February 27th, 1992

"Fascinating…"

"Did you ever doubt me?"

"I can't say I did, though your progress has been astounding."

"It took me more than eight hundred hours just to perfect it. I'd hope it would work at this point." Harry said.

He was currently sitting in Dumbledore's office while the man observed the rat in a cage that Harry had placed on his desk. The man had been observing it for several minutes at this point before he had spoken. Harry sat across from the man as he usually did, sucking on a piece of lemon candy.

"You truly are quite blessed to be able to utilize the time the human body sleeps to continue to work. Though, I bet young Cirilla hasn't been happy with all the work you have been putting in on your project."

"She's taken it well and supported me actually. She tends to use our mindscape to practice her fighting technique, relax, or read. I think I am close to figuring out how to allow sleep in the mindscape for her as well, through the use of illusions of course."

"Hmm… Well, I am glad to hear it hasn't put any unnecessary strain on your relationship. The next question is what you plan to do with this Ritual."

"Well, the next step is a human trial. I have confidence that it should go off without a hitch but I thought I'd discuss it with you first. What do you think?" Harry asked. Dumbledore frowned.

"You intend to use a mundane?" He asked.

"Actually, I was thinking about using a squib since they should be easier. You only have to alter the body for them and you don't even need the full Ritual for that."

"Will the Ritual work if you only do part of it?"

"Yes, with the runes added, it creates certain barriers throughout the Ritual stopping certain effects in one part from bleeding into the next. It essentially means that the Ritual in its completed form is two Rituals combined to make one larger one."

"Runes… Truly ingenious to use them as a stabilization and guiding factor. I must confess, I never thought of that myself."

"Something even the Great Albus Dumbledore never thought of, now that is a true accomplishment if I ever heard of one." Harry replied with a smile. Dumbledore smiled back at that comment.

"Yes well, I am not perfect no matter how many people say otherwise."

"Too true… Anyway, what do you think about the human trial part?" He asked. Dumbledore frowned in thought at that.

"Well, I suppose I can reach out to some people and see if they would be willing. Though I would prefer if you looked in performing this on other creatures as well to make sure the results do not differ." Dumbledore told him. Harry nodded at that; he was confident it would be fine.

"Good, it may take a while though so feel free to continue on with your other studies and experiments. Do you plan to release the knowledge of this Ritual?"

"A Ritual that can make artificial magical people? No, I don't think I will be. As soon as I get home, I will be adding it my family Grimoire."

"I was going to advise that myself. I am glad to see you are thinking about the possible repercussions of what your knowledge may one day accomplish… So, what is next for you then?"

"Besides the capabilities, the true success of this experiment was the proof of concept for my Runic Rituals idea. With that, I am going to continue forward. Because of the way Rituals change with any added part or change, I will basically have to remake and recreate any Ritual I wish to make. That being said, I have a lot of ideas. In conclusion, though it is still far enough, this a big step to my end goal." Harry told his guardian happily.

"I'm glad to hear it. Well, how are your classes going?" Dumbledore asked.

"Great. I'm glad that Defense Against the Dark Arts is actually teaching us things now. A nice change, even if it means I am occasionally taught by Professor Snape again." Harry said with a frown thinking back to the unpleasant man.

"I trust he has given you no trouble."

"He doesn't even look at me. I think he is pretending I just don't exist." Harry answered with a shrug. That worked perfectly for him. Harry hadn't necessarily forgiven the man for his actions at the beginning of the year and always made sure to keep his guard up around him.

"Hmm, I suppose that's fine. What about your other classes?"

"All good, I think. I finished my potions work for the year and I did it two months early so that is nice." Harry said with a smile.

"Yes, I saw. Professor Snape said he would be giving you an Exceeds Expectations for the year. Most impressive for being self-taught."

"Potions is similar to cooking so it's not too hard. I'm sure if I cared a little more about the subject, I could get an Outstanding but… eh."

"Yes, I'm sure you have other things you wish to focus on. How is your Transfiguration going?" Dumbledore asked with visible interest. That was Dumbledore's specialty so he could see why the man would be interested.

"Well, I finally was able to achieve making a living creature that there was nothing wrong with. It took a little longer with almost all my focus the last two months being on my Runic Ritual. Minerva was right when she said the key was familiarizing myself with animals and their moving parts more intimately. I still need a lot of practice but progress is progress."

"Very true. Especially with all the fields you are making progress in simultaneously. I have said it before, I shall say it again, I firmly believe you will be the greatest wizard of this age, even surpassing myself."

"Meh, I don't really care about that. You know that."

"I do, but whether you intend it or not, it is the truth. Keep growing Harry, I can't wait to see how you end up in the future."

"Glad you're interested… Well, I guess I can go. You can keep the rat; I don't really need It anymore."

"As you wish. Perhaps I shall feed it to Fawkes."

"Do what you want… Oh, Neville wanted me to thank you for him for the Greenhouse you put in the clubroom. He's already put some plants in it." Harry told his Headmaster as he stood up and got ready to leave.

"You can tell Mr. Longbottom that he is very welcome. I am glad I could be of help to him." Dumbledore responded with a smile.

"I shall. Alright, I shall see you later Dumbledore. Thanks for meeting with me."

"Anytime, my boy, any time." Dumbledore called after him as he walked out of the man's office to go and get back to his club room.

Two Hours Later

Harry sat currently tied up in his shared club room to a chair as Neville, Hermione, and Ron were all glaring down at him and he simply stared back at them with some confusion present in his eyes. He wasn't really sure what was happening. He had entered the room, approached his desk, and next thing he knew, his friends were pushing him into a chair and using a rope to tie him up. He hadn't been to upset, clearly hurting him wasn't there goal, rather he got the feeling he had done something to upset them.

"May I ask what the reason for you doing this is?" Harry asked finally.

"It was Hermione's idea, me and Nev just agreed to it." Ron said quickly. Hermione gave the redhead a glare before turning back to Harry.

"To be clear, while it may have been her idea, we all agreed to it because we believed her to be right in suggesting we do this." Neville said before Hermione could do anything to their friend.

"That's true, though only because we didn't really see a way around it." Ron pointed out.

"Can someone please explain to me what is going one? I can't seem to puzzle it out myself." Harry politely asked causing the attention of the other three occupants to return to him. Neville looked bored actually while Ron just looked to Hermione for her to take over. Hermione just looked conflicted…

"Harry… Tell me, what has been your sole focus for the last two months almost entirely until this day?" Hermione asked him. Harry looked at her for a moment before answering.

"My Runic Ritual?"

"Correct. You've been working on it almost every free waking hour you have had for the last two months. That includes weekends. Am I correct?" Hermione pushed. Harry looked at her and tilted his head at the observation.

"Yes?" He said still not truly understanding her point.

"Harry… How should I put this… I am glad to see that you are so driven towards your goals but you need to understand that there are limits and I believe you are pushing yours. What were you planning to do if we hadn't tied you up?" She asked him. At this, Harry could see where this was going.

"I was going to go to my desk and continue to my next experiment… Look, Hermione, I appreciate the concern, but I'm honestly fine. I promise. The work is intense but its not overwhelming." Harry tried. In truth, he had been a little tired recently but she didn't understand. He hadn't been missing sleep or meals as he done the one time he had gone too far. Being tired didn't mean he was incapable, after all.

"Harry, being able to push through continuously is an amiable trait but you have to also admit it's not the most efficient. The body and mind need proper rest and you need to do so between your projects. I can tell you won't do so yourself so as your friends, we shall do so for you. For the next week minimum, you may not work on any personal projects." Hermione told him sternly. Harry blinked at that. A week was a rather long time.

"What do you expect me to do for a week?" Harry asked her with some annoyance leaking into his voice even though he tried to remain calm and civil. It sounded like his friends were just doing what they thought was best for him even if he didn't exactly agree with their assessment. Though, Hermione's comment about efficiency did bring up a memory of Dumbledore making a similar comment in his initial breakdown. Perhaps there was some truth to what his fellow Ravenclaw was saying and he was just unable to see it.

"Relax, hopefully. You need to let your mind rest. If you wish, you may aid others with their work…minorly. But that is all… And we're not allowing you to leave until you agree, right?" She said looking at Neville and Ron.

Ron just shrugged while Neville actually nodded and looked rather serious. That was the problem right there. Neville was a great friend, maybe too great in this case. If he believed Harry was doing something to harm himself, there was no way he wouldn't push to get him to stop. The boy had become rather assertive recently.

"There you see? So, what'll it be?" Hermione asked looking back at him now that she had made sure she was supported by the others. Harry looked at the others and considered that offer. No work for a week… It likely wouldn't be as bad as he thought. Perhaps, he was just addicted to his work? It's also not like he wouldn't maybe be interested in giving a hand to his friends.

Ron especially would perhaps be nice to give a hand too. He had chosen not to focus on Alchemy given the fact that he didn't really see it being a help to him in accomplishing his goals. At most, it would aid him in gaining rare materials that could aid his projects but there weren't many thing he couldn't get his hands on or simply replace with something easier to get ahold of.

"Very well. I suppose I will agree to this. Just to be clear, I will only allow this for major projects and only upon completion or any project that takes me two months or longer. I will not say anything about the week time period. That may change to more or less based on an agreed amount between us for each case. Agreed?" Harry said back to them, after listing his own terms. After some deliberation, he decided he could last a week. Maybe he could even treat it like some sort of vacation. Besides, perhaps the time would be good for him by better figuring out his next steps on his projects. He couldn't do major projects but he could do some training with his extra time.

"Well, I guess that's fair… I thought you would be mad."

"Well… Mad wouldn't be the word I would use. I was initially upset by being forced into something but I can understand the worry. In truth, I have had an incident in the past where I overworked myself and it had a physical and mental toll on my health and I had to get medical attention. With that in mind, I guess I'm happy my friends are looking out for me, even if it sort of gets in the way of my work. Although, I would like to say that I wasn't going to be doing anything mentally strenuous today, just some simple planning for my next focus." Harry told them as Ron and Neville came over and started to untie him.

As soon as the rope fell away, he rubbed his arms where the rope had been held tightly around. Not enough to injure but slightly below comfort level. He then stood up and gave them a few experimental waves to make sure his circulation was as it should be.

"You already know what you want to do next?"

"Yes. I wish to experiment in making a healing Ritual next to aid with my lack of healing magic."

"Why don't you just learn the spells, they're much easier, I am sure."

"Well, from what I have read, they are and they aren't. Spells are easier to make and cast, but for complicated things, they're too specific."

"What do you mean?"

"From what I understand, a lot of the time, when dark magic is used to injure a wizard, the counter curse is needed to heal it. With that in mind, I suppose 'healing' is the wrong word. The correct term would be closer to purification. This would counter ANY dark magic in the body instead of just one very specific type."

"That would actually be amazing if you can pull it off."

"It has been attempted before in the past and there has even been some success. I've even seen another Purifying Ritual before and will likely use it to better understand and then make a better version."

"I've heard of Purifying Rituals before. Among Ritual types, there supposed to be one of the rarest. Where did you find one?" Neville asked with some confusion. Harry was about to answer before pausing.

"I don't think I should say, I doubt think the person I learned of it from would be happy about me using their name with others. They like to keep a low profile and I should respect that." Harry told them.

"Ugh, so many secrets with you Harry." Ron groaned. He smiled at the redhead.

"Apologies though I would do the same for any of you as well, so it's only fair. Either way, yes, I have an idea and an example where to start with. That'll help somewhat but I expect it'll take even more work to create this than my first Ritual… A lot more work." Harry admitted. Purifying was hard because of how many ways dark magic varied on how it interacted with a targets magic. Some acted like a poison in the body, some acted more like a parasite, etc. Luckily, he should be able to observe how the Ritual dealt with the dark magic directly in a way many others couldn't which should allow him somewhat of an advantage in creating this.

"It sounds very interesting… but you already agreed to at least one week and I won't let you go back on that." Hermione told him sternly. Harry rolled his eyes at his bushy haired friend.

"I wouldn't expect anything less… Well, it looks like I am not doing anything for the rest of the day, does anyone need help with their work? How about you Ron? How are your experiments going?" He asked.

"I am glad you asked Harry. So far, any transmutation I have tried has completely destroyed the material and left nothing but ash." Ron said happily. Harry rose an eyebrow at the boy.

"Interesting… Do you know why?"

"I actually do, yes. From what I know about Alchemy, it usually means the base material I am using is to weak to hold the magic of the transmutation. So it destroys itself." Ron told him.

"Well, what are you using as a base? And what are you trying to turn it into?"

"Oh, I am just using some stones I found out by the lake. I am trying to turn them into crystals." Ron told him. Harry blinked at that.

"Why are you using those?"

"Because they're free and there's like a million of them." Ron told him as if what he asked was stupid, which maybe it was. He didn't know enough about Alchemy to say.

"I can't argue with that I suppose… So, what's the solution?" Harry asked.

"I need to alter the conversion equation to either use less magic or maybe find a way to bleed away the magic into something else. I don't know, I'll try a few things. You might be able to help me with the math though. You know, make sure it all looks like it checks out."

"Sure, that's fine. Nothing else today."

"Thanks mate!"

Several Hours Later.

"If you're this tired already Harry then maybe you need a break more than you thought." Hermione said to him as they sat together in the Ravenclaw common room. It was barely seven-thirty in the evening and Harry had already said he was going to bed.

"Yes, well, I have to do something before going to bed… And no, not to do with any of my projects." Harry interrupted before Hermione could try and jump on him. She gave him a hard look as if she wasn't sure if she should believe him or not but Harry just rolled his eyes at her.

"I'm fine. I'm about to go up though and I just wanted to say goodnight." Harry told her politely as he stood up. Hermione watched him get up with a careful.

"Very well… Goodnight Harry. I shall see you tomorrow. I shall wait here for you before breakfast as always."

"Thank you. Alright, see you later then."

"Goodnight."

With that, Harry walked away from his friend and made his way to the Ravenclaw boy's dorm. He thanked whatever higher power existed every day that he was allowed to have his own room. If he wasn't, he'd likely just sleep in his club room and he had a feeling the other members wouldn't be to happy about that.

He entered said room and immediately started to go through his final activities for the night including changing clothes and brushing his teeth before heading back and laying in bed. With that, he closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment.

When he opened them again, he looked around to confirm he was indeed in his mindscape. He looked to both the sitting area as well as the arena and made sure that he had beaten Ciri here. He saw both areas empty which is just as he hoped and he immediately got to work. He would like have fifteen minutes to an hour at most before she arrived and absolutely everything needed to be perfect. With that, he got to work on crafting an illusion on their shared mindscape.

Forty-Five Minutes Later

"Ahh, Harry you have no idea the day I…"

Harry simply smiled at Ciri as he watched her form shimmer into existence in front of him and lock eyes with him. As soon as she did, she started to talk at him as she almost always did before stopping after a moment in a shocked silence that gave Harry a small a bit of pride and happiness.

Instead of looking at him, Ciri had begun to look around their shared mindscape. The library shelves, sitting area, and training area were completely gone, as were the walls that confined them into one 'room'. Instead, they now appeared to be outside. And they weren't just anywhere either, they appeared to be on the top of an extremely high mountain part of a beautiful snowy mountain range. The top of said mountain had a flattened area with a near thirty-foot radius. Around the area where several standing torches illuminating the area in a soft orange glow. If you went to the edge of the flat area, there was an immediate and steep drop going down said mountain for a terrifying, beautiful, and awe-inspiring view of the rest of the snowy mountain range on all sides.

The sky above was completely clear and was a dark blue as if to show the sun had only set recently. Despite this, there seemed to be almost billions of stars littered across the darkened skyline above them. To put the finishing touch on it all, the milky way streaked across the sky right above their heads in a tremendous view.

Despite the height and the snow that was present on both the mountain they were on as well as the others around them, the air was still rather warm though there seemed to be a soft cool breeze consistently flowing over the top of the mountain that was rather comfortable on the skin. Further contradicting the feeling of the temperature was the tiny sprinkles of pure white snow lazily drifting down from the sky above them. They seemed to dissolve the closer they got towards the ground though this was to prevent the question on why it wasn't piling up around them.

Besides the view, there was also a beautifully carved dining table on the middle of the flattened ground with two matching chairs on either end of it. On the table were to candles sitting on each side of the table next to a plate and several eating utensils along with a wine glass. Between the ends of the table was an entire banquet of food from a stuffed pig, to a turkey. There were soups and sides with cheeses and fruits in abundance looking as if they had been freshly picked or made.

Overall, every detail provided before them showed an impossibly picturesque setting that was made to stun. Judging from the look on Ciri's face too, it was working too. His friend's jaw was dropped as she eyed everything from the table, too the lights. From the lights, she moved on to the view both above and below them as she drank in everything her eyes could see. She slowly then looked up into the sky and stared directly at the galaxy seemingly splitting the heavens apart.

As he watched her stunned form, Harry moved closer to her and eyed her clothes. It was a simple shirt and shorts which she had worn to bed. Usually he'd turn them into trousers as soon as he saw her because she felt more comfortable in them. This time though, they would have to do something a little different.

Harry waved his had in front of him towards her while she was still distracted. Immediately, the clothes she was wearing were replaced, in their place, was a silver strapless dress made from silk that had a light blue outline on it. It was much more similar to the dresses in his world then hers so it was tighter and more form fitting. He had chosen this for a reason though and that was because it had slits going down the sides by her legs. If one looked close enough, they could see was actually wearing trousers under said dress in a white color to blend with her look.

With her done, Harry changed his attention to himself and placed an illusion on himself. Immediately, his clothes were replaced and he wore a black on white suit with matching pants. The look, while high class looking, was a little more casual as the jacket was left unbuttoned in the front exposing the black vest he was earing underneath. He had a green light blue bowtie of the same color as the outline of Ciri's dress.

Harry must've done a rather good job of staying quiet because Ciri didn't even notice their dress change as she continued to look up at the sky with wonder. Harry couldn't help but smile as she continued to stare feeling happy that she appreciated his creation.

"As much as I agree on it's beauty, I am afraid I didn't set all this up so we could look at the sky all night." Harry said cutting through her thoughts. Ciri seemed to jump a little as he dragged her back to reality. Her eyes came to his before almost immediately going down to his clothes. He watched her expression go to confused before they went down even further and looked at her own outfit, which caused even more confusion.

"Harry, wha-…"

"Shhhh…" Harry said as he came close and wrapped her in his arms as he gave her a tight hug. She hesitantly returned it though it was clear she was still VERY confused. He rolled his eyes though she couldn't see it before deciding to take mercy on her.

"Happy Birthday, Ciri." He said next to her ear before pulling away and giving her a smile. Ciri's face went from confusion to shocked in a second. He really was enjoying all the different expressions she was making in such a short period. It was almost amusing.

"Birthday… You remembered?"

"Of course. How could I not, you reminded me of it once a month for the last four months." Harry teased as she blushed and looked away.

"Well, that's because you didn't remember it the last few years…"

"That's because you hadn't told me when it was for me to know to celebrate it until this year." Harry shot back with a roll of his eyes. Ciri immediately whipped forward and slugged him in the arm causing him to wince.

"You deserved that. Still, I would've never expected this. It feels almost real. Had I not known; I don't even think I'd be able to tell the difference. You even got the right feel for the air…" Ciri marveled as she went back to looking around in amazement again.

"Yes well, luckily, Albus had agreed with being my test subject to help me improve my illusions. He noticed the air sometimes felt off and I worked to correct that. He also aided me with some memories to create this place with, showing me some of the views he had seen in his lifetime for me to create this place… I'd ask what you think but I think I can guess."

"It's beautiful…" Ciri said immediately as she gave him a bright smile. He smiled back at that. It was always nice to hear it out loud when your work was appreciated.

"I'm glad you like it. I made it especially for you after all…" He said as he looked around.

"Why? You didn't have to go this far, you know?"

"It's my present to you. You did ask for one." Harry pointed out. Ciri glared.

"I was just joking around and you know it." She yelled in indignation. Harry smiled. He knew of course she hadn't actually expected him to get her anything but he still wanted to. She was his best friend after all and in terms of value, she mattered more than anything else to him. She deserved to have his best.

"I know you were, but I wanted to get you something. Forgive me, this is all I can manage at this point, but one day, I'll give you something real, something tangible." He promised her seriously.

"You don't have to go so far, this is already… It's amazing. Jeez, this might be the best present I have ever been given." She told him as she looked at him, becoming less and less distracted by the sights around them.

"Well, I look forward to topping it next year. For now though… I have quite the night planned for us. So, I guess it would be best if we got started." He told her seriously. With that, he got down on one knee in front of her, he then reached out and grabbed her hand. She simply rose and eyebrow and stared at him in confusion once more.

"Cirilla Riannon… Would you do me the honor of being my date to a dinner I am hosting this evening in your honor?" He asked her seriously. She observed at him blankly for a moment before taking a deep sigh and rolling her eyes.

"Really? That might have been the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard you say." She told him in exasperation. He struggled to keep the smirk of his face and made sure to maintain his serious demeanor.

"Is that a yes?"

"Fine, but only if you get up right now. This is embarrassing!" She told him with a glare. Indeed, her cheeks did look slightly more red than usual. He would simply count that as another win, in his book. With her confirmation, he dropped his serious appearance and let the smirk he had been holding back appear on his face.

"Thank you, M'lady. I shall do my best to make sure you don't regret this."

"I already am…"

With that, Harry dragged her over to the table. He reached out and pulled her chair out and gestured for her to sit in it. She simply crossed her arms and gave him a deadpan look.

"Really?"

"It's tradition! I want to do this right." He shot back. She rolled her eyes again before acquiescing to his demands and came over to sit in the chair. As soon as she did, he scooted her back into place before making his way back to his chair which was across from her. Harry had wanted them to be able to talk comfortably so he hadn't made the table too long. It was only around six feet long and four feet. He got into his own chair before scooting in and smiling across the table.

"So… How are we doing this, can we just reach in and grab what we want or would that break with your whole 'tradition' thing?" She asked sarcastically. He simply smiled.

"Just either call out or point to the food you want and a portion will appear on your plate." Harry said as he gestured to the pig, the bread rolls, and some grapes, all of which appeared on his plate a moment later.

"And the drink?"

"I actually had something I wished for you to try from my world. It's called butterbeer. If you don't like it though just think of another drink and the glass will fill with it." Harry told her. She looked curiously at her wine glass that filled with a light brown liquid as soon as she touched it. He watched her bring it to her lips and sip it tentatively. Her eyes shot open at the taste.

"It's sweet! And it's bubbling in my mouth and throat!" She exclaimed with excitement.

"Do you like it?" He asked her.

"I think so… It's very different from anything else I have tasted but I do think I like it; I just need to become more used to the strange sensation." She replied as she continued to take more sips. He nodded, happy that it hadn't tasted bad to her. With that out of the way, Ciri immediately began pointing and several items of food and watching them appear on her plate. She completely filled it before she started to dig in. Harry simply watched for a moment

"I gave you a fork for a reason you know."

"The Gods gave me hands for one too."

"… I suppose I can't really argue with that."

With that, Harry started eating as well though at a much more sedated past. The food was an absolute delight. Taste and smell where always the hardest senses for him to mimic. He could do it easily but getting the various individual tastes and smells just right was a challenge. It was like he could make a decent version of it usually, enough to pass a test but this was the difference between an Outstanding and an Acceptable.

"This is all so good! Why have you not made food like this before?"

"To make food that taste this good, you need to study it thoroughly. I had to eat all of these things several times in the last two months. I had to then go in and review the memories each time I did to make sure they were ingrained. Tasting this though, it was worth it. I can't tell the difference between this and the real thing." Harry said as he looked at a piece of pork at the end of his fork.

"Well, we can just have this every night from now on… Am I going to get full?"

"Yes, though at a slower rate than normal." Harry told her as he began chewing once more. With that, they went back on eating from all the food in front of them. Harry tried to only have a small amount of each thing so he would be able to try everything. When his plate got full of the remains of his food, he would toss it to the side where it would dissolve as it fell to the ground, then he would keep going.

"So, how was your day besides this then?" Harry asked.

"Great. Geralt allowed us to go easy on our training today and they made me a special dinner as well to celebrate. They all got me gifts."

"Really, what did you end up getting?"

"Eskel got me a hunting dagger. Coen gave me a Cintran ornate coin with my families coat of arms on it."

"That was nice of them. What about the other one? Lambert?"

"Hehehe. He snuck me a few sips of some mead for the first time! I think it was just because he forget to actually get me something, but it was still amazing!" Ciri told him. Harry rolled his eyes at the actions of that mine though made no comment on an underage person having alcohol.

"What about Geralt?"

"He gave me a wolf medallion like the ones they all wear! It was so cool. Here, I had it when I went to bed but SOMEONE changed my clothes…"

"Do you not like them?"

"Well… I guess there not terrible. At least I can still move in these." She replied looking down at the dress she was wearing.

"I chose it specifically with you in mind. I know you once said you hated wearing the dresses. I figured these would hopefully be a little more tolerable to you."

"Well, it's certainly better than what I've had to wear up to this point. Though, the top is a little…"

"What?"

"It's kind of obscene."

"It is?"

"Well, I'm exposing literally everything above my chest!" She exclaimed as she looked at him. Harry just looked at her in confusion.

"I mean… There's nothing above your chest to really be exposed is there?"

"It's… Never mind. It's fine. The dress is very pretty and comfortable and that's all that matters." She told him as she started to chug down some butterbeer. Her cheeks were clearly red again though he didn't really understand it this time. He decided not to comment rather than accidently say or think the wrong thing.

With that, they drifted back into easier conversation topics as she finished telling him about her day up to this point. Hearing it, she sounded extremely happy. Harry had a small smile on his face as he watched her continue on in on.

It wasn't so long ago that her entire home and the rest of her family had passed away. He remembered how desolate she looked in the aftermath. Even when she seemed to sort of get adopted by that other family, she hadn't been the same. Her road to real recovery had only started when Geralt had come to get her.

He was still upset that he had been unable to help her but he was glad that when she needed it, somebody was. Besides, one day he was sure he would be able to help her to, even if he had to tear open the barrier between worlds with his bare hands and hop through it.

"… and then Eskel smacked Lambert on the back of the head with a big wooden spoon and Coen snorted so mead came out of his nose! It was so funny!"

"It sounds like it. I'm happy you had a good time… Well, how was the meal? Considering how many plates you had, I assumed you enjoyed it?"

"Very much! That was probably some of the best tasting food I have ever had!"

"Well, we do have more advanced cooking techniques and a lot more spices that are available to you, at least, I assume so." Harry told her as he set his own plate aside and simply took small sips of his drink. Ciri was miraculously still eating. Harry was getting to the point where he was getting impressed. Even with the slower rate she should be getting full at. Then again, she exercised quite a lot. She probably was used to taking in a lot of calories.

"I definitely wish I could eat food like this every day… So, how was your day?"

"Hmm… My friends tied me to a chair and wouldn't release me until I took a break from my projects, then imposed rules on me for more future mandatory breaks." He answered nonchalantly.

"Good. You push yourself way too much as it is. Imagine if they knew that you were also doing work when you are in here every night." Ciri said back without missing a beat. Harry frowned at that dig.

"You use the arena to train almost everyday too." He pointed out.

"Yeah for a couple of hours. Then I do other things, like rest, or read. You just work, work, work. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, it isn't healthy Harry." Ciri told him. Harry sighed.

"Perhaps, but, as I said, I have now been ordered to take more breaks so there you go. Besides, you know me, I just have so many things I want to accomplish."

"There's nothing wrong with that. I get the feeling you're still only pushing yourself this hard so we can meet faster."

"You don't want to meet?"

"I do but I also meet you every day here and it feels as real as something can get. Overall, nothing will change even if you find a way." She told him seriously. Harry disagreed with that. The next time she got in trouble, he wouldn't have to sit helplessly twiddling his thumbs. He wanted to be able to reach out to her.

"Hmm." Was all he said in return as he closed his eyes and took a longer sip of his drink.

"I know what that means. Means you're going to keep doing stupid stuff but you don't want me to yell at you for it so you're not going to comment."

"I guess that's the tradeoff of spending half your life with someone. You can't really lie to them." Harry said with a roll of his eyes at her deduction.

"Damn right you can't. So, don't bother trying." She told him seriously before going back to picking at her food.

When she finally finished, she patted her belly in satisfaction before sinking into her chair. Harry loved the contrast of the beautiful mountain range behind her, the magical snow gently falling around her and then the beautiful skyline. Then, right in the middle was Ciri who was leaning back in her chair, grease stains all over her face and food ones on her dress while she rubbed her belly. It was a truly amusing sight.

Without, they sat in a comfortable silence for a moment as Ciri finally stopped playing with her stomach and looked across the table at him. For a while, they simply stared at each other. Finally, she scooted her chair back and stood up.

"Alright, get me out of these clothes and into something comfortable please." She said as she held her arms out. Harry rolled his eyes before waving his hand in the air. Immediately, the fancy clothes they were wearing dissolved and were replaced with the usual clothes they wore. She looked down at herself and nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, now get rid of this table and put a big bed there instead, I want to lay down and relax." She ordered. Harry immediately stood up and as soon as he did, the chair he was under disappeared along with the one Ciri had been sitting in as well as the table full of food. With that, he transfigured a big black bed that would be considered a King sized in his world. Ciri immediately jumped onto it and started tossing and turning until she found the spot most comfortable to her. Harry was oddly reminded of a stretching cat as she did so. Once she settled down, he made his way over and took the spot next to her before laying down comfortably on the bed.

"So, as far as gifts go, how did I do?" He asked her.

"You're up there."

"Did I at least beat Lambert?"

"Hahahahaha. Yes, I suppose you did." She laughed. He smiled at that as he continued to look up at the galaxy spanning light years above him.

"Hey Harry?"

"What's up?" He asked. Immediately, he felt something soft press into his cheek causing him to freeze. He immediately felt his cheeks start to warm up as he felt the softness leave him. He turned his head so he could look at her.

"What was that for?"

"Wanted to thank you for putting all this together. I really enjoyed this." She told him softly. Harry felt his blush deepen and he was sure his cheeks were closing in on nuclear temperatures.

"… Are you sure you should be kissing strange boys? I mean, you have technically started womanhood. Someone might get the wrong idea…" Harry tried to tease to hid the embarrassment he was feeling. He couldn't quite place it, but Ciri's kiss made him feel… strange. It was like a sudden tingle had begun in stomach and spreading.

"Meh, I'm sure it'll be alright. I have grown quite fond of this strange boy after all. Besides, I'm not exactly a princess anymore. Which means I can kiss whoever I like." She joked back as she scooted closer to him and seemed to bury herself into his side. He lifted his arm so she could before setting it back down so it was around her.

"Ahh… This is the life." Ciri sighed signaling her feelings of content. Harry just nodded as he did his best to calm his heart which had suddenly decided to beat as fast as it could. He prayed to whoever would listen that Ciri wouldn't be able to hear it.

Apparently, she didn't as they finally drifted off and simply laid together. That was how they spent the rest of their shared night. All throughout it though, Harry couldn't help but think about his strange reactions he had to Ciri. He also couldn't stop himself on reminiscing about what she had looked like in her dining dress. She had been rather pretty if he did say so himself.

Next Day

Harry sat up as he watched Professor Flitwick go through the wand motions on how to cancel the tickling charm, he had just shown them. Harry looked blandly at the man as he did so. He wasn't the best at charms but he was definitely ahead of the class and likely could be doing charms at a second-year level. Hermione had already mastered all the charms for the rest of the year and quite the amount for next year as well. He had watched her enough to see how the magic was performed to be able to partially mimic.

Harry flinched as he was forcefully driven from his thoughts by a sharp pain in his head. It died down for a minute causing him to look around. That hadn't felt like a headache. It felt like something had been squeezing on his mental shield from all directions. He frowned as he stood up drawing the attention of his diminutive professor.

"Sorry, Professor, but I believe I need to go to the nurse." He told the man. Flitwick look surprised at his words but nodded nonetheless.

"Of course, Mr. Potter. Do you need someone to take you?" He asked. Harry stood at the affirmation.

"No, I think I'm…" He froze as the pressure came on again suddenly. This time, it was amplified to the max, shattering his shields and tearing into his mind. He shut his eyes, and opened his mouth to scream but it never came out, all he could feel was pain before everything went black and there was nothing.

Several Hours Later

Harry woke up feeling like his whole body weighed a ton. He blinked a few times to try and get the sleep out of them as he slowly took in his surroundings. He was in the hospital wing, that much he could tell right away. As usual, it appeared empty. He looked to the side and saw that Hermione was sitting in a chair next to his bed and was asleep. She had probably been worried since she had been in the class with him before whatever happened to him, happened.

"How are you feeling, my boy?" Harry looked to his left and saw Albus sitting next to him. That was strange, he hadn't been there a second ago, he was sure of it. He must've had a strange look on his face because a Albus seemed to take notice.

"A simple notice-me-not. We are also under a silencing charm so we don't wake dear Ms. Granger. I thought you would prefer to speak privately first." Albus told him gently. Harry nodded at the man gratefully as he carefully sat up a little more. He felt lighter now that he had shaken the sleepy feeling off. There didn't seem to be anything physically wrong with him.

"What happened after I passed out?" Harry asked, getting right into it.

"Well, you caused something of a panic in your class and then Professor Flitwick brought you immediately here. Young Mr. Weasley and Longbottom were here as well though just went down to go and get some food. Ms. Granger has been here since the class period where you collapsed. Do you mind explaining to me what happened?" Albus asked. Harry thought about that for a moment.

"I don't know entirely myself, but I do know somethings… For one, something shattered my mental barriers." Harry started. Albus look surprised at that before becoming deadly serious.

"Shattered you say? You have decent shields, to do so that quickly… Do you know who did it?" Albus asked. Harry frowned as he thought back to the experience. He had already started looking back at his memories of the incident and going over them methodically, trying to pay attention to anything he might have missed.

"I don't believe it was anyone. Well, at least no one in this castle. The experience was strange, it wasn't like a normal attack."

"Can you elaborate?"

"It wasn't like being attacked normally; it was more like… It was like a presence had descended over my mind. It then pushed down from everywhere and simply broke through with ease. It was unlike anything I ever felt before. Even with the practice you have done on me." Harry told his guardian. Albus didn't look happy to hear that. The old man frowned in thought.

"You said no one in this school, were you then suggesting that the attack came from Young Ciri's side?" He asked. Harry nodded.

"I believe so but I haven't confirmed yet. I can't reach her."

"Is that a concern?"

"Yes. When we sleep, we simply go to the mindscape, after all. Even outside of that, we can contact each other with thoughts alone. In this case, I cannot directly feel her presence which means she has likely been rendered unconscious. It's not terribly uncommon given her training though. That being said, the shattering of our mental barriers should have likely caused her some pain as well. I can't do anything about it until she responds though." Harry admitted with worry clearly evident in his voice.

"Have faith. From what you have told me, Young Ciri is a tough young woman, I am sure she will come out of this well. Now, what else can you possibly tell me?"

"Hmm, I don't know what the presence was but it's goal didn't seem to be to actually harm me or even Ciri. There's no issue in terms of memory and they didn't even cause damage to either of our minds. Yet, whatever it was, seemed more concerned with domination, which I am not sure is more or less worrying. Once it gained control, I passed out. Had I not tried to fight it though, I'm not sure if I would have felt the same level of pain." Harry theorized. Albus nodded at that.

"Would you give me permission to briefly enter your mind? I shall not look at anything, I just wish to make sure there is no damage or alteration you might have missed." Dumbledore asked already drawing his wand. Harry steeled himself but nodded. Dumbledore silently cast the spell on him and Harry immediately felt the man in his mind.

It was a strange experience to have a stranger in his mind willingly. He felt his mind instinctively not like the foreign intrusion even if it was friendly. He had to stop himself from reacting in any way to Dumbledore. He briefly wondered why he never experienced such a feeling when he and Ciri first began meeting, or when he started crafting his mindscape. He didn't think on it long though as he eventually felt Albus withdraw from his mind.

"I could find no issue, which lends credence to the idea, that the presence you described wasn't there to outright harm or alter you in anyway. But if it wished to dominate your mind, what was the point? You simply passed out after anyway. It didn't do anything before leaving?"

"I can't answer that, I assume it was after Ciri but I don't know and I shall have to wait longer to find out. I can tell you after I see her though." He told his guardian. Dumbledore nodded before going silent. Harry did the same as he continued to think on the experience. As he did so, he started to rebuild his mind shields back to their full strength.

"Well, I should probably leave you to it then. I have a feeling the rest of your friends will be rejoining you soon and they deserve to have some time with you. Tomorrow is the weekend, so feel free to stay and rest if you believe you need it. Just make sure you don't leave until Madame Pomfrey clears you properly." Albus told him with a familiar amused twinkle back in his eye. Harry rolled his eyes from the thought of the pushy but loving woman.

"Of course. I shall come visit you soon with an update." Harry told him. Dumbledore nodded before silently standing and walking away. As he left, Harry could feel the magic he had placed for silencing disperse from him silently cancelling as he left. Harry rolled his eyes at the display before once more looking over at Hermione. He had a feeling he was going to get an earful when she woke up.