49 is here... Enjoy!

"Will you look at that... he's blushing," remarked Seamus and started laughing, Ron, Dean and Neville joined in the giggles.

"I'm not blushing... piss off Finnigan," retorted Harry, annoyed.

"Can't believe you bagged the Slytherin sweetheart," added Dean. Harry had his hands on his head.

"Sweetheart? She ain't no sweetheart, Thomas... She has the death stare of a Basilisk," exclaimed Seamus and the group burst into laughter.

"I am not going to sit here and take this..." whispered Harry and got up.

"Simmer down, mate... You do realise she fancies you," said Ron.

"Nobody is fancying anything..." retorted Harry quickly.

And to Harry's relief, just at that moment, a young Ravenclaw girl walked up to the group.

"Harry Potter... Professor McGonagall wants to see you," she said.

"Oh" gasped Harry. "Okay, thanks," he added and walked away from the group.

"Don't think we've let you go, Harry," exclaimed Seamus.

"We will need all the details of your Valentine's day Hogsmeade visit," added Dean and Harry heard a roar of laughter follow.

"Mr Potter," exclaimed Professor McGonagall the moment entered her office.

"Professor?"

"It made little sense to keep this with us any longer..." she said and got up to walk to the back of her office. And from a large cupboard, she took out the firebolt. "Here..." she said and handed him the broom, with a big smile on her face.

"I can have it?" asked Harry excitedly, his mood took a complete 180.

"Yes... and win us the trophy," she replied proudly.

Harry bolted out of her office at full pace and went back to the castle grounds with his firebolt. Harry knew one thing for sure, henceforth, he was going to be zooming around in his firebolt all day long.

Life was fun as far as Harry was concerned. On the one hand, he was loving his new broom, the firebolt gifted to him by Sirius Black. And it made all his training sessions a whole lot more fun than it already was. Quidditch training was fun, with firebolt it was nothing like he had ever experienced. And there were his sessions with Remus Lupin, his parents' best friend from their school days. He found himself improving drastically in their training sessions and they were exhilarating too. And then there was the time he spent with Ron, Hermione and since quite recently, Daphne Greengrass. There was something about her that he couldn't quite place.

She was nothing like what the other boys said. She was fun to be around and showed a great interest in Harry's life. The teasing aside, even Harry wasn't that oblivious to what was happening between them. She was beautiful and brilliant to hang out with. And by the looks of things, she definitely liked him enough to draw pictures of him in her free time.

And then came the Hogsmeade week. It was just a few days to Valentine's day and as if written in the stars, the Hogsmeade weekend happened to coincide.

Harry walked into the library, late that evening, with butterflies in his stomach, looking for Hermione, the one person in his class who hadn't said anything to him about Daphne.

"Harry," exclaimed Hermione with a sudden smile as she laid her eyes on him. He rushed towards her.

"Hermione... Hi," said Harry as he sat down beside her.

"I didn't know you were coming to the library today... didn't you have your training session with Professor Lupin?" she asked, surprised.

"I did... I just finished a few minutes back. And guess who I ran into when I got out?" retorted Harry, hastily.

"Who?"

"Daphne," replied Harry and the smile vanished from Hermione's face. She tried to hide her reaction.

"She asked me to go with her to Hogsmeade," said Harry and looked keenly at Hermione. Her face dropped a few shades.

"Oh" she responded blankly.

"I need your help," said Harry.

"My help?"

"Yes, your help"

"With what?" asked Hermione. She did not want to find out where this conversation was going.

"I need you to come with me and Daphne... That way, there will be little talk about the two of us," replied Harry.

"Harry..." called out Hermione awkwardly. "No... I can't do that," she said hesitantly.

"Why? Please... Imagine if I went with her alone, I would be torn into pieces in the common room," pleaded Harry.

"She likes you... You like her... You don't want me to come in between," retorted Hermione. "She definitely wouldn't" she added.

Harry looked heartbroken and he remained silent. After a few seconds, Hermione couldn't resist it.

"Fine... I will tag along, but only to start off with," she said.

"Oh my God! Thank you so much... You're the best," exclaimed Harry and hugged Hermione.

Of course, it was only after he left the library that anyone would be able to see Hermione's eyes glistening, despite how hard she tried to resist.

The Hogsmeade visit arrived. Harry, Hermione and Ron were reminded once again by John to carry their totems with them. And just like Harry had planned, for everyone to see, Harry left the castle with Daphne and Hermione. To Hermione's relief, she realized pretty soon that John was going to be hanging around close to Harry the entire day, just in case anything were to happen.

Very soon into the day, Hermione also realized how much worse the idea was to play the third wheel. Daphne was pretty, prettier than she was, and was just as smart as her. Okay, maybe not as smart, but close enough. And unlike herself, Harry seemed to find Daphne more than just a friend. Hence, the moment she got the chance, she excused herself away from the pair and spent the rest of her Hogsmeade visit with John.

And it was probably the right thing to do. Because, by the time everyone came back from Hogsmeade, there was only one thing most 3rd years were talking about, Harry and Daphne. Harry's celebrity status made anything that happened to him travel around the school like a forest fire. And one thing the kids loved more than anything was something to gossip about. And such was the impact of that Hogsmeade visit, that by the end of the week that followed, Harry and Daphne were the most talked couple in the whole school.

"They are 13!... The kids are hyping them up like they are a celebrity power couple who have been together for decades," thought John to himself and chuckled.

It was just the beginning of the highs in Harry's life. A few weeks went by and the quidditch fever took over the school. And as things stood, Gryffindor was in the lead, since they had won both their games. Slytherin had beaten both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw but had lost to Gryffindor. And it was all down to the final game of the season, between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff team had performed by far the most above expectations. Their young captain, Cedric Diggory had grouped together an exciting young team, who still had a chance at winning the trophy if they could beat Gryffindor with a heavy margin.

With 3 houses still in the run with 1 game to go, it made the Gryffindor - Hufflepuff clash an extremely anticipated affair. And then there was the firebolt. The whole school was eager to see the young superstar, Harry Potter with his brand new firebolt in action.

The game kicked off with Madam Hooch's whistle. Right away, the vibrant Hufflepuff side put immense pressure on the Gryffindor team. They had a clear strategy. Their captain, Cedric Diggory, bulky and agile as he was, had tasked himself to closely monitor Harry and never let him get out of sight. Their beaters were constantly coming up trumps against the Weasley twins and kept nagging away with the bludger.

The frustrated Gryffindor team conceded unnecessary fouls and within no time, the Hufflepuff side found themselves ahead 80 to 10. Oliver Wood, Gryffindor's captain managed to take a time out and gathered his side in a huddle.

"Lads..." he exclaimed, "and ladies," he added after a stare from Angelina. "What are we doing?" he added in a serious tone. "Where's all the preparation?" he asked. The team kept silent.

"Weasleys... your head's gone. Their beaters are dominating you," he added angrily.

"And Harry? What are you doing? You have the firebolt... There's no broom in the world capable of coming even close to the firebolt. You're letting Diggory cramp you for room. You may be young but you're an experienced lad. Start working your brain," added Wood.

"Come on everyone... We can't let this slip," he added. "Let's go," he exclaimed loudly. The rest of the team were nodding in agreement, a fiery kick up their backside from their captain was what was required it seemed.

The motivational break may have sounded good but it seemed to have made little difference. It was perhaps not their day after all. Their performance sure improved, but things didn't improve much in the scoreline. Soon, they found themselves down by 200-40. The moment Hufflepuff touched 200, Wood gestured to Harry.

"Keep Diggory occupied... Don't catch the snitch now... We would still lose," he said rapidly.

And Harry did what he was told. It was a disappointing game till then. He had yet to spot the snitch. And by the looks of things, Cedric didn't seem to be interested in the snitch.

Harry decided to freestyle with his broom, to throw Cedric off his plan. He started by zooming around the quidditch pitch. And then he decided to play for the crowd. One thing he knew was his celebrity status meant there were always eyes on him. And once he had gotten his firebolt from Professor McGonagall, Harry had spent hours flying on his broom. And at that moment, Harry decided to use both those facts and started playing tricks with his broom. The speed and agility of the firebolt stood out from the crowd. The intuitiveness with which it behaved, almost reading Harry's thoughts in real-time. And the crowd joined in on the act. A group of spectators spotted Harry the first and started cheering what they saw, then a few more groups joined in and eventually, a big chunk of the crowd's eyes was on Harry's theatrics with the firebolt.

He wasn't sure if it was that, or suddenly his team started pulling their weight, but Harry heard the score was 260-110. The difference was still 150, but the last few points had been equally divided. And then during one of his freestyles, Harry spotted the golden snitch. To his dismay, so had Cedric. Maybe that was the plan all along.

"I will stay close to Harry, he will spot the snitch and I will try to grab it before he does" is the type of conversation Harry imagined Cedric having.

Harry dashed after the snitch. It swerved and swung in all directions. And Harry kept up his pace behind it. He moved in the same directions, the snitch did. The firebolt did everything Harry wanted it to. Cedric was closely following, but soon, he couldn't cope with it. A few seconds later, he watched in horror as Harry leapt forward and grabbed a hold of the snitch.

The game was over, and it was a tie, 270-270. But it didn't matter as Gryffindor had 2 wins already under their belt. And Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup.

Harry glided down to the ground and was instantly mauled over by the rest of the Gryffindor side, headed by Oliver Wood himself.

"That was fantastic, Harry... You were absolutely brilliant," he remarked, overjoyed by what he had seen of his young seeker.

"You were so good with that movement in the end," said Katie and imitated what Harry had done.

The celebrations began on the ground itself as the team were soon accompanied by the entire house and in front was none other than Professor McGonagall. As she and the rest of the house got congratulating each other, Harry had a special visit from Daphne.

She ran all the way from the stands to where the Gryffindor team had landed and the moment Harry's eyes lay on her, she dove at him and grabbed him in a bear hug.

"Harrrryyyy," she exclaimed loudly. "That was beyond fantastic," she screamed in his ears and kissed his cheek. "I literally got goosebumps," she added and showed her arms.

There was a big cheer from the crowd behind them at the sight of the pair.

"See you later," whispered Harry and kissed her cheek back.

The screaming, cheers and chants of the Gryffindor house continued from the ground till the team reached the common room. They were hyped to new heights by the rest of the house that followed behind. Oliver Wood, Harry Potter and every other quidditch team player were carried on the shoulders, and everyone's name was chanted at the top of their voice.

The celebrations went on till late that night past midnight. The Weasley twins and some of the other 7th years had managed to sneak in some beers, spiced mead, gin, butterbeer, brandy, rum and everything else they could get their hands on.

It was extremely late, most of the students had danced and screamed their way to getting tired, half-drunk and sleepy. And of the ones who were still awake, most were drunk. Even John had helped himself to some harmless pints.

It was almost 3 in the morning. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Neville, and John were finally the only ones left in the common room. Hermione hadn't touched anything she wasn't supposed to and was the only one fully sober, though very sleepy. Neville, Ron and Harry had played around a little but were still aware of their surroundings. John had helped himself a little more than he had meant to, his physical body definitely didn't agree with his mental age. Fred and George were absolutely trashed and looking for trouble.

"Georgie," exclaimed Fred loudly.

"Freddie," exclaimed George in return.

"Ever wonder what we should do about this kid?" he asked and pointed at John, his words slurred as he spoke them.

"There should be something done, wouldn't you agree, Freddie?" retorted George.

The drunk twins got up from where they were seated and walked over to the other corner of the room, where John was sitting. Hermione, Harry and Ron were nervously watching the scene unfurl. Neville seemed out of it.

"Ginny lies in the crazy hospital like a corpse and here is this guy sitting, sipping brandy in the middle of the night," remarked Fred.

"Grab his glass brother," said George and took out his wand. Fred was already reaching for the glass. John, well aware of what was going on let go without effort. Fred dropped the glass on the floor and took out his wand as well.

"We should do something," whispered Hermione.

"Don't," replied Ron instantly.

"Get up," said Fred and pointed his wand at John. John promptly got up and stood still in front of the twins.

"Stupefy" muttered Fred and George at the same time and both their spells hit John at the same time. But they were so drunk and weakened by the alcohol that the spells barely did anything to John. And there was also the fact that John had shielded himself instantly.

"Look at that, brother... the kid knows how to defend himself," said George and started laughing mad. Fred joined in on the giggles.

And almost immediately, the twins hit John with another spell, this one much more potent than the previous, but John was up to the task.

"Stop behaving like idiots," said John the moment he deflected their attack. "Go to your dorms, you're drunk," he added.

"Idiots? You call us idiots?" yelled Fred suddenly.

"Looks like someone isn't afraid," added George. Neville who had fallen asleep beside Hermione had jolted awake.

The twins hit a couple more spells in fury at John, but he defended them all like it was routine, which angered the twins even more. Hermione seemed to make a move like she was about to do something but she got told off by John.

"Hermione... Don't... Everyone, go back to your dormitories," he said, loud enough.

"Who do you think you are?" retorted Fred loudly.

"Everyone stays right where they are," added George and glared at Ron and then at everyone else.

John backed off a little. Fred and George cracked their necks sideways and positioned themselves in a duelling pose.

"This can't be happening," muttered Hermione under her breath.

"They're being drunk and stupid and are going to get it handed to them," replied Ron in a whisper.

It was Fred who began it this time, George closely followed him. One spell after another, John shielded, dodged or blocked them all. Sparks were flying everywhere as Hermione, Ron, Harry and Neville watched the horrific scene quietly.

"You'll pay for what she did to our Ginny," growled George as a jet of white light escaped his wand.

"Enough of this stupidity from the both of you... Calm down before you hurt someone... or yourself," said John cautiously.

"Are you threatening us, kid? Is that what you did to our Ginny? Did you threaten her?" growled Fred.

The twins may have been drunk but they were relentless. And something had to give. And it did, when the twins crossed a line they wouldn't have sober.

"You know? I liked her, your Aunt, wasn't she?" remarked Fred.

"You never told me, brother..." replied George.

"Half the school did, Georgie..." said Fred and glanced at George. "You reckon he did too?" he added.

"Scandalous, brother dear... Bet she would have fancied that," remarked George in response.

The twins couldn't have done anything even if they were sober and in their prime strength with what happened next.

"I said... enough of this stupidity," whispered John in an angry growl, yet loud enough for everyone to hear and with a flick of his wand, had the Weasley twins immobile.

Fred fell down with a thud. George was going out of balance and before he could fall down, John grabbed him.

"I'm going to release the bind in a second... I hear another word... a word more on Jane and I will kill you," he said and let go. George fell down beside Fred.

Hermione was clutching her mouth in shock, Neville was close to sobbing, Ron was stunned speechless and Harry was standing reaction-less. He knew this day was coming for a long time.

John knelt down beside them as the other 4 watched him in horror. Anger was visibly radiating out of him.

"I have had enough of you two this year... But you crossed a line now. Cross it again, and Arthur and Molly will have 2 fewer kids for Easter," he whispered in their ears and got up.

John walked away from the twins and as he did, he flicked his wand and the twins were freed and were gasping for breath.

"That's enough drama for the night... Go to your dormitories, NOW," whispered John loudly. Ron, Harry, and Neville bolted out of there instantly. Hermione however lingered around for a few seconds.

"I'm fine... and I'm not actually going to hurt them... It's extremely late, Good Night," he whispered in Hermione's ear and patted her shoulder. And hesitantly, she left the common room. John stayed for a couple more seconds, but he left as well. That was well and truly enough for a night.

The following morning, everyone woke up with a hangover, some were hungover from the adrenaline rush of the celebrations the previous night, some from the mysterious events of the previous night that had turned the common room upside down, some were emotionally hungover, some were hungover from everything they had drunk and some from all of the above.

Harry woke up late that morning and went down for breakfast and found Ron and Hermione already at the table.

"I think I had a bad dream," he said as he sat down beside Ron. "I'm never drinking again," he added as he clutched his head.

"A bad dream?" asked Hermione, worried.

"Not the You-Know-Who kind... I actually saw John and Fred and George duelling," replied Harry, with a chuckle. The expression on Ron and Hermione was hard to read, but confused was definitely one of them.

"Oh my God!" gasped Harry. "That was all real, wasn't it?" he asked.

"I have never seen him so angry," whispered Hermione.

Silence loomed on the table. And then Harry spoke up.

"They had it coming," he sighed.

"And that thing about Jane... that was disgusting... I threw up twice thinking about it," added Ron with a disgusted look.

"That was probably all that mead, mate," whispered Harry and the trio giggled away their hangover.

John saw the Weasley twins a couple of times that day, and both those times, they seemed to ignore him and go in a different direction.

Hermione tried to broach the subject that evening in the library.

"Are we ever going to talk about what happened last night?" whispered Hermione.

"Do we have to?" retorted John.

"You threatened to kill them," whispered Hermione.

"Yes," replied John nonchalantly.

"Yes? That's all? Yes?" remarked Hermione, shocked.

"Yes... What do you want me to say, Hermione?" retorted John, confused.

"You would have killed them? Just like that," asked Hermione, shocked.

"Nobody gets to say a word about her without consequences. I may have had my differences, fights, and disagreements with her a million times in the past 3 decades. But nobody gets to say a word about her without consequences. And trust me, I will bring all kinds of consequences," he replied instantly, without taking a pause for breath. And he wasn't finished making his point.

"You know? There was this time, with my father once... Jane had done something stupid in school. When she was back home, he kept going after her every day, kept taunting her about it. And he knew it made her feel bad. So, this one day... I set him up. I set a trap and he fell for it. He got mildly electrocuted, actually. And when he was on the floor, I looked at him and told him exactly what would happen if he uttered another word about the whole thing. I did that to my father... He was a powerful wizard, could have easily laid me out... I was probably 15 or 16 at the time. So, yes... I would have killed those 2 yesterday if they had gone on," added John calmly.

Hermione looked at him, terrified at what had suddenly come over him. She tried to hide her reaction, but she didn't do it well.

"You may think I'm crazy... I guess these past few months have made me a little crazy. But Jane's all I have got... And I'm all she's got. If I don't stand up for her, who will?" he remarked with a chuckle.

"That's sweet... And a little crazy. Sweet but Crazy," replied Hermione and stared at John bewildered who just shrugged in response.

It had been a few weeks since Gryffindor's quidditch cup win. Remus was walking back from a class when he received a note to come to his office. Remus went back to his office and on the route, saw John, who was also headed to the same destination. They both entered Remus' office at the same time and saw someone already in.

"Hello, Mr Lupin and Mr Smith, have a seat," said Emily Davies.

John glanced at Remus and sat down opposite Emily. Remus however remained stood beside John.

"What are you doing here, Emily?" asked John, annoyed. "And why do we have to do this in Remus' office?" he added.

"Your sister is a person of interest in the murder of Doctor Kristin," replied Emily, calmly.

John glanced at Remus, shocked.

"My sister?" retorted John, confused.

"Yes... your sister," replied Emily. "Unbelievable, how long you've kept this going for. I mean, Jane is your sister, isn't she?" she added.

She knew she had him and he knew she knew she had him. Yet, John tried to maintain his cover a little longer. "Jane is not my sister, she is my Aunt... And I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, trying to sound calm.

"This is exactly what I thought you'd say... and that's why we are doing this here... Mr Lupin, there is no point in lying. You were one of his doctors in Iceland, correct?" she asked.

"Yes," replied Remus calmly.

"And what was his treatment for?" she asked.

"I cannot answer that question, legally," replied Remus.

"Hmm... interesting... I didn't know you'd want to play this game too. Never mind, I have what I need," replied Emily and started ruffling the pages of a folder she was holding. "You know what this is? This is everything the healing facility had on your treatment there. They were happy to give these to me when they found out that one of their former patients was connected to the death of their beloved colleague," she added.

John closed his eyes, distraught. He felt the world around him crumble.

"Imagine my surprise when I found out everything. I was always fascinated by you, Mr Smith... your demeanour, the way you spoke, the innate confidence, your relationship with Jane... It all made sense once I read these papers. You are not a child, are you? This is a brilliant scheme that you've been running... I wonder why," she added, a cunning smile covering her face as she spoke.

John and Remus remained silent.

"This..." she said and pointed at the folder. "I have your life in my hands, it's about time you started spitting facts, Mr Smith," she added. "Is it the kids? Do you like being near them? Pretending to be one would make things easy, wouldn't it?" she continued and John sat there emotionless. "Does Albus Dumbledore know? It doesn't matter, does it? When the world finds out about this, it wouldn't matter. You and your sister are killers and I have the thread to topple your world," she added.

John resisted the urge to lash out and kept quiet. Remus stood beside him awkwardly wondering how long it would be before John snapped.

"You know there was a curious tale in the Ministry a couple of years back, it was a drunkard's rumour really. That a Hogwarts Professor tried to steal the Philosopher's stone from right under Albus Dumbledore's nose," added Emily. She was going to do everything to get the truth out of John. "I wonder if it was a rumour. Jane managed to land the Hogwarts job immediately after, didn't she? And then now, the Flamels are dead and so is YOUR doctor in exactly the same fashion. Your sister is capable of those deeds, isn't she? Torture and death comes to her quite easily, I presume?" she continued taunting and John finally gave up.

"Stop this," whispered John, exhausted.

"What?" exclaimed Emily.

"I said, stop this..." repeated John.

"Okay... So what is it?" she asked.

John remained quiet for a few seconds and then spoke up.

"Remus doesn't have to be here for this..." he said faintly and gave Emily a piercing look.

"Fair enough... Mr Lupin, if you could please give us the room," she said and gave a polite smile.

Remus looked at John, confused at what he was trying to accomplish, but didn't protest and left the room after a moment.

"Okay... Now," she began and left it open-ended.

"What you are about to hear is top secret... There are very few people who have knowledge of this," he said and gave a pause. Emily was watching him intrigued.

"And you have to believe me when I tell you... I don't want to do this... the only reason I am, is so that you don't get yourself into trouble over things you may not be aware of," he added cautiously. He knew he had to do this. And the question wasn't if he should reveal the truth, but how much he should reveal.

"Thanks for your concern, Mr Smith... you should really get going now," interjected Emily.

"This is about Vol..." replied John and intentionally shuddered at the thought of his name. He made a frightened expression and continued, "You-Know-Who," he added. There were tiny droplets of sweat forming over his brow.

"You-Know-Who?" wondered Emily curiously.

"You told me a few months back that you knew Jane didn't do those things... I'm telling you that you were correct. And I'm also telling you that You-Know-Who was behind it," replied John and faked a shiver.

"You-Know-Who died long back, son. Your friend, the boy-who-lived was partly responsible," said Emily with a chuckle.

John looked at her with fear in his eyes and a genuine seriousness.

"He's back," whispered John.

"What?" exclaimed Emily, her expression indicating she wasn't sure anymore.

"He's back," repeated John.

"Is this some kind of trick?" asked Emily.

"No trick, it's the truth you wanted," replied John.

"Okay... Go on"

"Most of what you said was true... But none of it was the whole truth," said John. "You-Know-Who was controlling Professor Quirinus Quirrell. Under his influence, he tried to steal the Philosopher's stone. But Quirrell didn't know that it was a fake. A death eater also tried to attack Harry Potter in the forbidden forest in our first year," added John and took a dramatic pause. It was working, he had Emily engrossed in his tale.

"I was there with Harry and I killed Goyle Sr. You-Know-Who was there with Goyle Sr but escaped before we could do anything," he added. After a few seconds, he continued, "You-Know-Who then sent a few death eaters to avenge Goyle's death, by attacking Jane and Daisy, her muggle student. And Jane did what any sane responsible teacher would do. She protected Daisy from the death eaters," he added.

"So, Jane did kill those people?" asked Emily.

John ignored the question and continued. "I transformed myself to protect Harry. Professor Dumbledore knew the dangers out there and wanted me close to Harry. That's why I'm here... The transformation didn't go to plan and hence my treatment with Doctor Kristin," he said and wiped a few tears from his eye.

"You-Know-Who had one of his death eaters slip a jinxed diary into Ginny Weasley's possession. And under its influence, Ginny opened the chamber of secrets. You-Know-Who controlled Ginny for a whole year. Imagine the chaos if the world found out You-Know-Who was back. Jane sacrificed herself for the greater good. Yet, Ginny, his victim, couldn't be completely saved."

John was almost done with his monologue. He was planning on stretching it as thin as he could. As much as required, to satisfy Emily's want for answers.

"Something happened that night... The night he attacked the Potters. His spell backfired and Harry survived. But it left You-Know-Who without a body. Hence why he was looking for a solution and an Elixir of life was exactly what he was looking for. He is the one who had the Flamels killed. He presumably had Doctor Kristin killed, looking for more information about me," he finished and stared at Emily. There was genuine fear in his eyes but a fake tremble in his voice.

"Yes, he's back," he added and sat back.

Emily's expression was hard to read. John knew that she was confused. It was his plan. Nothing he could say could possibly make Emily believe him. So, he decided to use theatricality and a bit of intrigue mixed with half-truths to make his case.

"A nice tale, Mr Smith," said Emily after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Not a tale," retorted John.

"You-Know-Who was a nice touch. A convenient solution to cover up the lies," remarked Emily.

John remained silent. That was his best option.

"Is there even a single piece of evidence to prove any of what you told me?" asked Emily with a chuckle.

"You know who Tom Riddle is?" retorted John bluntly.

"Tom Riddle?" wondered Emily out loud.

"Yes... Go back to your offices and look it up in your records," replied John.

"Why?"

"You asked for evidence. You will believe me when you find out who Tom Riddle is," replied John.

"Well... if this is all it is going to be, then I'm done here. I just wanted to give you a final visit before I submitted my work. You will likely be arrested in a few days. I don't know what will happen with Albus Dumbledore. But all of this is bad for the school. I wish I didn't have to do it," said Emily and even looked genuine about it.

"Please don't do this. You will be putting a lot of lives in danger, including yourself," said John and placed his hands on top of Emily's, but quickly removed them. There were tears in his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to," he added.

Emily looked at John, confused. But a moment later, she got up and made her way outside the office. But just before she exited, she looked back at John.

"Is he really back?" she asked.

John nodded and with that, she left. He waited inside the office for a couple of minutes and Remus walked in.

"What happened?" asked Remus and looked at John. "Have you been crying?" he asked, taken aback.

John gave a big laugh and wiped the tears on his face. "Tricks of the trade, my friend," he replied.

"What did she say? Why did you ask me to leave?" asked Remus, confused.

"I wanted to feed her some lies with a touch of drama. And that was just part of the play," replied John.

"You lied and she believed you?" asked Remus.

"Well... I didn't entirely lie. I just gave her the truth she wanted to hear," replied John. "I might have also told her that You-Know-Who was back," he added nonchalantly.

"What?" gasped Remus, shocked.

"I had to... I needed something dramatic," replied John.

With that, John left the office leaving Remus confused and a little suspicious of what had just happened.

Emily had gone back to her office in the Ministry of Magic. After digging through a pile of information for a few days, one night in her house, she finally came across an article which had Tom Riddle's mentions. It was an article that talked about Tom Riddle's Special Award for Services to the School, given to him for the capture of the student who had opened the Chamber of Secrets. She also came across reports from a little village called Little Hangleton. The mysterious deaths of the Riddles as the muggles call them.

And then she came across something that left her speechless for a few seconds. An old newspaper article from the same time Tom Riddle was given his award, an interview conducted by the Prophet, an interview of Tom Riddle and some of his friends. And it read, "He likes being called Lord Voldemort. It is a name he gave to himself and we all like it,"

She was so engrossed in reading the reports and articles that she didn't hear someone break into her house. The next thing she knew, she was tied up with magical restraints, her wand lay beside her, broken into pieces.

"Crucio"

Right... Big developments in this chapter. I have done a couple of things in this chapter that I spent a lot of contemplating. And I'd love to know your thoughts on the same.

John's outburst and I don't mean with the twins, but with Hermione. I was on full flow and I got a bit carried away. As I looked back, I found it slightly over the top. But I decided against removing it. Do you feel that it was over the top?

The other, and this, the opposite direction. Harry and Daphne! I didn't want to go over the top with two 13-year-old kids' relationship. Keep it a little sweet and innocent. Yet, there was a part of me that wanted me to take the extra step, again something I decided against. Thoughts?

Anyway... that's all for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much if not more than I did writing it.

PS - 50 is on the way, should reach your notifications next week.