Wish you all a happy and prosperous 2025! May it be much, much better than 2024!❤️
I'm back! Sorry, it took me a while. But, who is ready for chapter 126? I know, I am!
Enjoy!
PS - This weekend is going to be lit🔥, more on that at the end.
"Harry," called Hermione, nervously. She had her wand pointed at him.
"Yes, Hermione," retorted Harry, calmly.
"Are you ready?" asked Hermione, her hands were now mildly shaking.
"For the 3rd time, yes, I'm ready," replied Harry, chuckling. "I trust you, Hermione... You know what you are doing, now, give it a try," he remarked, assuringly.
"I haven't tried this spell on anyone before," said Hermione, gripping her wand tightly.
"Yes, you have... As a kid, in your first year, you did," retorted Harry. "Now, you are so much better, you can do it," he added, confidently.
Hermione gave a slight nod and murmured under her breath, "Procidat Incipio," she incanted and swirled her wand around her wrist and finished with a flick, pointing it at Harry.
Harry stared at her for a couple of seconds and then he felt it. There was a faint image in his head, he couldn't quite decipher what it was. But it was there only for a few seconds before vanishing.
"Are you alright?" asked Hermione. "Did it work?" she added.
"I'm fine," replied Harry. "I think I saw something, but it was quite faint, I couldn't make it out clearly," he remarked.
Hermione sulked immediately, disappointed.
"What did you try?" asked Harry.
"I was trying to make you see something that would make you happy," replied Hermione.
Harry stared at her, thinking she was going to add to her reply. "What was that?" he asked, confused. Hermione stared back at Harry, confused. "What did you make me see?" asked Harry.
"I just told you, whatever makes you happy," repeated Hermione in response.
"Oh," gasped Harry. "You didn't have anything specific on your mind. You just wanted me to see whatever it was that would make me happy," he remarked, awestruck.
Hermione nodded in response.
"Don't you think you are starting at a very high level? Why don't you start with simple things?" suggested Harry.
"I'm able to do simple things, Harry," snapped Hermione, frustrated.
"Woah!" gasped Harry. "I'm sorry," he said, alarmed.
Hermione shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you," she apologised.
"It's alright... Come on, give it another go," retorted Harry, calmly.
Hermione tried once again, unwillingly, and this time Harry felt something a little more strongly, but the sensation didn't last very long.
"Hermione, you are almost there," remarked Harry, smiling. "Just a little more focus and intent," he added. He quickly continued, "Don't think of me as your friend, I'm your enemy, about to kill you... And just do it," he exclaimed.
Hermione stood rooted at her spot, hesitating to attack Harry.
In a sudden turn of events, Harry pulled out his wand and sent a stunner at Hermione and her instincts kicked in. Hermione blocked the stunner. Harry attacked Hermione a couple of more times, both of which Hermione shielded easily. And then it happened. Harry took a momentary breather, giving Hermione the opportunity to strike him. She swirled and flicked her wand aimed at Harry.
It was a different feeling inside Harry. He could see a vague memory forming in front of him. He was smiling, but he wasn't sure why. But warmth flooded inside him. Hermione followed up her illusion with a stunner which struck Harry and he fell on his back, taking him out of the illusion.
Instantly, Harry got up, beaming, "Hermione, it worked," he exclaimed, excitedly as he grabbed her into a hug.
"Oh my God!" gasped Hermione, happily.
"Hermione, you did it," exclaimed Harry as he lifted her and swung her around.
Colin stared at Luna, shocked. "What?" he gasped. "Why?" he asked.
"Sometimes, all we need is to sit with ourselves, and that's exactly what she's doing," replied Luna, calmly.
"No... No... You cannot do this to her, not when she's bereaving the loss of her parents," retorted Colin, strongly.
"She's been through so much... Losing her parents in the battle. I've tried to support her, but maybe she needs more time," remarked Luna, sorrowfully.
"It has only been a couple of months, Luna. Do you remember how I was? Daphne needs you, she may not admit it, but she does," retorted Colin.
"I'm here for her, but it has to be her choice. Anger and bitterness won't hold me here," replied Luna, calmly. "See you later, Colin," she added and walked away.
Daphne was broken from the moment she heard of her parents' death. They were one of the countless victims of the 2nd Battle of the Ministry that Grindelwald and his army, with the help of the International Confederation of Wizards, the Order of the Phoenix and the Sacred 28 had waged against Voldemort and the Ministry of Magic.
While she was never someone who was the loudest in the room, she made her presence known from time to time. While that hadn't changed in the couple of months that had gone by, people close to her definitely felt the change in her. She had become colder, irritable, distrusting and resentful. And the ones to bear the brunt of this were Colin and Luna. Colin had just been recovering and getting back to himself. It had been a year since his parents had been murdered in their home by death eaters. Luna, on the other hand, hadn't been having any great a time when it came to her parents either. Her mother had passed away when she was younger, even before she had come to Hogwarts. But, it was her father who had been facing the hard end of the stick recently. His work with The Quibbler had invited criticism and danger in equal measure. He was first arrested for aiding and enabling Hogwarts's rebellion against the Ministry. But even after being released from prison weeks later, he had been receiving continuous threats to his and his daughter's life.
…
It was particularly a sombre day at Hogwarts. The negativity and unrest around the school had died down a little in the past few weeks. The Ministry had stopped fuelling the fire as well. But there were some things that were already in motion that had to go through. And one of them was related to the guests that Hogwarts had been hosting for a few months, close to half a year.
The heads of all of the schools, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and Ilvermony, all of them had been in discussions with Headmistress McGonagall ever since Grindelwald's identity became public. It had so been the case that Durmstrang was the only school that was aware of White's identity. Both Beauxbatons and Ilvermony had received stiff notices from their respective governing bodies to comply with Hogwarts's request to support them against Voldemort. With White's death, suddenly, the pressure had been lifted.
Finally, right around the time of Hogwarts's usual start of a new year, they came to a "mutual" decision to part ways.
"... As you depart, know that Hogwarts will always remain your home, and we will remain your allies. Take with you our gratitude, our respect, and our hopes for better days. You are, and always will be, part of the legacy of this castle, a legacy that will endure, no matter what lies ahead," finished McGonagall with her speech.
She straightened and looked around the Great Hall. All the students, from every school were in silence, reflecting upon McGonagall's words. The heads of each of the schools shook hands with her in the front. The students had all made friends with their counterparts, and it was a bittersweet end to their stay at the school.
But as things stood, Hogwarts had lost more support in their fight against Voldemort. All that remained now, protecting the school, was the school itself, its students and the Order of the Phoenix.
"Are you excited?" asked Daisy, cheerfully as she walked over to him. Harry was standing in front of the mirror, wearing his new suit he had brought from Hogsmeade. Daisy quickly inserted herself in between the mirror and Harry, facing him. She began adjusting his collar and the fit of his dress and only let go once she was satisfied.
Harry had a big grin on his face. "I'm going to a friend's wedding... Of course, I'm excited," replied Harry.
"You aren't just going to a friend's wedding, you are going as Hermione's date," retorted Daisy, chuckling.
"Plus one, not a date," corrected Harry.
"One and the same, HP... One... and the... same," repeated Daisy as she walked away to take a seat on the bed.
"I'm not thinking about it right now," shrugged Harry as he took a seat beside her.
"I'm telling you to make a move. You like her and she definitely likes you," she retorted, instantly. "You guys are pretending to have separated, when all your actions are pointing otherwise. Just take the damn leap," she added.
Harry smiled at her, kissed her cheek and got up. "Thanks, how do I look?" he asked.
"Perfect," replied Daisy, smiling. With that, Harry went downstairs and met up with Remus. Together, they went to 12, Grimmauld Place. Harry only had to wait for a couple of minutes before Hermione arrived as well. And from there, the pair apparated away to Paris, to Fleur and Cedric's wedding.
…
The wedding was one of the most beautiful ceremonies or events that Harry had ever been a part of.
It was a magical vineyard with enchanted grapevines forming a natural archway under the beautiful night sky, enchanted to shimmer with golden and purple hues. Floating candles lighted the place that already smelled of lavender from all the lavender bushes decorating the venue. Goblets were suspended mid-air pouring wine for all the guests. Fleur, the bride was wearing an ethereal gown, magically shifting colours from time to time, while Cedric was donning formal wizarding robes embroidered with his family lineage.
The wedding ceremony was quite heartfelt. They had a wand-binding ritual where both Fleur and Cedric's wands emitted intertwining streams of light to complete the ritual, making them a married couple, officially. A Veela-led choir started enchanting melodies almost immediately as the celebrations started and fireworks decorated the sky.
Harry barely recognized anyone at the wedding. But now and then, he'd spot someone whom he recognized. There were a few of his seniors from Hogwarts, those from Cedric's batch and those that were senior to even Cedric. There were a couple of them that Harry recognized from his time at the quidditch field.
Hermione had a similar experience at the wedding. Hence, pretty much the entire wedding, the pair spent in the company of each other.
"Where are you taking me, Hermione?" asked Ron, perplexed.
"To the Room of Requirement, I need to talk to you about something," replied Hermione.
It was now about 4 months since the 2nd Battle of the Ministry, a few weeks since all the schools had parted ways with Hogwarts.
When the pair reached the entrance to the room, their eyes fell on Harry.
"What is he doing here?" asked Ron, glancing at Hermione.
"I need to talk to both of you," replied Hermione and walked over to the entrance.
While she tried to get the room to open up to her, Harry spoke up, "What is this about?" he asked, calmly.
"A little patience, please?" she exclaimed, annoyed.
Within a few moments, the room opened and the golden trio entered.
Three comfortable chairs had been fashioned in the middle of a well-lit hall. Hermione took her seat first, followed by Harry. Ron took a seat a moment later, reluctantly.
"Professor McGonagall and I have been talking about this for the past few weeks," began Hermione, cutting right to it. Harry and Ron had their complete attention on her now. "And we think that this is the right time to act," she continued. "It is obvious that You-know-who is rattled," she remarked.
"I don't think rattled is the word I would use," retorted Ron.
"He is definitely mad," remarked Harry.
"He is rattled..." repeated Hermione, strongly. "Ever since the battle, he has been erratic," she continued. "We can definitely agree that he knows about his Horcruxes being destroyed, and that he can't create one anymore," she remarked and glanced at her boys.
Harry glanced at Ron and nodded in response. Ron just nodded at her.
"He has been dying for more control, he has death eaters and criminals roaming the streets, spreading his word, instilling fear," began Hermione.
"Just the other day, Kingsley was telling us about the growing unrest amongst the Aurors, the kind of cruelty they have been forced to do," added Harry.
"Yes, exactly," remarked Hermione. "We are not there yet, but very soon, people will turn on him," she said.
"He killed 2 ministers a few days back, just because they refused to enforce the policies," remarked Ron.
"And the taxes have been increasing. All the promises he made at the beginning of the year, he is going back on all of them slowly," informed Hermione.
"So, what is our plan? He is still the Minister of Magic, he has an army at his disposal, and we have... A small group of capable wizards," replied Ron.
"We can't possibly storm the Ministry... It was a terrible idea then, and it will be a terrible idea now," added Harry.
"We are 0 for 2 against him at the Ministry," added Hermione and stared at the boys.
"We have to do something to make people believe in us. We need support, we can't do much without it," said Harry, thoughtfully.
"We are not getting support from the people, till the time they see us as the ones who sided with Grindelwald," remarked Hermione, cautiously.
Harry sighed in response while Ron didn't have a notable reaction on his face.
"That's why I asked both of you here," said Hermione.
"Why?" asked Harry, confused. Ron just glanced at her with confusion written on his face.
"The only way we gain support from everyone is if we move away from Grindelwald, and show everyone that we are one of the good ones, unlike Grindelwald, or You-know-who," replied Hermione.
"And how do we do that?" asked Ron.
"By telling the world that Grindelwald and Jane were working together," replied Hermione, her legs shaking nervously as she did.
"What?" retorted Harry, bluntly.
"We need to make everyone believe that we were not acting in our best interest, that Grindelwald had us captive with his army. He wanted power and wanted to take You-know-who down," replied Hermione, coldly, but her legs were still shaking. She got up from her seat and started to pace around. "We never wanted a rebellion against the Ministry but Grindelwald forced us," she added.
Ron was stunned into silence.
"I'm all for dragging Grindelwald's name through the mud, but why do you need to bring Jane into this?" asked Harry, shocked.
"We cannot disrespect him like this. He was there for us, and without him, we would have been done for against You-know-who, long, long back," retorted Ron, annoyed.
"I agree... As much as I... disliked him, felt uncomfortable with him... He did some bad things, but he also did good," replied Hermione, cautiously. "But, we have to portray to the world, that we are not sided with him," she said and walked over to Ron. "I'm sorry, but you know this too," she said, taking his hand into hers.
Ron sighed in response, uncomfortably. "Hermione... We can't," he pleaded.
Hermione glanced at Harry and spoke up. "Dumbledore hired White... But he stabbed us in the back, by working with Jane. He helped her kill him, and kidnap you. So that he could hold you hostage while we had to comply with whatever he asked us to do," said Hermione, with a blank expression.
"No... That's not what happened," protested Harry.
"It is now, Harry... He then helped Jane break into Hogwarts, where Ron killed her and rescued you, against White's wishes," continued Hermione.
"Do you even realise what you are doing to Jane's name? She did not do any of the things you just mentioned. We will never be able to wipe this mark off her name," retorted Harry, angrily.
"I'm sorry, Harry... I'm sorry, Ron, but we have to do this. We need to make some sacrifices so that we get out of this... alive," said Hermione, tears welling up in her eyes. She stared at Harry apologetically and then gave Ron a quick glance. Harry stared at her distraught and at a lack of words. Ron looked frustrated but seemed to be on board with her.
"What about the fact that we fought alongside Grindelwald against the Ministry?" asked Harry. And he continued quickly, "Wait!" he gasped. "Have you been planning this, since before the battle? Is this why Hogwarts wasn't a part of the battle?" asked Harry.
"Of course not, Harry," replied Hermione. "But it helps our story that we weren't there," she said. "As for you two, well, you are kids. You were just threatened to follow his orders. Spinning that story should not be difficult," she added.
"You said you spoke to McGonagall. Is she fine with this?" asked Harry, shocked.
"She has agreed to this," replied Hermione, calmly, her voice more assured.
"You-know-who will retaliate, he will call us liars," said Ron, glancing at Hermione.
"I'm counting on it," replied Hermione, confidently. "We are about to play the victims, Ron. We should play it properly. We are going to create a lie that the world will find easy to believe. Instead of convincing them that White had turned into a good person, that Jane was a good person, let us use what we have with us. You-know-who has spent considerable time painting Jane and Grindelwald badly, let us use it to our advantage," she remarked, confidently.
Harry shook his head in disbelief.
"Harry, I need something else from you," said Hermione.
"What?" he asked.
"I need you to give an interview where you will have to tell the world that Jane tortured you, that she did it for Grindelwald and that you suffered a lot there," replied Hermione.
"Absolutely not," retorted Harry, instantly.
"I also need you to ask the Minister of Magic why he didn't do anything to save you from her," added Hermione.
Harry stared at Hermione, completely void of and yet, at the same time with a million thoughts on his mind.
…
"Professor McGonagall," called Hermione, cautiously.
McGonagall seemed to be in deep thought, and the moment Hermione called her, she snapped out of it.
"I'm ready, let's do this," replied McGonagall, confidently.
"Good," smiled Hermione in response.
McGonagall had the print media, television, radio, magazines, and individual journalists, all gathered at the castle grounds in Hogwarts that evening. She was not alone in meeting the media, she had Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick to her side, along with Sirius, Hermione, Harry and Ron standing some distance behind.
It was a perfect press conference for Hogwarts. McGonagall was strong, yet showed vulnerability. She was confident and precise, yet showed hesitation when talking about the difficult situations. She addressed how Grindelwald had pretty much taken over Hogwarts with his army, how he had betrayed their trust and pretended to be someone else, only to deceive them later. She talked about Albus Dumbledore, a man, still remembered and widely respected as one of the finest Headmasters of Hogwarts, and how he was killed by Jane, with the help of Grindelwald.
While she narrated the story, there were many moments where the journalists murmured to each other, moments where they were shocked into silence, and moments where there were "Oohs" and "Aahs". By the time McGonagall completed, there were even a few who had tears in their eyes. And then the questions started pouring in, all of which McGonagall addressed head-on.
…
"How do you think that went?" asked McGonagall, as she walked over to the group after the press conference.
"That was great, Professor," replied Hermione, smiling.
"Yes, Headmistress, you did well there," replied Slughorn.
However, both Ron and Harry looked far from happy with what had just happened, they weren't angry, they had realised it had to be done, but that didn't make things any happier.
"Where are we with Cedric?" asked McGonagall.
"Your press conference will go public in no time. He has already spoken with his wife about this. They will help us spread this fact across in their Ministry," replied Hermione.
"And, Horace, where are we with your sources?" asked McGonagall.
"It'll take some convincing, but this will help, Headmistress. Your words will help all of us convince the others," he replied.
McGonagall nodded in response.
"And, Professor, Mr Lovegood was here today, he will be helping us spread the word as well," remarked Hermione.
"We will need all the help we can get," sighed McGonagall.
"Next, we need to get Harry to tell his side of the story, we should do that after a few days," said Hermione, glancing at Harry.
"My side of the lie, right?" retorted Harry, calmly.
"Uh..." began Hermione, uncomfortably.
"Harry, my dear, I'm sorry about all of this," said McGonagall, a brief smile on her face. "Your voice will have a big influence, they know you as the Boy-who-lived, the one who vanquished You-know-who last time," she remarked.
"Yeah, I get it, Professor, we are doing what's necessary. I'm just not sure how different we are from him if we stoop to his level," he replied, calmly and walked away.
As the rest of them stared at Harry, Hermione spoke up, "He will give the interview," she said, calmly.
"Miss Granger," called McGonagall. "Regardless of how my press conference is perceived by everyone, I must mention how impressed I have been by you," she remarked, smiling. "You have shown more than once that your intuition for the... politics... have been on point," she added.
At the sudden compliment, Hermione blushed, glancing at McGonagall. "Thanks, Professor," she replied.
Within a few hours, the story was everywhere. McGonagall's press conference had changed everything. Suddenly, people were talking about Hogwarts, whether it was just a victim in all the tussle that had happened between it and the Ministry. However, it was only after Harry gave the interview, that everyone started to really believe in the idea that Hogwarts might have been a victim.
The press conference and the interview did not go down well with the ministry. Within a week, they released a statement in retaliation. Of course, the Ministry did the most obvious thing. It called Hogwarts a bunch of liars and called everything McGonagall had said into question. And thus began a series of back and forth, between Hogwarts and the Ministry.
However, this time, the Ministry did not have as much support as it did earlier. Due to the increasing crime rate and suffering, people had pretty much gone back into the state of being fearful of Voldemort and his men, just this time, he also happened to be the Minister of Magic. Harry's interview, where he questioned the Ministry's efforts to save him from a known terrorist made an impact on the people. Everybody was starting to question Voldemort. Why is he the Minister? Who elected him to be the Minister? After all, even Voldemort had become the Minister by killing his predecessor.
…
While things were starting to crumble at the Ministry without their Minister, Voldemort had descended into madness altogether.
He had not just left his post hanging, his people were resorting to crimes against the public, but he was completely focused on finding a solution to his Horcrux problem. And till then, he hadn't succeeded in finding one.
McGonagall's press conference came as a shock to Voldemort. He knew exactly what Hogwarts was doing. In fact, he was even surprised by the very nature of their defence, confident in lies. But, once again, it was Harry's interview that infuriated him. He could visibly see how the public support he had carefully nurtured for a year had started to dissipate, right in front of his eyes.
As a few weeks went by, one evening, his patience came to an end, and his fury reached new heights. Hogwarts had just released another statement, that they were now willing to negotiate with the Ministry, that they wanted to end this feud. The Ministry, till then, had been strongly retaliating against Hogwarts.
"My Lord, our threats and our words have lost their fear," said the Spokesperson, bowing down to Voldemort.
"Fool!" exclaimed Voldemort, loudly. "If we indulge in public violence, we will just end up losing more of the public," he yelled.
"I'm sorry, my Lord," he apologised.
"The travellers did this to me, they were the ones who started this entire thing. I need to make sure they don't disrupt me again," exclaimed Voldemort, angrily.
"My Lord?" replied the Spokesperson, confused. "The travellers?" he asked.
"Your idea may not have been all that bad. I think it is time to strike at one of their own," sniggered Voldemort.
"Whom are we targetting, My Lord?" he asked.
"Oh, the muggle, of course," sniggered Voldemort in response. "I'm going to kill the muggle... And then the Potter boy... The two the travellers were closest with... I am going to end the travellers before they are even born," he exclaimed.
Things are on the verge of heating up! See you very soon! Ciao
PS - I wanted to highlight that I have been working on editing this story, specifically chapters 1-35. Frankly, I expect only some minor changes, and only from chapters 1-17. But, yeah, I have been working on them. And I'll be done with the editing and publishing of these by the time chapter 130 rolls out.
Also, this is my schedule:
Chapter 127 - 3rd or 4th Jan
Chapter 128 - 4th Jan
Chapter 129 - 4th Jan
Chapter 130 - 5th Jan
Please pray for me, my readers, that I adhere to this schedule. Please!😭