So... Chapter 47 is here!

Thank you so much everyone for your reviews, these appreciations are really flattering. I have been trying really hard to get these chapters up and coming, action-packed and continuously moving at top speed. And I am glad that you're all liking it.

Anyway, enough of this... Here is the chapter...

"Good evening, Doctor," greeted John knocking on Kristin's office door.

"John... Hi, please come in," said Kristin with her usual smile.

"I am ready..." said John the moment he sat opposite her. "For the permanent transformation," he added.

"Oh"

"Before you ask me... yes, I have considered my options well. It would be in everyone's best interest," said John quickly.

"Everyone's best interest? As your doctor... as your friend, I'd like to remind you that your best interest trumps everyone else's," replied Kristin, looking worried.

"I'll be of little use like this... Transformed? The possibilities are endless," retorted John cheerfully.

Kristin remained silent for a few seconds. And then she spoke up.

"John," she called out faintly. "Please don't make me do this," she said.

"Doc... I'll be fine. Plus, what's life if not a little uncertain?" replied John.

Kristin shook her head in disagreement. But there was nothing she could do to change John's mind.

"Okay... I need something from you first though," she said, grinning sheepishly.

"What?" asked John curiously.

"Let's take a walk," she said and took John's hand and held it tightly.

"John..." called out Remus loudly, jolting him away from his thoughts.

"Uh... what?" asked John rubbing his eyes.

"Sleeping in the middle of the day, are we?" asked Remus, with a warm smile.

"I wasn't sleeping..." replied John. "I'm tired, though," he added with a yawn.

"Aren't we all?" retorted Remus.

"Why are you here?" asked John as he stood up. The beautiful view of the lake behind him.

"I wanted to see you," replied Remus. "You haven't been yourself for a few days," he added.

"I'm fine, Remus," retorted John.

"You're not... I'm not... and as it stands, we are never going to be fine for a while," replied Remus.

"You think he has already taken it?" asked John, looking worried.

"Not sure... He ruled as all through fear last time. Pretty sure he would want something similar this time," replied Remus.

"Elixir of life..." sighed John clutching his head. "As if it wasn't difficult to kill him already," he added, annoyed.

"We will figure out a way," retorted Remus, reassuringly.

"At what cost?" asked John. And Remus didn't have anything for that.

"You're reeling from a loss, John... The world is not as negative as you think it is..." he said after a minute.

"Why her though? What did she even do?" snapped John loudly, almost in tears.

"Have you perhaps considered that Dr Kristin's death has nothing to do with Voldemort?" replied Remus calmly.

"I did... and I rejected it," retorted John.

"It happened months ago, John... And you asked it yourself, why would they kill her? Isn't it likelier that there was a different kind of foul play, one that did not involve Voldemort or any of his death eaters?" replied Remus.

"They didn't just kill her, Remus... they tortured her, probably for information about me... maybe even laughed at her while she was screaming in pain... and then they killed her," retorted John fiercely.

Remus knew there was nothing much he could do. He decided to leave John to his thoughts and had almost walked away when he heard a mutter.

"It wasn't Emily..." muttered John under his breath.

Remus turned around and asked curiously, "what did you say?"

"It wasn't Emily... Remus... Oh my God!" exclaimed John loudly, his expression had changed from depressed to shocked, like he had a big revelation.

"I don't follow," said Remus calmly.

"I... I uh, received a note... just before our second Hogsmeade visit, from someone pretending to be Jane. It wanted me to... it wanted me to go to the Hog's Head Inn, to meet with Jane for something important," replied John.

Remus nodded along.

"Right... so, I knew that it wasn't written by Jane. Don't ask me why... There were like 10 things wrong about the whole thing," said John, every next word he said carried more conviction than the previous. "I thought it was a cheap trick played by Emily, a trap to arrest Jane," he added.

"Yes... I remember. You asked Emily about this, didn't you? The other day when she came here," asked Remus, vaguely remembering the other conversation.

"Exactly... I did and she denied it point-blank. I obviously did not believe her, why would I?" replied John but left the statement open-ended.

"But?"

"But, what if she wasn't lying? I can't believe I didn't see this earlier... Emily did not write that letter... It wasn't her trap, it was Voldemort's trap," exclaimed John confidently.

"You are not making any sense," replied Remus, confused. "Why would he set a trap for you?" he asked.

"The same reason he had the doctor killed... he wants more information on me," replied John.

"But why?" asked Remus. Remus knew that John had his secrets, ones that he had never revealed to him. And he always wondered what they were.

"The only reason I can think of... He saw me kill a death eater, a couple of years back... In our first year, right here at Hogwarts, in the forbidden forest. Of course, he wants to know more about people around Harry," replied John.

There was of course one other reason.

"And now he has the elixir," sighed Remus.

"And now he has the elixir," repeated John. He felt better than before. He finally had something to work with.

There were still a couple of days for New Year's. The Burrow was having an action-packed morning as Molly, the mother of the Weasley kids had tasked everyone in the house with one thing or the other.

And during one of the breaks he had taken, Ron approached his brothers, Fred and George.

"Hey, got a minute?" asked Ron as he walked up to them.

"Just a minute?" asked Fred grinning.

"Okay, maybe a couple?" retorted Ron.

"You have a half," replied George grinning.

"Oh, come on," sighed Ron.

"And now you have half of that..." exclaimed Fred and the twins burst into laughter.

"Leave John alone," exclaimed Ron, louder than he had meant to.

The twins stopped grinning instantly.

"He hasn't done anything wrong... What happened to Ginny..." said Ron and gaining a bit of confidence, he added, "wasn't his fault," he said.

The twins remained silent for a couple of seconds and then Fred replied.

"Right... that's it," he said.

"Time over," added George and they both glared at Ron.

Ron didn't have anything to add, and he left.

Ron was slightly disheartened with the way that conversation went, but he knew his words would mean nothing, not when he couldn't tell them the truth.

Late that afternoon, Arthur and Molly left for St Mungo's to visit Ginny, and Ron tagged along. It had been a whole semester having not seen her. He couldn't explain it, but it made him feel better whenever he saw his sister in person, even though she was unresponsive in the hospital.

He was sitting alone, beside her, while his parents had gone to speak with one of the healers. A few minutes had passed when he noticed someone outside the room, peaking through the small transparent panel in the door.

He got up and the moment he did, the person outside the door backed off and by the time Ron opened the door, he was long gone and nowhere to be seen.

"Who was that?" wondered Ron. He closed the door and went back to his seat. His parents arrived a few minutes later and they didn't seem to look happy. Just like every other time, they craved an answer and they got none.

It had been close to three hours when they decided to leave the hospital. Arthur, Molly and Ron made their way out of the room Ginny was in and were walking down the corridor when Ron saw someone walk towards them that made him stop dead in his tracks. He knew who that was. He had seen the man before. Not just outside Ginny's room peaking into it, Ron had also seen him last year. At Flourish and Blotts with Lucius Malfoy.

But before Ron could say or do anything, the man walked past them.

Ron stood still for a couple of seconds but then joined up with his parents and they left the hospital.

But there was one thought stuck in Ron's head. "Who was that man? And why was he outside Ginny's room?"

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" asked Remus.

"No, I'm good... Let this be your moment, plus, the fewer the better..." replied John.

Remus nodded in acknowledgement and left Hogwarts. It hardly took him any time to reach the Shrieking Shack, the place where Remus and Sirius were going to meet. Jane had disagreed to let her house be the meeting location. Remus entered the disordered dusty room, the floor was stained all across, every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody smashed them into pieces, and the windows were all boarded.

He was only in for about half a minute when he heard a noise from the staircase and the next moment, he saw a big black dog walk down the stairs. And he immediately recognised the dog.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," whispered Remus, his eyes glistening as he did.

The black dog walked closer to Remus and a moment later, he transformed himself into his human form.

"Mischief managed," replied Sirius, with a relieved smile.

"Sirius," whispered Remus.

"Remus..." exclaimed Sirius and the pair grabbed each other into the tightest of hugs and didn't let go.

"I'm so sorry," said Remus, his voice choked up.

"I'm so sorry," said Sirius at the same time. He looked relieved to be back with his best friend after a long time.

"I should have believed in you... How are you doing? I can't imagine what Azkaban must have been like," said Remus.

"I'm well, Moony..." replied Sirius. "How are you? You look well," he added.

"I'm healthy," replied Remus.

The tragically separated friends spent the next countless hours talking to each other, being in each other's presence, compensating for all the lost time. Remus' life after James and Lily passed away, after Sirius was arrested, how difficult his life became as a werewolf, without a job, with next to no friends, how he had to skip towns after every few months fearing the truth being revealed, Remus told Sirius everything.

"The longest I stayed was in Iceland," said Remus and then paused for a few seconds. "With Dr Kristin," he added, his tone changed.

"Dr Kristin?" asked Sirius curiously and noticing Remus' change of tone. "Do you have the butterflies for her, Moony?" he asked cheerfully.

"What? No..." replied Remus shocked. "No... she's dead," he said and looked away.

"Oh," gasped Sirius.

"Let's not talk about that," said Remus.

"Okay," replied Sirius. "How did Dumbledore find you?" he asked instead.

"John... He is the reason I'm at Hogwarts," replied Remus. "I met him at Iceland, at the facility," he added.

"John? As in Jane's brother?" asked Sirius, surprised.

"You know who he is?" asked Remus.

"Just by name... Jane told me about him," replied Sirius.

And the conversation quickly shifted to how Sirius and Jane met. Sirius didn't say much about her and kept the topics mostly to what they had been doing for the past few weeks.

"She said she confessed to a crime she didn't commit," said Sirius.

"Yes... that's a long story of which I know very little of. Only that she didn't do it," replied Remus.

The conversation quickly shifted to Harry. Sirius had a lot of questions and Remus had answers for all of them.

"I want to see him, Remus," said Sirius.

"I will bring him, Sirius... Same time tomorrow... He will be eager to see you," replied Remus.

They spent some more time in the abandoned and haunted house.

That evening, once Remus had left the Shrieking Shack, he decided to visit Harry. And just like he had expected, Harry was over the moon with the idea of meeting Sirius, even though he had some reservations.

"Are you sure it is safe for him?" asked Harry.

"It isn't the safest, but that doesn't matter," replied Remus. "He badly wants to see you, Harry... his Godson," he added with a smile.

So, as planned, the following morning, Remus visited 4, Privet Drive to take Harry to see Sirius.

"Yes, let's go," said Harry.

"Harry, there's one thing," said Remus.

"What?" asked Harry curiously.

"We are going to be apparating," replied Remus.

"Apparition?" exclaimed Harry.

"Yes and I'm assuming you've never apparated before?" asked Remus.

"No," replied Harry.

"Right... so, let's go a bit away from the residences here... And we will apparate directly to the Shrieking Shack from there," said Remus.

Harry walked beside Remus excitedly and soon they were out of sight of the muggle residential area.

"Okay... this seems like a nice spot, hold my arm, will you?" asked Remus.

Harry promptly held Remus' arm.

"This may feel a bit weird the first few times... but you will get used to it. And if you feel sick, let me know," said Remus. "And do not let go of my arm," he added strongly and cautiously.

Harry tightened his grip around Remus' arm.

"On the count of 3," said Remus. Harry waited eagerly in anticipation, a little anxious.

"1... 2... 3"

And instantly, Harry felt Remus' arm-twist away from him and he redoubled his grip. The next thing he knew, everything went dark. He was being pressed very hard from all directions, he could not breathe, there were iron bands tightening around his chest, his eyeballs were being forced back into his head, and his eardrums were being pushed deeper into his skull. And then almost instantly, Harry gulped great lungfuls of air and opened his streaming eyes. He realized that he was not in Privet Drive anymore. He was now standing and he recognized it immediately, he was standing outside the Shrieking Shack, beside Remus.

"Are you alright?" asked Remus, glancing at Harry cautiously.

"Yes, I'm fine," replied Harry clutching his head tightly. He felt weird, not sick, but his head was spinning. They stood there for a couple of minutes, post which Harry felt better and the anticipation kicked in again.

Harry and Remus made their way up the staircase to the first floor and just like the day before, Sirius walked down the staircase in his Padfoot get up.

Harry's eyes grew big in shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It wasn't as obvious back in the Pensieve, even though he had his suspicions back then. Sirius transformed right in front of his eyes to his human form.

"You are..." began Harry but stopped mid-sentence in shock. "How did you do that?" he asked.

"I'm an Animagus," replied Sirius, proudly.

"You were at the quidditch game," said Harry. "And outside my house in the Summer," he added.

Remus looked at Harry, surprised and then at Sirius.

"I was... I didn't want to get too close, but I couldn't resist staying far away," replied Sirius and walked up to Harry. He knelt down in front of him and placed his hands on Harry's shoulder, and then on either side of his face. Sirius' eyes were glistening now.

"You look just like James," he said. "You have your mother's eyes though," he added.

Harry was taken aback. He looked at Remus who seemed to nod in agreement.

Sirius then hugged Harry tightly and for the first time, Harry missed his parents and missed not knowing much about them growing up. He hugged Sirius back immediately.

Harry, Remus and Sirius spent the next few hours talking mostly about Harry's life. Harry told him about Aunt Petunia and Dudley, and how wonderful it was growing up with them. And then about Daisy. He then went on to tell him how he found out about the magical world from Hagrid. His first few days at Hogwarts, Ron, Hermione, John and everything else. The mentioning of Severus Snape earned an interesting reaction from Sirius, that Harry did not expect. Though, Remus jumped in and informed Sirius that Snape had changed, not a lot, but better than before,

Sirius and Remus then joined forces to tell Harry all about their time at Hogwarts. The mischief they got up to, the pranks they pulled, the life they led at Hogwarts, how good James was at quidditch, everything. Peter Pettigrew was conveniently avoided by Remus, though Sirius seemed to get really angry when his name came up in the conversation.

"I was there that night to kill him," said Sirius. "He got away... again," he added angrily.

Harry resisted the urge to ask about the days leading up to their death. He always wondered how it all went downhill, and why they were targetted by Voldemort.

After a few wonderful hours, Harry left the Shrieking Shack unwillingly with Remus.

"Can't we come tomorrow?" he asked.

"Harry... it is risky for him to be here... so close to the Dementors and the town," replied Remus. "Don't worry, now that he is out, we will figure out a way to keep in close touch with him," he added.

"Isn't there a way to prove to the world that he is innocent?" he asked.

"We need to find Peter, and make him confess to everything... then we stand a chance," replied Remus.

Soon thereafter, Harry and Remus left Hogsmeade. The return journey was just as weird as the onward journey. Harry knew he had some time before he could get comfortable with the apparition.

Harry loved being home for the Christmas break. He had realized very early how much quieter and calmer home felt compared to the chaos that usually ensued at Hogwarts. Being a child celebrity didn't help matters either. Home, however, was a place where everything was different.

Christmas went well, with all celebrations and food, friends and family. And soon after that, Harry had a visit from Remus offering him a chance to meet with Sirius. A chance that he could and would never refuse. And the day spent with Sirius was beyond brilliant.

And it was now New Year's eve.

This time around, Harry was at Daisy's place. The moment he reached, she jumped on to him asking him everything that happened the day before, with Sirius. And Harry happily narrated the whole story. The part about the Animagus got Daisy even more fascinated with the wizarding world if that was even possible.

Harry had also brought back a surprise for Daisy from Hogsmeade, a few bottles of Butterbeer.

"What is this?" asked Daisy, excitedly.

"Oh... trust me... this is what heaven tastes like," replied Harry, hyping up the moment even more.

And Daisy's reaction was totally worth it.

"This is so good," she gasped as she finished the first bottle, and the second in no time.

"Hey hey hey... relax... I did the same mistake..." said Harry as he stopped her from grabbing a third.

"Oh come on, HP... live a little," exclaimed Daisy.

"And get kicked out by Olivia? No thanks," replied Harry with a chuckle.

The friends spent the evening watching a movie and mostly talking in between.

"You remember Alfie?" asked Daisy suddenly.

"Alfie? The tall one with curly hair who used to sit with Justin and Andrew?" retorted Harry, trying to remember his face.

"Yes" replied Daisy.

"He was always so quiet," remarked Harry a few seconds later.

Daisy chuckled and replied, "he still kind of is."

"Why do you ask? I barely spoke with him in class," replied Harry.

"Well..." blushed Daisy. "Don't tell this to Dudley, or Olivia or Jacob... but he told me he liked me earlier this year," she said.

"Liked you?" wondered Harry, confused. And then it struck him a couple of seconds later, "you mean, like you? As in..." he asked.

"Yes," replied Daisy.

"Wow... you're kidding me," said Harry with a big smile. "What did you say?" he asked curiously, trying to read Daisy's mind.

However, Daisy remained silent.

"Daisy?" called out Harry, with a big smile, like he knew why she was silent.

"Yes?"

"What did you say?" he asked again.

"What do you think?" she retorted with a grin.

"Oh my God... Daisy Taylor-Williams... you did not," began Harry, excitedly. He was beaming wide with pride and happiness. "How did it happen?" he asked.

"Don't get too excited... I broke it off pretty soon," replied Daisy, though she didn't seem too sad about it.

"What?" gasped Harry in shock.

"Well... he was a bit boring," replied Daisy.

"Boring? What do you mean, boring?" asked Harry.

"He is cute... He told me one evening, while he walked with me home... this was like the first week of school," replied Daisy and continued. "It was fun initially... I was just glowing every day," she added with a laugh.

"But?" retorted Harry.

"But... there was something missing... Like, for example... He didn't read at all, and I read a lot..." she replied.

"That's a shame," remarked Harry as he gave Daisy a small sideways hug.

"I just didn't find much of an interest in his life... and I blame you, Potter," she said with a laugh.

"Wait... what did I do?" asked Harry, surprised.

"You and your magical world... You've spoiled me," replied Daisy.

"That is so not fair... Besides, you forced me to... If anything, it's your fault," replied Harry with a chuckle.

They resumed browsing the channels and after a few minutes, Daisy spoke up.

"What about you?" she asked.

"What about me?" retorted Harry, confused.

"Spill it, HP... found any pretty girls that you're hiding from me?" asked Daisy.

"No, there isn't anyone like that," replied Harry, though he sounded far from convincing.

And Daisy kept staring at him.

And Harry kept staring at her. After a few awkward seconds, Harry spoke up.

"Okay, maybe there's one..." he said.

"What's her name?" asked Daisy.

"Uh... It's... It's Hermione," replied Harry.

"Hermione?" asked Daisy, surprise mixed with a little excitement.

"Yeah"

"So?"

"So, what?" asked Harry, confused.

"Why haven't you told her?" asked Daisy.

"We are perfectly fine as we are," replied Harry.

"And you could be better if you told her," replied Daisy.

"It's not that easy, Daisy... she is a really good friend... she probably doesn't feel the same way... and it will be this awkward thing then. I'd rather not risk it," replied Harry.

"You're being silly, HP," said Daisy with a laugh. "You should tell her if you ask me," she added.

"Thanks, but no thanks," replied Harry, getting a little flustered. "Can we resume?" he asked pointing at the television.

"Of course," replied Daisy.

A few minutes passed and Harry was thinking about something on similar grounds.

"There was something weird though," he said.

"Weird how?"

"I was in this sort of quidditch accident and was in the hospital for a few days... I got a get well soon card with a beautiful flower drawn beside... I got a similar card just before Christmas break... But it was not signed," replied Harry.

"Wait... when you say you were in an accident?" asked Daisy, confused and mildly shocked.

"I fell from my broom while playing quidditch," replied Harry.

Daisy gave a worried disapproving look but didn't prod further on that.

"You have received 2 anonymous notes?" asked Daisy.

"Yeah," replied Harry hesitantly.

"There's nothing for you to do, is there? It could be anybody, literally," suggested Daisy.

"Yeah, pretty much what I thought too," said Harry and the conversation drifted.

They were back enjoying their television and soon, it was time for the anticipated countdown. The traditional chocolate cakes were there on the table as the pair began their countdown from 60.

"60," said Harry loudly. About 10 seconds passed.

"50," said Daisy loudly.

And it was soon down to 20... and then 10.

"10," said Daisy loudly, the excitement had skyrocketed.

"9," said Harry loudly.

"8"

"7"

"6"

"5"

"4," said Daisy loudly and glanced at Harry.

"3... 2... 1" they counted down together, screaming at the top of their voices.

"Happy New Year," they shouted as the clock struck 12.

"Happy New Year," they said together and gave each other a big hug. And it was time for the cake.

"Here's to a sweet and fun year ahead," said Daisy as she picked up her piece.

"Let's have a blast," said Harry as he picked up his piece.

They were enjoying the moment when something happened.

Harry had just taken his second bite when he felt something and then it all happened very quickly.

He felt something inside his body, the area from his abdomen to just below the chest had cooled down considerably. And the next second, he lost his balance and sat down behind, on the bed with a thud. The sound of the thud alerted Daisy.

"Harry," she exclaimed. "You alright?" she asked. Harry was clutching his body tightly.

"Wa... Water," he said, voice barely coming out and made a hand gesture indicating the same. A panic-induced Daisy rushed out of her room and in about 10 seconds, she was back with a glass of water. Only to find Harry lay down on the bed, unconscious.

Daisy instantly climbed up the bed and knelt near Harry and began calling his name out and shaking his body.

"Harry," she exclaimed. "Wake up... Harry," she continued, but to no effect. She was about to dash out and call her parents when Harry seemed to twitch and after a second he opened his eyes slowly.

"Harry," she exclaimed, there were tears in her eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Harry looked petrified.

"Say something," she said loudly. "Here..." she added handing him the glass of water.

Harry took the glass and gulped it all down instantly and looked at Daisy.

"He's back," he said, looking petrified.

"Who's back?" she asked, confused and worried.

"Vol... You-Know-Who... He's back," he replied.

It had been a good 10 to 15 minutes since they had left the healing facility. A nice gentle breeze blew behind their backs, it was indeed a nice and cosy stroll.

"So, what did you want?" asked John curiously.

"What do you mean?" retorted Kristin with a chuckle.

"You said you wanted something," remarked John, confused.

Kristin gave a wide beaming smile.

"This... I wanted this," she said pointing to themselves, walking.

"Oh," chuckled John.

A few minutes went by just like that.

"You have thought this through, haven't you?" asked Kristin, convinced.

"Is that surprise, I'm hearing?" replied John.

"You're calmer than I thought you would be," remarked Kristin.

"Remus tends to have that effect on people," replied John with a smile.

"How do you know each other?" asked Kristin, curiously.

"I have known him all my life... I practically grew up in his house," replied John nonchalantly.

"You grew up together?" asked Kristin, shocked.

John gave a laugh.

"Not now... In the future, I mean..." he replied.

"Oh," gasped Kristin realizing her misunderstanding. "Of course," she added. "It must be weird seeing him here then..." she remarked.

"Weird? Yes, a bit... But that was the case with most of the others... I'm just glad I did," replied John with a smile.

The pair continued strolling aimlessly. A few minutes went by in peaceful silence and then John spoke up.

"Thank you so much," he said.

Kristin gave a gentle smile. "What for?" she asked.

"For all of this... You're really kind and sweet," he said.

"You're flattering me," she replied, being modest.

"It's nice having a gorgeous and smart woman around, especially when you're going to turn into a 12-year-old kid in a couple of days," he added with a laugh.

"And now you're just flirting with me," she replied with a chuckle.

"I'm just returning the favour," he said.

John heard loud footsteps approaching the empty common room and jolted out of his thoughts. A few seconds later, students started coming inside, in a rush, the chatter and laughter galore. And within a few seconds, he saw Hermione, Ron and Harry walk in.

"John," exclaimed Hermione and gave him a quick hug. Ron and Harry followed suit. They looked worried and John's expression had turned the same.

"I'll be at the lake, join me once you guys have settled," said John and went to the dormitory. A few minutes later, they saw him leave the common room.

"It's going to be about You-Know-Who, isn't it?" wondered Ron.

"Likely," replied Harry.

About 15 minutes later, the trio made their way out of the common, to the lake. The moment they were near their spot, they saw John pacing furiously.

"Hey," greeted Ron. John gave a weak smile and looked at Harry.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Absolutely fine... Nothing since that night," replied Harry.

"I read the letter... Would you mind reciting the events once more?" asked John.

"Well... it was the new year's moment, the clock had just struck 12. Daisy and I were in her room, celebrating with our traditional cake," replied Harry and took a pause. "It would have been a couple of minutes? I suddenly felt something... Like my body was cold, extremely cold... But it wasn't like how I feel with Dementors around, this was different. And a few seconds later, I passed out," he added. "I got this sensation, that I was suddenly strong... and I was really happy. I saw a vision and in that vision, there was You-Know-Who... but he looked different, he had a body and he was laughing hysterically along with another man," finished Harry.

"That's all?" inquired John.

"Yeah... the next thing I remember, I woke up and Daisy was on top of me, shaking me ferociously," replied Harry.

"What does it mean?" asked Hermione, looking at John.

"I don't know," replied John bluntly. The trio were looking at him disappointed. So, he continued, "Harry could be right... Voldemort could be back," he added. The name made Ron flinch just a little.

"But why did I get that vision?" asked Harry.

John did not have an answer. Frankly, he wasn't even sure if it was all a dream induced by the fear of the possibility.

"All I know is... whatever this means, we have to be extremely careful going forward," said John.

The trio looked worriedly at each other.

"And hence, it's about time, we started taking things a little more seriously... Starting with this," he said and took out two small arrow-shaped pieces of rock and handed them to Ron and Hermione.

"Hey... I know what this is... This is your good luck totem," exclaimed Harry remembering John's Christmas gift to him from his first year.

John chuckled and replied, "Well, it's more than just a totem for good luck... This is a portkey."

"A portkey?" asked Harry, confused.

"Portkeys are enchanted objects that would take you anywhere instantly upon touching them," replied Hermione.

"Yes, that is correct," added John. "This one is a little bit special. This one will take you only when you want it to," he said. John looked at Ron and added, "Yours will take you to the Burrow, to Molly," and then he looked at Hermione. "Yours was a little tricky since you're a muggle. Yours will take you to the Burrow as well. Couldn't think of another place," he said.

Ron and Hermione looked at him dumbstruck.

"And Harry... Yours is a portkey too... Now is a better time than ever to reveal this fact to you. And yours will take you to 4, Privet Drive... There is no place safer than there for you, trust me," added John.

"But you gave that to me two years back," replied Harry, surprised.

"Well, I knew there would come a day when you'd need it," replied John bluntly. "I will have my watch with me at all times... So, if anything goes wrong, I'll know instantly. Have the totem in your possession at all times. Make into a chain, a brooch or just have it in your pockets, I don't care... but have it in your possession at all times. Even if you're roaming from the Astronomy tower to Hagrid's hut," he added fiercely. "And have your wands at all times..." he finished.

The trio were rendered speechless by the overload of information and precautions. If they weren't terrified before, they were definitely terrified now. They were just about to leave for the great hall when Harry remembered something.

"Hey, John... don't mind me asking this, but who is Kristin?" asked Harry.

John was taken aback. He looked stunned and kept staring at Harry, shocked.

"I'm sorry... but I overheard you and Remus talking with Emily Davies, the day we all left for our Christmas break... And I heard... some serious things," added Harry.

"Kristin... is just an old friend. Emily had visited us to inform us that she had passed away," replied John without an expression on his face.

"Oh my God... I'm so sorry, John," said Hermione. Ron looked even more depressed than earlier. "How did it happen?" asked Hermione.

John rolled his eyes and upon finding no reason to lie, replied, "She was tortured for information... and then killed by the killing curse."

"Oh my God," gasped Ron and Hermione.

They all left the lake pretty soon thereafter. A couple of quiet days went by. The trio and John were rattled. If Voldemort had indeed been resurrected, the days, months and years ahead were going to be extremely disturbing.

It was late evening, just a couple of days since school had started. Harry, Hermione and Ron were seated together in the great hall, having their dinner. John was sitting quite far away, at the end of the Gryffindor table. Dean, Seamus and Neville were sitting right beside the trio and were talking intently about quidditch. Unlike the 4, the rest of the school seemed to be buzzing about being back at school.

Harry was about to take a spoonful of the soup when his hands froze... no, his whole body froze and he dropped the spoon on the table. The next moment, he started twitching, alarming everybody around him and instantly, he slid down from his chair and was on the floor, twitching. Harry was rushed to the hospital wing by some of his classmates, seated around him. The twitching had stopped on route to the hospital, though he remained unconscious.

And with every such incident, Jane's far-fetched theory seemed more and more plausible to John.

So, that's all for Chapter 47... These past 12 chapters have been absolutely fantastic, personally for me, from the perspective of writing them. I have had an absolute blast working on them. And I hope that, as readers, you've had an enjoyable experience as well.

PS - Chapter 48 is in the works. Hope to finish it off soon, should be out early next week. Until then, Ciao!