Author's note: 6-19-2021: First off: Happy Juneteenth. Finally, it is officially recognized. Yay! Secondly, I'm sorry it is taking me so long to post these days... it was a very intense school year. It was all good - just took a lot of my creative energy. I appreciate how understanding you all have been. Thank you!

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Harry shook out his staff while he asked it to direct him to Hedwig. He shoved the carrot in his pocket and hurried toward Hedwig's urgent hoots. He closed his eyes as he neared the entrance, the bright light making him wince. The distance seemed much shorter on the return trip.

"Hedwig!" he called, choking on the dust he stirred up in the corridor.

Her hoot in response was much calmer and his heart started to slow. She was alarmed because he had disappeared… there wasn't a threat.

His staff tinged against the bottom stair, and he climbed up into the warm, July air. Hedwig's wings cuffed him on the forehead as she dug her talons into his shoulder. Nio hissed in protest.

"Oi! I'm all right. We were just exploring. Oi! Lighten up!" Harry slipped a finger under the talon gripping his shoulder. "You're hurting me."

Hedwig cooed in apology, bobbing on his shoulder and shifting her weight while she lessened her grip and Harry ran his fingers through her downy belly feathers.

"You've got to check this out. It's brilliant!" he said, pivoting on the stair and finding the adjacent wall with his free hand. She started to lift off his shoulder, but then grumped acquiescence and settled back down, nipping at his ear. Nio tightened on his neck, shying away from Hedwig's talons.

Harry closed the stone opening at the bottom of the stairs. Hedwig hooted in alarm again, but he assured her that it was easy to open. She grumped and tightened her grip.

"The owl doesn't like being underground?" Nio asked with a feigned innocence.

"No, it's really not her thing," Harry said, wincing as her talons dug in.

Harry found his way to the spring more quickly this time… he heard it's quiet bubbling earlier now that he knew what to listen for.

Hedwig hopped down from his shoulder as he bent over to find the edge of the spring with his outstretched hand. Her talons scratched on the stone as she found a purchase. He rubbed the sore spots on his shoulder then felt along the stone wall until he found a place where he could sit next to her. She was moving back and forth on the ledge next to the water and he reached out to try to figure out what she was doing. Her feathers were wet.

"Are you bathing, then?" he asked with a laugh.

Hedwig growled in response and he took his hand away when she shook her head, sprinkling him with droplets of water. Harry took the carrot out of his pocket, dunked it in the pool to get the pocket lint off and crunched into it. It was so tasty that he even tried eating the leafy tops, but they were too bitter. He followed the edge of the pool to the alcove and pushed the carrot top into a corner the alcove floor and climbed up into it to grab another carrot, pulling out some wriggling worms for Nio at the same time.

He climbed down, shook the dirt from his hair, and found a comfy spot next to the spring, where he could lean against the cool wall and rest his arm on the low wall surrounding the spring. Nio slid down his arm to eat his meal on the wall. Harry ate the second carrot more slowly, savoring the crisp sweetness.

He yawned and stretched. He was nodding off, but the spring's constant spray of water kept waking him up so he decided to see if he could find a spot that was a little more dry. He stood up and shook out his staff and walked around the spring to check out the other alcove that Nio had described. It was also full of carrots hanging from the ceiling, as well as rounder vegetables that Harry guessed were turnips. He wrinkled his nose at the memory of Aunt Petunia's stewed turnips.

He started exploring the tunnel on the other side of the alcove when Nio spoke from the floor behind him, asking where he was going.

"Oh, I thought you were sleeping. I was just trying to find a drier place to take a nap," Harry said as he bent down and stretched his hand toward the little snake. Nio coiled around his wrist and suggested that he try the tunnel entrance just beyond the one they were in. Harry held his hand up to his neck so that Nio could transfer to a more stable perch.

Harry took a few steps and noticed that the surface of the floor changed from slightly uneven dirt to smooth stone. The taps from the silver tip of his staff echoed off the stone giving him a sense of the space in front of him.

"Is it a small room?" Harry asked.

"It looks rather spacious to me," the snake replied.

Harry reached up above his head sensing that the lintel was low. It was high enough that he didn't have to bend down, but he guessed that Ron would have to if he were here. The entryway to this space was almost a perfect circle, except where the wall met the floor and it was bordered by small tiles that were precisely placed. Harry stepped into the space and reached forward with his staff and his left hand. His hand followed the wall and his staff found another wall right in front of him. He was confused because the wall under his hand made it seem as if the space were bigger than the wall at his feet indicated. He reached forward into the space above his staff and found that it was empty. When he lowered his hand, he found an earthen ledge carved out of the wall. He held his staff in the crook of his elbow and bent over, following the contours until he determined its full size and shape.

"Is this a bed nook?" Harry asked Nio.

"A what?" Nio asked.

"A place to sleep?"

"Looks like it could be for you," Nio conceded.

Harry crawled onto the ledge and laid down on it. It was not only long enough for him to stretch out completely, but he could also extend his arms above his head without touching the other wall. He hurried down and toed off his shoes, then summoned the velvety dress robes from his staff as well as some shirts that he stuffed into his book bag to make a pillow. He pulled the invisibility cloak around himself as he laid down on the cloak-covered ledge, pulling at it until it was comfortable and the ties weren't digging into his wrists.

Nio slid off his neck and coiled up under his chin. There was a burst of dust and wings as Hedwig joined them that roused Harry as he was starting to drift off. She settled on the ledge by his feet, turning around a few times with a couple growls and then quieting down.

Harry drifted asleep with a smile playing on his lips. He felt safer in this hidden den than he'd felt in a long while and he had two stalwart friends by his side.

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Harry awoke to Nio's tongue wisping against his cheek. He brought his hand out from under his chin and gently traced the scaled head of his friend.

"Is it time for the treacle tart?"

"What is treacle tart?" asked Nio.

"Only the most delectable thing you can imagine," Harry said as he woke up a bit more and licking his lips. He discovered a trail of spit that was pooling under his chin. He sat up and wiped it off and rubbed at his eyes. Hedwig grumbled when his feet knocked into her.

"Sorry, Hedwig."

Harry put Nio on his neck, stuffed his cloak and bookbag back into his staff, then shook out his staff. But as he was doing that, it vibrated again. He sat down on the ledge and summoned the tablet that Peter and Gemma had given him. He ran his fingers over the surface and found that he had messages waiting for him. A lot of messages.

He sighed and started running his fingers over the raised dots, slowly deciphering the code. He slid until his back was against the wall and balanced the slate on his knees.

"What are you doing?" Nio asked.

"Oh, my friends sent me messages. I'm reading them," Harry said, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated. A wish that he was a faster reader pushed against his throat, but he swallowed it, reminding himself of what Madam Flamel had told him and his classmates repeatedly… learning braille takes time and the only way to get faster is to practice. And that's what I'm doing.

He skimmed the messages, trying to decide if he should read the most recent ones first. Finally, he decided that he should read them in order and he made his way through them. Gemma was just checking in, letting him know that she'd made it home. Peter did the same thing… his message was a little less effusive and more to the point, which Harry appreciated. Then Gemma sent a message that alarmed him… Professor McGonagall had contacted her to say that Harry had run off and Gemma was worried about him.

Harry put the slate down. He knew Professor McGonagall would reach out to his friends … but it had all happened so quickly. He remembered how McGonagall had said that she had ways to watch him and he wondered how far the spell extended. Could it find him here? Hours had passed and she hadn't burst in on him. He wondered if it was due to his invisibility cloak. Maybe it kept him hidden from magic as well as sight. In the tunnels under the Center, he had learned that it was a lot more powerful than he'd ever understood before. He pulled it close, glad he'd tied it to his wrists so that it didn't slide off while he was sleeping.

Harry sent a short message to both Gemma and Peter letting them know that he was safe, but didn't tell them where he was.

"I don't even know where we are…" Harry whispered to Nio, who twitched. Apparently, the snake had dozed off again. "And I need some time to figure out what I'm doing. This seems like a good place to lie low for a little bit. I wish Hermione and Ron had tablets like this. It would be so good to be able to talk to them, too."

He thought about sending some galleons to Hermione and asking her to go to Diagon Alley to buy one for herself and Ron.

Ron would be weird about it, he thought and then tried to figure out a way to make Ron accept the gift as a favor to him… Hermione would totally do it to help me learn braille… Ron, not so much. He sighed. It's not like he could send Hedwig out on shopping trips right now. He was pretty sure that Professor McGonagall (and no doubt the Ministry) would be on the lookout for a snowy white owl.

How long could I hide out here? Until term starts again? What will the Ministry do when I turn up at Platform 9 and ¾ expecting to catch the Hogwarts express? I'm sure Professor McGonagall will have some choice words for me, Harry thought. Then he shook his head, stored his tablet in his staff, transferred Nio to his belly, and stuffed the cloak and book bag back into his staff - disturbing Hedwig in the process. She hopped off the bench in a huff and he heard her talons scratching on the stone surrounding the pool of water.

He stood up, extending his staff in front of him and deciding to explore the tunnels some more to distract himself from his maudlin thoughts.

Who created this place? He kept wondering as he ran his hands over the earthen walls, sometimes encountering intricate pieces of tile placed into the wall, often around the sconces meant for torches. It made him think that this place was really old.

Older than Dumbledore, even.

His staff moved forward into an empty space, no longer touching the uneven ground in front of him. Harry stopped as his staff warned him of a sudden dropoff. He poked downward with the staff and it splashed into water, but didn't find the earth. He cocked his head to listen carefully and could hear the water gently lapping. His staff had disturbed a pool of water. He was surprised that he hadn't heard the difference in the echoes… but then realized that he'd been caught up in his thoughts and not paying attention as closely as he should have been.

Godric would have admonished me.

He stood still and realized that he could feel a slight tremor under his feet.

There must be an underground creek flowing to this pool.

Harry held his staff up in the air and asked it to describe the area. It sounded very much like the underground caverns where he'd learn to swim at the Center—complete with stalagmites and stalactites—and he wondered if there was an egress connecting him to the Center nearby. Hope rose in his throat. He inhaled deeply, rolling the musty scent over his tongue and around his teeth wondering if it was the same. It was similar, but there was something missing. This wasn't the same place even if it reminded him of it. He closed his eyes, wishing fervently, that he could return to the Center.

Even if I went back there… they'd probably have to give me over to the Ministry, anyway, he conceded. When did his life get so difficult?

He remembered a green spark. It was probably before that even. He was born difficult. There was no getting around it. He sighed.

He curled into a ball at the edge of the water and thought about just tipping forward. But Nio was on his neck. He couldn't do that to Nio. He shook the horrifying thought from his head.

Where did that come from?

It scared him. He knelt before the water and inhaled. It smelled good. He reached out and slipped his hand into the cool water. The invisibility cloak was caught up on his back, pulling at his wrists. He thought about shedding it and all his clothes to go for a swim to clear his head; wash away the moroseness. For a moment he thought about taking off the invisibility cloak. It was getting annoying… but he was pretty sure it was the reason he hadn't been found yet. He slipped his wrists out of the ties and undid the laces on his shoes, toeing off his trainers. Then he took off his pants, socks, and trousers. Nio grumbled at his neck, but didn't wake up.

He used his staff to determine the size of the pool in front of him and where would be the best place to enter the water. He found a gradual slope off to the side that was paved with smooth stones.

"Nio," he said. "I'm going to set you here by the pool in my clothes. I'm going to swim." He gently took the snake from his neck and laid him on the puddle of his shorts, pants, and socks. The snake hissed slightly, clearly still asleep.

Harry pulled off his shirt and eased into the water as he tied the cloak to his wrists and ankles again. The cloak flowed around him as if it were water, too. He kept feeling for it, afraid it would float away. But after a bit, he could feel the slight difference in temperature it provided. It wasn't the intense warmth that he had felt in the null zone under the Center. This pool was cool and refreshing and the cloak made a pocket of warmth that was cozy. The waves were a gentle balm that lapped against his collarbone and splashed into his face as he moved. He pulled in a deep breath and let his head sink under the water, crossing his legs so that he was sitting on the muddy floor of the pool, swaying back and forth with the gentle current.

"I could get used to this," he thought. "This isn't so bad. How long could I stay here? Until the beginning of term? Maybe? For the rest of my life… possibly?"

He pushed his head through the surface of the water and took a big gasping breath.

"Sthei!" Nio gasped from the water's edge. "Where did you go? I thought I'd lost you!"

"Nio, it's okay. I just needed a swim."

"Why? Why in earth would you need to swim?"

"It just sounded nice," Harry said, sheepishly.

"Are you mad?" the snake asked.

"No, I don't think so," Harry said, thoughtfully. "It feels good. Don't snakes swim? The Basilisk came out of a big pool of water."

"Oh, so we're all like the Basilisk, now? Are we?"

"Er, I didn't… mean…" Harry sputtered while Nio hissed a laugh.

"You're so gullible! It's hard to resist!" Nio chortled.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Harry said, splashing water playfully in Nio's direction. He expected Nio to hiss in response, but then didn't hear anything. He stood up and started walking toward the pool's ledge where he'd left the snake, hands reaching for the side when a small lithe body slid over the back of his hand. He pulled it back, startled, and yelped. Then Nio was coiling around his neck, making his hissing laughter in Harry's ear.

Harry ducked under the water and swam a little ways using the frog movements he'd learned in lessons at the Center and rose to the surface when Nio's coils tightened on his windpipe. He slid a finger under the snake's body to tug away.

"Sthei, try gliding. Like this." Nio slid off his neck like a ribbon caught by the wind and disappeared from Harry's perception. He moved his hands through the water in front of him, trying to find his friend, but came up empty.

"I can imagine that you're moving through the water just as you glide through the grass, Nio. But remember? I can't see you," Harry called after the snake.

"Oh, right. I forgot." Nio's tongue whispered across his ear. Harry splashed in surprise.

"Hey!" Their hissing laughter reverberated off the cavern walls as they dissolved into giggles, which only got worse when Harry tried swimming like a snake.

They played for a long time, splashing, teasing each other about how they moved through the water, their laughter fading in gasps until a disapproving hoot from Hedwig made them start afresh. Finally, they flopped onto the ledge of the pool and Harry summoned some old clothes from his staff to use as towels to dry themselves off.

"Oh, I really need to use the loo!" Harry sighed.

"Didn't you just relieve yourself in the pool?" the snake asked.

"What? No!" Harry said in alarm. " Did you?"

"Of course! It just washes down stream. Much better than having to slide through at a later date."

"Ugh! Nio! Surely there's a spot here for taking care of that business. It has everything else one needs."

"You leg walkers sure need a lot of space for all your doings." Nio started moving across the edge of the pool. "I think there is a spot over here."

Harry followed for a bit, then insisted that Nio let him pick him up so that he didn't worry about stepping on him when he was already navigating the narrow edge of the pool. In his haste to take care of his needs, he'd decided to just go starkers. His clothes were wet anyway from all the splashing. Hedwig and Nio didn't care… and his staff verified that no one else was in the underground tunnels… and beside that it was pitch dark and he was still covered by the invisibility cloak.

I'm not really starkers, if you consider the cloak.

The cavern narrowed and became more of a tunnel once more. A warm wind blew up the passage bringing the scent of sea water and Harry could tell that there was light ahead, but it wasn't bright.

Hedwig hooted and flew past them, docking Harry in the head as she passed.

"Hey! Where are you going?" he called after her. Her reply was short and he took it to mean that he shouldn't worry.

"How do I know that?" he asked himself in parseltongue. Nio squeezed his neck in agreement once he explained.

And then there was an alcove on the other side of the tunnel where Harry discovered a loo of sorts. Tucked behind a curving wall there was a ledge with a hole in the center. Harry could hear the rushing water of a fast moving stream that sped underneath the hole. On the wall was a small spring that he guessed would be handy for washing one's hands and face. He was curious about where the water went and his exploring fingers found a moss covered slit against the wall. The stone was smooth and on either wall there were sconces for torches.

"Well, I think we could live here for a long while, Nio," Harry said as he washed his hands after he'd taken care of his needs. "I just need to remember the spell for drying clothes."