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.