This themed is for the Slytherin House, prompt being Durmstrang - 2,254 words
Viktor could never properly explain his fascination with the majestic animal.. Berkut, or the golden eagle as the Englishmen called it, was the king of the skies above the entire southeast Europe, and Viktor could not remember a time when he did not wish to be the same. Luckily, he was a wizard, so even if he didn't have wings, he had a broom; once, when he was a boy, he recklessly begged Perun the Thunderer to let him fly on his broom like the berkut, his sacred animal, promising to dedicate his every catch to the deity.
To this day, Viktor did not know if his spectacular flying was his own raw talent or the blessing from the Perun. Nevertheless, he could not deny that his maneuvers on the broom only became more heart-stopping after the deal he struck with the Slavic god, and the enjoyment the adrenaline brought with it simply went through the roof. Even his best friend Lukas, the biggest Quidditch fanatic in their year, could not stop himself from scolding Viktor for pulling such dangerous stunts after school matches.
"Mater ti, Viktor, are you trying to kill yourself?!"
The answer was simple: he wasn't. He was only chasing after that incredible high he felt after each Wronski feint, and every tightly-dodged Bludger; that feeling of near-flight and unity with skies. It was a feeling he imagined that a berkut felt whenever it spread its wings, and he was determined to engrave it in his very bones.
It was the only reason why he was out on the field on the New Year's Eve, for he was trying to capture one last shot of adrenaline for that year. As he rolled around and dive-bombed in pursuit of the imaginary Snitch, he spotted a blot of brown and yellow in the middle of the white blanket of snow near the border of the school property.
What in the world…
Viktor flew over and descended carefully next to the blot…
"Bohze moi," Viktor whispered in shock and disbelief. The brown and yellow blot had been none other than young berkut. The poor creature looked tired and cold, and his wings looked rather strange. He landed a foot away from the eagle, and it didn't so much as twitch. His mind whirling in panic, Viktor tiptoed to the fallen animal and gently scooped him up. Not a second later he swore so foully he knew his mother would scrub his mouth raw for it and jumped on his Nimbus, pushing the broom to its limit. The berkut was too cold! He needed to get the poor creature inside to Professor Peshalov immediately!
The thirty seconds he usually needed to get from the pitch to the stables next to which his COMC teacher lived had never seemed so long. By the time he was pounding on the doors of the professor's house Viktor had managed to pray to Perun, check the eagle's heart rate and find it slow but steady, and worry himself nearly to the point of mental breakdown.
"Viktor?" Professor Sasha Peshalov blinked as she opened the door. "What's wrong?"
"I - the berkut - " Viktor stuttered, not knowing how to explain what happened.
"Berkut?" Sasha narrowed her eyes before focusing on the animal held gingerly in Viktor's arms. "Dear God, get it in!"
Viktor breezed past the professor and waited for her to close the door and lead him into the room that was obviously an infirmary for smaller animals.
"Lay him down and stay here," she instructed him briskly. "I don't know what kind of reaction the poor thing will have."
Viktor nodded and positioned himself opposite his teacher who was waving her wand in complex movements, the multicolored lights creating a tangled, patchy web over the eagle.
"What in the name of…?" Sasha's expression was thunderous as she deciphered the picture in front of her, and the entire room darkened in response to it. "Oh, if I knew who did this..."
"Professor?" Viktor interrupted, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach. He had always liked COMC, but he never took their fragile-looking professor seriously - maybe he should have.
"I'm sorry, Viktor," Sasha let out a whoosh of ear and sat on the nearby chair. "I'm just furious. Someone caught this young one and - and decided to take out their anger on him before tossing him out here."
Viktor gasped. What monster would do that?!
"A Muggle?" he asked with trepidation, both hoping and fearful the answer would be no. Muggles he could not touch; wizards and witches, on the other hand...
Sasha shook her head, her eyes hooded. "No. There's too magic in its system to be just a residue from being on the school grounds."
"Oh." Viktor staggered back and sat onto the counter. What monster of a wizard would purposefully torture and then leave a berkut on the edge of Durmstrang property?! Why?! "What will happen to the berkut?"
Sasha sighed and ran her fingers through her sandy hair.
"I would gladly take him in, but the aviary is filled to the brim," she informed Viktor grimly. "We can either give him to someone who will take care of him, or put him out of his misery."
"No!" Viktor heard himself shout as if from far away. The reaction surprised even him; not to mention a flicker of the lightning on the edge of his vision. Sasha flinched slightly. "I'll take him!"
"Viktor, child..." Sasha was not happy with the declaration. "Eagles are no pets, and I doubt the Headmaster will let you keep him."
"You don't understand, Professor!" Viktor argued, approaching now sleeping eagle and placing one arm over him protectively. "I made a deal with Perun -"
"Foolish child!" Sasha interrupted, now properly pissed off. "You don't make deals with the Gods lightly, especially not with the Lightning-Bringer!"
"Da, I know," Viktor huffed, "but I did. And berkut is his sacred animal. I'm under obligation to take care of him."
Sasha crossed her arms, her eyes narrow. "Do not mistake this for approval, you little fool. You still need to get this cleared with the Headmaster."
"But you will let me take him?" Viktor couldn't help but lean forward in anticipation.
"Heaven help me, but I am," Sasha sighed, smiling slightly. "Besides, who else can teach you how to care for the berkut properly?"
Headmaster Karkaroff was quick to agree to let Viktor keep Bogdan*, as Sasha and Viktor named the young eagle. After a little brown-nosing, Viktor and Sasha nursed Bogdan until he was no longer in danger of catching severe cold and all signs of hypothermia were gone.
However, it was only the start of their troubles. The young eagle had been abused so badly that it didn't want to separate from either the professor or the student, let alone go flying or hunting on its own. Sasha was very worried when Viktor broke the news to her, holding Bogdan on his arm as the eagle nuzzled the boy's cheek with his beak.
"That's not good, Viktor," Sasha whispered as she extended her arm to let Bogdan hop over to her. "Bogdan is a berkut, a free spirit, not a pet we can keep."
"I know!" Viktor was nearing the end of his wits. "I don't know what to do to make him feel a bit more secure in himself!"
"Easy! Maybe to take him with you to the Quidditch practice?" Sasha suggested, petting Bogdan and offering him a mouse carcass, which he devoured with gusto.
"You mean, on my shoulder?" Viktor was a bit disconcerted. "Won't he fall off?"
"You'll be the first one to fall off, boy-o," Sasha chided, wagging her index finger. "This young one is no feather! What about the end of your broomstick?"
"That… could work," Viktor agreed uneasily, scratching the back of his head.
It didn't.
Bogdan seemed fairly excited to go flying, but the moment Viktor started pulling tighter barrel rolls and sharper dives, he panicked and nearly knocked Viktor off the broom mid-flight.
"Viktor? You alright?!" Lukas ran up his friend as Viktor gingerly landed, Bogdan's claws biting into his shoulder.
"Nah, I'm fine… Bogdan panicked, though," Viktor sighed, soothing the frightened bird with measured pats to the head. "He likes flying, but not the stunts."
"Uh… isn't that a bit weird, considering he's a bird of prey?" Lukas was slightly bewildered.
"He was abused," Viktor murmured, getting off the broom, "and Professor Peshalov thinks he latched onto me as a result, even though it's not healthy."
"You tell me," Lukas sulked. "So, you'll be spending more time out?"
Viktor patted him on the back. "It's not that bad! Besides, I'll tell you where the kitchens are."
"Really?" Lukas perked up the moment Viktor mentioned the food. "You will?"
Viktor nodded and Lukas rubbed his hands together.
"Yes!"
It took Viktor two months and countless hours of flying around to get Bogdan to relax enough to fly on his own wings, and though he knew his grades would suffer for it, he didn't care. He had made a deal with Perun, and he knew he would need to repay the favor sometime - might as well start with Bogdan. Besides, he had a safe future, even if his career as a professional Quidditch player didn't pan out. His father's Enchanting business was growing rapidly, and Viktor had sat through enough lessons on it during his summers away from Durmstrang to feel reasonably confident in his ability to Enchant.
His only priority now was to train as much as he could and to get Bogdan to behave like a true berkut should.
"Come on!" he pleaded with the stubborn eagle. "I know you can catch that mouse!" He had captured the mouse and let into the field he warded so the little thing couldn't escape, then set Bogdan on it, only for the eagle to return back to him, refusing to hunt the mouse.
Bogdan fixed Viktor with the baleful yellow eyes, as if to say, Are you serious? Viktor huffed and returned the stare, not willing to lose the battle of wills.
"Um, Viktor?"
Viktor winced and broke the eye contact at the sound of Lukas' voice, Bogdan mimicking the boy's action.
"Yes, Lukas?"
"You should go to bed, mate," Lukas scolded, nodding upwards to the setting sun. "The final match starts at eight AM tomorrow."
"I know," Viktor sighed, giving up and lifted his arm, giving Bogdan the boost he needed to start flying. "I just wanted Bogdan to pass this milestone."
"I get it, man," Lukas patted Viktor on the back, "but you need to be rested. Bogdan will be fine one more day!"
"But the end of the school year..." Viktor frowned. He couldn't take Bogdan home - his parents would flip - and the aviary at Durmstrang, while an option, was not a place for a eagle; a berkut's place was in the wild.
"It can wait a day or two. Come on Viktor." Lukas was whining now. "Let's go inside!"
Viktor sighed but admitted defeat and followed his friend inside, leaving Bogdan to return to his perch in his dormitory on his own.
He would worry about Bogdan later.
That was easier said than done. Viktor couldn't stop worrying about Bogdan, and only the sight of the proud bird perched on Sasha's shoulder managed to calm him enough to sink into his Quidditch mindset. It was the last game of the year, and the scouts for the Bulgarian national team were here. He had to catch the Snitch. He had to win.
Circling high above the rest of the players, Viktor let his eyes relax instead of scrunching them like his opponent did. The trick for quickly spotting the snitch, as Viktor found out years ago, laid not in looking carefully, but letting your eyes relax; it made spotting the Snitch and dodging the Bludgers much easier.
Suddenly, he spotted a golden flash from the corner of his eye.
The Snitch!
He abruptly dived, his entire body focusing on the little golden ball. The dive was steep, but Viktor did not care: he could pull a Wronski Feint in his sleep these days without hurting himself.
The golden ball darted to the left, and Viktor banked sharply, catching the glimpse of his opponent valiantly chasing him. He still wasn't worried though; he knew he was a better flyer, he would be the one to catch the Snitch-
What the?!
A blur of brown suddenly rocketed past him and aimed for the Snitch. It couldn't have been the opposing player, he was dressed in black…
Viktor stopped in the midair, mouth hanging open as he watched the scene in front of him. Dimly, he felt his opponent do the same thing only feet behind him.
It was Bogdan trying to munch through the golden plate of the tiny ball. Before Viktor could regain his senses, the eagle spit it out towards Viktor, fluffed his feathers a bit, and flew off, leaving everyone gaping.
"Viktor," Amir, the opposing seeker asked weakly, "isn't that your pet eagle?"
"Berkut," Viktor corrected, "and no, he's not mine. He shouldn't have been a pet to start with."
Amir nodded. "So, what about the match? I mean..."
"We'll ask for another Snitch," Viktor proposed, hardly able to remove a small smile from his face, "and continue."
"Deal!" With that, Amir flew off to the referee, and Viktor spared a moment to exchange proud glances and smiles with Professor Peshalov. They succeeded.
*Bogdan is a male name that means 'god-given', or 'blessed by a god'