The branches clacked against each other in an eerie symphony as he walked through the woods, moonlight shining down from the spaces between, illuminating sections of the wood, leaving the rest shrouded in black. He couldn't see anymore – but, of course, he didn't need to. The spell was still strong, and his feet moved along the path drawn out clearly in his mind, sidestepping roots and stones his eyes couldn't detect, even stepping over a squirrel as it shot across his path at one point.

The door was concealed – of course it was. But that was their mistake, wasn't it? His skin prickled as the path ended, hair on his arms standing up straight, goosebumps running down his back, a chill racing through his entire body, the force of the magic washing over him in a wave of power.

Fools.

He chuckled, raising his gloved hand. The boy had been right – they were closed, simple-minded, lumbering fools, all of them, convinced waving a wand a few times would be enough to keep anything hidden, that, even if someone could sense the spells, there was no way they would be able to dispel them – that they were just so strong that they needn't fear anyone breaking their enchantments.

Because magic was such an amazing thing, wasn't it.

Unbeatable.

He pressed his palm against the trunk of the tree he knew was right, a jolt like a shock of electricity jumping through him as the heel of his hand touched the bark. He chuckled. He had to applaud their effort.

Not enough.

"Begone, thot!"

There was a soft whoosing noise as the spells vanished, and the tree branches rattled, grass rustling as a breeze blew through the woods, dispelling the last of the magic. The tree itself melted away, the illusion splashing to the ground and over his boots before vanishing completely. He knelt, brushing away the layer of leaves on the ground, revealing a simply ring protruding out of the ground. He hooked a finger through it, tugging. The dirt piled on top fell away as he raised the trapdoor, looking down at the stairs leading down.

He chuckled. "Clever as always, little one," he muttered as he began going down the stairs.

xxx

Erwin glanced up at his notes, raising an eyebrow as an owl barrelled through the window of the classroom, crashing onto Kruger's desk and tumbling through the papers. The droopy-eyed professor paused, watching as the brown bird flailed on his desk, stomach-up, a frightening resemblance of a feathered beetle.

He reached over, plucking a note tied to the owl's leg. "Smith, Levi," he said, and the younger boy glanced up. "You're wanted in the headmistress' office."

Mike shot Erwin a questioning glance as he stood up, tucking his things into his bag. Levi stood to follow him, tucking the pen he'd been twirling around in his pocket.

"I didn't do shit," Levi said the moment they were in the hallway. "So what the fuck?"

Erwin chuckled. "Yeah, I know," he said. "I think I know what this is about."

"Which is?"

"We'll know in a moment."

"You know," Levi commented as they paused, waiting for the stairs to rotate in their direction. "You're really annoying sometimes."

"I am?" Erwin raised an eyebrow, looking at the younger boy. He snorted.

"Yeah," he said. "You're all pensive and brooding, and you always speak in riddles. It's like you don't know how to communicate in any way other than riddles and dramatic speeches and shit."

"Is that so?" Erwin chuckled as they reached the gargoyle guarding the Head's office. "Maybe you'll give me some pointers, then. Pincushion," he added, speaking to the gargoyle. There was a grinding noise as it moved to the side, revealing a moving spiral staircase rotating slowly upwards.

"Dunno why you shits bother with all this magic mumbo-jumbo," Levi muttered, standing behind Erwin on it. "So fucking weird," he added, wrinkling his nose. "Haven't you ever heard of escalators? Or LED lights, for that matter?" They moved off at the top. "And what's with all the password shit? Alarm systems exist, you know."

Erwin raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem to like magic much, do you?"

"It's fine, I guess," he muttered. "But it's so excessive." He wrinkled his nose as Erwin knocked on the door. "It's cool to use, but you don't need to make everything fucking revolve around it. Who the fuck sends letters by owl? There is such thing as cell phones on this plane of existence – use them."

The door flew open before Erwin could reply, and the two walked in, Erwin bemused, and Levi scowling.

"Gentlemen," Headmistress McGonagall stood from her seat, nodding at them. Erwin nodded back politely, and Levi huffed, crossing his arms and looking away. McGonagall raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Now," she said. "I'm aware that your next class starts very soon, so I'll cut right to the chase." She clapped her hands together. "Ackerman," she said. "You're getting your wand."

Levi's eyes widened as he whipped his head around to stare at her, and Erwin's jaw dropped. "Your professors have all reported that you've been doing splendidly in class, even without performing any magic, and, after careful consideration, we have decided that, from now on, you will be permitted to carry a wand." She reached into the pocket of her robes, pulling out a long, thin wooden box. Levi's eyes were wide, silver orbs fixed on it, and he raised his hand slightly, as if to grab for it.

McGonagall held the box up and Levi blinked, snapping out of her reverie. "There will still be very strict rules regarding your magic," she said, and Levi narrowed his eyes. "You will only cast spells if you absolutely must: that is, to say, only in classes, or in life-threatening situations, which I doubt will happen anytime soon." Levi scoffed quietly. "Smith will, of course, be keeping an eye on you whenever you're using the wand, and it will be in his possession between classes and during non-school hours." Erwin raised an eyebrow, and Levi's scowl deepened. "Be grateful, Ackerman," McGonagall said. "Scowl all you want, but –"

"Better than Azkaban, I know," Levi grumbled, and Erwin's eyebrows shot up. He had never, in all his seven years at Hogwarts, heard anybody speak towards McGonagall with attitude like that before. "Can I have it already?"

McGonagall frowned, but handed him the box. He slid the lid off, pulling out the wooden rob. Erwin watched as he turned it around, seemingly mesmerized as the candlelight reflected off the polished black wood.

"Twelve inches," McGonagall said. "Blackthorn wood, Rougarou hair core. Since we obviously couldn't have you testing for your wand, it was custom-made, with you in mind."

Levi frowned, eyes troubled, for some reason. "Whatever," he muttered. "Can I –"

McGonagall sighed, waving her hand. "By all means."

Levi raised the wand, eyes fixed on the tip as he aimed it at the ceiling. He gave it a slow, tentative wave, dragging it in an arc in front of him. Golden light poured out of the tip, moving through the air to form two figures. A woman knelt on the ground, arms out, as a child ran towards her before the images dissipated, becoming a cloaked man running on the spot, and, finally, a snake rearing its head. It shot forwards, jaws out, vanishing in a burst as its massive fangs snapped shut over Levi.

He lowered the wand. "It's fine," he muttered, turning to hand it reluctantly to Erwin. He took it, tucking it into his pocket, next to his own. His hand lingered over the pocket for a moment – the tip of Levi's wand had been hot, hot enough to sear his fingertips, and the place where it rested against his robes was warm. He let his hand fall. He could tell that, no matter how much Levi bitched about magic, he still loved it – his expression while he'd been casting that spell had been enough to convince him.

McGonagall nodded stiffly. "Very well," she said. "Well, off you go, now! And stay out of trouble!"

xxx

There were two Hufflepuffs waiting next to the door when Levi and Erwin walked into the Great Hall: a ginger-haired girl and a brown-haired boy, who both seized Levi the moment he came through the doors, dragging him off to another table as he complained weakly. Erwin smiled, recognizing them from the night before, as he walked towards where Hange and Mike sat, waiting.

"Brat sitting with the kiddies today?" Mike commented idly, picking a chunk of potato from his stew.

"Hm," Erwin commented idly, picking up the sandwich the other boy had grabbed for him.

"'S wrong, Erwin?" Hange asked, glancing up from their steak-and-gravy pie.

"What?" Erwin glanced up. "Nothing. Why?"

Hange waved their hand in front of their face. "You've got this look." they said. "Like you're thinking about shit."

"Oh," Erwin chuckled. "Nothing. Just Levi got his wand today."

Hange choked on their pie and Mike spewed his pumpkin juice. "You're kidding!" he gasped. "They'd give a felon a wand?"

"Mike!"

"Sorry," Mike said. Then, lower, "They'd give a felon a wand?"

"Oh, come on, Mike," Hange said, dabbing their lips with a napkin, tears in the corners of their eyes. "He's not that bad. He's actually kind of a sweetheart, once you get to know him."

"Is he?" Erwin glanced up, frowning. When had Hange and Levi gotten so close?

"Mhm," Hange took a gulp of water. "He's the kind of dude with a hard, prickly exterior, and a soft, squishy interior. Like a honeycomb," they added as an afterthought, frowning. "Or a cactus."

"Oh, god," Mike grumbled. Erwin chuckled. Despite Mike's complaints about the younger boy, Erwin knew Levi had begun growing on him as well – the extra fruit that kept appearing on Hange's tray and the occasional pot of black tea that none of them, bar Levi, drank that kept magically appearing on the table were signs of that.

"Do you have it?" Hange asked, scooting closer eagerly.

"You're not getting your hands on it," Erwin chuckled. "Actually, I was wondering – do either of you know anything about Rougarou hair?"

Hange furrowed their brows, and Mike frowned. "No," Hange said. "Is that the core?"

"Yeah," Erwin nodded.

They both glanced at Mike. "It's used in America," he said. "Say, Erwin. . . did they have him test for his wand?"

"No," Erwin shook his head. "It was made for him."

"Ah," Mike nodded, though he still looked unsettled. "Ah. Okay. Never mind."

"Huh?" Hange twisted to look at him. "What?"

"It's nothing," he said into his spoon. "Nothing. It's fine."

xxx

Erwin tossed the wand onto Levi's bed that night as he tugged off his robes. Levi glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't see the point of keeping it from you in the dorms," Erwin said, pulling his undershirt off over his head. Levi glanced away as he turned around. "I doubt I could stop you from taking it from me, anyways."

"Damn straight," Levi muttered, picking it up. Erwin smiled, sitting down on his bed, picking up a novel.

"Levi?" Erwin asked, opening the book.

"What?"

"What qualities does Rougarou hair have?"

Levi glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "What, you mean you don't know?"

"I'm not omnipotent."

Levi snorted. "Figures they'd choose that," he muttered. "It's supposed to have an affinity for Dark magic," he said. "Like vampires and blood. Or some shit like that."

Erwin raised an eyebrow. "I see."

Levi's gaze suddenly shot to him. "I don't use Dark magic," he said.

"I know," Erwin said.

"I mean – it's technically Dark magic," Levi said. "But –" he grit his teeth, scratching his head, obviously irritated. "It's classified as Dark," he said. "But it's not."

Erwin was sitting straighter now, focused on the younger boy. "Okay," he said, nodding.

"I – it –" Levi bit his lip, scowling. "Dark magic can be used for things other than hurting people," he said. "It's this shit again – classifying spells, saying what you can and can't do; if you keep sticking things into categories, of course people are gonna use them the way you expect them to. It's 'cause they never give people a chance to use them for other shit."

Erwin nodded. "I see."

"Making laws about what people can or can't do – they're just making it more enticing. It's like sticking a giant neon sign on, like, a blade of grass or some shit, saying 'look at me, I exist'! I mean," he threw his hands into the air. "Why? Why can't people try new things? Why do wizards have to shove their heads up their asses and ignore the way the rest of the world's developing? One day, they're gonna get stuck, and they're gonna realize that the Muggles have gotten so far ahead that they're stronger."

Erwin watched him through focused eyes – this was the first time he'd seen the younger boy so passionate about something. Levi seemed to realize this at the same moment as Erwin, and the anger on his face dropped back into his normal expressionless mask. "Or something," he finished lamely.

xxx

Wood exploded through the air and he let out a hiss of pain as he dropped to his knees, grabbing his cheek as splinters pelted him, embedding in his skin, one particularly large shard slicing down his face, leaving a long, deep cut.

The phoenix feather, utterly spent, crumbled in his hand, turning to dust and falling through his fingers, landing on the ground in a pile of ashy powder. He raised a shaky hand, pressing it to his cheeks.

"Get well soon," he said, voice quivering, and he felt the splinters removing themselves from his flesh and the wounds knitting together beneath his fingers, marks vanishing, scars vanishing.

He looked down at the ground, and, tentatively, brushed a shard of fir that lay near him. He gasped, withdrawing his hands swiftly, pad of his finger burning – the wood was near scalding hot, heat flooding through his hand.

"Too much."

Shit's 'bout to start moving real quick from now on. *Jeremy Irons voice* BE PREPAAAAAAAARED.