Chapter 16.6- Doom Days

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“15 Hawthorne Lane” I said as I tossed the Floo powder into the fireplace. In an instant, the fire from the FirePlace offered by the Room of Requirement turned a bright green and then there was a head made of flames floating above the fireplace. A very familiar head, if at least slightly better put together than it had been some months earlier when he had last seen the man fleeing on the back of a hippogriff.

“If it isn’t my rogue godson. Finally remembered this old man, have you? And after enrolling in a life threatening tournament and duelling a death eater of all things” he did not sound pleased at all.

“How do you know about Crouch?” The ministry was putting a lot of effort into burying that particular story.

“Is that the problem?” He asked sardonically. “The problem should be the fact that I heard from someone that wasn’t you. What in the hells were you thinking?” The man looked to be at his wit’s end.

“Sirius, calm down. Calm down. I admit it, it was my fault for not reaching out to you for weeks, but I got tossed into this tournament and when I get in life threatening situations, I tend to get deeper in my shell and I don’t really have the reflex of reaching out to adults to help so I didn’t. I’m sorry if you felt hard done by" I said, not even having to try very hard to manipulate the man as the rage almost instantly disappeared from his visage. The subtle reminder that I hadn’t had the best childhood had done just as I expected it to. I had no need to remind him that the reason I hadn’t had an ideal childhood had been his fault. He was constantly thinking about it already, so there was no need gilding the lily.

“Okay then. Just tell you’ve been okay.”

“I have. A bit better than okay, even. I’ve found this place, and its perfect for you I think”

“You found a place?” The man sounded doubtful.

“Yup. A room in Hogwarts that isn’t on the Marauder’s Map”

“A room not on the map? That’s impossible. We found everything.”

“Did you? Or Did you just think you found everything?” I asked teasingly

“Trust me, we tore through that castle multiple times. If there were any passages or hidden rooms we didn’t find, then they didn’t exist”

“Well, I found two rooms you didn’t. Only one of them is useful to you though. Where do you think I’m calling from?”

“Educate me then, Ja-Harry”

“This is the Room of Requirements. Best I can tell, it’s been here for as long as the castle has and morphs itself to become whatever the room’s master desires”

“Anything?”

“Anything”

“Even-“

“Yes.”

“You didn’t even let me finish the sentence”

“What part of anything are you having a problem understanding” I retorted, getting a fullblown bark of laughter from him.

“And the second room?”

“Have you heard about the Chamber of Secrets?”

“Heard about it? How do you think we spent our entire fourth year? It’s a myth”

“Is it?” I asked with a coy smile.

“You didn’t” He said

“You did” He amended when he noticed that my smile hadn’t dropped.

“Yup.”

“So what was Slytherin’s monster? James was certain that it was a euphemism for Snivellus’ knickers” He added the last bit with a cackle.

“A basilisk”

“What?”