Hey everyone... I'm back with Chapter 97! Interesting things lie ahead, hope you are all set for it!
This is a big chapter! Enjoy!
Hermione and Harry had started spending an abnormally large amount of time together. They went everywhere together, sat together during classes, ate together, studied together, roamed around the castle together, and were practically at each other's arm's length every single second of every day. The only time they were apart from each other, was when they went to bed. And to everyone at Hogwarts, it was the cutest thing. Everyone at school had been waiting for this couple to happen, for a long time that too. And a few months back, Harry and Hermione made it official. But, despite that, they were one of those couples that rarely displayed any kind of affection publicly.
However, it wasn't exactly panning out the way everyone thought it was. Hermione was anxious throughout the day, every day. Harry, on the other hand, ironically, was the one supporting Hermione through it.
And all of this happening, because Harry had requested Hermione to be in his head all day, to monitor it, so that Voldemort couldn't stir up more chaos or inflict more pain. Hermione, obviously accepted to do it. It wasn't that Harry hadn't given her a choice. But, how could she possibly refuse to do it? If anything, she wanted to do it. But, that wasn't the problem. The problem was, she was winging at the moment. She had no clue what she was doing. Yes, John had taught her Occlumency and Legilimency, and she had, ever since, kept practising it time and again. But, this was different. Hermione was able to perform Legilimency on Harry, but she had no idea what she was going to do if she sensed someone else penetrating his mind. Would she even realise if something like that was happening?
"Hermione? Hey..." called out Harry as he waved his hands in front of her face.
Hermione seemed to come out of her thoughts and glanced at him.
"What's on your mind?" asked Harry.
"You," smiled Hermione in response. It only took her a moment to continue. "Harry, what are you doing?" she asked, shocked as she stared at the book in front of him.
"What?" retorted Harry, confused.
"Why aren't you studying?" retorted back Hermione.
"I'm just taking a break," replied Harry. "Look," he continued and showed her the page he was reading. "This list has all the powerful magical objects to be ever created," he remarked. "But there is no mention of the Deathly Hallows here," he added.
"But, why are you researching about the Hallows right now, Harry? You can do it after your OWLs," sighed Hermione.
"If You-know-who is going after them and killing a lot of people on the way, they must be something important and powerful," replied Harry.
"But you said that Dumbledore knows about them. Why don't you focus on studies now, and then worry about them later?" retorted Hermione.
Harry stared at her, longingly. "Fine," he replied. "I'll do as you say," he added, but his expression conveyed something else.
"You do know that I can read your thoughts?" asked Hermione, blushing.
"I know," replied Harry, continuing to stare at her. "I had hoped you would," he added.
"Harry," exclaimed Hermione, softly.
"This is turning out to be much more fun than I thought," replied Harry, laughing.
It was a nice evening, but both Harry and Hermione were nervous. They had just left the common room and were walking towards Professor White's office. It was Hermione's first training session with White, beyond the regular classes.
As the couple reached the office and entered, Hermione glanced at Harry.
"He's not here," she remarked.
"Oh... right, I haven't told you this bit," chuckled Harry and walked ahead to pick up the suitcase. After a moment, he knelt down and opened the suitcase as Hermione watched him intrigued.
"What's that symbol?" wondered Hermione as her eyes fell on the symbol engraved on it.
"Come on," said Harry as he took her hand and to her shock, stepped inside the suitcase. Hermione walked a little closer and to her shock, realised that there was some kind of extensible charm placed on the suitcase.
"Hermione... step inside," remarked Harry. With shivering legs, Hermione stepped inside, without a footing in sight. Her only confidence was that Harry was seemingly standing on air, and she had him to hold on to.
The couple stepped down the suitcase as Hermione stared around, amazed. Finally, they caught sight of some kind of artificial light.
"What is this, Harry?" asked Hermione, astounded. "It's... so much bigger... on the inside," she remarked, speechlessly. "I didn't think an extensible charm could be used to create a whole world," she added.
"Your tardiness is quite shocking, Mr Potter. How are you so consistently late?" came Benjamin White's annoyed voice, and Hermione turned around swiftly to stare at him. "Miss Granger," exclaimed White. "I'd have expected better from you," he remarked.
Harry and Hermione walked towards him, cautiously, though it was Hermione who was much more nervous than Harry.
"Mr Potter," exclaimed White, angrily. "I once told you what would happen to you, if you ever revealed to your close ones what happened inside these training sessions," he remarked, threateningly. "Now you have brought your friend here," he added.
"Professor," began Hermione, worried and got an instant glare from White.
White took out his wand and pointed it at Harry. Harry, however, was quick on the draw and pointed his wand at White at the same time.
"Enough of the chit-chat, we should begin," retorted Harry.
"Legilimens," yelled White and swiped his wand at Harry.
"Protego," exclaimed Harry in response and blocked the attack.
Hermione watched the scene and gasped.
"What are you waiting for?" exclaimed White, staring at Hermione.
"What?" retorted Hermione, confused.
"Attack him, Hermione," remarked Harry as he hit White with a stunner.
A short duel commenced as White took on Harry and Hermione. Harry and White were vicious against each other, trading blow after another without seemingly a second thought. However, White never attacked Hermione once. Hermione, on the other hand, was a lot more measured, owing to her being overwhelmed and not being used to this kind of duelling.
After a few minutes, the duelling stopped. Harry sat down on the ground, tired, while Hermione stood beside him, looking spooked.
"We should start with your training now," remarked White, staring at Hermione.
"Yes, Professor," replied Hermione, nervously.
As Harry watched, curiously and proudly, White and Hermione began with a bout of Occlumency, where White tried to infiltrate Hermione's mind and she tried to defend herself. After a short while, the pair stopped.
"You have a good sense of Occlumency," remarked White.
"Thanks, Professor," replied Hermione and gave a quick hesitant glance to a smiling Harry.
After a few seconds, White continued. "But, you have a long way to go before you can even think about protecting Mr Potter from the Dark Lord," he remarked. Hermione nodded in acknowledgement.
"Mr Potter," exclaimed White and Harry got up from his seat. "Drink up," he said as he handed him a tiny goblet.
"What is this?" asked Harry as he took the goblet and stared at the clear liquid inside.
"This will put you to sleep, make your mind vulnerable, replied White. "But you will be able to sense everything that's happening to you," he added.
Hermione stared at Harry hesitantly, however, Harry quickly gulped the contents.
"Lay down please," said White and Harry followed his instruction.
"Miss Granger," began White. "You will now be able to access Harry's thoughts... Anything he's thinking about," he remarked. After a pause, he continued, "And so will I. But, I also have the skill to make Harry think whatever I want him to," he added as a shiver went down Hermione's spine.
"How did You-know-who attack Harry, Professor?" asked Hermione.
"What?" retorted White.
"How did he attack, Harry? How is it possible? How did he breach Hogwarts' defences?" repeated Hermione.
White carefully considered his reply. After a moment, he spoke up. "The Dark Lord possesses magical skill beyond most wizard's imagination, Miss Granger. There is no fort, castle or palace that is impregnable. It will take you years to realize this simple truth about our world," replied White, calmly.
"But... that doesn't explain how he did it? Why are we not trying to find out?" asked Hermione, in response.
White gave a quick glance to Harry and saw that he was no longer awake.
"We have chatted enough... Let's begin your training," remarked White. "You will access Mr Potter's thoughts and I will try to shield him from you," he announced.
Hermione glared at him, disappointed. After a moment, she nodded and did as she was told.
Hermione performed legilimency on Harry and found it extraordinarily easy to read his thoughts, to feel what he was feeling. Suddenly, Hermione felt self-conscious and afraid. While she had been keeping tabs on his mind for the past few days, this felt slightly different. This was the most vulnerable and exposed she had seen Harry. And it felt like the most intimate thing they had done. Fortunately, Harry's mind was calm and peaceful, he seemed relaxed and trusting.
And suddenly, everything went blank. Hermione tried concentrating hard, but she could no longer sense Harry. Hermione opened her eyes and looked at White.
"You gave up rather easily, Miss Granger," remarked White.
Hermione tried once again, and she felt really close to Harry until she could. Every time, after a few seconds, she felt like a door was being closed on her face.
"How are you doing that?" asked Hermione.
"You are supposed to be the cleverest witch of your age, why don't you figure it out?" retorted White.
The trend continued a few more times. And however hard Hermione tried, she couldn't get past the barrier White put in front.
After exhausting a few minutes, White reversed roles. He was the one accessing Harry's mind and Hermione was the one trying to protect him.
This one went a little better. For one, Hermione could sense another being. That was a start. And for another, she could see what White was trying to access. But, what Hermione couldn't do, was to stop White from accessing Harry's mind. She had no idea how she was going to get Harry's mind to shield itself from an external force.
Some time went by and Hermione continuously failed.
"Let's stop this," announced White. Hermione stared at him, a little embarrassed. White waved his wand around Harry and he woke up with a jolt. "Welcome back, Mr Potter," remarked White.
"It didn't go so well, did it?" sighed Harry.
"This is a waste of time," replied White.
"No, it's not," retorted Harry, instantly.
"Mr Potter... We don't have time for lessons," replied White. "Miss Granger, you are a talented witch, but protecting someone else's mind is not child's play," remarked White.
"You will train her till she gets ready," protested Harry, in reply.
"Harry..." began Hermione, in a defeated tone. "He's right, I cannot do it," she remarked.
"Should she be looking out for You-know-who trying to play his tricks on her?" asked Harry.
"It's unlikely, Mr Potter," replied White.
"Why? Wouldn't he target the one protecting Harry's mind from him?" asked Hermione, confused.
"You are not going to be protecting Harry's mind for long, Miss Granger. You are incapable of it, and you wouldn't know what to do when he's attacked," replied White, harshly.
"Professor," exclaimed Harry. "We don't have another choice," he replied. "She is going to be the one protecting my mind. And if she wants to stop at any time, there's no one else I'd allow," he added.
"I know Mr Potter," retorted White, annoyed. "Both of you... go back to your common rooms. I need to think," he ordered, angrily.
Harry stormed out of the session while Hermione followed him, guiltily.
Ron stood in the middle of the forest, completely blinded by the piece of cloth wrapped around his head. Though, even if not for the piece of cloth, he'd have preferred to remain blind. Ron was not alone. He was surrounded by 6 large mannequins, all programmed to attack him differently. Not just that, these mannequins also moved around, which meant, he could never guess which one was positioned where and where which attack would come from. And finally, Albus Dumbledore was also there, waiting impatiently to watch the show Ron was about to put on.
And it began.
The mannequin programmed to stun, attacked first. And the moment the spell was fired, Ron was ready and blocked it instantly. From the opposite direction, the mannequin programmed to expel his wand attacked. Ron waited with bated breath as he took in the surroundings completely. Almost instantly, he felt something on the opposite side. He turned around and shielded himself from the charm. Then a third mannequin attacked him with the body-bind curse which he defended against easily.
Ron's biggest challenge in this wasn't that he was blind, or that there were 6 attackers with 6 different spells. It was that he was blind and hence he had to rely on his sense of feel and touch to judge the change in the surroundings. Every spell had a different level and way of changing the surroundings, and he had to judge which spell was coming his way and react accordingly.
The first three mannequins changed positions and began another wave of attack, one after another, they switched up and attacked Ron. And he had started off very well, defending himself cleanly, without any trouble.
Ron had just blocked a stunner when he felt something strange. It was coming from the back and he turned to defend himself. But, Ron was slow on the defence and he got hit. The moment the spell hit Ron, he fell to his knees. But, the spell didn't seem to have much damage as Ron got up quickly. But, what Ron didn't realise, was that somehow he had forgotten where he was, or what he was doing.
A stunner hit Ron, followed by the body-bind curse. Ron was confused and recovering the stunner when the body-bind curse made its way to him. He barely got his shield up in time and got up. And it suddenly dawned on him that he was in the middle of the forest, fighting a bunch of mannequins. He wasn't sure what had happened to him for a few seconds. His best guess was that Professor Dumbledore had intervened and hit him with a Confundus charm.
A few more minutes went by as Ron got back into his groove. And it was time for Dumbledore to intervene again. This time, Ron had just defended against another body-bind curse when he got hit by a spell, making him hear a buzzing sound in his ear. Distracted by the sudden buzzing sound, Ron got lost and got hit by a stunner. And then the 4th mannequin came to life and hit him with an Immobulus charm. And Ron fell to the ground, motionless for a few seconds.
In the following few seconds, he got hit by 2 stunners and 2 body-bind curses, none of which he could defend himself from. And then they all came to a pause. Ron got back to his feet and stared around, even though he was blind. The buzzing sound went away and almost immediately, Ron felt a gust of wind hit him from his left. The 5th mannequin had come alive. Ron slashed his wand around angrily and the gust of wind stopped. Simultaneously he got hit by an Immobulus charm and the Disarming charm. Instantly, Ron had his wand up and blocked everything thrown at him.
And then, finally, the 6th and final mannequin came to life, and it breathed fire. Ron sensed the fire instantly, and he had created a vacuum of his own to protect himself. And just at that instant, the 5th mannequin began sending a steady force of wind at Ron, increasing the intensity of the fire, as well as making it difficult for Ron to keep up his defence against the fire.
Frustrated, Ron quickly removed the vacuum he had created and instead decided to use water to defend himself from the water. And as for the mannequin with the air, he decided to bombard it. In a quick move, Ron first used the Exploding charm on the 5th mannequin and was about to diffuse the fire with water, when the 1st mannequin hit a stunner at him. Ron went ahead with Aguamenti charm against the 6th mannequin as the stunner hit him and he fell to the ground.
The moment Ron fell, he tried to get back up instantly, but he couldn't move. Not because he was immobilised, but because he was exhausted, tired and hurt. A few seconds later, he found the blindfolds coming off. Ron got up to his feet and stared at Dumbledore, wondering how he had done.
"Well done, Ron," exclaimed Dumbledore, smiling. "That was indeed quite magnificent for someone your age," he remarked.
"I messed up in the end, didn't I?" retorted Ron, chuckling
"In fairness, it wasn't all your doing, Ron" replied Dumbledore, smiling. But this smile was different. "I had some part to play in influencing your decision," he added.
"Your performed legilimency on me?" asked Ron, shocked. "I didn't feel anything," he added.
"You should have gone for the fire before going for the air. A simple deception," replied Dumbledore, calmly.
Ron stood and wondered how he could have missed that. But Dumbledore was quick to encourage him.
"This was a first-class demonstration of your skill, Ron. You have improved a lot in the past year," remarked Dumbledore. "In fact, I believe, you are ready to move on to something more interesting," he added.
"I am?" asked Ron, surprised. "What?" he asked.
"You are going to need to perform non-verbal as well as wandless magic," replied Dumbledore. "But, that's for our next class," he added. "Now, you should take some rest," he finished.
"Woah! Wandless magic?" remarked Ron, excited.
{{{ The following section of the story will comprise 2 different scenes, taking place in 2 different places, more or less simultaneously. Text in the normal font will represent one scene, and text in italics, similar to this, will represent the other scene. Hope there won't be any confusion. Enjoy reading... }}}
…
Jane was now conflicted. She had not expected her journey into possessing the Elder wand would lead her to Albus Dumbledore. But at that moment, her focus remained on something else. Firstly, she had yet to decipher the visions she had seen right before she had killed Gregorovitch. And secondly, she was fascinated by the fact that Grindelwald got released from prison over a year ago. She had gone ahead and looked into news articles, reports and anything she could get her hands on regarding Grindelwald's release. But, she didn't seem to get anywhere.
In the midst of thoughts like this, she replayed the visions she saw in Gregorovitch's mind. There was an old house, a cottage of some kind. She had heard the name Gaunt. She had seen a ring, a wand and a cloak. And finally, she had seen a street that vaguely resembled a place Jane had seen a long time back. And the street seemed like the right place to start.
The moment Jane reached there, a wave of memories hit her. All those years ago, when she had arrived there from the future, the night that changed everything. She stood outside the village and stared at the sign, "Godric's Hollow".
The street right in front of her eyes matched exactly the street Gregorovitch had thought of in his dying moments. And the only thought that consumed Jane was, "Why would Gregorovitch think about this?".
Godric's Hollow was a small village, and as Jane roamed around, she could only find a church, an old post office, a pub and a few shops. In terms of residence, the village seemed to accommodate a decent number of houses, including an empty one, right on the edge of the village, that Jane recognised all too well.
As she roamed around the village, she stumbled upon the graveyard next to the church. As memories flashed in front of her, Jane succumbed and decided to take a tour inside. The graveyard housed a lot of tombstones, presumably of villagers who had passed away there, in the village. As Jane walked around, she finally came face to face with the tombstones she was looking for, "Lily Potter" and "James Potter".
Jane stood in front of the tombstones and reminisced the memories from a lifetime away, the 5 years Lily had lived with the twins.
After a few minutes, she continued walking and decided to roam around a little more. The question that brought her here continued to fester inside her head. It didn't make any sense why Gregorovitch would think of this village in his dying moments.
"Was he perhaps thinking of the night Voldemort killed Lily and James, the night Harry defied him as a baby? If yes, why would Gregorovitch think about it? What did it have to do with the Elder Wand or the Deathly Hallows?"
As Jane roamed around, she across a tombstone that made her stop dead.
"Ariana Dumbledore," read Jane, shocked. "Dumbledore?" she wondered.
"The Dumbledore family lived here?" she wondered. Jane was now thinking of talking to the villagers, hoping they could shed some light. She was in disguise, so it didn't matter whom she spoke with, till the time, she was careful.
Jane decided to complete visiting the other graves, hoping to find some more answers. And suddenly, she came across a grave and the pieces started to fit a little.
"Ignotus Peverell," read Jane the barely legible on the grave. And then her eyes fell on the symbol engraved on the grave. The symbol she was wearing around her neck.
Jane was now even more determined to discover the truths that lay beneath. And just then, she heard footsteps and she turned around.
"Hello," greeted the old woman.
Jane stared at her for a few seconds. "Hi," greeted back Jane, breaming.
The old woman stared at Jane and then glanced at the grave she was standing in front of.
Jane was now panicking. She had to come up with a story and she had to do it now. And then she began winging it.
"Do you know who this is?" asked Jane, sounding very different from her voice, and overtly excited.
"Who are you, Miss?" asked the old woman.
"My name is Rose," replied Jane. "I saw this... this symbol on this grave, and I couldn't believe my eyes," she added.
"Why is that?" retorted the old woman.
"Look," replied Jane and took out the chain she was wearing. "I bought this at Diagon Alley. It looks so elegant," she remarked, laughing. "Imagine my surprise at seeing the same pendant here," she added.
The old woman stared at her chain and had a strange look on her face. She glanced back at Jane, curiously. "Why don't you come in for a cup of tea? I live nearby," said the old woman, with a warm smile on her face.
Jane knew this was a bad idea. She couldn't possibly be drinking tea with a stranger. But, she had no choice. The old woman definitely knew something and she could be willing to share.
"Sure, why not?" replied Jane, smiling. "What's your name, ma'am?" asked Jane.
"Bathilda Bagshot," replied the old woman and started walking back to her house.
…
Ron was up in Dumbledore's office, for he had offered to give Ron a diary he had maintained long back. And in that diary, he had written down a lot about wandless magic. Ron had seldom heard about wandless magic, and when he had, it was filled with criticism for the idea.
Dumbledore handed Ron his diary and the very instant, Ron opened it and flicked through the pages. The diary had an extensive amount of content. As Ron thanked the headmaster, he was about to make his way out of the office when his eyes fell on something.
Ron was still flicking through the pages when he came to one particular page where Dumbledore had inked his name. But, that wasn't what brought Ron to a pause. It was how he had inked his name. While the rest of the characters were written normally, the first letter of his name, Albus, 'A', was written differently. Ron brought the diary closer to his face and stared at the symbol that looked like the alphabet, 'A'.
"Professor," he exclaimed. "What is this symbol?" he asked, curiously. He was certain he had seen it before. If his memory served him right, he had once seen it when he was with Daisy at Diagon Alley. But he was certain he had seen it somewhere else as well.
Dumbledore stared at the symbol Ron was pointing at and then glanced at him. He gave a brief smile and spoke up. "That symbol has a tale behind it," he replied.
"Is it a good one?" asked Ron, chuckling.
"Perhaps, I should tell you about it. What with everything that's happening around us," replied Dumbledore, calmly. After a pause, he continued. "Are you familiar with the Tale of the Three Brothers?" he asked. Ron shook his head in response and Dumbledore began narrating the story.
…
"Death searched for the youngest brother as years passed but never succeeded. It was only when the third brother reached a great age, that he took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. Greeting Death as an old friend, they departed this life as equals," finished Bathilda with the story, as Jane stared at her keenly.
"The Elder wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility cloak," remarked Jane, astounded as her mind raced through different thoughts. But, one remained front and centre. The symbol around her neck was not just any symbol, it was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows.
"Together, they make one the master of death," announced Bathilda.
"Wow," gasped Jane. "I can't believe it," she remarked.
Bathilda Bagshot stared at Jane, curiously. Everything about her screamed lies.
"So, what brings you to Godric's Hollow?" asked Bathilda.
"I'm a traveller... Love travelling," replied Jane. "I had to visit this village at least once. It is the village of the boy-who-lived," she added, excitedly.
After a momentary silence, Bathilda spoke up. "Why are you lying, miss?" she asked.
"What?" retorted Jane, shocked.
"You are hunting for the Hallows, aren't you? I know a desperate look when I one," she remarked.
Jane slowly reached for her hand. "I don't know what you are talking about, ma'am," retorted Jane, casually.
"You are the one who killed Andres, aren't you? You have been killing everyone that has come in between your path," remarked Bathilda. "That's not a chain you bought at Diagon Alley, my dear. That one, you took from Andres' cold dead body," she added, confidently.
Jane stared at her, angrily. She was not looking forward to killing one more person along the way. Jane took out her wand swiftly and pointed it at Bathilda Bagshot.
"You have only one choice here. Answer my questions, or die," remarked Jane, as her disguise waned away.
"Oh... Hello, Miss Jane Smith," sighed Bathilda. "It's you who has been after the Hallows," she remarked.
"You are one of the secret keepers, aren't you?" retorted Jane.
"The only one who's alive, I'm afraid," chuckled Bathilda, in the face of death. "Keep your wand away, kid. I don't need that to guide you on your path," she added.
However, Jane had her wand pointed at Bathilda Bagshot.
…
"I don't understand, Professor," retorted Ron, confused. "It's a good story from the Tales of the Beedle of Bard. But, what does it have to do with the symbol?" he asked.
Dumbledore took a quill and drew the symbol of the Deathly Hallows as he replied. "The resurrection stone... the Elder wand... and the cloak of invisibility..." he remarked and Ron understood what the significance of the story was.
"So, the Deathly Hallows really do exist?" asked Ron, excitedly.
"I'm afraid, they do," replied Dumbledore.
"Do you know where they are?" asked Ron.
"A long time ago, when I was still a young man," began Dumbledore and paused. "I and a friend of mine went in search for the Hallows. It was during that time, that I took up this symbol for signing my name," he added. "But I had a change of heart along the way. The search for the Hallows seeks a heavy price, one that I wasn't willing to pay," replied Dumbledore.
Ron stared at Dumbledore following the cryptic reply but decided not to pursue further.
…
"Grindelwald and Dumbledore were friends?" asked Jane, taken aback. "I thought Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald and put him in prison," she added.
"That happened as well... but before that, years before that, they met right here in Godric's Hollow. And they spent a great deal of time looking for the Deathly Hallows," replied Bathilda.
"This village is not exactly in the middle of tourist spots," remarked Jane. "So, how did Grindelwald end up here?" she asked.
"He came here looking for the Deathly Hallows. And he knew he had an aunt here who knew a thing or two of magical history," replied Bathilda.
"You are Grindelwald's aunt?" asked Jane. "Do you know where he is right now? He was released from Nurmengard just over a year ago," she continued.
"I'm well aware of his release from prison, Miss Smith. I'm, however, unaware of his current whereabouts," replied Bagshot.
Jane took in all the information she had just been provided.
"Grindelwald obtained the Elder wand and lost it to Albus Dumbledore, didn't he? During their duel in 1945," asked Jane.
"That'd be correct," replied Bathilda.
"What can you tell me about the rest of the Hallows? Where can I find them?" asked Jane.
"I wouldn't know much about either of their current whereabouts," replied Bathilda.
"Have you heard the name, Gaunt?" asked Jane.
"Gaunt?" exclaimed Bathilda. "The House of Gaunt are one of the sacred twenty-eight," replied Bathilda. "But, last I remember, the family was living in poverty, just outside Little Hangleton village," she added.
"Little Hangleton?" retorted Jane, shocked. She knew that's where Voldemort was, or at least, one of the places where Voldemort set up shop.
Bathilda nodded in response. After a pause, she continued. "Care for some advice from an old historian?" she asked.
Jane stared at her, silently.
"You don't look like someone ambitious for power or wealth," remarked Bathilda. "So, it must be love that's motivated you down this path," she added. "Who did you lose?" asked Bathilda.
"Brother," replied Jane, remorsefully.
"Ask yourself what your brother would say to you if he saw the bloodshed you have caused," remarked Bathilda.
"Is this the part where you beg for your life?" retorted Jane, strengthening her grip on the wand.
"I'm well past that, my dear. No matter what I say, I know how this is going to end," sighed Bathilda.
"You have been of great help, Mrs Bagshot," said Jane and without another thought, flicked her wand and a jet of green light escaped, aimed at Bathilda Bagshot.
"He always had a lot to say, Mrs Bagshot. But my brother is no longer with me. I am going to end the man responsible for his death," sighed Jane as a teardrop escaped her eyes.
…
After a few seconds, Dumbledore spoke up. "And I'm afraid," he continued. "There's someone out there in search of the Hallows right now," he said.
"Who?" asked Ron, shocked.
"I'm sure it hasn't slipped past you, that in the last few months, a lot of significant wizards and witches, wandmakers, alchemists and scholars have been killed," began Dumbledore in reply.
"Oh," gasped Ron. "You-know-who is after the Deathly Hallows?" he asked, shocked. "that's why he has been killing all the wand makers... He killed Ollivander... and he was the one who killed Gregorovitch a few weeks back," exclaimed Ron.
Dumbledore stared at Ron, contemplating his response. "We don't know for sure, who's after the Hallows," lied Dumbledore in response.
"Oh my God! If he gets his hands on the Hallows, we are doomed," remarked Ron.
…
Jane apparated out of Godric's Hollow and decided to head home, this time, her actual home. It had been quite some time before she had been there. She wanted to go home, that night. Whenever she killed someone, she wanted to come back here and feel the warmth the home provided her.
Quite soon after reaching home, she fell asleep.
It was deep in the middle of the night when Jane woke up suddenly. The screams of Gregorovitch in her dreams woke her up. Jane got up from her bed and gulped some water. Suddenly, it seemed like she could no longer sleep.
Jane replayed everything that had happened that day, from the moment she visited the grave to her entire conversation with Bathilda Bagshot. The story of the three brothers and the 3 magical objects that formed the Deathly Hallows fascinated her.
But soon, her thoughts drifted to the revelation from Bathilda Bagshot, that Dumbledore and Grindelwald were close friends, years before they fought against each other in the greatest duel of the century.
Somehow, Jane brought herself to get back to sleep.
The following morning, from the moment Jane woke up, she went back to everything she had read about Grindelwald and his release, trying to find any clue as to who could have helped in releasing him. One thing was very clear, Dumbledore did not want it to happen. He had been extremely vocal during the hearing and made it a point to let everyone know that he wasn't happy with Grindelwald being released.
And somewhere along her research, thoughts and memories from the previous evening when she killed Bathilda Bagshot resurfaced and along with it, so did Gregorovitch's screams.
Jane sat down, clutching her head in pain. The events that preceded and led to Gregorovitch's eventual death replayed in her head.
She had realised it a while back, and ever since the previous evening, she knew almost definitely that Dumbledore would know the truth about the Hunter of the Hallows. She knew that Dumbledore would have known by now, that she was the one killing all the wandmakers. It was only a matter of time before she would be caught. And if Dumbledore had the Elder wand, she'd have to somehow fight him and take it for herself.
As she was thinking about Dumbledore and the risk she was in, of getting caught, another thought popped into her head. And that was Benjamin White. He was proving to be a bit of an irritating foe.
For a long time now, she had been managing to escape Benjamin White's men, but they always seemed to catch up with her. And the worst part of it all was the number of wizards and witches that seemed to be working for White. He seemed to be a deeply connected wizard, with eyes and ears everywhere. And Jane was certain that if not for White and his men, she would have managed to escape from Dumbledore's radar easily. On the other hand, the death eaters that Voldemort had put after her were embarrassing in comparison. Neither Barty Crouch Jr nor Eldon Redwood had gotten anywhere close to her.
As thoughts about White engulfed her, her memories took her back to the one time the both of them had fought alongside each other, at Nurmengard.
Jane had seen White in action, his majestic self. It had shocked her to find out that he was a necromancer. He had raised an army of the dead against Voldemort. At the same time, she remembered the look he had when he saw her for the first time that evening, right after she had saved him and everyone there. The look of shock and admiration.
She also remembered the way White fought to protect Nurmengard from Voldemort.
Jane came to a halt and stared into oblivion momentarily. As she was thinking about White and his abilities, a thought came to her. And from the moment it did, the longer it stayed, the stronger it became.
Right away, she left the house and began doing some research about Benjamin White. There wasn't much to read in the papers. But, there was one article that caught her eye.
The article in question talked about the addition of a new Professor to the teaching staff of Hogwarts. Jane read the article and then the date when it was published.
The article was published just a month before John's death. And more importantly, just a few days after Grindelwald's release.
Jane stood rooted to her spot. She went back and read everything about Grindelwald's release, and especially Dumbledore's quotes about the matter.
"Oh my God!" gasped Jane. "I cannot believe this," she thought to herself.
…
Benjamin White got the news and decided to make his way to Dumbledore's office immediately. The moment he reached there, he found Ron sitting inside, with Dumbledore.
"Benjamin," exclaimed Dumbledore, surprised.
"Albus," exclaimed White. "We need to speak in private," he added and glanced at Ron.
"Oh, okay... I'll leave then," remarked Ron. "Thanks for the diary, Professor," he added glancing at Dumbledore and walking out of the office.
"Albus," began White. "She was seen talking with Bathilda Bagshot earlier today," he remarked.
"She was at the Hollow?" sighed Dumbledore.
"Both of us know very well where she's headed, Albus. If she has reached the Godric's Hollow in search of the Hallows, I can only imagine how long it'll take her to get here," exclaimed White.
"Is Bathilda alive?" asked Dumbledore.
White shook his head in response.
"I'm sorry for your loss," said Dumbledore, mournfully.
"It's alright, Albus. I hadn't seen my aunt in over half a century," replied Grindelwald. "What do we do about Miss Jane Smith?" he asked.
"She's hurting badly," sighed Dumbledore. "There's very little we can do for her," he added.
I wonder how many saw this coming... I have been setting the Grindelwald plot up for well over 40 chapters. Hope you are thrilled and excited for what lies ahead.
PS - Chapter 105 will mark the end of the 5th year worth of the story. And the next chapter will be set in the future. So, stay tuned, Ciao!