Chapter Eleven
Sunday rolled around slowly—although that might just have been because Levi had nothing to do, Eren hadn't woken up, and he was waiting with thinning patience to go back home. He couldn't say he was excited, exactly, but he just wanted to get it done. He wanted to get things moving, not sit around doing nothing whilst the answers he sought were right there.
He tried to be at least a little productive, spending his time inside his dorm researching. But Levi found he couldn't really concentrate. He was stressed and tired and sick of sitting around. Accepting he wasn't going to get anything done, Levi had then gone to see Dumbledore to ask about the extra rooms, to see if they'd been sorted out yet. They hadn't. So Dumbledore promised he'd sort it right away, and Levi had nodded and went down to the kitchens to get coffee and something to eat.
When he returned, Dumbledore had followed through on his words and the dorm was no longer how he'd left it. The common room had been elongated, with extra furniture added, and there were now far more doors than before, indicating they'd all be staying in the same area. This isn't what Levi had had in mind when he'd asked for accommodations to be made. Fucking great this was, sharing with a bunch of brats. Again. To distract his attention from this, Levi spent the remaining of his Saturday doing a thorough clean, making sure the entire space was spotless before surveying his work and taking a break.
After that, he'd gone to check on Eren, who was still sleeping, and finally called it a day and went to bed.
The next day he awoke early to bright light shining outside his window. At least there was finally a break in the dreary rain. Stretching his arms over his head and feeling the bones in his back pop, Levi got out of bed and ready for the day, happy to see the house-elves had cleaned his uniform and placed it neatly folded where he could find it.
In the Great Hall Levi found himself almost completely alone, which was excellent in his opinion—god bless lazy shithead students on a Sunday. It was early enough that food hadn't been served yet, but that didn't really bother him, he knew his way to the kitchens. Students weren't allowed back there, so Levi figured he'd get first-hand pickings of whatever he wanted and then headed back to the Hall, sitting right at the very top of the Gryffindor table and savouring the peace and quiet.
He'd eaten half of his food when a couple of Ravenclaw students wandered in, setting heavy books and writing utensils on the table and sending a couple of wary glanced in his direction. He ignored them, far more interested in his toast and beans. He was almost finished when Hermione walked in, unaccompanied, and took a seat directly opposite. Judging be her bag, she'd intended to study until she'd noticed Levi.
"Levi," she began uncertainly, as though she had no idea what to say afterwards. Levi set his knife and fork down on the mostly empty plate and took a sip of tea before answering.
"Yes?" Hermione shifted in her seat.
"What happened?" Levi set his goblet down and pushed his plate to the side so he could lean his forearms on the table.
"Titan attack, I believe."
"But how did you do that? I've never seen anyone move like that! Harry was right, wasn't he? You aren't a professor, are you?"
"Nope," he shook his head, "I'm a squad captain, pretty far from a professor." Dumbledore had already said the students were going to find out eventually, so Levi didn't bother playing games.
"I've… never seen a uniform like yours though," she continued curiously, eyeing his clothing, "where exactly are you from?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Levi said flatly, taking a last swig of tea and rising to his feet, "now if you'll excuse me, I haven't got any more time for brats, I got something important to do."
"What?" Hermione stammered, she made to reply by Levi cut her off.
"Ever hear what happened to the curious cat, Granger?"
"I am not touching that." Levi snapped, "I don't care how magical that shit-covered boot is."
"I assure you it is only mud, Levi." Dumbledore smiled, "now please take a hold of it and we'll be on our way." Levi looked aghast, staring down the repulsive boot in Dumbledore's hand, portkey or not it looked disgusting and vile.
"Couldn't you use something cleaner?" Levi argued, quite clearly repulsed.
"Ah, but portkeys look this way for a reason, we can't have Muggles touching them."
"Fine." Levi ground out, "fine, what do I have to do? Just hold it?"
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded, that is all." Levi's hesitantly grabbed hold of the boot, cringing as he did so, and was about to ask if Dumbledore had even worked out the coordinates or whatever when he found himself spinning and spiralling into nothingness.
Levi felt a strong sense of déjà vu, at least now he knew what that thing Eren touched in the titan's mouth was. In moments, Levi found himself deposited roughly only the dirt path in front of HQ, and he swallowed down nausea as he got up and brushed himself off.
"We're here," Dumbledore stated, and Levi glared at him, slightly humiliated at his composed stance when Levi had been thrown to the ground.
"No shit," he muttered, beginning to walk towards the castle. He could only hope Erwin hadn't led the squad back inside the walls, otherwise this whole feat would be even harder to pull off. Dumbledore followed closely behind him, looking around at the vast expanse of grass.
"I thought there were walls."
"There are, but you aren't going to see them from here." Levi told him over his shoulder, "this is our headquarters, this is all you'll see."
Dumbledore had been expecting something far more tragic and desperate-looking, perhaps the rest of their world was like that, but this area certainly wasn't. Large trees surrounded a large castle, ivory climbing up the brickwork in a way that was pleasing to the eye. Dumbledore found himself wanting to wander around and expect, but he reminded himself to stay close to Levi, he had no idea what these people were really capable of.
The interior of the castle was vaguely familiar to Hogwarts, although the candle-lit passageways weren't nearly as grand.
"We'll head to Erwin's office first. He's the commander." Levi informed him. Dumbledore hummed in agreement, nodding even though Levi wasn't looking at him.
There were barely any soldiers about, which Dumbledore thought odd, but Levi had pulled his hood far over his face anyways, perhaps to mask his appearance. The people who did see them though gave very strange looks and Dumbledore figured the only reason they hadn't been stopped yet was because he was being escorted by a member of their team.
Levi muttered that they were almost there, turning a corner, and then almost falling to the floor. His hood fell easily away from his face, exposing his poorly hidden identity, and a woman wearing glasses, who he must've walked into, grabbed Levi by the shoulders and shook him roughly.
"Levi!" She yelled, with a smile big enough to swallow her face. "You're alive! I mean, I never doubted you were dead for a moment, but everyone was losing hope, but I never listened to them! Where have you—"
"Hange!" Levi snapped, prying himself out of her iron grip. Hange let go, pulling her hands back. Then she noticed Dumbledore.
"And who might you be?" She asked, taking a step closer, "a prisoner? Ooo, Levi can we torture him?"
"No, Hange, what—"
"Wait! Where's Eren? Is he dead?"
"No, he's not dead, Shitty-Glasses, he's perfectly safe. I need you to come with me, though, it's important." Dumbledore had no idea what to make of this Hange character as they continued on their way as a trio, she was strange and excitable and all too comfortable with the idea of death.
Levi knocked once on the door to what must have been his commander's office, waiting for the reply before leading them all inside.
"Levi?" A blond man answered, broad-shouldered and sitting at a desk swamped in paperwork. "You're alive! I was starting to think you'd been eaten. I should've known better, you are Humanity's Strongest, after all."
"Yeah, Yaeger is alive too, but he's not with me."
"What do you mean, Levi?" Eren asked, pushing paperwork to the edges so he could lean across his desk. Hange closed the door behind them, making the space private. Dumbledore noticed Hange and Levi both eyeing him warily, but they gave Levi chance to talk first.
"I don't really know how to explain it. Look, I know this is sudden but I've got some news you'd probably like to hear." Erwin leaned further forwards, poised.
"Go on," he urged.
"I think I have a lead on the origins of the titans. Something other than Yaeger's basement. We'll need to take some people over there, I've already formed a list of preferred candidates." Levi took the neatly folded parchment from his pocket and handed it to his commander. "If passed by you, I think we have a pretty good chance at uncovering the truth of the titans." Erwin frowned at the list.
"This sounds like an important mission, why have you selected our youngest? Why not our more experienced veterans?"
"Well, they'll be going to a school. I presumed they'd feel more comfortable with younger soldiers, and our youngest aren't exactly mediocre. This group have performed exceptionally well, especially the Ackerman girl."
"A school, you say?" Erwin frowned, "Levi, I'm sure if the answer was in a school we'd have found it by now."
"It's not inside the walls."
"What?" Erwin's eyebrows raised and Dumbledore could see the confusion clear on his face. Dumbledore took that as his cue to step in, placing a firm hand on Levi's shoulder in askance of permission. Levi gestured to Erwin, giving him the go-ahead.
"Here, Dumbledore is the headmaster, he'll explain."
"Hello," Dumbledore greeted, "my name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brain Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I assume you are wondering how magic can possibly exist, I will assure you, for now, that it does and will return to that in a moment. For now, what really matters is these titans.
"Titans have only recently begun attacking our school within the last year. Our magic doesn't work on them, so the only thing we could think to do is activate portkeys and send them elsewhere. Unfortunately, it seems we didn't check the area thoroughly enough as we believed this place to be uninhabited. When Eren and Levi appeared in our Hall however, we realised our mistake and ceased immediately. Though, we didn't send many titans over, and therefore there is reason to believe that whoever is responsible for sending the titan's to Hogwarts may very well be the creator of the Titans altogether."
"Magic?" Hange all but screeched, "I am a scientist, I'll have you know! Magic is an improbable power!"
"Ah," Dumbledore hummed, "well how would your science explain this then?" Dumbledore then extracted his wand from within his cloak, muttering a spell and levitating Erwin's paperwork high into the air and Hange shrieked at the sight, frantically swiping her hands above and below the papers. Erwin's eyebrows shot up, his eyes widening, and Dumbledore could tell he was mediating his reaction. "That was magic, my friend." Dumbledore set the papers back down and Erwin turned to Levi, his hands clenched.
"Is this real, Levi?" Erwin asked, sceptical despite what he'd just seen.
"Yes," Levi confirmed, "Eren and I have spent a week at Hogwarts. Unbelievable as it all is, we were accidentally transported there by magic after a titan almost killed us—there was some freakish device stuck in its mouth or something."
"Well… this is certainly interesting." Erwin stared down at his desktop, a hand reaching to rub the back of his neck. "I assume this magic will be used to get to the school?"
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, using a Portkey. That is how we got here from Hogwarts."
"And Hogwarts is outside of the walls?"
"Indeed it is." Dumbledore told him, "it's in Scotland."
"Scotland…?" Erwin asked, confused, but then shook his head and ran a hand down his face. "If Levi hadn't confirmed this, it would have taken a lot more to get me on board with the idea. However, I am willing to give the mission the go-ahead if it really means getting closer to the truth." He stood, then, and began to move around the desk. "I'm needed here though, it would be far too risky for all of us to go over and leave our home undefended. I will go with you only temporary to assess the situation, then I shall return here."
"That is perfectly fine," Dumbledore agreed and Erwin set into action.
"Levi, Dumbledore, Hange, you go and gather the soldiers. Bring them back here whilst I go speak with Mike, he may have to step in as commander during my absence." Erwin strode from the room, leaving the door open as a subtle reminder to get into action.
"Right, you heard him," Levi sighed, "let go and get the brats."
"What happens if we don't find him?" Armin whispered, just loud enough for Mikasa to hear. It was noon, lunch, but the food had no flavour, nothing but lumpy paste. Eren still hadn't been found and his absence weighed heavily in Mikasa's chest, she couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't do anything but search and mourn. She lifted her spoon out of the gloop of her porridge, letting it drop back down with a wet thud.
"I don't know." Mikasa replied, pushing her bowl away and pulling a chipped mug of water towards her, staring down at her distorted reflection.
"Everyone's giving up," Armin continued, his voice wavering, "they're all losing hope and saying they were devoured. Personally, I can't even begin to picture the captain going down that way." Mikasa clutched her mug tighter.
"Eren's not dead. I'm sure I'd be able to feel it if he were. He's out there somewhere, and I will find him and I will bring him home."
"I wouldn't count on that." Jean spoke up from across the table, looking up at her warily, "the search parties are starting to be withdrawn now, it's been a week."
"I don't care what anyone else does. My only priority is Eren." Mikasa kept her gaze locked on her reflection. Why was Jean butting in anyways?
"Look," Jean sighed, "I know Eren's important to you and everything but we can't keep searching forever! Now that Levi's gone, you're the strongest solider we have, humanity needs you!" Mikasa looked up and glared at him.
"Humanity needs Eren!" She bit out, "Eren is our last—!"
"Captain Levi!" Connie interrupted with a surprised shout. Mikasa's eyes snapped to Connie in surprise; he was staring over her shoulder, mouth gaping open in shock, and Mikasa immediately turned to see what he was looking at.
The door to the canteen was open and in its doorway stood Levi, Hange, and a tall old man in weird robes. Her scarf snagged on the table as she shot up and it fell limply to the ground as she strode over to Levi, talking at him before he had a chance to open his mouth.
"Where's Eren?" She asked sharply, almost accusatory. Levi narrowed his eyes at her.
"Safe," he said bluntly, and Mikasa wanted to cry in relief, but her face remained a mask, unwilling to portray her intense turmoil of emotion.
"Where is he? Take me to him!" Mikasa ordered, regardless of who she was talking to.
"You'll see him soon. You all will. We have ourselves a mission." Levi growled out, Mikasa's insides boiled at the evasion of her demand and she glared at her captain, letting him know her displeasure at being kept waiting.
"Who's the old guy?" Connie yelled, his words breaking the thick tension beginning to hang in the air. Of course, it had to be Connie, he had no perception for these things sometimes. Although Mikasa was wondering the same thing, she'd never seen him before and she was positive she'd remember someone walking around looking like that. The man looked to Levi once, for approval, and Levi nodded.
"I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he introduced himself. Mikasa stared incredulously. What in the hell was this senile fool going on about? What was going on? Connie and Sasha snickered behind her, finding amusement in the situation, but Mikasa didn't find this funny in the slightest.
"Witchcraft and wizardry?" Armin repeated beside her, "y-you mean magic?"
"Yes," Dumbledore replied, "I do indeed mean exactly that." Dumbledore looked down at Armin with a friendly gaze, not appearing threatening at all, but Mikasa was still wary of him.
"But magic doesn't exist," Armin's face scrunched in thought, "the concept of magic is completely unscientific, how could it be real? Why should we believe you?" Of course Armin would immediately apply logic to the situation. Mikasa agreed with him.
"That's what I thought too, Armin, until I saw him make things fly using a stick!" Hange piped up happily, her eyes shining with a dangerous enthusiasm.
"You can't make things fly using sticks, what a load of crap!" Ymir countered, disgruntled, and Krista elbowed her gently in the ribs, muttering something about disrespect.
"You may feel this way now but, I assure you, once you've seen it with your own eyes, it may very well change your perspective." Dumbledore looked around from person to person, a knowing look on his face.
"Yeah," Jean muttered, "I doubt that." Mikasa hadn't been paying Jean any attention, and now he stood beside her.
"Show us some magic!" Sasha asked, excitedly, "if you say it's real then prove it!"
"Believe me, this man speaks the truth." Erwin said, low and commanding as he entered the room. "As of now, I see no reason to distrust this man."
"Thank you, Erwin," Dumbledore nodded respectfully, then turned to face the soldiers again. "I have come here today to inform you of a mission you've been specially selected to take part in. This was entirely the idea of Captain Levi and was approved by your Commander Erwin. I shall hand over to them, now, as surely you will trust their retelling over mine."
"As Dumbledore was saying," Levi began, projecting his voice across the room, "all of you gathered here, Hange included, will be going on a mission. It's not an ordinary mission though, so listen up, if we do this correctly we could uncover where the titans came from and how to eradicate them." Mikasa was trying to fit the pieces together in her head, but she had absolutely no idea what could have happened to Eren and Levi whilst they were missing. She wondered where Eren was now. Around her, the others had begun yelling questions up to Levi, Mikasa was too caught up in her own web of thoughts to take part. "Shut up and let me explain you goddamn brats!"
As Levi explained, Mikasa's belief in what was happening fell ever further. How was she supposed to willingly believe that out there somewhere was some magical school getting attacked by titans? That Eren and Levi had been magically transported outside the walls?
"Make sure your equipment is all in working order," Levi began wrapping up his explanation, during which everyone had fallen uncharacteristically silent, "and be outside the front entrance in an hour. That's when we're leaving." Mikasa watched as he carefully surved each one of them before turning sharply on his heel and leaving the room, followed by Erwin, Dumbledore, and Hange, leaving the 104th squad standing there, mouths gaping, clueless.
The hour ticked by painfully slowly, mostly because Mikasa had spent it wanting Eren back. Though the others had all been complaining of the opposite, that time had flown by. At the entrance, their superiors and Dumbledore were, as they said they would be, gathered.
"Today we'll be travelling by Portkey," Dumbledore announced, "the sensation will most like feel very strange and perhaps nauseating, but I assure you that is normal. Now, without further ado, let's begin." And then Dumbledore pulled out on of the most disgusting boots that Mikasa had ever seen and her trust in him reached sub-zero levels. She watched as Dumbledore murmured something, and caught him slipping a stick back into his robes as the boot began to glow a faint blue. What? "Now, I am aware that this is certainly going to put some of you off, but I need you to all grab hold of this boot,"
"But that boot is fucking gross!" Jean retorted, "it's covered in shit!"
"Yeah, there's no way I'm touching that!" Connie agreed.
"How the hell is some boot gonna get us to some magic school anyways?" Reiner added in disbelief.
"Grab the shit-boot, that is an order!" Levi interjected, instantly shutting down the disagreements.
"When exactly will this activate, Dumbledore?" Erwin asked with a grimace as all reluctant hands gingerly took hold of the boot. Dumbledore laughed.
"Right about now." Suddenly, Mikasa felt a tug behind her navel and the world around her began to spin, all the colours swirling together and eating up the bright sky above her. If it weren't for all the arduous training she'd gone through, Mikasa was sure she'd have thrown up. Suddenly, the ground was rushing up to meet her and she saw that Armin was going to fall flat on his face, so reached towards him and pulled him in closer in an attempt at protection.
Mikasa somehow managed to keep the two of them from landing in a crumpled pile like everyone else; she and Armin stumbled giddily and landed heavily on their hands and knees. Regaining her footing, Mikasa looked around and saw that they'd arrived, somehow, in a large office, much bigger than Erwin's. A large desk stood near them, piles of paperwork stacked high on the surface. Mikasa drank in the grandeur of the room, the tall bookcases and paintings.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" Dumbledore greeted. Mikasa watched as Armin gaped at everything, of course he'd love a place like this where there was obviously so much to learn. But they needed to keep everything in perspective. They were on a mission first and foremost and it is the mission that needs to come first. "I will show you to your room, all students will be in lesson right now so there shouldn't be too much of a hassle. You have permission to use the grounds for training, you may sit in on lessons, but please do not cause chaos or disruption—we at Hogwarts would like as little an impact on the students as possible."
"So," Armin said as they left the room in a group, Levi, Hange, and Erwin talking with hushed voices at the front, "where d'you think they're keeping Eren?"
"I have no idea," Mikasa replied, "he might already be in the room." Armin nodded thoughtfully and they continued their walk in silence. As they walked through the corridor, Mikasa noticed that this was some sort of castle. It had to be. And she wondered just how many students it housed. Once they reached a large door, Dumbledore halted and explained to them they'd have to wear some weird amulets from now on. Mikasa didn't really understand what he was going on about, but she wore the thing anyways.
The room was warm and decorated with desks and comfortable chairs. It was a long room, designed for many people, with a fireplace and a large window seat. They were very well catered for, it appeared. Mikasa saw that she'd have everything she'd ever need—everything except Eren anyways.
"Where's Eren?" She asked Dumbledore.
"Ah, you must be his friend, if you'll come with me I'm sure it won't do any harm for him to have visitors."
"I'm coming, too," Armin added determinedly. Erwin gave them both permission then returned to his conversation with Levi.
"And what would your names be?" Dumbledore asked as he began to lead them to Eren.
"Mikasa Ackerman," Mikasa was sure he already knew their names, he just needed to match them to faces. As she told him her name, she didn't miss how his eyes lingered on her scar on her cheek for a few seconds.
"Armin Arlert," Dumbledore greeted them both again.
"The hospital wing isn't too far from here, we'll be there soon," he said lightly, like he was making small talk.
"Hospital wing?" Armin exclaimed before Mikasa could beat him to it. "What happened?"
"I'm afraid there was a titan attack. Eren displayed his… abilities and must have exhausted himself. He's slept through the weekend." Armin nodded grimly, they'd all been briefly filled in on the mission, about titans appearing here.
The Hospital Wing was a lot bigger than Mikasa had been expecting. A lot more empty, too. Only two of the beds had curtains pulled around and Dumbledore wasted no time in pointing Mikasa to the right one. She jogged towards the bed, her chest heaving although she wasn't exerted in the slightest, and pulled back the thin white curtain with a shaky hand.
Eren was safe. There he lay, sleeping, before her and tears sprang unbidden to her eyes. Her vision blurred as Armin moved around to the other side of the bed and took Eren's hand gently, as though he was checking Eren was really there. Mikasa sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to sit on Eren, and slowly leaned over him, bringing her arms behind his back and hugging him softly. She rested her head on his shoulder as she allowed the tears to fall.
A low groan from vibrated against her body and Mikasa froze.
"Mikasa, I think he's waking up!" Armin said, relieved. Mikasa pulled back to look at Eren's face, his eyebrows furrowing as he attempted to open his eyes.
The first thing Eren noticed as he blearily tried to open his eyes was a warm weight pressed against him. Next he noticed dampness on his shoulder. Then he heard a familiar voice and his heart leapt.
"Mikasa, I think he's waking up!" Armin? That was definitely Armin. But… was he dreaming? Was the whole Hogwarts thing a dream? Or where they here? Eren's eyes opened, refocussing and locking on to two familiar faces hovered expectantly over him.
"Armin, Mikasa!" Eren mumbled, his throat dry and aching. How long had he been out this time? "What's going on?"
"Everyone's here, Eren, we're on a mission now." Armin replied, smiling widely.
"But don't worry about any of that now, just focus on getting better." Mikasa told him in a wobbly voice as she brushed some hair out of his eyes. Mikasa cleared her throat to level her tone.
"I am better," Eren reassured them, "just a headache now."
"That's good," Armin squeezed his hand, "it's good to know you're alright. We were told you were dead, but we never gave up on you."
"Thanks, guys," Eren said thickly, it felt unreal to finally see them. After being forced into this place so unexpectedly, after the stress of it all, after everything, just seeing Mikasa and Armin was overwhelming. He felt indescribably happy.
Eren felt a tear roll down his face, he tried to brush it away with his free hand but another quickly replaced it. And that was all it took, really, for the three weary friends to come together on the hospital bed in a heartfelt hug, and cry.