Six grabbed Harry's hand and yanked him as hard as she could. His entire body was almost completely encompassed by stone at this point, but she wasn't ready to give up just yet.

The pair of them crashed painfully against the filthy floor, Six grunting from the impact. She turned to look at her companion and her heart nearly froze when she saw the pieces of stone littering the floor. For a moment, she thought she had shattered him.

Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case. The bits of rock sprinkled around him only seemed to be a top coat, not having enough time to penetrate and petrify his insides. She got to him just in time.

His skin looked pink and raw, and was almost certainly painful. A thought that would soon prove to be correct as he opened his eyes and took in a deep, desperate breath of air.

"Ow, that hurts! What happened?" he ground out. Nearly his whole body tingled, all except for his right hand. It was like that feeling you get when you sit on your hand for too long and it goes numb, then you get off it and the blood rushes back into the appendage and it stung like crazy.

Now take that sensation and spread it across your whole body. That was what Harry was feeling at the moment. Every movement causing him more grief than the last.

"You were almost turned into stone," commented a voice to his left. Turning his head, which caused a brief spike of agony, he saw what looked like his erstwhile companion. Though it was hard to tell with his vision as blurry as it was.

"Six?" he questioned. And indeed it was her, looking relieved and annoyed in equal measure, glaring down at him. He flinched slightly at her angry red eyes, knowing he was the cause of it.

He did almost die again, so he wouldn't begrudge her feeling a bit upset with him, even though it really wasn't his fault this time. How was he supposed to know that eye turned people to stone?

"Yes it's me. How are you feeling?" she asked. She may have been a bit cross with him for nearly leaving her all alone again, but that was mostly out of concern. She just had a hard time expressing her true feelings on the matter, and defaulted to annoyance.

"It's hard to explain. Ever sleep on your arm wrong and you wake up with it feeling numb? Then after a while it starts to tingle and that tingling turns to pain?" he asked, or more accurately, rambled.

Six looked amused by his babbling as she nodded her head at him. If all he was feeling was pins and needles after nearly being turned to stone, she would take it.

"Like that, but all over," he explained.

"I see. Well, I'm glad you're alright," she said, receiving a smile in return. Or an attempt at smiling, as even that small gesture seemed to cause him discomfort.

"Looks like you saved me again. Thanks," he told her sincerely.

"Where would you be without me?" she joked back, ignoring the warmth spreading through her chest at the look he gave her. It was scary just how much a simple look made her feel so happy.

The scary part wasn't the feeling of joy itself, but the fear of never seeing the look that caused it again. It was the reason Six was so hesitant to get close to anyone. Not after her friend was captured. Sure she's spent some amount of time with other survivors, but never enough to feel a connection.

Not like with Harry. And since most of them have died, gone missing, or abandoned her, she felt like she made the right decision in keeping her distance. But for some reason, she couldn't do the same with the boy lying next to her. Perhaps she was just tired of being alone.

"In a moth's stomach," Harry said blandly, making her snort slightly. That was true enough. If she hadn't appeared when she did, if she hadn't been so curious about that loud noise he would have almost certainly been eaten.

Almost certainly, because there was a chance he would have used his magic to escape, but that chance was slim at best.

"Well it's a good thing you have me then," she stated, with just a hint of smugness. Harry rolled his eyes at her, but his smile never left his face. He knew just how lucky he was. And to think, what would have happened if he had chosen a different balloon on that day? He may have never met Six.

Now that was a truly depressing thought. Even after such a short time with her, he couldn't imagine facing this world without her by his side. He didn't know what it was; fate, destiny, or sheer random chance that brought them together, but he was eternally grateful it did.

He finally had a friend. A real friend. And that meant the world to him.

"So, mind telling me what that thing is?" Harry asked, gesturing towards the eye behind them. Six gave the offending thing a sour look, all semblance of joy draining from her face. It would be hard to tell the difference if you didn't know her, but Harry did. To him it was like night and day.

"Security Eyes, or at least that's what we call them. You've experienced first hand what they do," she stated, watching as the eye flickered on and off. It was different from the ones she's seen before. Those ones all turned on and stayed on, swiveling back and forth as they searched for their next victim.

But this one didn't. It blinked, for lack of a better term. Four seconds on and three seconds off. Unless it had you in its sights, like it had Harry just moments ago. Then the light stayed on for much longer.

"Yeah, it wasn't pleasant. How are we supposed to get by?" asked Harry. It was a valid question, considering this was the only way forward that they could find. Looking down the path, Six took note of the tables conveniently placed along the walls.

"The tables. There should be just enough time to make it to them before we become statues," she said. Harry tried to look at what she was pointing at, but the pins and needles were still jabbing him all over, so he would just take her word for it.

"Couldn't we, I don't know, cover ourselves? It doesn't look like it's turning everything to stone," Harry asked, making Six pause. Could they do that? There were some tablecloths, or bits of debris they could take from the pile to block the light.

It could work, even though she would rather avoid being in the light altogether. But there was one small problem with that plan, "Maybe. But the light also turned your clothes to stone. It might target anything that moves, rather than something alive."

"We could always test it. Through something in its path, see what happens," Harry suggested. Thinking it over, it was a good idea. She wasn't entirely sure how these things worked, so getting a better understanding of them wasn't the worst idea she's ever heard.

No, that had to have been that one kid who wanted to create an army of rats and take over the world. Now that was a terrible idea, especially considering the rats he tried to tame ate him.

Alive. Just remembering that made Six feel sick.

"Alright. As soon as you're ready, we'll give it a try," she said, trying to push the memory of the rat boy from her mind. With Harry giving her a slight nod of agreement, Six settled in to wait until he could move without wincing in pain.

It took about ten minutes before Harry felt able to move properly. But even though the tingling had since gone away, his skin was still sensitive. Extremely so. The air he felt from just walking might as well have been from a hurricane. Not exactly painful, but uncomfortable nonetheless.

The dynamic duo made their way to the pile of debris that blocked access to the other side of the hall. Since they were testing the limits of the Security Eye, Six thought the best approach would be to start with something simple, and see if it responded to movement.

To do so, she would grab a piece of wood or some other similar chunk of garbage, and toss it onto the light. Easier said than done, when everything in the pile was intermingled like it was. Almost like it was fused together.

But after scouring the heap for a while, they were able to find a piece of wood that was less obstructed than the rest, a good chunk of it protruding from the pile, enough that the two of them could grab it. Didn't mean it would be easy to remove, it just meant it was possible.

Harry and Six grabbed the length of wood, which looked like it used to belong to a chair of some kind. It wasn't a leg, more like a decorative piece of the backrest.

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"Ready?" Six asked, giving him an expectant look.

"Just give the word," he responded. Six nodded and began a countdown. "Ok, on three…"

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!"

The two of them began to pull as hard as they could, the piece of wood slowly but surely coming loose. Their faces turned red from the effort and after several seconds, it came free, the two of them landing in a heap.

The large pile of broken things shifted slightly from the now hollow spot, but did little else. The two, who had been watching with bated breath, released a sigh of relief. They wouldn't be buried underneath trash today.

The two of them lay on their back, breathing heavily from the exertion. Harry turned to his friend with a cheeky grin, "That wasn't so hard."

Six rolled her eyes at his sass, and stood up, walking over to the piece of wood which had gone flying after they yanked it out. The piece was fairly large, now that she could get a better view of it, being slightly taller than she was. But it would do.

Grabbing the wooden piece, which was lighter than she thought it would be, she flung it over her shoulder before making her way back towards the Security Eye, with Harry trailing behind her.

Now here they were, standing in front of the light as it blinked on and off. She didn't want to admit it, but part of her was eager to see what would happen, her natural curiosity coming to the forefront once more.

"This is it," she said, looking at Harry. He nodded back at her, ready to get the experiment underway. She waited until right before the light blinked on again before chucking the stick into the air.

The light came on and the wood stubbornly refused to turn to stone. It fell to the floor with a clatter, bouncing a few times before remaining still.

"Guess that was a bust," Harry said. The eye remained lit for some time before it returned to its normal pattern. Seeing this, Six narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Not entirely. The eye did follow the stick, it just didn't turn it to stone. But how did it know?" she asked, more to herself than to Harry.

Movement was important, at least to a certain extent, but not enough to trick the Security Eye. Something else was at play here. Some other trick that she was unaware of.

How did it recognize what to turn to stone and what not to? Movement wasn't enough, at last not on its own, so did that mean it also had to be a living thing? But that didn't make sense, as when Harry and those before him were petrified, so too were their clothes.

Only one way to find out, though she wasn't looking forward to the next test as she was the first one. This one would demand a bit of risk.

"Ok, so it follows moving objects. Does that mean if we stay perfectly still, it wont see us?" Harry asked, staring at the lone piece of wood in the middle of the hall. No matter how many times the light turned on and off, it stayed the same. It didn't seem to care, or maybe it didn't recognize that there was something new in the hall.

"Maybe… But there's only one way to find out. One of us will have to hold out an arm and let the light hit it while remaining still," Six said. Harry was understandably nervous at the prospect, having first hand experience being petrified. But that meant he was the most qualified for the job.

"Alright. I'll do it," he said, though Six could clearly hear the apprehension in his voice.

"Are you sure?" she asked back. Harry's eyes wavered for a second, before a determined glint entered them.

"It'll be fine. Besides, I have you to pull me out if something goes wrong," he said with more confidence than he actually felt. Being turned to stone wasn't exactly a fun experience. He was just getting over the throbbing feeling in his arms and legs.

But if it kept Six safe, he was willing to risk it again.

Six gave him one of her small, nearly imperceptible smiles at the trust he was showing her. It really was nice to be relied on.

"We can just avoid the light altogether you know," she said. As curious as she was about how the light actually functioned, it wasn't worth the risk of something happening to her only friend.

"True," Harry said, rubbing his chin in thought. He looked rather silly in her opinion. "But I think it's best we find out now. It might just save us later, you know?"

Six couldn't argue with that. If the light turned them to stone no matter what, then trying to remain still if they get stuck inside of it would be pointless.

"If you say so…" she responded with a bit of reluctance. As much as she wanted to know for certain if remaining still was a viable option, which she doubted, putting her friend at risk, however minimal, wasn't something she was particularly looking forward to.

And if the shaking of his hand was anything to go by, neither was he. It wasn't much, but she could still see the tremble. It made her frown, and an uncomfortable feeling welled up in her chest.

She didn't know what it was, but she knew she didn't like it. So before she could second guess herself or convince herself otherwise, she gently took his hand in hers.

Harry turned to her in surprise, not expecting her sudden affection, no matter how small it may have been. Any coming from her was a bit of a shock. It wasn't that she didn't care, he knew that, she just had a hard time expressing it.

"You know you don't have to," she said in a gentle manner. It was somewhat off putting, considering how emotionless it sounded. At least it would if you didn't know her. But Harry could make out the worry in her tone, as much as she could express.

He knew she could be more expressive when she wasn't thinking about it, or when the situation was erratic. He's seen that, heard that in her voice even. But it was something else when everything was relatively calm.

"I know, but I want to make sure. I know it probably won't work but still…" he responded in a quiet voice. Six gazed into his eyes, so full of determination, and nodded her head. She didn't let go of his hand, even as the trembling stopped.

Which was good. No point in putting his arm out there if he was shaking. That would ruin the whole point of the experiment.

Six was finding herself more and more fond of this little gesture. Who knew something as simple as holding someone's hand could feel so nice. So comforting. It was such a small thing, and yet, it meant so much.

"Alright. But if something goes horribly wrong, I reserve the right to say I told you so," she said with a stern glare. Harry snorted in amusement, eyes alight with mirth. "Whatever you say."

With his confidence somewhat bolstered, Harry turned back to the light, blinking on and off rhythmically, and took a deep breath. This was it, time to see if he could win this game of red light green light.

Six gave his hand one final squeeze as the light turned off. Without another thought, he thrust his arm into the space he knew the light would shine. If he calculated things correctly, and he hoped he did, the light would hit him around the mid forearm.

The seconds before he knew the light would once again be on was the longest he's ever experienced. But even as the seconds ticked into what seemed like hours, Harry kept his arm steady. It didn't move, not a single centimeter.

The fact that he could still feel the warmth of Six's hand helped more than either of them knew.

Eventually he could hear the tell tale signs of the machine powering up once more. The whirring of the gears, or whatever mechanism the eye had, screamed to life. Hearing this, Harry clenched the hand holding onto Six's tightly. It was time.

The black pupil shone with its treacherous light once more.

As soon as the light touched him, he knew the test was a bust. Pain shot into his arm immediately, and he ripped it out of the area of effect. The two of them stepped back as the small amount of stone that had formed on top of his skin shattered and fell to the floor.

"Ah, man that stings," Harry whined, as he clenched and unclenched his hand, trying to get the feeling back into it. Even though it was under the light's influence for a fraction of a second, the skin was still pink and raw again. It felt like he'd been playing in the cold before running his hand under some hot water.

Six looked at the appendage with some concern, but now that it was clear there was no lasting damage, at least as far as she could see, she released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"See, I told you so," she said, slightly mockingly, as the grip she had on her friend's hand loosened in relief, as did his. Not by enough to let go, but enough so that the feeling wouldn't be uncomfortable.

"I thought you were only going to say that if something went terribly wrong," Harry said. The stinging in his hand was starting to ebb. Guess the less time you spent under the light, the less time you needed to recover. Makes sense.

"I'd say turning yourself to stone is pretty terrible. After all, you'd make a lousy lawn ornament," she snarked back, making him snort in amusement.

"I'll have you know that if I were on display in a yard, I would be the envy of all the neighbors," he told her with a small grin. That being said, he shuddered at the prospect of becoming a glorified garden gnome for his relatives.

They would almost certainly be delighted by the decor. Maybe it was a good thing Six thought he'd make a lousy one.

"You have weird neighbors then," she shot back.

"You don't know the half of it," he muttered to himself. Mrs. Figg would probably let her horde of cats use him as a scratching post. No, he was far better off not becoming a statue anytime soon.

"Anyway, now that that's done, what have we learned?" he asked in a fake posh accent. Six rolled her eyes at him again as her gaze shifted to the hall with the light now blinking once more.

"Don't go into the light," she stated plainly, with a decidedly bland tone of voice.

"Good. The experiment was a success then," Harry proclaimed with a triumphant smirk.

"But I already knew that," Six reminded him with a raised brow, making him falter slightly. He coughed into his fist, as a small blush lit up his face.

"Ah yes, but now you know why," he said, acting like a wise old sage who just imparted the secrets of the universe to her.

"I already knew that too," she reminded him again.

"...You're no fun," he told her with a pout, making her give one of her little smirks in response. She found she liked teasing him. It made for some interesting expressions to come across his face.

"I do wonder how it works exactly. I mean, how does it know the difference between a stick and an arm? Especially when your arm is like a twig," she commented offhandedly, her words bringing some offense to the young boy.

It wasn't his fault he was so scrawny…

"Maybe it's sentient?" he postulated. Six's head tilted to the side as she thought about his words, gazing at the eye in contemplation. Even if her words irked him a bit, he couldn't help but find her current expression kind of cute.

"You mean… it's alive?" she asked. That wasn't something she'd thought about before. It certainly didn't look alive, not to mention the sounds it made as it started up or whenever the light blinked on.

"Not alive necessarily, but… aware," he said, trying to explain his thoughts. He heard Six hum in thought as the pair gazed out across the empty hall. No other words were said, as the two of them simply enjoyed the small moment of silence.

But all good things must come to an end, and after several moments, Harry cleared his throat, all previous playfulness leaving his eyes, "So, I guess we have no choice but to avoid the light then?"

The last bit of mirth left Six's eyes as well, as she began to calculate the best course to take to avoid the deadly beams of light. Thankfully, they could use the tables to avoid the Security Eyes gaze. It was a pretty short window, but they would have to make do.

"Yeah. Are you ready? I think we've wasted enough time here," she asked, turning away from the hall to give him a look.

"Always," he told her, giving her hand one last squeeze. No matter how difficult the path ahead was to tread, they could do it, together.