The Morenians
By Onira
Chapter Four
Hidden Heaven
Flashback
She clung onto the last rock island, drenched after falling in the water surrounding said islands. Autumn peered through the mists, trying to see beyond them. By now she was irrevocably late for class and there was pretty much no point in trying to turn back. She caught a glimpse of what looked like another rock just two meters away. Autumn let go of the rock island and swam over to the next, her robes threatening to drag her down. Panting, she climbed onto the rock, standing up straight in her sodden robes as she tried to see above the mists, which seemed to be thinning out.
Yes, just a meter away was another rock. She leapt for it, making the jump with little difficulty. One rock lead to another and soon she was easily leaping from stone to stone, beginning to enjoy her little water-based adventure. She hardly noticed when the mists faded completely, her eyes were so fixated on the boulders beneath her, which were growing increasingly smaller as she leapt from perch to perch. Finally, when she could no longer guarantee proper balance, she stopped and looked around.
The girl promptly fell off of the rock she had been standing on, landing in the knee-deep water with a momentous splash. Shaking her head, Autumn stood up, heedless of the water about her legs, any thought of which was driven out of her mind by the sheer volume of visual input her mind was receiving.
An impossibly large of land spread out before her, perceptibly divided into four sections. One was white as Christmas, the rain that Autumn had encountered outside mimicked in its colder version, the snow drifting down serenely. Small mountains littered the back of the wintry section, a thick forest of pine unerringly gathering the flakes of snow that fell from the blanket of stratus clouds above.
To the lower right of that was a square of land that held the light, yellow green hues of spring. A soft sprinkling of rain misted across the entire area. The stratus clouds from the winter-ground extended into springtime, but shed rain as soon as they crossed the borderline. Flowers covered every patch of ground that was not occupied by tender grass or trees, covering the soft rolling hills in soft pastels. An oak and maple grove followed the border between it and the winter-lands, the trees sporting juvenile leaves and buds to attest the season.
To the low left of the spring grounds was a land of rich, deep green hues. Summer was apparent all across its surface. Trees hosted a rich shock of leaves, all the deepest green that they could ever get. The clouds billowed up and out into huge cumulus mounds that dumped rain by the truckload. The summer rainstorm muted the colors, giving the summer ground a subdued appearance. The topography was smooth and unmarred by anything other than a thick, winding river that traversed the land and entering the lands just above, and a cliff-face that bordered both the outer rim, and approximately half of the border between it and the spring lands.
Said lands were that which possessed the most color of them all. The trees were decked in their finest of red, orange and yellow. Mounds of leaves, all tinted to perfection, lay at the bases of the forest that surrounded a small lake. Mountains littered the outer and northern boundary, not quite so tall as the winter ones, and nowhere near as steep. The rain that seemed to occupy the land's entirety, was also present here. Stratus clouds covered the sky in a tick blanket, the rain muting the colors below.
Autumn stood stock still, hardly daring to breath. What was this wonderland she had discovered? How did it fit within Hogwarts castle? Did anyone else know of this place? These and many more questions spun through the young witch's head as she walked out of the river onto the summer grounds. Looking down the river's course, she saw it careen off the cliff's edge and out of sight.
"How the devil do I get down from here?"
End Flashback
Since that time in her first year, Autumn had found a path down the cliff, and soon after put up a rope that she could use to both descend and scale the cliff quickly. Doing so, Autumn walked alongside the Cliffside until she reached the small lean-to she had constructed in her first year. It had taken her the better part of the year to simply map out the place. But after managing that feat, Autumn had gathered deadfall from the various forests and built the small structure just on the cliff side at border between spring and summer.
In the lean-to, Autumn kept a map of both the Realm, as she called it, and all the secret passageways she had found over her time spent at Hogwarts.1 It was considerably detailed given to her mid-night wanderings. A good deal of them were found while scrambling for a Filch-proof hiding place. The rest were bribed out of Peeves. All her other attempts had become too messy. She also stored various items that she might need between classes. She had also managed to bribe a few handy spells from Peeves. One of which, she used quite frequently, as it allowed her to "apparate" from one frequently visited place to another. (That one had cost her quite a bit) The rest were relatively trivial, quite good for laughs. She even had a spell to make illusory swampy-looking goo appear.2
Autumn turned to her map, newly made at the end of the year before after a mal-timed trip to the little girl's room had led her to discover a web of plumbing passageways. The tag she had tied about Nightmare's neck also included a tagging spell. She had bought it at a relatively cheap price. Allegedly, it would make your pet's location appear on any map. But, needless to say, Autumn had her doubts about store-bought magic. It was almost never as good as what you could do yourself (if you had the knack for it).
"Linketo Attage." She said, tapping her wand to the map. A miniature set of paw-prints appeared on the map. If she judged it correctly, it was the hanging-place of a rather poor singer's painting.3 She passed by it on her way to Charms. Autumn smirked, the two were probably arguing. But then, she had no idea if anyone else could hear Nightmare speak.
Another tap brought a blue overlay onto the map. This was the secret passageways and closets.4 There was a nearby broom closet that she had used a lot last year. In her previous year, Autumn had huddled there for long hours at night, listening to soft voices within the pipes just beyond the wall. There was one broom-storage that looked convenient, just down the hall from the Fat Lady's portrait.
"Relecanto." Autumn muttered the spell, picturing the closet in her mind's eye. She could feel her body twisting into a spiral-esque shape, curling around itself until it vanished. Unfortunately, Peeves' spells were particularly showy on the starting end (all the better to freak people out). However, Autumn had managed to get rid of the awful whizzing sound that normally accompanied the spell.5
She appeared in the broom closet, letting her eyes adjust to the dark before stepping out. Silently as she could, Autumn approached the Fat Lady's portrait. The generously proportioned woman was shouting for someone to "get rid of the beastly cat that was keeping her awake with its staring." Autumn shook her head and quietly approached the two of them, Nightmare coming into focus from the shadows on the floor.
You can stop your creeping, I know you're there Nightmare told the young witch, turning his sharp blue eyes, which held the slight spark of mirth that all cats had.6 The Fat Lady spotted Autumn and sighed in relief.
"Oh, thank goodness. I thought someone would never come!" She said with dramatic flourish.
And I thought she would never shut up. Can't she hear me? Nightmare said, giving the portrait a rather miffed look. Autumn suppressed a chuckle and picked him up before turning to the Fat Lady.
"Sorry Ma'am. We'll be off now." Autumn said, ignoring Nightmare's comment that he wasn't in the least bit sorry.
Autumn carried him through the darkened halls to the Ravenclaw House, taking no shortcuts. She wanted him to learn the proper way to get there. In the East Tower they came across a pale gray marble statue of a young dragon. It stood in a niche just off the hallway, the dragon halfway through hatching from its egg.
"Anubis." Autumn said and the hatchling dragon lifted its head, lightly mouthing her arm in affection before pulling aside a large piece of broken eggshell to reveal a doorway. Before going in, Autumn lifted Nightmare up to show the little dragon, telling him to stop squirming and let the dragon smell him. The dragonlet, which Autumn had named Anubis, sniffed gingerly at the little cat for a moment then gave a nod before curling back up on it's shell. Autumn restored Nightmare to his place on her shoulder and went through the newly revealed doorway, hearing the little dragon shut it behind her.
"Remember how I told you I got lost a lot during my first year? Well, I got lost on the first night and didn't get the password. I slept out there with that little dragon because I couldn't get in and didn't want to ask anyone since I might get in trouble." As she spoke, Autumn carried Nightmare up the stairs and to the girls' dormitory.
"I woke up pretty much on his belly. Since then he's always let me in." She said with a shrug, looking around her dorm to ensure that all the other girls were asleep. Autumn was lucky and all her dorm-mates were heavy sleepers. They didn't even wake up when she had the occasional night terror. Autumn went to her bags, pulling out her extra pillows, including a black velvet one she had bought specifically for Nightmare.
She looked up to her bed to find that Nightmare had settled on her Hogwarts-provided pillow.
"Don't plan on sleeping there." She told him, shoving her bags off to the side until she could get around to unpacking them. She tossed her Cheshire Cat pillow up onto the dark blue Hogwarts pillow, Nightmare dodging out of its way. "That's MY pillow. This one's yours." She said, holding up the remaining one. "Where do you want it?"
Next to yours is fine
"Okay, but if I wake up with fur in my face you're going to the end of the bed." Autumn told him and set his pillow next to hers at the head of the bed, leaning slightly against the headboard.
Autumn changed into a pair of loose black pants and a black wife-beater7 while Nightmare got settled on his pillow, walking around in several circles before lying down. Autumn watched the last few rotations before crawling into bed as well.
"Why do you do that? Walk around in circles like that?" She asked, adjusting the crisp new covers.
To separate clumps in the pillow material. Why do you ask? Nightmare replied, forming his own question as he tucked his paws under his chest.
"No reason, just curious." Autumn told him, snuggling into her covers to await the Sandman.
But sleep would not come. Her thoughts were running like mad. So much had happened. There was so much to do! What about the broom? When would she try it out? Tomorrow maybe, no one would be up early so soon in the year. And the letter attached? Later. That was still too fresh. As for Hagrid's surprise? Tomorrow, she would have time.
Autumn finally settled, her slight anxiety set at ease for the time being. She pulled the drapes shut and took a moment to adjust the covers before drifting off to sleep.
She was dreaming. The fact that she knew as much making it all the stranger. Autumn was standing atop a massive tree, obviously of magical origin. Its leaves were formed of feathers of every imaginable color. The branches were unnaturally smooth and bark-less, as though they had been sanded.
Autumn felt something pulling at her, calling her down out of the tree. Just as any other dream, Autumn had no real idea why she felt compelled to climb down, but also felt no reason not to. After all, it was a dream, nothing could hurt her here.
She descended, paying little attention to whether or not there was a branch beneath her foot before putting her weight on said limb. However, she did not fall. Autumn's descent was smooth and uninterrupted, ending when her toes touched the grass below. The feeling still tugged at her, calling her to cross the field that the tree stood in. Autumn looked out across the plane, admiring the deep green color of the grass. After a moment, something occurred to her. The grass was rather strange looking. Running out into it, Autumn went down onto her knees, putting a hand down into cool the emerald blades.
They were made of fire. With a smile of delight, Autumn picked a blade of grass and held it to her eyes. For a moment, the flame remained, and then slowly spun out, a coil of smoke drifting up from her hand. With a giggle, Autumn flung herself down into the grass, rolling about like a child. After a moment, the feeling pulled at her again, prompting her to sigh and reluctantly stand. Following the call across the field, Autumn began to run, the lengthening blades of grass rising to tickle her thighs as she dashed through the plane.
Trees began to surround her, despite the fact that Autumn had never been conscious of the fact that she was approaching a forest. But the, that was the way of dreams. After a time, Autumn came to a clearing. It was then that the pulling sensation chose to cease.
1 Thus far she had made around 6 or so versions. They had all proved too messy until she unearthed a spell to create "layers" on the parchment.
2 This proved most excellently used on door handles of places that she didn't want folks to enter. It usually worked until Filch arrived to clean it up, at which point she got to watch and snigger as he tried to clean off the thick, gooey, foul-smelling substance.
3 Rather chubby if I do say so myself.
4 Other layers included; alternate floors, Filch's regular patrol routes, and those of the prefects. She even had a special one that tracked the movements of the main stairways.
5 This had involved something of a risk, mind you. The only way to alter a spell that is purely incantation and thought is to meddle with it. Should ingredients be involved, say in a potion, all one has to do is fiddle with the finer points of it, which can usually be predicted, unlike messing around with the syllables of an incantation. Autumn had spent a few days sick with some strange ailment on her second experimentation. The first had caused relatively disturbing memories to pop into her head, none of which were hers. After some research, she managed to get the desired result on her third try.
6 Of course we do. You would as well if you were constantly surrounded by creatures of lesser grace than you. Positively hilarious I tell you.
7 Also known as her pajamas.