Hi everyone... I'm back with Chapter 94!
After the big reveal in the previous chapter, I have tried to keep this slightly simpler. Enjoy!
PS - Now that you have had more time to assimilate that reveal, I wonder what your thoughts are!
"This has been an absolute disaster for the Gryffindor side. Just a little less than 2 weeks before their crunch final game against Ravenclaw, they lost their star seeker, their superstar, Harry Potter. This match was under a cloud of doubt. Would it even go through under these sad circumstances? But it did go through, and here we are. The Gryffindor side finds themselves needing a miracle," remarked Lee Jordan.
"And just as you say that, Angelina has lost the quaffle once again. It's Chambers on the attack... Passes it to Bradley... an excellent one-two with Davies... and that's textbook. Even Ron Weasley can't keep it out... Ravenclaw makes it 400 to 90," announced his partner in commentary, Zacharias Smith. "How has this happened, Lee?" he asked, grinning.
"You're beaming now, aren't you, Zach? As it stands, Hufflepuff have their toes in," replied Lee, cheerfully, though he was distraught inside.
"I'd say they have one hand on the trophy, Lee," retorted Zach, chuckling. "Seriously though, do you think this performance is down to Harry's injury, or is there a deeper issue with the team?" he asked. "This is the last game for many of the senior players in the team, after all... a little desperation creeping in now?" he added.
"Katie with a nice finish there, the score is 400 to 100 now," announced Lee. "Their equation was simple and easy when today started. Win the game, make a clean sweep for the year, and win the trophy. And if you lose, don't lose the game by more than 135 points," he continued after a moment's pause. "They were comfortably ahead of Hufflepuff at the start of the day and now, they find themselves struggling," he added.
"This is your last year as well, isn't it, Lee?" asked Zacharias. "That's a good save by Weasley, the youngest one, of course. He hasn't been dreadful today, but Roger Davies' side has scored 400 points," he remarked as Ron made a nice flying save.
"You are not going to let it go, are you, Zach? It's a bit insensitive... Harry's battling for his life out there and we are playing quidditch. Harry has been in the team for 5 years. He has owned this school in Quidditch since he has started playing. The entire team is obviously affected by this incident. They are not in the right mindset for this game," retorted Lee, angrily. And right at that moment, he received a glare from Professor McGonagall, sitting a fair bit away.
"That is an easy excuse though, isn't it? And by the way, Harry missed a year," retorted Zach.
"Focusing back on the game... The score is now 400 to 100. It's been a long game so far and there would be 2 players playing right now that would be itching to make a difference. And that is Cho Chang and Colin Creevey... Cho, the only Ravenclaw today to have had an ordinary day on the field. 500 points have been scored and the seekers are yet to show their play," commented Lee.
"And Colin, who has had an up-and-down journey is only making sure that neither of them catches the snitch at the moment. If Colin catches the snitch right now, Gryffindor would still lose by 150, which is not enough for them to get their hands on the trophy," added Zach.
The game meandered along for a while. And the score sat at 470 to 140.
"The game resumes after a momentary pause. The Gryffindor team regroup after a short one-minute time-out. Fred with an excellent play, knocking out Bradley with the bludger and he squanders possession. It's Alicia with the quaffle... Oh, that's absolutely gorgeous, what a piece of deception from the Gryffindor chaser... and the quaffle goes in... Individual brilliance," commented Lee, a tinge of excitement back in his tone. "Is this the spark they need?" he added.
"They are still behind by 320 points," replied Zach, chuckling.
After a few moments, "It's Angelina this time... Steals the possession fiercely... Pass to Katie... and she gives it to Alicia and gets it back instantly..." began Lee and paused. It truly was a breathtaking play. The quaffle went from Katie to Alicia and back to Katie. After carrying it for a bit, she passed it to Angelina who passed it immediately to Alicia. Alicia with another dummy and when the keeper thought she was going to shoot, she passed it to Katie, who scored virtually an empty goal.
"The girls have come back from the break in a different mood... This is mesmeric stuff," announced Lee. "Zach, mate... Are you getting any flashbacks to the opening game?" he asked.
"That was indeed a nice passage of play for Gryffindor," added Zacharias, calmly.
A few minutes went by and Gryffindor was on fire. The scores stood at 470 to 180.
"That is bullying from the Ravenclaw beaters, who have been at the top of their game all day... an easy path for Chambers to make it 480 to 180," announced Zacharias Smith.
And just at that moment, Lee exclaimed, "Look..." he gasped. "It looks like Colin has spotted the golden snitch," he exclaimed, excitedly. And the crowd had seemed to spot that as well. There was an excitement in the crowd that had built up suddenly. It had been a really long game, the longest in each one of their memory.
"But, he can't catch the snitch," retorted Zach. "Does Colin know his arithmetic?" he wondered out loud.
And it sure looked like it. Colin had indeed spotted the snitch and hence, so had Cho. Colin was doing everything in his power, he used every trick he knew to keep Cho at bay. The weather was decent and it meant, Colin could clearly see and hear the scores. As he followed the snitch closely, he made sure that Cho didn't get a direct path at the snitch.
And just at that moment, he heard Lee Jordan go jubilant. The scores were now 480 to 190. This meant, if Colin caught the snitch right then, they would finish the game 140 points behind. Gryffindor was just a shot and a catch away from a miracle.
"This has been a riveting last 15 minutes, here at Hogwarts. The Gryffindor team, led by their brave and lethal girls up front have turned it around. Alicia has been the star of the turnaround, aptly complemented by Angelina, the captain and Katie Bell, another star of this team," remarked Lee, proudly.
A few seconds went by. "The Ravenclaw team seem unfazed by this though. That's Roger with a fine interception, he passes it to Bradley and gets it back... Roger takes a pop at the hoops and..." commented Zach. The Gryffindor supporters took a big breath as they watched what was going on.
"What a save by big man Weasley... Clutch," announced Lee. "And Colin is doing a fabulous job of keeping Cho away from the snitch while also keeping his eye on the snitch. Is this a seeker's toughest ever role?" he added and glanced at Zach.
"He can't catch the snitch, but he can't let Cho get it either. His role in the team is to catch the snitch and somehow, he's now being told to do the opposite. And he's doing it really well," replied Zach.
"That's a praise from my partner here... His first of the day," chuckled Lee. "And here we go again... George and Fred take out Bradley and Chambers at the same time. My boys have started working their magic with the Bludgers in the last few minutes," he commented.
"Oh no," gasped Zach after a moment and Lee exclaimed in joy at the same time.
"It's the Alicia and Katie show here... Stunning finish by Alicia, but that setup from Katie deserves a round of applause," announced Lee, joyously. "And for the first time today, my partner here is sweating a little," he added.
"Am I, Lee?" retorted Zacharias. Though, truly he was. Gryffindor were now 130 points behind. And Colin was on the cusp of catching the snitch.
"And suddenly, the tide has turned. Colin no longer cares about Cho. He has one thing and only one thing to do now, catch the snitch. But, that will allow Cho, the experienced Ravenclaw seeker to make her play," announced Lee.
A couple of nail-biting minutes went by. The game had turned into a scrappy affair. The Gryffindor girls were passing the quaffle around and the Weasley twins kept the bludgers flying around at the Ravenclaw players. Despite that, Ravenclaw managed to take a shot on goal, but Ron was there to save it.
And then it happened.
"Colin continues to block Cho's vision," remarked Lee.
"And here we thought he'd go after the snitch," added Zach uncomfortably.
"Come on Colin," exclaimed Lee. And just at that moment, Colin did a dramatic turn on his broom, almost knocking Cho out, who was tailing right behind him. "Colin makes a rapid turn and Cho turns instantly... Oh and... this is a genius play by Colin... He kept his opposing teammate blind-sided all this while and does the oldest trick in the book... Colin has deceived Cho Chang... He is now comfortably the only one after the snitch... That's a dive... and..." continued Lee, getting more and more excited with every word. There was a loud cheer that erupted in the stands.
"He has caught it... I cannot believe it... Colin Creevey, the muggle born from Aberdeen does it in truly dramatic style... A defeat has never tasted this sweet for this Gryffindor side. They have lost the game by 130 points... But have managed to finish just 5 points ahead of Hufflepuff in the standings..." exclaimed Lee, excitedly, his voice echoed around.
"Wow... what a finish," sighed Zacharias. "Congratulations to Gryffindor," he announced.
"Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson... take a bow... What a turnaround... Fred, George and Ron Weasley... the brothers... this has been a tremendous, extended passage of play... And Colin Creevey, what a performance... What a mature performance keeping an experienced seeker like Cho Chang quiet..." continued Lee at the top of his energy.
"A truly special moment for every Gryffindor supporter and player... Especially for Angelina, Fred and George... their last year at Hogwarts and they have won it for their house," chimed in Zach. "And finally, this is also the last year for my partner here... who has been a great commentator for the past few years," he added as he glanced at Lee.
"Thank you, Zach... This is a special feeling, but I'm not the hero here... The players that have done it today, despite everything that has happened recently... they are the heroes," remarked Lee.
And that marked the end of the quidditch game and the quidditch season for that year.
The Gryffindor team celebrated happily at the end of the game, they had done what everyone thought to be impossible, just half an hour earlier. But, their celebrations were subdued and largely non-existent post the initial euphoria. It had been close to 2 weeks since Harry seemingly collapsed on the second-floor corridor, in the middle of the night. He was then transferred to a healing facility in Iceland. And as of that moment, Harry was yet to regain consciousness.
But the day Harry once again regained consciousness was just around the corner.
By this point, it had been close to 3 weeks. That evening, Ron was training with Professor Dumbledore. And in the middle of their session, Hagrid came jogging to where they were in the forest.
"Professor... Professor Dumbledore sir," called out Hagrid. "Harry's... Harry's woken up... He's talking," said Hagrid, beaming and overjoyed.
"What?" gasped Ron, happily. "Harry's up? Yes, finally," he exclaimed, happily.
"This is great news, Hagrid," exclaimed Dumbledore with a big smile.
"Yes, Professor," beamed back Hagrid. "Professor White just got the news and he told me to inform you immediately," he added.
The session ended right there. Dumbledore had to go and speak with Professor White and Professor McGonagall right away. Even Ron had to go and tell this news to Hermione and everyone else.
It was a jubilant evening in the Gryffindor common room and eventually, the entire school, that evening when everyone found that Harry had woken up. Meanwhile, Professor Dumbledore had made plans to travel to Iceland, to meet with Harry immediately. Professor McGonagall had already informed Remus, Sirius and the entire Order that Harry was up, along with Petunia.
Harry stayed at the healing facility for a week more. Dumbledore had arranged for Petunia to visit and stay with Harry while he fully recovered. And towards the end of his recovery, Dumbledore spoke with Harry about exactly what happened to him that evening, and Harry told him everything he knew and remembered.
It was a grand day at Hogwarts, the day when Harry returned.
When he entered the great hall, pretty much, half the school had gathered there. There were chants of, "The boy who lived once again", people were cheering Harry's name and the Weasley twins had even made up firecrackers that spelt out Harry's name. Harry, meanwhile, had his cheeks turn red in embarrassment. He was used to the popularity, but this was a lot more than he had expected. But, he was delighted nonetheless.
The highlight of the evening for Harry was the moment he laid eyes on Ron and Hermione, both of whom he had extremely disturbed and angered, the last he spoke to them.
Hesitantly, he walked over to them.
"Hey, man... I'm glad to have you back," exclaimed Ron and grabbed Harry into a hug, and suddenly, everything seemed normal, there was relief in Harry's mind.
"Harry," called out Hermione, beaming wide and joining in on the hug. "It's so good to see you," she remarked. "How are you doing now? Are you alright?" she asked, rapidly.
"Hermione, let the man breathe," chuckled Ron as he released the hug. Harry and Hermione continued embracing for a few seconds before they let go.
"I'm alright now... all better," replied Harry, smiling.
The rest of the evening went in Harry speaking with loads of loads of people, his close friends, his quidditch teammates, his quidditch opponents, students he had partnered with in classes over the years, friends of friends he had known just by name and not to mention, admirers of his that he didn't even know.
And after 3 weeks of lying unconscious and a week of worrying about absolutely everything and anything, Harry was finally back, where he belonged.
While the euphoric evening ended, the following morning proved to be just as different. From the moment Harry woke up and made his way to the common room, and then when he went to the great hall for breakfast, it seemed like everyone's eyes were on him, everybody was talking about him. And it was quickly starting to get a bit weird and uncomfortable. He enjoyed the attention but was starting to get overwhelmed by it as well.
Nevertheless, when he went for breakfast, he joined Ron and Hermione and started to feel like he could easily ignore the world and just be with his best friends.
"Hey, good morning," greeted Hermione.
"Morning," greeted Harry.
"Was everything fine last night?" she asked.
"Yes, Hermione... everything was alright," replied Harry, chuckling, though Hermione's eyes showed genuine concern.
"He only missed you in his bed, Hermione," retorted Ron and Harry stared at him, shocked, while Hermione threw a spoon in his face.
After a couple of minutes, Harry spoke up. "So, what did I miss?" he asked.
"An absolute disaster of a quidditch game," began Ron.
"Oh no... did we lose the trophy?" asked Harry, instantly.
"No, we won the trophy... But we lost the game 480 to 350," replied Ron, smiling.
"What?" gasped Harry, shocked. "480 to 350?" he asked, stunned.
"At one point, we were 470 to 140, mate... and then Alicia put on a show, she was brilliant throughout the game... and Colin topped it off by catching the snitch," replied Ron.
"Wow... that close, huh?" remarked Harry.
"You need to catch up on your work, Harry," began Hermione. "I have prepared a detailed list of things you need to do, plus a schedule for how you can get your studying complete. Our OWLs are less than 10 weeks away," she continued.
"Thank you so much, Hermione," replied Harry gratefully, though Ron had a smirk on his face.
Just when they were about to finish their breakfast, Harry received a note from a young boy.
"Who is it from?" asked Ron.
Harry looked at the note and started reading it. After a moment, he replied, "I have detention with Snape tonight," he said.
"Detention? What for?" asked Ron, confused.
"I got one from him on the day I... I, uh... got attacked, remember?" retorted Harry, struggling to explain what had happened to him.
"Wow... Trust Snape to give detention weeks after an incident, despite what happened to you," sighed Ron, appalled.
"It's alright... It was my fault," replied Harry.
Soon, the three of them left the great hall and made their way to the class. However, before that, Harry pulled Ron aside momentarily.
"What happened?" asked Ron, confused.
"It has been bugging me ever since I woke up... I did a lot of things, said a lot of things to a lot of people... those couple of days... And I regret every one of them," began Harry. "None more so than what happened between on us, that day, during practice," he added.
"Harry..." began Ron, calmly, but Harry interrupted him.
"Let me finish..." said Harry. "I'm sorry for what I said to you that day... about Daisy... I don't know what came over me. It was probably You-know-who controlling my mind, but that doesn't excuse what I did," he remarked, apologetically.
"It's alright mate... Honestly," replied Ron. "I was absolutely pissed off that evening... But, turned out, you weren't yourself... And deep down, I'm sure I knew that you would never act that way unless something was seriously wrong," he added.
Harry was thoroughly relieved to hear that. But, he was not done for the day. In all the time he spent awake at the healing facility in Iceland, he had decided one thing he was going to do right after coming back to Hogwarts. He was going to apologise to everyone.
And he had started off on the right note.
The next one on the list was Professor Slughorn. While Gryffindor did not have Potions that day, Harry still decided to go to Professor Slughorn's office that evening.
Harry knocked on the door and entered Slughorn's office.
"Good evening, Professor," he greeted.
"Oh, Harry," exclaimed Slughorn. "Come in, dear boy," he said. Harry stood there for a few seconds, taken aback by the unexpected warm welcome. But, eventually, he walked in. "How are you now, Harry?" asked Slughorn.
"I'm doing much better now, Professor," replied Harry. "I have been advised to take it lightly with quidditch, the training, duelling, etc. for a few weeks. But otherwise, I'm doing well," he added.
"Good... good, that's good to hear," replied Slughorn. After a moment's silence, he continued, "So, what brings you to my office? I hope it's not about you-know-what," he asked and chuckled right at the end.
"Professor," he began. "I came here to apologize to you," said Harry. "I was rude to you. I was mean, and completely out of line. I was helpless, angry, but I should have never had that outburst," he remarked.
"You were under his influence, Harry," replied Slughorn, after a few seconds. "And I know what he's capable of," he added. After a few seconds, he continued. "And truth be told, I'm old now. People don't speak to me, the way they did years ago. You were rude and harsh, but you were correct. I had been treating you unfairly, for someone else's mistake. That was my fault," he remarked, remorsefully.
"I'm sorry, Professor... I have not been truthful to you the entire year. I have always had an ulterior motive," began Harry.
"It's alright, Harry... water under the bridge, eh?" remarked Slughorn.
Harry walked out of Slughorn's office a few minutes later, once again relieved by the conversation he had just had. And there was the added incentive, Harry was now once again hopeful that he might be able to persuade Slughorn into telling him the truth.
Harry rushed to Snape's office immediately after getting out of Slughorn's office. And he reached right on time for his detention. As it turned out, for the entirety of his detention, Snape did not say a word in spite or mocking Harry. When Harry entered his office, he just gave him homework to complete that his class had been given in his absence. Harry spent the detention completing his homework.
"Your detention is over, Mr Potter... You may leave now," said Snape.
"Okay, Professor," replied Harry and started collecting his things. Right when he was about to leave, he paused and glanced at Snape. "I'm sorry about the other day, Professor," he said, apologetically.
Snape stared at him, without an expression on his face. "Off you go, I have better things to do," replied Snape coldly and with that, Harry left his office.
Harry went straight for dinner and once again joined Hermione and Ron. However, right at the end of it, his eyes fell on Daphne sitting a few tables away, and he was reminded that he owed her an apology as well.
Promptly, Harry got up from his seat and walked up to her.
"Hey," he greeted, nervously.
"Harry," exclaimed Daphne, calmly. "It's good to see you back on your feet," she remarked, with a brief smile.
"Thanks..." replied Harry. And, right at that moment, Colin nudged Luna and the both of them got up from their seat and walked away, leaving the pair alone at the table. "I owe you an apology," began Harry. "I was rude and I'm sorry," he said.
Daphne stared at him for a few seconds. "It's alright, you were not in the right state of mind," she replied.
There was an awkward silence that lasted between the pair. Harry wasn't sure if he had anything more to say to her. He would have liked to emphasize that nothing would ever happen between the two of them ever again, but on the other hand, it didn't seem necessary. Daphne, on the other hand, understood perfectly well that Harry was not acting himself. While she wanted to know how Harry was doing, what had happened to him that night, and so many more questions, she knew she wouldn't get a proper response from him. That had always been the way between them. Besides, quite recently, her eye had been on someone else.
"I should get going," said Harry after a few seconds.
"So, should I," replied Daphne. "Bye, good night," she added.
"Night," greeted back Harry and with that the pair parted ways.
Harry was suddenly feeling tired. It had been just another normal day, except for all the apologies, but Harry felt bottoming out. It was down to all the medication and potions he was on, for his complete recovery. Besides, Voldemort's mental assault on him and his subsequent protection had left him depleted.
Harry went back to his common room and almost immediately, decided to call it a night and went to sleep.
The following day, Harry woke up, feeling much better and brighter than he did the previous night. It was a nice sunny day and the classes were quite decent. Slowly, the people around him seemed to get accustomed to Harry being back, and he started to feel much better walking across corridors or crowded spaces.
As evening approached and Harry's classes got over, he prepared himself to leave for his training session with White. He wasn't exactly sure how intense it was going to be. But, he had left that to White and had decided to go with whatever the Professor suggested.
But, as Harry made his way out of the common room, he noticed a large crowd around the notice board. Almost immediately, Fred and George pulled Harry aside and took him to where the rest of the quidditch team was.
"Guys, what's going on? Why is there a crowd around the notice board?" asked Harry.
"The next Hogsmeade visit is this weekend," replied Colin.
Harry nodded in response. After a moment, he asked, "What's going on here? Why did you two drag me here?" he asked, confused. There wasn't any quidditch practice that day. They had already won the trophy. And Harry wasn't allowed to play intense quidditch till he fully recovered.
"We... have a party," replied Fred.
"In Hogsmeade," added George.
"This weekend," continued Fred.
"We didn't have one, you see?" remarked George.
"We weren't sure if you were going to be alive or not," added Fred.
"Fred," exclaimed Angelina as Harry chuckled in response.
"Now, we have two things to celebrate," finished George.
"We are celebrating Angie, Fred and George leaving the team this year. I don't see anything in there to celebrate, to be honest," chuckled Katie.
"This is excellent, I'm in," replied Harry.
"Perfect," remarked Fred and George together.
But, right at that moment, Harry got an idea. "We have to keep it in the evening, right? We could sneak in a few things back to Hogwarts," he remarked.
"Of course," replied Fred.
"Great, I'll see you all in the evening then," replied Harry, happily.
"Are you just going to go to Hogsmeade for the party?" asked Colin, confused.
"Yeah... something like that," replied Harry, though he was not looking at his teammates, but at a certain someone, sitting on the couch.
After a few seconds, Harry turned around to face the team.
"Speaking of which," he began. "I should apologise to all of you," he remarked. "I was a bit of an arse during our last practice session, wasn't I?" he added.
"Yes, you were," replied Fred and George together. "But, we forgive him, right guys and girls?" they asked and looked around.
"I could wait for some more time," replied Katie.
"I'm really sorry..." said Harry, genuinely.
"You are fine, Harry... We forgive you," said Angelina.
"What about you Cols?" asked George.
"I don't think there's anything to forgive, is there?" replied Colin, smiling.
"That's the spirit," remarked Fred.
"Thank you so much, everyone," replied Harry. "And Colin, I heard I have some serious competition next year," he added.
"You have no idea, Harry," replied Ron. "That performance could very well be better than anything you have done for the team," he added, chuckling.
"Wow... That good, huh?" remarked Harry, proudly.
"Seriously... that was just brilliant," remarked Ron, glancing at Colin, and Colin was already beaming as wide as anyone could.
"I should be going now... I'm getting late..." said Harry and rushed for his training session with White.
The moment reached White's office, he saw the suitcase and instantly opened it to walk inside.
"Good evening, Professor," greeted Harry.
"Mr Potter... you are late," replied White.
"Sorry, Professor... I just got caught up with something," replied Harry.
"I know... Planning on sneaking mead and butterbeer into Hogwarts," retorted White.
"Professor?" retorted back Harry, uncomfortably.
"Don't give me that look, Mr Potter. I'm the only reason you haven't collapsed again," sighed White.
"You promised not to read my thoughts. Otherwise, I would have never agreed to you snooping around in my head," remarked Harry.
"Would you rather prefer if the Dark Lord snooped around instead?" retorted White. "And don't worry... I'm not interested in the thoughts of a 15-year-old," he added.
After a few moments, Harry spoke up. "So, did he come back, looking for more flesh?" asked Harry.
"No, he hasn't... But, we can only be prepared for when he does," replied White.
"I can't possibly have you in my head forever, Professor... And you said, that you have something for me, that would help me keep Tom Riddle out of my head. So, what is it? And why didn't you teach me this earlier?" asked Harry. "I thought Occlumency was the only way," he added, intrigued.
"Let's start with some light duelling, shall we? I need to gauge your strength," remarked White.
Without asking any more questions, Harry took out his wand and got ready. As promised, White kept the training light. They engaged in basic duelling charms and spells. And once Harry started, he realised that he was actually doing quite well. Apart from feeling a little tired, his magical strength seemed intact.
After a while, White stopped the training and gave Harry water to drink.
"What happened, Professor?" asked Harry.
"Mr Potter," began White. "You asked me a question earlier and it is time for me to answer that question," he replied. Harry listened to him keenly.
"There are kinds of magic... dark magic, that's illegal, restricted and absolutely not taught in any of the wizarding schools," began White. "And when you start experimenting with such magic, you realise that there's more to the magical world than we are led to believe," he added.
"Professor," remarked Harry. "Is there any kind of dark magic that can protect me from Voldemort invading my mind?" he asked.
"Yes, kid, there is," replied White.
"Teach me," retorted Harry, eagerly.
"It's not that simple. I cannot, in my good conscience, let you go down the path of no return," replied White. "It's not just spells and wand work, Mr Potter... When you practice dark magic, you always pay a price," he added.
"Professor, can you tell me exactly what it is I have to do and what consequences I'll have to face?" asked Harry, bluntly.
"In my day... a long time ago... I experimented with magic, a lot. And I discovered that I had a knack for a certain kind of magic, that helped me a great deal in my conquest," replied White, a tinge of nervousness in his tone. "I... was a powerful Necromancer," he announced.
"What?" gasped Harry, shocked. "You were a Necromancer?" he asked.
"Yes, I was... And there's something I could teach you that would protect you from the Dark Lord," replied White, cautiously. "But, are you truly ready to pay the price?" he asked.
"What price would I have to pay?" asked Harry, confidently.
"It'd destroy a small piece of your soul. You would never be whole again. And you'd be haunted by the souls of the damned for the rest of your life," replied White, bluntly.
The moment he heard White's words, a shiver went down his spine. "Is it like creating a Horcrux?" asked Harry.
"No... You won't be creating a Horcrux. That is a much darker ritual than this would be," replied White.
"I... uh... I don't know... what to say, Professor," remarked Harry.
"Think about it... long and hard..." replied White. "I hope you don't choose this option, Mr Potter," he added.
White ended the session right there. He wanted to let Harry alone with his thoughts. But, right when Harry was about to leave, he stopped him.
"Can I ask you something, Harry?" asked White.
"Yes, Professor," replied Harry.
"Do you think of me any less, than you did before you found about Necromancy?" asked White, cautiously.
"No, Professor... I'm sure you did what you had to do," replied Harry, calmly. While that brought a smile to White's face, he knew that Harry had no idea what he was talking about.
And with that Harry left the session.
As Harry walked back to the great hall, the choice given by White engulfed his thoughts. He wanted to desperately do it. But, at what cost, he wondered. And just as he reached the great hall, he saw Hermione's face and another thought entered his head that displaced Necromancy.
He had yet to apologize to the one he had hurt the most. And he had no idea how he was going to do that. Besides, Harry knew it was time to let Hermione know everything about him that he had kept a secret.
But, he was too tired that evening. He needed everyone to go to Hogsmeade so that he could have his time with Hermione, with his truth.
Meanwhile, in a different part of the world!
Jane had hit yet another roadblock in her journey towards obtaining the Deathly Hallows. She had extracted everything Gregorovitch knew about the wand thief. She knew exactly what he looked like. But, how do you find a man, whom you only know by a face, a face that was decades old? Jane didn't even know if the man was alive. It had been a few weeks since she had killed Gregorovitch, and she was clueless on how to proceed.
But, she caught a break eventually.
Jane was walking down the streets of Düsseldorf, in disguise. She could only live a life in disguise with everything she had done in the past year. And out of nowhere, an old man stopped her.
"What do you want?" asked Jane, annoyed.
"Take that chain off... before you get yourself killed, woman," retorted the old man, in a frightened tone.
"Chain? You mean, this one?" asked Jane as she removed her chain and held it in her hand. "Do you know what this is?" she asked.
"Are you his follower? Don't kill me," pleaded the old man, suddenly.
"Why would I kill you? And who are you talking about?" asked Jane, puzzled.
"The dark lord, of course," replied the old man, shaking.
"What does Vol... wait, who are you talking about? What does You-know-who have to do with this?" asked Jane, confused.
"I don't know who you are talking about, woman... If you are not his follower, don't wear his symbol," retorted the old man.
Jane stared at him for a few seconds. He looked a bit drunk and out of it. And she was beginning to wonder if she was wasting her time. "I'm going to kill you if you don't tell me who this man is. Understood?" remarked Jane.
"Gellert Grindelwald," replied the old man. "You are wearing his symbol..." he added. And without saying another word, the old man ran away as fast as he could.
"Who the hell is Gellert Grindelwald?" wondered Jane and walked back to her temporary shelter.
Well... hope you liked the quidditch sequence. After I was done writing it, I was convinced that it was the best quidditch scene I have written in this story.
Otherwise, this was supposed to be a simple chapter, with nice moments here and there. Hope you enjoyed it!
PS - The next chapter will be out in a couple of days! Ciao!