Hey everyone... I'm back with Chapter 75... Enjoy!

There was an air of jubilation all over Hogwarts that morning. Everyone was talking about it. It felt like the first piece of good news in a long time.

"... You-know-who was threatening to take over most of Europe. But, this defeat will prove to be a confidence booster to everyone that's up against him," read out Ron, excitedly. "Of course it is... Big up the Italians..." he remarked loudly.

"I cannot believe it," remarked Hermione, with a big smile. "They must have been preparing for an attack for a long time," she added.

"I bet they were... Who isn't? I say we all should be preparing for an attack from the death eaters, if we aren't already," replied Ron. "You-know-who has already taken over so many Ministries... It was only a matter of time before he turned his attention to the big ones... Italians, Germans, French... and of course, us..." he added, strongly.

"Weasley... heard the news mate? You-know-who got his arse handed to him," exclaimed Seamus loudly and burst into laughter as he walked up to Ron and Hermione, along with Dean and Neville.

"Of course we did, Finnigan... Everyone's talking about it," replied Ron.

"How do you reckon the Italian stallions found out about the attack? I bet they have spies hiding in plain sight," remarked Seamus.

"Spies? They don't have spies everywhere... It's not the 30s!" retorted Dean. "After the attack on Nurmengard, everyone is on red alert. I bet they didn't even know about the attack till it began," he added, confidently.

"Yeah... right... They didn't know about it till the last second and somehow managed to hold off You-know-who... Give me a break, Thomas," retorted Seamus, chuckling.

"Oye... it doesn't matter, does it? The Italians withstood You-know-who and the death eaters... And that's what matters," chimed in an elated Neville Longbottom.

And just like that, everyone was buzzing in the castle. They all had their theories on how the Italian Ministry of Magic managed to thwart Voldemort's attack. They all had their own version of how the fight must have gone down. But, one thing was common, this was an unexpected, but delightful and jubilant piece of news that morning.

While it may have been a piece of unexpected news for everyone at Hogwarts, there were some for whom it wasn't a surprise. And one of them was Harry Potter. Harry was the right answer to every question every other student at the castle had about the Italian defence. Harry was responsible for warning the Italians of a possible attack. And it was because of the visions he had a couple of weeks back, that the Italians now were able to thwart Voldemort's attack.

"Ministero Italiano sends their regards," remarked Dumbledore.

"I'm just relieved that they were able to hold off You-know-who, Professor," replied Harry, heaving a sigh of relief. "I wonder what he's thinking right now," he added.

In another part of the world, Voldemort was angry and bashing every one of his underlings for what was a shit show. Some of his death eaters were even cursed out.

"Twice in a row, our plans have been leaked. I want to know who's responsible for this, do you understand, Severus?" exclaimed Voldemort, angrily.

"Yes, My Lord," replied Snape, respectfully.

The Hogsmeade visits always proved to be a stress-buster for the students of Hogwarts. The weekends when they were allowed to go to the all-magic village were always a treat and students were constantly looking forward to those. Apart from being a break from the monotonous life at Hogwarts, Hogsmeade also proved to be the prime centre for a variety of free thoughts and feelings. Just like the one that was about to happen right now.

"I am in love with this..." sighed Colin with hearty eyes, looking at the glass of butterbeer he was holding.

"It is rather good," added Luna as she took a sip from her glass.

"Hold it right there..." remarked Colin and quickly took out his camera

"No..." began Luna, but Colin had already snapped a number of photos of her drinking from her glass.

"Look," remarked Colin and handed her his camera. But just as he handed her the camera, his eyes glanced towards Daphne, who was sitting beside him. She had just made a face looking at something.

"What are you looking at?" asked Colin as he traced where she was looking at.

"Noth... Nothing," denied Daphne, instantly. But by then, Colin had realised what had happened.

"Oh my... Luna, let's get out of here... Let's give our Daphne some space," he remarked with a chuckle and began getting up from his seat.

"Colin," exclaimed Daphne, angrily. "Sit down... Don't you dare leave," she added, fiercely, in a whisper. And just as she finished, appeared Draco at the table they were sitting at.

"What's up Creevey? Have you already bothered everyone here with your stupid camera?" exclaimed Draco, chuckling.

"Not everyone, obviously... Haven't bothered you yet, have I? Would you like something to remember this day by?" retorted Colin, instantly.

Draco gave a short laugh at the comeback. "To remember this day by... Now, I don't have much to remember. Unless of course..." remarked Draco and gave a quick glance to Daphne.

"Malfoy... Get out of here..." snapped Daphne.

"Aww... Greengrass, what's gotten you so upset?" retorted Draco and took a seat beside Luna, opposite Daphne. "Luna... Tell me something," he began and glanced at her. Luna, who was lost in a world of her own, staring at the photos Colin grabbed of her, snapped out of her trance and stared at Draco. "She's dressed pretty today, hasn't she? Who do you think that's for?" asked Draco, looking at Luna.

"Huh... What?" choked Luna on her drink. "I... don't know... I don't think... I mean she is... Why would I?" she continued, fumbling her words.

"Relax, Luna... We all know the answer already," retorted Draco as he patted her friendlily on the back. By this point, Daphne looked like she was boiling with rage and embarrassment. Colin on the other hand was strongly and quietly staring at his drink

"Draco," exclaimed Daphne.

"Yes, sweetheart," retorted Draco, instantly.

"I heard there was a spot here for people like us..." began Daphne, in a sultry tone.

Draco stared at her, confused by the sudden change in her tone. "People like us?" he asked, curiously.

"Come on Malfoy... we both want to shag each other. Why not get on with it?" retorted Daphne and stared at Draco.

"Wh... what?" retorted Draco, shocked by how bold this conversation had suddenly gotten.

"Woah," gasped Colin and stared wide-eyed at the Slytherins. Luna on the other hand choked once again on her drink and began coughing.

"Come, let's go... Let's check it out. I'm sure we will have a nice time," remarked Daphne as she made a move to get up from her seat.

"Woah... woah... woah... Hold on! Are you serious?" retorted Draco, shocked and surprised at the sudden advancement. Daphne, however, didn't reply but kept staring at him with keen eyes.

"I... don't believe... What's gotten into you?" chuckled Draco, nervously.

"Yeah... that's what I thought. You don't have the balls to do anything about it. Now, get out of here, Malfoy... Please?" retorted Daphne, with a straight face.

Colin and Luna were blankly staring at the pair, shocked by the sudden turn of events.

Draco was also speechless. He glanced at Luna and Colin momentarily before getting up from his seat.

"Keep an eye on this girl, Colin... She's a wild one..." remarked Draco, words barely getting out of his mouth and with that, left the three of them to themselves.

There was silence at the table for a couple of minutes. And then Daphne spoke up.

"I'm thirsty and getting myself one more... You want one?" she asked glancing at Colin and Luna. The both of them stared at Daphne for a few seconds before Luna replied.

"No, I'm good," replied Luna in a blank voice.

"I want one..." replied Colin. "I'm coming with you," he added. "Luna, look after our seats, please?" he remarked glancing at Luna. Luna nodded and with that Daphne and Colin left to get their drinks.

After they had gone a few steps, Colin spoke up. "What was that?" he asked, excitedly. Daphne continued walking ahead without speaking. "Daph..." he called out.

"I shouldn't have said that... I don't know what came over me," burst out Daphne, looking worried. "He already hates me... and I have made things worse," she added, frustrated.

"Hold on... what?" gasped Colin. "Are you finally confiding your feelings for him, to me?" he asked, shocked. Daphne rolled her eyes at him, in response.

"He doesn't hate you, dummy... Definitely not more than he wants to shag you," remarked Colin.

"He hates me... He has always hated me... I have always hated him. That's what it has always been. He says nasty things to my face and I give it back to him," retorted Daphne.

"He was flirting with you..." remarked Colin, in response. "3 butterbeers please," he exclaimed at the bartender.

"Luna said she doesn't want one," corrected Daphne.

"Oh, trust me... she needs one," replied Colin. "Make it 3," he remarked to the bartender.

"I don't think what you did today was all bad... In a way, you have made your move," remarked Colin glancing at Daphne. "As bad as it might have been... it was still a move," he chuckled. Daphne gave him a friendly push in response, hiding the blush that was appearing on her face.

"Irwin should have been here by yesterday," sighed Ron, disappointed. Irwin, Ron's owl, had been with him for a year and a half now. And right then, Ron was waiting for his owl, to come back with the letter he was expecting from Daisy.

"Oh, relax, Ron..." remarked Hermione in a low voice.

"She mentioned that she had something important to tell me," replied Ron.

A few minutes of silence lasted between the pair as they waited patiently outside the Hogsmeade post office. Hermione, however, could not contain her curiosity and spoke up.

"So, what's up, Ronald Weasley?" she remarked as she glanced at him.

"Huh! What do you mean?" retorted Ron as he glanced back at her.

"What's the deal between you two?" she asked.

"Who? Daisy and I?" retorted Ron, surprised. Hermione nodded in response.

"I don't understand," began Ron. "I like her..." he added. Hermione gave him a big smile. "And I'm sure she likes me too," he added, blushing a little.

"You look cute when you blush," chuckled Hermione.

"Shut up, Hermione," retorted Ron.

"Sorry, couldn't resist it," chuckled Hermione. After a few moments, she continued, "I didn't know you two wrote to each other a lot," she remarked.

"We haven't been," replied Ron. "I mean... we occasionally write to each other. It took her some time to get used to Irwin. I suppose, Harry never had Hedwig hang around Daisy much," he added. Hermione nodded along as Ron spoke. "It's mostly random basic things... Like how my week was going, what happened at her school..." finished Ron.

"I'm happy for you," remarked Hermione with a smile. Ron smiled in return. And just then, Ron noticed Harry walking towards them, a few feet away.

"Harry," exclaimed Ron, surprised. Hermione quickly turned around, surprised as well and saw Harry walking towards them.

"Harry," she called out, in a soft voice. "I thought you weren't coming to Hogsmeade," she said.

"Hey Ron, Hermione..." retorted Harry, with a smile. "No, I wasn't... But, I was summoned here," he added, with a glint in his eye.

"Summoned?" asked Hermione, confused.

"Your girlfriend has something important to tell us... And wanted me here," replied Harry glancing at Ron.

"What?" retorted Hermione, surprised.

"Daisy wrote to you?" asked Ron, surprised.

"She has written to me exactly twice all semester... The first time was to tell me off, for giving you detention. The second? Yesterday, asking me to be here," replied Harry, with a chuckle.

"Wow... I didn't know that," remarked Ron. "Wonder what she has to say," he added, intrigued.

"She can't keep anything important inside her even if her life depended on it..." sighed Harry, confused.

"Which makes this all the more puzzling," wondered Ron, out loud.

And there was a silence that lasted for a few minutes between the three of them. Hermione and Harry glanced at each other frequently, an air of desire around them. But, Ron was right there. And they had not told Ron about what had happened between the two of them.

Desperate to vanquish the silence, Harry spoke up. "So, Ron," he exclaimed.

"Yeah?"

"Have you had any training sessions with Dumbledore recently?" he asked.

"Actually, no, I haven't..." replied Ron, surprised. "Why do you ask?" he asked, curiously.

"No reason... Actually, I saw him a week back and he looked unusually tired. Haven't seen much of him in the past 2-3 weeks either... I was just wondering..." replied Harry and left the sentence open-ended.

"Yeah... So, he was actually out of Hogwarts for a while. And when he came back... he came back with an injured hand," replied Ron.

"What?" asked Harry, confused.

"Injured hand... what do you mean?" asked Hermione, confused.

"Yeah... he wouldn't tell me how it happened either. In fact, he asked me not to tell anyone about it too," replied Ron. "I suppose, both of you don't count," he chuckled.

"He was probably doing something important and got himself injured," sighed Hermione. However, Harry didn't comment on the subject. He was instead wondering what Dumbledore could possibly be doing. He was almost certain that his injury was somehow related to Voldemort but didn't how.

Just as there was another silence brewing between the three of them, Ron spotted his owl and exclaimed loudly, "Finally... Irwin". Irwin arrived with a letter and dropped it right in front of Ron.

Ron picked up the letter, ripped it open and began reading it immediately. From the moment he started reading till the moment he reached somewhere towards the middle of the letter, there was a big beaming smile on his face.

"What does she have to say?" asked Harry, curiously. But Ron was too engrossed in the letter to hear what was happening around him. Harry glanced at Hermione and then back at Ron.

"Ron," exclaimed Harry, loudly, finally managing to break his trance.

"What?" retorted Ron, annoyed.

"Daisy... what was so important?" asked Harry.

"Uh... nothing... I don't think I have gotten to it yet," replied Ron and went back to reading the letter. Harry rolled his eyes at Ron and glanced at Hermione, impatiently.

Ron continued reading the letter. The letter Daisy had sent was mostly just her gushing over Ron, and how much she missed him. She had also asked him for details of how his life was while giving him intricate details of everything interesting that had happened in her life over the past couple of weeks.

Just when Ron reached the end of the letter, the grin that had developed on his face throughout the letter disappeared in an instant.

"Yours lovingly
Daisy

PS – Oh, I almost forgot! I know that all of you, including John, lied to me about a lot of things. I cracked John's code. And guess what I found out? John and Jane weren't Aunt and Nephew, they were siblings. I have questions, so please write to me... I need the whole truth!
And yeah, tell Harry that he's dead when he comes back to Privet Drive."

"Oh no," gasped Hermione, looking at Ron's expression, which had gone sour.

"Mate... what happened?" asked Harry, concerned. With that, Ron handed Harry the letter, pointing at the postscript.

Harry grabbed the letter and read the part Ron was pointing to. Hermione watched as, just like Ron, Harry's expression went sour the moment his eyes fell on the words.

"What happened?" asked Hermione, softly, looking at Harry.

"I suppose this had to happen at some point in time," sighed Harry. "Daisy knows about John and Jane," he added, sulking.

"What do you mean?" gasped Hermione, shocked, staring at Harry.

Realising what Hermione must be wondering, Harry quickly spoke up. "Daisy knows that John and Jane were siblings. She cracked the code John had given her," replied Harry and handed the letter to Hermione.

Hermione hid a sigh of relief and glanced at Ron. "It's not that bad if you ask me," she said looking at him.

"What code is she talking about? Where did this come from?" asked Ron glancing at Harry.

"John had some encrypted numbers for himself and Jane, whenever they used to communicate. Daisy found out about it from him a long time back and has been trying to decipher it ever since," replied Harry.

Ron sat down beside Hermione, sulking. "What am I going to do now?" he remarked, out loud.

After a moment's silence, Hermione spoke up. "Tell her the truth," she said.

"What do you mean? Like everything?" retorted Ron.

"Yeah, why not? What's the worst that could happen?" retorted back Hermione.

"She probably already hates me for lying to her all this time," remarked Ron, disappointed.

"No, she doesn't... what are you on about?" remarked Harry, chuckling. "I agree with Hermione. You should tell her the truth. Everything that you know about John. Just give it to her, plain and simple," he added, confidently.

"She's asking you to write to her. She wants the truth. She's giving you a chance to tell her everything. You should take it," chimed in Hermione.

"If both of you say so..." sighed Ron as he got up to go and draft Daisy a response letter.

Once Ron was away, Harry and Hermione snuggled up, closer to each other and glanced at each other, with only one thought on their minds.

"We are sitting on a ticking time bomb, Harry," said Hermione, looking worried.

"We have this big secret that we can't tell anyone... and definitely not Ron, or Daisy..." added Harry, looking equally worried.

After a moment, Hermione continued. "Why can't we tell them?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" retorted Harry.

"Why can't we tell them what we know about John and Jane?" asked Hermione.

"Hermione, are you seriously considering this? That's absolutely mental... He was their son... Their actual son... from the future. And he's dead," replied Harry.

"And what good are we doing Ron, by not telling him about it?" asked Hermione.

"Hermione... come on, you can't seriously be considering this. You know it'll break Ron. He'll go mad... He's better off not knowing about it," replied Harry, confidently.

Hermione went silent after that response from Harry. The couple sat closer to each other, wondering and worrying about the shared secret they had knowledge of.

After a few minutes, Hermione spoke up. "Tell me something... and think about it before answering," began Hermione.

"Hmm" responded Harry.

"We've been... how do I say this... Uh... You know how we've been for the past few weeks," she said and glanced at Harry, as he nodded at Hermione. "Do we really want to keep that a secret as well?" she asked.

Harry looked taken aback and stared at Hermione curiously. "Why would you ask that?" he asked, chuckling.

"Harry... don't laugh. I'm being serious," retorted Hermione.

"I don't know why you'd think that," replied Harry, calmly. "I don't want to keep us a secret," he added.

"You don't?" asked Hermione, surprised.

"No," replied Harry, laughing a little.

"But, I thought you... we have been a bit secretive about it... I thought you wanted it that way," remarked Hermione.

"I thought you wanted to take some time with all of this..." retorted Harry.

Hermione went silent for a moment. "I like you, I have always liked you... That evening when you kissed me... It was so sudden, I didn't know how to react," she remarked. "But, I don't want another secret..." she added.

"Then let's not keep it a secret," chuckled Harry. "Let's gather the lads... all of us... the Phoenix juniors. We will tell them today," he added.

And just like that, once Ron was back, the golden trio made their way to the three broomsticks. All through the way, Ron recited to both of them everything he had told Daisy, about John. Neville, Colin, Daphne and Luna were already in there, while Harry found and brought Draco along as well. Once everyone was in, Harry glanced at Hermione and then back at everyone.

"Lads," exclaimed Harry. "Boys... and girls..." he began, a little nervously.

This moment would go down as one of the couple's most memorable moments and it was thanks to Colin's inspired skills that it could be captured and cherished forever. In the years that would go by, Colin would look back at this moment and ask himself, "How did I know what was about to happen? What made me take my camera out and capture the moment?" But he wouldn't have an answer to those questions. It was just an instinctive thing, perhaps.

Colin noticed Harry and Hermione holding hands. He looked at their faces, ones filled with a lot of emotions. And somehow he could feel what was coming. As Harry began talking, Colin's mind went to his camera and captured the moments that followed. As joy erupted from the group of friends, Hermione leaned in to kiss Harry's cheek and Ron's shocked expression was worth it. The series of captures that Colin would be proud of was crowned by the money shot of the evening. Hermione's lips pressed to Harry's cheek as Harry stares at the crowd, the happiest of anyone in the world at that moment, and beside them... Ron Weasley with a perfect, unimaginable shocked face to round off the picture.

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.

A sneak peek into my thoughts, this chapter was supposed to be longer than it ended up being. While I was writing this chapter, I decided to split it into 2 parts. So, surprise, surprise... All of you are going to get another chapter very soon. How soon?

Chapter 76 will be out TOMORROW... Stay tuned! Ciao!