Illusory § Order of the Phoenix

XII. OF BONDS AND BURDENS

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When evening rolled around, Antares had already clicked the final latches on his luggage. Peri sat contently in her cage, having eaten a vole, her victory catch, half an hour before. He would have to let her out as soon as he got to Hogwarts, knowing she would be hungry again. Antares just hoped Peri wouldn't be too angry with him when she realized they had to apparate to Diagon Alley. Even worse, if she hurled her afternoon snack, she would be irritable the rest of the trip. Once Antares arrives at The Leaky Cauldron, he can use the floo connection to gain entry to the Faculty Tower at Hogwarts. Snape was kind enough— if you could call it that, to give him access to the network.

Should anything happen to Harry after curfew, Dumbledore had made it so that Antares was to be the first line of defence. His new room would be the one closest to the entrance of the Gryffindor common room.

Whichever one that would be, Antares thought in exasperation.

While it was convenient that the Gryffindor Tower was directly across from the Faculty Tower, the shifting castle never allowed them to be on the same floor. The upside was that Antares had entry to all four common rooms, not that anyone needed to know. The prefects would set the passwords and inform their Head of House, who would then tell Antares that password. The Ravenclaw common room would be the only exception, as you needed to solve a riddle to gain entry. Antares had never seen the interior of the Faculty Tower, but he did not doubt that it was more luxurious than any of the dorms.

As he descended the stairs, his luggage levitated down the center of the stairwell. He avoided touching anything he didn't have to, not wanting a repeat of what happened a week prior.

Antares mentally sighed.

Unfortunately, he would have to touch everything in his new room to relieve all the visions. Every wall. Every book. All the furniture and even the floor. Of course, that wouldn't even account for what new things he would glimpse throughout the year. Everything is always in motion, changing and warping as it sees fit. So naturally, since everything is always changing, so are the things that Antares can see. The Augurs had divided their visions into two distinct categories and bound themselves to the secrecy of both.

Dynamic points were elusive, like fleeting whispers of possibility. These visions show the potential paths that have the chance of being altered. They were a crossroads where choices and actions could sway even the smallest events in different directions, just waiting for someone to seize the moment. Say, if someone were to sleep in one morning or say they decided to wear one shirt over another, all choices change all outcomes. These visions changed on a dime.

Although, he would say that the true problem lay with its polar opposite. Static points were like unmovable pillars in time, events that, as sure as the sun rising and falling, were unchangeable no matter what actions you took. They were the most burdensome, often ending in tragedy.