I need someplace to exercise a stir-crazy shepherd.  I need someplace to exercise a stir-crazy shepherd.  I need someplace to exercise a stir-crazy shepherd.

Like a cartoon dog watching a tennis match, Baldur had remained sitting along the far wall, his gaze tracking Sasha as the Ravenclaw paced in front of the previously-empty expanse of wall.  While taking the dog outside was ideal, it was raining, dark and the temperature was just barely above freezing.  Baldur still wasn't fond of being dried magically and the dog would be far too cold if left in the cold, stone Ravenclaw dorms while still wet.  The Room of Requirement wasn't ideal, but on days like this it was better than nothing. 

As soon as the tall, arched door materialized in the stone wall and swung open, the dog remembered exactly where they were.  The Room of Requirement had turned itself into the wizarding world's best rendition of a dog-themed playground.  Baldur raced through the door across the now carpeted floor and took a running pounce onto the rather healthy pile of goblin, troll and giant-shaped squeaky toys and eye-ball motif "tennis" balls. 

Like a child who'd found himself unattended in a vast candy shop, Baldur hopped from on each toy in turn, squeaking the stuffed goblin twice before pouncing on the stuffed troll to make it grunt. 

The assortment of toys would provide the dog with plenty of fodder to entertain himself for at least twenty minutes.  Taking advantage of the dog's distraction, Sasha settled himself at the room's awkward version of a picnic bench and tugged his backpacking canteen from his backpack.  The door to the room swung open again but Baldur hardly noticed.  Knowing it would be Eamonn, following in the instructions in the note Sasha had left at the end of the Tarot seminar, Sasha glanced up and offered a friendly grin. 

"Allo," he offered.  "It's ... multitasking."  Sasha nodded towards the dog chased after a ball it had kicked across the floor. 

Here it was.  The reason he was here.  Hogwarts castle.  It was oddly like coming home week after week, way too familiar to Eamonn to feel comfortable.  He'd enjoyed the first four seminars, he really had.  The people of Hogwarts were now, as they always were, true friends.  Yet there was more to his association with the school than that.  Sasha Schlagenweit was much more than just another member of his recreational Tarot seminar.  So it was with a feeling of supreme purpose and gallantry that Eamonn Mullen entered the Room of Requirement that fateful Wednesday, where he would presumably speak in a candid manner with the boy for the first time since the seminars had begun.

Lo, and behold the... room of... what exactly?  Eamonn stood just inside of the room that had appeared around him as he passed the threshold.  It was a strange world housing many rubber squeaking toys, balls, and animal bones.  Eamonn stepped in and had to take a second to blink and process what this was.  He saw the lumbering, ecstatic dog and was transfixed by the vision.  Eamonn loved dogs and the sight of such a large one acting like such a puppy instantly snagged at his heart strings.  His jaw even dropped a little, his brows arching in awe.

Gradually he found Sasha and went over to him, easily softened from his purposeful march forward.  Multi-tasking, indeed.  Eamonn realized he was still wishing he had a dog himself.

"Alright," he said, some laughter trailing on the word.  "Don't you just love this room?  It's a, um, multi-platform experience."  He hopped over the seat of the weathered picnic table and joined Sasha, light of movement and somewhat light of heart.  "Well, how are you fairing, boyo?"

The Ravenclaw looked up from his dinner as the man stopped in the middle of the room. The expression on the man's face was priceless and Sasha dug an apple out of the pocket of his bag and pivoted on the bench to watch. 

He shrugged when the man finally turned to him.  "He gets that a lot," he admitted, between bites.  "With all the cats around, guess people aren't used to...that."  Though there were a few cool ones around, cats weren't Sasha's thing.  Aside from being there to be pet (if and when they felt like it), cats always seemed by and large useless.  Cats played and pounced but almost always in some serious manifestation of actually hunting.  They didn't quite possess the dog's gleeful frolic capabilities. 

As Baldur was demonstrating around the room.

"It's definitely convenient.  Especially when I can't get him out.  He can't just go racing around the halls like the cats.  I don't know how it works," Sasha said, glancing up at the high ceilings.  "It has to be somehow sentient; it obviously doesn't just respond to a specific, predetermined set of commands. Would it be too rude?" Sasha asked, gesturing back to the remains of his dinner.  "I'm in class until nine after this."   And, he had promised Professor Trishna he wouldn't skip dinner. 

Sasha still hadn't fully decided what, exactly, he wanted to tell Eamonn.  He was comfortable around the man, especially when compared with most of Kronos' employees.  He wanted to believe he could speak to Eamonn without what he said going straight back to Kronos.  He also wanted to believe that, despite everyone's warnings, he could trust Kronos and, therefore, it mattered little if what he said did get back.  But, after recent conversations, his trust in himself was faltering. 

"I can't wait until exams are over.  It's getting brutal," Sasha admitted.  Academics were always the safe starting point.  "Twenty-two exams in eight days."  But, he'd manage.  And, he'd be so grateful when the 23rd rolled around.  "I'm looking forward to the holidays.  Do you have any plans?"  Maybe it was a stupid question, given the circumstances but it was such a stereotypical question.

"Nah, eat up," said Eamonn, nodding his head toward the boy's food as he settled in.  "Your paw wouldn't want you to starve on my account." 

He looked around the room as he pondered its mysteries.  Could the Room of Requirement hold two express purposes?  He was aware a person couldn't enter unless they knew the purpose toward which the room was being used and yet, he'd entered knowing it was for them and their need for a quiet spot to meet in private, no idea in the world that he'd be walking into a playground for gleeful dogs.  Eamonn made a mental note to study the mechanisms of the room in more detail.  If this was where they'd be meeting, they really couldn't afford not to know of any loopholes to the room that might jeopardize the secrecy of their alliance.

He allowed himself to be distracted by Sasha's talk of academics.  He seemed to be in good spirits, Eamonn noted.  His dedication to academic pursuits was, as always, exceptional; Kronos had definitely chosen an intellectual to be his heir.  Twenty-two exams in just over a week's time... phenomenal, in fact.  Another reason to appreciate the boy's company.

"Let us know if you need help preparing for those exams then," he said.  "We all want you to succeed, Sasha."  Eamonn eyed him, curious what the future held in store for such a precocious boy, one who had become embroiled in such a magnanimous man's strange scheme.  He couldn't help but wonder if one day he might not be left working for Sasha Schlagenweit.

"Aye," said Eamonn.  Oddly enough he did have something in the way of plans, which marked the first time in several years that he had done anything in celebration of the holidays.  He looked a bit perplexed about it himself as he nodded.  "I've a friend in London who's requested my company.  Your father has been very kind in affording me some time off, no questions raised.  He is a very generous man, your paw."

To some of us.

It wasn't only the fact he'd been encouraged to reinforce the idea that Kronos was his father that made him say such things.  Aside from his own relationship with the old man, Eamonn had been given a full year's time to become comfortable with the idea from the sidelines.  For all intents and purposes, it seemed to be a mutually beneficial relationship. 

"Speaking of which," he started patting down his jacket till he found the proper pocket.  Besides a number of scrolls he had tucked into his jacket, he found a padded letter which he handed over to Sasha.  "I'll be delivering these now I think.  I was told there may be a more direct means of contact coming soon."  He shrugged, sorry he couldn't give more information than that.  Kronos could be, at times, incredibly vague, even as much as he was colourful. 

Sasha grinned and nodded, taking another bite of his apple as he scowled in thought.  Well, at least this was a topic both Kronos and Professor Trishna could agree on.  Both of them had a tendency to dote on him about what, and how much, he was eating.  If only they could both see they actually wanted much of the same thing.  That would make his life so much easier.

"If you can find me more hours in the day," Sasha answered, shaking his head.  "That would be the biggest help.  He probably doesn't want to know how little sleep I get."  Yet another thing he and Professor Trishna could agree on.  Especially now that 'sleep' had been an integral part of Sasha's long string of detentions, time was only becoming more and more of a scarcity.  In the end, being free of prefect duties had been as much a relief as a disappointment.  "Unless you know how to balance acidic-basic chemistry equations." 

In some ways, hearing Eamonn speak of Kronos in the way he did was a comfort and a relief.  Perhaps Sasha had simply never seen that other side of Eamonn, just as he'd never witnessed that other side of Kronos.  And, Eamonn seemed normal.  Someone Sasha could easily relate to.  When Sasha considered the man, he didn't see one of Kronos' typical, grumpy, creepy associates.  If Eamonn could see and describe Kronos as generous then that validated what Sasha had been trying to tell everyone else.  Right?

At the same time, Sasha couldn't deny the touch of disappointment.  Things would have been so much simpler, the answer would have been so much more obvious, otherwise. 

The conflict probably showed some on Sasha's features as he reached out and took the letter, turning it over in his hands before tugging his wand free and casting a series of concealment charms on the envelope.  "Thank you."  He would, no doubt, read the letter at the first possible opportunity but reading it in front of anyone else still felt exceedingly strange.  By the time he slipped the envelope between two pages in his Chemistry textbook, the parchment had taken on the appearance of a simple sheet of looseleaf paper covered with balanced chemical equations.

"More people are finding out," Sasha offered, almost as a confessional, once the textbook had been replaced into the book bag.  "And, it's entirely my fault.  They keep saying things and assuming things and, I know it's because they don't know him like I do.  I trust him, but they all think I'm foolish to.  But ... you trust him, right?  I mean, you like working for him."  Sasha asked, his own assumptions apparent. 

"If you were me, would you trust him?"  Sasha knew an entirely unbiased response was almost impossible to expect.  Officially, there was only one response Eamonn could probably give.  But, he assumed it'd be easy to tell if the response was rote or genuine.

"Oh?"  Eamonn looked keenly interested.  "I do know how to balance equations for acid and base reactions... perhaps if there's time left over I can give it a look, aye?" 

He exercised a certain amount of restraint, however.  Helping the boy with his chemistry equations would be appreciated by the Old Man, but probably not as much as other pursuits.  It would be a selfish indulgence to press the issue, as he'd always enjoyed the calculations and puzzles that went along with the periodic table; he'd gone through Muggle schooling and nothing more closely appealed to him than did mathematics and chemistry.  The opposite of most his peers, he could have done altogether without the experiments, but the tedious paper equations could keep him entertained for days and days.

Once the letter had been handed over, he watched as Sasha set his concealment charms upon it and grew more pensive.  Eamonn shifted into his observant, intuitive role as the energy between them was subtly altered.  He was, once again, and despite their bright surroundings, his usual reserved and measured self.  He held his gaze level to Sasha's eyes, conveying nothing either negative or positive in his equalized, tranquil expression.  There was neither surprise nor comprehension that showed as he listened, taking in everything that Sasha said.

The boy was frantic.  Even as he seemed to be trying to intellectualize it all, his words ran on with an air of panic.  Eamonn paused before he answered.  Where he let silence fall, Sasha filled the quiet with more questions, more worries.  It was like a snowball.  If he wasn't so concerned with Mister Malvivicus's problems, he might start to worry about his own - getting caught up in all of this.  As it was, Eamonn didn't even consider the potential dangers he himself was in.  His mind was focused.

When he finally spoke, it was with a philosophical air.

"If I were... you...," he said this as though both pronouns were either devoid of meaning or incredibly curious.  "I can only speak from my own experience," he decided after a pause.  "I only know what I can experience.  If I were you I would be you, and not myself.  If experience is subjective, and all I know is what I experience, all I can claim is real is what I perceive as I, not what I think that I might perceive if I was something else entirely."

Realising of course that this didn't at all begin to answer Sasha's question, he continued.  "As for the issue of trust?  Another complicated thing... it's one of those words that are so abstract that you hear them again and again till they become familiar, and you think you know what they mean.  But when you really get down to it, there are so many variables.  I can tell you right now that I trust the man, but would you really understand what I meant if I were to say so?  Wouldn't you be wise to ask, I trust him for what?  I trust him how?  What is it that you are really asking?  I think you've been thinking too simply.  For me, and perhaps this is something to which you can easily relate, I am aligned with your paw because it is in my best interest to be, and I enjoy the life it allows me to have, which I wouldn't have without his good graces.  He's always been good to me, and I believe him when he tells me things, that he's telling me the truth, that he is after all a genuine, if unusual and unconventional man... if that helps begin to answer your questions, Sasha.  It is a complicated situation and, it takes a different approach to life to safely keep our secrets secret."

Eamonn's answer was about what Sasha had been expecting.  Thought-invoking.  Philosophical.  Noncommittal.  Familiar yet frustrating.  The Ravenclaw couldn't fault the man, of course.  Even if Eamonn wasn't in the position he was in, Sasha's questions would have been difficult to answer.  But, Eamonn was right.  They were not the same person and Eamonn was probably no more likely to be able to put himself in Sasha's shoes as Sasha was able to do the same in reverse.

"If experience is subjective, and all I know is what I experience, all I can claim is real is what I perceive as I, not what I think that I might perceive if I was something else entirely."

"And, that assumes we, alone, have ultimate control of our perceptions."  Which, Sasha knew, they did not.  There were other elements that contributed to the perceptions - history, background, the influences of others.  Both intentional and unintentional.  Which was what made things so much easier, so much simpler in the past.  When it was just Sasha, his mind was free to craft reality into whatever he wanted it to be.  He could perceive it any way he wanted to and there was no one to point out the loopholes or the inconsistencies.  It was like cheating in solitaire.

Eamonn was right, though.  Sasha had been thinking simply and he'd been looking for simply answers.  And, more simple reassurance than answers.  He just needed someone to look at him and say that everything was, in fact, alright.  That all the worry and hysteria were just that.  But, if all he wanted was blind reassurance, he knew Eamonn wasn't the best choice. 

Sasha took a deep breath and turned to watch the dog, giving his mind a moment to settle a focus. 

But, try as he might, the questions wouldn't form.  Partly, because he didn't know what he wanted to ask and partly because he was uncertain Eamonn would even be able to answer.  But, also, largely because he knew he had to be careful what he said.  He needed to avoid any of the recent questions that had arisen - anything that could be traced back to anyone who'd stirred those questions.  It wasn't that hard - there had been a few questions, a few doubts that had lingered since the beginning. 

He turned back towards Eamonn, leaning against the table top.  "I guess, I keep waiting and wondering when the other shoe will drop.  I know he sees something more - that he expects something more.  He's the first person that ever has and I love him for it.  But - if he's, you know, wrong.  If I'm not ... if I don't measure up.  If I end up a disappointment - "  The question hung in the air, unfinished.  Sasha knew Kronos' care was genuine and real, even if, as Eamonn described, unusual and unconventional.  He knew it, even if he couldn't defend how he knew.  All of this would be so much easier otherwise.  What he didn't know was just how unconditional it was.