Chapter 5: The Maiden in the the Tower, the Dragon above, and the Knight racing below.

Occlumency gave a wizard a terrible advantage. Lying at the cornerstone of the esoteric and essential field of mind magic, it had only a few scattered adherents jealously guarding their knowledge. One of the many benefits occlumency conferred upon the user was a perfect, silent alarm clock in their head that would never fail.

Harry was tired when he woke, having gotten only a few hours of sleep. He gently disentangled himself from Ginny, who lay loudly snoring in the sunlight. While he stretched quietly, his mind estimated that it was nearly time for breakfast. As he eyed the sleeping Ginny, an idea hit him.

It wasn't long before he cracked open the window, leaving a slit just wide enough for a snake to pass through. Transformed, he made his way down the sloped outer walls of the Hospital Wing.

The kitchens were bursting with activity when he arrived, house elves rushing about with their strange magic and laying innumerable dishes on four full sized replica tables meant to mimic the tables in the Great Hall. Their location directly below the actual Hall itself made the speedy displacement of fresh food and empty plates from one hall to the other exceptionally easier.

Transformed as he was, he easily spotted Dobby amongst the crowd. The elf had taken nicely to his new position among the Hogwarts staff, and shook Harry's had enthusiastically when he saw him. After having Dobby quickly prepare him a decent sized platter of food, Harry spent a little time transfiguring the mess of dishes, plates, glasses, drinks and silverware.

He eyed the rubber band ball in his hand carefully. It was a tricky way of storing things, and not the best for long distance. Still, it would do the job. The colour of the bands and their position within the ball could easily be mapped to the mass of objects transfigured and their positions relative to one another. He thanked Dobby gratefully by conjuring him a new hat, a particularly festive one he'd seen briefly in Jamaica.

But as he bid goodbye an turned to leave, Dobby began to run towards him, "Wait, wait, Harry Potter must wait. There is another matter Dobby must come to Harry Potter about. A matter most urgent".

Harry paused, his interest piqeud.

Dobby continued, "But Dobby is busy right now. Winky need Dobby or she start drinky while working, Harry Potter come see Dobby again soon?"

Harry promised to come by as soon as he could.

He didn't much care for going back up the way he had come, the sloped walls of the Hospital Wing not nearly as attractive as on the way down. But, it was better than going past Madam Pomfrey and he didn't care to make the trek back into the castle.

It took him some difficulty to get back to the windowsill, given that any noise would most certainly end with Madam Promfrey sticking her head out the window. The gale wind of the Dark Lord that allowed for the true unaided flight would be useless here. Still, he made it back to find Ginny in almost the exact same position he'd left her in.

As he untrasnfigured the rubber band ball and went about setting up the breakfast, he offhandedly thought to check his timetable. With a wince he realized that he'd missed two classes already. While he didn't care about his classes in the long term, given that he wouldn't be staying to complete his OWLs, he had a few unrelated questions that he'd wanted to run past Professor Flitwick. While it wasn't the most pleasant thought, he might as well pick the brains of some of the most talented people in England while he still had the chance.

He woke his ex-girlfriend gently.

As he'd expected, Ginny had been overjoyed to find a warm breakfast waiting for her when she woke.

As they ate, they finally had a chance to properly catch up. Harry told Ginny just as much as he told Ron, with a few exceptions he'd prefer her not to know. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, her mouth munching distractedly at a sandwich as Harry finished his tale. He didn't need mind magic to practically feel the worry and sympathy radiating off her.

At a few points during his story, she'd nearly dropped her food or let out a scream, and once even hopped over to hug him, uncaring of her injured foot. He'd practiced this tale once already, and the lies were so finely intermingled with the truth that even he had trouble telling them apart.

Harry finished the rest of his milk, "So, that's pretty much what happened with me. And again, really Gin, I'm sorry that I didn't write or try to-"

Ginny waved away his worries, "It's not alright and you should have written but... I'll let it go this one time alright Just cause of everything you had going on."

As his shoulder sagged visibly in relief, she added, "But only if you promise me this never happens again, alright Harry?"

She looked him right in the eye as she asked her question, and Harry had the most peculiar feeling that she was using legilimency on him.

If he had ever made a promise he had wanted to keep more desperately than this one, he didn't remember it. She gave a thin smile at his answer.

Harry decided to change the topic, "Well, moving on, how was your summer?"

To someone who didn't know Ginny, her reaction would have been passed off as the minor movements of homeostasis, surely nothing suggestive of any intent to deceive. To someone who wasn't a legilimens, it would have been noted as a small permutation of the body in response to a question, a natural shudder anything could have provoked.

To Harry, it was a sign that something was amiss.

Still, no one had ever called Ginny a quiet girl, and Harry struggled to keep up as Ginny launched into the story of her summer.

"..you should see the parish of the Burrow Harry, it's a joke..."

"...it ended up with mum telling me to stop chopping down the trees in the backyard for wood. But I didn't want to bug Ron, and besides you know how many keys I had to make..."

"...and she just wouldn't leave me alone! I know mum's been lonely since Dad passed away but I can't memorize entire books if she's trying to take me to Diagon every day..."

"... three miracles tucked away in his attic, Harry. Three! One of them turned out to be a braille tome for 'Tears of Denial' though, it's pretty advanced, so Father Aylesbury just let me have it..."

"...and just kept doing those exercises Professor Dumbledore gave me. Eventually Fred and George helped me drag a big rock out to the middle of the lake and make it float, I think I spent half the summer trying to balance one foot on that stupid rock..."

Harry didn't consider himself a good listener.

"...and he still refuses to come back to the burrow. Ron just doesn't get it. He eats with us and comes over to spend time with mom, but he spent the whole summer high off his arse in that cabin in the woods..."

Far too many people had told him that he just didn't have the patience for it.

"...but luckily it was dark by the time he came creeping around. I missed George's ear by an inch. You should have seen the look on his face! But hey that doesn't mean my aim was off or anything.."

But for Ginny alone, he'd have sat through a hundred of these.

That's not to say he wasn't having a good time though. Ginny could talk for hours and hours if she felt like it, and the previous night's good mood still hadn't worn off yet. He'd missed her company so much that he truly didn't mind her monologuing. He'd peppered her with questions throughout, genuinely curious about how she'd spent her summer. It had been far too long since they had done this, just the two of them together. The monstrous mess his fourth year had turned into hadn't allowed for such niceties.

"...and thats when we finally noticed that Scabbers had been hiding in the oven the whole time! Mum nearly made him into a pie! Ron was so mad..."

The sacrifices last year had given him time. Time for moments like this, he thought, moments that made life worth living.

He shared a laugh with Ginny as she described how another Weasley mishap over the summer had nearly set the Burrow aflame. He really did love her he realized, and were it not for her and Ron, he'd have fled Hogwarts the moment Snape had left him alone. In the soft sunlight streaming in through the Hospital Wing window, just them alone under the privacy of a room, he couldn't help but lend every part of his brain towards appreciating just how beautiful she was.

And yet...

No power came without a price, and so to did no magic come into being in absentia. No matter how hard he tried, his mind magic would not let him forget the memory of his conversation with Fred and George. The knowledge of Ginny's peculiar visit, torn from George's mind.

A visit she hadn't seen fit to mention yet. At all.

As she continued to prattle on about her mother's attempt to get the family involved in kite-flying, Harry withdrew into his thoughts, his unconscious mind surfacing as his eyes glazed over.

He considered what he knew. Snape and her local priest had come to the burrow for a visit, sometime in the middle of the summer. The twins had not been home when Snape had come knocking, but Ron had been at the burrow. He kicked himself for not having gone and seen Ron first. Still, Ron had told the twins that they'd come to discuss some scholarship funded by the church with Mrs. Weasley. He'd never heard of anything of the sort, but he'd also been one to sleep through Theology class.

Ginny broke his thoughts by asking him a question. His legilimency had begun working the moment it had realized the inquisitive nature of her tone, springing into action before she had even finished talking. In an instant he had emerged from the sea of his mind, his unconscious giving him both her question and his answer.

"It really wasn't smart of you to do that to Ron's room, especially if you guys actually want him to come back. I think that maybe he'd be more willing to think about it if you hadn't turned his room into a seminary", his tone dripping with sarcasm.

He shook his head as Ginny began to blame her Mum for letting her do it in her first place. He couldn't keep the smile off his face as she launched into a story of how Ron had once set up a shrine to the Chudley Cannons in the dining room. She really was a handful, he thought as he submerged deep in the recesses of hid mind once more.

Ron really was the key. Ginny had left out her meeting with Snape and Father Aylesbury for a reason. She clearly wasn't holding back on the stories right now, and its continued absence only added to her guilt. A few other things didn't add up either. Her exceptional progress, as Snape had put it, over this summer just wasn't normal. From what she'd told him, she'd dedicated herself to prayer and practice.

She had heaped praise on the few simple techniques Dumbledore had written down for her at the end of the last year, but those didn't explain it either. There'd been a peculiar moment in the conversation though, when she'd brought up how useful an old edition of 'Advanced Liturgical Ceremony had been. When Harry had asked why she hadn't bought the latest version, she let slip that it had been a present from Snape, his own copy from when he had been a student of Hogwarts.

He'd not missed the evasiveness in her eyes as she realized what she'd inadvertently said. Nor did he miss her haste to change the topic. Another of the benefits that came with being an occlumens was his perfect memory, and he had no recollection of Ginny receiving such a present from Snape last year.

Which left only one solution. His conversation with the twins and her loose tongue were enough evidence that such a meeting had taken place. But as Ginny continued to blab, obvious to the war of emotions taking place just beneath the face veneer of his skin, he couldn't bring himself to interrupt her. He couldn't bring himself to spoil the moment.

The sun was just too warm. Their bellies were just too full. They'd both missed all their classes today and didn't care one bit. Despite the fact that their little date had stretched into the afternoon, no elderly matron had come knocking on their door. In just this moment that seemed to live forever, Harry couldn't bring himself to do it. In this he was resolved. His magic felt oddly comfortable with his decision, his churning emotions disappearing into the corners of his mind. He took a deep breath and relaxed, just letting her voice full his lungs.

No, he wouldn't spoil this moment by calling her out on her secrets. No matter the potential danger that lay behind them. Red eyes and an invulnerable journal threatened to linger in the back of his mind, but the melody of Ginny's summer drove them away.

Unconscious and conscious mind reunited, Harry rising back to the fore. With a start, he realized that the two had never truly separated in the first place, all his legilimency unable to fully tear his attention away from Ginny.

He'd never seen anything more beautiful than the afternoon sun shining in her eyes, he thought wistfully.

He would truly kill the man who tried to break this moment.

In the end, it had been Ginny herself who brought an end their little pseudo-date.

"I know, I know, Harry, but I have to go to Theology, and Madam Pomfrey says my foot is all fine now," said Ginny, gingerly putting some weight on her previously injured foot.

Harry raised an eyebrow in response, "She also said that you should probably skip class today and stay off it as much as you can."

Ginny didn't seem to have heard him, instead running her fingers over a colourful piece of parchment Harry had made for her, "So, this should be able to hold up to two thousand? Really?"

Harry nodded, pointing to the bottom of the page he replied, "Around two thousand yeah. It's a totally different storage seal from last time, even though it might look kinda similar. I also added an alert charm to warn you if you fall under a hundred keys."

Just as he was about to launch into a small lecture on the differences between the old Heimleinian Space-Time Seals and the new Type-X Seals, Ginny's face launched up to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Harry thank you so much. This is super useful. I still can't get my seals to go above three hundred and they take forever to make," her eyes twinkling as Harry ran his fingers through her hair.

Before he could reply, Ginny seemed to suddenly remember something, "Oh Harry thats right, can you help me out with something else? Is there a way to make these seals faster?"

Harry worked his fingers through her scalp, unsure of what she meant, "What do you mean faster?"

Ginny looked up with big brown eyes, "I mean is there any way to make the keys come out of the seal faster when I need them?"

Harry was slightly surprised by the strange question, "Well, not really. None that I can think of at least. A storage seal is a storage seal, y'know. Don't the keys just come out instantly anyway?"

Ginny shook her head from side to side, playfully trying to throw off his fingers as she did, "Nuh uh! They take forever Harry! It takes like 0.3 seconds for the key to even hit my hand and-"

"0.3 seconds is forever?", Harry asked sarcastically.

She didn't seem to like his joke, "I'm serious Harry. I can like prepare and throw a key in around half a second now. And-"

Harry whistled in appreciation. She squired happily under his petting.

"And I can throw a full hand in around 1.4ish seconds. The problem is that it takes forever for the dumb keys to land in my hand. Is there anyway to make them come out faster?" she finished, her eyes brimming with hope.

Harry hated to shut her down, "Ah damn Gin, I'll give it a look yeah but... I don't think so. See, the time that the key takes to get into your hand after you activate the seal, that time isn't actually the time it takes from the key to move over from inside the seal to out here".

He used his free hand to gesture to the strange marks all over the parchment he had made her, "Like, that 0.3 seconds is the time it takes for your magic to hit the seal. There's actually zero delay in real time when you use a storage seal, cause the thing actually does appear instantly. The delay is from your magic and the distance to the seal and-"

"But I'm always touching the seal, there's no distance to cover," she complained, "Harryyy, isn't there anything you can do?"

She blinked so sweetly as she finished her sentence that the answer had leapt from Harry's mouth before he'd even thought about it.

"Sure, I'll give it a look. Don't worry your pretty little head, can't be that hard right?"

He would come to regret those words.

But right now, almost nothing could have brought him more joy than watching Ginny light up from hearing his words. She jumped up to give him a hug, another kiss coming down squarely over his ear. He playfully shoved her away when she bit his earlobe.

As he helped Ginny by shrinking down her things into a small box that would automatically untransfigure itself at midnight, Harry couldn't help but feel a profound sense of loss as their little moment came to an end. Ginny was dead set on not missing the rest of her classes for the day and nothing Harry said could dissuade her.

"You're going to class too right Harry? Now that you're back and everything, you have to take class seriously. You have your OWLs coming up Harry. Just leave last year in last year, okay?"

For her smile, Harry would have told any lie. Nonetheless, he wondered how she managed to trick herself into thinking that Harry was going to his Herbology class. Yeah right, Harry had some bigger problems to deal with. A best friend that needed him, two other friends that were secretly practicing heresy, Malfoy doing something, a whole bag of profane magic just lying somewhere in the deep dungeons and *two* Dead Apostle Ancestors to hunt.

Even though he had no plans to go to class, he had hoped that the relative proximity of the Greenhouse and the Chapel meant that Ginny would have let him walk her to class. After a whole minute of screeches and shouts of 'I'm a big girl!', Harry had acquiesced to her demands. He still made sure to charm all her things to follow her to class so she wouldn't have to carry them himself.

As they left the Hospital Wing and bid each other goodbye, Harry went in the opposite direction. But, before he had gotten a chance so so much take a turn, Ginny's voice rang out in the empty hallway.

"Harry wait!"

And Ginny came running over.

"Hey so, I almost forgot but the first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up. I was thinking that maybe we should go together, like old times?" her voice was so shy and sweet that Harry almost picked her up right there and then.

He laughed, "Gin, don't be silly. I can take you to Hogsmeade anytime, we're not twelve anymore. Hell, if you want we can go right now and-"

Ginny seemed annoyed by his answer, "No Harry, I meant actually going to Hogsmeade. Like with everyone else and not having to hide and everything. You know, a proper date?"

It took a moment for the implications to hit him.

"Oh! Shit yeah- I mean, of course. We'll definitely go. Just like old times yeah?" he replied, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. He tried his best to disguise the eagerness in his voice.

Ginny smiled and turned with a twirl, her hair spinning about her as she made her way down the hall.

Harry watched her go, occlumency alone disguising the churning sea of emotions within him.

He shook his head and began to walk. He needed to see Ron.

- Post automerged -

Author's Note 3: Before you guys get into the rest of this chapter, I just wanted to say a few things. First up, this is the first scene in this whole thing that I'm actually proud of. Ye, ofc it's littered with grammar issues and bad composition, but there's nothing wrong IMO except for technical execution. That's because I gave this thread ( threads/writing-advice-and-resource-thread.37586/) a long and hard look. This thread is just great, and it doesn't matter whether you're an author balls deep in this or just someone that likes to read every now and then. Srsly just fukken read it. Yes, the whole thing.

A big shoutout to Halt for blowing my mind.

Author's Note 4: It also would help, when it comes to smoothly understanding the writing, to know some basic Type-Moon stuff. In the interest of that, here's a small document that goes into a fair bit of depth about what an 'Origin' is within that universe. You don't have to read the whole thing, just give it a glance if you feel like it. While the story works without you knowing this, it saves me a lot of trouble if you do. ( post/100400275992/todays-subject-origin-others)

Chapter Five (2/2): The Maiden in the the Tower, the Dragon above, and the Knight racing below.

Harry tapped his foot repeatedly outside the entrance to the Room of Requirement. He had a problem.

Even at this time of day, the emerald light burning forth from his eyes cast a bright glow on the grey stone of Hogwarts. He had sped through the halls of the castle, silent and invisible, with his robes and legs transfigured into the grey vortex he'd grown so comfortable with. His morning with Ginny had left him in a strange mood, and he had no desire to walk through the halls with everyone gaping at him.

He had never been foolish enough to cast the flight spell in the bursting halls of the castle during the day, but he had changed greatly from the last time he had been in Hogwarts. He had simply flipped upside down onto the ceilings, propelling himself silently and swiftly above the mass of students rushing about to their classes. It was an exceptionally wasteful way to get around the castle, but Harry didn't particularly care

He needed to talk to Ron.

And now he had a problem magic couldn't solve. His eyes faded back to their normal green as his brow furrowed. Ron wasn't alone. He had felt the presence of a foreign magic in the Room of Requirement the moment his feet had touched the ground. It had only taken a second for his eyes to tear through the veil that separated the Room from the rest of the hallway. By their very nature, mystic eyes could not be fooled any illusion.

He licked his lips as he thought about going in there anyway. His eyes had revealed the presence of at least one person in the Room apart from Ron. The traces he'd seen had seemed familiar, but through the waterfall of magic that separated the Room from reality, he couldn't have identified them if his life had depended on it.

His impatience ground to an end, and he walked past the false wall thrice.

'*I seek the place where all my troubles melt away*'

He stepped into Ron's little palace, his nose immediately crinkling at the thick odour of hash in the air. Harry was quick to close the door behind him, to keep the smell in the Room. He turned around to admire how the extraordinary amount of purple smoke in the room seemed to paint Ron's perpetual sunlight a deep maroon.

Even for Ron, this was an insane amount. Either the Room's ventilatory capabilities had not been able to keep up with Ron...

"Harry!", he hear Ron shout, "Mate you're just in time!"

...Or Ron had turned them off on purpose.

In the centre of the room, Ron stood from his pile of beanbags. Harry noticed three other people sitting around near him, briefly recognizing Lavender Brown in what looked to be a t-shirt three sizes too small. He squinted, trying to make out the faces of the other two through the haze of purple smoke that seemed most concentrated around where they were. Someone with worse eyesight might have missed the little cluster of people in the middle entirely.

Ron had already run up to him, "Mate the hell have you been! I can't believe you missed last night. Shit, come on man I got some people who wanted to meet you."

Without waiting for him to say a word, Ron grabbed him by the hand and led him to the epicentre of the veritable purple cloud that hung in the room.

Harry exchanged greetings with Lavender and the two strangers, a boy and a girl. He squinted through the haze, a memory tugging away at him somewhere. He thought he recognized the boy briefly. Without delay he plopped down right on the empty bag next to Ron.

Lavender was the first to greet him, "I'm so sorry I missed your little welcoming feast, but I had detention that night".

Ron waved her off, "Don't worry Lav, I already mentioned it to Harry. Anyway mate this is Sophie, she's in our year in Hufflepuff-"

Sophie interrupted him, and Harry suddenly realized that she had been holding a joint this whole time, "Its real nice to meet you. We heard lots from Ron."

"-and this is Steve, he's in our year too. Clever chap, fun to smoke up with if you can get him to take his head out of Flitwick's arse."

Steve laughed the hardest at Ron's joke, looking to Harry, "Actually we've met before. Last year we were-"

The memory hit him and Harry blurted out, "We got paired up in Advanced Charms during the Yule Ball preparations! I remember you, didn't Lisa Turpin almost drop the chandelier on you?"

Sophie snorted as she took a hit, nearly coughing as she tried to hold in her laughter, "You never told us that one before."

Steve didn't have the sense to look ashamed, "Well, thats not something I want to remember to be honest. Man, I got so pissed at Turpin after that-"

Lavender pitched in, and Harry couldn't help but notice just how red in the face she was, "Oh my god! Is that what happened between you two! You're such a liar, I heard that she tried to throw something on you because-"

"Hey now!" said Steve, "Let's change the topic back to Harry here. Where were you last night eh?"

Lavender seemed about to continue, but she was happy with Steve's peace offering of a joint instead. Taking it and falling back onto her plush armchair.

Harry looked around the room, "Hell, I got stuck with some work after Ron ditched me. You guys have been at it all morning though huh?"

As he gestured to the small army of rolled cigarettes levitating in the air, Ron gave him an answer, "You bet mate. It's fucking Friday man, finally. Weekends here and we can take a fucking break."

Lavender bobbed her head up and down enthusiastically, "I just came by to pick up my notes from Ron this morning and found these three here. I only had two classes so I thought I might as well stay."

Harry elbowed Ron, "How long have you guys been smoking up this room mate? And why isn't the air working?"

Ron passed him a lit joint, taking one for himself, "Mate shit I've been here since last night. Steve and Sophie stayed over after the party ended cause they didn't have class today we've just been smoking since. Fuck, Sophie tell him about last night".

As he inhaled deeply, Harry took a puff from his own as Sophie began to speak, "Oh it was crazy. Ron knows this Room like no one else. When we all got here there was a sign outside on the wall telling us to wait, and like there was thirty of us at least just standing outside in the corridor."

Steve took over as Sophie paused to inhale,"And then Ron just comes running out saying its not ready and that he needs time and stuff, and Nott starts trying to pick a fight with him but Ron just runs back inside."

Her arm wrapped around Ron's, Lavender said, "And then we're all just waiting for Ron to come out and I swear we all hear Mrs. Norris down the corridor and start panicking. I kid you not Justin and Terry actually ran away two seconds before Ron came out and practically threw us all in. And it was insane inside-"

Sophie made a noise of agreement, "Fuck there's actually no substitute for not seeing it yourself. Like Ron, how did you get the Room to do that?"

Ron seemed to preen under their combined praise, and Harry's legilimency noticed how he took a deep toke from his joint, taking in more air so that he could talk longer. A strange sense of dissatisfaction came over him. This wasn't the best company for Ron to be in.

Ron didn't take a moment before launching into it, "There's actually nothing to it. Like I keep telling you guys the first thing you gotta get before you can do cool shit with this place, is that this place isn't even real. Like mate, we're all actually in a closet right now pushed up against each other. Or like we could be at the bottom of the ocean and it doesn't matter. Like the room can't make you hash or food or water but it can do literally anything else. It's like the rooms a- Uh, like it's a... Fuck, what's the word Harry?"

"An illusion," Harry finished for him, completing Hermione's theory of the Room of Requirement. If only she had been around last year, he thought sadly, she could have seen her theories proven through emerald eyes.

"Wow", Lavender whispered, her eyes wide, "Did you figure that out cause of the Cassandra thing?"

A spike or surprise drove through Harry as he struggled not to turn towards Lavender in shock. He knew that Ron had told her about the nature of his Origin but to mention it so casually with other people around was almost incomprehensible last year!

And yet, he felt no emotional disturbance in Ron. He seemed calm, relaxed even as he replied, "Nah, it wasn't me that figured that out. An old friend of ours realized it. I just realized that if you know the Room isn't actually there, and like if you know that you aren't actually there either, then you can do whatever you want with those two things."

"What can we expect tonight then mate? It's Friday bro, you better have something that-"

Ron cut Steve off with a sharp wave, "You guys fucking see what I have planned for tonight! You're gonna lose your shit, if you thought that last night was good that ain't nothing compared to this."

Sophie seemed pleased by his answer, "Oh man. I heard that Draco was so salty about not getting an invite to your thing last night that he stayed out all night anyway and pretended he had something else to go to. That greasy git is going to be so mad when Pansy decides to ditch him again tonight."

The conversation continued in the same vein. Gossip and joints traded hands as Harry tried to relax. The purple haze felt good in his lungs, and even better in his mind. Ron bought his hash from the weird guy that once got arrested for Public Nudity behind Zonkos, but he'd be damned if it wasn't good hash. Sophie and Steve were fun to be around, and they didn't seem to mind his 'Boy-Who-Lived' tripe either. He was surprised that he had never run into the two of them before, given how genuinely pleasant they were.

An annoying squeal tore him from his comfortable thoughts.

Lavender on the other hand was another matter. Harry eyed the girl with distaste. She'd been the first girl to attach herself to Ron when his potential had become clear. Back when they had been lonely thirteen year olds, two boys who'd just lost their only female friend, Lavender had stepped in to try and fill the void. He had always resented her a little bit for trying to replace Hermione, but Ron was immensely fond of her.

He just hoped that they weren't dating. Ron could have done much, much better.

And yet, his mind magic would not leave him be. The purple smoke he'd so vigorously pumped into his lungs dulled his mind, body and soul. His magic would, consequently, be brought to a more calm state in turn. However, the magic of a magus was not so easily influenced. Wizards and witches would let their bodies intermingle with the lovely chemicals they took to make themselves feel better. A magus was different, their magic constantly burning throughout their very being.

And a magus who was an occlumens? Such an existence would live on the very edge of human and robot. Their thoughts would constantly churn into a precise field of actions that they *must* do in order to relive themselves of their anxieties.

All the hash in the world, and indeed Ron mayhaps lay claim to such a record, couldn't have stopped his mind magic from bringing dark thoughts to the forefront. Memories of a bag of terrible magic somewhere deep below him. Memories of two friends with a massive bag of gold and not nearly enough sense to go with it. Memories of a Princess with icy blond hair imprisoned light years away. Memories of immortals to hunt, an escape to plan and a past to leave behind.

And most of all, memories of a girl who felt like soft marble. A girl of little zealotry but great faith, whose hands moved as fast as lightning.

He felt like he was going crazy, cooped up in the Room with two strangers and a girl he didn't care for. He'd waited patiently but his patience had hit its limit. Harry looked Ron in the eyes as he continued to tell some story about an Augurey he had run into in Diagon Alley. In an instant, he was in Ron's mind.

"... and then Seamus just fell over, right into Fortescue's stand. You should have seen his face when-"

Harry's voice cut through Ron's mind like a knife through butter.

'*Need to talk. Important. Can't wait*'

Ron had immediately stopped talking, his eyes falling squarely on Harry.

"Ah shit", Ron said getting up quickly, "Sorry guys, I just remembered that I had to fuckin' give Harry back his broom. Left it in the damn Owlery. Fuck mate my bad-"

Harry joined him, leaving his near untouched joint on the grass floor. "Took you long enough to remember mate. You wanna go grab it now?"

Ron nodded before giving Steve a fist bump and whispering something in Lavender's ear. He grabbed a random robe lying on the ground, searching around for his wand as Harry waited. Without any further delay, he motioned to Harry and they began to walk to the door. Ron snatched a handful of levitating purple cigarettes out of the air, shoving them into his pocket as they entered the hallway.

"What's all this about mate?" Ron asked, casting a quick charm to try and suppress the odour of hash that clung tightly to him.

Harry let his shoulders droop down as he let his concern show. "Fuck mate I don't know where to start. Listen, I got to talk to you. For starters, there's someone digging around the entrance-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down mate", Ron interrupted, "Not here man. You wanna go for a fly or something?"

Harry shook his head, he didn't particularly feel like trying to balance on a stupid stick, hundreds of feet in the air, while Ron sped circles around him. But Ron continued to protest.

"Oh come on mate, just down to the Owlery yeah? You can show me how much better you got with that fancy smoke spell", Ron said, the whine in his voice giving Harry a slight headache.

"Alright fine", Harry acquiesced, "Just quickly down to the Owlery. We can't talk here anyway."

With that, Ron gave him a smile and began to walk away from him towards the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

"How're you doing Barney?" Ron asked, gently waking the sleeping portrait.

Barnabas shot awake with a loud scream, despite how quiet Ron's voice had been. As Ron desperately tried to shush him, Harry spared a glance down the hallway. It was just about lunch time and the castle would have been packed. If anyone heard Barnabas' shouting and came to investigate, the strong stench of hash Ron took with him everywhere might have given them trouble.

Thankfully, the mad painting seemed to calm down as he recognized Ron, "Oh! Mr. Weasley I thought you were a troll! Good ta see you, how've you been doing? I suppose you'll be wanting your things lad?"

Harry raised an eyebrow as Ron nodded his head, and raised it further still as the tapestry suddenly began to roll up towards the roof. There was a large hole in the wall that seemed to have been carved into the stone by some magical attack. As Ron reached in and retrieved his broom, Harry noticed how the large crack seemed to penetrate the wall like a spiderweb. Similar to how a bolt of lightning might have struck.

He voiced his thoughts as Ron approached. "I didn't know there was a space behind Barnabas. How'd you find that one?"

Ron slung his broom over his shoulder as they walked towards the nearest window. "Funny story there. Last week, few days after we all got back, I tried to get into the Room but couldn't. Ended up talking to Barney and finding out he's not all that bad. He's barmy yeah but who isn't around here?"

Harry couldn't argue with that. Still, the scar in the wall had made him wonder. He voiced his thoughts while Ron unlatched the window.

"That big hole behind the tapestry, did Barnabas tell you what caused that?"

Ron simply shook his head. He looked out into the distance, trying to spot the Owlery down below. "Alright mate just a straight race to the tower yeah? Unless you wanna go around the lake and-"

Harry interrupted him by launching himself out the window so hard he threw Ron back a good foot, a loud boom filling the corridor. The windows thrashed madly as Harry thrust himself into the clear blue sky. He spared a quick glance behind him as he fled deeper into the air, happy to see Ron's shellshocked expression as he still lingered by the window. Yeah right, like he wasn't going to take the head start. He needed all the help he could get keeping up with Ron's speed.

"Harry you piece of shit!"

Harry heard the whoosh of Ron's broom taking off into the air. Harry had elected to shoot upwards into the sky, a choice necessitated by his means of flight. He didn't need to look behind him to see Ron, who had shot forward like a bullet towards the Owlery tower. Ron had a smaller distance to cover, and a faster way of doing it, but he didn't have Harry's versatility.

With a start, Harry crossed his elbows in front of his chest and threw them back as hard as he could. The wind wind cut across his face and would have torn his glasses right off had they not been charmed. The vapour trail at his feet burned brightly as bright red fire replaced the normal plumes of dark smoke. Harry grit his teeth as the magic forced his forward momentum down to his feet. The heavy deceleration burned hot against his skin and robes, the air heating up as Harry pushed the limits of his wand. For all his faults, the Dark Lord had been a true genius, and Harry struggled to overlay the Combustion Modifier to the already difficult flight spell. However, all his training had not been for nothing, and he angled his head sharply downward as he approached the apex of his leap.

While Ron had elected to fly, Harry had chosen to effectively jump. The flames at his feet turned into a smokey explosion that churned brighter and brighter as Harry began to come down towards the tower. He saw Ron under him, his broom leaving a bright trail as Ron desperately tried to overtake Harry. Then, the explosions at his feet began to intensify, a hundred feet above Hogwarts castle a sudden fear came over Harry.

He began to disentangle the spell as fast as he could, noticing that the flames over seemed to be increasing in potency. His mind went blank as occlumency kicked in on instinct. Time itself seemed to slow down as Harry worked his way backwards, countering magic with magic as he struggled to hold the fire from imploding in on itself. He fell in slow motion, Ron nothing but a tiny blip below him moving slowly like an ant. He felt his eyes come alive as the word slowed to a crawl. He quietly thanked the Princess for her training. He wouldn't have survived this foolish use of magic otherwise.

It lasted a only a second, the wind returning to scream in his face as his eyes returned to normal. He felt the heat die down in his legs and they churned violently, the former plumes of black smoke reemerging.

By the time he landed on the balcony, Ron was already waiting for him. Harry noticed with some annoyance that Ron had already somehow smoked a quarter of a joint.

"Jesus mate that was some nice speed you picked up there. Couldn't keep it up eh?" Ron's tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Harry wiped the sweat from his brow and eyed Ron distastefully. "I've told you and Ginny a fucking hundred times, it's not a spell meant to compete with a broom. Do you realize what I almost did up there? The only time this spell is designed to go fast is when the Dark Lord decided he really wanted to feel like a muggle missile."

Ron gave him a raised eyebrow and held out a joint. "Listen mate, why don't you just stop whining, take this and tell me why we're out here?"

Harry took the proffered cigarette gratefully, leaning his back against the walls of the Owlery. They had both landed on one of the strange secluded balconies that littered the upper floors of the tower. Reachable only by flight, students over the ages had committed all sorts of depravities here. Harry wasn't fond of this place, but was just glad he hadn't stepped on a condom this time.

He lit his cigarette without using his wand, the simple magic now a casual thing. He inhaled deeply and turned to Ron. "Fuck, like I said mate, don't really know where to start."

Ron eyed him carefully, and it was in these times that Harry truly came to appreciate his friend's emotional intelligence. "Alright no worries, why don't you tell me about what's bothering you the most and we work backwards from there."

Harry took a deep inhale and gave his friend a smile. "Well, the thing that's honestly bugging me the most is Ginny. So, we talked-"

"Ginny!" Ron exclaimed. "Mate are you serious? I thought something real was going down. You dragged me out here for this? Fuck, Steve was about to leave Harry! I was going to try and talk Sophie and Lav into a-"

Harry interrupted him angrily, "Fucking hell Ron I am being serious. I'm not just shitting around all day, there's something up with Ginny, and you know I'm not wrong."

Ron held up his hands defensively, a little worry in his eyes. "Calm down mate, I didn't mean it like that. It's just... Well, I mean it's Ginny yea? What exactly is-"

"Why didn't you tell me about the fact that Snape came over to the burrow during the summer. And you were there when he came over", Harry said.

Ron seemed to freeze, every muscle coming to a halt. As Harry desperately resisted the urge to use legilimency, Ron took a toke from his joint and turned to Harry, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Shit, sorry about that mate. Yeah, I left that out. Listen, Ginny asked me to. Said she didn't want to tell anyone until it was final and I didn't think it was a big deal-"

Harry couldn't help but take his frustrations out on Ron. "Snape coming over to the Burrow isn't a big deal? Fucking Snape Ron?"

Ron looked guilty as he conceded to Harry's point. "I know, I know mate. When the greasy git showed up at the house I thought I was in the middle of some weird nightmare or something but... Look, Ginny asked me not to tell anyone until it was confirmed. And like, she specifically told me not to tell you about it."

Harry really was getting annoyed that Ron just wasn't getting to the point. "Tell me what what until it was confirmed?"

"Well, I don't know what it is exactly but Snape and Father Aylesbury just showed up one day in July. I actually answered the door, nearly crapped my pants when I saw the git's face on the other end. After that they had tea with mum and Ginny for like an hour. I went home in the middle", Ron replied.

He took another hit from his cigarette, blowing hazy purple smoke into the wind. "After that I came back later for dinner. Ginny was jumping up all over the place mate, you should've seen her. I hadn't seen her that happy in a while. She couldn't even sit down to tell me what Snape had come for. Mum filled me in, said it was some huge church scholarship. British kids almost never get it or something. Apparently it was a big deal."

Harry furrowed his brow. "I've never heard of any scholarship like that? Did your mom tell you why Father Aylesbury came along? Or when it'd get confirmed?"

Ron shook his head. He raised an eyebrow and spoke carefully, "Nah mate. Ginny grabbed me, told me not to tell anyone, especially you, until it got confirmed. I'm guessing she just wanted to surprise everyone, you most of all. Hell, you know how much she looks up to you."

Ron always had a way of quelling Harry's anger, and the potent mix in his cigarette wasn't too bad either. Still, the whole situation nagged at him.

"Mate, it's not just that", Harry replied, "She got crazy good with her Black Keys over the summer. Crazy good Ron, like inhumanly good. And from-"

Ron laughed. "Is that what's bugging you mate? She trained her ass off this summer she did. Go ask her about that stuff, she doesn't shut up about it."

Harry shook his head. "It's not that Ron. No matter how hard she could have trained, or how much time she spent praying, you can't just learn that shit in three months. Look, even the best executors of the Church, the best of the best, can only hold four black keys alright. Ginny can hold three, what does that tell you?"

Ron snorted, purple smoke poofing out of his nostrils. "It tells me that she's probably gonna get that scholarship. I didn't know it was that special. I mean, I've seen people in Diagon Alley do crazier shit but what do I know."

Harry was a little surprised by Ron's remark. Just how little had Ginny told him? Or maybe he hadn't bothered to learn. He spoke slowly, "Ron, that shit Ginny's doing. Yeah she's just making and throwing a knife but, you realize there's no magic in there right? Like, none. Even a muggle could do it."

Ron's eyes widened as a smile came over his mouth. "You're shitting me! Fuck that is impressive mate. No wonder Snape decided to come all the way down, bet he wants to make his name as the guy that discovered Ginny. How do you even do that shit without magic?"

He didn't hear Ron, his mind spilling out anxieties and worries. "Fuck mate, it just doesn't add up. How did she manage to pull it off so quickly? Ron, mate in the last fifty years I can only think of one dude who pulled that shit off at the same age."

He paused, looking Ron right in the eye. "One dude that later went on to become a cardinal and get excommunicated."

Ron paled instantly, not missing the reference to the omnipresent threat that had dominated the last quarter century. "No, no mate listen. You got it all wrong, it can't be. You're just-"

"Why not?" Harry pleaded, he really did want Ron to put his mind to ease.

"For fuck's sake Harry it's the church!" Ron exploded, his arms waving about. "The church Harry, you think they'd let that shit fly? If she was still- No, if she had ever been... If there had been anything to worry about on that end then we could have caught it a long time ago. That's why Dumbledore put her there!"

Before Harry could reply, Ron's hand came down on his shoulder and he blew a plume of purple smoke right into Harry's face. "Mate, listen, I think you got some other shit worrying you. I mean for fuck's sake it's you and Ginny. Come here, lets sit down."

Ron pulled him towards the edge of the balcony on the inside of the tower. The floors were filthy, dried bird shit being the least of his worries as Ron pulled him to the ground. He felt strange, like he was watching the scene from far away. Ron's hand on his arm felt like the touch of a ghost, and his head was spinning.

His mind magic was falling prey to his internal anxieties.

"Here mate", Ron said, handing him another joint, "You look like you need this."

Harry took it without a word, lighting it the moment it touched his mouth. He hadn't even realized that he had dropped his last one. Or maybe he had finished it?

Ron sat down opposite him watching him smoke. He had a wise look on his face that seemed out of place on such a young man, and his bright blue eyes briefly cast a shadow on his face that made him look like Dumbledore for a moment.

His voice was quiet as he spoke, "Mate, after last year, after you and Ginny ended shit, I always thought that you guys were gonna get back together the moment we got back to Hogwarts. Hell, you could've come to the Burrow and stayed with me and I guarantee you'd have been hitched already but..."

He looked harry straight in the eyes, and Harry struggled a little under the intensity of his gaze. "But you pretty much vanished on us. After everything that happened, I mean I sure as hell wasn't equipped to deal with all of my own shit, forget Ginny's. She took those exercises Dumbledore gave her to crazy levels man. I'd find her out in the lake trying not too fall off her little rock in the middle of a storm!"

His hand came down firmly on Harry's shoulder, and Harry felt a strange spike of guilt tear through him. "You weren't there mate, so she used what she had. And if all she was a couple of old books and some dumb exercises from Dumbledore, then that's what she did. Mate, Ginny's not the one being weird here. You are."

He finished his monologue by putting his joint out on the floor, and in the ensuing quiet of the Owlery Harry could have sworn that Ron had shushed even the owls into silence. His mental magic thrashed in his head, like instruments playing in Ron's orchestra.

Ron threw back his head as he seemingly produced another joint, already lit, and began to talk, "Fuck mate! It's not even that. Sometimes I wonder how you top the class when you're such an idiot."

Harry didn't mind Ron's remark. His curiosity only grew as Ron took a deep puff, and he couldn't stop from trying to hurry him. "What's thats supposed to mean?"

Ron looked at him carefully, and Harry had the feeling that he was being treated at like a fish in the market. "Listen mate, we're good friends. Fuck, we're brothers yeah?"

Harry was surprised by the question, but didn't have a moment's hesitation. "Yeah, of course. Shit I mean, always yeah."

Ron nodded. "That's why I'm gonna say this, cause I think you need to hear it mate. Harry, you know why I'm not jealous of you?"

The question broke into his thoughts like a truck smashing through a window. He was utterly speechless, not having expected the question in the least.

Ron didn't seem to have meant for him to answer, continuing, "I mean, you're Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. You got all the bitches going crazy about you. Fuck even Gin wouldn't shut up about you before Hogwarts. You're rich, you're jacked and you're fucking smart. Fuck mate you're not just smart, but you're fucking talented as hell. Shit I've seen you do things with a wand that-"

"Not that I don't mind the free hand job", Harry cut in, his voice joking but quiet, "But what're you trying to say?"

Ron gave him the finger for interrupting him, but continued otherwise without pause, "It wasn't that I was always chill with it. Fuck, I used to be pretty jealous of you mate. You know that. You might not have said it but you know that. You remember the day that all changed?"

Harry wondered where Ron was coming from, or how this all related to his issues with Ginny, as he shook his head.

"The day we cracked the code to the Chamber of Secrets. The day Ginny got 'taken' in there and you, me and Hermione decided to fuck it and just go in ourselves."

Ron shook his head slightly as he recalled the memory. Harry noticed the faraway look in his eyes and wondered what it was.

"Fuck, I still shit my pants thinking about it. My fucking leg's broken and Hermione's just fucking crying over me. Jesus fuck man, I remember Ginny on the floor and Riddle and you talking. The rest of us, me, Ginny and Hermione, we just fucking shut down right there and then. But you mate..."

Ron took a deep toke and looked at Harry with something akin to awe, "You fucking didn't give two shits about Riddle or the fact that he had your wand or that Ginny was just lying there, dying. Nah, you fucking took on Riddle's massive death monster... Jesus mate. I don't even remember the fight. I remember seeing that fucking giant snake, and, fun fact, I actually did shit my pants right there and then."

Harry couldn't have stopped the laughs from leaping fro his mouth had he tried. "You never told me that", he said softly.

Ron waved him off, ignoring his comment. "I don't remember the fucking fight cause the last thing I got to see was you shouting at us to close our eyes. Then I remember Hermione crying and praying over and over again on top of me. Riddle fucking screaming and then... whoosh! Fuck, I heard that snake scream when you killed it Harry. You fucking called down a Phoenix to drop you a hat and then killed a fucking Basilisk to save my sister. With a fucking sword!"

Harry was shocked at the sheer awe in Ron's voice. He remembered it all going down very, very differently. He had actually soiled his pants during the encounter as well, but the urine had been easy to hide. Still, it had gone down nothing like Ron had said... Was that really how people saw him?

"With a fucking sword", Ron repeated, "Jesus mate don't you see it?"

Harry couldn't stand it anymore. No, he did not get it. Not one bit. He voiced his confusion, "No Ron I don't. How does this relate to Ginny or-"

"You're such a fucking retard Harry", Ron said flatly, squarely shutting him up.

He exhaled directly towards Harry's face. "Mate, I know you're muggle-raised and your brain works different, but it's not so simple. Harry, listen to what I'm saying. The fucking Twelfth Dead Apostle Ancestor, the fucking Heir of Slytherin, took control of my baby sister and took her down to the Chamber of Secrets, where he was going to use her to come back from the dead. You with me so far?"

Ron continued without giving him a moment to reply, "Then, there you are. The fucking Boy-Who-Lived. Your friends are fucking useless, crying in the corner while Lord Voldemort takes your wand and decides to fuck you with a fucking hundred foot long snake that kills you if you look at it! And what do you do? You summon a Phoenix, somehow pull the Sword of Gryffindor out of your ass and kill it! A twelve year old boy slaying a Basilisk with a sword!"

Harry really remembered it differently, "Jesus Ron, you can stop sucking me off now mate. Fawkes did all the work. Shit, I crapped my pants too Ron. I'm not any different from-"

"But you are mate!" Ron interrupted, his eyes wildly alight, "Harry don't you see, you're the fucking chosen one or whatever mate. You know those old stories of knights saving the princess from the tower guarded by the dragon? Harry, that's not just some kids bedtime story, it's real. Old magic mate, way older than you think. You fucked the Heir of Slytherin and killed a Basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor to save Ginny, and I don't know what that means or anything, but it sure as hell doesn't mean nothing! That is when I realized that, yeah it might have looked like you had a good deal, but man Harry I would not want to be in your shoes mate. Nah, couldn't handle your life at all."

Old magic. Ron's words seem to stick in his ears. The room felt vibrant and alive, his friend's eyes replaced by Dumbledore's. Without missing a beat, the thought of Ron's Origin came to his mind.

"That's why you don't have to worry about Ginny", Ron continued, "Cause in the end she's she princess in your story or whatever. In the end, the good guy always gets the girl mate. Don't waste your time worrying about stuff that's not even there. Focus on just spending time with her, chill out yeah?"

Cassandra, he thought sadly. Ron had stunned him into a silence, and was now simply smoking his joint and enjoying the natural breeze. Cassandra, the Ancient Greek sorceress who had been documented in myth and legend as the, ultimately correct, prophetess who would never be believed by the populace.

Most people had a simple Origin, and most went their whole lives without ever learning theirs. The Origin of the self was an ancient concept, that took years and years of study to materialize. Most wizards never bothered to learn their Origin, let alone try and use it. To touch one's Origin was a terrible curse, a regression in time and space that nature would not generally allow. However, magic had the odd tendency of pushing nature in the opposite direction, and amongst the most learned magi of the world there were those who relied wholly upon their Origin in combat.

Yet the road to reach one's Origin was arduous indeed. Most people, regardless of the situation they found themselves in, would never regress to their Origin. It was simply unnatural.

And yet it was also bizarrely unnatural to have a person as one's Origin.

Harry eyed Ron's red hair. Dumbledore had told them that, in the oldest tales, Cassandra was said to have had burning red hair that attracted the sight of the god Apollo. In their Third Year, when the traitor Black had prowled the castle and Hermione had gone missing, Ron's Origin had come screaming to the surface. His agony had been unbearable.

The truth of Ron's words weighed heavy on his shoulders. The knowledge of his friend's Origin lay in his mind like a curse. No, he would not let Dumbledore's fear become reality. Origin or no Origin, fate or free will he didn't care, he wouldn't let his friend perish like Cassandra.

Harry licked his dry lips. "Shit mate, you really shut me up. I didn't mean to doubt you or anything, you know it's just-"

Ron waved him off, handing Harry another joint. With a start, Harry realized the last one had fallen from his grasp during Ron's pseudo-speech. He took it gratefully.

Ron stood up and dusted off his robes. The wind in his hair and his burning blue eyes looking out into the empty sky, Ron looked bizarrely mature to Harry's eyes, despite the cigarette sticking out of his mouth. As the purple smoke worked its magic down his lungs, he felt himself give into it for the first time. The tension in his shoulders began to slip away. He remained with his back to the wall, letting his leg dangle off the edge of the balcony while Ron stood. They looked out to the castle together, quietly observing the throngs of students making their way from class to class.

"Shit man", said Ron, "I feel a little guilt playing hooky again today after seeing everyone done there."

Harry thanked God for the one small blessing that the Lord had let him have in this life. He'd never known real peace, or real family. But, here with Ron and in the Hospital Wing with Ginny, he felt like he had both. The one kindness God had seen fit to allow him was to let him stumble into Ron's compartment on the Hogwarts Express.

Harry let out a chuckle as he thought of what Ron had said. Had it all really been a coincidence? After the Dursley's had left him alone at the platform, roaring with laugher as they sped away, Harry had been just a frightened boy scared and alone. Then, he'd overheard a matronly woman, who would years later become the closest thing to a mother he'd ever known, scolding her children on how to get through. Something had driven that shy eleven-year old to ask the big happy group for help. They had arrived at exactly the same time, he and Ron, but only one of them had a family.

And, Harry thought as he looked up at his friend, Ron had seen fit to share. His hand came up to wipe the lingering moisture that had grown at his eyes.

"Anyways mate", Ron said, bringing their silence to an end, "You said that Ginny was the biggest problem you had on your mind. Man, you can be really dumb sometimes. So, what other tiny little problems did you have eh?"

Harry laughed. He felt much better, and with purple smoke in his lungs and bloodshot eyes he felt great.

"Shit, so you're not gonna believe this but I actually went down to the Chamber last night."

"Oh fuck dude", Ron said, "What for?"

"So, last time I was here I noticed some weird notes and scrolls hidden away in the Chamber", he lied, not wanting to disclose the real reason he had gone down there, "And I just sort of left them there. I didn't want to take them out, and the year was over. Well, since I got back I thought I might as well go grab them yeah?"

Ron eyed him warily. "Sure, I guess. What kind of shit was it?"

Harry felt a little uneasy, but he didn't want to lie anymore to Ron. "It was some pretty fucked up stuff. I couldn't understand any of it, truth be told. It was written in a crazy cipher. I tried deciphering it in the Chamber, but it was like nothing I had ever seen before. It wasn't anything like the rest of Slytherin's Blood Magic, that's for sure."

Ron nodded, urging him to continue. Harry didn't need legilimency to tell that he disapproved though.

"Anyways, cause they were so heavily ciphered they were hidden pretty well actually. Whatever they were though, the strong cipher wasn't even close to enough to mask the smell. You could've sensed these things a mile away. I thought I might take them back up, yeah, give them a look?"

"Shit Harry", Ron replied, "This sounds a lot more heavy than your other problem. So, what happened with these books and all? Don't tell me you accidentally blew up the Greenhouses or something?"

Harry shook his head. "Nah, here's the thing. So, when I left the Chamber I noticed that someone else had come down to the Maze while I had been in there. That was fucking weird, so I decided to follow them. They fucking weirdest shit happened man. I followed whoever it was all through the maze for like an hour. We went past all the exits, even the one that goes under the lake. Whoever this shithead was, he didn't act like he knew what the maze actually looked like on a map. Or, at least that's what I thought."

Ron seemed alarmed by his pause. "What do you mean 'that's what what you thought'?"

Harry winced. "Shit mate I fucked up real bad. Whoever it was just vanished on me. Fucking down in the dark I ended up losing whoever it was. I must've chased them for like an hour and a half but they just fucking vanished. I'm telling you, there's no exit that deep in the maze, and the trail just vanished."

Ron took in what he said quietly. He turned away from Harry, puffing away furiously at his joint. "Alright, not good. That place is messed up Harry, there's no reason to go that deep. They built a whole new one for the Triwizard Tournament for a reason you know. If we had the map, we could've given it a look but hey no harm, no foul yeah?"

Harry had been delaying telling Ron the crucial part of the story the entire time. "Mate, there's something else", he said, "While I was chasing this fucker down there, I dropped all the shit I brought with me down from the Chamber. I don't know what happened to it but-"

He stopped talking as he saw Ron's composure disappear in an instant. His friend turned deathly white, whirling around so fast to look at Harry that his cigarette fell from his mouth.

"What the actual fuck Harry! What the fuck! You left that shit down there!" he shouted, eliciting howls from owls rudely awoken.

Harry was taken aback by his sudden change. "Shit, I- Yeah I did but it can't be that big of an issue. Only a handful of people know about that place and we were so deep-"

He paused as Ron begun frantically shaking his head.

"No, no. Mate fuck I forgot to tell you. The night after the Welcoming Feast, first day of class and everything, I thought that it would've been a sick idea to have a party. You know for everyone to get over last year and just celebrate coming back with a bang yeah?" Ron said.

Harry nodded, not getting at what Ron was saying.

"I mean- It was my idea but like- Fuck, Katie and the rest of the team helped out and- Bloody hell Harry what were you thinking!" Ron said, his voice getting dangerously high pitched.

"Ron, I don't get it", Harry said as he stood up, "What does that have to do with this?"

"Mate we had the party down there. Like a hundred people, at least", Ron replied, "We decked it out and it was crazy, smoked up the entire maze and people were using it to make out and shit Harry, practically everyone knows about the entrance to..."

Harry's jaw nearly hit the floor. He regretted any associations he had made between Ron and wisdom.