Axis Mundi [HP]

CH 7 [To Cause Chaos]

As it was Acher's first year his schedule was fairly empty, if not to say outright deserted. On most days he had up to three classes which spanned from one hour to an hour and fifteen minutes with wide gaps for dinner and general breaks scattered between.

Therefore right after his Charms class finished Acher came barreling down the Hogwarts stairs and through a side door of the castle.

The late morning air hit him square in the face as soon as he heaved open the heavy oak doors and stepped outside.

The rolling green hills greeted him kindly, gracing his eyes with their full expanse that sloped down gently into the black foliage of the forbidden forest. Behind the sharp edge of woodland, standing proud in the distance sat tall mountains bearing caps of white ice that shone like beacons in the background of the early skies, echoing in his vision in a circular rainbow. It all sent Acher spiraling, that distant yet overbearing feeling of nostalgia and a thirst for the unknown seized his heart in a deliciously tragic squeeze that left him gasping softly. He stepped onto the stone stairs that lead down the hill from Hogwarts, taking a few seconds to appreciate just how old the black stone was, consumed by moss and weeds at the edges.

He walked down this path for maybe two minutes before whispering 'fuck it' and going off track to run around the green fields. Daisies, clovers, and forget-me-nots were scattered around the hills, bees and butterflies fluttering from flower to flower like deleted parents pampering their children, giving all of their attention to each individual bud.

Acher heard the distinct flutter of wings.

"Hatchling!" Maly Rytier dropped from the sky in a few quick flutters, landing on his shoulder by catching onto his uniform with his tiny bird claws. "No class? This early?"

"I'm on break," Acher explained.

"Why not with other hatchlings?" the bird inquired "You have to know other hatchlings. So when you're older you can puff up your chest and attract those sing-song birds."

Acher's nose scrunched. "I don't think it works like that Rytier."

The bird puffed up his chest as if trying to prove something.

Acher rolled his eyes before pausing. "Have there been any owls around my house a few weeks ago?"

Rytier tilted his tiny head before replying dubiously. "Yea. There was this wide-eyed wobble head with some letter."

Acher quirked his eyebrow at the bird "And what happened to him?"

The tiny animal shrugged his wings. "He flew onto foreign territory. We pecked him until he left."

Tallhill sighed, cranking his head up to the sky with a defeated expression. "And what happened to the letter?"

"I didn't know it was important!" he squealed. "One of the crows...may or may not have used it for building her nest."

Acher sighed in exacerbation. "Well," he huffed "Whatever." The blonde focused on surveying the black line of the forest, spiky and compacted, the trees weaving into each other like black wires.

He continued forward, down the unmarked lane.

"Anything interesting? Up there in the skies?" Tallhill inquired.

The bird perked up. "There's a big Phoenix! Very hot-headed one. Quite self-obsessed but good-hearted."

The blonde looked at his companion with surprise. "He flies around here?"

"Of course. He lives up in one of the highest towers." Rytier motioned vaguely with the span of his wing.

Acher hummed. That made sense actually, it would be downright stupid to assume such a massive bird would just sit in the same room from dusk to dawn. Even if he was, technically, Dumbledore's pet.