Revelations of Love - Moment by Moment Book #3 (Harry Potter, Drarry)

The First Fumbles of Freedom

Progress away from the medibay slowed somewhat as Harry's impatience was met; as they moved into space that he did not know, he started to look around and get a feel for the place. In his few sorties out of his room, he had never felt part of the hive, he had looked at it from the outside, from limbo. Now he tried to adjust to this new Hogwarts, this place of safety, and bearings were important. However, it didn't take more than a few corridors for Harry to wonder if they all looked the same, because he was lost. Remus smiled at the confused frown his companion was wearing and he brought them to a halt at a junction.

"Totally bemused?" the elder asked sympathetically.

Harry nodded and shrugged, "Haven't a clue where we are."

"Let me introduce you to the Map," Remus decided, and turned to the wall in front of which they had stopped. "Map!"

The wall lit up, followed shortly by, "Remus, Old Chap! Haven't spoken to you in ages. Old hand like you can't be needing directions, surely?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at his friend; he should have known better than to expect a tube-train style chart in a wizarding building.

"No, Map," Remus continued conversationally, "but I want to introduce you to someone. Map will ignore you unless you are introduced properly," the man explained to Harry.

"Of course, where would we be without etiquette?" the magical diagram agreed.

"Map, this is Harry Potter, Harry this is Map, source of most of the information you may need for getting about our happy home."

"All, all information, My Dear Fellow," the map corrected, and the look that Remus sent Harry told him to enquire further later. "Harry Potter, very nice to meet you."

"And you," Harry returned politely, knowing from experience of a semi-sentient doorbell which had bitten him rather badly when he failed to address it as 'Sir', that it was best to follow form.

"Welcome to Hogwarts Tutus, be careful about the 'Tutus' we wouldn't want to be compared with that _other_ sadly darkened establishment, now would we?"

"No," the young man returned flatly as that thought brought a frown to his face.

"Alright," Remus saw the change and stepped in quickly, "why don't you try asking for directions, Harry?"

"Yes, to where do you wish to go, Old Chap?" the Map pressed on amiably.

Harry let go of the odd feeling that the mere mention of Hogwarts had given him, he didn't like it. It had taken him by surprise, it wasn't as if he hadn't discussed Hogwarts at length, yet in such a trivial setting, something had felt not right about referring to it, and he had been reminded of his feelings after Gerald Hippus' false promise about Cruciatus. Harry pushed that consideration to the back of his mind, now wasn't the time for self-analysis.

"I'd like to go to the Single Men's Barracks, please, Old Man," he requested, grinning at Lupin as he aped the eccentric-sounding map.

Finally, what looked like a partial map of the complex appeared on the glowing wall, and Harry's mouth fell open as he was given a gauge of how big the place was. Even with just relevant pathways showing, the distance looked considerable. Eight red dots appeared on the map, and it announced officially, "There are currently eight such barracks within my realm, please select the appropriate destination."

Harry looked to his companion, and Remus informed their guide, "Barrack Gryffindor Two, please Map."

A big orange 'You Are Here' blob appeared, shortly followed by the growth of a blue line from the same spot.