Chapter Text
The feast went great. Students were laughing, eating and telling each other about their vacations. Teachers look pleased, despite the presence of a new teacher: Dolores Umbridge. Albus, as always, had his big speech and as always the whole school went silent and listen to old director.
After all he was the one who defeated he-who-must-not-be-named almost 13 years ago. Everybody knows the story about a small baby, the boy who lived, who almost killed Voldemort thanks to his mother love. Everybody believed that it was the end of war, but Dumbledor knew something was wrong.
So he started digging. And he found out about horcrux. And destroyed every one of them, with help of order of the phoenix. With help of one of the greatest wizards, Dumbledore destroyed everything that was left of Voldemort’s empire.
And the boy who lived? Was sitting at Gryffindor’s table, eating and having fun with his friends, starting his 5 year. Harry Potter was the chosen one, but nothing else made him more special then other teenagers. Other students knew it very well: they saw Harry’s mistakes and failures as well as his victories. He was one of them.
Still, first year students ask him for autographs every year.
“So? What do you think will happen this year?” asked professor McGonagall looking at her friend and coworker, Severus Snape.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Snape got a sip of his tea.
“Don’t act stupid Severus. Every year something is happening here, it’s tradition at this point. Last year the tournament, two years ago Dementors, three years ago bloody basilisk.” She listed them all.
“Well, except the pink frog over there, nothing will happen. I have a feeling this year will be the most boring one. But that’s good.” Severus looked at his students “They deserve a normal year, don’t you
think?” McGonagall smiled, knowing something nobody else knew.
“you think so? That this year will be normal one?” She also drank some tea. “I have the opposite feeling. Something big is coming. Something different. Changes are coming Sev.”
Snape doubtfully looked at McGonagall.
“Are sure this is just tea?”
McGonagall laughed.
…
“Professor! Professor Dumbledore! Something happened!” Hagrid ran towards the director, with red face and sweat on it.
“Hagrid? What’s wrong?” Albus’s smile dropped.
“The…the unicorns! I was going to show them the second years tomorrow, but they ran away!”
“Oh? Hagrid, I’m not sure if it’s that serious….”
“No, Professor, please! That’s not everything! They….they destroyed everything on their way! Everything! They were young ones too! Professor, you know very well that young unicorns don’t act like that!”
“Well, that is unusual. But I still don’t think it’s..”
“That’s not all!” Hagrid looked really panicked. “It’s not just them. Every animal ran. I have never seen something like that. The Forbidden Forest was never this….empty. Something scared them all of.”
Dumbledor didn’t let the shock to show on his face.
“Well, I’m gonna take care of this tomorrow, alright?” But before he could leave, Hagrid stopped him.
“The centaurs want to see you, Professor.”
Dumbledor stopped.
“Well, then. We can’t leave them waiting.”
…
“What do we think about the new DADA Teacher?” asked Neville, sitting on his bed.
“Well, she looks like one of this too cute aunties who gossip all the time.” Compared her Seamus.
“She’s from the Ministry.” Said Ron. “My dad told me that they will send somebody because Dumbledore couldn’t find anybody.”
“Well, that’s stupid. Why is the ministry meddles in Hogwarts’s affairs?!” Harry sighed “I just want normal teacher for once.”
“Well, Lupin was….” Ron stopped after seeing Harrys sight. “And moody was….” He stopped again after Harry’s eyes darken. “Okey, we had some specific teachers.”
“Lockhart is in the hospital. He lost all his memories, and needs constant care.” Neville surprised everybody.
“For real?” asked Dean.
“For real.”
Ron and Harry looked at each other.
“Well, maybe she will be boring and normal, but at least this year will be normal?” harry was hoping so.
“I still can’t believe the summer is over!” Seamus sighed. “Oi, Harry, you didn’t tell us about your summer! How was it?”
Harry stopped, and everyone looked at him. He saw in Ron’s eyes uncertainty. Harry didn’t know what to say to his classmates and friends.
How was his summer? Pretty usual. Dursleys were bad as always. Dudley broke his arm twice this summer, but it healed after one day so it wasn’t thar bad. Aunt Petunia won the contest for the best roses
in the town, although it was harry who took care for them. Uncle Vernon told him to paint the fence three times until he was pleased with color. After that he allowed harry to eat normal dinner. But Harry
then accidently broke one of the cups, and was locked in his room for three days because of that.
“It was boring without you guys.” Harry smiled.
“Aww, Harry!”
“Mate!”
“You could write a letter, you know!”
“We would visit you!”
Harry’s heart filled with warmth.
…
Dumbledore was trembling from cold, but he didn’t want to put any warming spell onto himself. Centaurs were really sensitive for spells.
“Professor Dumbledore.” Said Magorian, the leader of centaurs. “We need to talk.”
“Really?”
“Really. We are leaving. This forest isn’t safe anymore.”
“I see. Why the Forest isn’t safe anymore?” Asked Dumbledor, while he was thinking about all the monsters that lived there and when was the last time that somebody called the forbidden forest “safe”.
Magorian looked at stars.
“We will be going where stars told us to go.”
“Alright, but why the forest isn’t safe anymore?”
“The planets are in very astonishing position.”
“Mogorian, why the forest isn’t safe?”
“Stars tell us a stories about past and future. The very distant past was bad for us as it was for you. The future is going to be difficult for your kind.”
“What?” Albus was very confused. “What do you…”
“The mistakes made here have consequences.”
“What does that mean?!”
“I wish you bright stars Professor.” Said Mogorian, before leaving.
“Centauries. You can never have a normal conversation with them.” Said Hagrid.
Albus wanted to yell. Instead He put a warming spell onto himself.
“Let’s go back.” He Said with a gloomy expression.
…
Hogwart fell asleep. The corridors were mostly empty, only Mrs. Norris walking there. Students were in their chambers, slowly falling asleep if they weren’t already doing so. Fawkes burned out in his sleep.
It was peaceful night.
Until midnight.
You see, everyone knew Hogwarts’s magic clock. The clock tower had one big mechanism that powered 5 big bells. But they never rang. Nobody heard them, not even Dumbledore. Every Teacher had a clock so they knew when to end class, and most of the students were wearing clocks, or learn time showing spells.
The mechanism that powered bells, that was untouched for centuries, that was as old as the school, that never even moved one inch: started moving. Slowly, the faster and faster.
And the bells rang. Five powerful, twenty feet tall bells started ringing at the same time. 24 times. With every time the magic wave coming from Hogwarts spread across the whole magic world. 24 times, the most powerful magic that every wizard had ever felt, spread across the earth.
And then the mechanism stopped and with it, the bells.
The whole Hogwarts were awake. Students were out of their beds, confused, some of the were crying some of them were even screaming. Everybody in the magic world didn’t know what was happening.
Then the candles starting to fall. Magic candles that were always on fire, levitating around rooms, began to go out and fall. The whole Hogwarts went dark.
Harry grabbed his wand in the darkness, but Seamus was faster.
“Lumos!” he yelled, but nothing happened. “Lumos!” He tried again.
“Lumos! Lumos!” Neville also tried. Nothing happened.
“What is going on!?” Ron was panicking, while trying to find his wand.
“Lumos!” tried Harry.
Nothing happened.
“Reparo! Expecto Patronum!” Nothing. The darkness started to feel more scary when they all realized their wand didn’t work anymore.
Then they heard knocking.
“Harry! Ron! Neville! Open the door!” Hermione yelled from the other side of the door.
“Mione! Are you alright?!” yelled Ron running towards the door, and opening it.
The bright light flashed everyone in the room.
“WOAH!” yelled Dean, after he almost tripped.
“What is that?! Does your wand works?” asks Harry, while shielding his eyes from the light with his arm.
“No! Yours doesn’t too?”
“What is it Hermione, and do you have more?”
“It’s just a flashlight! And, no, I only have this one. Did you feel that too?”
“This….power? Yea.”
Before anyone could say anything more, they all heard screaming.
“Bloody hell, what is going on!?” Ron automatically shielded Hermione and peeked outside the room, to see what was happening in common room.
“What was that!?” he yelled.
“The doors won’t open! We are lock here!” yelled someone in the darkness.
“Mione can I borrow this…light?” asked Ron.
“Again, it’s flashlight.” She said, but she gave it to him.
“Watch out, the light is coming!” he warned everybody before illuminated the whole room.
“It’s not magic! It’s muggle technology!” yelled Hermione, knowing that they would ask about it.
“The doors are lock, and the Fat Lady isn’t responding!” Colin was the first one who explained the situation, when everybody else were trying to get used to the light.
“Is anybody hurt!?” asked Hermione. She was the prefect after all.
“Well, that wake-up call, wasn’t the pleasant.” Said Fred. He had George hanging on his arm, still half-asleep.
“How are we going to get out?!” asked Lavender, also panicking.
Before anybody could respond, they heard somebody outside the entry to the common room.
“Everybody need to step back from this portrait RIGHT NOW!” Yelled somebody outside.
“Move! Now!” yelled Ron, and everybody moved as far as they could from the portrait.
“Is everybody away from the entry?” yelled the other voice.
“YES!” Yelled Fred.
The axe pierced the portrait. Some students screamed, but the axe didn’t stop, until nothing but shreds remained from the portrait. At the other side was standing professor McGonagall in her purple night gown and slippers, holding the lit candle in one hand, and the whole basket full of candles. Next to her was standing Snape, in dark sweatpants, an old shirt with some band on it and in bathrobe. He was the one holding the axe.
“The magic Is gone.”