," he said and paused. In front of him was an entire class waiting in anticipation for the next words. "One thing they all know is the screams. Every once in a while, there will be nights filled with screams, for the whole town to hear. And on those nights, even the brave turn their backs at the Shrieking Shack," he finished.

The class was silent for a couple of minutes. And there were only 10 minutes left for the end of the class. So, Remus did what made him popular amongst the kids. He decided to talk a bit more about Hogsmeade, the fun things to do during Hogsmeade visits, the sweet shops, the Butterbeer, to name a few.

By the end of the class, the students seemed to have gained back the buzz.

"We have had our fun today... But I need you all to read about Werewolves when you come to the next class. That's all for today, thank you," said Remus.

And with that, the class left for their next lesson. But just before Harry and Ron exited the class, Remus stopped them.

"Harry... and you too, Ron... stay back for a couple of minutes, will you?" asked Remus.

"Yes?" replied Harry and stayed back along with Ron.

"I was meaning to ask you this for a while. I was thinking of giving you both a bit of extra help with your duelling skills," said Remus.

"Extra help?" asked Ron, perplexed.

"Extra training after your classes... Twice a week, maybe thrice if we like," he added.

"Sure... We'd love that," replied Harry excitedly and glanced at Ron who seemed a lot less excited compared to him.

"I don't need an answer now... Think about it for a few days and let me know," said Remus. And with that Harry and Ron left the class.

John had convinced himself that staying away from Harry, Ron and Hermione was the best decision for them. But there was something else that bugged him more than this situation, and it was his waning magical ability. And the only solution he could think of involved a certain Professor he wasn't keen on. But he decided to bite the bullet.

One evening, after their classes, John visited Severus Snape's office. And when he did, he was surprised and mildly glad to find Remus Lupin already inside, talking to Severus.

"Look who we have here," remarked Severus the moment his eyes fell on John.

Remus turned around and found John standing outside.

"John... what are you doing here?" asked Remus.

"Hello, Remus... Severus" greeted John.

"Mr Smith... I assume you are here for something?" asked Severus.

"Yes... I came here to ask for your help," replied John and glanced at Remus.

"With what?" asked Severus, surprised.

"A potion," replied John and glanced at Remus who understood immediately.

"What happened?" asked Remus.

"Couldn't produce a Patronus, couldn't transfigure and also, I happened to have lost my aim and focus... just to name a few," replied John.

"Do Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore know about this?" asked Remus.

"Professor McGonagall might since I botched up Transfiguration. Not sure what she read into it," replied John.

"Yes, Mr Smith, I'll make you the potion. But it will take some time," said Severus.

"Thank you, Severus," replied John. "What about you?" he asked, looking at Remus.

"What about me, what?" asked Remus.

"You are looking healthy... I mean, for this time of year," replied John.

"Thanks to him," replied Remus looking at Severus.

"Nice..." replied John. "Thank you, Severus... let me know when it's ready," he added and left the office.

He was walking back from the office when he saw Hermione. The moment he did, she started sprinting towards him.

"What is it?" asked John the moment she came near.

"I have been looking for you all over the castle," replied Hermione catching her breath. "There is someone here to see you," she added after a moment.

"Who?" asked John, surprised.

"Emily Davies," replied Hermione. "She's in Professor McGonagall's office," she added.

"What's she doing here?" wondered John and made his way to Professor McGonagall's office.

"Mr Smith," remarked Emily the moment he walked in.

"Good Evening," greeted John.

"Good Evening, John... Shall we walk?" asked Emily.

"Walk?" chimed in Professor McGonagall.

"Yes, walk... I feel like a walk, I'm sure John won't mind," replied Emily who glanced at John and gave a smile.

"Of course not," replied John.

It was the corridors that were the chosen path by Emily and John. After a few seconds of silence, Emily spoke up.

"How are you?" she asked.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," replied John, a little perplexed but extremely alert.

"Good... How is Jane?" she asked.

John remained silent.

"There's no point in being silent. I know you are in close contact with her," she added after a few moments.

"I'm sure she is doing okay," replied John.

"Alright... play it how you want. How is Ginny?" asked Emily. John was getting confused. For one, the questions she was asking were very different to what he had expected. And secondly, this seemed more like a conversation than an interrogation. And Emily sounded genuine.

"Still unresponsive," replied John.

"That's a shame, that is," sighed Emily.

They continued walking silently for a few more minutes, till they were outside the castle, walking on the ground breathing fresh air.

"Why did she do it?" asked Emily.

"Why did she do what?" retorted John.

"Confessing to a crime she didn't commit," replied Emily instantly.

John stopped walking and stared at Emily.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to be fooled that easily. There are so many things that don't fit. Not to mention, Lucius Malfoy's insistence on her being guilty," she added. "But I wonder who she is protecting. The only person she seems to care about, at least that we have records of, is you. And I know you didn't open the chamber," she continued while John remained silent and in mild shock.

"Why are you here?" asked John.

"I know that you know where she is. I know that you are in contact with her. I want your help in meeting her. I have some questions and I promise, I won't arrest her," replied Emily.

John burst out laughing. "Did you really that would work?" he asked.

"No," replied Emily with a chuckle and added, "but I'm not lying about my hunch. I know both of you. I have been investigating you both for a while. I know she didn't do this. I need to know who did."

John made a face that seemed to suggest he didn't know the answer to her question.

"I'm not in contact with her," said John.

"I have multiple sources telling me otherwise," replied Emily.

"I must admit. I thought you were clever. Let me guess, your sources are Fred and George Weasley? Did you really think you could believe the twin brothers of the most affected victim of the chamber?" asked John with a chuckle.

Emily smiled in response.

"It seems, I can't get you to talk. I guess it's difficult to trust me. I can understand. Do let me know when you change your mind," replied Emily and walked away as John nodded sarcastically.

She had gone a few feet when she stopped and turned back.

"By the way," she exclaimed and looked at John.

"Yes?"

"What does the phrase without wax mean? And what's with the numbers 19919 and what was yours? 21815 was it?" she asked and chuckled. The look on John's face was worth it. And with that, Emily left Hogwarts.

If there was one thing he knew now for certain, it was that the Ministry of Magic were tracking the letters and they had a record of his conversations with Jane, albeit an encrypted one.

Chapter Text

Harry was royally pissed off at Hermione. So much so that, even the occasional reading sessions in the library had stopped happening. Partly, it was due to the intense quidditch practice sessions. But, nevertheless, Hermione knew it was because of what she had done. Ron was annoyed at Hermione as well. Crookshanks had chased around Scabbers violently a couple of more times, making matters worse. And John, well, John had decided to entirely cut ties with everyone. He remained silent in classes, sat on the opposite side of the class, was rarely in the vicinity at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and had stopped coming to the library as well. Even though this bothered Hermione, she decided not to do much about it. But she had waited a couple of weeks and was now itching to do something about it. And she got the opportunity when John came to the library, late one evening.

"Hi," said Hermione walking towards him.

"Hi Hermione," replied John reluctantly.

"Why are you avoiding me?" asked Hermione.

"I'm not avoiding you," replied John to which Hermione scowled in response.

"I'm just avoiding everybody, nothing personal," added John.

"You don't have to," suggested Hermione with a dejected look.

"Harry will come around, just give him time," said John.

Hermione however seemed unconvinced.

"He will," reassured John.

Hermione's expression turned. But from a dejected one, it turned to one of confusion. And she was also keenly staring at something. John turned back to look and he saw what Hermione had seen, or rather, whom she had seen, Draco Malfoy.

A moment later, Draco's eyes fell on the pair and he seemed to walk toward them.

"What is he doing here?" asked Hermione.

"I... have... absolutely no idea," sighed John and started staring into his book. But it was instantly obvious that Draco was indeed walking towards them.

A few moments later, he was near enough and spoke.

"Can I talk to you both for a minute?" asked Draco politely, something she had never seen him do.

"Yeah," replied Hermione faintly.

"How is Ginny? Has she woken up?" asked Draco.

"She is still unconscious," replied Hermione.

Draco acknowledged the reply and somehow looked sad and repenting.

"I'm sorry," he said after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Uh..." mumbled Hermione, not sure how to respond.

"It's not your fault, Draco... You couldn't have done anything," said John and diverted his attention towards Draco. Though it did nothing to change the look on Draco's face.

"I'm sorry for calling you a mudblood and for all the times I have been rude to you," said Draco looking at Hermione after a few more seconds of silence. "And to you too," he added looking at John.

John nodded in acknowledgement and then glanced at Hermione and a moment later left the library holding the book he had just borrowed, leaving Hermione and Draco alone.

"Bye," said Hermione faintly and decided to dash out of the library as far away from Draco as possible.

But the moment she made it a few feet away, Draco exclaimed, "I truly apologise, this is not a trick. I have always been..." he said and paused, "I'm sorry," he repeated.

Hermione showed no particular emotion on her face and left instantly.

A few minutes later, she was frantically looking for Harry in the common room and to her dismay, she found out that he was at quidditch practice. She went down to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry's practice session ended late and he came to dinner towards the end.

"Harry..." called out Hermione and stood right beside him.

"Hermione... let me eat, I'm tired," replied Harry in an uninterested tone.

"Harry, this is important," said Hermione.

"I'm sure it is... I however am not in the mood," he replied annoyed and a little bitter.

"Draco came to the library," she said calmly and got the exact response she was looking for.

Harry stopped eating and looked at Hermione for the first time in the conversation.

"What did he say? Did he say something rude again? Are you okay?" asked Harry hastily and looked a little worried.

"No no, it's all good," replied Hermione. "He actually came to apologise," she added.

"He did what?"

"He apologised... trust me, I couldn't believe it either. It felt so weird," replied Hermione.

"Wow"

"And he seemed genuine too. Like he actually meant it,"

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming?" asked Harry with a chuckle.

"I don't have Draco in my dreams," replied Hermione with a disgusted look.

"Who do you dream about?" asked Harry and immediately regretted it. Hermione looked taken aback and a little red on the cheeks and there was an awkward silence for a couple of minutes.

"Uh... so he actually apologised?" asked Harry bringing back the topic.

"He did," replied Hermione.

"He has apologised a lot if you think about it. Maybe this is not a trick. I can't believe I'm about to say this. Maybe he is changed," said Harry.

"Or..." replied Hermione and paused.

"Or?"

"Or, maybe he has something else to say. Maybe about his father, that could prove Jane's innocence," replied Hermione excitedly.

"That's just overambitious... That can't be, surely... can it?" wondered Harry out loud.

Remus Lupin was looking forward to that evening. Harry and Ron had accepted his offer to train them additionally to their regular curriculum a few days back. And it was the day of the first session. Throughout the day he was internally buzzing. Initially apprehensive, he was now thankful to John for the idea that gave him the best possible opportunity to get to know his best friends' son more.

Just after he completed his combined class with Gryffindor and Slytherin, he decided to have a word with John.

"What's up, Remus?" asked John with his usual smile.

"I took your suggestion... Harry accepted my offer to train him, so did Ron," said Remus.

"They did? That's fantastic, this is great news, Remus," replied John happily.

"Thanks to you... I would have never thought of something like this," said Remus.

"No, of course, you would have... you just didn't have a reason to yet," said John. "Any plans on where you're going to start?" he asked.

"I was thinking of starting with duelling. I have seen him in class, and he seems to grasp things well, and he's sharp just like James. Ron's a lot more reserved, doesn't do or say a lot in class. But I'm sure he has it in him," replied Remus.

"Yes he does," replied John with a smile. "That sounds fun, have a great session," he added and left the class.

Just after the end of the last class, John got a hold of Harry.

"Harry... a minute, this is important," whispered John.

"What happened?" retorted Harry in a whisper.

"I found out that you have extra training with Remus later today," he said.

"Yes... I wanted to tell you myself... but," replied Harry and left the sentence hanging.

"It's alright, no big deal. I wanted to tell you something before your session," said John. "Take your original wand to the training," he added.

"Why?" asked Harry, surprised.

"Because this is extremely important. You should train with your proper wand. Whenever you're training with Remus, use your original wand, and not the one I gave you," said John.

"Okay," replied Harry, a little perplexed.

"Good luck, bye," whispered John and left.

Harry and Ron spent the minutes before the start of their training session with Remus being nervous, Ron more so than Harry.

Initially, when the offer was made, Ron was sceptical.

"He wants to train you, Harry, not me. He just asked me so that I wouldn't feel left out," said Ron.

"That's not true... That was a genuine offer," replied Harry.

"We already have so many things, I... I don't know," sighed Ron, confused.

"If anything, I'm the one who has quidditch. Sure, we have homework, but we copy Hermione's work half the time," replied Harry.

A few days after this conversation, something changed in Ron. And very soon after that, the boys had accepted Remus' offer. Ever since then, Ron had been looking forward to the first session.

As the time ticked down, a mix of nervousness and excitement kicked in.

But as it turned out, the session was very different from what they had expected.

Once the pleasantries were exchanged, Remus began the session by working on the boys' posture while casting their spells.

"This may seem uninteresting to the both of you, but there's something more important than what spells you use. It is how you use it, how you make yourself capable of handling anything that is thrown at you and how you can get creative." was one of the many things Remus advised.

In another instance, he could be seen saying, "you should practice these stances... there is no correct posture, but there are many. And each one of them is useful in a specific scenario. When it comes to an actual fight, these things should come to you as second nature."

In yet another moment, Remus said, "performing magic is and always has been more intuitive than theoretical. It should come from within. Just by uttering an incantation, you can't perform a spell. Sure, your basic spells would work, but advanced magic needs more than just incantation. You should be focused on what you want to achieve and you should have clarity on that. If you can attain that, then you wouldn't even need a wand to perform magic."

The session was over in about 2 hours. Once they were done, Harry and Ron were walking back to the dormitory.

"That was..." began Harry but didn't continue his sentence. Ron glanced at Harry and he looked different.

"You didn't like the session?" asked Ron.

"Oh no... I liked it... But it was different from what I thought," replied Harry.

"How so?" asked Ron.

"I guess I just expected new fancy spells and all that," replied Harry.

"I loved the session," said Ron after a few seconds with a buoyant expression.

"You did?" asked Harry curiously.

"You know how I thought he wanted to train just you... well, it didn't seem like it, did it? Even those things about posture and keeping thoughts clear and all, it was nice," replied Ron.

"I told you," said Harry with a smile.

They were at the dormitory and were about to leave for dinner when Ron remembered something.

"Show me your wand," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Harry was taken aback by that request.

"Huh!" responded Harry frantically arranging his trunk, pretending to have not heard Ron.

"Your wand mate... can I have a look?" asked Ron.

"Umm... my wand? Why?" asked Harry trying to act nonchalantly.

Ron remained silent. A few seconds of silence later, Harry looked up and glanced at Ron.

"You know?" he asked.

"No," replied Ron. "I just know that you've been using a different wand at classes," he added.

Harry removed his wand from his pocket at handed it over to Ron.

"This is my wand," he said.

Harry then removed another wand from an inside pocket of his robes, this one even had a holster.

"John gave me this," he said and handed the other wand he had to Ron.

"I wondered where this went," remarked Ron while removing the wand from the grand looking, royally designed wand-holster. "Wow," he exclaimed as he held both of Harry's wands. They both looked and felt very different from each other.

"This one feels different," he said and pointed at the wand that John had given Harry. "Are you able to perform magic with this?" he asked.

"Surprisingly well," replied Harry.

"Cool"

"But, why didn't you tell me about this?" asked Ron.

"He told me not to tell anyone... Nobody knows about this... not even Hermione," replied Harry.

"Why did he give you this, though?" asked Ron.

"He wanted me to have 2 wands... one primary and one secondary..." replied Harry.

Ron handed Harry back his wands and with that, they left for dinner. However, Ron's curiosity about the different wands stayed with him.

The Hogsmeade visit was fast approaching, though not fast enough if the chatter around the school were to be believed. The days were moving ever so slowly leading up to the Halloween weekend. One afternoon, a few days prior to Halloween, Professor McGonagall had an extra announcement at the end of her class with the Gryffindor 3rd year students.

"As you're all in my house, you should hand Hogsmeade permission form to me before Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, so don't forget!" she said in her usual beaming voice.

Most of the students including Harry, Ron and Hermione had their forms ready with them and they all excitedly handed them over to Professor McGonagall. John however waited for all of them to leave. And once they all had, he approached Professor McGonagall.

"This is my form," he said and handed over the form to Professor McGonagall.

"Please tell me you did not get Jane to sign this," she said taking the form.

"No, I did not," replied John.

Professor McGonagall was however surprised to see the form signed, but the name didn't seem to read Jane or John himself.

"Whose signature is this then?" she asked.

"Does it matter?" he asked sheepishly.

"It does Mr Smith... I have half a mind to restrict your visit to Hogsmeade. Whose signature did you get?" she replied.

John looked at her sheepishly.

"You're not going to like this," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" exclaimed McGonagall.

"I got... uh... I took Daisy's signature," replied John bluntly.

"Daisy?" wondered Professor McGonagall out loud. And then a moment later, it dawned on her. "You mean..." she began.

"Yes... Harry's friend Daisy," replied John.

Professor McGonagall placed the form on the desk slowly. Her expression was one of confusion and worry.

After a couple of minutes she spoke up, "I'd have rather preferred an unsigned letter, Mr Smith... On one hand, I can't accept this letter, but on the other, you are forcing me to accept it," she said.

"It's your call," replied John calmly.

"Fine... I will talk with Albus... you can go now," she said and with that John left the classroom.

Harry had especially been looking forward to the Hogsmeade visit for he had been planning on mending the fences with Hermione. He had even managed to convince Ron to forgive Hermione for her cat.

On the morning of Halloween, as the students made their way out of the castle, Harry found Hermione strolling all by herself and immediately, he dashed towards her. The sound of fast-approaching footsteps made her turn her head and look around.

"Harry..." she gasped. "You almost scared me... what happened?" she asked.

"Nothing... nothing happened..." replied Harry, panting for breath. Hermione stared at him with a confused expression. So he continued, "I saw you were alone, come join us," he added.

Hermione's face turned happy instantly.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Of course I'm sure... come on," replied Harry.

"I'm sorry..." began Hermione but she was interrupted by Harry the moment he heard the word sorry.

"No need for apologies... You have apologised for enough. I should be the one apologising for acting like an arse," remarked Harry.

Hermione was happy to hear that. And for some weird reason, Harry seemed extremely confident and different from his usual self. Not that he wasn't confident normally, but he seemed a bit extra throughout the day. Hermione however didn't care as she had her friends back, even though it meant that she had to unjustifiably apologise to Ron for Crookshanks' behaviour.

Harry, Hermione and Ron thoroughly enjoyed their visit to Hogsmeade. It was worth every minute they had spent dreaming about and more. Whether it was the wonderful sweets from Honeydukes, the Butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks or the enviable time spent at Zonko's joke shop, the day spent was absolutely wonderful. And the fact that it was a glorious day, with a cool breeze blowing, coupled with the first time in a long time the trio had spent time together, made the day all the more worth it.

"Harry's on fire today... Mate is that your 3rd Butterbeer?" asked Ron laughing at the sight of Harry gulping his drink in one go.

"Is there anything better than Butterbeer on a cold day?" remarked Harry laughing.

"I'm piling up on the sweets," remarked Ron as they were about to leave.

"Here, get some for me too," said Harry handing Ron some galleons.

"Where are you off to?" asked Ron.

"We are going to the equipment shop," replied Hermione.

It was evening when they all returned back to Hogwarts. A thoroughly well-spent day was about to get better. In a couple of hours' time, they were going to drown themselves in the Halloween feast, if it was even possible. But that's exactly what they did. The trio devoured the Halloween feast, even managed to help themselves to second servings of some delicacies.

They were barely able to walk back to their dormitories from the Great Hall. Harry seemed extra tipsy amongst the three. They were on the path leading up to the Fat Lady portrait when they all came to a halt.

"Why are we stopping?" remarked Harry out loud. He was standing taking a little support from Hermione who had her arms around him.

"There is a huge gathering ahead... not sure why," whispered Hermione.

Percy walked up from behind and made his way to the front pushing students aside.

"I'm Head boy, let me through please," he could be heard saying multiple times.

A minute later, a hush of silence fell in the corridor as Percy's voice was heard, "Somebody, call Professor Dumbledore, quick!"

Chaos ensued thereafter. Everybody got a decent look at the damaged portrait before they were all hauled away from the corridor. The trio had very little idea of what was going on, just that the Fat lady was gone.

John Smith was having a decent day. His visit to Hogsmeade was short yet seemed to have an enormous effect on him. And he happened to be well placed in the chaos after the Halloween feast.

"I heard Peeves," said John. Remus looked at him surprised.

"He's a maniac," replied Remus.

"Nothing you tell me about Sirius is changing my mind," replied John.

"Why was here then? What did he try to accomplish if not scare everyone to death?" retorted Remus.

John remained silent.

"I don't think we will find him tonight," sighed Remus.

"Yeah, well, he's not stupid to stay hidden in the castle," replied John.

After a few minutes, Remus spoke up again, "he probably came here to kill Harry," he said.

"No, he didn't... First of all, he would never... And even if I believe your opinion of him, it's Halloween today... surely he would have had a better chance of getting to Harry at Hogsmeade than in an empty Gryffindor common room during Halloween feast," retorted John strongly, annoyed at the repeated suggestion of Sirius' guilt.

"How can you be so certain that Sirius is innocent?" asked Remus. But he got no response from John.

Chapter Text

It was a special day. And it began on a special note. It was all perfectly planned. The cake, thanks to Ron's idea and Aunt Petunia's resourcefulness, was perfect and ready for the big moment. Daisy had sneaked into the apartment without ringing the doorbell. Dudley and Ron had pretended to be asleep till Harry dozed off.

The clock struck 12, Dudley and Daisy jumped on him from either side, Ron blew the party horn for the whole neighbourhood to hear and Harry woke up with a jolt amidst laughter and screams. It was indeed a memorable midnight birthday surprise. The Quidditch themed birthday cake was probably the highlight of the night. It was an extended night for the kids as they wore themselves out with heavy dancing and singing accompanied by the occasional screams.

The late morning that followed saw Harry receive a letter and a gift attached from both Hermione and Hagrid. The kids then went out and spent almost the entire day out making it one of Harry's most memorable birthdays.

Daisy had taken an early exit and it was the 3 boys who came back to 4, Privet Drive late in the evening. And when they arrived, just before they entered, they found a package lying outside the house. Harry pocked it up and the first glance suggested it was addressed to him.

The moment he entered the house, Harry inspected the package closely.

"Who's it from?" asked Ron.

"There wasn't a note," replied Harry.

The package was quite lengthy from one side and quite short from the other, like a rectangular box. It was poorly wrapped from cheap paper. And the wrapper itself was dirty like it had been through the mud and all. And on one side of the wrapper were written the words, "Happy Birthday!". The handwriting was shabby and frankly, if not for those words, the boys would have mistaken the package for garbage.

Harry tore open the package and it indeed revealed a rectangular box. It was a paper box and similar to the cover, it too was shabby and had wrinkles all over. The box was uninspiring but it kept the boys on the edge of their seats. And all of this was completely worth it when Harry opened the box and revealed what was inside.

It was the most beautiful wand holster Ron or Harry had ever laid eyes on.

"What is that?" exclaimed Ron the instant Harry opened the box.

Harry took out the holster and examined it up close. The finish of the material, the way it felt in the palm, the gorgeous Black design with a Golden intricate design, it was the most Royal sight.

Ron and Harry took turns examining the holster multiple nights and their excitement didn't die down.

"Who do you reckon sent you this?" asked Ron.

"I have no idea... Perhaps Remus?" wondered Harry out loud, though he had another name on his mind.

"Whoever sent this picked out the best looking wand holster in the world," remarked Ron.

And eventually, the conversation fizzled out until the following afternoon when Daisy got a glimpse of the holster.

"What is that?" she exclaimed and picked up the rectangular box. A moment later, she had her hands on the holster.

"That is called a wand holster," replied Ron glancing up.

"It's to keep your wand safe..." added Harry.

"Looks fancy, who's it from?" asked Daisy.

"No idea... there wasn't a note," replied Harry. And just that instant, Daisy gave an audible gasp.

"What happened?" asked Harry perplexed.

"What... uh... nothing," lied Daisy. There was only one person who could have given this, or so she thought.

Harry glanced at Ron and he looked back at Harry at the same time and then they both stared at Daisy curiously.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Daisy looking at the boys, as she took the seat beside Ron.

But both Ron and Harry remained silent.

A few minutes later, Daisy spoke up unable to contain the excitement.

"Who do you reckon it's from?" she asked.

"I don't know... Remus perhaps," replied Harry and stared at Daisy. A second later his eyes widened in surprise. "Wait a second... is this from..." he began and Daisy jumped in instantly.

"I saw him, the day before your birthday... I even told him to come here, but he refused..." said Daisy excitedly.

"That guy," sighed Harry and burst out laughing. "I knew it," he exclaimed.

It only took a few seconds for Ron to catch up with Daisy and Harry.

"John sent you this? Are you sure?" he asked.

"100%," replied Daisy.

"How do you know? Is he back?" asked Ron.

"He never went anywhere... He was just avoiding us," replied Daisy.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry. "Why is he avoiding us?" he added.

"I have already said enough... please don't ask me more?" she begged and proceeded to hold Harry's hand.

"I get it," sighed Harry in response. And that was the end of that conversation.

However, Ron brought up the subject of John's identity later that night when he was alone with Harry.

"What's the deal with John?" asked Ron bluntly out of nowhere.

Harry remained silent. In the hurry that they found themselves in just after Ginny's disappearance, John had fed Ron a few things to keep him focused on the task at hand. And now that things had turned out the way they had, it'd seem like the appropriate time to come clean. As far as Harry was concerned, Ron should have known everything all along. And that part of him convinced him that perhaps it was the night when Ron found out the whole truth.

After Ron made a few promises of silence, Harry began telling Ron everything he knew about John. And it was the story of the past couple of years. The narration was incoherent and disjointed, but by the time Harry finished, Ron got a fairly decent idea of what was going on behind his back.

"This is way too much," sighed Ron in the end.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you earlier... he made us promise not to tell anyone," said Harry.

"He killed someone in the forest? And You-Know-Who was there?" asked Ron.

"That was when we found out. You should have seen him that night... There was something in his look, the confidence with which he spoke, the way he handled the whole thing, the duel he had with the other wizard, it was all terrifying yet mind-blowing to witness," replied Harry reminiscing in the memory.

"He always knows way more than the rest of us do... it all makes sense now," remarked Ron.

"You have him to thank for your wand," said Harry after a few seconds. "Him and Jane..." he added.

"My wand? That was him?" asked Ron, shocked. And Harry nodded in response.

"He took the fall for me with the Hermione incident, he got me a wand when I was struggling with my broken one, he protected you against You-Know-Who in the forest and then Jane..." sighed Ron and paused his sentence midway indefinitely.

A few minutes later, the boys called it a day and fell asleep. The following afternoon, as planned, Ron went back to the Burrow after his lengthy stay at Harry's place. Daisy, Dudley, Harry and Aunt Petunia were all there just like they were when Ron arrived at 4, Privet Drive. Harry's wish to give Ron a magnificent break had been fulfilled and if he were to believe what he was witnessing, then there was definitely something brewing between his 2 best friends.

One thing was sure, these days that they had spent together would remain close to each one of their hearts for the rest of their lives, for some more so than others.

"You look pathetic," said Jane.

"I could say the same about you," replied John looking at his sister through his 2-way-mirror.

"I was afraid you'd never contact me," said Jane after a few seconds. John made a face that suggested he was considering it.

After a few seconds, he replied, "Where are you?" he asked curiously. There was something familiar about Jane's background. The colour of the walls, the floor beneath, it all felt a little too familiar.

He picked up his wand and placed his small pocket-sized mirror in front of him. And with a swift motion of his wand, the mirror grew bigger in size and flew across the room and stuck o the wall like a portrait. He then proceeded to look closely at the mirror.

"I'm home," replied Jane with a smile.

"Home?" asked John, surprised and looking behind instinctively.

"I'm not there John..." replied Jane with a chuckle and after a few seconds she added, "I'm home," with an emphasis on the word home.

It took him a few seconds, but when it came to him, the look on his face was worth it. A mixture of happiness, joy, surprise, and confusion all at the same time.

"Home? You mean... our home?" he repeated.

"Yes," replied Jane and picked up her mirror and showed him around the house.

"How is that even possible?" asked John.

"It was abandoned... And in a bad shape... I did a bit of remodelling and here it is," replied Jane.

"Wow... that is fantastic!" replied John. His enthusiasm seemed a bit forced.

"It's the outskirts of the city and as far as I know, mostly surrounded by muggles," she sighed in relief.

"How are you?" asked John, this time genuinely.

Jane maintained silence for a few seconds and then replied, "I'm fine... surviving," she replied.

Something came over John the moment she said surviving and he started shaking his head in anger and disapproval. Jane noticed this and immediately jumped in, "I thought I didn't have a choice," she said.

"We are not doing this," retorted John, annoyed.

"Why? Don't you want to know why I did what I did?" snapped Jane angrily.

"You don't get to talk to me like that... not after what you did," came back John strongly.

"It was Ginny, John... That bastard had all this planned to perfection," said Jane.

"No no... nothing was planned to any perfection... you just panicked and made a hasty decision, admit it," retorted John. "You know what a long shot that was? Nobody in their right mind would have blamed Ginny for opening the chamber, especially considering how she has ended up... And not to mention Voldemort. Somehow after all that has happened, guess who nobody is talking about? Voldemort... This was our perfect opportunity to bring him into the light..." he added angrily. "... ON OUR TERMS," he emphasized.

"Dumbledore would have never let that happen... he likes peace way too much," retorted Jane.

"Who cares about Dumbledore? When was the last time we did something taking his or anybody else's permission?" retorted John.

All the shouting and then suddenly there was silence for a few minutes that felt like an eternity.

"I'm sorry," she said breaking the silence. "I truly am... All of it happened so quickly... The Room of Requirement, what happened in the chamber, seeing Voldemort, Harry... and then those Aurors," she added.

"What about the room of requirement?" asked John, confused.

"When we went into the room, we saw a bunch of mirrors," replied Jane.

"Yeah and you said the room gives you what you need," added John.

"Whatever you wish for, will be fulfilled," said Jane. "When we went to the Room, yes, I wanted something to kill the basilisk... but I wanted something more... We both did... we wanted to save Ginny," she added like it was supposed to be self-explanatory.

"Yes, we did," said John, confused.

"You said the mirrors were there, as a way to kill or at least neutralize the basilisk... guess what? It failed... it did not do anything to stop the basilisk," said Jane.

"I mean... come on Jane... Basilisks are powerful magical creatures. We tried something, it failed, hardly a surprise... Hardly something to get upset by," replied John, perplexed.

"Yes, it isn't. But the Room showed the mirrors. I do not know what it meant. But at that moment, when I made the decision, I remembered what the room showed us. Mirrors! And more importantly, what the mirror reflected, me. Something told me that was the way to save Ginny," she replied.

John remained silent for a few seconds and replied, "Boy, you had a really bad day, didn't you? I mean... one long shot after another," he said with a chuckle. "Occam's Razor... the simplest solution is likely the right one and you complicated the hell out of what you found yourself in," he added.

The twins lingered at the moment for a few minutes before Jane changed the topic.

"How is Ginny?" she asked.

"I don't know," replied John nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?" asked Jane shocked.

"I know that she is stable, but isn't conscious... But I don't know anything more," replied John calmly.

"Haven't you spoken to Ron or Harry?" she asked.

"No"

"Why?"

"I haven't been myself, you know? What with my sister being a fugitive and me being responsible for it... the guilt was through the roof," replied John with a chuckle.

"Stop this, you weren't responsible for what I did, it was my call," replied Jane.

"It shouldn't have been you inside the chamber... besides, we are in this mess because I wanted you by my side," said John.

"No, I would have been here even if you hadn't asked, I'll always be there for you," said Jane with a smile.

"I often wonder how different and easy our lives would have been if we hadn't travelled with her back in time... my obsession with her is what started all of this didn't it?" sighed John and fell back on the mattress behind him.

"Easy? Yes... Different? Yes... but I don't regret any of it," replied Jane. "Besides, look on the bright side... we have officially changed time," she added.

"Yeah, not so sure if it's the bright side or not. Ginny was better off dead... I can only imagine the pain Molly, Arthur and everyone else must be in," replied John.

"That isn't the bright side dummy... the bright side is, however small, we have made a change now... which means, we can change other things too... like saving Harry for instance," retorted Jane.

"Hmm... let's see," sighed John. "Speaking of which, what happened to him in the chamber?" asked John, curiously.

And he saw Jane's expression turn serious quickly. After a few seconds of silent contemplation, she spoke up.

"Now... I want you to listen to me carefully. And I want you to trust in my ability," she began.

"I have always trusted you... What is it?" asked John.

"This may sound far-fetched, but I know what I saw," she added. After a few seconds of dramatic silence, she continued, "I think... I think... Harry is a Horcrux... It is the only explanation that connects all the dots," she finished.

"He's a what?" asked John, his mind going numb.

"I think Voldemort has split his soul and I'm positive one of them is in Harry," she replied.

"Jane... you are not making any sense," replied John. Though his words didn't seem to carry the same weight.

"The dairy... Tom Riddle's diary... A fascinating dark object, you agree? You said so yourself, the properties it had were astonishing. It's indestructible nature, quite unique, unlike anything we have seen, you agree?" replied Jane, sounding more and more confident with every passing word. "Artificial Intelligence you called it... And I'm saying, I know where it got the intelligence from," she added.

"Jane!" gasped John. "You can't throw multiple nukes on me at the same time... what are you saying? If what you are suggesting, and God I hope you're wrong... If what you are suggesting is true, then how the hell have we not found out about it till now?" he asked, his tone a little shaky.

"Don't ask me... and that is not even the most shocking revelation... it is that Harry could be one of his Horcruxes," she replied.

"What evidence do you have of that?" asked John.

"When I destroyed the diary with fiendfyre, the moment the flames hit the diary, Harry fell on the ground unconscious," replied Jane.

"That is hardly evidence, Jane... Voldemort creating Horcruxes to stay alive is an insane theory, backed by very little evidence with the chances of it being true being slim. Harry being one of the Horcruxes, it's just too much. There has to be another explanation for this," said John.

"You know Harry more than I do, you tell me," suggested Jane.

And then there was silence again. This one lasted for a few days. The next time the twins connected, John had a lot of things to say.

"There are a couple of Aurors outside my house, waiting for you," he said.

"It was always going to happen," sighed Jane.

"I did some thinking..." began John.

"Hmm"

"There are 3 things... The prophecy, Harry's wand and the 3rd, he is a Parselmouth," said John.

"I'm aware of the prophecy backwards, John... we practically heard it every day growing up... the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... it went," replied Jane.

"Mark him as his equal, well, that's the scar... What about the power? What do you think it is?" asked John.

"You think it's that he is a Parselmouth? How's that going to help us defeat Voldemort?" asked Jane.

"I said 2 other things... His wand... that is going to help us defeat Voldemort," replied John.

"His wand? What about it?" asked Jane, surprised.

"I bring you a piece of trivia, not many know... Harry and Voldemort share the same wand core. Harry said so himself... Ollivander told him apparently when he sold his wand," replied John.

"Twin wands?" remarked Jane.

"Yes... I have been doing some reading... Priori Incantatem is going to be our secret weapon," replied John. "Twin wands battling each other," he added.

"So, what? Does that mean Voldemort can never defeat Harry in a duel?" asked Jane.

"Well, Harry can't defeat him either..." replied John. "Not that anybody expects him to," he added with a chuckle.

"That helps us how?"

"Knowledge is Power... We keep Harry's wand a secret, et voila... Make them face each other, while they battle it out, we kill Voldemort," replied John calmly.

"You're getting way ahead of yourself..." remarked Jane.

"Until we have more evidence, I'm not buying the Horcrux theories," replied John. A few seconds later he added, "neither of them."

During John's final mirror conversation with his sister, he brought up this conversation again.

"Oh and by the way... I gave a wand to Harry," he said.

"A wand?"

"Yeah... the other one I had," he replied.

"He doesn't even use his wand properly, he's now going to have a second?" asked Jane.

"That has to change... I'm thinking of asking Remus to train him," replied John.

"John... John? Are you listening to yourself? Harry's a kid... you are not going to prepare him for a duel against Voldemort," said Jane in a concerned tone.

"Well, he's going to die in one... We are here to change that, aren't we?" replied John calmly.

"Don't overextend yourself," warned Jane.

"I'll be fine... One more thing before I leave... Uncle Sirius, what are we going to do?" asked John.

"He is innocent... But there's nothing we could do for him," replied Jane.

"Surely there must be... I mean, even Remus doesn't believe in him... I feel like we are the only 2 people in the world who believe in his innocence," replied John sulking.

"I'll do some searching... But I can't promise anything," replied Jane.

We are being watched. Don't write to me. Padfoot near the school.

Without Wax
21815

John knew the odds of finding Sirius would never be better. He flicked his wand at the words he had penned down and in an instant, they rearranged to gibberish. He sent out the letter to Jane.

And with that, Halloween night ended for John.

However, the night had only begun for someone else. Someone who knew it would soon be too late to get out. When the chaos died down, Ron would realize that Scabbers was gone.

Chapter Text

"Turn to page 394," said Snape in a deadly calm voice. He glanced around and added, "All of you! Now!"

With all that was going on, this was the last thing Harry needed, Snape, taking over Remus' class.

The students were all bitter with the way the class went, with Snape seemingly behaving even more scathingly than usual.

"I can't believe this git is taking over Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Ron, annoyed.

"He's not taking over... Professor Lupin is just not feeling well," said Hermione. "I hope he comes back soon," she added.

"Nobody asked you," snapped Ron.

Ron, just like Harry was having a difficult time post the Sirius break-in. Amidst all the chaos, Scabbers seemed to have vanished into thin air. And Ron blamed Hermione's cat, Crookshanks for it.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Crookshanks was with me the whole night... She did not eat your rat, Ron," retorted Hermione but Ron was having none of it and he barged out of sight instantly.

Harry and Hermione walked back to the great hall in a sour mood. And it showed in the conversation that followed.

"How are you holding up?" asked Hermione looking at Harry's depressed face.

"I'm fine, why?" asked Harry in return.

"Why? Sirius Black was here only a few days back... Almost certainly to kill you, that's why," replied Hermione.

"Well he didn't, did he?" retorted Harry.

"Harry!"

"What?"

"You have to be careful," whispered Hermione, looking worried.

"There are Dementors all around, aren't they? They'll catch Sirius," retorted Harry disconcertingly.

"Well, he escaped from Azkaban, and now he has broken into Hogwarts, are you sure Dementors are any good?" said Hermione.

"What do you want me to do, Hermione?" snapped Harry, loud enough for everyone around them to hear. "Was I going to be killed? Probably... Dumbledore is here, there are Dementors here and yet Sirius somehow came in... And everybody since has been acting weird around me... Percy, the Students, the Professors, everybody... And there's very little I can do about anything. So, what do you want me to do?" he added angrily, this time a little less loud than before.

But the damage seemed to be done as Hermione gathered her stuff and dashed out of the Great Hall instantly.

While Hermione stocked up on the books and Ron put all his anger into practising Remus' training, Harry found solace with Quidditch. Oliver, the Gryffindor captain was running the training at full intensity and for once, Harry didn't mind the strenuous sessions.

Harry woke up very early on the morning of their quidditch game. Their first of the season and it was against Slytherin. Rumours were heard in the Gryffindor camp that the Slytherin team tried to postpone their game but were unsuccessful. Quidditch was infamous for being relentless and unforgiving even in the harshest of weather. And that morning was going to be a testament to that.

After roaming around the common room for some time, Harry went down for breakfast, even though he didn't have an appetite. He was almost done with his breakfast when the rest of the team showed up. They all looked worried about the weather and their concerns were proven justified when they changed into their scarlet robes and walked into the field.

The wind was so strong that they staggered sideways as they walked onto the field. If the crowd was cheering, they couldn't hear it. Rain was splattering over Harry's glasses. The Slytherin quidditch was approaching from the opposite side of the field. And once they did, the captains shook hands and after a few moments, the whistle blew and they were off.

Harry was drenched and feeling cold in his bones within a couple of minutes into the game. There were the occasional player sightings, but apart from that, Harry felt lonely. What was his team's score? Was the match over already? Had Draco already caught the snitch? Harry simply didn't know. He could barely see anything more than a few feet away. He started flying around trying to make sense of what was going on. He skipped the bludger a couple of times, saw Angelina score past Slytherin's keeper, and saw Oliver make a couple of decent saves but that was that. There was no sign of the snitch.

As the minutes went by, the cold got to Harry more and more. And he was getting frustrated. And there were also his spectacles. All the rain and wind made it virtually impossible to see anything clearly. As the struggles mounted, he saw something that made his heart stop for a moment. There was a flash of lightning that illuminated the stands and amongst the empty row of seats, Harry noticed the silhouette of an enormous shaggy black dog. But the illumination only lasted a moment, and the next, he couldn't see anything, however hard he squinted his eyes beyond his foggy spectacles.

One jolt of panic followed another as a couple of minutes later, Harry saw Draco flying at full speed, almost like he was after something. It could mean only one thing, he had spotted the snitch. Instantly, Harry sped after him. The chase for the snitch was on and Harry was falling behind comfortably.

"Come on," he growled and zoomed after Draco. Ice cold winds, raindrops sharper than shards of ice splashed his face at top speed from the opposite direction. The rumbles of thunder seemed to roar louder. And then there was silence.

An eerie silence fell across the stadium. The wind, though as strong as ever, seemed to make no noise. It was as if, Harry became deaf suddenly. A moment later, a horrible familiar wave of cold swept over him, inside him, just as he became aware of something moving on the field below. At least a hundred Dementors, their hidden faces pointing up at him, were floating beneath him. And then almost immediately, Harry heard it again.

How was it possible? He wasn't dreaming now. He had only dreamt of this before. There was that gut-wrenching scream that made his insides churn. The scream continued longer than usual. Whenever he dreamt this exact thing, there would be a scream followed by a flash of green light.

He heard another voice, much fainter than the screams,

"Leave them alone," it said.

And then there was another a second later, that said, "you are going to pay for this!"

A couple of seconds later, there was a faint cracking sound followed by the loud scream again and this time it was swiftly followed by a flash of green light and Harry woke up screaming, startling Hermione and Ron who were sitting on a chair each, on either side of Harry. In the fright she got, Hermione dropped the book she was reading.

"Oh my God! Harry..." exclaimed Hermione loudly.

It took a few seconds for Harry to come to his senses. He realized pretty much instantly that this was not his bed in Gryffindor's common room, but one in the hospital wing. It didn't make any sense, however, since the last thing he remembered was flying after Draco on his Nimbus.

"Harry... you are awake," exclaimed Ron.

"Ron... Hermione..." said Harry weakly.

"Mate, are you alright?" asked Ron, looking worried, as he quickly pulled his chair closer to the bed.

"What happened? There... were... Dementors..." asked Harry, the words coming out of his mouth were barely audible.

Hermione got up from her chair and dashed out to get Madam Pomfrey.

"You had an accident," replied Ron faintly.

"I fell from my broom?" asked Harry rubbing his head.

"Yeah, you could say that," replied Ron. And just as he did, Madam Pomfrey walked in briskly.

"How are you feeling, boy?" enquired Madam Pomfrey.

"My head hurts a little, otherwise, I feel fine," replied Harry weakly.

"No, you're not... You seem weak, you have trouble speaking..." retorted Pomfrey and proceeded to check Harry. A few seconds later she added, "you are running a fever, your reflexes are slow."

Harry was slightly alarmed by the list and Madam Pomfrey quickly jumped in,

"You need a couple of days of rest and you will be fine," she said.

"Couple more?" exclaimed Harry.

"Yes, Mr Potter... and I'm going to be keeping a special attention..." replied Pomfrey. "The elves will bring your meals, make sure to have them on time," she added with a smile.

"Dementors, evil creatures..." she sighed angrily. "I told them again and again," she muttered under her breath. It was about a couple of minutes later that the trio were alone again.

"Harry..." exclaimed Hermione. "You gave all of us a right fright," she said and hugged Harry lightly.

Harry sat up straight and rubbed his forehead again.

"You remember any of what happened?" asked Ron.

"Well... I was flying behind Malfoy," replied Harry and took a pause trying to remember the sequence of events. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other.

And Harry continued, "he had the snitch on sight. It was cold, really cold, my hands were numb..." he said. "I remember seeing the Dementors and then," he added and got visibly worked up. But within an instant, he calmed down.

Ron glanced at Hermione again and then spoke up, "and then?" he asked.

"And then... nothing, that's the last thing I remember," lied Harry.

"Dumbledore was absolutely furious," said Hermione faintly. "... the Dementors weren't supposed to interfere," she added.

"I just passed out mid-air?" asked Harry, trying to fill in the blanks.

Ron remained silent for a few seconds and after getting a stare from Hermione, he replied.

"We couldn't see you, to be honest mate," said Ron. "It was raining heavily, you know?" he added with a hesitation.

"Ron," whispered Hermione loudly.

"Are you sure you don't remember how you fell?" asked Ron earning him a curious look from Harry and an angry one from Hermione.

"Why? I really don't remember anything else," replied Harry.

"It was Draco, Harry..." said Hermione. Harry looked confused. So, she continued, "he saved you," she added.

"What?" exclaimed Harry, shocked.

"He didn't... for all we know, he was the reason why Harry fell," interjected Ron.

"Shut up, Ron... use your head," snapped Hermione. And it was at that instant, Madam Pomfrey came back accompanied by an elf carrying a tray.

"Leave... both of you... now," she said as she entered. "He needs to rest after having his meal, " she added.

And with that, the conversation ended abruptly leaving Harry filled with questions.

The following morning, Harry got a visit from his quidditch teammates. Each one had a perspective to share. Half of them hadn't realized what had happened till they heard the whistle. The others had a glimpse of what was happening, even though their first reaction was that Harry was flying downwards in an attempt to get the snitch. And those included, Angelina, Fred and George.

"I saw Malfoy after you and that's when I realized your broom was missing," said Angelina.

Harry heard everything they had to say and had very few words to respond with. His heart had sunk when he was told that his broom was shattered. Its broken pieces were taken to the Gryffindor common room. Though there was one consolation. The match was cancelled, or as Oliver put it, "... it is postponed to a later date and the game will resume at 120 to 90."

The rest of the day was uneventful and boring. Hermione had helped Harry out that evening by giving him a couple of massive books to read. Harry had appreciated the thought, though he wasn't sure if he would go ahead and read something.

It was the evening of his last day at the Hospital wing and Harry was sound asleep, purely out of boredom. He was in a deep sleep and hadn't even noticed a student come in, keep something on the table beside him and walk away. A while later, a second someone came in and this time, Harry jolted awake.

Harry turned around and saw Draco Malfoy standing still.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he said, alarmed.

"Malfoy?" exclaimed Harry, surprised.

Draco walked in awkwardly.

"What did Madam Pomfrey say?" asked Draco.

"I'll be out tomorrow and can rejoin classes immediately," replied Harry.

"Oh, wow..." said Draco with a blank expression.

After a few seconds of silence, Harry spoke up.

"Thank you... I guess," he said faintly.

"Mention not," replied Draco. "Anybody in that position would have done the same... probably better," he added.

"You saved my life," said Harry gratefully.

"It was a soft landing, Potter... you wouldn't have died," retorted Draco and chuckled. Harry gave a wry smile in return.

"What actually happened?" asked Harry.

"Funny... I was going to ask you the same thing," replied Draco.

"I don't remember much," replied Harry. "One moment, I was chasing after you, the next I saw hundreds of Dementors and that was that..." he added.

"Oh!"

"Hmm," nodded Harry.

"Why were you chasing me?" asked Draco. Harry looked at him curiously.

"The snitch?" asked Harry, puzzled.

"I don't know where it was... I was just flying around, and then I saw come after me... So, I continued like I knew what I was doing," replied Draco and chuckled.

Harry had his hands on his forehead. He couldn't believe he fell for that.

"And then, I saw you slow down and a second later, you flipped," he continued. "I saw and I sped after you... I barely made it before you hit the ground... I probably did you more harm than good the way we landed," he finished with a laugh.

A few seconds later, Harry replied, "well, thank you anyway..."

"Don't thank me... I was just making sure I could beat you fair and square..." said Draco sarcastically.

"Yeah right... like that's going to happen," retorted Harry.

"You never know... what with all these Dementors going around... You might take a fall again... I'm not going to be catching you every time," remarked Draco.

"Piss off, Malfoy" retorted Harry with a smile.

"Take care, Potter..." said Draco and with that, he left.

Harry was back in class the following day. And he wasn't surprised to find the students murmuring behind his back about the quidditch incident. He had received this treatment a few times before, hence it didn't matter much. Though, what did matter was the Dementor situation. And he had decided to ask Remus for help.

"Harry..." called out Hermione for the 3rd time, this time louder than the previous times.

"Uh... what?" asked Harry.

"What's this?" she asked handing him a note. "It was in the book I gave you," she added.

Harry took the note and immediately realized what it was.

"Oh, this? I don't know who sent this... I thought it was you, but the handwriting was different," replied Harry.

Harry was holding a note with the words, "Get well soon, Harry!" and it also had a beautiful flower drawn beside it.

"No, it wasn't me," remarked Hermione suspiciously.

"It's probably someone from our house," sighed Harry and resumed his homework.

"You're back, how are you feeling?" asked John.

"The same as always... At times, even Severus' potion can't help enough," replied Remus.

"No one's happy with him taking over your class," said John with a chuckle.

"I can imagine," replied Remus with a smile.

After a couple of minutes of silence, John spoke up.

"So... Sirius?" remarked John.

"Hmm"

"How do you think he did it?" asked John.

"The same way he escaped Azkaban," replied Remus.

"And how was that?"

"I don't know... He probably has a few tricks up his sleeve," replied Remus.

"Are the Dementors clever enough to spot an Animagus?" asked John.

"It's hard to say..." sighed Remus.

And with that, John left the class and was on his way to Arithmancy when he ran into Professor McGonagall.

"Afternoon," greeted John.

"Good Afternoon, Mr Smith," greeted back Minerva. "I have been meaning to speak with you," she added.

"You have?" asked John curiously.

"The next Hogsmeade visit is at the end of the month," she said.

"I heard... everybody is talking about it," replied John.

"I want you to stay close to Harry," she said, looking worried.

"Minerva..." exclaimed John unhappily.

"No excuses"

"You have nothing to worry about Sirius... you have my word," argued John.

"Your word means something... but I can't risk you being wrong... Time isn't something we understand very well. What if your actions have had unintended consequences?" remarked Professor McGonagall.

"Okay... You will hopefully have proof of his innocence soon... And until then, I'll keep an eye on Harry, fine?" replied John.

"I have already spoken with Harry. He didn't agree to stay in the castle, this is the next best I could think of," said Professor McGonagall.

And with that, John left for his class, which he was already late for.

A few days went by in a flash. And only a week left before their next Hogsmeade visit. Remus had informed Ron and Harry about their next training session. And surprisingly, this time, he had arranged a separate session for each of them. Through their classes, Remus had realized that Ron had a better grasp of magic. He was calm during spell demonstrations. The only negatives were that he lacked confidence and he was lazy. Harry on the other hand was enthusiastic, erratic with his spells, and carried nervous energy around him. Harry also had trouble concentrating.

And to address all of these things, he arranged a separate session for them both. As it turned out, Ron's session went extremely well, while Harry was troubled with the Dementors. Keeping separate sessions was the way forward, Remus understood.

John and Hermione were working on their ancient runes homework in the library. John was working, Hermione however was just pretending. Every few minutes, she would pick up the note Harry had gotten, stare at it for a few seconds and then keep it back in her bag.

"What's that you're staring at?" asked John after noticing the pattern repeat a few times.

"Uh... nothing," replied Hermione and kept the note in her bag.

John kept staring at her curiously.

"It's nothing... it's just a note that Harry got after his quidditch accident," said Hermione.

"He received a note?" asked John, curiously.

Hermione handed him the note. John inspected the note for a few seconds. And with a smile on his face, he replied, "looks like someone has a crush on Harry," he said.

"What?" gasped Hermione. "No... I don't have a crush on Harry," she added quickly.

John burst into laughter. "I didn't mean you, Hermione..." he retorted.

"Oh"

"Or, someone is really glad he is doing well. Why are you so upset with it anyway?" he asked, with a twinkle in his eye.

"I'm not upset," she replied instantly. "I'm just... uh, curious, you know?" she added quickly.

"Uh-huh... right," replied John with a wry smile.

After a few minutes, they left the library as it was getting late. They had just made it to the Great Hall for dinner when an owl dropped an envelope on John's head.

John hastily picked up the envelope from the floor and glanced at it.

"Who's it from?" asked Hermione.

"Jane," whispered John cautiously. Though there was a different expression on his face.

John left the hall immediately and made his way to a dark corner in the first-floor corridor, Hermione followed behind. He ripped open the envelope and took the letter out. A minute later, he closed the letter with a laugh.

"What does it say? Why are you laughing?" asked Hermione, confused.

"Because this is funny," replied John and handed Hermione the letter.

"Kbof ifsf. Nffu nf cfijoe Ipht ifbe evsjoh zpvs Iphtnfbef wjtju. J ibwf tpnfuijoh jnqpsubou up ufmm zpv.

Without Wax
19919"

Hermione read and re-read the gibberish but couldn't understand head or tail of what was written.

"This is... what is this?" asked Hermione, confused.

"Well... It reads, Jane here. Meet me behind Hogs head during your Hogsmeade visit. I have something important to tell you," replied John.

"What? She wants to see you?" asked Hermione.

"No, she doesn't... this is not written by Jane. The handwriting, the words used, the way she signed it and not to forget, I literally wrote to her only a few weeks back telling her not to write to me... This letter has been written by somebody trying to trick me, probably Emily Davies," replied John with a smile.

"Are you sure?" asked Hermione, shocked.

"Absolutely"

Hermione looked unconvinced.

"Look," he said pointing at the end of the note that read, "19919". "Emily has been reading our letters. Obviously, she can't understand a word. All she knows is how we sign our letters. Without Wax, followed by 21815, for me, 19919 for Jane. I can't believe she thought I would fall for this," he said confidently with a chuckle.

"But, what if it is actually Jane?" asked Hermione.

"Jane would never start the note with, Jane here... That's stupid, she is the only one I have. There is nobody else who is going to write to me, especially encrypted. Also, we never use too many words, we always keep sentences crisp, and to the point. This is all over the place... This is not written by Jane, this is a poor imitation," replied John. "And one more thing... the key used here to encrypt the words is wrong... I can go and on... trust me, this is not Jane," he added.

"Wow"

"Let's go get some food... I'm starving," said John and with that, the pair went back to the Great Hall.

Hermione however was still curious. While they were eating, she brought up the topic again.

"Do you think Emily wrote a similar one to Jane?" she asked. John hadn't thought about it.

"Maybe... If I were her, I would probably do the same. She is tricking Jane into coming, and will capture her the moment she does," replied John.

"What are you going to do?" she asked. "Will you write to her?"

"No, that would be stupid... Emily is waiting for us to do the mistake. Jane won't come, she will see through the letter, just like I did. I'm not going to do anything," replied John.

After a few minutes, Hermione spoke up again.

"What do the numbers mean?" she asked.

"Which numbers? You mean 19919 and 21815?" retorted John.

"Yes, what are they?" she asked.

"It's nothing really... something we came up with when we were kids," replied John. "It just means brother and sister," he added.

"Oh, and what about, Without Wax?" she asked.

"An inside joke... People finish their letters with sincerely, we do it with, Without Wax," replied John. And with that, the conversation ended.

The day of their next Hogsmeade visit finally arrived. Ron's anger did not seem to have diminished, which meant that, this time around Harry and Hermione were going to be alone, while Ron was going to be hanging around with Seamus, Neville and Dean Thomas.

Meanwhile, John upon reconsideration had borrowed the invisibility cloak from Harry to investigate the letter he had received. He had no intention of keeping an eye on Harry, he didn't want to, and he was pretty sure neither did Harry or Hermione.

John decided to roam around Hogsmeade wearing the cloak throughout. The Hogsmeade village was a nice visit that time of the year, with Christmas approaching, the snowflakes falling occasionally, and the cool breeze, all made it an excellent day. And the invisibility cloak made things so much more interesting. He had used it earlier in their 2nd year to roam around the Hogwarts castle, but in all those instances, he had to be careful not to make any sound, he had to always be alert. Today, however, was different. He was walking invisible in the middle of a busy village, with people all around him. Being invisible in a crowd was easier compared to a deserted corridor, even if he had no cloak. Occasionally, he would see Ron walking around, laughing with his friends, enjoying the day, just like he saw Harry and Hermione on multiple occasions, in the many attractions of Hogsmeade.

Soon, it became a boring day for him. His true purpose of the cloak was anonymity from Emily when she arrives at the Hog's Head Inn. He was also slightly worried about the contents of the letter Jane might have received. If Jane were to appear there, on that day, at that moment, he had to be there to help her escape. But as it turned out, the whole day was uneventful. Emily didn't show up, Jane didn't show up, and neither did anyone else.

However, something had happened at the Three Broomsticks with Harry, that he found out soon after he reached the castle.

"Hey... you returned? I thought you guys would have stayed a bit longer," said John and handed Harry the cloak. Harry however looked devastated, and so did Hermione. The moment Harry's eyes laid on John, he got up enraged and dashed towards him.

"Did you know about Sirius betraying my parents? Was he the reason why they were found?" lashed out Harry.

"Harry..." exclaimed John, shocked. "What are you talking about?" he added.

Tears were back in Harry's red eyes and he crashed back on the couch.

"What happened?" asked John looking at Hermione. He looked taken aback and stunned.

"We were at the Three Broomsticks... and we overheard a conversation between the Minister of Magic, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and Hagrid," replied Hermione, shaking a little.

"Okay? And what did they say?" he asked.

"They talked about Sirius," she replied. And then she slowly added, "how Sirius betrayed..." but didn't finish the sentence.

John resisted a strong urge to argue that Sirius didn't betray anyone and let Harry speak.

"Sirius was best friends with my father and he betrayed him when he needed his best friend the most," lashed out Harry. "He was my Godfather... He was their secret keeper and he betrayed them," he added.

John stood unfazed. He knew Sirius was their best friend, he knew Sirius was Harry's Godfather, he was even James' best man, but however, he had no idea that Sirius was their secret keeper. And this, for the first time brought doubt into John's mind. "Could Sirius have done what he was accused of? Was it at all possible that he didn't know the whole truth?"

"Harry... Yes, I knew," said John after a few seconds. Harry glanced at him, with tears in his eyes.

"They were the best of friends... but you can't beat yourself up about it. What has happened, has happened, there is nothing we can do to change it," he added.

Harry however got up angrily, "I need to talk to Remus," he said and dashed out of the common room.

"You look rattled," remarked Hermione faintly. "What happened?" she asked.

"Nothing," replied John. "I didn't know he was their secret keeper," he added.

"Oh"

"Hmm... I still believe Sirius didn't do those things everybody is accusing him of... I hope Jane comes through," he added.

"Jane? How?" asked Hermione.

"When Sirius broke in, I asked her to find him," replied John.

Jane chuckled while reading the letter. "Like I'm going to fall for that"

And just that instant, she heard a sound in the back of the house. With her wand up, she walked as slowly and faintly as she could to the back of the house.

The moment she walked out, someone jumped on her. And instinctively, she pointed her wand at him and a jet of red light hit the man. The next moment, the intruder fell down stunned.

Jane glanced at the man's face and a smile appeared on her face.

"Welcome home, Uncle Sirius," she whispered.

Chapter Text

"That was careless," hissed the voice, angrily.

"My Lord," pleaded Barty Crouch Jr.

"Enough," hissed the voice, angrily.

"I thought they would show up, but neither of the twins did," said Barty.

"They're clever"

"My apologies, Lord... I will not fail you again," said Barty, his voice shaking a little.

As Barty stood there, frightened for his life, Voldemort said something that made him almost jump in joy.

"It's time, Bartemius... Time for my resurrection," said Voldemort.

Remus was taken aback when he found an enraged Harry walking into his office.

"Harry," exclaimed Remus, surprised.

"You knew, didn't you? Of course, you knew but you never told me... That Sirius was my Godfather, that my parents trusted him and he betrayed them," lashed out Harry.

Remus was too stunned to speak. It was not his intention to hide the truth from Harry.

"Harry... calm down, have a seat," said Remus and also handed him a glass of water.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Harry.

"Because I had hoped you wouldn't have to know the truth," replied Remus. And before Harry could reply, he continued.

"It was the worst day," he said. "I had known James and Sirius for a long time... And to find out that one died in the hands of the other..." he added but didn't finish the sentence. "I didn't want you to know that," he finished.

Remus looked broken. And Harry's rage died down instantly. He hadn't considered the effect it would have had on Remus.

"How did it happen?" asked Harry.

"I ask myself that every day," replied Remus.

Remus and Harry spent the rest of the evening talking about Remus' school days, stories about his father and mother, for they were the moments Harry had always wondered about, and they were the moments Remus cherished the most.

Ron found out about the events of that day from Harry, the moment he came back.

"He didn't," gasped Ron. "I'm so sorry, Harry," he added.

"I couldn't believe it," sighed Harry.

"Forget all of that... No point in thinking about it," said Ron. "How was the rest of your day?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" retorted Harry.

"Mate... I do have eyes, and I can see," replied Ron with a smile.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry, confused.

"Why do you think I wasn't with you at Hogsmeade?" asked Ron.

Harry's face remained confused.

"You know, Harry? Sometimes, I can't believe how slow you are," said Ron. "How was your day spent at Hogsmeade with Hermione?" he repeated, this time specifying what he meant.

"With Hermione? I uh... I don't know... Ron?" stumbled Harry all over the place.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me," replied Ron.

"There's nothing to tell," said Harry, embarrassed.

And Ron didn't prod further on the subject.

The Christmas vibe was in full effect. The decorations were up, the castle grounds were white all over, and even the food was Christmassy. Remus had started arranging his training sessions with Harry and Ron more than once a week, and they were happening in full flow. Harry was also busy with quidditch training, for the game against Slytherin was to take place right before their Christmas break started. There was of course one big problem that he had.

Harry's Nimbus was broken as a result of the fall. Which meant, he was going to use one of the school's reserve brooms, the Shooting Star. However hard Harry tried, the speed was considerably lower than that of the Nimbus. This broom didn't even navigate the way Harry wanted it to. All in all, the chances of beating Slytherin looked slim.

It was the morning, a few days before game day. And as it turned out, these few days were going to be action-packed. Harry, Ron and Hermione were having their breakfast in the Great Hall. And like most mornings, Owls flew in bringing everyone's post. And Harry was most surprised to receive not one but two packages. One looked enormous, while the other was small.

Harry opened the big package first and to his shock, he unwrapped the magnificent and gleaming broomstick.

"I don't believe it," gasped Ron.

"Woah!" gasped Harry. "This is the firebolt," he whispered in disbelief. "This is the firebolt," he screamed this time in utter shock and happiness.

"Who's it from?" asked Ron. But there was no name in the note.

"Merry Christmas, Harry!" it read.

Harry immediately looked in the direction of John, who was sitting a few seats beside them. John wasn't even looking in their direction and was busy reading a book while enjoying his cinnamon French toast.

"John," called out Harry.

John turned his head towards the trio.

"You sent this?" asked Harry, beaming happily.

John looked confused and walked over to the trio.

"Wow... this is the firebolt," remarked John, surprised.

"This must have cost you a fortune... Thank you so much, but I can't accept this... Why did you buy me this?" asked Harry, in a mixture of shock and happiness.

"First the wand holster, now this? How rich are you?" exclaimed Ron.

"What? Wand holster? What are you talking about?" retorted John, surprised. "And no, I didn't send you this, Harry," he added with a confused smile.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, confused.

"Then who sent this?" asked Ron.

"Professor McGonagall, maybe? It was her last time, wasn't it?"

"Or, it could be Remus," said Ron.

"Honestly, Ron... I'm not sure Professor Lupin can afford this," replied Hermione.

"Why isn't there a name on the note?" muttered John under his breath. "Harry," he exclaimed instantly. "Stay away from the broom," he ordered.

"What? Why?" asked Harry, taken aback by the sudden change in tone.

"This could be tampered with... I think I know who this is from, but we need to thoroughly check this," replied John hastily.

"Who's it from?" asked Harry.

"Black," replied John. He took out his wand and levitated the broom from the table and left the Great Hall in a hurry, with the broom behind him, in the air.

"Sirius? Why would he send me a broomstick?" asked Harry but got no response.

"If it is jinxed, well, it could harm you in more ways than you think," suggested Hermione. And just like that, the excitement of a firebolt got wiped out.

Harry turned his attention towards the small package. He had forgotten about it until he saw it again. He ripped the package open and his mouth was left wide open.

"This is..." he stammered. "This is me," he said faintly and took out the card from the cardboard box.

Hermione grabbed the card from Harry in disbelief. It was Harry's portrait. And it looked unreal.

"What?" gasped Hermione in shock.

"What is it?" asked Ron and grabbed the card from Hermione. "No way..." he gasped the moment his eyes fell on the card. "Who's it from?" he asked.

And to Harry's dismay, there wasn't a name on this either. Just a note on the backside of the card. This one read the same, "Merry Christmas, Harry!" and this had the same flower drawn that his "Get Well Soon, Harry!" card had.

"I'm sick of getting stuff without names on them," yelled Harry loudly, annoyed.

John was instantly in Severus Snape's office, and within minutes, so were Albus Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Remus Lupin.

"Harry got this in the post today," said John. "And I think, Sirius Black sent it," he added.

"What?" gasped Professor McGonagall.

"What makes you say that Mr Smith?" asked Dumbledore.

"There isn't a note... well there is, but without a name. Jane didn't send this... and neither did anyone of us from this room. If we had, we would have signed it, am I right?" replied John.

A few of them in the room at that moment were guilty of doing so in the past, however, none protested.

"And I also believe Sirius sent Harry a gift in the past," said John. Everyone in the room gave an alarmed look toward John. "When I found out, I believed in Sirius' innocence. I'm not so sure now," he added.

"Mr Smith, I don't have all the time in the world. You'd like us to check this broom thoroughly, correct?" asked Severus.

"Yes"

"It will be done... Now you may leave," said Severus. John glanced at Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore and after a nod of approval, he left Snape's office.

The news of the firebolt had spread like wildfire. And the news of it being confiscated by John had too, which greatly annoyed the Gryffindor team.

"Who does he think he is?" questioned Fred, enraged.

"Seems like we let him off easily, brother," remarked George, unhappily.

"I feel like a kid who just got his candy snatched away," said Angelina.

"And I feel like someone who got his firebolt snatched away," remarked Harry and that earned him a few tired chuckles from the team.

The following morning, the trio were at the great hall having breakfast. Hermione was busy convincing Harry that the firebolt couldn't be trusted. The boys however were way too mesmerised by the firebolt to accept reason. And just when the argument was about to hit its crescendo, John walked over to the group.

"I have bad... very bad news," whispered John in a worried tone.

"I can't have the firebolt?" asked Harry instantly.

"No, it's not the broomstick... Walk with me," replied John. "All of you, quick," he added.

The trio made their way back to the common room and found an empty sitting space.

"Nicolas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle Flamel were tortured and killed last night," said John the moment they were alone.

"What?" gasped all of them, in shock.

"Yes... Not many know about this, yet. Professor Dumbledore found out last night," said John.

"Why would anyone do that?" asked Ron.

"And here is the bad news... Something was taken from the Flamel household... The Philosopher's stone," replied John.

"No" gasped Harry.

"You-know-who," gasped Ron, in shock.

Hermione had her hands on her head, in shock. And John looked devastated.

"If he is back..." began Hermione.

"Don't even," interrupted Ron, with a never seen before frightened look.

All of them left for their classes pretty soon after that. Though, for all of them, it was one of their worst days academically.

Their charms were poor and they received a telling off from Professor Flitwick.

To their surprise, the horrible potions they had brewed received very little criticism from Severus.

"He didn't say a word," said Ron, shocked once they were out of the Potions class.

"He has a heart after all," replied Harry, shocked.

"Everybody is going to find out soon," sighed Hermione, worried.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts class that day was duller than dishwater. Remus seemed out of it, he kept repeating sentences, and he had switched to a theoretical lesson for a change.

Harry had his worst quidditch practice session and got a strong word from his captain, Oliver Wood for the same.

"It's not the broom, it is you Harry. You can't let these things get to your head. I want you focused on the game at hand," said Oliver. And Harry nodded blankly.

Harry's sleep that day was disturbed. He wasn't sure if it was because he was worried, or if it had an ulterior meaning. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw an old mansion and kept hearing maniacal laughter.

Harry woke up late the following morning. By the time he went for breakfast, John, Ron and Hermione were already done.

"Bad night?" enquired Hermione the moment she saw Harry.

"Very," replied Harry.

"What happened?" asked John.

"I just kept dreaming one thing or the other, all of the bad variety," replied Harry. John made a mental note to bring back the conversation at a later time.

"It's all over the papers," said Ron after a few seconds.

Harry almost spit his food out, "What?" he gasped.

"Flamel," replied Ron.

Harry felt stupid for not realizing and he continued gulping his food.

"But there's nothing about the Philosopher's stone," said Ron.

"They're trying to keep it under wraps," remarked John.

"Do we know what happened to it after Quirrell tried to steal it?" asked Ron.

"That was a fake, a trap for Quirrell," replied John.

"We did all of that for a trap?" asked Ron, shocked and a little disappointed.

"They didn't even tell me," replied John. "I found out after," he added.

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Ron.

John conveniently remained silent.

And just at that instant, the owls arrived and to Harry's dismay, he received yet another package.

"Not again," sighed Harry. "Ron, will you please open it... I can't," he added.

Ron read out the note in front aloud,

"From Daisy Taylor-Williams

To Harry Potter

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HARRY!" and there was a heart symbol in the end.

"Daisy?" wondered Harry, confused.

"Well, at least this time, there was a name," chuckled Ron.

"No... this doesn't make any sense," replied Harry and proceeded to open the package.

"Why?" asked Ron.

"I'm going home for Christmas... why would she send me my Christmas present to Hogwarts?" replied Harry. John, Hermione and Ron were closely watching the gift, intrigued.

There were 2 small packages inside the box. Harry opened the first one and it had a ball. Plain and simple, cricket ball. And it wasn't even new.

"What?" whispered Harry, surprised. "What is this?" he remarked. Not just Harry, even Hermione and John were confused.

"What is this?" asked Ron excitedly.

"It's just a ball," replied Harry.

"It doesn't do anything?" asked Ron, surprised.

"No... it's just a plain, simple and old ball," replied Harry. And Ron's excitement died down.

Harry opened the second package and this one looked even stranger. Harry could see a solid black cube inside the package. Harry took out the small cube, twice the size of a dice, carefully and placed it on the table.

"I don't even know what this..." began Harry but he was interrupted by John.

"Is that... Oh my God!" gasped John and dived to grasp the black cube from Harry's hand.

"What is it?" asked Harry, surprised at John's reaction.

"Let's go," said John and started sprinting. The trio were shocked and dashed after John. This time, John guided them outside the castle to his favourite spot in Hogwarts, near the lake.

Everybody was gasping for breath by the time they reached there.

"What... why are we running?" asked Hermione, panting.

"This," replied John and held out the cube. "This is... a black box... Look," he said and brought the cube close to his mouth.

"Reveal all your secrets to me, John Smith," whispered John and instantly, the top surface of the cube slid open.

"Woah," gasped the trio, amazed.

"This... this is one of Jane's creations. And this was intended for me," said John, confused.

"Jane's creations?" asked Hermione.

"Jane sent this?" asked Harry, shocked.

"Has to be... She couldn't send anything to me, so she sent it to Daisy and then told her to send it to you... Wow," replied John, shocked.

"That's genius," said Hermione.

"But what's in the box?" asked Ron.

John took out the contents of the cube carefully and it was a transparent tube.

"What is that?" asked Harry. Hermione and Ron were wondering the same.

"A memory vial," replied John slowly. There was an excitement in his tone. "She did it," he exclaimed happily.

"What's a memory vial?" asked Harry, though he could sense from John's tone that it was something happy.

"It is a memory vial... it is used to store memories," replied John. "We need to get this to Dumbledore," he said. "Let's go," he added and the trio followed him to Albus Dumbledore's office, confused, anxious and excited all at the same time.

"What do you mean? Store memories?" asked Harry, curiously.

"Exactly what it says... You can extract a copy of your memories and like in this case, share them with others," replied John.

"But how would we even... how does that work?" asked Harry.

"Imagine someone recorded your every movement, the places you go to, the words you say, etc... Now imagine looking at this recording, not just look, live them again... or someone else's memories," replied John.

Harry still looked confused.

"You'll see soon enough," he added.

The 4 of them rushed to Professor Dumbledore's office. The moment they reached the magnificent gargoyle, John muttered, "Lemon Drops".

Nothing happened.

"Orange Marmalade"

Ron, Harry and Hermione stared at John and then at the closed entrance, intrigued.

"Buttered Toast... for crying out loud, open the damn door..." sighed John loudly.

And just like that, the entrance opened.

"You have got to be kidding me... Seriously?" remarked John disgusted, the moment he entered.

"No, Mr Smith... It's not buttered toast," replied Dumbledore calmly, with a smile.

"Oh! My apologies," said John

"Good Morning all of you... how can I help you?" asked Dumbledore.

"Harry just got this in his post..." said John and handed the memory vial to Dumbledore.

"Ah... and what must this be?" asked Dumbledore as he took the cube from John.

"Jane just sent us a message... and we need to find out what it says," replied John.

Dumbledore stood up and paced his office back and forth a couple of times before he spoke again.

"Very well," he said and walked across the office and with a flick of the wand, opened the cabinet door. "Who'd like to join?" he asked and took out the memory vial from the cube.

Harry and Ron glanced at each other confused, while Hermione stood marvelling at the office. John was the only one who responded.

"I'm not going to be left out," replied John and looked at Harry. For a moment, he considered leaving him out. But the next he decided against it. "Harry, come on," he said.

Harry was suddenly speechless. He followed John closely across the office and got his first glance of the shallow, stone basin... The Pensieve.

"What is that?" he asked pointing at the silvery light coming out from the basin's contents. "Are those all..." he added, surprised, though didn't finish the question.

"This is the Pensieve," replied Dumbledore.

"And yes, they're all memories," added John.

"Better hold on," said Dumbledore and held out his arm. John held on immediately while Harry slowly did the same.

And in an instant, Dumbledore's office gave an almighty lurch and Harry felt thrown forward into the silvery substance. And the very next moment, he found himself walking through a crowded Hogsmeade.

Harry looked behind instantly, and he saw John and Dumbledore walking closely behind him. "What is going on?" he wondered. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was in the memory. And almost immediately, he recognized the gait of Professor Jane.

"Professor Jane? What is she doing at Hogsmeade? Isn't that a little bit too dangerous?" he wondered. He immediately tried to get close to her. He was about to call her when he remembered this was a memory. "Right... why is this memory so important?" he wondered.

Harry soon walked past Jane and took a glance at her face.

"Of course," he told himself. "She is in a disguise... but, why?" he wondered.

Harry looked in front of him but there was nothing of note.

And just as he was wondering about the significance of the stroll, the scenery changed and seamlessly, Harry found himself walking through... "What?" gasped Harry. He was suddenly transported to a dense forest. There were the occasional rustling of leaves, and sounds of birds chirping, but otherwise, it was eerily quiet. And then he saw it.

"Is that..." and Harry stopped dead. It was the big black dog. Harry remembered it from his vacation days. He even saw it just before passing out from the Dementors.

"Come on," whispered John as he overtook Harry.

About half a minute went by, Harry and John were closely following the giant dog, and just behind in the memory was Jane, walking as quietly as she could.

"What is this supposed to mean?" asked Harry and just as he did, the black dog, turned back and stared through Harry. There was something about its eyes. The dog looked scary and different at the same time.

John looked back and so did Harry, but they couldn't see Jane.

"Why is she following a dog?" wondered Harry.

And just like the previous time, the scenery changed seamlessly and Harry suddenly found himself standing in the middle of a mansion.

"Oh, this is beautiful," he thought to himself as he looked around the place. And then he heard a sound. Like the sound of breaking glass. And then he saw Jane take out her wand and walk towards the back of the house. And so, he followed.

Harry had the fright of his life when a shabby, middle-aged man jumped on Jane, even though it was just a memory and Jane managed to dodge. The next instant, he saw a jet of red light hit the man and he heard a chuckle from Jane.

"Welcome home, Uncle Sirius," she whispered.

"Sirius?" gasped Harry.

And just like that, the memory switched again.

"Who are you? Why were you following me? Are you from the Ministry?" screamed Sirius Black like a madman. Harry's toes curled at the sight of him, his fists clenched.

"I wouldn't have tied you up... And I'm so sorry," said Jane, her expression seemed very different than what Harry had imagined.

"You will pay for this," raged Sirius. The long hair, the messy facial hair, the wrinkles, the shabby appearance, Harry almost wanted to get out of the memory in disgust.

"I just want you to answer my questions... I am sorry, but I don't have another way," said Jane calmly.

"I'm going to kill that dung-brained, cowardice, backstabbing rodent," screamed Sirius at the top of his lungs.

"Sirius Black... stop this madness," yelled back Jane. And somehow those words got Sirius to shut up for the first time. And the next few brought him back from his craze, "I know you're innocent," she added, still at the top of her voice.

Sirius looked at her properly for the first time. And that was the look of a man, who had lost everything in his life, seeing a small spark of hope at the end of an infinite tunnel.

"What... did... you say?" asked Sirius, his voice deeper, a little croaky.

Jane walked up to him and placed her hands on his. "I know you didn't betray Lily and James," she said.

Harry was too stunned to think anything. And the scene changed.

They were still in the same house. Sirius was sitting on a chair with a full plate in front of him on the table.

"I'm not eating till you tell me who you are," said Sirius.

"And I'm not saying anything till you answer my questions," retorted Jane.

"Who are you? Why are you helping me?" asked Sirius.

"Why did you escape Azkaban? Why were you there in the first place?" retorted Jane.

After a few back and forths, Sirius lost his patience and perseverance.

"I killed my friends," he said, exhausted from the questions.

"No, you didn't, you'd never," replied Jane calmly. Sirius glanced at Jane speechless. And then almost immediately he burst into tears.

"I should have never agreed to let Peter be the secret keeper," he wailed. "James was too afraid to think straight. I should have been there that night..." he continued. A lot of what Sirius spoke was drowned in his tears, while the rest painted a different picture than what Harry had thought.

"Peter?" asked Jane.

"Peter Pettigrew... he is the one who betrayed them," replied Sirius.

The memories switched scenes multiple times thereafter. Each one revealed a little more. Sirius narrated everything that happened between the friends, right up to the evening of Lily and James' death. He also went into great detail about how he thought he had killed Peter Pettigrew only to find out over a decade later that he was still alive. Sirius also answered Jane's questions about his whereabouts around Harry and Hogwarts, revealing in the process his gift to Harry, the Black family wand holster, that he had retrieved from his home.

The final change in scenery was as latest as a few days back.

"I need your help with this," said Sirius.

"This is an unnecessary risk," replied Jane, worried.

"He doesn't have a broom for his game. And I want to give my Godson a Christmas present," replied Sirius.

"A firebolt it is," sighed Jane.

"Don't put my name on it... They won't let him use it," said Sirius suddenly.

"And if he gets a nameless one, they won't have any suspicions?" retorted Jane, sarcastically.

"No name," said Sirius stubbornly.

"Fine," replied Jane.

A few seconds later, she spoke up.

"I'm going to inform my brother and everyone the truth... You will be free again, soon," she said reassuringly.

"Aren't you wanted for trying to kill a few children?" asked Sirius, with a chuckle.

"And you were in Azkaban for actually killing much more," retorted Jane, with a smile.

"How are you going to send it, without risking the Ministry's involvement?" asked Sirius.

"I know someone who knows someone... She will take care of it," replied Jane.

And that was the end of the memories.

Remus jolted out of the Pensieve, with tears in his eyes.

"He didn't do it," he said with tears pouring out of his eyes. John walked up to Remus and hugged him tightly.

"I told you... he'd never," he whispered.

The moment John, Dumbledore and Harry found out the truth, they had called for Severus, Professor McGonagall and Remus.

Ron and Hermione were still there, too stunned to utter a word.

"Are we to believe these?" asked Severus.

"Your healthy scepticism is always appreciated, Severus," remarked John sarcastically.

"When was the last time you saw your pet rat, Mr Weasley?" enquired Dumbledore.

Ron didn't reply. "Scabbers could never be, there was no way," he thought to himself.

"Halloween night," replied Harry.

"The night Sirius tried to break in," added John.

"Right under our noses," sighed Remus.

"What are we going to do?" asked John.

And nobody replied. The kids were staring at each other and the adults were doing the same.

"There isn't much we can do to clear Sirius' name... not yet," replied Dumbledore. "We can however extend our company," he said and added, "discreetly," with a twinkle in his eye.

Harry woke up the following morning anxiously. A lot had happened in the past few days. But it was an important day. It was game day. Gryffindor and Slytherin were facing off each other, their quidditch game was going to be resumed at 120-80, with Gryffindor in the lead. And despite Harry and John's appeals, Severus Snape rejected the request for the broomstick, the firebolt Sirius had gifted Harry. Harry decided to filter out all his negative thoughts about Snape and was trying to focus on the task at hand.

It was a cool snowy day, much better than a cloudy, thunderous day with pelting rainfall. The game kicked off with Madam Hooch's whistle. Harry was keeping a close eye on Draco. Unlike last time, he was going to fall for cheap parlour tricks. And Draco knew he had an advantage on the broom. The entire Slytherin team did, but this time, even Harry was hamstrung.

Draco was flying around at top speed desperate to lose his tail and to get the snitch before Harry did. While the seekers were busy trying to one-up each other, the rest of the respective teams were raking up the points. It was already 220-210 in Gryffindor's favour and the snitch was nowhere in sight.

And then it all happened in quick succession.

Harry spotted the snitch from the corner of his eye. At the same time, a bludger flew past Draco, almost taking him out, resulting in him losing his concentration. Harry dodged the bludger and took a turn to his left, Draco noticed Harry's turn and took left turn himself, but Harry took a sharp reverse leaving Draco wrong-footed. He gained momentum and a second later made a dive, grabbed the snitch, and held on to his broom with the other hand, all in one motion. And that was that... Gryffindor beat Slytherin 370-210, in what would be the most talked-about game for years to come.

The celebrations were on in the Gryffindor common room. And it was the most satisfied Harry had felt in a while.

Harry woke up late the following morning after the late-night celebrations. All the students going home for Christmas were leaving early that afternoon. He made his way to the Great Hall and joined Ron and Hermione for breakfast. After he was done eating, he left for Remus' office. He still had loads to talk about Sirius. He was on his way when he heard his name being called.

Harry turned around and saw a Slytherin girl walking toward him.

"Hi Harry," she said.

"Hi... you are..." stumbled Harry but remembered her name the next moment, "Daphne, right?"

"You know who I am?" asked Daphne, blushing.

"Yeah... we have attended a few classes together in the past 3 years, haven't we?" replied Harry nonchalantly.

"Of course," blushed Daphne and gave a smile.

The pair stood silent awkwardly for a few seconds before Daphne spoke up.

"Going home for Christmas?" she asked.

"Yes," replied Harry with a smile. "What about you?" he asked.

"Same," replied Daphne. "Great game yesterday," she said, still blushing.

"Thank you so much," replied Harry.

"Bye," said Daphne and walked after giving Harry another smile.

"Bye," said Harry in return, though she was gone by then.

"That was weird," he thought to himself and made the rest of the journey to Remus Lupin's office.

Harry was almost going to enter the office without knocking when he heard a conversation and he stopped.

"... you're serious?" came John's shocked voice.

"I found out about it just yesterday," replied Emily. "Happened a few months back," she added.

"Oh my God!" gasped Remus, stunned.

"How did it happen?" asked John.

"Tortured and killed by the curse... same as the Flamels," replied Emily.

There was a minute's silence and then Harry heard John's voice.

"I can't believe Kristin's dead," he said, the words barely coming out of his mouth.

Harry was shocked to hear about another death and he did not want to eavesdrop further. He left without speaking to Remus.

Chapter Text

"Good evening, Doctor," greeted John knocking on Kristin's office door.

"John... Hi, please come in," said Kristin with her usual smile.

"I am ready..." said John the moment he sat opposite her. "For the permanent transformation," he added.

"Oh"

"Before you ask me... yes, I have considered my options well. It would be in everyone's best interest," said John quickly.

"Everyone's best interest? As your doctor... as your friend, I'd like to remind you that your best interest trumps everyone else's," replied Kristin, looking worried.

"I'll be of little use like this... Transformed? The possibilities are endless," retorted John cheerfully.

Kristin remained silent for a few seconds. And then she spoke up.

"John," she called out faintly. "Please don't make me do this," she said.

"Doc... I'll be fine. Plus, what's life if not a little uncertain?" replied John.

Kristin shook her head in disagreement. But there was nothing she could do to change John's mind.

"Okay... I need something from you first though," she said, grinning sheepishly.

"What?" asked John curiously.

"Let's take a walk," she said and took John's hand and held it tightly.

"John..." called out Remus loudly, jolting him away from his thoughts.

"Uh... what?" asked John rubbing his eyes.

"Sleeping in the middle of the day, are we?" asked Remus, with a warm smile.

"I wasn't sleeping..." replied John. "I'm tired, though," he added with a yawn.

"Aren't we all?" retorted Remus.

"Why are you here?" asked John as he stood up. The beautiful view of the lake behind him.

"I wanted to see you," replied Remus. "You haven't been yourself for a few days," he added.

"I'm fine, Remus," retorted John.

"You're not... I'm not... and as it stands, we are never going to be fine for a while," replied Remus.

"You think he has already taken it?" asked John, looking worried.

"Not sure... He ruled as all through fear last time. Pretty sure he would want something similar this time," replied Remus.

"Elixir of life..." sighed John clutching his head. "As if it wasn't difficult to kill him already," he added, annoyed.

"We will figure out a way," retorted Remus, reassuringly.

"At what cost?" asked John. And Remus didn't have anything for that.

"You're reeling from a loss, John... The world is not as negative as you think it is..." he said after a minute.

"Why her though? What did she even do?" snapped John loudly, almost in tears.

"Have you perhaps considered that Dr Kristin's death has nothing to do with Voldemort?" replied Remus calmly.

"I did... and I rejected it," retorted John.

"It happened months ago, John... And you asked it yourself, why would they kill her? Isn't it likelier that there was a different kind of foul play, one that did not involve Voldemort or any of his death eaters?" replied Remus.

"They didn't just kill her, Remus... they tortured her, probably for information about me... maybe even laughed at her while she was screaming in pain... and then they killed her," retorted John fiercely.

Remus knew there was nothing much he could do. He decided to leave John to his thoughts and had almost walked away when he heard a mutter.

"It wasn't Emily..." muttered John under his breath.

Remus turned around and asked curiously, "what did you say?"

"It wasn't Emily... Remus... Oh my God!" exclaimed John loudly, his expression had changed from depressed to shocked, like he had a big revelation.

"I don't follow," said Remus calmly.

"I... I uh, received a note... just before our second Hogsmeade visit, from someone pretending to be Jane. It wanted me to... it wanted me to go to the Hog's Head Inn, to meet with Jane for something important," replied John.

Remus nodded along.

"Right... so, I knew that it wasn't written by Jane. Don't ask me why... There were like 10 things wrong about the whole thing," said John, every next word he said carried more conviction than the previous. "I thought it was a cheap trick played by Emily, a trap to arrest Jane," he added.

"Yes... I remember. You asked Emily about this, didn't you? The other day when she came here," asked Remus, vaguely remembering the other conversation.

"Exactly... I did and she denied it point-blank. I obviously did not believe her, why would I?" replied John but left the statement open-ended.

"But?"

"But, what if she wasn't lying? I can't believe I didn't see this earlier... Emily did not write that letter... It wasn't her trap, it was Voldemort's trap," exclaimed John confidently.

"You are not making any sense," replied Remus, confused. "Why would he set a trap for you?" he asked.

"The same reason he had the doctor killed... he wants more information on me," replied John.

"But why?" asked Remus. Remus knew that John had his secrets, ones that he had never revealed to him. And he always wondered what they were.

"The only reason I can think of... He saw me kill a death eater, a couple of years back... In our first year, right here at Hogwarts, in the forbidden forest. Of course, he wants to know more about people around Harry," replied John.

There was of course one other reason.

"And now he has the elixir," sighed Remus.

"And now he has the elixir," repeated John. He felt better than before. He finally had something to work with.

There were still a couple of days for New Year's. The Burrow was having an action-packed morning as Molly, the mother of the Weasley kids had tasked everyone in the house with one thing or the other.

And during one of the breaks he had taken, Ron approached his brothers, Fred and George.

"Hey, got a minute?" asked Ron as he walked up to them.

"Just a minute?" asked Fred grinning.

"Okay, maybe a couple?" retorted Ron.

"You have a half," replied George grinning.

"Oh, come on," sighed Ron.

"And now you have half of that..." exclaimed Fred and the twins burst into laughter.

"Leave John alone," exclaimed Ron, louder than he had meant to.

The twins stopped grinning instantly.

"He hasn't done anything wrong... What happened to Ginny..." said Ron and gaining a bit of confidence, he added, "wasn't his fault," he said.

The twins remained silent for a couple of seconds and then Fred replied.

"Right... that's it," he said.

"Time over," added George and they both glared at Ron.

Ron didn't have anything to add, and he left.

Ron was slightly disheartened with the way that conversation went, but he knew his words would mean nothing, not when he couldn't tell them the truth.

Late that afternoon, Arthur and Molly left for St Mungo's to visit Ginny, and Ron tagged along. It had been a whole semester having not seen her. He couldn't explain it, but it made him feel better whenever he saw his sister in person, even though she was unresponsive in the hospital.

He was sitting alone, beside her, while his parents had gone to speak with one of the healers. A few minutes had passed when he noticed someone outside the room, peaking through the small transparent panel in the door.

He got up and the moment he did, the person outside the door backed off and by the time Ron opened the door, he was long gone and nowhere to be seen.

"Who was that?" wondered Ron. He closed the door and went back to his seat. His parents arrived a few minutes later and they didn't seem to look happy. Just like every other time, they craved an answer and they got none.

It had been close to three hours when they decided to leave the hospital. Arthur, Molly and Ron made their way out of the room Ginny was in and were walking down the corridor when Ron saw someone walk towards them that made him stop dead in his tracks. He knew who that was. He had seen the man before. Not just outside Ginny's room peaking into it, Ron had also seen him last year. At Flourish and Blotts with Lucius Malfoy.

But before Ron could say or do anything, the man walked past them.

Ron stood still for a couple of seconds but then joined up with his parents and they left the hospital.

But there was one thought stuck in Ron's head. "Who was that man? And why was he outside Ginny's room?"

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" asked Remus.

"No, I'm good... Let this be your moment, plus, the fewer the better..." replied John.

Remus nodded in acknowledgement and left Hogwarts. It hardly took him any time to reach the Shrieking Shack, the place where Remus and Sirius were going to meet. Jane had disagreed to let her house be the meeting location. Remus entered the disordered dusty room, the floor was stained all across, every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody smashed them into pieces, and the windows were all boarded.

He was only in for about half a minute when he heard a noise from the staircase and the next moment, he saw a big black dog walk down the stairs. And he immediately recognised the dog.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," whispered Remus, his eyes glistening as he did.

The black dog walked closer to Remus and a moment later, he transformed himself into his human form.

"Mischief managed," replied Sirius, with a relieved smile.

"Sirius," whispered Remus.

"Remus..." exclaimed Sirius and the pair grabbed each other into the tightest of hugs and didn't let go.

"I'm so sorry," said Remus, his voice choked up.

"I'm so sorry," said Sirius at the same time. He looked relieved to be back with his best friend after a long time.

"I should have believed in you... How are you doing? I can't imagine what Azkaban must have been like," said Remus.

"I'm well, Moony..." replied Sirius. "How are you? You look well," he added.

"I'm healthy," replied Remus.

The tragically separated friends spent the next countless hours talking to each other, being in each other's presence, compensating for all the lost time. Remus' life after James and Lily passed away, after Sirius was arrested, how difficult his life became as a werewolf, without a job, with next to no friends, how he had to skip towns after every few months fearing the truth being revealed, Remus told Sirius everything.

"The longest I stayed was in Iceland," said Remus and then paused for a few seconds. "With Dr Kristin," he added, his tone changed.

"Dr Kristin?" asked Sirius curiously and noticing Remus' change of tone. "Do you have the butterflies for her, Moony?" he asked cheerfully.

"What? No..." replied Remus shocked. "No... she's dead," he said and looked away.

"Oh," gasped Sirius.

"Let's not talk about that," said Remus.

"Okay," replied Sirius. "How did Dumbledore find you?" he asked instead.

"John... He is the reason I'm at Hogwarts," replied Remus. "I met him at Iceland, at the facility," he added.

"John? As in Jane's brother?" asked Sirius, surprised.

"You know who he is?" asked Remus.

"Just by name... Jane told me about him," replied Sirius.

And the conversation quickly shifted to how Sirius and Jane met. Sirius didn't say much about her and kept the topics mostly to what they had been doing for the past few weeks.

"She said she confessed to a crime she didn't commit," said Sirius.

"Yes... that's a long story of which I know very little of. Only that she didn't do it," replied Remus.

The conversation quickly shifted to Harry. Sirius had a lot of questions and Remus had answers for all of them.

"I want to see him, Remus," said Sirius.

"I will bring him, Sirius... Same time tomorrow... He will be eager to see you," replied Remus.

They spent some more time in the abandoned and haunted house.

That evening, once Remus had left the Shrieking Shack, he decided to visit Harry. And just like he had expected, Harry was over the moon with the idea of meeting Sirius, even though he had some reservations.

"Are you sure it is safe for him?" asked Harry.

"It isn't the safest, but that doesn't matter," replied Remus. "He badly wants to see you, Harry... his Godson," he added with a smile.

So, as planned, the following morning, Remus visited 4, Privet Drive to take Harry to see Sirius.

"Yes, let's go," said Harry.

"Harry, there's one thing," said Remus.

"What?" asked Harry curiously.

"We are going to be apparating," replied Remus.

"Apparition?" exclaimed Harry.

"Yes and I'm assuming you've never apparated before?" asked Remus.

"No," replied Harry.

"Right... so, let's go a bit away from the residences here... And we will apparate directly to the Shrieking Shack from there," said Remus.

Harry walked beside Remus excitedly and soon they were out of sight of the muggle residential area.

"Okay... this seems like a nice spot, hold my arm, will you?" asked Remus.

Harry promptly held Remus' arm.

"This may feel a bit weird the first few times... but you will get used to it. And if you feel sick, let me know," said Remus. "And do not let go of my arm," he added strongly and cautiously.

Harry tightened his grip around Remus' arm.

"On the count of 3," said Remus. Harry waited eagerly in anticipation, a little anxious.

"1... 2... 3"

And instantly, Harry felt Remus' arm-twist away from him and he redoubled his grip. The next thing he knew, everything went dark. He was being pressed very hard from all directions, he could not breathe, there were iron bands tightening around his chest, his eyeballs were being forced back into his head, and his eardrums were being pushed deeper into his skull. And then almost instantly, Harry gulped great lungfuls of air and opened his streaming eyes. He realized that he was not in Privet Drive anymore. He was now standing and he recognized it immediately, he was standing outside the Shrieking Shack, beside Remus.

"Are you alright?" asked Remus, glancing at Harry cautiously.

"Yes, I'm fine," replied Harry clutching his head tightly. He felt weird, not sick, but his head was spinning. They stood there for a couple of minutes, post which Harry felt better and the anticipation kicked in again.

Harry and Remus made their way up the staircase to the first floor and just like the day before, Sirius walked down the staircase in his Padfoot get up.

Harry's eyes grew big in shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It wasn't as obvious back in the Pensieve, even though he had his suspicions back then. Sirius transformed right in front of his eyes to his human form.

"You are..." began Harry but stopped mid-sentence in shock. "How did you do that?" he asked.

"I'm an Animagus," replied Sirius, proudly.

"You were at the quidditch game," said Harry. "And outside my house in the Summer," he added.

Remus looked at Harry, surprised and then at Sirius.

"I was... I didn't want to get too close, but I couldn't resist staying far away," replied Sirius and walked up to Harry. He knelt down in front of him and placed his hands on Harry's shoulder, and then on either side of his face. Sirius' eyes were glistening now.

"You look just like James," he said. "You have your mother's eyes though," he added.

Harry was taken aback. He looked at Remus who seemed to nod in agreement.

Sirius then hugged Harry tightly and for the first time, Harry missed his parents and missed not knowing much about them growing up. He hugged Sirius back immediately.

Harry, Remus and Sirius spent the next few hours talking mostly about Harry's life. Harry told him about Aunt Petunia and Dudley, and how wonderful it was growing up with them. And then about Daisy. He then went on to tell him how he found out about the magical world from Hagrid. His first few days at Hogwarts, Ron, Hermione, John and everything else. The mentioning of Severus Snape earned an interesting reaction from Sirius, that Harry did not expect. Though, Remus jumped in and informed Sirius that Snape had changed, not a lot, but better than before,

Sirius and Remus then joined forces to tell Harry all about their time at Hogwarts. The mischief they got up to, the pranks they pulled, the life they led at Hogwarts, how good James was at quidditch, everything. Peter Pettigrew was conveniently avoided by Remus, though Sirius seemed to get really angry when his name came up in the conversation.

"I was there that night to kill him," said Sirius. "He got away... again," he added angrily.

Harry resisted the urge to ask about the days leading up to their death. He always wondered how it all went downhill, and why they were targetted by Voldemort.

After a few wonderful hours, Harry left the Shrieking Shack unwillingly with Remus.

"Can't we come tomorrow?" he asked.

"Harry... it is risky for him to be here... so close to the Dementors and the town," replied Remus. "Don't worry, now that he is out, we will figure out a way to keep in close touch with him," he added.

"Isn't there a way to prove to the world that he is innocent?" he asked.

"We need to find Peter, and make him confess to everything... then we stand a chance," replied Remus.

Soon thereafter, Harry and Remus left Hogsmeade. The return journey was just as weird as the onward journey. Harry knew he had some time before he could get comfortable with the apparition.

Harry loved being home for the Christmas break. He had realized very early how much quieter and calmer home felt compared to the chaos that usually ensued at Hogwarts. Being a child celebrity didn't help matters either. Home, however, was a place where everything was different.

Christmas went well, with all celebrations and food, friends and family. And soon after that, Harry had a visit from Remus offering him a chance to meet with Sirius. A chance that he could and would never refuse. And the day spent with Sirius was beyond brilliant.

And it was now New Year's eve.

This time around, Harry was at Daisy's place. The moment he reached, she jumped on to him asking him everything that happened the day before, with Sirius. And Harry happily narrated the whole story. The part about the Animagus got Daisy even more fascinated with the wizarding world if that was even possible.

Harry had also brought back a surprise for Daisy from Hogsmeade, a few bottles of Butterbeer.

"What is this?" asked Daisy, excitedly.

"Oh... trust me... this is what heaven tastes like," replied Harry, hyping up the moment even more.

And Daisy's reaction was totally worth it.

"This is so good," she gasped as she finished the first bottle, and the second in no time.

"Hey hey hey... relax... I did the same mistake..." said Harry as he stopped her from grabbing a third.

"Oh come on, HP... live a little," exclaimed Daisy.

"And get kicked out by Olivia? No thanks," replied Harry with a chuckle.

The friends spent the evening watching a movie and mostly talking in between.

"You remember Alfie?" asked Daisy suddenly.

"Alfie? The tall one with curly hair who used to sit with Justin and Andrew?" retorted Harry, trying to remember his face.

"Yes" replied Daisy.

"He was always so quiet," remarked Harry a few seconds later.

Daisy chuckled and replied, "he still kind of is."

"Why do you ask? I barely spoke with him in class," replied Harry.

"Well..." blushed Daisy. "Don't tell this to Dudley, or Olivia or Jacob... but he told me he liked me earlier this year," she said.

"Liked you?" wondered Harry, confused. And then it struck him a couple of seconds later, "you mean, like you? As in..." he asked.

"Yes," replied Daisy.

"Wow... you're kidding me," said Harry with a big smile. "What did you say?" he asked curiously, trying to read Daisy's mind.

However, Daisy remained silent.

"Daisy?" called out Harry, with a big smile, like he knew why she was silent.

"Yes?"

"What did you say?" he asked again.

"What do you think?" she retorted with a grin.

"Oh my God... Daisy Taylor-Williams... you did not," began Harry, excitedly. He was beaming wide with pride and happiness. "How did it happen?" he asked.

"Don't get too excited... I broke it off pretty soon," replied Daisy, though she didn't seem too sad about it.

"What?" gasped Harry in shock.

"Well... he was a bit boring," replied Daisy.

"Boring? What do you mean, boring?" asked Harry.

"He is cute... He told me one evening, while he walked with me home... this was like the first week of school," replied Daisy and continued. "It was fun initially... I was just glowing every day," she added with a laugh.

"But?" retorted Harry.

"But... there was something missing... Like, for example... He didn't read at all, and I read a lot..." she replied.

"That's a shame," remarked Harry as he gave Daisy a small sideways hug.

"I just didn't find much of an interest in his life... and I blame you, Potter," she said with a laugh.

"Wait... what did I do?" asked Harry, surprised.

"You and your magical world... You've spoiled me," replied Daisy.

"That is so not fair... Besides, you forced me to... If anything, it's your fault," replied Harry with a chuckle.

They resumed browsing the channels and after a few minutes, Daisy spoke up.

"What about you?" she asked.

"What about me?" retorted Harry, confused.

"Spill it, HP... found any pretty girls that you're hiding from me?" asked Daisy.

"No, there isn't anyone like that," replied Harry, though he sounded far from convincing.

And Daisy kept staring at him.

And Harry kept staring at her. After a few awkward seconds, Harry spoke up.

"Okay, maybe there's one..." he said.

"What's her name?" asked Daisy.

"Uh... It's... It's Hermione," replied Harry.

"Hermione?" asked Daisy, surprise mixed with a little excitement.

"Yeah"

"So?"

"So, what?" asked Harry, confused.

"Why haven't you told her?" asked Daisy.

"We are perfectly fine as we are," replied Harry.

"And you could be better if you told her," replied Daisy.

"It's not that easy, Daisy... she is a really good friend... she probably doesn't feel the same way... and it will be this awkward thing then. I'd rather not risk it," replied Harry.

"You're being silly, HP," said Daisy with a laugh. "You should tell her if you ask me," she added.

"Thanks, but no thanks," replied Harry, getting a little flustered. "Can we resume?" he asked pointing at the television.

"Of course," replied Daisy.

A few minutes passed and Harry was thinking about something on similar grounds.

"There was something weird though," he said.

"Weird how?"

"I was in this sort of quidditch accident and was in the hospital for a few days... I got a get well soon card with a beautiful flower drawn beside... I got a similar card just before Christmas break... But it was not signed," replied Harry.

"Wait... when you say you were in an accident?" asked Daisy, confused and mildly shocked.

"I fell from my broom while playing quidditch," replied Harry.

Daisy gave a worried disapproving look but didn't prod further on that.

"You have received 2 anonymous notes?" asked Daisy.

"Yeah," replied Harry hesitantly.

"There's nothing for you to do, is there? It could be anybody, literally," suggested Daisy.

"Yeah, pretty much what I thought too," said Harry and the conversation drifted.

They were back enjoying their television and soon, it was time for the anticipated countdown. The traditional chocolate cakes were there on the table as the pair began their countdown from 60.

"60," said Harry loudly. About 10 seconds passed.

"50," said Daisy loudly.

And it was soon down to 20... and then 10.

"10," said Daisy loudly, the excitement had skyrocketed.

"9," said Harry loudly.

"8"

"7"

"6"

"5"

"4," said Daisy loudly and glanced at Harry.

"3... 2... 1" they counted down together, screaming at the top of their voices.

"Happy New Year," they shouted as the clock struck 12.

"Happy New Year," they said together and gave each other a big hug. And it was time for the cake.

"Here's to a sweet and fun year ahead," said Daisy as she picked up her piece.

"Let's have a blast," said Harry as he picked up his piece.

They were enjoying the moment when something happened.

Harry had just taken his second bite when he felt something and then it all happened very quickly.

He felt something inside his body, the area from his abdomen to just below the chest had cooled down considerably. And the next second, he lost his balance and sat down behind, on the bed with a thud. The sound of the thud alerted Daisy.

"Harry," she exclaimed. "You alright?" she asked. Harry was clutching his body tightly.

"Wa... Water," he said, voice barely coming out and made a hand gesture indicating the same. A panic-induced Daisy rushed out of her room and in about 10 seconds, she was back with a glass of water. Only to find Harry lay down on the bed, unconscious.

Daisy instantly climbed up the bed and knelt near Harry and began calling his name out and shaking his body.

"Harry," she exclaimed. "Wake up... Harry," she continued, but to no effect. She was about to dash out and call her parents when Harry seemed to twitch and after a second he opened his eyes slowly.

"Harry," she exclaimed, there were tears in her eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Harry looked petrified.

"Say something," she said loudly. "Here..." she added handing him the glass of water.

Harry took the glass and gulped it all down instantly and looked at Daisy.

"He's back," he said, looking petrified.

"Who's back?" she asked, confused and worried.

"Vol... You-Know-Who... He's back," he replied.

It had been a good 10 to 15 minutes since they had left the healing facility. A nice gentle breeze blew behind their backs, it was indeed a nice and cosy stroll.

"So, what did you want?" asked John curiously.

"What do you mean?" retorted Kristin with a chuckle.

"You said you wanted something," remarked John, confused.

Kristin gave a wide beaming smile.

"This... I wanted this," she said pointing to themselves, walking.

"Oh," chuckled John.

A few minutes went by just like that.

"You have thought this through, haven't you?" asked Kristin, convinced.

"Is that surprise, I'm hearing?" replied John.

"You're calmer than I thought you would be," remarked Kristin.

"Remus tends to have that effect on people," replied John with a smile.

"How do you know each other?" asked Kristin, curiously.

"I have known him all my life... I practically grew up in his house," replied John nonchalantly.

"You grew up together?" asked Kristin, shocked.

John gave a laugh.

"Not now... In the future, I mean..." he replied.

"Oh," gasped Kristin realizing her misunderstanding. "Of course," she added. "It must be weird seeing him here then..." she remarked.

"Weird? Yes, a bit... But that was the case with most of the others... I'm just glad I did," replied John with a smile.

The pair continued strolling aimlessly. A few minutes went by in peaceful silence and then John spoke up.

"Thank you so much," he said.

Kristin gave a gentle smile. "What for?" she asked.

"For all of this... You're really kind and sweet," he said.

"You're flattering me," she replied, being modest.

"It's nice having a gorgeous and smart woman around, especially when you're going to turn into a 12-year-old kid in a couple of days," he added with a laugh.

"And now you're just flirting with me," she replied with a chuckle.

"I'm just returning the favour," he said.

John heard loud footsteps approaching the empty common room and jolted out of his thoughts. A few seconds later, students started coming inside, in a rush, the chatter and laughter galore. And within a few seconds, he saw Hermione, Ron and Harry walk in.

"John," exclaimed Hermione and gave him a quick hug. Ron and Harry followed suit. They looked worried and John's expression had turned the same.

"I'll be at the lake, join me once you guys have settled," said John and went to the dormitory. A few minutes later, they saw him leave the common room.

"It's going to be about You-Know-Who, isn't it?" wondered Ron.

"Likely," replied Harry.

About 15 minutes later, the trio made their way out of the common, to the lake. The moment they were near their spot, they saw John pacing furiously.

"Hey," greeted Ron. John gave a weak smile and looked at Harry.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Absolutely fine... Nothing since that night," replied Harry.

"I read the letter... Would you mind reciting the events once more?" asked John.

"Well... it was the new year's moment, the clock had just struck 12. Daisy and I were in her room, celebrating with our traditional cake," replied Harry and took a pause. "It would have been a couple of minutes? I suddenly felt something... Like my body was cold, extremely cold... But it wasn't like how I feel with Dementors around, this was different. And a few seconds later, I passed out," he added. "I got this sensation, that I was suddenly strong... and I was really happy. I saw a vision and in that vision, there was You-Know-Who... but he looked different, he had a body and he was laughing hysterically along with another man," finished Harry.

"That's all?" inquired John.

"Yeah... the next thing I remember, I woke up and Daisy was on top of me, shaking me ferociously," replied Harry.

"What does it mean?" asked Hermione, looking at John.

"I don't know," replied John bluntly. The trio were looking at him disappointed. So, he continued, "Harry could be right... Voldemort could be back," he added. The name made Ron flinch just a little.

"But why did I get that vision?" asked Harry.

John did not have an answer. Frankly, he wasn't even sure if it was all a dream induced by the fear of the possibility.

"All I know is... whatever this means, we have to be extremely careful going forward," said John.

The trio looked worriedly at each other.

"And hence, it's about time, we started taking things a little more seriously... Starting with this," he said and took out two small arrow-shaped pieces of rock and handed them to Ron and Hermione.

"Hey... I know what this is... This is your good luck totem," exclaimed Harry remembering John's Christmas gift to him from his first year.

John chuckled and replied, "Well, it's more than just a totem for good luck... This is a portkey."

"A portkey?" asked Harry, confused.

"Portkeys are enchanted objects that would take you anywhere instantly upon touching them," replied Hermione.

"Yes, that is correct," added John. "This one is a little bit special. This one will take you only when you want it to," he said. John looked at Ron and added, "Yours will take you to the Burrow, to Molly," and then he looked at Hermione. "Yours was a little tricky since you're a muggle. Yours will take you to the Burrow as well. Couldn't think of another place," he said.

Ron and Hermione looked at him dumbstruck.

"And Harry... Yours is a portkey too... Now is a better time than ever to reveal this fact to you. And yours will take you to 4, Privet Drive... There is no place safer than there for you, trust me," added John.

"But you gave that to me two years back," replied Harry, surprised.

"Well, I knew there would come a day when you'd need it," replied John bluntly. "I will have my watch with me at all times... So, if anything goes wrong, I'll know instantly. Have the totem in your possession at all times. Make into a chain, a brooch or just have it in your pockets, I don't care... but have it in your possession at all times. Even if you're roaming from the Astronomy tower to Hagrid's hut," he added fiercely. "And have your wands at all times..." he finished.

The trio were rendered speechless by the overload of information and precautions. If they weren't terrified before, they were definitely terrified now. They were just about to leave for the great hall when Harry remembered something.

"Hey, John... don't mind me asking this, but who is Kristin?" asked Harry.

John was taken aback. He looked stunned and kept staring at Harry, shocked.

"I'm sorry... but I overheard you and Remus talking with Emily Davies, the day we all left for our Christmas break... And I heard... some serious things," added Harry.

"Kristin... is just an old friend. Emily had visited us to inform us that she had passed away," replied John without an expression on his face.

"Oh my God... I'm so sorry, John," said Hermione. Ron looked even more depressed than earlier. "How did it happen?" asked Hermione.

John rolled his eyes and upon finding no reason to lie, replied, "She was tortured for information... and then killed by the killing curse."

"Oh my God," gasped Ron and Hermione.

They all left the lake pretty soon thereafter. A couple of quiet days went by. The trio and John were rattled. If Voldemort had indeed been resurrected, the days, months and years ahead were going to be extremely disturbing.

It was late evening, just a couple of days since school had started. Harry, Hermione and Ron were seated together in the great hall, having their dinner. John was sitting quite far away, at the end of the Gryffindor table. Dean, Seamus and Neville were sitting right beside the trio and were talking intently about quidditch. Unlike the 4, the rest of the school seemed to be buzzing about being back at school.

Harry was about to take a spoonful of the soup when his hands froze... no, his whole body froze and he dropped the spoon on the table. The next moment, he started twitching, alarming everybody around him and instantly, he slid down from his chair and was on the floor, twitching. Harry was rushed to the hospital wing by some of his classmates, seated around him. The twitching had stopped on route to the hospital, though he remained unconscious.

And with every such incident, Jane's far-fetched theory seemed more and more plausible to John.

Chapter Text

"One more time?" asked Remus.

"Yes," replied Ron as he sat down on the floor.

"Let's take a couple of minutes," said Remus with a smile.

"No, no, I'm fine," replied Ron as he got up quickly.

"It's alright, Ron... training and rest, both are equally important," remarked Remus.

It was their first session after the Christmas break.

After a few minutes, Remus spoke up.

"Come on... let's go one more time," he said. Ron got up and walked to the back of the class. Remus went to the other end and picked up the 5 boxes from the floor.

"Okay... In 1... 2... 3," counted Remus and on the count of 3, with a flick of his wand, he threw all the boxes in the air. Each one of the 5 boxes went up in different directions at the same time. And just as they reached their peak, Ron made a swift movement with his wand and hit every single one of the boxes one by one, before they touched the ground.

"Woah... well done, Ron," exclaimed Remus happily.

"Thanks, Professor Lupin," replied Ron, looking pleased. This was his 4th time attempting it in the session and the first time he had hit all 5 of the boxes. In the 3 attempts prior, he had only managed to hit a maximum of 4 boxes, that too only twice. In the other attempt, he had hit only 3.

"I feared this session wouldn't be as fruitful, what with Harry..." began Remus but paused mid-sentence. Only a couple of evenings back, Harry had fallen on the floor of the Great Hall, mid-dinner, twitching. And ever since then, he had been in the hospital wing, under the supervision of Madam Pomfrey.

"He'll be back," replied Ron confidently.

"I must admit... You have improved a lot in a short span of time, Ron. Many wizards and witches struggle to perform to their ability under stress, sorrow, sadness... You seem to handle them better than most," said Remus, looking proud.

"I am doing what you told me to do... Clear your mind and the magic will flow," replied Ron.

"Good, that's good," sighed Remus.

Remus was frankly taken aback by Ron's improvement in his sessions. Hence, he decided to do some things well ahead of schedule.

"You know, Ron," he said and paused for a moment. "You seem to have good control of your magic. When you put your mind and body towards something, you seem to always give 110%. That is a great first step," he added. "But, you should also know what to use when, and how to use the tricks in your arsenal," he finished.

Ron was listening keenly. And Remus continued, "Performing magic isn't about spells and incantations. You can perform magic even without saying the spell out loud. Well, you don't even need a wand to perform magic," he said. "We will get there in time," he added with a chuckle and Ron gave a broad smile.

"But for now, I think it is time if we went ahead with a bit of situational duelling. Shields, charms, protection spells, defensive and offensive spells, they are all wonderful tools, but your presence of mind is the key," he added.

"Now... I want you to remember this and practice this regularly. Think of what you want to do, what you want to achieve, and then perform the necessary spell to do it. It should be a seamless transition, from wanting to do something to doing it. It should be like second nature to you. You also have to work on your spells, remembering jinxes, counter-jinxes and everything in between."

Once all the speeches and talking were done, they began practising some defensive and offensive spells to get things started. The session was done about 30 minutes later, making it the longest session between them to date. The moment it was over, Ron rushed out of the class to the Hospital wing to meet Harry. The moment he reached, he saw that Hermione was already in there, holding a book but talking to Harry.

"... is dangerous," exclaimed Hermione as Ron entered.

"Dangerous? What are we talking about?" he asked as he sat down beside Hermione, facing Harry, who was sitting upright on the bed.

"He says he is fine and wants to go back for quidditch practice," replied Hermione.

"You can't be serious mate?" remarked Ron, shocked.

"Not you too, Ron..." sighed Harry disappointed. "I am absolutely fine. It's like it never even happened," he protested.

"But it did happen, didn't it?" retorted Ron.

"It's not like anyone knows why it happened. Every test Madam Pomfrey has done, has proved that I'm fine," replied Harry. "And this is boring... Sooo borrrrinngggg," he exclaimed loudly.

"What if it had happened when you were in the air?" asked Hermione, exasperated.

"So, what? Am I supposed to lie in bed all day every day just because it happened randomly one time? Come on, Hermione... that was a one-off incident," retorted Harry.

"If this has something to do with Vol..." began Hermione but stopped mid-sentence and stared at the entrance. Harry turned his neck and saw Daphne Greengrass standing outside.

"Hi Harry," she greeted and walked in slowly.

"Daphne?" exclaimed Harry, surprised. "Hi," he greeted back.

"I'll come back another time," she said hesitantly looking at Hermione and Ron. "Sorry if I interrupted something," she added quickly.

"Oh No... it's fine, no need for any apologies," replied Harry with a smile.

"Bye Harry," said Hermione and then glanced at Daphne suspiciously and then at Ron. Ron patted Harry's shoulder and the next moment, Hermione and Ron left the hospital wing.

"Since when are they friends?" asked Hermione the moment they were out of earshot.

"Isn't she the Slytherin girl?" retorted Ron, surprised.

"Yeah, she's in Slytherin... she is one of their top students," replied Hermione. "What is she doing here?" she asked.

Ron seemed just as surprised as Hermione.

"I don't know, Hermione..." he replied. "I'm tired... I'll see you at dinner," he added.

"Hmm," responded Hermione and with that, Ron left for the Gryffindor common room.

A few days went by and the school was buzzing after the Christmas break. It had been a couple of weeks since the term started and the classes were in full flow. Harry had gotten out of the hospital a couple of days after. Madam Pomfrey didn't have much for him in terms of information. Just before he got out, he was given specific instructions to not take any of this lightly, and that he had to go to Madam Pomfrey immediately if he thought something was strange. He even had a visit from Professor Dumbledore.

Harry was back in quidditch training the very next day he was out of the hospital. And in this term, just like in the previous, Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team had devised multiple strategies for them to practice.

John had tasked himself to keenly observe Harry's every movement ever since the incident in the Great Hall. And his only observation was that Harry looked and behaved the same as ever before. Whatever had happened that night, didn't seem to have any effect whatsoever.

A few weeks went by without much happening. The Gryffindor team had beaten the Ravenclaws comfortably, Harry catching the snitch didn't even matter for the scoreline was pretty astounding by then. And life, for once, in the 3 years till then, seemed perfectly normal without anything happening.

Daphne and Harry had started becoming a regular thing ever so gradually since Harry's incident at the Great Hall. At first, none of them made anything out of it. But soon, it became obvious to everyone around Harry that there was something brewing between the pair. Harry however seemed oblivious.

"She was the one with the letters," sighed Hermione one evening at the library.

"What are you talking about?" asked John. Harry and Ron looked at her keenly.

The letters, that Harry got for Christmas and the quidditch accident, without names... It was hers," replied Hermione.

"Whose?" asked Harry curiously. And Hermione frowned at him.

"Daphne wrote him the letters?" asked Ron, surprised.

Hermione nodded quietly.

"What do you mean? Why didn't she tell me?" asked Harry curiously, with a smile.

"How do you know?" asked Ron.

"I asked her, earlier today... I had a suspicion of course," replied Hermione.

"Wow... I didn't know she drew so well, those were cool," remarked Harry nonchalantly.

Hermione's expression turned instantly, and both Ron and John noticed it.

In a desperate attempt to change the topic, John brought up the topic of Animagi.

"Anybody here interested in becoming an Animagus?" he asked.

"Haven't really thought about it," replied Harry.

"That's way too advanced magic," sighed Ron. Hermione however remained silent and focused on the book she was reading. And just like that, the conversation switched topics.

They were almost done with their work when John brought up something he had been meaning to for a while.

"Ron?" called out John.

"Yeah"

"About Ginny..." he said and paused. Hermione and Harry turned towards him. Ron looked at him keenly. "Well... about Ginny... she hasn't regained consciousness till now and she has been at St Mungo's for a long time now..." he added.

"Well, they are trying everything they can, nothing seems to be working," replied Ron sadly.

"I know... and I was thinking... well, I have a place which might be able to help her," said John almost in a whisper.

"What place?" asked Ron.

John glanced at Hermione and then back at Ron. "Well, I know a healing facility in Iceland. They expertise in specialised treatments... It's actually where Remus worked before Hogwarts. I think you should take Ginny there," said John.

"In Iceland?" exclaimed Ron, shocked.

"I know what you're thinking. It is far away, but they are really good..." replied John. "You should talk with Remus and then write to Arthur and Molly... And need not mention it as my idea, tell them that it came from Remus," he added.

After a couple of minutes, Ron replied, "Sure... thank you, I'll write to them and ask them to check the place out."

A few minutes later, the four of them were walking back from the library when Hermione gestured for John to walk a bit behind the group.

"What?" asked John in a whisper.

"Iceland? Healing facility... isn't that where you went last year?" asked Hermione in a whisper.

"Yes," replied John.

"I just remembered... Kristin... As in the Doctor Kristin. How could I not think of it earlier? She was your doctor in Iceland, wasn't she?" asked Hermione, shocked.

John stood still for a moment and responded with a nod.

"Why would Voldemort have her killed?" asked Hermione. And for the first time in her memory, John flinched, just a little at the mentioning of Voldemort's name.

"I don't know, Hermione... we don't even know for sure it was the same person who killed the Flamels and Kristin," replied John. After a seconds pause, he continued, "And, let's not use the word anymore, shall we? There were stories of how he jinxed his name..." he added.

Hermione looked at him shocked with a mild hint of surprise.

"But Flamels and Kristin... that can't be a coincidence, can it?" asked Hermione. John nodded in agreement and with that they joined Harry and Ron back in the Great Hall.

An idea is like a virus, resilient, and highly contagious. Even the smallest seed of an idea can grow. And this idea that was stuck in John's head, the not so far-fetched idea that Harry was a Horcrux had a seed strong enough to grow an orchard. After having tortured himself with sleepless nights wondering the consequences of such an idea being true, John finally decided to confront a wise old man about it.

He was on his way to Albus Dumbledore's office when he ran into Severus Snape.

"Professor Snape," exclaimed John.

"Mr Smith," remarked Severus blankly.

"On your way from Professor Dumbledore's office?" asked John.

"None... of... your... business," replied Snape.

"I take that as a yes," remarked John. After a few seconds, he continued, "your potion seems to be working... I have been better recently, thank you," he added.

Snape nodded slightly and without saying another word, he left.

John continued his journey and reached Dumbledore's office. The moment he did, the sentient gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office swung open, leaving him astonished.

"How did you know I was outside?" asked John as he stepped in. Dumbledore just gently smiled in reply.

"The password's buttered toast, by the way," he said and chuckled.

"You're joking," remarked John and gave a small laugh.

"What can I say, that was an inspired choice," replied Dumbledore.

Once the moment passed, John's expression changed and hence, so did Dumbledore's.

"How is Harry?" asked Dumbledore.

"He is fine... perfectly normal, actually," replied John with a surprised tone.

"And no vivid dreams recently?" asked Dumbledore curiously.

"None... as far as I know," replied John.

"Good... that's a relief," sighed Dumbledore. "Mr Potter seems to be doing just fine in his academics and his quidditch prowess needs no introduction... that's a relief," he added, looking worried.

"Do we know anything about Tom Riddle?" asked John.

"Not much, No! He has yet to summon his death eaters... Severus has been keeping me informed," replied Dumbledore.

"So, no one knows? Not even his followers? What's his play?" asked John but got no response from Dumbledore.

After a minute's silence, John continued.

"There is something else," he said hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"It probably isn't anything... But you know Dr Kristin? She was tortured and killed the same way the Flamels were... a few months before their death actually," said John.

The expression on Dumbledore's face suggested he already knew.

"I'm sorry for your loss... It's a cruel thing to lose a friend," he said calmly.

"Somehow, I have this feeling, it was about Jane and me," replied John.

"How so?" asked Dumbledore, surprised.

"There was a letter... That I got just before our Hogsmeade visit. It was supposed to be from Jane, but it wasn't. It was an imitation, a trap, set for the both of us. Neither of us fell for it, of course. And at the time, I thought it was set by Emily Davies. But she denied it when asked about it," replied John. "Why would they kill Kristin? Unless it had something to do with Jane and me?" he remarked.

"He knows very little about the two of you. But he knows enough to intrigue him. Which makes your life dangerous, as you may have already realized," remarked Dumbledore cautiously.

"Hmm"

"Practice caution, Mr Smith," said Dumbledore with a gentle smile.

"Mm-hmm," grunted John in response. He was considering whether it was the right time to bring up the Horcrux theory. Having considered against it, John got up. John had gotten up from his seat and was walking out of the office when he was interrupted by Dumbledore.

"John," called out Dumbledore.

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore?"

"I may have something to interest you," he said.

"What is it?" asked John curiously, though Dumbledore's expression remained melancholic.

"I must admit, this is not a pleasant discovery. But, perhaps, you may already have knowledge of this from your endeavours through time," remarked Dumbledore hesitantly.

"What happened, Professor Dumbledore? If you have something to ask me about the future, please do so directly. I'm struggling with this tone of yours," replied John confidently.

Dumbledore opened one of the drawers of his desk and took out an eerily familiar dairy.

"That's..." began John, shocked.

"Yes, the same," replied Dumbledore. "The remains of Tom Riddle's diary..." he added.

"But that's impossible... Jane said she used the fiendfyre," gasped John in shock.

"This one is destroyed, there are no doubts about it, even if its state may not indicate it," replied Dumbledore and held out the diary. It looked burnt, yet somehow remained intact. It was covered in black soot. John took the diary and examined it.

"I don't get it... If this is destroyed, what is it still doing in your office?" asked John.

Dumbledore started pacing his office. After a few seconds, he responded.

"What do you know about Horcruxes, Mr Smith?" asked Dumbledore. And to his surprise, John's shocked expression painted a very different story than he had predicted.

"Horcrux?" asked John, shocked.

"I gather you're aware, then," remarked Dumbledore. John nodded quietly. "Upon close examination, we have discovered the true nature of this diary. If we are correct, this will have consequences hitherto undreamed of," he added.

"No... Oh no," gasped John.

"You've known about this?" asked Dumbledore curiously.

"Jane... She suspected... I called it far-fetched," stumbled John in response.

"Your sister suspected?" asked Dumbledore surprised.

"The events of the Chamber. She saw what happened when the fiendfyre hit the diary," replied John, his voice shaking a little.

Dumbledore who had stopped pacing at the mention of Jane's suspicion started pacing again, this time slower than before. After a few minutes of silence, John spoke up.

"She also had another theory," said John faintly. Dumbledore glanced up at him.

"I didn't believe it when I heard it, but since then, I have had more evidence suggesting otherwise," he added. "She thinks, Harry is one of his Horcruxes," he whispered.

Dumbledore's expression didn't seem to change. He was still gazing at John with a piercing look. After a minute, John continued.

"When she destroyed the diary, Harry was rendered unconscious, almost instantly. It took him a couple of days to recover from that. Harry's constant dreams, his odd connection with Tom, Harry's a Parselmouth, the prophecy... the list goes on and on... It is not a solid theory, but it is one nonetheless," finished John.

Dumbledore did not have any words for John after that. After spending a few more minutes in the office, John left.

Voldemort was standing in front of Tom Riddle Senior's tombstone, basking in the glory of having created yet another Horcrux, making it his 6th. He now had 7 fragments of his soul, split and safely guarded in various parts of the world. There was something special about the number 7 and he was proud of Nagini, for she was his 7th soul, or so he thought.

There was a squeaking noise that distracted him. He turned around and saw a small creature scampering around.

"Barty," called out Voldemort in a deep gravelly voice.

"My Lord?" responded Barty Crouch Jr faintly and bowed down in front of his master.

"We have a guest... Isn't that right, Wormtail?" replied Voldemort with a menacing stare at the Rat.

A few seconds passed and the Rat slowly came to a halt a moment later, it transformed into a human form and Peter Pettigrew immediately knelt in front of Voldemort.

"My Lord," he worshipped in a low shivering cowardly voice.

"Wormtail... Came here to die?" asked Voldemort, his piercing death stare persisting.

"I ask for my Lord's forgiveness," replied Pettigrew. "I plead for a chance to serve my master again," he added, shivering as he spoke.

"Shut up coward," yelled Voldemort and there was a sudden pin drop silence around. It seemed like even the nature trembled in his presence.

"Barty... Please... help me," pleaded Pettigrew.

Barty Jr stayed silent, terrified of what was happening.

"You think he can save you? From me?" asked Voldemort and started laughing maniacally.

"Master... please do not kill me... I have information," begged Pettigrew.

"Information?" retorted Voldemort. "Will you look at that, Barty? Little Wormtail here has information," sniggered Voldemort and continued laughing.

"It's about Harry's friend, John... John Smith," whispered Pettigrew.

Voldemort looked at him, a little intrigued.

"Your death will be in my hands... Consider yourself lucky it isn't today," remarked Voldemort.

Chapter Text

"Will you look at that... he's blushing," remarked Seamus and started laughing, Ron, Dean and Neville joined in the giggles.

"I'm not blushing... piss off Finnigan," retorted Harry, annoyed.

"Can't believe you bagged the Slytherin sweetheart," added Dean. Harry had his hands on his head.

"Sweetheart? She ain't no sweetheart, Thomas... She has the death stare of a Basilisk," exclaimed Seamus and the group burst into laughter.

"I am not going to sit here and take this..." whispered Harry and got up.

"Simmer down, mate... You do realise she fancies you," said Ron.

"Nobody is fancying anything..." retorted Harry quickly.

And to Harry's relief, just at that moment, a young Ravenclaw girl walked up to the group.

"Harry Potter... Professor McGonagall wants to see you," she said.

"Oh" gasped Harry. "Okay, thanks," he added and walked away from the group.

"Don't think we've let you go, Harry," exclaimed Seamus.

"We will need all the details of your Valentine's day Hogsmeade visit," added Dean and Harry heard a roar of laughter follow.

"Mr Potter," exclaimed Professor McGonagall the moment entered her office.

"Professor?"

"It made little sense to keep this with us any longer..." she said and got up to walk to the back of her office. And from a large cupboard, she took out the firebolt. "Here..." she said and handed him the broom, with a big smile on her face.

"I can have it?" asked Harry excitedly, his mood took a complete 180.

"Yes... and win us the trophy," she replied proudly.

Harry bolted out of her office at full pace and went back to the castle grounds with his firebolt. Harry knew one thing for sure, henceforth, he was going to be zooming around in his firebolt all day long.

Life was fun as far as Harry was concerned. On the one hand, he was loving his new broom, the firebolt gifted to him by Sirius Black. And it made all his training sessions a whole lot more fun than it already was. Quidditch training was fun, with firebolt it was nothing like he had ever experienced. And there were his sessions with Remus Lupin, his parents' best friend from their school days. He found himself improving drastically in their training sessions and they were exhilarating too. And then there was the time he spent with Ron, Hermione and since quite recently, Daphne Greengrass. There was something about her that he couldn't quite place.

She was nothing like what the other boys said. She was fun to be around and showed a great interest in Harry's life. The teasing aside, even Harry wasn't that oblivious to what was happening between them. She was beautiful and brilliant to hang out with. And by the looks of things, she definitely liked him enough to draw pictures of him in her free time.

And then came the Hogsmeade week. It was just a few days to Valentine's day and as if written in the stars, the Hogsmeade weekend happened to coincide.

Harry walked into the library, late that evening, with butterflies in his stomach, looking for Hermione, the one person in his class who hadn't said anything to him about Daphne.

"Harry," exclaimed Hermione with a sudden smile as she laid her eyes on him. He rushed towards her.

"Hermione... Hi," said Harry as he sat down beside her.

"I didn't know you were coming to the library today... didn't you have your training session with Professor Lupin?" she asked, surprised.

"I did... I just finished a few minutes back. And guess who I ran into when I got out?" retorted Harry, hastily.

"Who?"

"Daphne," replied Harry and the smile vanished from Hermione's face. She tried to hide her reaction.

"She asked me to go with her to Hogsmeade," said Harry and looked keenly at Hermione. Her face dropped a few shades.

"Oh" she responded blankly.

"I need your help," said Harry.

"My help?"

"Yes, your help"

"With what?" asked Hermione. She did not want to find out where this conversation was going.

"I need you to come with me and Daphne... That way, there will be little talk about the two of us," replied Harry.

"Harry..." called out Hermione awkwardly. "No... I can't do that," she said hesitantly.

"Why? Please... Imagine if I went with her alone, I would be torn into pieces in the common room," pleaded Harry.

"She likes you... You like her... You don't want me to come in between," retorted Hermione. "She definitely wouldn't" she added.

Harry looked heartbroken and he remained silent. After a few seconds, Hermione couldn't resist it.

"Fine... I will tag along, but only to start off with," she said.

"Oh my God! Thank you so much... You're the best," exclaimed Harry and hugged Hermione.

Of course, it was only after he left the library that anyone would be able to see Hermione's eyes glistening, despite how hard she tried to resist.

The Hogsmeade visit arrived. Harry, Hermione and Ron were reminded once again by John to carry their totems with them. And just like Harry had planned, for everyone to see, Harry left the castle with Daphne and Hermione. To Hermione's relief, she realized pretty soon that John was going to be hanging around close to Harry the entire day, just in case anything were to happen.

Very soon into the day, Hermione also realized how much worse the idea was to play the third wheel. Daphne was pretty, prettier than she was, and was just as smart as her. Okay, maybe not as smart, but close enough. And unlike herself, Harry seemed to find Daphne more than just a friend. Hence, the moment she got the chance, she excused herself away from the pair and spent the rest of her Hogsmeade visit with John.

And it was probably the right thing to do. Because, by the time everyone came back from Hogsmeade, there was only one thing most 3rd years were talking about, Harry and Daphne. Harry's celebrity status made anything that happened to him travel around the school like a forest fire. And one thing the kids loved more than anything was something to gossip about. And such was the impact of that Hogsmeade visit, that by the end of the week that followed, Harry and Daphne were the most talked couple in the whole school.

"They are 13!... The kids are hyping them up like they are a celebrity power couple who have been together for decades," thought John to himself and chuckled.

It was just the beginning of the highs in Harry's life. A few weeks went by and the quidditch fever took over the school. And as things stood, Gryffindor was in the lead, since they had won both their games. Slytherin had beaten both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw but had lost to Gryffindor. And it was all down to the final game of the season, between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff team had performed by far the most above expectations. Their young captain, Cedric Diggory had grouped together an exciting young team, who still had a chance at winning the trophy if they could beat Gryffindor with a heavy margin.

With 3 houses still in the run with 1 game to go, it made the Gryffindor - Hufflepuff clash an extremely anticipated affair. And then there was the firebolt. The whole school was eager to see the young superstar, Harry Potter with his brand new firebolt in action.

The game kicked off with Madam Hooch's whistle. Right away, the vibrant Hufflepuff side put immense pressure on the Gryffindor team. They had a clear strategy. Their captain, Cedric Diggory, bulky and agile as he was, had tasked himself to closely monitor Harry and never let him get out of sight. Their beaters were constantly coming up trumps against the Weasley twins and kept nagging away with the bludger.

The frustrated Gryffindor team conceded unnecessary fouls and within no time, the Hufflepuff side found themselves ahead 80 to 10. Oliver Wood, Gryffindor's captain managed to take a time out and gathered his side in a huddle.

"Lads..." he exclaimed, "and ladies," he added after a stare from Angelina. "What are we doing?" he added in a serious tone. "Where's all the preparation?" he asked. The team kept silent.

"Weasleys... your head's gone. Their beaters are dominating you," he added angrily.

"And Harry? What are you doing? You have the firebolt... There's no broom in the world capable of coming even close to the firebolt. You're letting Diggory cramp you for room. You may be young but you're an experienced lad. Start working your brain," added Wood.

"Come on everyone... We can't let this slip," he added. "Let's go," he exclaimed loudly. The rest of the team were nodding in agreement, a fiery kick up their backside from their captain was what was required it seemed.

The motivational break may have sounded good but it seemed to have made little difference. It was perhaps not their day after all. Their performance sure improved, but things didn't improve much in the scoreline. Soon, they found themselves down by 200-40. The moment Hufflepuff touched 200, Wood gestured to Harry.

"Keep Diggory occupied... Don't catch the snitch now... We would still lose," he said rapidly.

And Harry did what he was told. It was a disappointing game till then. He had yet to spot the snitch. And by the looks of things, Cedric didn't seem to be interested in the snitch.

Harry decided to freestyle with his broom, to throw Cedric off his plan. He started by zooming around the quidditch pitch. And then he decided to play for the crowd. One thing he knew was his celebrity status meant there were always eyes on him. And once he had gotten his firebolt from Professor McGonagall, Harry had spent hours flying on his broom. And at that moment, Harry decided to use both those facts and started playing tricks with his broom. The speed and agility of the firebolt stood out from the crowd. The intuitiveness with which it behaved, almost reading Harry's thoughts in real-time. And the crowd joined in on the act. A group of spectators spotted Harry the first and started cheering what they saw, then a few more groups joined in and eventually, a big chunk of the crowd's eyes was on Harry's theatrics with the firebolt.

He wasn't sure if it was that, or suddenly his team started pulling their weight, but Harry heard the score was 260-110. The difference was still 150, but the last few points had been equally divided. And then during one of his freestyles, Harry spotted the golden snitch. To his dismay, so had Cedric. Maybe that was the plan all along.

"I will stay close to Harry, he will spot the snitch and I will try to grab it before he does" is the type of conversation Harry imagined Cedric having.

Harry dashed after the snitch. It swerved and swung in all directions. And Harry kept up his pace behind it. He moved in the same directions, the snitch did. The firebolt did everything Harry wanted it to. Cedric was closely following, but soon, he couldn't cope with it. A few seconds later, he watched in horror as Harry leapt forward and grabbed a hold of the snitch.

The game was over, and it was a tie, 270-270. But it didn't matter as Gryffindor had 2 wins already under their belt. And Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup.

Harry glided down to the ground and was instantly mauled over by the rest of the Gryffindor side, headed by Oliver Wood himself.

"That was fantastic, Harry... You were absolutely brilliant," he remarked, overjoyed by what he had seen of his young seeker.

"You were so good with that movement in the end," said Katie and imitated what Harry had done.

The celebrations began on the ground itself as the team were soon accompanied by the entire house and in front was none other than Professor McGonagall. As she and the rest of the house got congratulating each other, Harry had a special visit from Daphne.

She ran all the way from the stands to where the Gryffindor team had landed and the moment Harry's eyes lay on her, she dove at him and grabbed him in a bear hug.

"Harrrryyyy," she exclaimed loudly. "That was beyond fantastic," she screamed in his ears and kissed his cheek. "I literally got goosebumps," she added and showed her arms.

There was a big cheer from the crowd behind them at the sight of the pair.

"See you later," whispered Harry and kissed her cheek back.

The screaming, cheers and chants of the Gryffindor house continued from the ground till the team reached the common room. They were hyped to new heights by the rest of the house that followed behind. Oliver Wood, Harry Potter and every other quidditch team player were carried on the shoulders, and everyone's name was chanted at the top of their voice.

The celebrations went on till late that night past midnight. The Weasley twins and some of the other 7th years had managed to sneak in some beers, spiced mead, gin, butterbeer, brandy, rum and everything else they could get their hands on.

It was extremely late, most of the students had danced and screamed their way to getting tired, half-drunk and sleepy. And of the ones who were still awake, most were drunk. Even John had helped himself to some harmless pints.

It was almost 3 in the morning. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Neville, and John were finally the only ones left in the common room. Hermione hadn't touched anything she wasn't supposed to and was the only one fully sober, though very sleepy. Neville, Ron and Harry had played around a little but were still aware of their surroundings. John had helped himself a little more than he had meant to, his physical body definitely didn't agree with his mental age. Fred and George were absolutely trashed and looking for trouble.

"Georgie," exclaimed Fred loudly.

"Freddie," exclaimed George in return.

"Ever wonder what we should do about this kid?" he asked and pointed at John, his words slurred as he spoke them.

"There should be something done, wouldn't you agree, Freddie?" retorted George.

The drunk twins got up from where they were seated and walked over to the other corner of the room, where John was sitting. Hermione, Harry and Ron were nervously watching the scene unfurl. Neville seemed out of it.

"Ginny lies in the crazy hospital like a corpse and here is this guy sitting, sipping brandy in the middle of the night," remarked Fred.

"Grab his glass brother," said George and took out his wand. Fred was already reaching for the glass. John, well aware of what was going on let go without effort. Fred dropped the glass on the floor and took out his wand as well.

"We should do something," whispered Hermione.

"Don't," replied Ron instantly.

"Get up," said Fred and pointed his wand at John. John promptly got up and stood still in front of the twins.

"Stupefy" muttered Fred and George at the same time and both their spells hit John at the same time. But they were so drunk and weakened by the alcohol that the spells barely did anything to John. And there was also the fact that John had shielded himself instantly.

"Look at that, brother... the kid knows how to defend himself," said George and started laughing mad. Fred joined in on the giggles.

And almost immediately, the twins hit John with another spell, this one much more potent than the previous, but John was up to the task.

"Stop behaving like idiots," said John the moment he deflected their attack. "Go to your dorms, you're drunk," he added.

"Idiots? You call us idiots?" yelled Fred suddenly.

"Looks like someone isn't afraid," added George. Neville who had fallen asleep beside Hermione had jolted awake.

The twins hit a couple more spells in fury at John, but he defended them all like it was routine, which angered the twins even more. Hermione seemed to make a move like she was about to do something but she got told off by John.

"Hermione... Don't... Everyone, go back to your dormitories," he said, loud enough.

"Who do you think you are?" retorted Fred loudly.

"Everyone stays right where they are," added George and glared at Ron and then at everyone else.

John backed off a little. Fred and George cracked their necks sideways and positioned themselves in a duelling pose.

"This can't be happening," muttered Hermione under her breath.

"They're being drunk and stupid and are going to get it handed to them," replied Ron in a whisper.

It was Fred who began it this time, George closely followed him. One spell after another, John shielded, dodged or blocked them all. Sparks were flying everywhere as Hermione, Ron, Harry and Neville watched the horrific scene quietly.

"You'll pay for what she did to our Ginny," growled George as a jet of white light escaped his wand.

"Enough of this stupidity from the both of you... Calm down before you hurt someone... or yourself," said John cautiously.

"Are you threatening us, kid? Is that what you did to our Ginny? Did you threaten her?" growled Fred.

The twins may have been drunk but they were relentless. And something had to give. And it did, when the twins crossed a line they wouldn't have sober.

"You know? I liked her, your Aunt, wasn't she?" remarked Fred.

"You never told me, brother..." replied George.

"Half the school did, Georgie..." said Fred and glanced at George. "You reckon he did too?" he added.

"Scandalous, brother dear... Bet she would have fancied that," remarked George in response.

The twins couldn't have done anything even if they were sober and in their prime strength with what happened next.

"I said... enough of this stupidity," whispered John in an angry growl, yet loud enough for everyone to hear and with a flick of his wand, had the Weasley twins immobile.

Fred fell down with a thud. George was going out of balance and before he could fall down, John grabbed him.

"I'm going to release the bind in a second... I hear another word... a word more on Jane and I will kill you," he said and let go. George fell down beside Fred.

Hermione was clutching her mouth in shock, Neville was close to sobbing, Ron was stunned speechless and Harry was standing reaction-less. He knew this day was coming for a long time.

John knelt down beside them as the other 4 watched him in horror. Anger was visibly radiating out of him.

"I have had enough of you two this year... But you crossed a line now. Cross it again, and Arthur and Molly will have 2 fewer kids for Easter," he whispered in their ears and got up.

John walked away from the twins and as he did, he flicked his wand and the twins were freed and were gasping for breath.

"That's enough drama for the night... Go to your dormitories, NOW," whispered John loudly. Ron, Harry, and Neville bolted out of there instantly. Hermione however lingered around for a few seconds.

"I'm fine... and I'm not actually going to hurt them... It's extremely late, Good Night," he whispered in Hermione's ear and patted her shoulder. And hesitantly, she left the common room. John stayed for a couple more seconds, but he left as well. That was well and truly enough for a night.

The following morning, everyone woke up with a hangover, some were hungover from the adrenaline rush of the celebrations the previous night, some from the mysterious events of the previous night that had turned the common room upside down, some were emotionally hungover, some were hungover from everything they had drunk and some from all of the above.

Harry woke up late that morning and went down for breakfast and found Ron and Hermione already at the table.

"I think I had a bad dream," he said as he sat down beside Ron. "I'm never drinking again," he added as he clutched his head.

"A bad dream?" asked Hermione, worried.

"Not the You-Know-Who kind... I actually saw John and Fred and George duelling," replied Harry, with a chuckle. The expression on Ron and Hermione was hard to read, but confused was definitely one of them.

"Oh my God!" gasped Harry. "That was all real, wasn't it?" he asked.

"I have never seen him so angry," whispered Hermione.

Silence loomed on the table. And then Harry spoke up.

"They had it coming," he sighed.

"And that thing about Jane... that was disgusting... I threw up twice thinking about it," added Ron with a disgusted look.

"That was probably all that mead, mate," whispered Harry and the trio giggled away their hangover.

John saw the Weasley twins a couple of times that day, and both those times, they seemed to ignore him and go in a different direction.

Hermione tried to broach the subject that evening in the library.

"Are we ever going to talk about what happened last night?" whispered Hermione.

"Do we have to?" retorted John.

"You threatened to kill them," whispered Hermione.

"Yes," replied John nonchalantly.

"Yes? That's all? Yes?" remarked Hermione, shocked.

"Yes... What do you want me to say, Hermione?" retorted John, confused.

"You would have killed them? Just like that," asked Hermione, shocked.

"Nobody gets to say a word about her without consequences. I may have had my differences, fights, and disagreements with her a million times in the past 3 decades. But nobody gets to say a word about her without consequences. And trust me, I will bring all kinds of consequences," he replied instantly, without taking a pause for breath. And he wasn't finished making his point.

"You know? There was this time, with my father once... Jane had done something stupid in school. When she was back home, he kept going after her every day, kept taunting her about it. And he knew it made her feel bad. So, this one day... I set him up. I set a trap and he fell for it. He got mildly electrocuted, actually. And when he was on the floor, I looked at him and told him exactly what would happen if he uttered another word about the whole thing. I did that to my father... He was a powerful wizard, could have easily laid me out... I was probably 15 or 16 at the time. So, yes... I would have killed those 2 yesterday if they had gone on," added John calmly.

Hermione looked at him, terrified at what had suddenly come over him. She tried to hide her reaction, but she didn't do it well.

"You may think I'm crazy... I guess these past few months have made me a little crazy. But Jane's all I have got... And I'm all she's got. If I don't stand up for her, who will?" he remarked with a chuckle.

"That's sweet... And a little crazy. Sweet but Crazy," replied Hermione and stared at John bewildered who just shrugged in response.

It had been a few weeks since Gryffindor's quidditch cup win. Remus was walking back from a class when he received a note to come to his office. Remus went back to his office and on the route, saw John, who was also headed to the same destination. They both entered Remus' office at the same time and saw someone already in.

"Hello, Mr Lupin and Mr Smith, have a seat," said Emily Davies.

John glanced at Remus and sat down opposite Emily. Remus however remained stood beside John.

"What are you doing here, Emily?" asked John, annoyed. "And why do we have to do this in Remus' office?" he added.

"Your sister is a person of interest in the murder of Doctor Kristin," replied Emily, calmly.

John glanced at Remus, shocked.

"My sister?" retorted John, confused.

"Yes... your sister," replied Emily. "Unbelievable, how long you've kept this going for. I mean, Jane is your sister, isn't she?" she added.

She knew she had him and he knew she knew she had him. Yet, John tried to maintain his cover a little longer. "Jane is not my sister, she is my Aunt... And I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, trying to sound calm.

"This is exactly what I thought you'd say... and that's why we are doing this here... Mr Lupin, there is no point in lying. You were one of his doctors in Iceland, correct?" she asked.

"Yes," replied Remus calmly.

"And what was his treatment for?" she asked.

"I cannot answer that question, legally," replied Remus.

"Hmm... interesting... I didn't know you'd want to play this game too. Never mind, I have what I need," replied Emily and started ruffling the pages of a folder she was holding. "You know what this is? This is everything the healing facility had on your treatment there. They were happy to give these to me when they found out that one of their former patients was connected to the death of their beloved colleague," she added.

John closed his eyes, distraught. He felt the world around him crumble.

"Imagine my surprise when I found out everything. I was always fascinated by you, Mr Smith... your demeanour, the way you spoke, the innate confidence, your relationship with Jane... It all made sense once I read these papers. You are not a child, are you? This is a brilliant scheme that you've been running... I wonder why," she added, a cunning smile covering her face as she spoke.

John and Remus remained silent.

"This..." she said and pointed at the folder. "I have your life in my hands, it's about time you started spitting facts, Mr Smith," she added. "Is it the kids? Do you like being near them? Pretending to be one would make things easy, wouldn't it?" she continued and John sat there emotionless. "Does Albus Dumbledore know? It doesn't matter, does it? When the world finds out about this, it wouldn't matter. You and your sister are killers and I have the thread to topple your world," she added.

John resisted the urge to lash out and kept quiet. Remus stood beside him awkwardly wondering how long it would be before John snapped.

"You know there was a curious tale in the Ministry a couple of years back, it was a drunkard's rumour really. That a Hogwarts Professor tried to steal the Philosopher's stone from right under Albus Dumbledore's nose," added Emily. She was going to do everything to get the truth out of John. "I wonder if it was a rumour. Jane managed to land the Hogwarts job immediately after, didn't she? And then now, the Flamels are dead and so is YOUR doctor in exactly the same fashion. Your sister is capable of those deeds, isn't she? Torture and death comes to her quite easily, I presume?" she continued taunting and John finally gave up.

"Stop this," whispered John, exhausted.

"What?" exclaimed Emily.

"I said, stop this..." repeated John.

"Okay... So what is it?" she asked.

John remained quiet for a few seconds and then spoke up.

"Remus doesn't have to be here for this..." he said faintly and gave Emily a piercing look.

"Fair enough... Mr Lupin, if you could please give us the room," she said and gave a polite smile.

Remus looked at John, confused at what he was trying to accomplish, but didn't protest and left the room after a moment.

"Okay... Now," she began and left it open-ended.

"What you are about to hear is top secret... There are very few people who have knowledge of this," he said and gave a pause. Emily was watching him intrigued.

"And you have to believe me when I tell you... I don't want to do this... the only reason I am, is so that you don't get yourself into trouble over things you may not be aware of," he added cautiously. He knew he had to do this. And the question wasn't if he should reveal the truth, but how much he should reveal.

"Thanks for your concern, Mr Smith... you should really get going now," interjected Emily.

"This is about Vol..." replied John and intentionally shuddered at the thought of his name. He made a frightened expression and continued, "You-Know-Who," he added. There were tiny droplets of sweat forming over his brow.

"You-Know-Who?" wondered Emily curiously.

"You told me a few months back that you knew Jane didn't do those things... I'm telling you that you were correct. And I'm also telling you that You-Know-Who was behind it," replied John and faked a shiver.

"You-Know-Who died long back, son. Your friend, the boy-who-lived was partly responsible," said Emily with a chuckle.

John looked at her with fear in his eyes and a genuine seriousness.

"He's back," whispered John.

"What?" exclaimed Emily, her expression indicating she wasn't sure anymore.

"He's back," repeated John.

"Is this some kind of trick?" asked Emily.

"No trick, it's the truth you wanted," replied John.

"Okay... Go on"

"Most of what you said was true... But none of it was the whole truth," said John. "You-Know-Who was controlling Professor Quirinus Quirrell. Under his influence, he tried to steal the Philosopher's stone. But Quirrell didn't know that it was a fake. A death eater also tried to attack Harry Potter in the forbidden forest in our first year," added John and took a dramatic pause. It was working, he had Emily engrossed in his tale.

"I was there with Harry and I killed Goyle Sr. You-Know-Who was there with Goyle Sr but escaped before we could do anything," he added. After a few seconds, he continued, "You-Know-Who then sent a few death eaters to avenge Goyle's death, by attacking Jane and Daisy, her muggle student. And Jane did what any sane responsible teacher would do. She protected Daisy from the death eaters," he added.

"So, Jane did kill those people?" asked Emily.

John ignored the question and continued. "I transformed myself to protect Harry. Professor Dumbledore knew the dangers out there and wanted me close to Harry. That's why I'm here... The transformation didn't go to plan and hence my treatment with Doctor Kristin," he said and wiped a few tears from his eye.

"You-Know-Who had one of his death eaters slip a jinxed diary into Ginny Weasley's possession. And under its influence, Ginny opened the chamber of secrets. You-Know-Who controlled Ginny for a whole year. Imagine the chaos if the world found out You-Know-Who was back. Jane sacrificed herself for the greater good. Yet, Ginny, his victim, couldn't be completely saved."

John was almost done with his monologue. He was planning on stretching it as thin as he could. As much as required, to satisfy Emily's want for answers.

"Something happened that night... The night he attacked the Potters. His spell backfired and Harry survived. But it left You-Know-Who without a body. Hence why he was looking for a solution and an Elixir of life was exactly what he was looking for. He is the one who had the Flamels killed. He presumably had Doctor Kristin killed, looking for more information about me," he finished and stared at Emily. There was genuine fear in his eyes but a fake tremble in his voice.

"Yes, he's back," he added and sat back.

Emily's expression was hard to read. John knew that she was confused. It was his plan. Nothing he could say could possibly make Emily believe him. So, he decided to use theatricality and a bit of intrigue mixed with half-truths to make his case.

"A nice tale, Mr Smith," said Emily after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Not a tale," retorted John.

"You-Know-Who was a nice touch. A convenient solution to cover up the lies," remarked Emily.

John remained silent. That was his best option.

"Is there even a single piece of evidence to prove any of what you told me?" asked Emily with a chuckle.

"You know who Tom Riddle is?" retorted John bluntly.

"Tom Riddle?" wondered Emily out loud.

"Yes... Go back to your offices and look it up in your records," replied John.

"Why?"

"You asked for evidence. You will believe me when you find out who Tom Riddle is," replied John.

"Well... if this is all it is going to be, then I'm done here. I just wanted to give you a final visit before I submitted my work. You will likely be arrested in a few days. I don't know what will happen with Albus Dumbledore. But all of this is bad for the school. I wish I didn't have to do it," said Emily and even looked genuine about it.

"Please don't do this. You will be putting a lot of lives in danger, including yourself," said John and placed his hands on top of Emily's, but quickly removed them. There were tears in his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to," he added.

Emily looked at John, confused. But a moment later, she got up and made her way outside the office. But just before she exited, she looked back at John.

"Is he really back?" she asked.

John nodded and with that, she left. He waited inside the office for a couple of minutes and Remus walked in.

"What happened?" asked Remus and looked at John. "Have you been crying?" he asked, taken aback.

John gave a big laugh and wiped the tears on his face. "Tricks of the trade, my friend," he replied.

"What did she say? Why did you ask me to leave?" asked Remus, confused.

"I wanted to feed her some lies with a touch of drama. And that was just part of the play," replied John.

"You lied and she believed you?" asked Remus.

"Well... I didn't entirely lie. I just gave her the truth she wanted to hear," replied John. "I might have also told her that You-Know-Who was back," he added nonchalantly.

"What?" gasped Remus, shocked.

"I had to... I needed something dramatic," replied John.

With that, John left the office leaving Remus confused and a little suspicious of what had just happened.

Emily had gone back to her office in the Ministry of Magic. After digging through a pile of information for a few days, one night in her house, she finally came across an article which had Tom Riddle's mentions. It was an article that talked about Tom Riddle's Special Award for Services to the School, given to him for the capture of the student who had opened the Chamber of Secrets. She also came across reports from a little village called Little Hangleton. The mysterious deaths of the Riddles as the muggles call them.

And then she came across something that left her speechless for a few seconds. An old newspaper article from the same time Tom Riddle was given his award, an interview conducted by the Prophet, an interview of Tom Riddle and some of his friends. And it read, "He likes being called Lord Voldemort. It is a name he gave to himself and we all like it,"

She was so engrossed in reading the reports and articles that she didn't hear someone break into her house. The next thing she knew, she was tied up with magical restraints, her wand lay beside her, broken into pieces.

"Crucio"

Chapter Text

"She was this close to finding that woman. Next thing you know, you find her tortured and killed in her own house"

"A source close to the Auror's office confirms that Emily Davies' death marks the 3rd of its kind in the past few months, across Europe"

"Incidentally, Mrs Davies was also investigating the deaths of notable Alchemist, Nicolas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle Flamel"

"Smith & Black"

"Maniac escapes Azkaban just weeks after the world found out about this woman's insanity. Not a coincidence, I don't think"

"John Smith, nephew of Jane Smith was the last known person interviewed by Mrs Davies"

"Dark Wizard on the RISE"

Remus read out loud a few more one-liners and quotes from the papers of the past few days.