AN:/More of The Wild Card of Hogwarts will be coming once I play Persona 5 Royal which is coming out in 10 days time. Gotta refresh myself on the material, and with this quarantine going on, might as well beat it in three or four days. Thanks for being patient with this chapter, it's been taking me everything I have not to yeet myself into the afterlife, but I'm trying. That has to count for something right? Hey, do me a favor, reach out to someone you know and tell them you care about them, okay? That's honestly the only reason I'm here right now, cause someone reminded me that I wasn't alone, even when I felt like I was.

And if you feel like someone doesn't care about you, I do. You may not know me, and I most likely don't know you, but that doesn't mean I can't care about your existence as a human.

Much love.

"Ren, you look exhausted." Severus noticed as soon as said Groundskeeper moved into the staff conference room. "Would you like a Dreamless Sleep potion? Or an Invigoration Draught?" Ren had bags under his eyes, and his posture was slightly slouched.

"Hel-" He was interrupted by a yawn. "Hello Severus. The Invigoration Draught, please? I have to last till five in the morning, and getting there is gonna be rough." The Potions Master reached into his robe and pulled out the said potion.

"Do be careful, Ren. Using too many of these can mess with the brain." His younger colleague downed the potion, and his entire demeanor changed, and gone was the exhausted guard, and in his place was a spry young man. Ren made a face and shook his head.

"Blech! I can see why someone might get addicted to these, though. I feel great! It's better than my coffee!" Ren did a quick little hop. "Good to go. Alright, so, now that I don't feel like sleeping for the next month, time to get to business. Severus, can you tell me what you know about Erebus?"

Severus gave a start, looking Ren in his eyes, searching for any form of a joke. He didn't see any. "Enough to know it's not good. What's this about, Amamiya?"

"Let's go ahead and sit. It might take a while to explain everything. First, please tell me all you know about Erebus." Severus continued to stare at Ren until finally sitting down across from him.

"I trust Albus has informed you of my… past?" Snape paused, and Ren nodded. "When I was a spy for the Dark Lord, I was asked to investigate any rituals that would bolster his power. The only ritual he seemed moderately interested in was called Levis est finis, or The End of Light. From what I know of it, at the end of the ritual, Erebus was meant to arrive and grant the Dark it's power. Voldemort looked into it personally whenever I mentioned it, and was ordered to not look into it any further."

Ren seemed to be quiet for a moment before speaking up. "The Ritual won't work." He glanced up at his co-worker. "It won't work because it's already been started. Erebus is coming, but not to grant the Dark it's power. Erebus wants to end all of Humanity. At the current rate, we have about 4 years until Erebus will be present. And if it does, all hope will be lost. You see, Nyx- the Goddess of Night, is sleeping. And should Erebus get strong enough, Nyx will wake up, and make 'Night' fall upon Humanity, by killing us all. Erebus is the epitome of Humanities' negative emotions- such as sadness, anger, hate, and despair. That Howler last night? That was from Erebus. In a different dimension. My dimension."

Severus simply sat silently, barely even understanding what was being said to him. "Wait… you mean to say the apocalypse is coming? We're all doomed to die in four years?"

Ren shook his head. "Not entirely. That's why I am here at Hogwarts in the first place. I hold enough power to fight him, slow him down, and ideally prevent him from arriving in the first place. However, after three years, I must return to my own dimension. I won't be here in the final year of the time frame given, meaning if I fail to get it done in three, it would be solely on this dimension's shoulders."

It took a few seconds before Severus gave a start. "This dimension?"

"Yeah, it took me a bit to get used to that too. That's not super important yet, though. I'm giving you, and McGonagall formal notice beforehand. Please excuse any students that come in late or leave early because of me. I will try to be stealthy about it if it's in the middle of class, but I still wanted to inform you." Ren stated. "Certain students have the capabilities to do what I can, such as what I did last night in the Hall. Right now, the only one I have confirmed to have this potential with 100 percent accuracy is Hermione Granger. Some other suspects are Draco Malfoy and Daphne Greengrass, but I have not been able to confirm yet. Once I can confirm, I will give them tutelage in how we can put a stop to Erebus, in case I have to leave before the task is up."

Severus furrowed his eyebrows. "I see. Is there anything else I can do to assist? I'd like to prevent the end of all life if I could."

"Hm…" The Groundskeeper seemed to think for a moment. "I may have to ask about some potions a few times. It's the best I can think of right now."

Snape nodded. "Please keep me informed of anything you might need. Come by tomorrow after dinner, and I will give you another potion to at least make it through the night. Better to be over-prepared than underprepared, is it not?"

Ren smirked in response. "Right. Oyasuminasai Severus."

Considering how late it was, Ren decided it would probably be easier to tell McGonagall the next day. With Erebus sending a howler of all things, who knows if there was something else here that could be from it's influence? Ren started at the bottom of the castle, combing each floor with his Third Eye activated. A great thing about his ability was that he didn't need light in the dark halls to see. So being able to slink through the darkness- like the thief he was helped his patrols immensely, seeing as everyone else in the castle would have a light source for them to see. That was how he stumbled upon his student on the seventh-floor corridor, her wand lit up with a dull yellow light, presumably for being sneaker compared to the brighter lights he had seen others use. Ren quietly snuck up behind her as she made her third pass that caused the Crimson room to appear. He slipped inside the room before the door shut, and as Hermione reached the center of the room, he called out to her. "What are you doing out this late, Ms. Granger?" He tried not to laugh as she jumped several inches in the air before turning around with her wand drawn. She glared at him.

"Not funny."

"It was a little bit." Ren said with a shrug. "So, what are you doing here this late?"

She didn't say anything for a second. "Earlier, in the Hall. That… that was Erebus, right?"

All hints of his jovial mood vanished. "It was."

"Damn…" Hermione cursed.

"Feel worried? Scared?" His student just nodded. "Good. Use that, Aether. Come on, let's go work our feelings away." She seemed surprised as he walked to the portal in the corner.

"Is that really the smartest thing to do?" Hermione called out.

"Well it's either this or sing. Take your pick."

Within seconds, the newest Phantom Thief walked through the portal. Joker just chuckled as he followed her through.

Invigoration Draught- A potion that is presumed to give the taker an energy boost, so basically an energy drink that is guaranteed to work but [probably, I mean, have you seen the ingredients for some of these potions?] tastes wack as all hecc.
Oyasuminasai- Good Night
Next time: Aether and Joker get a good workout, if murdering false psyches count as working out.