Wow... So... I'm back... We're back... And it's time to enter the 4th year with our beloved characters.
Chapter 51 is here... Enjoy!
Ron got intrigued reading the headline in the newspaper and picked it up.
"Curse : The Dark Arts"
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is one of Britain's oldest institutions. So, it makes it all the more intriguing whether we are witnessing a curse on our beloved institution. Some parents think the word fear might be more appropriate for their feelings. The Defense Against the Dark Arts is one of the main subjects students have to learn in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And it has been almost 3 DECADES now since it has had a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor last more than a year..."
Ron continued reading the article, with a mixture of intrigue and disgust.
"... the latest one was sacked for hiding he was a Werewolf and endangering the students."
"Endangering the students... Merlin's backside," thought Ron to himself.
The article had ended with a question posted for the readers.
"The school is yet to appoint a Professor for the upcoming year. Some wonder if we might see a foreign wizard take up the post while others are wondering if the school might drop the subject altogether. A scary thought indeed. What do you think? Write to us at..." and it finished with the address for the Daily Prophet and was undersigned by Rita Skeeter.
Ron had just thrown the paper back on the table when he heard his mother's voice.
"Ron... Fred... George..." called out Molly.
"Coming," screamed back Ron from his room and made his way downstairs.
"What..." began Ron but stopped dead in his tracks, surprised. He was about to ask his mother why he was being summoned just after he had gone upstairs to take a break from de-gnoming the garden when he saw who was standing in the middle of the hall. "Professor Dumbledore," he exclaimed instead.
"Good Afternoon, Mr Weasley... How are your vacations?" asked Dumbledore with the usual smile on his face.
"Already missing school... What with all this work I have been asked to do..." replied Ron and chuckled. Dumbledore seemed to be the only one to find his joke mildly funny. Molly glared at him while Arthur gave a feeble and awkward forced smile.
"Professor, what brings you to the Burrow?" asked Ron.
"I'm here to speak with everyone... I have something that may be of interest to all of you," replied Dumbledore.
Fred and George arrived downstairs and shared greetings with their school headmaster.
"Ron knows about this... It was about time all of you did as well," he said. Ron looked confused and then immediately realised where the conversation was going. It could only be one thing. Ginny, You-Know-Who and everything that had happened in between and thereafter.
Ron stood in one corner of the room while the Weasley twins stood in another and the adults got right into the discussion. Hearing the events that actually took place that led to Ginny's vegetative state brought some tears, some closure and even some chills in the spine for the Weasley family. Even Ron, who was already aware of everything that happened was taken back to a place that he hated.
By the time Dumbledore had left the Burrow, the Weasleys were officially one of the few trusted magical families that were now aware of the fact that You-Know-Who was back.
"We are proud of us, brother," said Fred a few minutes after Dumbledore left.
"What?" gasped Ron, confused.
"You kept a secret from us," replied George.
"We have taught you well," added Fred.
"Oh," sighed Ron. "What are you going to do with John?" he asked after a few seconds.
"Apologise," replied the twins together.
"And buy him buckets of brandy," added Fred with a smile.
"And buckets of butterbeer," added George.
"So, you're going to be cool?" asked Ron.
"We did say some nasty things..." replied Fred.
"Most of which we don't remember..." added George.
"George," exclaimed Fred.
"You thinking what I am thinking?" retorted George.
"What?" asked Ron, confused. Fred and George communicated in a bandwidth that Ron could never perceive.
"Let's just say," began Fred.
"He's going to be," added George.
"Redeemed," finished the twins together.
"What does that even..." began Ron but stopped. "Doesn't matter... I'm glad," he said instead.
"This is brilliant," exclaimed Harry.
"What does the letter say?" asked Daisy and snatched it from Harry.
"Hey..." exclaimed Harry, annoyed.
Daisy began reading the short letter. "Quidditch world cup? Is that like our Football world cup?" she asked as she skimmed through the letter. "John is going with you as well?" she added with a lump in her throat.
"Yes... I can't believe Ron invited him. Surely his parents, Fred and George would have an issue with it," replied Harry.
"This is so not fair, HP... You just came back from Hogwarts... And you're taking John with you as well. What am I going to do here?" retorted Daisy unhappily.
"But it is the quidditch world cup final. Ireland are playing Bulgaria. I have got to watch it live," replied Harry.
"Take me with you," pleaded Daisy.
"Yeah, right..." scoffed Harry. "A muggle amidst thousands of wizards and witches... That'll end in your worst nightmare," he added.
"How will they even know I'm a muggle?" she asked.
"They will have all kinds of protection against muggles... If they didn't, they'd be in trouble," replied Harry.
"Whatever," she scoffed.
"Listen," said Harry as he kept the letter back in the envelope, and looked straight into Daisy's eyes. "Here's what we will do... I'll go to the world cup and be back swiftly. Once I'm back, no more magic talk. I'll forget for a couple of weeks that I'm a wizard," he said, trying to bargain a satisfactory deal.
"And after that, we will invite your friends here, like last time..." added Daisy.
"Deal," replied Harry and bumped fists with Daisy.
"Hold on... Not so fast, HP," interjected Daisy.
"Okay, what else?" asked Harry.
"I get another ride on your broomstick," added Daisy.
"No way"
"Yes way"
"I'm not risking getting caught," said Harry shaking his head.
"Stop being so paranoid," remarked Daisy.
"We are older now... there is no way we'd both fit," said Harry.
"Yeeaahhh... No... No one's buying that..." retorted Daisy. "Look at Dudley," she said and glanced at him. "And now look at us..." she added and pointed at each other. "We are tiny, HP... Don't worry, we'll be fine," she added confidently.
"Hey," exclaimed Dudley. "Did you just call me fat?" he roared and dashed towards the pair.
"What? No... I didn't call you fat... I just pointed out how much bigger you are compared to us," she replied with a cheeky smile.
"Hold on... That means the same thing, Dicey... how dare you?" retorted Dudley angrily.
"Sorry," said Daisy and made an apologetic face at Dudley.
"She's getting out of hand," remarked Dudley looking at Harry.
"Don't I know it?" sighed Harry and got a punch to the shoulder from Daisy for his remark.
Later that evening, Harry and Daisy went together to John's house to deliver him the invitation from Ron.
The moment they entered the house, a whiff of aroma hit them.
"What is that... Are you baking by any chance?" asked Daisy as she entered the house.
"Uh... Yes, and no, sort of," replied John as he went back to the kitchen. "I'm making a sticky toffee pudding," he added.
"What?" gasped Harry.
"No way," gasped Daisy and rushed to the kitchen. "That's my favourite," she added giddily.
"It's mine too," added John.
"You cook?" asked Harry, shocked.
"I've got to... I live alone, remember?" replied John as he stirred the sauce.
"How this guy manages to live alone and cook for himself, I'll never understand," sighed Daisy as she closely followed everything John was doing.
"Magic helps, frankly... I let the wand do most of the work. I'm just the brains, that's the muscle," remarked John as he turned around.
"Did I tell you that I am taking cryptography lessons?" asked Daisy with a chuckle.
"Only every time you've seen me since I've been back," retorted John with a laugh.
"I'm going to crack your code very soon, watch out," remarked Daisy.
"Good luck with that," retorted John with a chuckle. "Right... What's up?" he asked looking at Harry.
"Looks like you are leaving me alone to go to some stupid game," replied Daisy unhappily.
"What?" asked John, confused. "What game?" he added looking at Harry.
"Not stupid," glared Harry glancing at Daisy and added, "It's the quidditch world cup final. Ireland are playing..."
"Bulgaria," finished John, surprised. "Yes, I know... But I'm not going to this final. I'd love to but I'm not going to get the tickets," he added.
"Aww... now I feel bad, forget I said anything," remarked Daisy and looked at Harry.
"You're such a hypocrite... I'm a Gryffindor seeker and I get scoffed at. This guy says 1 line about wanting to go and you rescind everything you said," scorned Harry. John gave a chuckle as Daisy glared at Harry. John went back to his dessert preparation.
"John," exclaimed Harry.
"Yeah, go on," replied John, busy looking after the sauce.
"Ron's invited us to the Burrow," added Harry.
"What?" gasped John.
"Yes... In bold letters that too," replied Harry with a chuckle.
"What do you mean?" asked John as he turned around quickly. Harry passed on the letter.
John read and re-read the letter.
"Wait... this doesn't make sense. What kind of surprise does he have?" wondered John out loud.
"Don't ask me mate... I'm just as clueless," retorted Harry.
"Maybe they're cool with you now," suggested Daisy. Harry and John turned their heads towards her.
"Don't look at me like that. I don't even know what you did to piss them off in the first place," remarked Daisy.
"It's not the kind of thing you change your mind overnight," frowned John.
"Jane..." whispered Harry and Daisy understood the context immediately.
"Well... He did invite you. Surely there must be something," she suggested.
"She's right... You don't think he told them, do you?" asked Harry doubtfully.
"No," replied John. "But... Someone else may have," he added and looked curiously at Harry.
"Someone like?" asked Harry.
"John... you might want to..." chimed in Daisy and pointed at the stove.
"Thank you," replied John and kept his focus back on the stove. A minute or so later, he put out the flame with the help of his wand and turned around to face Harry.
"I was just wondering if Remus or maybe even Dumbledore might have," suggested John.
"That'd definitely make our lives so much easier," remarked Harry.
"Right... Wow! I'm going to the final..." said John out loud and for once Daisy saw John truly happy.
The three of them tucked into the pudding shortly thereafter.
"This is so... so good," remarked Daisy blissfully. "I can't even," she added and interrupted herself by taking another spoonful.
"Delicious," mouthed Harry as he nodded in agreement with Daisy.
"Thank you," replied John with a wide smile.
After they were done with a couple of servings, Harry brought back the topic of the quidditch world cup.
"We will be leaving in 3 days, right?" he asked.
"Yeah, seems right," replied John.
"I'll send him the reply once I go back home," said Harry.
"Daisy," called out John faintly.
"Hmm"
"Give me a few minutes with Harry alone, will you?"
"Yeah, sure..."
Daisy swiftly got out of the hall and went back to the kitchen to take another nibble.
John waved his wand around and Harry noticed a slight change in the environment.
"Don't look so piqued... I just silenced our conversation from going out," said John.
"Oh"
"Yeah... So, to the point... Take your totem, take both your wands... and remember... This is a big event, yeah? I wouldn't be surprised if this is where You-Know-Who decides to come back. A large gathering would be ideal for causing chaos. So, we have to be extra extra careful," said John in a low voice.
Harry nodded along.
John swished his wand once and then called out to Daisy. "You can come back now," he exclaimed.
"Coming," she replied loudly.
And the plan was set. Once he went back home, Harry sent the reply back to Ron along with acknowledging John's acceptance.
The day of departure arrived quickly. John had taken his things to Harry's place and they were going to use the floo network to reach the Burrow, thanks to a bit of help from Arthur Weasley.
"The Burrow" muttered Harry and he disappeared in a puff of dust.
"The Burrow" muttered John and he too disappeared in a puff of dust.
Harry and John received a grand reception from the Weasley family. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Arthur and Molly, all of them were there waiting for Harry and John. Hermione was also there.
"Welcome home," yelled Ron, Fred and George the moment they appeared, leaving John a bit aghast. Harry walked ahead comfortably and bumped fists with his quidditch mates and then shook hands with Percy. John however stood rooted. Ron walked up to him.
"How's the surprise?" he asked.
"Speechless," replied John. "Who was it?" he asked.
Ron somehow knew John would have figured it out. And without hesitation, he replied, "Dumbledore"
"Old man's up to his tricks," sighed John as he gave Ron a hug.
One after another, the Weasleys went up to John and talked to him about what they had learnt from Dumbledore, apologising too in the process.
"Only if we had known..." sighed Arthur, embarrassed. "We spoke with her briefly, before... Before all of that happened. She was warm and... It was a gross misjudgement on our part," he added.
"Absolutely no apologies required... I'd have done the same in your position. I just wish we could have told you sooner... At different times, there was one thing or the other that inhibited us from doing so. If anything, it should be us apologising to you for not letting you know sooner what exactly happened with Ginny," replied John and shook hands with Arthur. Molly similarly had really kind words for him and his Aunt.
Ron watched through all that happened happily, though the one he was eagerly and anxiously waiting for was just about to come.
John excused himself from Percy and Arthur when he caught sight of the Weasley twins. They looked cheerful and he decided to put on a similar mask.
Fred threw something at John and John caught it the next moment and took a look as he walked toward the twins.
"What do we have here?" he asked cheerfully.
"Gotta try first," replied Fred.
"And then another if you like," added George.
"We have quite a few," added Fred.
It looked like candy. John knew better than to put anything the Weasley twins gave to him into his mouth.
"It will keep me in the loo for hours? Or, give me a nosebleed?" wondered John out loud.
Fred and George glanced at each other, impressed.
"He'll do," said Fred.
"I will?" asked John.
"He'll do," repeated George.
"I take that my appearance doesn't have a negative impact anymore," remarked John quizzically.
"We are sorry," said George.
"Truly we are," added Fred with a chuckle.
"Jokes aside... we are sorry for everything we did last year," said Fred.
"Proper dickheads we were," added George. "And the things we said about you and Jane..." he added and shook his head rapidly.
"Very... very bad," remarked Fred.
"We are sorry," repeated the twins together.
"I'm sorry too," replied John with a smile. "For that night," he added.
"Deserved it, mate," replied Fred.
"We are good, then?" asked George.
"We are," replied John and bumped fists with the twins. John turned around carelessly and bumped right into Hermione, who was standing rather quietly.
"Ouch... Sorry," said John and gave Hermione a hug. "It's so good to see you," he greeted.
"Likewise," remarked Hermione and hugged back with a warm smile. "Feels weird seeing you here," she added.
"Yeah, you have no idea," chuckled John.
"What have you been up to?" asked Hermione as the pair made their way to a quiet corner in the room.
"Nothing of note... Just whiling my time away," replied John.
"And what does that involve you doing, reading a book?" smirked Hermione.
"Oye... that's a bit rich coming from you, isn't it? Miss Parchment!" retorted John sarcastically.
"Miss Parchment?" squeaked Hermione.
"We could either agree that you read way more than I do, or we can ask everyone here and then agree that you read WAYYYY more than I do," retorted John and gave a laugh.
"Nobody here knows about you... well, except for Harry and Ron, but not like I do... Of course, they're all going to say my name," retorted Hermione.
"Make that make sense," retorted John with a broad smile.
"You don't HAVE to read... You don't HAVE to do anything... I HAVE to get top grades in my OWLs and NEWTs... It makes sense for me to sit with a book. You on the other hand..." and she left the statement hanging.
"Never going to win in a war of words with you..." sighed John with a cheeky smile.
"Seriously though... what have you been up to?" asked Hermione.
"If you mean what's happening in the You-Know-Who front, I have no idea... Dumbledore and the Order are doing their thing," replied John.
"The order?" asked Hermione.
"It's what they call themselves... The Order of the Phoenix! It's a throwback from the past," replied John.
"Phoenix," exclaimed Hermione faintly. "That's nice," she sighed.
After a couple of minutes, she asked, "And what about Remus?"
"Haven't heard from him since we last saw him," replied John, sulking.
"He'll come around. Just give him some time," suggested Hermione as she interlocked her hands with John's.
"It's hard not to mull over it. He's the best... at everything. I don't even remember a time he was angry at me, ever. He never gets angry. He hates it, reminds him of his... you know, the other side?" remarked John, sulking.
Hermione refrained from saying anything. In all fairness, even she was still recovering from finding out that manipulation of time was possible.
The couple of days leading up to the world cup final whizzed past in the blink of an eye. And the Quidditch world cup final was just as grand, if not more, as one could imagine. The game in itself was a spectacle of its own. The best of the best in the world competed against each other in a high-intensity affair which ended in Ireland's victory.
And fortunately for John, Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys, they did not have to deal with any unpleasantness of any kind orchestrated by Voldemort. All in all, the experience was well worth the hype.
The Burrow was a vibrant place, especially when everyone was home. And after his jittery beginning, John had settled in well with everyone. More than anything else, what John loved the most was the company. It was scarce this time of the year and for a change, it was in blissful abundance this year. But the company brought with it some interesting and difficult conversations.
One such happened very early during his time in the burrow.
"So, what do your parents do?" asked Arthur. "Are they both wizards or..." he added.
John gave a weak smile. "They passed away when I was young," lied John in reply, with a sorrowful look.
There was a collective shocked gasp at the table. Hermione was the only one who had smirked, fortunately for her, no one had noticed.
"Oh no," exclaimed Arthur, shocked.
"Yeah... it was an experiment gone wrong," sighed John, unhappily. He desperately wanted this conversation to change, but it didn't look like it.
"I'm so sorry for your loss," exclaimed Arthur.
"So, who did you grow up with?" asked Molly.
"Jane," replied John with a smile.
"So, how have you been living since last summer?" asked Fred, confused.
"Alone," replied John nonchalantly.
"You have been living alone for a whole year?" asked George, impressed.
"I mean... most of it was in Hogwarts, but otherwise yes," replied John.
Molly and Arthur glanced at each other shocked, but thankfully, neither said anything about it. And then John's saviour came to his rescue.
"Speaking of Hogwarts looks like the papers are milking it again with this curse theory," chimed in Ron. He winked at John and John nodded with a thankful expression in response.
"Curse theory?" asked Harry, confused.
"They are saying the Defense Against the Dark Arts position is cursed," replied Ron. "Hasn't had a Professor last more than a year for a long time," he added, nonchalantly.
"How could something like that be cursed? I mean, you can't curse a... that doesn't even make sense," remarked Harry, confused.
"Well..." began John but was beaten to the chase by Hermione.
"You can actually... It's very difficult, besides, the school would have already done something if that was the case," added Hermione.
"Why would anyone curse a position?" wondered Harry out loud.
"Snape would have," remarked Ron and then his eyes lit up. "I wouldn't put it past him," he added.
"Ronald," exclaimed Molly angrily. "Do not talk like that about your Professor," she scolded.
"Everybody knows he wants the gig. I wonder what it would do to a man to get rejected so many times," retorted Ron and chuckled.
"Then that man would become like Snape," suggested John and half the table burst into laughter.
A few minutes went by, and everyone at the table was engrossed in a conversation with one or more of the rest. Arthur and Molly were especially engaged in an animated discussion. After a few minutes, they turned their heads toward Harry.
"Harry, dear..." began Molly.
"Yes, Mrs Weasley," responded Harry immediately.
"When Dumbledore visited us recently, he had informed us of something, other than You-know-who..." added Arthur hesitantly.
Harry, Hermione and John were looking at the Weasley parents intrigued, only Ron seemed to be expressionless.
"He said you'd want to know about this," added Molly.
"Something I'd want to know? What is it Mrs Weasley?" asked Harry, a little worried by the look on Molly and Arthur's faces.
"It is..." began Molly and glanced at Arthur.
"I think you should tell him," said Arthur looking at Molly.
The longer they prolonged, the more worried Harry got. John was confused too. There was no way Dumbledore had told the Weasleys about the Horcrux, and even then, he wouldn't have wanted Harry to know about it. And just as he was about to get worried about what was to come, he saw Molly and Arthur's expressions turn and they were now beaming.
"It is about Sirius Black," said Molly.
"We know where he's living and I'm to take you there if you'd like," added Arthur with a smile.
Harry's eyes lit up.
"Oh... that s fantastic. Of course, I'd love to visit him," replied Harry.
"We had you worried there, didn't we?" retorted Arthur and glanced proudly at Molly.
"That's great, I'd like to come with, if you don't mind," said John glancing at Harry.
Harry nodded and the plan was set. Harry, Arthur and John were going to visit Sirius Black the following day.
PS - That is all for Chapter 51... Hope you enjoyed it...
I have a few chapters in my backlog that I will likely publish on a once or twice a week frequency. I have a heavy work schedule ongoing, so, writing will take a backseat. I hope to keep the flow going. but, let's see how it goes... 😀