How Fate Intended by hoboheartache on ao3

"~...He is gone, my chosen speaker.~"

Theo let out a breath, shoulders sagging as he relaxed against the bookcase. He had been genuinely taken off guard by Harry appearing out of nowhere and had, without even thinking, ducked behind a bookshelf to avoid having a conversation about what he was doing down there. His decision had likely been for the best, considering that Harry seemed to be messing about with a volatile potion of some kind. Theo didn't even know where to begin with how bad of an idea that seemed to him, but he also couldn't even begin to articulate how little he wanted to do with it.

Standing up, he peeked out from behind the bookcase, glancing around just to be sure before scrambling around it and back towards his books, which Jörmungandr had rather precariously stacked along the opposite side of the table to make room for Harry's nonsense. Settling into the chair closest to his precious tomes, he quickly snatched up the book he had been reading before the interruption and began leafing through it, mumbling under his breath as he sought out the page he had left off on.

"Ah, here we are." Smoothing out the page, he reread the passage a few times, nodding along as he familiarised himself with the process he was trying to replicate.

Once a connection between the conscious and unconscious mind has been formed, one must first come to a decision over what sort of element they embody. Once this decision is made, one must merely acquaint themselves with the element of their choosing. This can be done in all manner of ways, but this scholar recommends the simplest method known as the 'touch' method. The touch method is known as the simplest, because all one must do is physically touch the element of their choosing. If it is truly the one that resonates with a person's magic the most, the element will naturally come to their aid.

Grinning slightly, Theo reached across the table and snatched up the big pitcher of water Harry had been using as a base, setting it back down on his side of the large circular table. He had been thinking long and hard about it, but after floating along in his mindscape for so long, he had decided that the element of water would suit him best. It was the main part of his mindscape after all, and it seemed like the most useful to him in the long run. 'Water' was such a versatile concept as well; it was possible that he might be able to control ice or even gas if he became capable enough. For all he knew, a few years down the line he might be able to control the weather as well!

Settling back in his chair, Theo expelled a large breath of air, calming his mind as he set the tome aside and pulled the pitcher of water closer, wrapping one hand tightly around the circumference before dipping the other inside and brushing his fingers along the cool water. There, he was touching it. Now all he had to do was connect.

Closing his eyes, he imagined the ever-moving current of his mindscape, with its gentle tide and lazy waves. He imagined the swiftness of the undercurrent in his subconscious and the chill it left him with. He imagined the bleached out colours and how harshly they contrasted against the blooming expanse of his consciousness. He imagined the cool water beneath him and the warm sun above him. He could see it so clearly in his mind that it was practically right there in front of him. He could feel the cool water pulling him along, the occasional brush of leather-bound treasures against his fingertips. He could taste the sun-kissed air and the foggy stillness simultaneously, wrapped up around him in discomforting comfort. He could feel the damp clothes and the droplets trailing freezing tracks down his cheeks. He could feel the warmest, sunniest spots and harshest, coldest darkness. All of it wrapped around and encompassed him in one large, inescapable web that was deeply, truly him.

Sighing softly, he slowly opened his eyes, soothed by the comforting feeling of water racing through his fingers.

Except there wasn't any.