Septem - Sidemen/Harry Potter fan fiction

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The owlery was a twisted tower, some distance from the main school. It sat at the top of a hill, battered by the winter wind and regular showers of snow that decorated the ageing stone with white crystals. The path leading to the building twisted and turned up the grassy bank, slowly revealing the sounds of screeches and boots, together with the gentle beating of wings.

Josh and Vikk walked with their heads slanted from the stiff breeze, feeling it ruffle their hair and sting the skin that had not been concealed by matching blue scarves. The sounds of the school died away, leaving them only with sounds of crunching footsteps in snow and breathing.

Inside the derelict structure, they were met with a smell similar to that of the owl emporium in Diagon Alley, mingling with the musty scent of hay that the birds made their nests in. The tower stretched high above them, containing a crumbling staircase that clambered the sturdy walls in bursts and starts, some steps well worn as others stood tall. Every so often, the floor levelled out, revealing a collection of owls, from tawny to barn, some with orange, sharp eyes; others with gentle brown orbs staring out from a messy tousle of mottled feathers. One such owl was Ernest, a small scrap of plumage, with a head melting away into his round body, encompassed in short, stubby wings. He hooted softly to himself ever so often, nursing a small book beneath his yellow, hooked feet and looked up at the two boys as they approached his well kept nest.

"This is it then," Vikk murmured to Josh as he claimed the book and brushed its cover free of straw. The taller boy nodded, a lump sticking in his throat as he glanced at the old tome, unable to shake the feeling that there were other people, sinister forces, who would stop at nothing to get their hands on such an object. He couldn't help but wonder if the attack on the platform in London was connected to the invisible contents of the book in Vikk's hands.

"I thought you said it was empty," Vikk spoke again, his voice falling away to an awe filled whisper, "Maybe you didn't look hard enough." He held a page open, close to Josh's face, feeling the warmth of his breath nearby as he looked over his shoulder. Moments later his hands, red from the cold, ghosted above Vikk's tracing the spidery ink as it flowed across the page.

The Septem ~ A History in the Making
By Albus Dumbledore

Josh echoed the words he brushed past in a similar tone to Vikk's stepping away to glance out of the owlery's window, his breath escaping in short bursts of ice. He turned again with an uncharacteristic look of adventurous excitement flitting across his face and bit his lip thoughtfully.

"I swear it was empty last night," he promised earnestly, "Maybe someone touching it activated some sort of spell?" He was clutching at straws, calling on his narrow knowledge of magic beyond their years. Albus Dumbledore was a powerful wizard, arguably the best of his time, and the enchantments contained within a book he had authored were far beyond the understanding of the two first years.

"Not just anyone," Vikk mused, flicking again to another page, "Joshua Bradley, Ethan Payne, Tobi Brown, Vikram Barn." He stopped reading, as his eyes moved to the top of the page, reading the title with a small gasp. Josh looked up from the floor where he had been kicking a small strand of hay as he contemplated the magic and narrowed his eyes at Vikk.

"Our names are in it?" he asked sharply, quickly retaking his position at Vikk's shoulder once more, "The Septem." He shook his head firmly, blinking several times over before refocusing on the page, his eyes willing the words to change in front of him.

"That isn't possible," he muttered more to himself than to his companion who shrugged surprisingly.

"Why not?" he returned in a level tone, "We're born in the right year, you saw the phenomenon at the lake with your own eyes."