10 Follower

Atreus stepped outside the castle doors, and his head snapped to the right. He had nearly missed it, but there was a presence there concealed by the pulsating magic of Hogwarts. If it wasn't for something that was faintly calling out to him, he might've missed it completely.

"You are full of surprises," Dumbledore shimmered into existence in the spot he was looking at.

"I try," Atreus replied with a shrug. Dumbledore stayed quiet for a moment, looking out into the distance, before turning to him.

"It's a bit too late to be out and exploring, isn't it?"

"Maybe," Atreus said, and his eye shifted to the forest in the distance, "but there is a place that I really, really want to visit."

"Although there are dangerous creatures there, gentle and kinds ones also inhabit the Forbidden Forest. Unicorns and Centaurs are one such example."

"A small game is what I'm after. After all, Jor needs something to eat."

Mentioning the name was like a command. The Occamy slithered out of Atreus' clothes and moved onto his head. Jor raised his head high in the air, puffed out his chest, and spread his wings wide.

"A magical creature is generally not allowed to be kept as a pet in Hogwarts. They can be dangerous to the other students," Dumbledore said after seeing Atreus scratch the Occamy.

"I wouldn't call him a pet. Jor is more like a friend," Atreus said as the snake turned into a noodle under his touch, "and besides, he's only a danger to himself."

$Hey! You are being mean!$

Jor's head snapped, and he pulled away from Atreus' hand.

$Just being honest. As far as I remember, you were the one that rammed into a wall and cried all day in pain.$

Atreus hissed back with a chuckle.

$I...I was just checking the defenses of our home!$

Jor embarrassingly hissed and slithered back into his hidey-hole, where he was warm and protected.

"Claiming him as a familiar? That would get people off your back," Dumbledore mused with a slight smile.

"Sure, I'll go with that," Atreus said with a shrug.

"If I told you the House Elves would be happy to provide you with food for him, would you change your mind?" Dumbledore then asked, but he already knew the answer.

"I will pretend I didn't hear that," Atreus said and took a running start. "Please don't tell the headmaster that I'm going to the Forbidden Forest. I don't want to get in trouble on the first day."

Dumbledore shook his head as Atreus took off running faster than what should be considered normal, even for wizards and witches. With magic coursing through their bodies, they were in a much better physical shape than non-magicals, not that they ever used it for anything other than bed activities.

Stopping Atreus was out of the question, and it wasn't because Dumbledore didn't want to. The Forbidden Forest could be dangerous even to older wizards and witches. However, the only way to prevent Atreus from going there was to physically attack and restrain him, something which he was not willing to do.

In a way, Atreus reminded Dumbledore of his younger days. He did his own thing back then, never caring what others thought about him or about following the rules. There was a reason why Dumbledore was sorted into Gryffindor even though he was considered the most brilliant student ever seen in the school. His desire to study magic and his talent for it should've been perfect for Ravenclaw, but his personality didn't fit the house.

When Atreus stepped foot inside the forest, he felt at home, and his sense reached out, connecting to the nature around him. The trees, the vegetation there was old, much older than the ones back on the Flamels' island. The forest was over a thousand years old, and magic had deeply seeped into it, making it a one of a kind living environment for magical creatures.

Atreus slowed his pace down to a walk, enjoying the sensation of the nature around him. There was a gentle but also a dangerous feeling to it. He was here for a small game for Jor, but he was definitely going to explore a bit off the forest this night. His sight was good enough for him to see in the darkness, even spotting tracks left by the forest's inhabitants.

In the distance, Atreus heard galloping that was drawing closer. He continued his casual pace until he spotted them, the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a human. The group Centaurs stopped a long distance away from Atreus, watching him closely and holding their bows, ready to draw them at a moment's notice.

This was his first time seeing Centaurs, so he paused and studied them for a bit. They didn't move from their spots, nor did they attempt to talk to him; they just watched him back while holding onto their bows tightly.

After a moment, Atreus nodded to them and took out his own bow from his bag of holding alongside a newly made quiver that was filled with arrows. They seemed surprised and confused, and some of the Centaurs looked up at the night sky with tilted heads and squinted eyes.

Atreus ignored them for now and began his hunt. His movements became quieter, not making the slightest sound as he stepped through the forest floor. His eyes scanned the ground, moving from side to side, and spotting the various tracks.

He spotted what looked to be deer tracks, bear tracks, boar tracks, and even Unicorn tracks. This wasn't what Atreus was after, and he wouldn't even consider hunting Unicorns. Most of them were annoying dipshits, but only towards males, and eating anything from them or even hunting them had more cons than pros.

Finally, Atreus found what he was looking for, a small trace of rabbit tracks. They were so faint and almost unnoticeable due to other animals having walked over them. He followed them step by step until he reached a small clearing, the tracks ended there, but there were no signs of a rabbit or a hole in which it might be hiding.

There was a chance the critter had been picked off by some kind of a bird. However, Atreus had a feeling this wasn't the case. His senses reached out, brushing past everything in the clearing. He checked everything in the clearing until he found a rock with too much magic, even for one that was in the Forbidden Forest.

Atreus' took out an arrow from his quiver in a second with his bow already aimed at the rock. He fired it without hesitation.

Sensing danger, the rock transformed into a rabbit and tried escaping, but it was already too late. The arrow nailed the critter and pinned it to the ground.

"Transformation Rabbit," Atreus muttered as he walked over. They were annoying critters that had the ability to turn into inanimate objects. His dad had told him they had evolved out of their instinct to burrow holes since they can just hide in plain sight.

Atreus walked over to the still breathing rabbit and ended its life with his knife. He then quickly skinned the critter starting from its legs before cutting off its head and throwing it in the woods. He could've done this with magic, but it was sort of like a ritual that reminded him of his days with his father. However, he used a curse to drain its blood since it was a process that took at least a couple hours.

A few small pieces, just big enough for Jor to gobble down, were then cut from the rabbit.

$It's time to eat, buddy.$

Jor came out of his hiding spot and looked at the skinned rabbit and floating pieces of meat.

$I could've hunted it down myself!$

Jor hissed while swallowing one of them down.

$Sure~$

$It would've dropped dead from just seeing me!$

$I think you are forgetting you are not a Basilisk.$

$You're right! I'm even more awesome than a Basilisk!$

Jor hissed after eating the last piece of meat before slithering back into Atreus' clothes. His belly was full, and he was ready for a good sleep.

Atreus just shook his head before freezing the rest of the rabbit and storing it inside his bag of holding. Jor's food for the next week or so was secured, but there was more to see in the Forbidden Forest.

He continued exploring and found a few caves with magical creatures dwelling inside of them. A few large spiders, Acromantulas, attacked him, but Atreus filled their bodies with arrows before they could even reach him. More of them were around him, but they kept a safe distance after that.

As Atreus was exploring, the fresh air of the forest slowly turned into an awful and disgusting one. Soon enough, he saw the reason why. There were a dozen large and ugly humanoid creatures that were lazily sprawled on the forest floor. They were big, a few feet bigger than even Hagrid, but compared to the Trolls he had fought with his father, they looked like kids.

After memorizing their location, Atreus quickly left. He was bound to return at some point since he had been itching to test how physically strong he had become, and fighting a Troll seemed like a great way to do it.

Atreus mapped a good portion of the forest and decided to call it a day. Before entering the castle, he cast a Disillusionment Charm, the more powerful and bigger brother of the Colour Change Charm. He blended perfectly with his surroundings as he made his way towards the dungeons.

However, Atreus shortly heard a pair of footsteps that were making their way right towards him. He paused and turned around. Whoever it was, they somehow knew his exact location and wasn't that a surprise.

A blonde girl, wearing black robes with blue strips, turned the corner. She had her eyes closed, but the moment she faced him, she let out an audible gasp.

"Do I... Do I need to bow to you?" The girl asked in awe with her head tilted to the side and her eyes still closed.

"What?" Atreus asked in surprise.

"Or maybe you need a sacrifice?" She continued.

"Huh?!" Atreus was confused, not understanding what she was talking about.

"Who are you?" He then asked.

"Oh, I'm Luna Lovegood. You can call me Luna. Or Looney, some students call me that," Luna answered him.

"Why would they call you that?" Atreus asked.

Luna opened her eyes, revealing two silvery orbs. She blinked a few times before closing her eyes again, "Because I can see and hear things others can't."

It took him just a moment to realize what Luna was talking about, and Atreus asked, "And what do you see?"

"A big blue giant and a god," Luna said dreamily, "Your soul... it's so big and different than anyone else's."

Atreus stood there in complete shock, almost missing another two pairs of footsteps that were closing in. Luna, however, didn't, and she turned to the side with her eyes still closed before she walked straight through a wall. He followed after her and disappeared from the corridor just as two students turned the corner.

"Are you sure you heard something?" One of them asked.

"Yeah," the other answered while looking around, "guess it was Peeves playing a prank on us."

The two then walked away.

After passing through the wall, Atreus found himself in what looked to be an abandoned classroom. Luna was there with her eyes closed, yet she still seemed to be looking right at him, or maybe even through him.

"Can I touch you?" Luna asked while he was trying to figure out how she found out about his heritage with just a... single look?

"Um, yeah," Atreus said, feeling very confused.

Luna smiled brightly and gently took his hand. She touched it here and there while giggling to herself.

"Can you do me a favour and not tell others what I am?" Atreus asked in a bit. He knew about Memory Charms, but he had never actually used one. He wasn't confident in successfully casting one without removing more than intended. Plus, she would need just one look to figure it out again.

"Ohh! It's a secret! I love secrets!" Luna exclaimed.

"And even if I tell someone, they won't believe me, so your secret is safe with me," Luna then said with a giggle, still poking his hand.

Atreus felt a bit bad that others didn't trust her, but at least she won't expose him. He didn't want to deal with that situation. A short silence followed, which was broken by Luna's question.

"Can I be your follower?"

Atreus was beyond confused at that point. He had no idea what was going on, but he still ended up saying, "I've never had one before."

Luna let out an audible gasp, "So I will be your first one?"

"Okay..." Atreus said with uncertainty, "Just don't tell anyone else, okay?"

Luna bobbed her head up and down excitedly before she giggled, "It tickles!"

Atreus really had no idea what was going on by this point, but what he knew was that he had to come up with a better way to protect his secrets. Luna had seen right through him and figured out his heritage in an instant. She wasn't even the first to do that, but Yao had that weird golden eye. At least she didn't know he was from another world.

"Can you tell me about the world you come from?"

Or maybe not. Atreus quickly checked his mindscape and his mental defenses. They didn't seem to be breached, but he double-checked to make sure.

"They are beautiful! Are they symbolic? You father, mother, and you?"

Atreus was supposed to be the scary half-giant, part god, but he was scared out of his mind by Luna, the fragile and weak-looking girl.

"Let's... take a walk, and I will tell you a bit about Alfheim and the Light Elves," Atreus said.

"Yay! You are the nicest god I've met! Well, you are technically the only one I've met, but still!" Luna looked overjoyed by his words.

Atreus just shook his head as the two exited the abandoned classroom. He had a lot on his mind, one being that he had to find a better way to hide his secrets. Luna at least gave him a hint for that. Apparently, his soul was different than others, and that was something he would have to look into.

Luna was... very unique. She was more curious about how the Light Elves looked, the beautiful sights in Alfheim, or the various critter in the realm more than anything else. The little bits he shared about his adventure there barely interested her.

Their walk continued until Atreus escorted her to the entrance of Ravenclaw's Common Room, a door without a doorknob or keyhole, but a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. Luna turned to him and asked, "Will you be going to the Forbidden Forest tomorrow night as well?"

"Probably," Atreus confirmed since there was more to map out.

"Can we meet up again then? I really want to hear if you've seen one of the creatures I'm looking for," Luna said dreamily.

There were so many of them, and she had told him about a few like the Blibbering Humdinger, Crumple-Horned Snorkack, Nargle, or Wrackspurt. He had read quite a few books on magical creatures, and none had mentioned them. However, Atreus believed her. Luna was a girl who was able to see through him with but a look, so who was he to say otherwise?

"Sure, why not? You can find me after I return to the castle," Atreus said, and Luna smiled brightly. She turned around and knocked on the knocker, and the bronze eagle gave her a riddle.

"Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?"

Atreus frowned since he wasn't sure of the answer, but Luna had no problem, "I think the answer is that a circle has no beginning."

"Well reasoned," the knocker replied and opened for her. She waved at Atreus with a smile before entering her Common Room.

While thinking of his encounter with Luna, he slowly made his way over to the Slytherin Common Room. It took Atreus some time, quite a bit of it, but he finally found his way in the dungeons. He walked over to the familiar wall and said, "Anilius."

Nothing happened. The door didn't open for Atreus. The password had already changed to a new one, and he hadn't checked before leaving the Common Room.

"Viper."

"Basilisk."

"Cobra."

"Python"

Atreus attempted with a few, but he had no success. He continued trying with anything else that came to his mind, but again, nothing happened.

$What are you doing?$

Jor had woken from his nap and slithered out of his clothes.

$I'm trying to get inside.$

Jor just looked at the wall for a moment and hissed $Open.$

The Occamy's head then turned to Atreus, with what could only be described as a smug look, when the passaged opened up. He knew what Jor was expecting, so he told him with a sigh, $Yes, you are awesome.$

$I know!$

Jor smugly hissed before slithering back inside his clothes. Atreus entered inside and went straight into his room. He used the Tempus Charm to quickly check the time, which showed him 4:20 am. Just enough for him to take a quick nap and be ready for the day.