APOV

I found myself lost in an endless waste. A sea of foamy mist swirled wraithlike about me, cloaking the landscape in mystery and myth. Shapes moved in the distant fogs, coiling and slithering like endless serpents. A faint whisper blew through me as my mind swelled and my thoughts roiled. I took a step and then two more. When I felt the ground was secure, I continued headlong, forward through the nothing. I wandered and wandered for centuries without rest or reprieve, without pause, without any sign of progress until I finally realized it would do me no good. It had been ages since I'd seen Skel- elth Nihil. If indeed this place was even my ancient childhood prison. Exhausted and utterly spent I collapsed amidst the whispering winds to contemplate the new world I'd fallen into. I was older, wiser and stronger than the last time I'd visited. It was the least I could do to experiment a bit. Scor would tell me to play it safe... I sighed heavily, grasping for the inner reservoir of power that resided deep within the recesses of my being. When I felt the familiar ocean of light that was my soul and strength, I seized hold of it and let it boil to the surface. When the energy erupted forth I sent out tendrils of magic in every direction, feeling with my mind what laws governed this place. I probed and prodded with every ounce of my being, bathing myself in the featureless landscape. As I sat meditating in the gloom, it came to me. A name. The name.

"Mythel-y-el."

The word had rolled from my lips like water rushing over smooth mossy stones. Something about this place had offered it forward to me, as though it knew I had a claim to the name. Was this place in my mind? A part of me? Or was it something more? It felt different somehow from the horrible prison of my youth.

The moment the faeric spell left my mouth, the milky fog scattered, revealing a strange and alien land the likes of which I'd never seen before. I found myself atop an enormous spire that stood as tall as the sky itself. It was made of crystalized light and hardened darkness mixed together in a tapestry of utterly sublime artistry. The spire seemed to glisten strangely in a sea of colors that i'd never known existed before. Colors I could not comprehend nor stand to perceive.

Above me hung shimmering stars, cogs and faeric spellwork circles. There were lights, spirits, entities long since gone from the world. There were arithmantic formulae, musical notes, patchwork sketches all tied together somehow in the air. The smell was unearthly, yet somehow it reminded me of Scorpius. Scorpius... It was that thought that made me wobble and lose my balance, nearly collapsing backwards until I managed to catch myself on a hard polished surface behind me.

At the center of the platform stood a statue of the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen. As I raised myself to examine the woman-creature, I realized with a shock who it was: Ashera, Hecate, Amaterasu. It was the Goddess herself captured in flawlessly crafted stone. I nearly cried at her beauty, nearly dissolved in her presence and might very well have if she'd been real. She reminded me of Phoenix the night we'd met him in the forest.

The statue looked so alive I half expected it to blink or draw in breath. It was a vision of the splendor of magic itself. I could see the fire in those eyes. They were a medley of puprles and pinks. Her long pointed ears, her silky blond hair, her angular and exotic face were entrancingly familiar. I beheld her for what felt like hours, days, weeks, somehow knowing that i'd seen her before. I wasn't aware of how long she'd bewitched me, finally forcing myself to turn away when I began again to feel lost in her glowing eyes. When I broke free from her I noticed them.

Outstretched before me lay seven fields like enormous wedges. Each wedge seemed bound to a glowing pillar on the spire, of which there were also seven. One field was completely of Ice, one a field of endless flowers, one of fiery desert sand. Another section was of sparkling shallows, water as clear as glass and as blue as aquamarine. Another section was a forest of moss and another of—

"Are you quite alright there young one?" A voice asked from behind me. It had sounded full and wise but kind as well. I spun around on instinct to behold a handsome young boy with sandy blond hair in a black weird sisters shirt. His blue eyes were beautiful and the only thing odd about him was the golden rimmed half moon spectacles he wore on his nose. I was suddenly surprised that I hadn't noticed the wind. It was welcoming to feel its caress against my skin. It couldn't have been blowing until his arrival since I had walked endless miles in the breezeless fog, begging for a mere whisper or lick of a graceful gust to tear me out of the maddening silence. I could tell now that something was very wrong with the flow of time.

"Do you know where I am?" I asked curiously. "I feel like i'm in a dream. Or possibly a nightmare."

The boy looked so freakishly familiar that I got mad at not being able to place him. He walked up beside me then, looking out over the fields of Ice, flowers and moss to contemplate some half guessed truth or mystery.

"The more important question would be, do you know what you are?"

I frowned at that.

"My family has had far too much of cryptic wizards for a few millennia. Isn't it obvious? I'm human."

"Nothing is obvious here. Point of fact Albus, I would wager that you are nothing even close to human. You are a fontling and a strange one at that. You have the blood of Slytherin in you, you are a Peverell by birth, and you are intimately connected with the heir to the queen. You are a creature of three fonts of magic. A creature more powerful than any wizard that has ever born. Human is the last thing I would name you."

"How do you know my name?" I asked surprised. I had had enough of endless mysteries. Why wouldn't they all just explain things clearly for once. Did the fates hate and curse my family so much that we were doomed to this endless cycle of uncertainty?

"I should like to think I know that name better than you, considering it belonged to me for nigh on a century and a quarter."

"What?" I simply didn't understand. There was a shimmering light and suddenly the boy melted away, morphing into an old man in robes of brilliant purple and gold. He stood as tall and proud as the spire itself with his arms held folded neatly behind his back. His half moon spectacles now rested flawlessly on his long crooked nose. He had a billowing white beard that reached down as far as the hem of his robes and a caring smile on his face.

"Albus... Dumbledore… I knew I recognized you." I whispered incredulously. "Now I know i'm dreaming."

"You are most certainly not dreaming." He offered simply. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the endlessness of this place. I followed his gaze out over the expanse beneath us. The flowers, ice, moss… they all stretched outwards until they met the seam of the horizon.

"Well then, if i'm not dreaming, why not tell me about this place? Why not tell me about her and this fontling business?" I asked feeling the wind envelop me in a gentle embrace. If anyone could explain what was happening to me it would be him.

"You are at the edge of the world. I wonder… some might even call it the very edge of magic. This spire is her resting place, the Twilight cathedral, where light and darkness are one and the seven fonts of magic tie the seams of the world together."

"Nonsense. If I am where you suggest I am than how are you here too? By rights if your hypothesis is correct and I am a fontling of Death by virtue of my Father's descent, for you to be here too, would make you a descendant of one of the seven houses as well." I stated logically. How could anything be logical about this? If i wasn't dreaming then I must have been hallucinating. He smiled at that. "Merlin it can't be. You weren't... you couldn't have been."

"Merlin Avalon, yes" He chuckled. "The Dumbledore's were indeed once of the Avalon family… a very long time ago."

"I'm confused. Why am I here? Why on earth are you here? What possible business could the will of the goddess have with me? I'm still half convinced that i'm asleep in bed and that all of this is just—"

"Happening inside your head?" He finished seriously. "Your father said that to me once after he died. Hmh. I'm surprised you're here too. You must be special indeed if you can appear here so freely at so young an age. You haven't even assumed your throne yet."

"I still don't understand. My sister, Scorpius... it all doesn't make any sense. Whats happening to me?"

"Something wonderful." He finished before it all dissolved.

I woke up suddenly on the king sized bed my family used in our tower at Hogwarts, breathing heavily in my confusion. It felt like I'd been holding my breath for an eternity.

That's right… I'm at Hogwarts. I was thirteen again and as naked as the day I was born. My head was pounding. I turned to examine my surroundings when I noticed that collapsed next to me amidst the pillows and sheets was a sleeping Scor, as naked as I was. I blushed as I realized that his hand was resting gently on my abdomen. How did we end up without our clothes? "The bath" I nearly groaned. I vaguely remembered being in a bath last night. "Ugh my head…"

I looked over at Scor, watching as he smiled in his sleep. I lifted his hand off and away from me, pulling the silky duvet up slightly to cover his bareness. I brushed the hair from his face with a smile of my own, merely watching him sleep. I blinked suddenly and sharp crisp images flashed against my lids. Memories from last night flooded my mind like a rogue wave at sea. I tried to push them away as I looked at him but to no avail. We were the weirdest of friends I thought to myself and I had the strangest dreams. My shiver must have woken him since he began to stir in response to the motion. I hadn't meant to disturb him.

"Holy shit… my head." Scor offered opening his eyes. I propped myself up on my elbow to regard him more fully. I had had the weirdest collection of dreams last night, weirder than any in my entire life. Well only half of it all had been a dream. The other a bittersweet nightmare... a memory.

"So sleepy head. What would you like to do today?" I asked jovially, ignoring my apprehensions that he might remember too. At least we were back to normal and awake to enjoy the dawn. Or at least as normal as the two of us could pass for.

"Why is it so bright? And why are you shouting?" He asked dazed. "Every input offends my senses. It's as though the sun itself were screaming, or taking a hammer to my skull."

"Ah well that's what we might call a hangover Scor. I can't believe how much you overdid it last night. Even in your older body you had enough to black out."

"Why am I naked? What on earth? I can't remember anything after everyone left." I gulped to myself, feeling the flush rosening up my cheeks. I merely shrugged, swung myself around to hide my blushing and stood up. The sheets fell away from me as I moved towards the armchair that had my clothes on it. I pulled on a shirt and some underwear as quickly as possible, and hopped myself onto a countertop at the other end of the room. The moment i'd settled, Mercury appeared from nowhere, running up my arm to drape himself around my neck and shoulders with a satisfied purr. I was thankful that he used magic instead of his claws to climb. Aunt Mione's cat always dug her nails into you, leaving you with bloody marks.

"So what do you want to do today?" I asked again. He was watching me curiously, a shocked expression sewn onto his face.

"Wait, why were you naked too? And why on earth do I smell… cloudberries?" He asked skeptically. I nearly laughed.

"Usually one is required to remove ones clothes when entering a bath." I offered rolling my eyes in an exaggerated motion. "As for the cloudberries… you developed an odd fondness for that bottle your dad had sent to the school for us. You know the endless bottle of faeric skydew that you kept insisting we had to be careful with. As old as Byzantium and all that." Mercury jumped off of me when he realized Hyperion was now awake too. They ran off in a cloud of colors and lights, disappearing off the balcony's edge. Doubtless they were off to have more fun on their adventures.

"We took a bath?"

"And drank more, and discussed magical theory, and hatched schemes for world domination." The lie came easily to my lips. I was always lying to people. Even my family. "I can't believe you don't remember."

"Merlin Al. I wouldn't remember if we'd murdered the minister for magic last night." He said shaking his head. Thank Merlin he didn't remember. I was petrified of how awkward this would be if ever recalled last night fully.

"Well you did talk about doing some ridiculous things with Aurora. Although I doubt you knew what you were even saying."

"Well did you see her? She was stunning."

"We all were." I offered slyly. Besides, we had all done ridiculous things last night. Something about the way he complemented Aurora made my heart falter. She was beautiful… but I didn't want—

"You and I, we are beyond lucky. I mean we looked amazing didn't we." Scor said excitedly. I smiled again. We really had.

"So. For the third time. What, do, you, want, to, do, today?" I drawled out deliberately. He was being evasive and I wanted to start the day already.

"I don't know about you Al, but I plan to sleep. My head feels like its on fire."

"Sobrietus." I cast wandlessly at Scor curing his hangover in the process. "Now can we go have some fun?"

Scorpius merely laughed at me as though I had ignored some obvious fact. I ended up blushing angrily as his laughter exploded well past an acceptable length. I had to huff noisily to get him to stop, which in the end only elicited more laughter.

"I'm still going to sleep all day Al. But thanks for getting rid of my headache."

"Oh pooh! You're no fun!" I cried exasperatedly. He smiled deviously and got up from the bed. I started to hyperventilate when I realized he was walking towards me… naked. I hated how much I blushed sometimes. To my dismay I realized that his clean clothes had been thrown onto the stool next to the counter I was now sitting on, which was why he was coming towards me. I might have sat anywhere but here... I looked away as he approached.

"I'll make you a deal Al." He started, grabbing his underwear and putting them on right in front of me. "You get me some breakfast from the great hall, and maybe I'll consider getting up by, lets say twelve?"

"Twelve!? Bugger that! If we weren't exempt from classes you'd have been up for an hour already."

"Which is why I plan to make the most of this. Now be a good little servant and fetch me some food and refreshments. Chop Chop." My eyes began to twitch as he droned out the chop chop. I couldn't help it. I'd snapped.

"Aguamenti." I shot, spraying a high speed jet of water at his face. I had to chuckle when the water stopped and I glimpsed his expression, he looked like a drowned cat. "What can I say, you needed another bath." I said clasping my hands over my mouth to stifle the giggling.

"Oh, you think thats funny do you" He added summoning a vat of ice cold water above my head. The torrent fell endlessly when he tipped the container. By the time it had emptied I was beyond drenched, and nearly frozen solid. He tackled my wet form, laughing while we fell to the hard stone floor. I landed less softly than I might have hoped and winced as the pain resonated through me. My body still ached I guess, I was still very sore from yesterday. Aging potions are weird, I thought somberly as we wrestled. I had hoped my injuries would heal as my body reverted back to normal but I had no such luck. I stopped resisting when more images flashed beneath my eyes sighing deeply as he paused to examine me.

"Are you alright? You look like you're in pain."

"I hurt myself a bit last night while trying to get you back into bed. You had collapsed in the bath and I didn't want you to drown. I must have smashed myself twelve times on the way over. I was so drunk I couldn't see straight let alone walk straight." I offered easily as explanation. It was… technically true… Although that wasn't the pain I…

"I'm sorry Al. You... Carried me?"

"Oh shut up. Im strong enough to help you twenty feet into bed. Oooh, I have an idea that might interest you." I shot from my position beneath him. I used my arms to prop myself up towards him and began my tale with a deliberately emphasized flare. "I heard from Rori that Marvolo has been sneaking around lately. Every night he slips out of the dungeons to god knows where. I thought one of these dark midnights we could follow him." It was not a question.

Scorpius looked down at me then, and I realized that I was still shivering from the ice water. He seemed a little cold too so without waiting for him to answer me I closed my eyes and blew a steady stream of magic gently at him. I could feel the warmth of my spell blending and weaving into my breath, drying him almost instantly. It was a trick aunt Hermione had taught me but couldn't even perform herself.

"I wish I could do that for you." He offered, summoning a towel from the bathroom and beginning to dry me off by hand.

"I can teach it to you if you want? I'm sure you'd pick it up fairly quickly. And I can manage drying myself off thank you very much." Despite my protests he didn't stop his ministrations. His noble brain was annoying at times. He had gotten me cold and wet, it was his responsibility to make sure I ended up dry and warm. Equivalent exchange.

"Sure, tomorrow you can show me how to do it but right now i'm going to go back to sleep."

"Scorpius Malfoy, you are hopeless."

"So are you. You should just permanently charm yourself into a pillow so that I can sleep more comfortably." I rolled my eyes exaggeratedly again. He leaned down towards me and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me. He merely rested his forehead against mine and we wiggled our noses against each other. It took all my resolve not to put my lips to his. I don't know what was wrong with me this morning. It had been a dream... and it would be better for me to forget it.

"Do you think he gets jealous? James I mean." It was such a strange and random sentiment for Scor to utter.

"Where did that come from?" I asked as he put the towel over my head to slowly dry my hair. He was staring at me square in the eyes.

"I was just thinking about family and it came to me." Oh i thought to myself, remembering his confession about his sister.

"Ella was lucky to have you Scor, for whatever time you had together. You're a better brother than you might believe." I grabbed his hand and stopped his movements, hoping to impress upon him the truth of my words through the contact.

"That means a lot to me Al. You have no idea how much that means to me." The images flashed in my mind again and I shivered at the storm of memories. Pink eyes, full red lips. Endless kisses. They weren't memories... they were hallucinations... nothing more...

"I take it back. You are without a doubt the worst brother ever. You might have just given me pneumonia." I shot sticking my tongue out at him. Brothers shouldn't do what he did to me… I shivered remembering the touch of his skin. The feel of his legs… It didn't happen... It didn't...

"Oh shut up you." Scor huffed throwing the towel at my face.

"You never answered my question. Will you help me spy on the evil little shit or not?"

SPOV

I was very worried about Al. I couldn't let him figure out Volo's secret. Then again, if Volo was sneaking around, he wasn't likely up to any good. I looked down at Al. The smiling idiot's hair was still slightly wet as was his shirt, and I couldn't help but feel overly fond of him. I was so lucky to have a friend like him… I think his smile is even nicer than those eyes. I hated how infectious it could be. He always seemed to be smiling, even when he was sad. It made for a strange effect on everybody around him. I loved those rare moments when his slytherin smirk took over. He looks so mischievous when it does.

"I think spying would be a great idea. Let's make sure that villainous little wretch doesn't do anything that might lose us house points. Now! I'm, off, to, bed, you, little, shit" I drawled out poking his nose repeatedly before I bounded back towards the bed. A mere moment after I'd closed my eyes I felt a nuzzling sensation against my skin. It made me smile. "You know you don't have to waste your morning away here with me if you don't want to." He purred at that. "There isn't any other way i'd rather spend it. Just know that you owe me." He added after a moment. I brought my legs up to brush against his and drifted off to sleep.


So... In case anyone has noticed... the story is now over 100,000 words... erm... well... what i'm trying to say is... if you are following the story... REVIEW NOW! NOW NOW! lets see... ill give you guys a little more incentive... one of the next five people to review gets an extra chapter written just for them. (If you can't decide which chapter you'd like to review... i'd suggest... 42: Reunited, 38: voice of evil... If not, then any of the last four chapters would be fine as well)

also I'm going to require reviews before I upload more chapters in the future. Nobody has reviewed the last four chapters... With the amount of traffic the story is getting the only possibility is that people are being lazy.