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A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07.

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A few days after my first Ritual, the one that gave me a better connection with the Universe, I was sitting in the Room of Hidden things.

In front of me, standing innocently, were two trunks, filled with useless junk. There are literally hundreds of trunks in this Room, and I just chose two at random. These two were special, though.

These two trunks were two of the very few trunks that had lost all the spells cast on them. They were so old, that right now, the trunks were just plain wooden trunks. Which meant they were perfect for me.

Waving my hand, I levitate the trunks and walk outside the Room of Hidden Things. I'll go through it more thoroughly later. But now, I have an experiment to carry out.

Summoning a new Room by walking across the corridor three times, I open the door and walk through. Keeping the two trunks on the ground of the almost empty Room, I remove a pair of glasses from my pockets, and put them on.

These glasses were my own invention, based on a few pre-existing enchantments. There are enchantments that can help the glasses focus on a distant object more clearly, or on a closer object. Sort of like, telephoto and Macro. I combined the two charms to give me both. 

One tap on the left side turns the Telephoto feature on, while another tap 5 millimetres below, turn the Macro on.

A single tap on the right turns the glasses into normal glasses. The activation of Homenum Revelio, and the Specialis Revelio was also just a tap away.

Taking a Rune Carving Scalpel out, I tap the frame of my glasses once, and then drag my finger backwards to zoom out. And then, I get to work.

You see, in these few days, I had finally finished reading everything the Room of Knowledge had, on Runes. I was about halfway through the Time Room, but I'm just a couple weeks away from finishing that too. After that, I'll have to experiment to learn more about Time.

Anyway, Runes. Runes are amazing, and that's me saying after reading just a few languages worth of it. God knows how many Runic Languages we've actually lost forever.

I'm not a master yet, at least, not at the level of Helena, or the Wizards of old. But, by today's standards? I'm as close to a Master as I can get, without earning an actual Mastery. And it's just my experience holding me back.

I had already finished designing, and verifying the Rune Scheme I was going to use here, using Arithmancy. If my prediction holds true, and if I do everything right, I'll have two Trunks, connected internally.

An hour later, I put down the Scalpel, and remove my glasses. Rubbing my eyes, I stretch a bit, and then check the Runes once again. Both the Trunks were entirely identical, and now, even the Runes were the same. 

Taking a step back, I let a breath out, and spread my legs. As I bring my arms closer together, wrists touching, I focus on my connection to the Universe, believing with all my heart that I can do this.

And then, with a snap, I separate my arms and bring them in front of me. When the arms separate, I smile. On my palms, were two Tao Mandalas, with Sanskrit writing floating in circles, glowing an orange glow.

Not losing my focus, I slowly step towards the Trunks, and tap my left hand on one trunk. The trunk glows for just a moment, and the Runes flash orange, as the Sanskrit writing on my hand transfers over to the Trunk, and gets absorbed completely in the wood.

Similarly, I place my right hand on the other Trunk, and watch the same happen. This way, I don't have to worry about the enchantments losing power, since the Universe itself is powering them now. I turned my artefacts, into relics.

Almost giddy now, I open the left trunk, and seeing just darkness inside, jump in. I had full faith in my Enchantments, so I didn't worry. Without prompting, my Lumos orb floats out of my body and gives me light, as I land on a hard ground barely 10 feet after the jump.

Looking up, I can still see the ceiling of the Room I was in. I'll have to add some stairs, or a ladder later.

Then, I turn around, and see that I was in a corridor, similar to the ones in the school. Cobblestone made up the ground here, in looks at least. I simply pick a direction at random, and walk forward.

Within a few seconds, I reach a dead end, and look up. Sure enough, I could make out tiny pinpricks of light coming from up. Bending my knees, I jump up, a Depulso towards the ground throwing me further upwards, and with a silent alohomora, open the door.

As I drop down on the ground, back outside, I smile widely. My test, was a success!

I created a gateway between two trunks, like the Vanishing Cabinet! This.. this will definitely help me finish my studies even after I'm out of Hogwarts.

Progress might be slow, but it's good!

-

Soon, the months go by, and I leave for the summer once again. I had sat my OWLs with the fifth years, and aced all of them.

Runes and Arithmancy were easy, I had had a lot of practice with them in these last few months, while experimenting with my Vanishing Trunks. I definitely got the top marks in those two papers.

Charms was easy too, along with DADA. I showed off the Patronus Charm for both of them, which definitely guaranteed me a few extra marks. As for Transfiguration, I was amongst the top. I didn't mess anything up, but even the Examiner could see that Transfiguration wasn't my best subject.

Potions was interesting, but not anything I worried over. I had practiced every OWL level potion at least for two days each, continuous. So, yeah. I'm passing.

And now, I was in the train, on my way to London. I had kept one of the Vanishing Trunks in the Room of Knowledge, thankful that it stayed there, and brought the other with me. The summers were going to see a lot of use for them.

I was done with Runes, at least on the theoretical side. The only thing left now, was practicing everything I know until I Master them completely. Right now, I was going to be focusing on Time. 

While the issue of not having enough Time to read everything was solved, with the invention of the Vanishing Trunks, I have found Time an interesting subject to study.

And what's not there to find interesting! It's Time! 

I was even almost ready to create my first spell related to Time! It's nothing complex, not like turning time back or anything like it.

I'm aiming to speed up the flow of time. Cast the spell in a room, and the time inside will pass faster than the time outside. Like, Time dilation, only on a higher scale, and without going anywhere. It's still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.

"So, what are your plans for after Hogwarts?" Darla asks, holding my hand. This was unusual for her, showing affection. 

Don't get me wrong, we're good friends. We've held hands before, and even hugged. But it was very rare for her to initiate it.

We were the only two people in the room, Dorea and Ana having gone to meet with their own friends for a few minutes. 

Shrugging, I say, "I had planned on going back to the muggle world, to become a Doctor. But now, Slughorn has offered me an Apprenticeship at St Mungo's, which is a really big deal. So.. I'm still thinking. Why?"

Darla looks up, and I finally see how upset she looks. Her eyes are tearful, as she says, "You were my first friend, you know? Even when I was in Primary school, I didn't have any friends. And now, even you'll leave school, two years early. I'll just.. I'll miss you."

Smiling softly, I hug Darla towards me, and say, "You're an idiot, Darla, if you think just because I won't be in school with you, that I'll stop being friends with you. You're my first friend too, and I won't just leave you. Plus, you have Dorea, and Ana, and what's her name? The Prewett?"

"Mary." Darla mumbles from my chest.

"Yes, Mary. You have her too. You won't be alone, Darla. Don't worry." I nod, and pull her away. Looking her in her eyes, I say, "Plus, I'm just a letter away. One letter, and I'll come meet you during Hogsmead weekend. I can sneak in during classes, too! You know I can."

Darla smiles at that, knowing that I have many ways to sneak out and into the castle if I want to. And we still have a year for us too! It's not like I won't even return this next year.

"Tell you what. Give me your address, and I'll come to your house this month. We'll go to Diagon Alley, my treat." I say, hoping a trip to Diagon would cheer her up a bit.

"Really? No offense, but do you even have money for that?" Darla asks, which just makes me realize that I never told her about my.. heritage.

Rubbing the back of my head, I say, "About that…"

"You're telling me, that you're a rich pureblood? And you still stay in the Orphanage? Why??" Darla exclaims, once she's heard of my parents. She's 14, almost 15, so I forgive her for the narrow minded thought.

I shrug, and say, "I don't mind the orphanage. It's the only home I've known. The extra money is a help, sure, but I can't just abandon my Home, Darla."

Darla nods, accepting the answer, and says, "Sorry.. so.. you're rich."

I nod, and explain, "Not as rich as the Blacks, not even close. But yes, I'm rich enough to live out the rest of my life in luxury. My children won't have anything left for them, though, if I do that."

"You know I love you, right, Mason?" Darla asks, twirling her hair, and batting her eyes at me.

I scoff, and say, "Stop that. You're family, just don't.. make that face again."

Darla is gay, I'm sure of that. But.. I don't think she wants anyone to know that. And I'm not mentioning it until it's needed. She can pretend to be straight until then, I'll just make sure she doesn't hurt herself in between.

Darla laughs, and I chuckle with her. When Dorea and Ana return, Dorea scowls at me immediately. I don't get it at first, but then I realise that Darla and I were still as close as we were before, while hugging.

I just chuckle, and go back to reading the book on Time Turners. Time Turners were invented in the year 1857, and the Wizards who did it stupidly brought their journals to Hogwarts to show their Charms teacher. Good for me, I guess.

They returned many times, after that, and I got to know what happened. The Department of Mysteries recruited them after their invention, and had them inducted in the Time Department. Their knowledge from then on belonged to the Department, and the study on Time became restricted to only the Department.

The inventors of the Time Turner were the last people to publicly experiment on Time, just because the Department of Mysteries recruited a group of 25 year olds. Thankfully I have all of their research, thanks to the wonderful Room of Knowledge.

So, theoretically, I can build a Time Turner for myself, if I want to. Practically, it isn't possible right now. Time Turners use glass created from something called the Sand of Time. The sand isn't found just anywhere, and the Creators found a few big rocks of it in Norway, which are now in the hands of the Department.

So, unless I find a few chunks of this Time Sand rock, my Time Turner is just a pipe dream.

-

A few days after the Summer Holidays began, I and Darla visit Diagon Alley, just the two of us. As I promised, I let her buy a lot of stuff, and paid for it. 

She'll already have a hard enough time in this world, thanks to her blood status, and her sexuality. I can at least make sure she has enough enjoyment to balance the hurt.

I helped her buy a broom too, by adding 20 Galleons to her savings. As we left for our homes, I gave her a copy of the Mind Arts compilation book, so she can defend herself. Am I doing too much for her? Probably. Does she deserve it? Yup, definitely.

Anyway, a month into my summer, I get my OWL results, and that brings a cause for celebration with the gang. I came second in the entire year, because one Hufflepuff girl had taken OWLs in every subject offered. But my marklist had O's all over.

Dorea once more tried flirting with me, as we were sitting in the Three Broomsticks, drinking butterbeer, and I just shrug it off. But she did stop once I stopped her advance the first time for the day.

"So.. Mason. Now that you're a NEWT student, will you continue to grace us juniors with your presence?" Ana asks, taking a sip of her drink.

Laughing, I say, "Let's see, I'll have to study for my NEWTs, additional homework, my extracurricular studies, and make sure to keep some time away for broom cupboard activities. I think I can make some time for you lowly juniors."

"Seriously? I reckon you won't even spend one night in the Broom cupboard." Darla says, leaning forward.

I look her in the eyes, and ask, "Oh? And why is that?"

Smirking, Darla says, "Because you don't like these girls. You're a guy who likes.. older women."

"You're kidding." Dorea says, sounding shocked.

Well, damn. Maybe Darla does pay as much attention to me as I do to her.

Shaking her head, Darla says, "Mason here is a bit careless when he's ogling Professor Rowle." Her eyes glinting, she whispers, "You should have seen him in the Charms corridor that day. Rowle had bent down to pick up some fallen parchment, and our boy Mason couldn't keep his eyes off of her arse."

Ana nods along with her, to my embarrassment, and says, "Your 6th year Prefect, the Nott what's her name? Even she dropped something in front of Mason, and she had two buttons open. He didn't even glance at her!"

Groaning, I say, "Please stop discussing my likes with someone as innocent as Dorea."

Completely ignoring me, Darla whispers, "She wasn't even wearing any undergarments, and he still ignored her!" Although I do detect some fascination in her voice, I don't point it out.

Dorea pouts, and says, "Damn. No wonder he doesn't look at me, I'm too young for him." Pausing, she asks, "What about Professor Merrythought? Does he like her too?"

"I'm literally right here, you can't just ask them if I like Merrythought! She's literally our grandma!" I whisper, hoping no one else over hears.

"Nah, he doesn't like her like that. He respects her actually." Ana says, shaking her head.

I just sigh, wondering when they decided to just ignore my celebrations and keep embarrassing me. 

"Glad to hear you respect me, Mr Aves. And allow me to say, that I'm thankful your eyes don't wander when talking with me." We suddenly hear, making us all freeze.

"You didn't cast the privacy charm?" Darla furiously whispers to me.

I whisper back, just as furiously, "I didn't feel the need to, because we weren't discussing my lack of love life before."

"Oh, I'm so screwed!" Dorea whispers, while Ana is just frozen in her place, both of them looking behind me. Thanks for the warning Ana, Dorea.

"Stop that, now. Ignoring a lady is considered rude, don't you know, children?" Merrythought says, her voice making us sweat now.

Slowly, I turn back, and see Merrythought standing behind me, along with Professor Beery, the Herbology professor and the Head of Hufflepuff House.

"Good morning, Professor!" We all call out in unison, our voices clearly forced.

Surprising us, Professor Merrythought smiles, while Beery just chuckles in good nature, and they both sit down at the table next to ours.

"Celebrating Mr Aves's results, I presume?" Professor Beery asks, while Merrythought starts talking with the waitress.

Nodding, I say, "Yeah. Got straight O's. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Professors."

The three girls sitting at my table, meanwhile, become silent and focus on the snacks in front of them.

Merrythought waves her hand, and says, "Nonsense. You deserved the chance, Mr Aves. Your marks are your own. What subjects are you going to take, may I ask, for your NEWT years?"

I shrug, and answer, "I haven't decided yet, but I'm thinking of taking most of them. The only ones I might drop are History of Magic, and Astronomy."

"Good, good. But I hope you'll keep your studies up just as diligently as you did these 4 years?" Professor Merrythought asks, raising an eyebrow.

I nod rapidly, and say, "Of course, Professor Merrythought! Wouldn't dream of letting this opportunity pass by just because of my own negligence."

Merrythought stares at me for a few seconds, and then stands up, Beery right behind her. She says, "Very well. I'll leave you to your celebrations. And Ms Black? Maybe next time, don't ask such stupid questions? At least, keep them limited to places no one can overhear you."

Dorea, who had tried to remain unnoticed, groans silently, and says, "Yes, Professor."

The Professor hums, and then leaves for another table, giving us a measure of new Privacy. Immediately, I remove my wand and cast a few Privacy charms. One for sound, one for recognition, and another for lip reading.

I slap my face, and say, "Thank you Darla, for embarrassing me in front of my Head of House."

"Hey I wasn't the one who asked if you liked Merrythought!" Darla defends herself, smiling a bit, although I do sense her nervousness.

"But you were the one who spoke up about him ogling Rowle." Dorea points out, before I can. She then gasps, and whispers, "You think Merrythought will tell Rowle about this conversation?"

I scoff, and say, "We'll find out soon enough. If I survive my first Charms class next year, she didn't mention it to Rowle."

Ana just snorts, and asks, "Can you imagine, though? She might not kill you, but every time she bends over, she'll be thinking of you."

Dorea has a horrified look on her face, while Darla laughs openly, now not afraid. I shake my head, and say, "Not in the way I'd want, Ana, never in the way I want."

Soon, we finish our food and drinks, and I pay for all of it. It was my treat, you know. And then, we all leave through the floo. Darla and I go to the Leaky Cauldron, from where I take the bus home, while Darla takes a different bus for her home.

All in all, it was a good day.