Chapter 23

                                    

                                          
Harry leaned back in his chair and massaged the back of his neck. He had spent the last hour hunched over his desk, putting the finishing touches on the runic array he was designing to protect Scylla. He stood from his chair and walked out of the Chamber's living quarters and into the main room. It was still only seven in the morning, so Harry decided to take the opportunity to run a few laps around the Chamber before heading back to shower and meet up with Daphne and their friends in the common room.
As he jogged around the room, he found himself feeling more optimistic than he had in a long time. His preparations were complete, and if everything went according to plan, Voldemort would be dead by the end of the week. True, he would still have some loose ends to deal with before being free to live his life in peace, but unburdening himself from Riddle and the prophesy would be a huge step. Besides, it wasn't as if Rhassel'Thoth or his cult were likely to present a problem, and he'd actually take great pleasure in dealing with Titania again.
Feeling refreshed after his shower, Harry dressed himself and had Dobby take him to the common room. None of his fellow fourth years had made it down yet, but he saw Astoria sitting down with a slightly troubled expression and decided to go talk to her.
"Good morning, firecracker," Harry greeted, taking a seat in the chair next to her.
"Good morning," she replied, blushing slightly.
"What are you doing down here so early?"
"I couldn't stand to be in the dorm any longer," she sighed. "My dormmates were all talking about...you wouldn't understand."
"I can try," he offered.
"Well... No, never mind, I'd rather speak to Daphne."
"Ah, womanly things? Yeah, if that's it, then you're probably better off asking a woman."
"Yeah," she agreed, though she still had a somewhat dejected look on her face.
Harry sighed to himself. While this Astoria wasn't the same woman who had been his closest confidant for all those years, he still cared about her and couldn't stop himself from trying to help her.
"Out of curiosity's sake, is it about the monthlies, boob size, or boys?"
Astoria was momentarily taken aback by the question, but Harry seemed to be serious, so she decided to take a chance.
"Well... It's mostly the period. I still haven't gotten mine, and all the other girls in my year have. My boobs still aren't growing like I wanted them to though, and the only concern I have about boys is how to keep away from their stupidity."
"As a member of the male population, ouch," Harry joked, clutching his chest.
Astoria snorted.
"Try not to worry too much about the other things. You're still young, and it'll all happen for you before you know it."
"How do you know?" she asked.
Harry stopped to think for a moment. He obviously couldn't tell Astoria about all the books he'd read about how to raise little girls. Of course, Daphy was still years away from puberty at the time, but he tended to overprepare when it came to his daughter. A fourteen-year-old boy with knowledge of these topics must seem a little odd, but it was too late to back out now.
"It may have escaped your notice, but you're not the only girl going through those things," he started. "Even though I'm a boy, I've learned a lot by living in close proximity to teenage witches for the last four years, and I'm not talking about magic."
"Right..."
"I'm serious. Back in Gryffindor, we learned the hard way how to recognise the signs, what to do, and more importantly, what not to do," Harry told her. "As for the rest, you must've noticed by now that the women in your family are all extremely beautiful and quite well developed. I think it's safe to say that you'll wind up being at least as stunning as your mother, and if you're lucky, maybe even your sister."