Hey everyone,
So this chapter will have more character action as we will make them get ready for bed and have a few conversations with each other. However, the whole thing of what happened between Harry and Cedric at the end of the Third Task won't be covered, that was covered more than plenty enough in the previous chapter.
Now I will be honest and say that this might be a bit of a shorter chapter as I really don't know what I will be writing about, but I do have a few ideas; one of which is the chapter divided into parts that concern each of the rooms that currently have occupants in them and those occupants having their own discussions about the day.
Huh, sounds like fun,

Venquine1990

Chapter 20
Many Rooms, Many Thoughts

Center Room
Oliver's POV

"Uhm, sorry to ask, but does anyone know what time it is?" I ask, mostly to break the silence that had been caused by the message regarding Cedric's stay in this room until Harry's heart is at ease over the older boy's death and Sirius waves his wand, his eyes widening before he asks: "How did we spend a whole day without noticing?"
And we all look shocked when we see that the Tempus spell he cast reads 19:45 meaning we have actually skipped dinner time without any of the two Weasley stomachs alerting us to it, a thought that makes me suppress a snicker before suddenly Harry is gone and the door to the kitchen slams close with a shocking bang.
Some of us look at the door shocked and then Sirius says: "I think it's safe to say that Harry has appointed himself our official chef while in here. Wonder how Molly is going to take that when she gets here." And at this my friend and his brother cringe before Charlie says: "That is going to be one hell of a fight." And Ron nods.

A little later are all of us eating a delicious meal made by my favorite former team player and Cedric had agreed to share rooms with Harry, Ron and me before suddenly Charlie asks: "Who do you think will be coming in? Other than us, I mean?" And everyone shares looks before I say: "Let's check our other beds and make guesses."
Everyone nods and after it has been established that Charlie has a room with two more beds, that Sirius and Kingsley have three more open beds, that Hermione will be sharing her room with six others, that half the beds in Harry, Ron and Oliver's room are filled and that Fleur, Augusta and Andromeda still have one bed left.
"I think we will have Neville and the twins left, that Hermione has Gabrielle, Ginny and the Chasers left, that Lady Tonks, Lady Longbottom and Fleur have to wait for Mrs. Weasley, that Charlie will probably share with his other two brothers and Sirius and Kingsley – I can guess Remus and Mr. Weasley, but the third escapes me."
Harry says and we all look around as Ron says: "That does make sense – but who will be in the other rooms? You know, the empty ones?" And Harry shrugs before he says: "Either the actual Gods themselves or this Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus. If it's neither of them, then I really have no idea who else they could be for."

"Maybe for students that you're just not that close to. Also, you forgot one bed in my room. Any idea who that could belong to?" Hermione asks the group and everyone turns contemplative before Ron says: "I – I might have an idea. I – I think that bed will belong to a friend Ginny has in her year who she grew up with."
The others nod and Harry says: "I just hope I'm right about either the Heroes or the Gods – though I really wouldn't mind it being the second. Meeting my actual father –." Here the boy holds silent, yet he really doesn't have to continue as the wishful look on his face speaks volumes for all to see and then Sirius stretches and says:
"Well, time to hit the stacks, I'd say." And everyone nods before Harry, Ron and I move over to our room, Harry closing the door off, but then smiling at Ron as he tries to find a lock on it and Harry says: "This isn't London. No Kreacher, remember?" Making me wonder why they would be speaking in codes like that.

We then all dress for bed and as we climb into our very different looking beds, does Ron ask something I have been wondering about myself, just when Cedric floats in through the bedroom door: "Okay definitely something I'll need to get used to there, Cedric. Also Harry, where the heck did you learn to cook like that?"
And just the incredible praise that can be heard in the Weasley's voice as he asks this makes Harry turn a little red before he says: "Let's just say it's one of the only things that actually make me grateful I go back to those Muggles every year." Yet this shocks both Ron and me and Ron asks: "You actually like going back there?"
And Harry snorts before he says: "Of course not, I just enjoy the fact that, no matter how much we despise each other, Vernon is never capable of resisting my cooking and his bloody appetite makes it easier for me to practice my skills. No offense Ron, but I am not always willing to get near a kitchen that has your mother in it."

And his best friend nods in understanding before I say: "We were actually discussing that when you dashed into the kitchen just now, Harry. We were trying to imagine what it would be like once Mrs. Weasley comes here and hears about you having taken over the kitchen before she could." Yet here Harry turns stern and says:
"I'm not worried about that. This kitchen is practically made for Muggles, not magicals and I doubt – even with her marriage to Mr. Weasley – that she will know how even half of the machines in there work." Here I nod in understanding and Cedric asks: "How are those Muggle machines even working?" To which Ron says:
"Maybe they were put there by Lord Hepheastus. He is known as the God of the Forge and whatnot, so maybe he made them." Here we all nod and then Harry says: "I got to admit, Ron, you sure learned a lot in the time we were ignoring each other." Yet I can easily see how uncomfortable the boy feels as he says:
"I had a lot more free time back then, seeing how it was you who constantly had Hermione breathing down his neck." And while I have no doubt that the boy is only telling a half truth, do I just ignore it for getting comfortable under my sheets and think: "Maybe those Percy Jackson books will help him come clean, maybe."

Sirius' room
Sirius' POV

"Kingsley, can I count on you to keep Molly in check once she realizes Harry has claimed the kitchen? I mean, I already saw that the kitchen itself has too many Muggle appliances for her to be able to do anything, but – well, you know how she is and I already know she won't listen to a word I have to say, regardless of – well, everything."
Here the man nods as he actually uses his wand to shave off any possible hairs from his bald scalp and I smirk as I can't help but ask: "Also, is there a reason you are keeping hairs off that bowling ball of yours?" And while the man sends me an unimpressed look back, does he then focus back on the mirror beside his bed and say:
"I may not have told you this yet, Sirius, but I am a married man and – well – as great as my wife is, she always says that once I grow hair, the cut looks just awful on me, so I do my best to keep myself as bald as possible. And unfortunately I was born with the most hair in my year and a dormant Metamorphmagus gift, so –."

Here I nod at the man, feeling quite shocked that I have known the man for the last month or so without knowing of him being married and I ask: "So, what's Mrs. Shacklebolt like?" And the man smiles at me, his smile proving that he is grateful that I didn't continue jabbing at him and he finishes his work as he says:
"She is actually not known as Mrs. Shacklebolt but under her maiden name. This was one of her own choices and her father actually put it in the semi-formal marriage contract he set up between us when we got engaged and it's mostly because we married when the Ministry was known to be full of traitors and filled with uncertainty.
This was before the last war and she just didn't want to be endangered incase my job made me the target of one of the traitors. By the time that era was over with, we were just so used to her being known under her maiden name, we never cared of changing it. Though that era definitely came at a horrid cost."

This intrigues and worries me and then Kingsley sighs as he says: "To put it in the simplest terms, Sirius, I am only half a man – at least down there. I even had to let Healers use magic to change certain organs inside me around so going private wouldn't cause me any pain. That happened almost 3 decades ago now."
This greatly shocks me and I ask: "But I thought you said –." And the man answers: "The traitor stuff in the Ministry is practically the stepping point of Voldemort's regime. It ended in 1972 and Voldemort became truly terrifying between 1973 and 1978, as you well know." Here I nod and then say: "Your secret's safe with me."
The man smiles at me gratefully and while part of me wants to ask so, no Kingsley juniors, huh, do I push down on that urge with all of the power within me before I ask: "Want to hear my secret?" And when the man raises his eyebrow at me, do I roll my eyes and say: "Just because I'm locked up, doesn't mean I'm an open book."

Here the man nods and I say: "I – heh –." Yet here I stop as this is a secret that I have kept to myself my whole life, a secret I know could very well break my relationship with Harry and a secret I know I need to get myself over and done with through sessions with Andy if I don't want that chance to arise, especially when Molly comes.
Then Kingsley sits down besides me, while I am lying on my stomach and lower arms on my bed and I whisper: "I had a crush – on James." The man's body tenses besides me and I laugh cruelly as I say: "Yeah, shocker, right? Just wait till Molly finds out about that. She'll be all over me and will be determined in keeping Harry from me.

Yet, what I felt for James, I could never feel for Harry. James was laughter, James was carefree. He was self-confident, he was arrogant, he was powerful and he knew and acknowledged all of that on a daily basis. He was everything I wanted to be, if only to get out of the shadow my parents tried to cast on me with the Black title.
I never felt like I fitted in with the Blacks, not since I was more or less forced to join the first Family Meeting at age five. Yet James, he made me feel so many things that were so new to me, I – I clung to that. I grabbed onto it and practically imprisoned it within my grasp. And then the hormones came and the rest is, as they say, history."

And with that do I let myself fall down on my crossed arms with a sigh, the pain of losing the only man I ever loved stronger now than it ever had been since that fateful night and Kingsley asks: "Sorry to ask this, as it's obviously painful, but – what about Lily?" And I sigh again as I had seen that question coming and say:
"Kingsley, you love your wife so much, you shave yourself even though your magic makes you grow nothing but a soft layer of dust and fluff, so to speak. I loved James so much I wanted him happy above all else. His happiness fed my own and Lily – she made him happy. I didn't care then and I still don't care now.
James may be dead, but he died doing something for someone he loved. I may grieve for him, but I know he died a death that makes him happy – and that makes it all a little easier to bare and a little easier for me to keep this all a secret. James was happy and that makes me happy – even if I miss him terribly every day."
Here the man nods in understanding and I sigh again, moving myself to indicate that it's time we get some rest before I ask: "You think Remus will be coming here soon?" And the man asks: "Does he know?" Yet when I shake my head, does the man make me smile as he repeats my earlier words and says: "Your secret is safe with me."

Hermione's Room
Hermione's POV

Having taken a notebook and some writing equipment from the study room before heading into my own, I lean against my headboard as I write down whatever unusual or unexpected events happened today – the whole fact that we are in a world where time runs much faster than in the real world back home, not counting along.
This is something I have been doing since Harry first came across one of our main mysteries, yet rather than using it for the sake of solving the mysteries, did I often use the notebooks just for the sake of mental inventory as the mysteries often clashed with my studies and this technique just helped me keep my mind organized.
Oh, I have no doubt that this makes me practically the embodiment of the Classic Ravenclaw, yet I also know it's the fact that I love using my knowledge much more for the sake of the school or my friends just than just for test scores and essays that made the Hat sort me into the House of the Brave instead of the House of the Smarts.

And while there have definitely been downsides to being Sorted there – and there still are thanks to those brats I have to call dorm mates – do I still feel blessed to have been Sorted there on a daily basis, a feeling that started developing shortly after my first Halloween as a witch and that has been growing immensely ever since.
"After all, who's to say I would have been this close to either Harry or Ron if I had been a Raven instead of a Lion? And let's face it, neither Parvati nor Lavender would be able to stand even half of our adventures without needing someone above Mrs. Tonks' level of expertise." I think while snorting in a very unlady-like fashion.

I then lean back yet again and sigh as I go over my notes of the day and while this day had felt a lot shorter than the last, is there one thing at the top of my list that really has me shocked, confused and worried as it's Ron knowledge on the Greek and everything he seems to have learned into the span of a month's time.
"Ron is a lot, but he is not someone who studies that much. He's hiding something that involves him and the Ancient Greek Legends. Is he a – a Demi-God?" Yet while I write this possibility down, do I then erase it and mutter: "No, he knows Harry is one and he seems fine with that. So what is he and why is he hiding what he is?"

Yet even while I come up blanc, does this question still concern me as it proves one very concerning point; even with the lesson he learned over the course of last year, Ron is still hiding something big and either he is doing this because of some law – or because he got ordered to by a power house like the Gods themselves."
And while I write these notes down, do I then sigh and decide to elaborate on them tomorrow morning, making me lie the equipment down on my bedside table before I put my head to rest and as I lose myself to the grasp of the Might God Morpheus, do I think: "I really hope it's just a law for Ron to keep quiet on what he knows."
And with this I sigh before getting consumed by my sudden bout of drowsiness as I can already guess that Harry won't take it lightly when he hears that his best friend is, yet again, keeping facts about his life from him and this alone makes me fall asleep with the concern over whether or not this might end our friendship – for good, this time.

Fleur's Room
Fleur's POV

I will easily admit that I feel a little silly yet also highly honored that the Gods of Ancient Greek have considered me worthy and old enough to room with two ancient and highly honorable ladies, yet while we have all prepared ourselves for our beds, does Mrs. Tonks prove me how great of a professional she is as she says:
"I truly am glad for how incredible the time difference is between here and the real world. It will mean that I will still have a few summer weeks left to work on last minute efforts with my patients if it becomes necessary. I just hope those books won't take up too much of my time and make me unable to help my patients."

Here we all nod and Augusta asks: "You really have your work cut out for you, don't you Andy?" And the woman nods as she says: "Sirius' stay in Azkaban, all the issues we are finding about the Weasleys, specifically Molly, the way that Albus just abandoned Harry with Muggles – and then I'm not even mentioning Harry himself."
This shocks me and I ask: "You think Harry will be the hardest?" Here the woman nods and Augusta asks: "Care to explain why?" And the woman sighs as she says: "One of the reasons is his parentage. He has believed himself an orphan for at least the last decade. To then accept a guardian – of any kind – will be very hard on him.
Harry will definitely go through many stages and sessions, I am sure of that, yet I am also happy to be here. These rooms, even when we don't know them all, are definitely providing me with all the tools I need to help him help himself." This last part confuses me and I ask: "Wait, what do you mean help him help himself?"

And the woman sighs as she says: "No matter how great or talented one may be in psychology and Mind Healing, if the patient doesn't want to be helped or doesn't believe he needs help, there is nothing the Mind Healer can do. So even if, say, Hermione, you, Sirius and Ron tell him to, if Harry doesn't want to, I can't do a thing."
Here I nod and ask: "And you think Harry might not want to?" Here the woman nods and says: "I fear that may be the case. It may not be all too hard to truly convince him, but I do believe we have a few major hurdles we will have to deal with before Harry can truly let himself open up to the possibility of mental healing."
"And what would those be?" Lady Longbottom asks and as the woman speaks, do I find myself agreeing with her more and more: "The first is Harry's own instinctive belief in his fame. Like with the rest of the Magical World it has made him believe that he is to be immune to things like mental or emotional trauma.
He is a kind and gentle lad, yet he also has a severe case of abandonment issues. He will probably deny that anything is wrong with him, simply because he believes that we believe that he is to be without issues. We will need to earn his trust even more than Sirius currently has and then convince him we believe otherwise."

Here we all nod at her and then Andromeda says: "The other hurdle is the most recent event. Harry, I can tell just by what I saw over the course of last chapter that Harry still has a lot of guilt over that event and I doubt we will be making any true progress until Cedric has properly convinced him that his guilt is unfounded.
If we try working with him before that happens, the guilt and his innate fear of reliving it will just make us run up against walls no matter how many sessions we may try to conduct. Harry needs to accept the idea of talking about events like that before he can be helped." And while hating it, do I nod at her yet again.

"Do you believe we may come across any other hurdles whether before or after we start his sessions?" Lady Longbottom then asks and Lady Tonks sighs as she says: "I am basing this solely on what I have seen of Harry so far, what we have read and what I know about her, but – I think Molly might become a hurdle in the long run."
"Why do you believe that?" I can't help but ask, if only because Bill and I are growing closer and I don't want to have any problems with the red-haired woman myself and Lady Tonks sighs before she says: "Going by what I have read and seen about Harry's character, I feel it will come to clash Molly's, especially with her coddling nature.
Harry obviously does not see her like his mother and he seems to have a reason not to be too happy with her at the current moment, yet I am not sure if Molly will be in the know about that. If she doesn't, she will probably be ignorant to it and just try and keep coddling Harry, which his current temper and hormones won't accept."

Here I nod in understanding and ask: "So once Mrs. Weasley arrives –." And the woman nods as she says: "Once she does, we need to instantly make her realize that Harry does not see her as his mother. I can only hope that by the time she does arrive, I will have been able to start a session or two with Harry, at least about his bonds with others."
We both nod and then Lady Longbottom says: "Perhaps – there is a way we can convince him to start at least small sessions." We both look at her and she says: "It's no lie when I say that Mr. Black will definitely need your help. Perhaps, seeing their bond, seeing his godfather take sessions will make Potter more willing to take his own."
Here Lady Tonks nods and says: "Yes, the bond between Harry and Sirius will definitely be detrimental to Harry's healing – and probably Sirius' as well." And with that agreement between the three of us, do we all move ourselves to lie down comfortably and I feel myself falling asleep, worried about the little man.

Charlie's room
Charlie's POV

"I can't believe that – in maybe a day's or two time – I will be sharing a bedroom with the two brothers who are Ron and Ginny's most and least favorite. I really hope Bill can keep a calm head when Percy arrives. Merlin, I hope that Harry is wrong about Percy and that the gods will just keep him out of all of this."
Goes through my head before I sigh as that had been kind of the whole reason I had chosen the Romanian Dragon Reserve over any other Reserve closer to home; the fact that, even though he is the eldest, I had the feeling Bill had left responsibility over the others in my hands and that is exactly the field where my courage fails me.

Yeah, I can face down a dragon and tame and train it without getting even the least bit scared, yet taking care of issues revolving between my siblings – I suck at a job like that and I have known this fact and felt incapable of fixing this flaw in my character even when I was in my third year and Percy started his first.
The boy had had major issues with fitting in with the rest of his House, mostly because he was the only other 1st year male in Gryffindor other than Oliver and even now I wonder how they haven't broken down their dorm rooms with how they constantly fought over their different likes and the importance behind their hobbies.
Yet even after Bill left Hogwarts in Percy's 3rd year and my 5th, did I just not feel like I could do anything other than just keep the boys apart and keep Oliver distracted with talks about Quidditch, while also trying to answer Percy's thirst for knowledge by letting him help me with studying for my O.W.L.s every now and then.
Still, I have always hated the fact that my closest younger brother and I have always been so different in our likes and even our personal hobbies and characteristics as the longer Percy became studious and I grew my love for Care of Magical Creatures, the more I felt that I was growing apart from the boy – and he probably felt the same.

Yet even that isn't an excuse for his behavior and while part of me – the part that still wants to prove itself as a brother than can be there for his younger siblings – really hopes that this is the chance that I turned my back on at Hogwarts, does a bigger part of me feel that the time for that to happen has just long since passed.
"Percy has burned his bridges and unless these books can help us turn his views and beliefs of the world around, there is just no chance for me to have the chance I failed at all those years ago. I may miss my little brother, but I won't chose him over all the other siblings that still care for me." Yet this thought definitely hurts.

I then sigh and decide to do something I haven't done in the longest time. I move to the middle of my room and pull out my wand to conjure a small bit of wood, yet with a simple swish of my wrist, does it change into a dangerous looking dagger, which I then use to slice into the summoned wood and turn it into a small torch.
I then turn the dagger back into my wand and use it to keep the torch afloat above the floor and ignite the top of the torch and then I start digging into my pocket and pull out a dead fox cub, one that had been found by the hunting team of the Dragon Reserve and which was supposed to end up as the lunch of a new dragon.

Instead of that do I throw the cub into the burning torch and as the magic that keeps the torch afloat does the same for the burning cub, do I sigh before I whisper: "Great Lord Ares, the Champion that trains the beasts of legend for your great battles against the darkness in your name calls on your greatness and asks for your advice.
I will soon take part in a war that goes closer to home than any fight should ever take place; my younger brother versus the rest of my family and myself. We hope to fight a battle of the heart and mind, yet – if this fails –." And here I hesitate, but then focus on the whole reason I was chosen as Ares' Champion and hiss:
"If this fails, bestow upon me the power to kill my brother, so he may never strike against my loved ones again, whether in act or word. In your name, Lord Ares, God of War and Battle, I offer this recent kill and pray that you will hear my words and answer my prayer." And with that do I go to bed, falling asleep by the dying flames.

Okay, that – happened!
To be very honest, I have NO idea if this will actually happen. If Percy will really push the others so far, Charlie will feel like coming true to his words or if everything will be settled through either the family itself or outside help, I can't really say. All I know is that Charlie won't be having his room to himself for much longer.
Now I will be honest and say that this chapter took way longer than I expected, yet I saw a chance for full character development from several angles and I felt I just had to take it. Now I will say that I am not sure how I will develop the characters any further from this, but I can promise that this won't be just a one chapter thing.
Okay, have fun,

Venquine1990