A/N: Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling and her associates. Please support the official release.

Ancient Runes Class

Hermione stifled a yawn as she perused through her notes for the hundredth time that hour, not really looking for anything in particular. Normally, she found Ancient Runes to be a thrilling subject, and by far one of her absolute favorites, but today, the class just wasn't doing it for her. She had stayed up late the night before discussing the… Obscurus issue… with Harry, and therefore had not gotten anywhere close to the amount of sleep she needed to feel fully energized. She had practically forced herself up from bed by the time morning came around, and had not had the time to eat a proper breakfast or really do much of anything at all before class started.

Redirecting her gaze from her notes to the window, she stared out at the winter wonderland that reigned outside, lost in thought. It truly was a beautiful sight, the glimmering snow coloring every part of the landscape white.

Hermione had always loved Christmas. The feeling of shared enthusiasm, the notion of happiness and affection. It was without a doubt her favorite time of the year. Even now, in the midst of all that had happened over the past few weeks, she still felt it. That telltale excitement and joy. She couldn't wait to go home and finally spend some time with her parents. At least in the Muggle World, nothing crazy or life-threateningly dangerous would happen every two minutes.

Feeling slightly nostalgic for some reason, she took a moment to reminisce about her past. Being an only child hadn't always been easy. Lacking a brother or sister to play with, Hermione had been forced to find ways to entertain herself at a relatively young age. The fact that she hadn't really had a lot of friends growing up either certainly hadn't helped the situation. Due to this, she had pretty much been relegated to spending most of her free time with her parents. Whenever she wasn't reading or learning about something new, she would be downstairs in the living room with them, watching movies or playing board games. Her parents had been very good with her, and despite everything, Hermione couldn't say she had any regrets about growing up the way she had. They had been a happy family. A simple one, yes, but happy.

Then came the Hogwarts letter, and with it, a brand new world to explore. At first, her parents had been rather… skeptical towards the whole thing, to say the least. They were Muggle dentists, after all. Accepting the existence of something as ridiculous as magic had been hard for them. But with Professor McGonagall turning into a cat right in front of their very eyes, it would've been harder still to deny it.

Shaking herself out of her daydream, Hermione returned her attention to what was happening in front of her. Professor Bathsheda Babbling had just finished going through a fresh set of runes, and instructed everyone to copy her work into their notebooks. Needless to say, Hermione already had the runeset written down. She had long since surpassed this part of the curriculum, after all, studying at her own pace in the library with Harry.

Harry…

She hoped they would one day be able to return to those carefree days of studying, free from the threat of Voldemort or the Obscurus. She was tired of constantly being in danger. Of constantly feeling scared.

She was sure Harry felt the same way, despite his hesitation to say so.

Ravenclaw Common Room

Harry sat in undisturbed silence in the middle of the Ravenclaw Common Room, his eyes closed and his mind focused. The others would be stuck in class at this time of day, a fact Harry had taken advantage of to do some studying of his own. To an unknowing onlooker, it would perhaps appear as if he was meditating, his cross-legged pose reminiscent of the Lotus position often used by Buddhist monks. But the truth was; he was practicing Occlumency, an ancient form of magic that involved clearing ones mind and leaving it utterly void and bottomless.

Occlumency was not a part of the regular curriculum taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, meaning the Ministry had decided it was not a necessary skill for the ordinary wizard to learn. That, of course, had only made it that much more appealing to Harry.

The process of learning it had been slow at first, as the lack of a teacher made it hard for him to know where to start. Simply clearing his mind to the point where it could be considered Occlumency had turned out to be a whole lot harder than he had initially imagined, as stray thoughts would continually appear in his head, disturbing the void he had built up. Needless to say, the first few months had been a frustrating experience.

Despite this though, he had made considerable strides since the start of the Year. He could now clear his inner mind somewhat on command, rendering the use of Legilimency on him rather useless. Sure, a skilled enough Legilimens would still be able to penetrate his defenses, but for a surface-level practitioner, he would hopefully prove to be too much of a challenge. For instance, the skill worked wonders in conversations with Dumbledore, as the old meddler would constantly attempt to grasp at his thoughts and feelings when they talked. Brushing off his mental influence was easier than ever now.

Just as Harry yet again felt his mind slipping into that familiar old void, a sound emerged from the entrance to the common room, instantly tearing his concentration to shreds. Someone had come back from school, meaning his little study time was over.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, Harry opened his eyes, and found himself staring right into the pale, silvery orbs of Luna Lovegood.

"Hello," he stated matter-of-factly, refusing to acknowledge or show even the faintest hint of the surprise he felt.

"Hello to you too, Harry Potter," Luna replied, her voice light and feathery. Her gaze had locked onto his now, refusing to let him go, judging and evaluating him with wonder as if he was some sort of magical creature she had never seen before.

Harry had heard from the other Ravenclaws that Luna was considered to be… well… a little weird. The best way to describe her behavior was to say that she appeared to be wrapped up in some constant, internal daydream, seemingly oblivious to the stares and whispers of others. She would also make weird and out-of-place comments that usually didn't have anything to do with the subject matter whenever you tried to talk to her, making her a poor conversationalist to boot.

Despite not being particularly well-informed on such matters, Harry knew his Housemates had made it a habit to make fun of the girl, often resorting to hiding her clothes or calling her names for some quick and easy entertainment. He personally didn't think much of it, as it didn't affect him one way or the other, but he knew Hermione disliked it.

"You were practicing Occlumency, weren't you?" Luna remarked, a tiny, innocent smile ghosting across her lips.

Harry's mind went blank as his brain caught up with her words. He really hadn't expected her to figure out what he was doing so fast, if at all.

"Uhm… okay, I kinda feel like I have to ask now; how could you possibly know that?"

"Oh, it's rather simple, really. Back when my mother was still alive, she would teach me how to clear my mind and empty my thoughts whenever I had to focus on something. My concentration really wasn't all that great back then, you see. She did it to help me get better at studying and such."

"Oh, okay, that explains i… wait, back when your mother WAS alive? As in the past tense?"

Harry was feeling utterly dumbstruck at this point.

"Yes, she died when I was 9 years old whilst attempting to perform a dangerous new spell she had created. It was quite horrible, really. It was especially hard on my dad. I think he blames himself for her death."

"Oh wow, uhh… that sounds… bad? I'm sorry, I really don't know how to handle situations like this," Harry frowned, using one hand to gently stroke the back of his head.

"Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with that. People usually feel a little uncomfortable whenever someone talks about death so openly right in front of them."

Harry was amazed at her ability to keep talking with such a straight face even after saying all that. She truly was a peculiar person.

"But I guess that explains how you were able to recognize my Occlumency…"

He let the sentence trail off as his mind looped back around. A growing sense of premonition raced through him, as if his own body was telling him that he was missing something painstakingly obvious. It only took him a second longer to see the opportunity that was literally sitting right in front of him for what it was.

"Say, Luna?" he started, narrowing his eyes in a calculating look.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Would you perhaps be interested in… teaching me?"

The Great Hall

Hermione was busy wolfing down a bacon sandwich with great vigor when she spotted Harry across the Great Hall, his jet-black hair instantly catching her attention. Her initial reaction should've been to tear her eyes off him to keep up with the act of being mad, but for some reason, her body refused to listen to her. She had noticed something about him. He was looking surprisingly cheerful for some reason, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he approached her table and sat down directly opposite of her.

"You're looking awfully happy today…" she finally coughed after letting a minute or two of silence pass between them.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he replied jovially as he reached out across the wooden table to grab a freshly roasted piece of toast. "I think I've found a solution to one of my problems, that's all."

Hermione instantly stopped chewing on her sandwich when his words reached her. Wait, does that mean…?

He must've recognized the look in her eyes, because he hurriedly shook his head before she had an opportunity to ask him about it.

"No, I still haven't fixed the whole… Obscurus… thing. I have a feeling that problem is kind of here to stay for the time being. It's going to be a bitch to solve, in other words. But I do have one good thing to report; I've found someone that can teach me Occlumency!"

Hermione slowly continued to chew again, resuming the process of finishing off her meal. She was still somewhat mad at him about the whole nearly-destroying-the-entire-school episode, but seeing him so upbeat considerably eased her temper.

"Jwsht so you khnow…" she started, the food in her mouth making it hard to speak clearly. "I'm sthill kinda mad at you."

"That's fair," he responded in a dry voice, carefully spreading butter out across the piece of toast in his hand.

"But I guess I'll give you a free pass… for now. Heck, it's Christmas!" she finished, sending him a weak, albeit warm smile for the first time in a while.

And, despite his usual hesitance to show physical affection, Harry couldn't help but smile back.

Headmasters' Office

"Cornelius, please, I urge you to reconsider this!"

It was getting late into the evening now, and the Headmasters' Office was unusually crowded for this time of day, with Dumbledore, Severus and McGonagall all present for the Headmaster's meeting with the Minister for Magic. So far, there had been nothing but bad news.

"I apologize, Dumbledore, but this is a matter of national security! Hogwarts is the most respected and well-known wizarding school in all of Britain! It wouldn't do for people to believe it unsafe in light of recent… events. In addition, a lack of action would only reflect poorly on the Ministry!"

"I understand that, my friend, I really do. But allowing Dementors to roam the grounds freely would only invite further trouble! I implore you to send a regiment of Aurors instead."

"I cannot! The DMLE is currently working at maximum capacity to hunt down and capture the infamous killer Sirius Black. We have not a single Auror to spare."

"But…" Albus started again, only to be interrupted by the Minister holding up a leather-clad hand to stop him.

"No buts, Albus. This is how we have decided to proceed. And as your Minister, I am both demanding and expecting your full cooperation going forward in these difficult times. That is final."

The only visible sign of anger Dumbledore showed to this was a slight twitch of his hand, but inside, his temper was flaring up fiercely. He had always known Fudge to be a stubborn man, but this was a new low even for him. Why couldn't he see that inviting Dementors into Hogwarts would only result in more suffering? After everything that had happened, the last thing the frightened students needed to see was yet another monstrosity. And nobody could fully control those wretched creatures, no matter what the Ministry said.

"I… understand. Hogwarts is, of course, at your disposal, Minister."

"Thank you, Albus. I know we have had trouble seeing eye-to-eye in the past, but I do believe we can work together on this. Let's keep the younger generation safe and well, shall we?"

Albus only smiled in response, and watched as the Minister left the room to find somewhere outside of the Hogwarts wards to apparate from. Not even Ministry officials were allowed the privilege of bypassing the wards, after all. Only the Headmaster held that power.

Yes, we shall. But most likely not in the way you think.

7th Floor Corridor

"According to the rumors, it's supposed to be around here somewhere…" Harry pondered out loud as the trio scanned the stone walls of the 7th floor hallway. They were a trio this time due to Luna's insistence on joining them as of late. It had been a couple of days since Harry's conversation with her in the common room, but it had become readily apparent since then that she now considered them to be friends of sorts. At first, Hermione had found it a little weird to hang out with her, but she had quickly gotten used to the idea of having the air-head around as part of their little group. Even Harry had to admit that the girl had a certain charm about her with the way she walked and talked. She saw the world through unfiltered, yet innocent eyes. She perceived things easily dismissed by others, and appeared to have a special connection with animals.

She was yet another mystery, and Harry loved mysteries.

But right now, however, that mystery was being kind of a pain in the ass.

"We won't find the room wandering about like this, in case you hadn't realized that already," she remarked in her usual calm tone of voice.

"And how exactly are we supposed to find it otherwise? In order to locate something, you usually have to go looking for it!" Hermione replied with clear sarcasm, her already sour mood deteriorating further at the behest of Luna's unhelpful words. They had been at it for close to two hours at this point, and the Hidden Room had yet to reveal itself. Hermione's patience had been pretty much stretched thin by now.

"Yes, but you're not looking for it in the right way."

"Not looking for it "in the right way"?! What in Godric's name do you even mean by that?!"

"I mean that you are looking for it with your eyes and ears, when in reality, you should be looking for it with your mind."

"Okay, Luna…" Harry began, deciding to intervene before Hermione got the chance to do something she would most likely regret. "I really appreciate you coming up here with us to search for the room and all, but right now, you're being kind of obnoxious. If you have some clue that can help us, please feel free to speak up, but if not, I think I'm gonna have to ask you to…"

"Okay," the blonde-haired girl replied, shaking her head in what Harry interpreted to be an act of disappointment. "I thought you'd have figured it out by now, but apparently I was wrong. The trick is to walk past it three times thinking about a specific thing or room you need in order to get the door to appear."

An almost unnerving silence filled the air between them. Hermione seemed to be in a state of complete shock, unable to form a coherent sentence or even decide on what facial expression to hold. Harry also had a hard time believing what he had just heard.

"Luna…" he started, staring at her with what could only be described as the most deadpan look in existence on his face. "Have you… been to the Room before?"

"Yes."

"So you're telling me… you knew how to find it all this time… and didn't tell us?"

"Yes."

"W… Wh…" Hermione piped up, her words coming out as nothing but a hoarse whisper.

"I thought you'd enjoy figuring out the mystery for yourselves. I certainly did." There was something in the way she said it that just made it impossible for Harry to be mad at her. Something about the innocent-yet-playful smile on her face that got to him.

"Okay, you know what? I'm not even going to be mad about that," he sighed in defeat, instead choosing to redirect his focus towards the wall with newfound interest. Now that he knew about the trick, he couldn't wait to try it out.

If this actually works… All of those room configurations, all of those possibilities…

Harry also figured he had to show Hermione some tangible results real soon, before she was given the opportunity to properly detonate, so he took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and focused intently on one particular desire.

I need a bedroom, I need a bedroom, I need a bedroom…

Pacing back and forth, he repeated that sentence to himself, focusing on every aspect of it, every word and every pronunciation. Coupled with his recent Occlumency training, it didn't take him long before he felt his entire being becoming obsessed with the idea of locating a bedroom. The desire became his identity, became what he was. He didn't simply want a bedroom, he NEEDED a bedroom. It was essential that he got it.

And then, he felt it. That familiar yet foreign tug at his magic. That feeling of something falling into place. The castle had responded to his silent pleas.

Turning around, he was quickly rendered speechless as he saw the wall gradually transition from solid rock to a great iron door. The magic was so intertwined with the architecture that he wouldn't ever have been able to detect it if he hadn't already known about its existence.

Before long, Harry and his two friends were no longer standing in front of a stone wall, but a massive and carefully decorated door.

"Wow, this is… this is just…" Hermione murmured to herself as she looked about the room with wide eyes. "It… It looks just like any ordinary bedroom. I… I don't even know what I expected."

"Mhm. It is pretty shocking at first. The idea that a room can change its entire layout at will is kind of overwhelming," Luna agreed, seemingly unfazed by the whole thing.

"But… are there any limits to what it can do? Are there any rules or restrictions?" Harry wondered out loud as he walked in circles around the main bed, inspecting it from every angle. The detail on it was immaculate, as if it had been custom-made with great care and dedication by human hands, and not stitched together by magic.

"Yeah, kind of. The Room supposedly only appears if the person looking for it has real need of it, and sometimes, it doesn't even appear then. It is very temperamental like that, especially in the beginning when one is not used to summoning it."

Adding that little note to his mental list of things to remember, Harry nodded to himself and gestured for Luna to continue.

"Oh, and the Room also can't create food. I was feeling really hungry one day and decided to try changing it into a fully stocked kitchen, but it just didn't work. The kitchen appeared, but there was no food to be found anywhere."

"That is most likely due to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration," Hermione remarked, deciding to join in on their little conversation. "Food is one of the five Principle Exceptions to that law, meaning that it cannot be created from nothing. Most other objects can."

"Oh. I didn't know that," Luna responded, a look of wonder flashing across her face.

"Hermione has a tendency of knowing things."

"I do?"

"Yes, to an almost annoying degree actually. Anyway, enough about that. I think we should start heading back now," Harry coughed, taking one last look at the bed before turning around to face the exit. "I don't know about you, but I've had enough adventure for one day. We'll have more than enough time to come back here and do some more research on this place later."

"I couldn't agree more," Hermione sighed in response, walking over to the iron door that lead out of the Room. "I could really use a nap right about now."

"Ohhh, a nap sounds nice," Luna simply smiled, her eyes twinkling at the thought of wrapping herself up in warm, cozy blankets.

"Alright, let's head back to the common room then."

"Lead the way."

A/N: And that brings us to the end of yet another chapter, folks. I know I technically promised you 3 chapters before Christmas, but personal stuff came in the way of that and kept me from writing more. On the plus side, you at least got 2 chapters!

I also really do apologize if this chapter came off as a little more... boring... than usual. As I said in my author notes way back in the first chapter, everything in this story has been mapped out ahead of time, so I have this nifty little timeline I've made for myself that I kinda have to stick to. That is why some chapters may come off as a little "less interesting" than others, if that makes sense.

But in my defense, there were some important bits in here as well! The introduction of Luna Lovegood, the discovery of the Room of Requirement... all important elements for the story to come. I hope you are as excited for it as I am.

Don't let any of this rambling stop you from leaving a review, though, as those really do help me out a whole lot when it comes to gauging reactions and such. They are also fun to read.

And as always, I will see you guys in the next chapter!

-Twisted