Harry groaned as he stepped out of the strange portal that Reign had made, seeing nothing but white sand around him for as far as the eye could see, the moon hanging high in the sky. He slumped to the ground and let out a laugh, the sound nearly hysterical as it trailed into the distance. He had basically just told Dumbledore to sod off. The thought had Harry letting out another laugh, more strangled than the last, that lasted until he felt the calm that was quickly becoming familiar. There was a strange rippling in the air in front of him and a slight tugging sensation on Harry's magic before Reign materialized in front of him.

Harry stayed slumped where he was, his legs twisted at an angle that would have been uncomfortable had he actually cared, as Reign knelt in front of him. "Are you alright, Harry?"

Harry couldn't help it, he laughed again, the sound more hysterical than before and shattering the calm Reign was trying to maintain over him. Everything was hitting him at once, nearly sixteen years of poorly repressed emotions and near brushes with death were making themselves known and he had no idea how to deal with them. So he laughed, he laughed so he wouldn't cry until even his laughter brought tears to his eyes. The entire time Reign stayed kneeling in front of him, somehow making even such an undignified position look regal, and held his ground as Harry's magic swirled through the air and tore at their surroundings.

Harry had no idea how long he laughed before he was crying, his fists beating the ground in front of him, Reign holding him steady by the shoulders. His magic stopped after awhile, retreating back into its master until it was needed once more as the teen leaned his weight against the Hollow. Harry kept his eyes closed, exhausted but knowing he still had to figure out what he was going to do. He had told Dumbledore he was done with the wizarding world, but he could never abandon his friends or all the innocent people Voldemort was going to hurt if Harry didn't stop him. Thinking of his friends reminded him of what had happened at the ministry, before he did anything else, he had to make sure they were all okay. He tried desperately not to think of someone who would never be okay again. It was a good thing Reign had brought them to this strange desert, he could only imagine the sort of devastation he would have caused elsewhere if the now flat dunes around them were any indication. He felt oddly lighter after his magical outburst, his magic had always been closely tied to his emotions, and he often had trouble keeping it in check.

Harry was brought out of his thoughts by Reign as he shifted, pulling Harry up with him as he stood, and Harry decided to get a better look at their surroundings. There really wasn't anything other than white sand, spreading out in every direction as far as Harry could see, and it gave him the sense that he had been here before somehow. The reason why only made slightly more sense when Reign spoke.

"This is Hueco Mundo, the place where I was born."

Harry took another look around, still seeing nothing but sand, and gave Reign a questioning look. "All I can see is sand."

He wasn't sure how, but Harry got the sense that Reign was smiling at him. "That is to be expected, there is very little else here aside from sand and other Hollows." Reign was definitely frowning behind(?) his mask, gaze sweeping over the landscape. "I would recommend against exploring for the moment, any other Hollow you encounter will not hesitate to try and devour you and I am not currently at full strength."

Harry, who'd been about to do exactly that, quickly pressed himself deeper into Reign's side. Silence descended as Harry stared into the distance, a frown on his face as he slowly came to a decision. With a deep breath and a determined glint in his eyes, he looked up at Reign. "I have to go back."

Harry made it to the headmaster's office without incident, easily able to avoid Filch and any teachers before they noticed him thanks to Reign's help. He gave the gargoyle the password and was opening the door before he had a chance to stop himself. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, looking older than Harry had ever seen, while Fawkes trilled softly at his entrance. Dumbledore looked up in surprise, clearly not expecting to see Harry, and it was obvious to the teen how much Dumbledore regretted his actions. There was a long silence, Harry not wanting to speak first and the headmaster not knowing what to say. Harry reached out to Reign again, getting a reassuring nudge in response, and cleared his throat. "Professor, I want to apologize for running away earlier. I needed time to think without destroying the ministry in the process."

Dumbledore gave the boy a smile, though it was weak and obviously pained, as he relaxed slightly in his seat. "I understand, my boy. I have had time to think over my actions as well and I must apologize. I have wronged you deeply and I doubt you will ever forgive me."

Harry moved forward, dropping tiredly into a chair in front of the headmaster's desk, and let out a sigh. "Don't worry about that professor, I could never hold a grudge very well anyways. Right now I just want to make sure my friends are okay."

The smile this time was more genuine, if a bit sad. "They are quite alright, a little shaken but otherwise fine and back in their dorms." Harry relaxed, the last of his tension leaving him in a rush. He stayed relaxed even after Dumbledore's next words. "I know we have much to discuss, but a lot of things happened today, or perhaps yesterday at this point. It is probably best that we continue this in the morning, the students shall be staying at school for a few more days due to recent events and I suspect you'd like to see your friends first. There will be plenty of time to talk tomorrow."

Dumbledore's words would have made him bristle normally, but after what had happened in the forest and with Reign voicing his agreement he left easily, bidding the headmaster goodnight and heading for Gryffindor Tower. Harry felt light in a way he could never remember feeling before, his emotions more stable after his breakdown and his magic sated after its recent activity. Sirius was gone, his godfather and one of the closest ties he had to his parents, but he still had his friends, and he still had Remus. Thinking of his pseudo-family brought a smile to his face that actually surprised him, though it dimmed at the thought of the werewolf. He would have to send a letter to Remus, the werewolf probably had no idea what had happened to him and would worry endlessly. He would send a letter with Hedwig in the morning, the man would need him with Sirius gone, and he didn't have very many people he could turn to besides Harry.

Harry finally made it to the tower, not surprised when he entered the common room to see his friends still awake and waiting for him. They knew him too well after nearly five years, though Luna's presence wasn't as unexpected as it should have been, McGonagall would have let her stay easily after last night. Harry didn't have to say anything, Hermione jumping up and nearly knocking him over as she crushed him in a hug. Ginny was barely a second behind her, the grip the two of them had on him would have been suffocating normally, and he was barely held up by a hand at the small of his back. He sent Reign his thanks as he hugged the girls back, the prick of tears barely restrained as they finally let go with matching looks of anger on their faces. They likely would have started yelling if Luna hadn't come up to do the same, though with a thankfully looser grip, before stepping back with her usual dreamy smile.

Ron and Neville didn't hug him, instead settling for harder than necessary pats on the back as Hermione cast several privacy wards around them. It was no surprise when she was the first to speak, though yell would have been more accurate. "Harry James Potter, where the hell did you go?! We were worried sick that something had happened to you and Professor Dumbledore wouldn't tell us anything."

Hermione looked close to tears, her bushy hair seeming to bristle up like a cat's. Harry spoke quickly before the waterworks could start, not wanting to upset his friend even more. "You all saw me chase after Lestrange, right?" The name brought a surge of anger to Harry, quickly dispelled at the thought of his new companion, and nudged Reign. He got a few nods in return and an answering nudge before continuing. "Well, I wasn't able to catch up to her. I got lost in the Department of Mysteries and, something happened."

His friends looked at him in question, not knowing where he was going with this but knowing it was important all the same. Harry hesitated, suddenly wondering how Ginny would react because of the incident with the diary, before steeling himself. "I, met some...one. They, he, helped me with something I didn't know was a problem and lead me out of the ministry."

Harry hesitated again, not sure how to explain Reign to them, and looked at his friends. Ron and Neville looked serious and supportive of whatever he was about to say while Hermione had a look on her face Harry had come to recognize as uniquely Hermione, she was going to accept whatever he told them with a quick mind to figure out and a quick tongue to scold him for his stupidity. When Harry thought about it, it was mostly stupidity in the first place. Luna was her usual dreamy self, it wouldn't surprise him if she somehow already knew in that odd way of hers. He stopped for a few extra seconds on Ginny, her expression worried but her eyes wary as they all noticed the extra few seconds he looked at her. The silence wasn't broken until Hermione impatiently huffed and crossed her arms, knowing Harry would stall for quite a while if she let him. "Well, keep going."

Harry fidgeted nervously, shrinking under the look Hermione was giving him. "Reign? Could you come out and meet them? I have no idea how to explain this."

Harry heard Reign sigh, the Hollow sending him his amusement. "Yes, but I have to use your magic this time. My own energy has not recovered enough for the length of time I suspect this conversation will require."

Harry sent him his acceptance, focusing his magic towards where he felt Reign to be. "It's easier if I show you what I'm talking about. Please, just, don't freak out too badly."

Harry sent Ginny one last glance before he felt a tug on his magic and the air rippled. He could feel Reign standing behind him, cursing his shortness for his age, but kept his eyes on his friends. They were all visibly confused, except for Luna but that was normal for her, but it was Ginny that reacted the most strongly. Ginny had taken a step back when Reign appeared, her eyes wide and face pale, and Harry quickly held up his hands in defense. "Ginny, I know what this looks like, but this isn't like the diary."

Ginny had gotten paler at his words, not wanting to remember her terrible first year, and he was just glad she hadn't brought out her wand yet. Hermione however was much quicker, her wand out and pointed at Reign with a steady hand. "Harry, if that creature isn't like the diary then what is it? It just used your magic to form itself, I know it did."

Harry did his best not to shrink under their stares, he knew he had made the right choice, he just had to convince them he had. "I know this looks bad, but he won't hurt me or any of you. It was my magic that told me to help him so I did, you all know I live by my magic, if it tells me to do something then I do it."

That was more than enough to convince Ron and Hermione, he knew, and while Neville looked a bit skeptical and more confused than before he was willing to trust him. Luna, apparently, never had any doubts in the first place, and continued to give him that same dreamy smile. Unfortunately, Harry hadn't been keeping enough attention on Ginny, and the girl had sent off a spell as he relaxed. Harry was too close and not fast enough to shield Reign from the spell now heading in his direction, but it wouldn't have mattered anyways as he was grabbed and spun faster than he could blink. When the world stopped blurring, Harry noticed that everyone in the room had frozen and it took several seconds for him to figure out why.

Standing beside him, one black arm wrapped tightly around his shoulders, was Reign. Harry was pressed tight against the Hollow, his whip-like tail coiled around Harry's waist, with his other arm out and blocking the spell Ginny had sent towards him. Ron and Neville were gaping at them, jaws slack in surprise, while Hermione had a calculating look on her face. Luna looked far too pleased to be normal, likely seeing something that no one else could, while Ginny was being blocked from Harry's view. Harry looked up as Reign spoke, his voice sending a wave of calm over the room. "I understand that you are one of Harry's friends and that you wish to protect him, but he will never require protection from me. I must warn you, if you try to harm or place him in harm's way again, I will not be responsible for my actions."

Harry blinked up at the pair of golden eyes he knew was somehow looking at both him and Ginny at the same time before frowning, pushing his arms against Reign's chest. "Dammit don't do that, you git! I can protect myself just fine."

The Hollow let him go easily, mentally sending Harry his amusement, but stayed next to him instead of behind him. "My apologies. I will keep that in mind in the future."

Harry scowled, arms crossed defensively, and turned back to his friends. There was an awkward silence after that, no one sure what to say or where to start, but after an apology from Ginny everything went smoothly. Questions were fired at Harry and Reign, mostly from Hermione, and the duo tried to answer as best as they could. There were a lot of things they couldn't answer, like what exactly had happened and why and if it could be reversed. Harry had barely known Reign a few hours, but the thought of separating them had a feeling of wrongness twist in gut and in his magic. He had met Reign for a reason he did not yet know, but he was already glad for it, the Hollow was like a rock in a storm for Harry. Harry always thought with his heart and not his head, but Reign didn't have enough room in his newfound heart to do so, it was a balance that would work surprisingly well in the future. They still had Voldemort to deal with, and plans for when Harry did eventually leave magical Britain, but for now those could wait. For now, Harry was content just to be with his friends, Reign a comforting presence at his side, tomorrow could wait just a little while longer.