Harry Potter and the Second Chance - Chapter 69 - Freedom

Harry looked into Daphne’s eyes with a raised eyebrow. “Sorry … what?”

Daphne smirked, the faintest hint of amusement dancing in her cool blue eyes. “I’m pretty sure you heard me just fine,” she said, her voice carrying that effortless Slytherin confidence. “But since you seem to need it repeated—how’s your relationship going?”

Harry narrowed his eyes at her as he frowned slightly. “What’s brought this sudden interest on?”

Daphne rolled her eyes as she sighed and leaned back, tilting her head slightly. “I’m pretty sure I explained how Tracey is incredibly involved in all the gossip around the castle.”

Harry nodded. He did recall Daphne complaining about Tracey’s insatiable need to discuss everything happening at Hogwarts, whether it had been about Draco Malfoy’s latest tantrum or someone sneaking off to the Astronomy Tower.

“Well, for the past couple of weeks, she’s been tormenting me by talking non-stop about you.” Daphne huffed, shaking her head. “And if she finds out we were working on our project today and I didn’t try to figure anything out, she’d never let me hear the end of it.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “She tormented you?”

Daphne shrugged, a small smirk playing on her lips. “I said what I said.”

There was a moment of quiet before she smiled and asked, “But are you alright? Tracey’s been going on and on, non-stop, about rumors about Hermione and—”

Harry coughed loudly, interrupting her. “Isn’t there anything else we could be talking about?” he asked quickly. “We could go back to talking about Quidditch, or—why don’t we talk about your relationship for a second? That would certainly be more fun than talking about mine.”

Daphne laughed, her smirk widening. “Oh? Just wait till Tracey hears that you’re interested in my—”

But before she could finish, the enchanted mirror in Harry’s hand suddenly became scorching hot. He hissed, trying to ignore the burn, but after a second, it became unbearable and after a sharp intake of breath he dropped it, watching helplessly as it shattered against the floor in front of him.

Half a second later, he heard a startled yelp come from the room next to his.

Harry blinked before a grin spread across his face. He quickly stood up and poked his head out of the private study room he had been using. Right on cue, Daphne stuck her head out of the room right beside him. He caught sight of her shaking her hand angrily, her lips pressed together in an irritated scowl.

Harry’s grin widened as he shrugged. “That one was so close.”

Daphne huffed, blowing a strand of blonde hair from her face before eventually stopping shaking her hand and sighed, but a small smile remained. “You’re right. We had almost ten minutes that time,” she admitted, starring at her hand for a second before looking up and meeting his gaze. “And the image was clear the whole way through.”

Harry nodded. “We just need to get this overheating thing under control, and we should be good as long as nothing else pops up.”

Daphne sighed, her fingers still tingling from the burn. "Yeah. I guess, although I thought we had it that time. Especially since it hadn’t lost the sound of our voices around the five-minute mark like the last three attempts."

Harry crossed his arms. "At least we’re making progress."

Daphne nodded and hummed in agreement, then her eyes flicked past him. A knowing smirk tugged at her lips as her eyes widened slightly. “And speaking of what we were just talking about seconds ago …”

Harry frowned and turned, following her gaze.

Coming towards him were Hermione and Fleur.

Hermione looked determined, but there was warmth in her expression, while Fleur carried her usual confident grace.

Harry glanced back at Daphne, who was now leaning against the wall, arms crossed, her smirk widening. “Well Tracey is going to love this. Good luck,” she said teasingly.

Harry sighed, shaking his head as he turned to greet Hermione and Fleur.

Harry barely had time to react before Hermione stepped forward, smiling softly, and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. “It’s good to see you,” she said warmly, her brown eyes full of fondness.

Before he could respond, Fleur took a step past Hermione and mirrored the action, kissing his other cheek. Stepping back, she arched an eyebrow and smiled at him, her voice playful as she teased, “It is good to see that you ‘ave grown much more comfortable with that.”

Hermione blushed instantly, glancing away.

Harry felt heat creep up his neck, but he chuckled, shaking his head. “I suppose as you keep doing it I was bound to get used to it,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck before looking between them.

Hermione quickly composed herself and turned her attention to him before glancing toward Daphne, who was still leaning against the wall nearby. “Are you busy, Harry, or do you have a moment to talk?”

Before Harry could answer, a voice behind him chimed in.

“Uh oh, the great Potter’s in trouble.”

Harry turned sharply to find Daphne smirking at him, her hands raised in mock innocence.

He tried to look stern, but she just shrugged, her expression amused. “I can leave you to it, but I hope you know Tracey will be incredibly upset with me for leaving without getting anything.”

Harry laughed. “Next time I see her in the hallways I’ll make sure she knows it wasn’t your fault.” He pauses and looked at the broken pieces of glass on the floor in his study room before shrugging. “We can figure out the mirror issue this weekend.”

Daphne nodded, grabbed her bag, and, with a flick of her wand, vanished the shattered pieces of the failed enchanted mirror from the floor. As she walked past them, she gave Fleur and Hermione a small nod. “Go easy on him, yeah? I still need him for our project.”

Hermione huffed, shaking her head with a bemused smile, while Fleur simply grinned.

Once Daphne was out of earshot, Harry turned back to Hermione, his expression shifting to something more serious. “Is everything alright?”

Before she could answer, hurried footsteps interrupted them.

“Harry! Thank Merlin I finally found you.”

Colin Creevey rushed toward them, slightly out of breath, his camera hanging haphazardly around his neck.

Harry sighed, already sensing that now wasn’t the best time for whatever Colin wanted. He turned to him and said, “Now isn’t a good time, Colin.”

Colin shook his head quickly. “Professor Dumbledore sent me.”

Harry immediately straightened. That got his attention.

Colin hesitated, suddenly looking uncertain. He glanced at Hermione and Fleur before turning back to Harry and shrugging. “It’s about a dog or something.”

Harry’s eyes widened in realization. Sirius.

He shot a quick glance at Hermione, who had immediately picked up on his shift in mood, and Fleur who was staring at the younger boy with a confused look on her face. “This is important,” he said quickly. He then turned back to Colin. “Thanks for finding me. I’ll head to Professor Dumbledore’s office now.”

But Colin shook his head.

Harry frowned as he raised an eyebrow. “What? Where is he?”

Colin looked slightly awkward as he hesitated before finally explaining, “It’s not that. It’s that the summons aren’t just for you.” He paused, looking at Hermione. “Professor Dumbledore wants to see both of you in his office.”

Hermione’s eyebrows raised in brief surprise before she nodded, determination settling in her features. She turned to Harry and said firmly, “I’ll be there to help with anything I can.”

Harry gave her a grateful look watching as she looked over at Fleur, who was watching the exchange with mild confusion.

Hermione sighed. “We’ll have to continue our conversation later.”

Fleur nodded in understanding before glancing off to the side. Her lips quirked into a small smile as she spotted something. “I suppose I can wait over there.”

Harry followed her gaze and spotted Ron and Lavender sitting at a private table between a couple of bookshelves. Ron was leaning in close to Lavender, who was giggling at something he had just whispered.

Harry turned back to Fleur and smirked. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” he teased with a laugh.

Fleur simply shrugged, her expression unconcerned. “Your friend is not that bad. Or at least … ‘e ‘as gotten better.”

Harry chuckled. “Well, good luck with that.”

Hermione smiled. “We’ll try to be quick, but I’m not sure how long this will take.”

Fleur waved a hand dismissively. “I am sure your friends ‘ave plenty of enjoyable stories about you from previous years that I ‘ave not yet heard.”

Harry groaned. “Oh, I’m sure Ron will be more than happy to share those.”

Fleur’s grin widened in amusement as she headed over to Ron and Lavender.

Harry then turned back to Colin, nodding at him in appreciation. “Thanks for delivering the message. We’re off to Professor Dumbledore’s now.”

Colin gave them both a nod before hurrying off, likely off to find his next photo opportunity.

Harry turned to Hermione. “Let’s go.”

She nodded, and together, they left the library, heading for the Headmaster’s office, both of them bracing for whatever was coming next.

As they left the library, Hermione’s hand found its way into Harry’s. Her fingers laced through his, and he was surprised that her grip felt just a little tense, her fingers wrapping around his own with a kind of hesitancy that wasn’t usually there. But even so, Harry gave her a reassuring squeeze and smiled at her.

She returned the smile but didn’t say anything, her eyes distant as if lost in thought.

They walked in silence for a while, their footsteps echoing softly against the empty stone corridors. The quiet should have been comforting, but Harry could feel the weight of something pressing against Hermione’s thoughts.

Finally, after a few minutes, Harry slowed to a stop, gently tugging Hermione to a halt beside him.

He turned to her, his expression concerned. “Are you alright?”

Hermione stiffened slightly, her grip on his hand faltering before she steadied it and exhaling through her nose. “I’m fine,” she said quickly.

Harry gave her a look, unconvinced.

She hesitated, then took a deep breath and sighed before finally continuing, her voice a little quieter. “There’s just been a lot going on that I didn’t expect. And I—” She bit her lip, clearly searching for the right words. “I’m not always good with these things, and I’m not sure thinking it through is helping much.”

Harry squeezed her hand again, stopping her mid-thought.

She looked up at him, her brown eyes searching his, surprised.

“There isn’t anything that you can’t do,” he told her firmly. “Maybe this is one of the things that you need to trust your gut with and not your head, but no matter what, I’m here for you. Always.”

Hermione let out a long breath, her shoulders losing some of their tension. A soft smile formed on her lips before she leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “Thank you,” she whispered when she finally pulled back.

“Anytime,” he said. Smiling as they started walking again towards Dumbledore’s office, the atmosphere between them feeling lighter.

By the time they reached the stone gargoyle guarding Dumbledore’s office, Hermione seemed more at ease. Harry gave the password and it jumped aside, revealing the spiraling staircase that led up to the office. They passed the statue and climbed the stairs quickly, arriving at the Headmaster’s door.

Stepping inside, they were immediately met with warmth from the glowing candles and the comforting presence of Fawkes, who let out a soft trill from his perch.

But before either of them could speak, a voice cut through the room, clearly having taken notice of their smiles … and their intertwined hands.

“Ah, young love.”

Harry’s head snapped toward the side of the room, his eyes widening at the familiar voice.

The man chuckled. “Like father, like son—apparently interested in the brainy girls.”

Harry barely heard Hermione’s huff of indignation as he locked eyes with the man he had desperately wanted to see again.

Sirius!

His godfather smirked, leaning against one of the columns at the edge of the room with his arms crossed. “Good to see you again, Hermione. You seem to be looking rather happy with this one.” He tilted his head playfully. “Though, can’t imagine why.”

Harry grinned, his heart lightening, and without a second thought, he let go of Hermione’s hand and launched himself across the room.

He crashed into Sirius, wrapping his arms tightly around him in an embrace. “It’s good to see you,” Harry said quickly, barely able to contain the excitement in his voice. He pulled back slightly to get a better look at his godfather. “You’re looking better.”

Sirius barked out a laugh, clapping Harry on the back. “Well, considering how I looked before, that wasn’t exactly a high bar to pass.” He grinned and shook his head. “But yeah every day, I’m feeling better. Having an actual bed to sleep in and an … almost pleasant Kreacher certainly helps.” He shook his head, as if he still couldn’t believe it. “Still having trouble getting used to that one.”

Harry smirked. “I bet.”

Sirius shrugged, but his eyes were warm as he smiled. “But it’s good to see you too, kid.” He returned the hug fully this time, pulling Harry close for a few more seconds before stepping back.

After a few seconds, Harry stepped back, his excitement giving way to concern as he studied his godfather again, searching for any signs of trouble. “What’s this about? Why are you here? Isn’t it safer for you at Grimmauld Place?” He hesitated his expression growing serious. “Is everything okay?”

Sirius glanced toward Dumbledore, who had been calmly sitting behind his desk watching the reunion with a small, knowing smile. The old wizard gave him a slight nod.

Sirius turned back to Harry, and for the first time in a long while, Harry saw something in his godfather’s face that he hadn’t seen since … well, ever. Honest hope.

A slow grin spread across Sirius’s face.

“Everything is alright, Harry,” he said, his voice brimming with excitement. “I’m about to be a free man.”

Kind Regards,

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If you like this content do not hesitate to smash that like button and subscribe. Haha but seriously if you do enjoy the story - do favorite it, other than messaging me or leaving a comment it's the only way I know if you are enjoying the stories and chapters.

Story Note 1 – A small and hopefully enjoyable chapter jam packed with lots of things going on and hints about what is coming up. I do try to stay away from small chapter or chapters ending on cliffhangers but the last couple chapters were a little larger than normal and this one felt like it ended at exactly the right place in order to allow what was going to happen in the next couple of chapters to fit perfectly within the range I’m trying to set.

Story Note 2 – Well happy to see Sirius seems to be feeling good about his chances for freedom any guesses on whats up.

Story Note 3 – Oh Fleur … besides that interesting little almost chat between her, Harry, and Hermione I hope she realizes what she is getting into with respect to chatting with Ron and Lavender. Although certainly might hear some interesting stories! Including some serious ones that Harry might not have felt comfortable telling …

Thanks to those of you out to those of you who enjoy my stories, I promise to keep updating the stories as long as you enjoy them, and a special thanks to those of you who have taken the time to leave feedback or reach out to me directly.

Disclaimer – It has come to my attention recently that I unfortunately do not own Harry Potter. Who knew.