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  This chapter was edited by Gdiusx. Check his works on HP and ASOIAF, I highly recommend them.

  “Tracey! What are you doing here?”

  “This is the girl's bathroom. Whatever would I be doing here, I wonder?” Harry could practically taste the sassiness in the blonde witch's voice as her smile turned even more saccharine. “The question is, what are you doing here with Harry Potter? All alone in the girl's bathroom, no less.”

  “I-It’s not what it looks like!” Hermione hurried to remove the chain with a fluster, only to get it even more tangled around them.

  “Oh? But what else would such an interesting scene be other than you two having a sordid rendezvous behind Susan's back?”

  Despite the accusation, Harry felt nothing but mirth and amusement from Tracey. The girl approached them with her hands folded behind her back as she wiggled her eyebrows, firmly reminding Harry that despite how cool and calm she acted, Tracey Davis was definitely Daphne’s sister.

  Taking their awkward silence as an invitation to prod further, Tracey stepped closer.

  “So whatcha got there? Has to be something important if you're trying to hide it.” Hermione flinched horribly, causing the chain to strain in a lock of her hair. Tracey rolled her eyes as she helped untangle it from her bushy hair. “Oh, calm down, Hermione. We wouldn't want to break the Time Turner, now.”

  “How do you know about–”

  “My mother was the first of her year and encouraged me to work hard to become first as well.” Tracey shrugged. “She told me all about how she used the Time Turner to get into all sorts of mischief, even while everyone praised her for being a model student.” The blonde girl then gred at Hermione, “Who would have thought I would lose to you by a few points, particurly in Herbology? Ugh, I hate that subject. Your ability to give your all in every single subject is absolutely bonkers!”

  Hermione looked away in guilt for a moment before narrowing her eyes in defiance. She opened her mouth to retort, but–

  “Nevermind, I don't actually bme you, Hermione.” Harry had already realised there was no heat or anger in Tracey’s voice and let the two girls talk it out. “More like I bme myself for not giving my all. Perhaps Father was right when he theorised the muggleborn effect.”

  “Oh, what's that?”

  “Ah, well, you see, there's already so few muggleborns already, just three in our year. Oh wait, I heard Dean Thomas discovered a long-lost uncle. And Justin Finch-Fletchely is convinced his grandmother was a squib, but he is still looking into the matter. Anyway, Father believes that being so few in number forces muggle-borns to overachieve in an effort to prove themselves. Growing up in a non-magical environment also makes them much more open to magic, especially when unaware of well-known limitations.”

  “Oh, that's very fascinating! Would that be simir to the immigrant effect? My grandfather mentioned it when I visited a few–”

  Harry coughed, startling both girls as they seemingly forgot about him. He was hesitant to add more people to his and Hermione’s little secret, but he felt he could trust Tracey. “While I am sure this is a very riveting discussion, I believe we should be on our way. Tracey, it's too te for us to ask you to keep a secret. Instead, how about you join us?”

  The blonde girl’s smile turned warm as her cheeks turned a cute red. “If Hermione doesn't mind. I had looked forward to using a Time Turner. Oh, the amount of things we could do in just one day!”

  Hermione looked at the chain in her hands thoughtfully before shrugging. “I suppose one more person won't hurt. Okay, get in here, quickly before someone else shows up, or worse, Myrtle.”

  Harry frowned but was distracted by Tracey excitedly hopping under the chain, nearly hugging them to fit in, as Hermione fiddled with the device — she smelled the same as always: citrus and vender. “How many hours should we go?”

  “It’s nearly five now. Let's go back to one o'clock; csses would be in session, and the hallways should be empty.” Harry gnced at the many grains of sand in the hourgss. “How many hours do you have?”

  “I've used three hours this morning, but they have already refilled.” Harry grinned as ideas floated in his mind. A gnce at Tracey found her equally excited. Hermione, however, looked quite drowsy. “Alright, going back four hours…now.”

  Just as Hermione activated the Time Turner, Harry’s neck whipped towards the door as it was about to open. Someone was coming! Thankfully, Hermione didn’t hesitate, and the world whirred around them as a few figures appeared on and off. It was so fast it would have given most people vertigo, and he doubted much could be gleaned from how the world shook.

  Harry was not most people, however.

  He recognised Myrtle’s ghostly form coming and going, but also a couple of older girls, likely sixth or seventh years, hurrying in before embracing each other, kissing and groping, before leaving. It was still too fast for him to recognise them, and before he could focus, the scene shifted again until suddenly, they stopped.

  And found Moaning Myrtle staring at them strangely before smiling widely. “Harry! You came to visit after all!”

  “Hello, Myrtle.” Harry nodded in greeting as Hermione extracted the chain from around them and shoved the Time Turner back under her robes. “It’s been a while.”

  “Oh, yes! You came, just like you always did whenever you visited that horrid Chamber. And to come here right on the first day of school, too! I knew I could trust your words.”

  Tracey looked at him strangely and was about to open her mouth, but Harry subtly pinched her thigh for silence. Strangely, the girl’s breathing hitched as she blushed and stayed quiet.

  “I am a man of my word. Now, can I trust you to keep my presence here a secret? You must understand that I can hardly be known to visit the girl’s bathrooms.”

  “Of course, Harry.” The ghost leered at the three of them. “My, Harry, bringing two girls here. Don’t worry, I don’t tattle tale. All the older year girls bring their girlfriends and boyfriends here for some fun time. They know I won’t tattle as long as I get to watch, but for you, Harry, I will make an exception.”

  Harry’s retionship with Myrtle was a strange one. He felt pity for the girl who was murdered by Voldemort simply because she was in the wrong pce at the wrong time. Even before her death, she was a perfect example of what Tracey mentioned earlier: a muggle-born overachiever. Yet, the nail that stood out tended to be hammered down, and Myrtle Warren was ruthlessly bullied during her school year by witches and wizards with lesser academics and an inferiority complex.

  It did not stop him from being annoyed with the girl’s antics, however. “Thank you, Myrtle. We will be off then.”

  He dragged Hermione and Tracey towards the door while pulling his invisibility cloak out at the same time. “We can’t afford to have Filch or Peeves wondering what we are doing outside of csses. Get in.”

  Hermione obeyed quickly, used as she was to their many adventures under the cloak. Tracey, on the other hand, needed another nudge from Harry as she was too busy being awestruck by the cloak. The blonde girl joined them, and they had to huddle down together to cover all the way down to their shoes; the st time Harry, Ron, and Hermione used the cloak at the same time, they were much smaller than now. Still, the cloak did well enough to hide them, though Harry could have sworn he felt it shifting for a moment.

  Opening the door, he peeked outside, finding the corridors deserted, and led the two girls out. With the way the cloak was spread around them, Harry, being the tallest, had to hold both girls’ shoulders as he led them towards the staircase to the dungeons.

  “Where are we going?” Tracey asked, her voice surprisingly subdued.

  “The kitchens. I don’t know about you two, but it’s dinner time for me.”

  Hermione giggled, but her ugh quickly shifted to a yawn. “I suppose I could eat, though I really need to finish the rest of my homework.”

  “And sleep.” Harry insisted. “We can still use the Time Turner one more time by five o’clock or so.”

  “I’ve never been to the kitchens before.” Tracey frowned. “I am also not sure about the specifics of the device, but I recall my mother mentioning several limitations to the Time Turner.”

  “Yes, but let’s discuss this ter,” Hermione whispered as they quickly hid behind a suit of armour as the Bloody Baron floated past them. “Keep quiet now.”

  For the next few minutes, the three silently made their way down to the dungeons, turned in the opposite direction from the Slytherin common rooms and stopped halfway to the corridor leading to the Hufflepuff common room. Right in front of the familiar portrait of fruits and food.

  “Right, let’s not waste time, or else risk a Badger spotting us.” Harry removed the cloak and tickled the pear, causing the rge portrait to open like a door and allowing them into the rge kitchens modelled like the Great Hall above them. “Welcome, Tracey, to the Hogwarts Kitchens!”

  .

  .

  .

  “So the Time Turner can’t be used again until nine in the evening?!”

  Harry, Hermione, and Tracey were enjoying their lunch after an exuberant greeting from Leeney and the other elves. It had been a while since they st saw each other, but the elves were more than happy to serve them an early dinner (te lunch for them), though only after Harry assured them that Dobby was not in the school. He had just finished his grilled trout with roasted vegetables and was about to start on a pumpkin pie when Hermione dashed his hopes of doing another run with the Time Turner.

  “Afraid so. We went back four hours, and it will need another four hours to recharge, though we could use it anytime after six as long as we don’t go back to five in the afternoon.” Hermione drowsily expined as she absentmindedly ate her sausages. “I can force it, I suppose, since it would still have about seven hours' worth of time, but Professor McGonagall warned against using it within the same timeframe as a previous return. Once in a day, at an hour interval like I did this morning, is safe enough. But using it for more than two hours several times at the same interval? That's too risky!”

  “Makes sense. We wouldn’t want to bump into our past selves.” Tracey nodded as she daintily ate her chicken sad. “While I wouldn’t blink an eye if I found a doppelganger of myself walking in right now, the previous rendition of me who had no knowledge of the Time Turner would most likely start hexing at anyone appearing to use Polyjuice as me.”

  “There’s that, but using the Time Turner more than once in the same time frame could cause it to break. Something about the dangers of messing with time and the Time Turner failing to recharge due to the confluence of the time grains.” Hermione added before stifling a yawn and pushing away the pte of food. “I think I’m done eating. I have a lot of homework to go through and I need to find a suitable pce to do so. I doubt it would be wise to go to the common room right now.”

  “No homework for you!” Harry retorted, causing his bushy-haired friend to flinch wide-eyed at him. “You are about to colpse, Hermione.”

  “Am not! This is only the first day; I can’t just show weakness after just a couple of extra csses!”

  “Hermione, this is not a sprint but a marathon.” Tracey gently reminded. “Remember that my mother also used the Time Turner, and she had even more csses than you. Yes, they offered more electives back in the sixties and seventies, but that’s not the point.” The blonde witch added when Hermione’s jaw dropped. “She told me the only way she remained sane was through using the Time Turner at every opportunity for rest or even to just have fun.”

  “But…” Hermione suddenly yawned, causing her to blush madly as Harry and Tracey grinned. “Oh, fine! I thought since you were studious like me, you would be on my side, Tracey.”

  “Like you? No one is like you, girl.” Tracey visibly cringed, causing Hermione to pout. “I might take my csses seriously, but you take it to a whole other level. Now, let’s get you somewhere to rest. You do know a pce to sleep, right? It wouldn’t be smart to return to your dorms.”

  She had a point. Noticing a familiar-looking elf with white hair and purple eyes, he called out to her. “Dany, do you know a pce where we could rest or sleep without anyone finding us? Somewhere that could also double as a studying room would be nice.”

  “Oh yes, I know a great pce, sir.” The elf excitedly hopped over. “It is known by us as the Come and Go Room, sir, or else as the Room of Requirement!”

  “Room of Requirement? Strange name.” Tracey commented.

  “Because it only works when someone really needs it,” Dany expined seriously, several of the other elves nodding along nearby. “Sometimes it is there, and sometimes it is not, but when it appears, it is always equipped for the seeker’s needs. Dany and the other elves usually use it to store unwanted or forgotten things.”

  “It also helps when a student needs to hide something urgently before Filch catches them,” Leeney added, the old elf smiling in amusement. “Those Weasley twins stumbled on it a couple of times yet never managed to find it again, leaving their ill-gotten gains in the room for someone else to find.”

  Harry snickered, even as he tried to hide how surprised he was at such a magnificent room. From the sound of things, it must be some sort of highly advanced conjuration and transfiguration magic.

  “How many people know about it?” Tracey asked with wide eyes. “There is no way no one would have heard of such a fantastic pce!”

  “Very few. Those who find it stumble across the Room when they need it, but often they never find it again, for they do not know that it is always there waiting to be called into service.” Dany continued before gncing at Leeney. “I can show you how to get in if Leeney allows.”

  The elderly house elf frowned. “As long as you come straight back here. We still need to prepare for dinner, and Professor Babbling has to take over Potions without the Headmaster here. She has been summoning elves to clean up more than normal, and I expect we will need to thoroughly clean the potions cssrooms when the day ends.”

  The purple-eyed elf nodded, causing her ears to flop hard enough to strike her shoulders. “Whenever sir is ready.”

  “Excellent, let’s go, Hermio–oh great.”

  His bushy-haired friend was already gently snoring on the table, her head resting on her arms. Harry rubbed his brow as Tracey tittered.

  “I guess she really was more tired than we thought. Should we wake her?”

  “No need.” Harry moved to his friend, shifting his back and arm muscles to bulge as he easily lifted her before tossing the invisibility cloak to Tracey — thankfully, his robes hid his body well enough that she would not notice how he seemed to have grown a few more inches and suddenly gained muscle mass. “Stick close and prepare to cover us. Lead the way, Dany.”

  Tracey, staring at him in wonder as he easily carried Hermione, flinched when the cloak hit her face. She lightly grumbled as she picked up their bags and followed Dany out of the kitchens. The house elf did not lead them to the stairwell; instead, she led them deeper into the dungeons through dark and ominous corridors. Many torches were hung on the walls, which lit on their approach, erupting into smokeless green fmes. They travelled further, passing by abandoned cssrooms and halls.

  “Long before Dany’s time, these rooms were ever busy, very crowded, with students and craftsmen working for the school. Potion and alchemy bs, underground gardens, dark pces for materials that don’t like the sun…many experiments were made here throughout the ages!”

  “How do you know about this?” Tracey asked in wonder as she stared at one rge room with several diagrams carved into the ground. “This is a ritual chamber!”

  “The older elves talk about it. Ah, here we are.” Dany suddenly stopped between two doors where another torch was hung — it looked no different than any previous torch or room they had already passed by. “We just need to pull this down…”

  Harry chuckled as the house elf tried to reach the torch and gnced at the giggling Tracey, who pulled the torch down for her. Suddenly, there was a deep rumbling sound, and the wall opened outwards like a door, hitting them with a gust of dust and stale, mouldy air.

  “Ugh, this reeks. When was the st time someone came through here?”

  “Dany and the others usually just hop to wherever we need to be.” The house elf expined and hurried in. “Come on, this is a shortcut to where we need to go.”

  There was no corridor or a stairwell, just a room barely bigger than a broom cupboard. “And where do we need to go, Dany?”

  “The seventh floor corridor. That’s where the Room is located.”

  The elf tried to jump to reach another lever to close the door, only to miss it and stare imploringly at Tracey, who pulled it for her. The rge sb of granite that acted as a door closed itself, even though Harry detected no magic at all — not like he was the best at sensing magic anyway, but it was still strange to find a mechanical method in school yet still seem magical. Once the room was sealed, the elf pressed a loose-looking brick, almost like a button. Some rumbling occurred, and Harry almost felt they were rising as he felt his stomach shake, yet before a few heartbeats passed, the rumbling stopped.

  “So this is a lift? How come they don’t provide one for the students instead of the dodgy staircases?”

  “It’s an archaic system that was used to deliver rge orders from the basement to the different floors of the castle,” Dany expined to Tracey and pointed at several different bricks protruding from the door. “Each brick corresponds to a floor of the castle. In the past, there were a lot more students and residents that needed food, potions, and other things delivered.”

  “Wait, can’t house elves simply pop away and bring all sorts of things?”

  Dany looked at him strangely, “House Elves only started working in Hogiwarts after Helga Hufflepuff invited us two hundred years after the castle was built. Before that, they had muggles, mostly servants and serfs, or even squibs, working in the kitchens and dungeons. Many of the shortcuts in the castle were originally servant passages, but once elves took over, we did not need them and were abandoned.”

  Harry was impressed with how much history he was learning from a simple house elf — far more than anything he had ever learned from that dreadful ghost in History of Magic. Tracey also looked impressed and started asking the elf several more questions. Dany was enthused to answer all she knew, mentioning how she read the journals and diaries of past elves as a hobby. That house elves had a history, nguage, and script of their own was a surprise, but it made perfect sense.

  “So, where did you work before coming here, Dany?” Tracey suddenly asked, causing the elf to fidget and look around warily.

  “Dany had old bad masters. They went to bad wizards prison, and I no longer had home.” The elf’s grammar consistently got more haphazard the more nervous she became. “Headmaster Dumbledore offered home to many elves like Dany, and we gratefully accepted.”

  It was clear the subject was very difficult for the house elf to discuss, especially as she looked furtively in search of something. Harry could guess she was barely stopping herself from self-punishment.

  “We can talk more ter.” Harry coughed when Tracey was about to continue prodding curiously, causing her to blush and smile awkwardly. “Let’s head on to that room and drop off Hermione.”

  The elf nodded and had Tracey pull the lever, causing the door to open, “Dany suggests putting the hidey cloak on.”

  Tracey hurried to cover them, sticking closer to him than he thought was necessary, but the sly girl merely grinned as she silently traced her finger across his muscur chest. Harry merely sighed as he followed the elf out of the corridor, thankfully finding it empty. The door closed behind them, and Harry gnced at it, finding another torch; he memorised its location as it would be handy in the future. Looking down the corridor, he recognised where he was.

  “Isn’t that the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy?”

  “Who?”

  “Ah, you never had a reason to climb all the way here,” Harry replied to the blonde witch as they followed Dany, who seemed to be pacing in front of the portrait. “It’s close to the Ravencw tower.”

  “It’s here!”

  The elf suddenly stopped, and Harry stared bewildered. Just a second ago, the wall across from the portrait was bnk, with nothing interesting about it. Except now, there was a heavy oak door that Dany excitedly opened and urged them to enter — though she could not see them as she was waving a few feet away from them.

  Inside the room was not what Harry expected. It was a tiny broom cupboard with a cot thrown on the ground, reminding Harry of the cupboard under the stairs that he used to live in for the majority of his life.

  He sighed loudly as he took off the cloak and handed it to Tracey. “Dany, you do realise we need at least a human-sized bed, right?”

  The elf looked confused before her purple eyes widened as she stared at Hermione in his arms, still snoozing away without a worry in the world. Knowing what was about to happen, Harry swiftly grabbed the elf the moment she rushed towards the wall with her head down. “No need for punishments. It was an honest mistake.”

  “Dany is so sorry! Oh, Harry Potter really is as great as Dobby procimed when he worked here.”

  Harry grimaced, ignoring Tracey’s widening grin. “Just…tell us how the room works.”

  The elf nodded, her ears flopping around as she led them back outside and expined how the room worked. Pace in front of the wall three times while thinking about what you need. Visually imagining also helps. Harry adjusted his hold on Hermione, wondering how the girl could sleep through so much movement before realising a sensitive girl like her most likely didn’t even sleep after st night. Shaking his head, he waited for the door to disappear, then paced thrice and envisioned what he needed; another door appeared. Tracey opened it, showing a proper bedroom, not too different from his own back in the mansion.

  Harry entered the room, deposited Hermione on the bed after removing her robes and shoes, and scribbled a note expining where she was before leading Tracey outside after she dropped Hermione’s bag. Once in the corridor, Harry sighed in relief and turned to the house elf. “Thanks for your help, Dany. You may go now.”

  The House elf nodded before popping away, leaving Harry alone with Tracey as they watched the door disappear; they needed only to pace again and focus on Hermione for the door to reappear. The blonde witch handed him back his bag and looked at him expectantly, causing him to raise an eyebrow. “What?”

  “What do you mean ‘what’? What’s next?”

  “You’re free to do whatever you want, Tracey.” Harry sighed. “I’m going back to my dorm to drop my bag, then explore the castle. There has to be a lot more shortcuts and secrets all over Hogwarts, just waiting to be explored. You have,” he checked his watch, “three hours before you can show yourself again.”

  “And you expect me to hide in a broom cupboard until then? I can’t use the disillusionment charm, nor do I have a convenient cloak like yours.”

  Then why the bloody hell did you join us in the first pce?! Harry groaned inwardly. “What do you suggest?”

  “Show me the Gryffindor tower.” The blonde witch demanded, her emerald eyes shining in excitement.

  “Why would I ever do that?! Do you have any idea how much trouble we would be in if we were caught?”

  “If we are caught, which I'm sure won't happen with your trusty cloak and csses in session, it won't be as bad as you think. Contrary to popur belief, it's not against the rules to invite students from other houses to your common room. Merely frowned upon; at most, it would earn you a detention or two.”

  Harry gazed at the girl for a solid minute, trying to cow her with his gaze alone, but it seemed to do the opposite effect as Tracey’s eyes narrowed and her smile turned into a crooked smirk.

  “Besides, it's only fair you show me your common room, considering you invaded ours st year.” Harry's eyes widened and barely stopped himself from blurting a denial, yet the perceptive girl must have caught him. “Aha, I knew it! You really were polyjuiced as Crabbe and Goyle. I'm guessing Weasley joined you, but Hermione…didn't she spend a week in the hospital wing?”

  “How the bloody hell did you even figure that?!” Harry groaned and rubbed his hair so hard it turned even messier than normal. “Not even the teachers found out about it!”

  “It’s simple really. We were sitting right behind you in the common room as you interrogated Draco. Besides, Daphne caught you and Weasley dragging an unconscious Crabbe and Goyle into a broom cupboard and followed you to Myrtle's bathroom.”

  “That’s…” Harry wanted to cim it was impossible, but he hardly had his superior senses at the time, and Daphne could be sneaky when she wanted to. As for them sitting behind them, Harry and Ron were too focused on grilling Malfoy over checking their surroundings.

  Tracey did not seem to be done, however, and she approached him like a cat hunting a mouse. “Millicent also realised it when she had a look at Hermione and found her looking quite like her cat. Would you believe she was feeling guilty over punching her during that mock duel? Millie is quite smart and quickly realised the duplicity; it’s why she doesn’t like Hermione, by the way. But most importantly,” the troublesome blonde hugged his arm as she tiptoed to his ear and whispered, “You just confirmed it to me.”

  Harry gazed at the girl's smiling face, not feeling a hint of malice or ill will from her. On the contrary, he felt amusement, excitement, and something he usually sensed in Susan and Hermione. Trust? Acceptance? Affection? Harry did not know, but there was no doubt that despite his groaning and moaning, he couldn't help but enjoy his time with Tracey.

  She was smart, probably smarter than Hermione, and highly perceptive. Most importantly, she was a lot of fun. The next few hours were going to be just him exploring the castle, but what's so bad with having a companion? A partner in crime.

  “Fine, you got me. Let's give you a tour you won't forget, but if we are caught, I'll cim you dosed me on love potions. And no stealing kisses! I have a good thing going on with Susan, and I don't need you to ruin it for me.”

  Tracey nodded seriously. “I have not hidden my interest in you, and you already know I don't even mind sharing, but I'm not a home-wrecker, you know. If Susan is against it, then that's fine with me; I'm sure she will either come around or something will happen between you two. Anyway, let's go!”

  Harry cringed in dismay; the girl really was insistent, and yet Harry could not bring himself to deny her. It certainly helped soothe his ego that a cute girl like Tracey desired him so much that she would not mind sharing.

  Nevertheless, he would never betray Susan's trust.

  He led her down the corridor towards Gryffindor Tower. They had to dodge several students rushing towards their common room, both Ravencws and Gryffindors, yet they eventually made it to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Harry checked the surroundings, finding no one, and muttered the password from under the cloak.

  “Fortuna Major.”

  “Oh, an invisible student? Why so shy, dear?”

  “I have my reasons. Just open the door; you probably already know it's me.”

  “Right, you are, dearie. You do have quite a memorable tone. In you go.”

  Harry sighed in relief when the portrait door opened, and he hurried in with Tracey holding his hand. A few older years were in the common room, but the portrait hole had a tunnel of sorts that blocked the view for anyone watching the entrance unless they were right in front of them. With their invisibility, it was a simple matter for Harry to lead Tracey up to his dorm, even if the girl wanted to inspect the common room a bit more.

  The boys' dorms were empty, considering they were all having Care of Magical Creatures right now. Harry shut the door and removed the cloak before moving to his trunk.

  “So you boys get such a brilliant view of the grounds while we're stuck with the ke’s depths? So unfair.”

  Harry chuckled as he took off his robes and sweaty clothes. After all the excitement with Buckbeak, he stank of horse and could use a shower. Grabbing a towel, he headed to the showers. “I left the cloak on my bed in case someone comes in. Give me a few minutes while I shower, and we'll be off.”

  Tracey, who had ogled his half-naked state without shame, flinched and stuttered out a reply, but Harry was already in the showers. The girl acted brazen and brash with her desires but was still greener than summer grass.

  He snickered at his own joke.

  After a quick shower and drying himself, Harry returned to the dorms, finding Tracey sprawled on his bed as she read Chiara's letter. Had he left it in the cloak?

  “Found something interesting?”

  “Hmm, yes, but I think–” Tracey froze as she noticed him yet again half-naked with just a towel around his privates. The girl recovered faster this time, and only her face looking like a tomato hinted at anything, even as she leered hungrily at him. “You know, you're really not making a good case for yourself with how you so casually seduce me.”

  “Like that would stop you.”

  “Mhm, nice scars, by the way.” Tracey licked her lips, “What punched you so hard in the stomach it left a mark?”

  “A Manticore. Now turn away while I change.” Tracey gawked before smirking as she obliged and turned away from him. Harry didn't trust the incorrigible witch not to sneak a peek, so he swiftly put on his boxers under his towel and then threw it with the rest of his dirty undry for the elves to wash. Grabbing a dark green t-shirt and beige cargo pants, he quickly put them along with his new dragon hide boots.

  “Alright, I'm decent.” Tracey rolled back on the bed to face him and hummed in approval as she inspected him. “I still don't get what makes you so obsessed with dating me that you don't even mind sharing me with another girl.”

  “Are you really asking that? Or are you just that narcissistic that you want me to spell it out for you?”

  “Better for you to spell it out for me than let my ego get the better of me.” Harry shrugged, tying his boot’s ces before rummaging in his trunk for a moment and tossing something to Tracey, “Here, use this instead of my cloak.”

  He then returned to his trunk, where he found what he was looking for: an empty mokeskin pouch, in which he quickly stored a few things he might need and pced it in one of his pants pockets. He had to thank Tonks for getting him a few of those pants for his birthday; so many pockets!

  Tracey, meanwhile, inspected the spare invisibility cloak that he cimed from the unknown interloper during Ron's funeral. Judging by her frown, she could clearly tell it was of much lower quality, yet she was too polite to comment on it. Instead, she took off her robes, showing her green and bck chequered skirt, bck thigh-high socks, and pin white shirt she wore underneath, and tossed the robes to his trunk.

  “There, now we're even.” Her shit-eating grin was infectious as Harry shrugged and grabbed his own cloak, motioning for her to follow him. He frowned when the girl pocketed the cloak and merely stuck close to him under his cloak.

  “We can hardly see each other if we're both hidden under a different cloak. Besides, I much rather we stick together.” The blonde witch pulled out her tongue teasingly, and Harry decided it was just not worth it anymore.

  A couple of minutes ter, they were out in the corridors again, and Tracey finally replied to his earlier question.

  “Let's see, I already mentioned st term how I hardly noticed you before your jaunt in the chamber. I never cared about the Boy Who Lived codswallop, but rather what you, as a wizard, offered; if you really think you're not worth chasing, then I must have greatly overestimated you. Unless you really are a narcissistic berk who wants me to infte his ego?”

  The blonde witch's bnk gaze stopped any silly questions from Harry. It was not like he did not know his own worth, nor was he underselling himself, but it was simply the idea of a young girl who had no experience at all with love or boys so insistent in her courting.

  “Alright, then. I won't ask again. Let's go check on Hermione.”

  “Which reminds me.” They stopped by the entrance to the Room of Requirement, making sure no one was nearby before taking off the cloak. “You still owe me a visit to the Chamber of Secrets.”

  Harry had just finished pacing and was opening the door when he turned to Tracey, confused. “Why would you want to go to that damp pce?”

  “Curiosity.” Tracey shrugged and peeked under his arm, “Hermione is in a deep sleep. I doubt anything will wake her. Let's go.”

  Deciding that he might as well check on the Chamber, Harry led his companion to the Grand Staircase. There were a fair few students out and about, yet they were still able to catch the stairs to the second floor and make their way to Myrtle's bathroom.

  “My letter?”

  Tracey looked confused at his reached-out palm before widening her eyes and promptly handing Chiara’s letter. “Sorry, I didn't mean to read it. It was just on the bed, and I was–”

  “Curious, yeah, I know.” Harry grinned, showing he did not hold it against her, and promptly set fire to the letter with his wand — he would rather not risk it falling in unfriendly hands, and he doubted others would be as polite as Tracey. “I already showed it to Daphne, so I was sure she would tell you about it.”

  “Perhaps, but she isn't the type to tattle about people’s secrets.”

  “That’s good to hear. Incidentally, she mentioned something strange about it.” Harry proceeded to expin how he got the letter and Daphne's attitude towards it, causing Tracey to sigh in exasperation.

  “Chiara is a very diligent woman, but she needs to be more careful. Addressing your name in the letter and then signing it with her own was reckless. If the letter was caught, not only would she have got in trouble, but you would also be implicated. Thank God for Hedwig, but I still wouldn't count on the next Ministry worker being so soft and nice to an owl.”

  “Huh, I didn't think of it this way.” Harry looked at Tracey in a new light. He had already known she was smart, but as many of the Ravencws had proven, book smarts meant little compared to actual smarts. Street smarts, as the muggles call it. “I’ll let her know to be more careful.”

  “Please do. I've taken a shine to her and would hate to see something bad happen to her.”

  “You don't care about her being a…”

  “Werewolf? Not in the slightest, especially since she can brew the wolfsbane potion. On the contrary, I would love to see her during the full moon when she is completely lucid. It must be a beautiful sight!”

  Harry gazed down at the excited Tracey; once again, he detected no malice or deceit. She really was excited at the prospect of witnessing a werewolf in their full glory. He already had a high opinion of her, but this alone had pced her very high on his esteemed people list. Right there with Hermione and Chiara herself.

  Compared to Susan…

  “Even though they are a danger to society?”

  “Anyone with a wand is a danger to society.” Tracey snorted, “What werewolves have is no different from an enchanted weapon they can only use for a few hours every month. Bme not the tool but the user; in this case, Chiara has proven she is an excellent witch and a decent person. I can tell you about all sorts of horrible things normal magic-folk did without having the excuse of being werewolves, and it would pale in comparison to what a few werewolves did during the war.”

  “That’s very mature of you, Tracey. I have not met many witches or wizards with such an open mind. No, not just an open mind, but a logical one. Unlike some people…”

  “It’s not their fault, Harry. Nearly all witches and wizards of Britain don't feel comfortable around magical creatures, and many of them despise werewolves in particur. It's sad, but they do have a right to hate those that harmed them and their loved ones.” Tracey assured him. “I'm sure they will come around. After all, things are far better than they were a few years ago. As long as certain people in the ministry don't infme things further, I reckon people will treat werewolves quite differently within a decade.”

  “By certain people, you are talking about a certain toad?”

  “Yes, though judging by Chiara’s letter, I have a feeling Umbridge won't be a problem any longer.”

  It made sense for Narcissa Bck to target the one who advocated for the deployment of dementors the most. They arrived at the bathroom where, thankfully, Myrtle was not around, and Harry opened the Chamber.

  “No way am I sliding down there! I can smell the stench all the way from here!”

  “Yeah, wouldn't want to ruin your fancy clothes.” Harry ughed before producing his Nimbus from his mokeskin pouch. “Alright, hop on.”

  Tracey sat in front of him, purposely grabbing his hands and tching them around her waist. “I'm ready.”

  He was about to crack a joke, but he noticed her shaking and realised she wasn't one for flying. “Alright, let's go. ~Close~”

  The sinks closed above them as Harry lit his wand and sent a floating Lumos down the pipe. They descended after it, Tracey struggling not to scream, instead, making a sad moaning sound like that of a cat upset at its empty pte. Soon, they arrived at the bottom, but Harry kept them on the broom, even as he floated a few feet above the ground. He and Dobby had already cleaned the pce a few months ago, but this was still a sewage pipe; a few months of neglect had all the rats and waste piled up again.

  “Was this where…?”

  “Yeah, where Ron died.”

  They floated over where the rock slide happened; there was hardly any hint of the rocks or the blood since they cleaned everything up, yet the empty cave above them would imply otherwise. Soon, they were in front of the round metal door, and a hiss in Parseltongue opened it.

  “I still can't get used to that nguage.” Tracey shivered before her eyes widened in awe as they flew into the Chamber. “Oh wow!”

  The Chamber was the same as he had st left it, looking quite lived-in if not for some dust accumuting. Harry nded on the ptform in front of the statue, allowing Tracey to jump off and walk in a daze as she inspected the chamber.

  “Well, what do you think?”

  “It’s astonishing! Did you explore all those tunnels?”

  “Dobby and I explored some of them, but hardly all of them; Hermione refused to join in, having had her full of adventures at the time. There are several secret exits to other parts of the castle that I discovered, but I have a feeling there are more waiting to be found.”

  “Brilliant! How come we used Myrtle's bathroom then?”

  “The other entrances are on the grounds, one by the Clocktower Courtyard and another by the ke’s shore bordering the forest.”

  “I see; it wouldn't be smart for us to be out and about when our past selves are outside. And I would rather not go for a swim with the grindylows and merfolk.”

  “Mhm, so what do you want to do now?”

  “We can duel!” Tracey quickly unsheathed her wand with a toothy grin, only to gawk; He simply snatched it out of her grasp before she could react. He barked out in ughter at her pout that made her face as round as a tomato, her beauty marks contrasting with her angry flush, as she waved her fists petuntly. “Not fair! Rematch!”

  “How about you help me explore the Chamber some more instead? We can train ter, but I feel like adventuring now!”

  Harry tossed her back the wand, and Tracey looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. “Fair enough, Defence Css was decent enough to satisfy my duelling urges anyway.”

  “Oh? How was Lupin?”

  “Decent,” she repeated, “He had us duelling. No boring csswork or theory or reading, just simple duelling while promising to find us a dark creature to face in the next css.”

  “Proper sound, that one. Anyway, let's go through this tunnel.” Harry pointed at a certain tunnel he and Dobby never explored before.

  “Right!”

  .

  .

  .

  “This was fun!”

  “I'm gd you feel the same.”

  “Yep, now, if only we found a way for me to open those entrances…”

  Harry and Tracey strolled along the corridors back to Myrtle's bathroom. They had spent the past few hours exploring some of the tunnels in the Chamber. After getting lost a few times, they managed to find two more fts, an alchemy b, and two potions bs, though all of them were abandoned and derelict, needing a lot of work to clear them. More important were the two new secret entrances to the Chamber they found. One was near the deserted parts of the dungeons that Dany led them through, and another was near the Hospital Wing.

  Unfortunately, they only opened through Parseltongue, and even when Tracey tried imitating him, the entrances did not budge.

  “Maybe you should see about raising a snake and have it open the entrances for us?” Tracey suddenly asked. “It's strange you never bothered to use your abilities as a Parselmouth. I reckon you could befriend any snake easily.”

  Harry paused as they stopped outside of Myrtle's bathroom. “Huh, I never thought about that.”

  To be more precise, Harry had always felt wary of using Parseltongue too much. Dumbledore may have assured him that the powers were his and came from his blood, but it was still a connection to Voldemort. He shook his head inwardly. Jon would never allow something silly like that to stop him from gaining benefits from it.

  “You are right, Tracey. I think you should raise a snake, though.”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, any snake will be obedient to me anyway. You, however, will need to gain its trust the old-fashioned way. And don't be zy and use the snake summoning charm; raising a magical snake is far cooler than just summoning one.”

  “Cool, huh?” Tracey bumped his waist with her hips. “I suppose I can be cool and cssy. I can see it now, a snake around my neck like a scarf, defending me from any unwanted suitors.”

  Harry chuckled as he opened the door, only to freeze as something rapidly spun in pce for a few seconds before vanishing.

  “W-Was that…”

  “Yeah. That was us.” Harry sighed loudly, “That was close. Far too close.”

  “Yeah, I don't know what may have happened if we stumbled in–wait, why were we even here in the first pce?”

  “I don't know. I just knew it was important for me to come here and open the door at just this time.” Harry roughly shook his head, feeling slightly agitated. “When we first travelled back, I noticed someone opening the door. Maybe this is time fixing itself?”

  “Could be–”

  Suddenly, McGonagall’s loud voice reverberated all around them. “All students are required to attend tonight's dinner. An important announcement shall be made at six in the evening.”

  Harry's nerves were already tensed, and he suddenly had his wand in his hand; the st time McGonagall made such an announcement was during the Basilisk attacks.

  “It's just an announcement, Harry.” Tracey held his wand hand comfortingly. “It's alright.”

  He hesitantly sheathed his wand before nonchantly nodding, “I knew that.”

  The emerald-eyed witch giggled, but before she could retort, something flew in from the open door behind them. Harry turned to find a disembodied dark leather glove floating on its lonesome. It waved at them both before beckoning him to approach with its forefinger.

  Naturally, Harry’s wand was already bsting it out of the bathroom when the glove dodged the banishing curse hurriedly while shaking its hand in fear. Then, as if making a muggle magic trick, it snapped its fingers and caused a small piece of paper to appear floating in front of him. The glove then did a mock salute and promptly flew away from his lit wand.

  “It's for you, Harry.” Tracey handed him the paper, grinning at his withdrawn wand. “You really need to calm down, though. Not everything is out to get you.”

  “That’s what they would make you think right before they stab you in the back!” Memories of the betrayal at the Wall were still fresh in Jon’s mind. For some bloody reason, he could almost imagine Mad-Eye Moody nodding in approval, which made him grimace. “Never mind, give it here.”

  The message was short, and the thin, snting handwriting made it easy to identify the sender.

  Good evening, Harry. Please meet me after tonight's announcement in my office. We have much to discuss. I have taken a liking to Turkish Delight tely.

  “Any idea what Dumbledore wants from you?” Clearly, Tracey also figured out who the sender was.

  “Probably following up on the attack on the train.” Harry replied vaguely before heading out of the bathroom, “Come on, let's go get Hermione. Who knows, maybe Dumbledore managed to find a new potion's teacher.”

  “That, and most likely preparing us for tomorrow's edition of the Daily Prophet.” Tracy shrugged as she followed him to the corridors.

  She was right. By now, the Minister should have managed to come up with a narrative that would benefit him the most. The only question was, how big was the damage that Narcissa Bck had inflicted, and why did it take so long to cover up?

  I say we have had enough of slice-of-life and fluff, don't you think?

  Dany the house elf was introduced way back when Harry was helping Luna with her bullying problem. Flitwick was the one to summon her.

  The next chapter will be back to politics and intrigue.