"The answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything" - 42 😁
Chapter 42 is here... Enjoy!
"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.
OTD, a year ago, I started writing fanfictions. And I haven't looked back since. Approximately 160k words, spread across 4 stories... Close to 60 chapters...
And this one is the crown jewel, the one that is closest to my heart... Hope to have a great year writing ahead... ❤️
PS - Chapter 43 will be published in about 4-5 days... Ciao!