HP: The Magical Gamer [Chapter 130: Stern Mum! ] (Patreon)

The only people who knew what really happened were Daphne herself, Harry, Dumbledore, the other Professors, the dead students' parents, the law enforcement and most probably Iris.

Even the Daily Prophet wouldn't be able to answer the real reason for Red Grim's visit. But they did connect the dots and divulged that this Red Grim had been already working in the muggle world for the past few years.

At the end, nothing would come out of this disaster, other than an unsolved murder case which would be talked about for the next hundreds of years.

---------

Voldemort stared at himself in the full body mirror.

Lean body with dark hair and blue eyes. His age, the body's age, 30s or something.

He wore a black robe over a red shirt and black trousers. He had his hair pulled back in a short ponytail.

"This will do."

He nodded at himself. Tonight was Samhain and the time for the pre-arranged fight between him and the little Potter. Hopefully, the little one wouldn't disappoint him or he might need to be killed off for wasting the Dark Lord's time and effort.

He also wanted to see his wife before leaving. But after the fiasco with the enchanted ring, she hadn't talked to him yet, being extremely stubborn and unforgiving. Just like him.

He really wished she would accept his apology and stop throwing her things at him whenever he entered her room. He conceded that he had made a colossal mistake by trying to control his wife's loyalty and love. But from his point of view, it wasn't really that cruel or heartless.

Was it bad that he needed reassurance of her love and loyalty after he sacrificed his freedom for her, after he gave his everything for her? He didn't think so. It was a simple give and take. He bought her love for all the things he gave up for her.

He didn't regret enchanting her ring. He regretted being caught. Damn that cursed meddling Chaos who couldn't stop buggering him at every instance.

It was ironic how a parallel was drawn between Voldemort and his mother due to this very choice. Merope too had used magical means to make Tom Riddle Sr fall in love with her. And following his mother's footsteps, he too had resorted to magic to find love and acceptance.

Thankfully, for Voldemort, history did not repeat itself. Instead of running away from him, his wife was just angry. Very angry and feeling scorned, but it was still a far better outcome than the fate Merope was handed.

Unaware of his similarities with his mother and unthankful of his good fortune, Voldemort concentrated on the one place which he could access in Hogwarts Castle even now.

And then he apparated.

---------

The mood in the Gryffindor common room was sombre. And just like last Halloween, the Potter twins were alone in the entire Gryffindor house. Not that it was easy to dissuade Astoria from remaining behind with them. But Harry managed and persuaded her to accompany Ginny for the Halloween feast.

The siblings sat together on the comfy red sofa, huddled together and contemplating in silence. The threat of Voldemort standing true to his words and coming for him also added tension in the already strained environment.

This day really was a curse for the Potters. Even if nothing tragic happened, the shadow of James Potter's death still ruined the day for them. How could one partake in a joyous feast when that day signified a family tragedy?

Neville too mourned his father's death in his own way. But unlike the Potters, he had gone to the celebration with Hermione. 

He had spent all his free time throughout the day in the Greenhouse and by the time the feast came, his mood had improved greatly and he was able to ignore his heart ache.

"You remember the last time we were alone on Halloween, you asked me for entertainment and I gave you death in return." Harry mumbled in self-depreciation.

Iris rolled her eyes and fell to the side, her head resting in Harry's lap. She adjusted a little and laid on her back, throwing her legs over the sofa's armrest. "Well, the time before the death was entertaining enough."

He scowled at the grinning face of his sister and flicked her on the forehead.

"Ow. Stop abusing me." she grumbled, rubbing her head and glaring at him from where her head was laid in his lap.

"It wasn't a joking matter. You are supposed to act kind and make me feel better." complained Harry.

"Boohoo, you are so hurt and your life has been so tragic. Come here, let me kiss it and make it better." She made a sarcastic kissy face and blew a raspberry.

"Is that an offer? Are you offering me a full-on kiss, sister?" He suddenly grinned, cupping her face and staring at her with a mock serious expression.

She coloured slightly and shot him a challenging stare. "You think you have the guts to kiss me?"

"Won't be the first time. I vividly remember the curious eight-year old Iris practising kissing with the incurious eight-year old me. With tongue and all. I wasn't interested to know what kissing felt like, but I was forced to go along with your plan just because you gave me the puppy eyes." scoffed Harry, pinching her cheeks and chuckling in amusement.

At that, her whole face turned flaming red since she indeed remembered those days. "Don't. Just don't. Please don't make me remember that. Kill me instead. That would be more merciful. Do you even remember how mortified we were when mum caught us?"

"At least she wasn't very angry. She just calmly walked up to us in the garden and said in a no-nonsense tone 'You are supposed to be close, but not that close'. I totally remember that day. I still have nightmares about it. We honestly thought that we did something horrible. Like we killed someone. I recall how you broke into hysterics at the first sight of 'stern mum'."