Chapter 46... Enjoy!
"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.
PS - Chapter 47... Will be out in a few days... Ciao!