Two for One

Chapter 16 : Tests

Harry walks into the small library room and pauses, leaning against the door frame. "What do you do when I'm not here?" Harry asks pointedly. "Because I've heard things and we need to talk."

Death sits on a shelf between large tomes, looking like a possessed Harry doll.

Harry hesitates. "Death?"

The doll sits there, looking at him with blank, hollow eyes.

"Uh...are you not...?" Harry slowly starts backing away. "Alright, sure. Good talk."

Harry leaves the room and the doll rolls its eyes. Too easy.

=====================

Harry has a kitten tucked into his front shirt pocket, a tiny black thing that mewls quietly.

The Unspeakable raises an eyebrow as Harry sets out a tray of biscuits and settles into the chair opposite. The two children dart by, grabbing a cookie each and then vanish with a flicker before reappearing on the other side of the yard.

Not apparition, not a portkey. Bending space itself.

The Unspeakable makes a note to ask the boys later, maybe even talk to the shadow creature itself for a proper explanation, but currently turns back to where Harry waits - staring at the Unspeakable with a smug smirk on his face.

The Unspeakable gives off the impression that they're rolling their eyes. "So what is this one called?" They gesture at the cat.

"Schrödinger," Harry says proudly.

The Unspeakable hums, picking up a cookie. "Why is that?"

"Because it's both alive and..." Harry trails off.

"And?"

"Nothing," Harry states. "It's just. A nice name." He crosses his arms, trying to hide the kitten. "I'm real sick of you judging me."

"You make it too easy," the Unspeakable drawls, tucking the cookie under their hood and biting off a piece.

"Whatever," Harry huffs. "How's work going?"

"Good."

Harry tilts his head. "Just good?"

The Unspeakable removes the recording spell on the cookie plate and Tom looks over. "Not bad, boy! Layer something like a simple colour charm over next time, that muffles the signature."

Tom nods seriously and goes back to discussing something with Gellert.

"Why are you encouraging them?" Harry asks.

"Yeah, you seem to be doing just fine with that on your own." The Unspeakable relaxes back into the chair. "So Dave is dead."

Harry tilts his head. "Who?"

"The chair."

"Oh," Harry says in surprise. "I'm sorry for your loss, but wow he lasted quite a while in that form."

"Actually, we turned him back into a human successfully after a few days, but he got offed by an angry dragon last week."

"Bad way to go," Harry muses and gets a flashback of flying away from an angry dragon on a broomstick.

"Horrific," the Unspeakable agrees. They pull out a pale grey dragon egg with stark icy blue lines curling around the top.

"Nice seeing you again," Harry abruptly says, standing. "I'll make brownies next time, goodbye."

The Unspeakable lazily rolls the egg around on the table. "I own you, Harry. I own your house, the wards, and if I want to put a dragon here then I will put a dragon here."