Hello everyone!

I'm back after absolute ages... It's been a topsy-turvy past few months, physically and mentally. This chapter and the next few were ones that I had written long back, yet only now do I find the time and the heart to publish them. I hope to go on a bit of a writing spree and get this story to its glorious conclusion.

Well, so here we go... I strongly suggest you give Chapter 106 a read before you read this one, purely for the continuity. Enjoy!

She ran her hand through her dark-brown hair and rolled around the bed. He was sleeping facing her, merely a few inches away.

Daisy stared at Ron and held out her arm to play with his curly, fiery red hair. Ron's eyes were closed and muffled snores were coming from him. She wasn't sure what had woken her up, this early in the morning. But whatever it was, it had woken her up with a peaceful sight in front of her, the kind that got butterflies in her stomach.

Daisy had rarely gotten the opportunity to spend a night in such fashion, but now that she was enjoying such recurrent nights, she had started enjoying waking next to Ron.

As she continued playing with his hair, her thoughts trailed away to the night before. How Ron arrived at her doorstep late in the evening, with a carefully smuggled bottle of Madam Rosemerta's finest, and an expression on his face that sparked fantasies in her that she blushed thinking about. Some of those fantasies came to life, hardly a few minutes later, as Daisy enjoyed her newly found freedom to the fullest, in her very own house.

These evenings were always memorable. Not because anything special was planned beforehand, or fancy food to enjoy. The company made it memorable through and through. Ever since she first became attached to Ron in more ways than one, she had been missing it. The few months that separated Ron's breaks from Hogwarts were some of the most difficult months, for she had no way to reduce the distance between them. The only thing she could do was to wait patiently, in anticipation of spending more such moments with him.

Was this the reason she wanted to be alone this summer? No, but she knew she'd be lying to herself if she told it hadn't entered her mind. Jacob and Olivia had to leave the country, for their own good. They had the means for it, after all. Her getting to spend some quality, passionate time alone with Ron was just a side benefit.

She knew she had no right to be this lucky in life. Daisy snuggled closer to him, a sudden urge to feel his skin. She pulled herself closer to him, now just an inch or two away, and leaned in to feel his lips on hers.

As a feeble moan escaped her, a similar one escaped Ron.

"I love it when my morning starts like this," came Ron's slurry voice as he deepened the kiss.

"So do I," whispered Daisy as she slowly pulled away from the kiss.

They snuggled closer to each other as Daisy's eyes slowly closed, the rest of her nap spent in his warmth, her spicy thoughts turning into mere dreams for now.

The couple woke up a few hours later, with the same intensity of passion as the night before. It took a while, but eventually, they made it to the hall, fully clothed, their cravings satisfied for the time being.

As Daisy strolled into the kitchen, Ron followed closely behind. "That was the best I've slept all summer," remarked Ron.

"That's what you told me last time," chuckled Daisy as she frantically started placing a few utensils on the stove.

"I always sleep well when I'm next to you," retorted Ron, smiling.

"You should do it more often, then," replied Daisy as she leaned for a kiss. "I know, I wouldn't mind it... at all," she whispered into his ear.

"Yeah... I would be dead if I tried it," chuckled Ron. "The only reason Mum's turning a blind eye to me spending nights with you is because..." he remarked and paused, his expression turning a little sad.

Daisy glanced at him and held out her arm to hold his hand.

A little silence engulfed the room out of nowhere. Daisy hadn't prodded Ron about anything that had happened in the "Battle of Ministry", and Ron hadn't gotten the courage to talk to her about it.

They were all caught up in the events that transpired, including Voldemort becoming the Minister of Magic, and none of them had really spent a moment, quietly, processing the loss of Percy. They had a funeral for him, of course. Her Mum and Dad cried a lot, and so did many others who were present at the funeral. The twins stood behind their parents, and so did Bill, Charlie and Ron.

But once the funeral was over, everyone went back to their lives. There were some that stayed behind, Hermione for instance was with Ron all day for the following few days. But, somehow, even she couldn't bring the words out of his mouth.

Ron had met up with Daisy a few days later, but by then, a lot had already happened. A lot had happened, in a very short span of time, starting with Dumbledore's death.

Surprisingly, Daisy had hardly tried to bring it out of him, the sorrow of losing a brother, until just now.

"Ron," began Daisy and squeezed his hand. "You can tell me anything you wish to... whenever you want to," she said, softly.

Ron stayed silent for a couple of minutes. "The nights I have spent with you, are the only nights I haven't dreamt it," he began, weakly. "In my dreams, I leave Redwood on the floor... and save Percy every time," he said, remorsefully.

"I'm sorry," whispered Daisy, softly as she embraced him tightly.

One afternoon, Sirius found himself, alone in his usually crowded house, 12, Grimmauld Place. The adults were all busy with one thing or the other, while the kids had taken a break from roaming the country, looking for support from the Wizarding community. However, Sirius had something occupying his mind, that kept him on his toes.

The past couple of years had been difficult. The decade and a bit before that was torturous and painful, of course, but the newly found freedom hadn't exactly been as elating as one would expect. Sirius escaped from Azkaban about 3 years ago. While he spent the first few months, hiding helplessly, his path met with Jane's and after a very long time, his truth was out, at least to those that mattered and he had people in his life once again who wanted the best for him. But, things didn't get all that better immediately. He had to remain in hiding, for he was still a criminal in the eyes of the world.

As a few months went by, Sirius got used to the new regular, a life spent mostly in the confinement of his house, often having people tell him to be careful not to get caught. Eventually, he got some respite, once again in the form of Jane. She had delivered Pettigrew, right on his doorstep. With a newfound hope, Sirius led his life and decided to fight for his freedom. A long, hard-fought, tiring few weeks later, Sirius was finally declared innocent. He had his freedom once again, or so he thought. Somehow, Sirius' life did not improve. There was turmoil in the Wizarding world, people around him were dying all the time, and it felt like the years had been turned back.

Even on a personal level, there wasn't much that had changed. He strode out to the outside world, the boost of his newly found freedom propelling him, but all he was met with were judgemental looks. Whenever he entered a street, there was a sudden silence, and then there were silent whispers that trailed him everywhere he went. While on the one hand, he had suspicious eyes staring at him, on the other, he had pity.

Every second Sirius spent outside, he wondered if he was better off confined to his home. He even contemplated leaving the country, perhaps escaping to a remote village even, in some distant world, where magic may not even exist. However, what stopped him from such drastic measures were 2 people, Remus and Harry, his best friend and his Godson. In one way or another, he felt guilty leaving the two of them alone to face the demons of their lives. Sirius knew that he had to find a purpose for the life he was leading. He had been looking out for it for months now, and finally, it seemed like his purpose came looking for him.

Sirius sat alone, holding a glass of scotch, at one end of the table in the meeting room when he heard the door open followed by footsteps.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," muttered Remus as he entered the room.

"Mischief managed," sighed Sirius as he put down his wand.

"Drowning ourselves are we?" remarked Remus as he sat down beside him and glanced at the bottle of scotch.

"I don't have a collection, Remus, just to let them collect dust," retorted Sirius as he slid his glass towards Remus.

Remus took a small sip and hummed in the warmth that the delightful, velvety smooth texture brought with it. "This is good," he remarked, sliding the glass back to Sirius.

"Any word on Harry?" asked Sirius, after a moment. Remus shook his head in response as Sirius downed the remaining contents in the glass.

After a moment's silence, Remus spoke up, "You cannot keep blaming yourself for not seeing it coming, or that you couldn't prevent Jane from doing everything she has done," he said.

"She helped me get this life back, Remus," retorted Sirius, calmly.

"And in return, you tried to reach out to her, multiple times, in the past year... but she didn't respond," exclaimed Remus.

Sirius remained silent. Remus picked up the bottle of scotch and got up, and then Sirius spoke up. "This was my first drink, Remus," he exclaimed.

"You've had enough... Besides, wallowing in self-pity is not really your style," retorted Remus and walked away to keep the bottle back on the shelf.

"I wasn't worried about Harry or Jane, Loony... I was thinking about something else," remarked Sirius.

"What?" asked Remus, nonchalantly, as he sat back down.

"Professor McGonagall came by a couple of hours back," replied Sirius.

"Professor McGonagall?" wondered Remus, surprised.

"She asked me to come to Hogwarts," replied Sirius.

"What?" gasped Remus, smiling.

"She wants me to take the role of Transfiguration Professor," replied Sirius, calmly.

"And presumably the Head of Gryffindor as well?" remarked Remus and Sirius nodded. "This is brilliant, Sirius... you should be celebrating," exclaimed Remus, ecstatically.

"Why do you think I opened the scotch?" chuckled Sirius.

Tensions were rising in Britain. In the past two weeks itself, two muggles, parents of wizards, one from Hufflepuff 6th year, and one from Gryffindor 3rd year had lost their lives. The moments leading up to their death were not known, but they were among those muggles who had either signed up or been forced to attend the "Magic for Muggles" camps. The Order had a tough time investigating the crimes, let alone when it came to speaking with their children and other loved ones.

Ever so recently, the Order meetings had started happening far less frequently. Professor White had been spending a lot of time outside the country, in a secret mission. Remus was also outside the majority of the time, forming alliances with known werewolves and other shady variety of witches and wizards who had yet to pick a side. Sirius was nowhere to be seen, for he was gearing up for the upcoming year. Tonks and Moody were often found with Kingsley, and the three of them were busy rounding up petty criminals who were being hunted for fun.

A few weeks after Voldemort came into charge, one of the things he did for the safety of the public was to start rounding up known petty thieves and criminals. Death eaters started chasing them and even if they weren't found doing anything illegal, they were caught, arrested and prosecuted. Very soon, the country started seeing a dramatic drop in crimes, which boosted Voldemort's ratings in the minds of the general public.

As recent as a few days earlier, a petty burglar was arrested by the officers from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement on suspicions of killing muggles, the very same muggles that had been forced to attend the "Magic for Muggles" camps.

Professor, now Headmistress McGonagall was also busy gearing up for the upcoming year at Hogwarts. There were only a couple of weeks to go before the start of the new term.

"Minerva," called White as he knocked on the office door.

"Yes, come in, Professor White," replied McGonagall as she glanced briefly at him before diving deeper into her reading. White took a seat opposite her and she glanced back at him. "How was your trip?" she asked.

"Fruitful, there are some who still remember the old ways," replied White, blankly.

"What can we expect?" asked McGonagall, solemnly.

"A sizeable army will be guarding Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, at all times... they will arrive within sundown, tomorrow," replied White.

"And about the... other thing?" asked McGonagall, cryptically.

"The deed is done," replied White, just as cryptically.

McGonagall's expression changed to a little bit of relief.

"You look worried, Minerva..." sighed White, anxiously.

"I'm putting everyone in danger, by taking this stance," remarked McGonagall, worried. "I'm about to risk the lives of young, brilliant minds... all for a war that I don't want to fight," she added.

"Their lives are in danger, regardless, Minerva," replied White, calmly. "And we need you to fight this battle... This is your moment to shine, Headmistress," he added.

"Hogwarts is in open rebellion against the Ministry, I'm sure the bards will sing songs of my bravery," remarked McGonagall, sarcastically.

"Yes," sighed White and after a moment, remarked, "Win the war, and you'll get to hear them," he said, inspiringly.

A brief silence lasted between the pair.

"Last time, I hated that I was just another page in someone else's history book," began White. "This time, that's all I want," he sighed.

"If I'm to stand tall at the end of this all, I'm going to need you by my side," replied McGonagall, confidently.

After another brief silence, McGonagall spoke up.

"He spoke to the papers again," remarked McGonagall.

"What did he have to say this time?" asked White.

McGonagall handed the paper to White in response.

"Voldemort : I must express my deep disappointment. I had hoped Headmistress McGonagall would accept my recommendations for the staff members for the coming year."

"Interviewer : Why do you think she rejected your proposal?"

"Voldemort : Hogwarts is recovering from a painful loss, inflicted by one of their own. Everyone reacts differently to a loss!"

"Interviewer : Are you going to take action against Minerva McGonagall or Hogwarts for that matter?"

"Voldemort : Oh, No, absolutely not! I believe in Hogwarts and the Headmistress. After all, I had only given recommendations to the school, not forced them to accept it. (Smile)"

"Interviewer : What message do you have for the students who might be seeing your interview? Should they be disappointed?"

"Voldemort : Hogwarts is the home of young, brilliant minds. They are a tightly-knit family. I wish them all the very best, these are important years in their life. (Smile)"

"He is not happy, is he? That's an expected reaction," sighed White. "I must admit, he is acting very well in front of a camera," he chuckled.

However, McGonagall didn't look all that amused.

Just then, there was another knock on the door.

"Alastor," exclaimed McGonagall, her expression a little worried at the sight of Moody.

"Professor McGonagall..." greeted Moody as he walked in, and right behind him, walked in Tonks. "Professor..." he greeted, briefly glancing at White. "We have some disturbing developments," he remarked.

"We have been investigating a few unexplained deaths of muggle families," began Tonks.

"Deaths of muggle families?" asked White, confused.

"Some weeks back, we got information that there have been a lot of unexplained deaths, of muggles, in the country. The muggle law enforcement were unable to connect the dots between these deaths," replied Moody.

"We think You-know-who might be behind them," continued Tonks.

Tonks kept a bunch of photos on the table, all of them containing different families. All of them seemed similar in that they all had a parent or both, and one or a young kid along with them. Tonks also kept a paper on the table, one that seemed to contain a long list of names and other details.

"The only thing that connects all these families are the kids," continued Tonks. "Every single one of their names is on this list," she added.

McGonagall picked up the list and stared at it, and her expression went sour.

"Professor... these are all kids whose names are on the Book of Admittance," announced Tonks.

"He is killing all the muggleborn witches and wizards... Kids and families that don't even know magic exists," sighed McGonagall, distraught.

There were merely a few days left for the new term. Colin was nervous and anxious about the new term, the happenings in the wizarding world, potential life and death situation he found himself in.

For the first time since he had come to Hogwarts, Colin spent the majority of the summer break with friends of his from Hogwarts, albeit in unpleasant circumstances. He found himself instantly belonging to one of Britain's powerful secret societies, The Order of the Phoenix. While he did not have too much to contribute, it still felt surreal to be a part of something so important.

It was early in the morning, and unlike other mornings, Colin woke up promptly and eagerly. He got up and after a few minutes, walked out of his room to the hall. Surprisingly, neither his mother nor his father seemed awake.

"Mum?" called Colin loudly as he made his way towards the kitchen. To his surprise, the kitchen was empty as well. Colin made his way out of the kitchen and decided to check outside, only to realise a few seconds later that the front door was locked, from the inside.

"You can't still be sleeping," remarked Colin to himself, a little annoyed as he made his way towards their room.

Colin knocked on the door a couple of times. "You better not be doing anything I should be seeing," he remarked and opened the door.

Colin's mouth went dry as he came to a shocked standstill.

His father's body was lying on the floor, right in front of the door, while his mother's body was lying beside the bed.

"Dad? Mum?" exclaimed Colin, shocked as he rushed to both of them, one after another. "No," he gasped. "No, this can't be," he cried in anguish.

He had only spent a few seconds in the room when he realised his younger brother was sleeping in the other room. Colin rushed out, exclaiming, "Dennis... Dennis, are you alright?"

However, Colin got no response. Only when he opened the door to Dennis' room did he realise that his brother had met the same fate as his parents.

Colin fell to his knees, speechless.

After a moment, he dashed to the hall and picked up the phone. The phone rang for a few seconds before the call got connected.

"Uh... Hermione?" came Colin's quavering voice. "Hello?" he added, frantically.

"Colin?" replied Hermione, a little confused. "What happened?" she asked.

The only thing Hermione heard in response was Colin crying. Within minutes, the Order was there at Colin's house. However, there was nothing to be done, the lives lost weren't coming back.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter...

PS - I hope to be back soon with the next chapter. Ciao!