The Great Hall was quiet during the early hours of the morning, students that had awakened early sat in small groups, chatting at their tables yet Carlos sat alone at the far end of the Gryffindor table, a half-eaten plate of food pushed to the side. He was sat hunched over a battered book though his eyes were unfocused, the flickering light from the enchanted ceiling casting faint shadows over his tired face.

Lando entered the hall, scanning the tables. He had awoken to find Carlos missing again and had decided that it was time to share his discovery. When his eyes landed on Carlos, he hesitated for a brief moment before squaring his shoulders and walking over. "Carlos."

He glanced up, then looked back at the book, clearly trying to look uninterested. "Didn't realise we were back on speaking terms," he spoke flatly.

Lando exhaled, moving to sit across from Carlos without waiting for permission. "Look, I know things are...tense, for a lack of a better word, but we can't just stop everything because we're both too stubborn to talk."

Carlos raised an eyebrow, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. "'Everything?' Meaning... you've found something?"

Leaning forward, Lando lowered his voice: "Yes, and I can't tell anyone else, because we're the only ones who know about the Chamber. So whether you like it or not, we're in this together." Carlos closed his book, his full attention now on the boy opposite.

"Alright, what did you find?" Lando pulled out a small folded scrap of parchment from his pocket and laced it carefully on the table between them.

"The clue said: 'When the moon casts no shadow, and the beast bows to the night, the path will reveal itself.'" For a split second he noticed Carlos had paled, before quickly looking away, jaw tightening.

"The moon, huh? Sounds... poético," he answered with a forced casualness. Lando simply narrowed his eyes.

"Don't do that. Don't brush it off. You know something about this- I can see it." Carlos hesitated, fingers tracing the edge of the parchment. For a moment, it looked as though he was going to say something, yet he shook his head. "No I don't. But... it's a lead and we don't have many of those."

Lando studied him for a moment, clearly not convinced, but decided not to push. It would get him nowhere. Instead, he nodded. "Right. So... are we doing this or not?"

Carlos leaned back, expression guarded but resolute. "We're doing this." For a while there's silence between them. The noise of the Hall humming faintly in the background, yet it felt distant. Both of them looked at the parchment, the weight of the clue- and whatever it meant- settling over them.

The fire crackled softly, the same stack of parchment sat on Fernando's desk, unchanged from the last time Carlos stormed out. He sat in his chair, quill poised mid-air, yet his attention was elsewhere- his eyes fixed on the door as if expecting something.

The door creaked open. Carlos entered without knocking, his face a mask of barely contained frustration. Fernando looked up, his own expression weary yet masterly composed. "I wasn't sure if you'd come back."

"I wasn't sure either." Carlos coldly replied, stepping forward, pulling a delicately folded piece or parchment from his pocket and tossing it on the desk. Fernando's eyes flickered to it, and for a moment, something- recognition, guilt- passed over his face, cracking his mask. "Go on. Read it. I'm sure you already know what it says."

He didn't reach for the parchment immediately. Instead, he leant back in his chair and sighed. "The moon casts no shadow... the beast bows to the night."

"So you did know." Fernando closed his eyes as if steeling himself. "I hoped it wouldn't come to this, Carlitos."

"Hoped? You hoped? While Lando and I have been tearing ourselves apart trying to make sense of this chamber, you were just sitting here with the answers!"

"It's not as simple as you think." He replied quietly.

Carlos raised his voice in turn, "No, it is that simple! You knew about the clue, about the moon- it's all connected to the Chamber, isn't it? And you sat there and let us stumble around in the dark!"

Fernando finally met Carlos' eyes, both holding the antagonising silence. There was something heavy in Fernando's gaze, Carlos noted: regret, sorrow, guilt. "Because the truth, Carlos, is a weight I wouldn't wish on anyone- not even you."

Carlos' voice trembled, "That's not your choice to make." He took a step back, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "You told me the Chamber tests your truth. You said it's something you can't run from. But you- you've been running from it this whole time, haven't you?"

Fernando clinched slightly as though physically struck by the accusation. "You're right. I have. And I'll carry that shame for as long as I live, but you have to understand, Carlos... if you push too far, too fast, the Chamber will show you things you aren't ready to see."

Carlos softly but cuttingly replied: "It's too late for that. You gave me the map. You set me on this path. And whether you like it or not, I'm going to follow it." Fernando opened his mouth as if to respond, yet he had nothing to say. He looks down at the parchment on his desk, shoulders slumped.

"I came here because, despite everything, I still thought I could trust you, but maybe I was wrong." Carlos turned away and walked up to the door, pausing just before leaving, not turning back. "You said the Chamber tests your truth. I hope, one day, you can face yours." The door closed gently behind him. He remained seated, face lined with exhaustion and regret.