Beginnings: The Keeper of Swyn Llyfr

Aoide

Rating: PG13
Genres: Drama, Romance
Relationships: Lily & James
Book: Lily & James, Books 1 - 6
Published: 21/07/2006
Last Updated: 13/01/2007
Status: in_progress

Riona Dyrdra is a witch attempting to deal with her past through revenge; Lily Evans is a witch who tries to help rebuild the world that is falling around her. Both are friends, but both fall into different sides of the First War. In the midst of anarchy, the two women discover how much they must sacrifice for what they believe in.

Chapters

1. Prologue/ Chapter One: All That Matters

2. Chapter Two: At the Brink

3. Chaptre Three: The Circle of Five

4. Chapter Four: The Finding of Swyn Llyfr

1. Prologue/ Chapter One: All That Matters

Beginnings: The Keeper of Swyn Llyfr

by Liliana03

Disclaimer: All things in this story that do not belong to JK Rowling are mine. Please do not use this story without my permission. Rated PG-15 for violence, sexual innuendo, and language.
----

Prologue

I am the only one willing to tell our story.

There are others, but they want to forget - they want to move on with their lives, they want to try to empty themselves of all that's happened...as if they could ever be fulfilled again. They won't. I won't.

And yet, what I remember is so much more than a justification of where we've been and what we've done. We were friends, first and foremost. Only after we found the Swyn Llyfr did everything change.

Our story should be told for future generations that may see Him rise again. Our story should be told for those we've left behind - so they can remember us.

And, as stories often do, this one begins at an end.

===

One: All That Matters

All I could think was, This is my graduation day.

As I looked around my dormitory, my gaze fell on a formal black robe with a bright, round blue collar and cuffs placed on the foot of my bed. My mind suddenly perked up - and the dormitory, the morning, and everything else disappeared.

That was why I had woken up so early - I hadn't slept throughout the whole night. Besides the anticipation for what would happen tonight, my night had been filled with nightmares. And like whispers, my dreams came back to me…darkness and screams - loud stampedes and yells sounding in the distance - a pair of eyes, so penetrating and knowing, as though they understood things about me I never wanted anyone to know -

“But it was all a dream,” I murmured, running a hand over my flushed face. I don't know why I was surprised - I had been having similar nightmares for the past few months. Funny how we talk to ourselves for reassurance, as if speaking words of comfort could make what we want to believe come true. I dismissed my bad nights as results of the stress I've had with last minute schoolwork and career interviews before the big day.

Sitting up in bed and rubbing my itching nose, I gazed out of the dormitory window to the right of my bed while I blinked away the haziness of sleep. The fresh daylight skirted around the Forbidden Forest to wrap around the castle's towers, greenhouses, and Quidditch Pitch. It was the kind of morning that would last into the afternoon.

I glanced at my roommates, who were in varied states of sleep with mouths open, heads on the foot of their beds, or wrapped in cocoon-shaped bedspreads. No wonder - it was only a quarter after six. Only mad people, like me, were awake at this hour.

An insistent pecking at my window jarred my thoughts. I looked up in surprise and saw that it was Aegle, Lily Evans' owl, at my window with a letter in her beak. Her impatience told me that she had been trying to catch my attention for several minutes, so I quickly jumped out of bed and let her in. Handing me the letter, she stared at me expectantly.

“So Lily wants an answer right away, does she?” I asked, petting her tawny head. Aegle hooted in response, nudging the letter in my hand.

“Shh, don't wake anyone up - they'll have my head for waking them up so early,” I warned, opening the hastily written letter.

Riona,

Come and meet Alice and me in the Great Hall for - THE LAST - breakfast. Alice says she wants to plan out what we should wear for the concert this afternoon. And she says that we have to have matching hairstyles for the graduation ceremony tonight. She's such a dear to want everything perfect…but I just let her talk. She will never get me into wearing a fluffy dress for the concert, and I'm sure you don't want her to bedeck your hair in ribbons. I need your help if I want to fight off the fluffy dress idea.

Lily

So it seems no one could sleep last night - at least none of my friends…maybe there's something in the pumpkin juice Sirius gave us yesterday for lunch. If it was pumpkin juice, that is.

I scribbled a note on the back of Lily's letter and gave it to Aegle, who cuffed me on the wrist for taking so long. Before I could protest however, she stepped off the windowsill and flew away into the hot sunrise.

----

“But this dress would look just lovely with your hair and eyes, Lily!”

“Alice, I don't like dresses. I've never liked dresses. I believe my mother when she said that I was born wearing pants. That's what I feel most comfortable in,” said Lily in her sweetest tone. Yet the frown that clouded her face showed she was anything but comfortable at the moment.

Alice Kennicott on the other hand, was all smiles. “But you haven't even seen the dress, Lily. It's just perfect for you, really. Give it a chance! You'll look absolutely beautiful…for James,” she added offhandedly, giving Lily a knowing glance out of the corner of her eyes.

At this Lily hesitated in her raging protest, blushing. She and James' relationship would celebrate their first year anniversary this July, and she had told us that she wanted to do something special for him. Alice knew this all too well.

But I chose this moment to interrupt and plopped down next to Alice, startling them both. “At war this early?” I asked, serving myself a glass of orange juice.

“It's about time,” Lily said, the relief in her voice causing Alice to look at her suspiciously. “I mean, you almost missed our breakfast together,” Lily added hastily.

“Luckily I was already awake by the time your dear owl arrived ready to break my window,” I said, buttering a piece of toast.

“Aegle can be persistent,” Lily defended. “But we were afraid that you were going to stay in bed all day - on this day, of all days!”

“I wanted to let you stay in bed. I mean you haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately, what with those nightmares and all,” Alice remarked, patting me on the back in concern. “Your eyes are drooping…and you're too pale.”

“You do look really bad,” Lily elaborated, as if she wanted to make sure the point hit home.

I frowned in annoyance, and quickly looked for a change of subject. Then I noticed the empty seat with disappointment. “Where's Remus?”

Lily smirked. “He's in bed.”

“Like you should be,” Alice said, as stubborn as ever. “Really, Riona, you don't look well at all. I told Lily to let you rest -”

“Alice, you're not going to get Lily in a dress,” I pointed out, fishing for another subject. I eyed the article Alice had ripped out of Witch Weekly's fashion section. “She would rather be eaten alive by starving dragons.”

Lily arched her eyebrows. “You always know how to say the right thing, Riona.”

“That's me,” I said airily, tossing my hair over my shoulder. “I don't waste time with words - they get in the way.”

Alice sighed and folded the article, tucking it under her half-empty plate. “I thought that since this was our last day together, we could get dressed up a little bit.”

“Don't worry,” Lily reassured, patting her hand. “Riona's getting dressed up for you. She's even wearing a dress."

I cringed as I heard Alice squeal at Lily's declaration, and then gave Lily an I-will-get-you-for-this look that she simply grinned at.

“Oh, Riona, how wonderful-”

Fortunately, I was saved by James, Peter and Sirius, who decided to walk into the Great Hall just at that moment.

“Are you still talking about clothes?” James asked in amusement - as though he never bothered to get dressed in his life.

“No, we're talking about the concert tonight,” said Lily before Alice could interject. “We were wondering what band Dumbledore booked for it.”

“It better be a band that plays actual music,” Sirius spoke up, leaning over James and snatching a toast off my plate, ignoring my glare. “Not that classical junk that McGonagall tried to get us to dance to at our End-of-the-Year ball last year.”

Peter scurried over to James's other side and poured himself more pumpkin juice. “I kind of liked it - didn't you, James?”

“No, it sounded like kneazles screaming bloody murder, and I prefer to keep my eardrums, thanks,” James said cheerfully. “You didn't even make it to the ball, Sirius,” he remembered, a slow smirk spreading over his face as he glanced at his friend.

Sirius grinned. “Oh yeah, that was the ball I took Patricia Fisher to, and we didn't even make it pass the gardens because we were too busy snogging and then -”

“Oh, that's where you did -” Peter interrupted, excited as he also remembered.

“Thank you, that's all the detail we need to know,” I said loudly, rolling my eyes at the goofy looks on the guys' faces.

“But that was such a, erm, triumphant night for Sirius,” James assured me, with Sirius sniggering.

“His finest hour,” Peter echoed.

"One of my finest hours,” Sirius corrected, stretching his arms proudly.

“That doesn't make sense,” I countered. “There can't be many fine hours, the whole meaning of the phrase is to single out only one, right?”

Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but then snapped it back. “That's a trick question. Where's Remus when you need him?” he mumbled.

“Oh, quite !@#$ed upstairs,” said James with a grin. “We got him royally drunk last night, in celebration for our breaking out of this place for good. Poor bloke couldn't handle all the revelry. With the calming potion I gave him though, he'll be ready to drink some more tonight - no worries.”

“Boys,” Alice exhaled noisily, summing up the conversation quite well. “I'm glad Frank isn't like that.”

“How do you know?” Sirius accused. “You and Frankie have only been going out for a few months. He might be a righteous pervert.”

“Like you guys?” asked Lily, grinning.

“Not quite up to our level, but getting there,” James replied, kissing the top of Lily's head. Peter chuckled, accidentally spilling juice on his shirt.

“He hates it when you call him Frankie, Sirius,” said Alice, frowning. “And anyway, the length of a relationship doesn't always indicate how well you know a person. You can know a person completely for years or for just a few months. For example, I've known Sirius for four years and James for six - and I feel like I know your entire lives.”

At this the guys let out shouts of protest.

“No way - ”

“Yeah, right -”

“Alice is never wrong about people,” Lily said, raising her voice over their objections, “She's the type that can size you up correctly within ten minutes she's known you.”

“Ditto,” I piped up, nodding seriously. “Genius, she is.”

“What about me?” Peter squeaked. “Do you know as much about me?”

Alice frowned, trying to remember. “No, not really. But that's because you're always quiet, I suppose…”

“Not an excuse for James and Sirius,” I observed, smiling over the rim of my glass as I finished off the orange juice.

“No, they're completely transparent,” Lily agreed offhandedly. “I bet you,” she went on, looking at Sirius and James with a glint of fun in her eyes, “That Alice knows everything you guys never thought she would.”

James and Sirius stared at us in disbelief while Alice smiled primly, patting her blonde curls.

“Why did Remus and I get detentions last week?” James demanded.

“You switched Professor Slughorn's grade books for ones that ignited when used,” Alice responded promptly.

“How did I sneak firewhiskey into the Hufflepuff party last month?” Sirius pushed.

“You bribed the House-Elves with more work to do in the castle.”

“Okay, what was I afraid of when I was little?”

“Vampires.”

“Lily told you!” James accused, glancing at his girlfriend beside him.

“Nope,” Lily insisted, shaking her head. “Believe it or not, not everyone finds you as adorable as I think you are,” she teased, giving his cheek a light pinch.

“Ha, ha,” James said sarcastically.

“What was the name of the dog I had when I was seven?” Sirius asked, frowning.

“Padfoot.”

Sirius blanched as James moved on. “All right. If you know this one, then we give in.”

“Bring it on,” Alice yawned, winking at Lily and me.

“How does Sirius feel about Gryffindor House?” James asked, casting her a shrewd look.

An impish smirk spread over Sirius's smug face, and Peter chortled in glee.

For a moment, Alice hesitated while Lily and I held our breaths.

“Hm…” Alice began, with the grins on the guys' faces growing wider by the second. “That's a trick question. You see, Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor but he didn't want to be in it at first - he wanted to be in Slytherin like the rest of his family. But then he got used to it and even started liking Gryffindor once he met you, Remus and Peter - and once you all tossed dungbombs into the Slytherin common room to boost Sirius' morale. And now, Sirius is a raging, dyed-in-the-wool Gryffindor.”

“Score!” I announced, high-fiving Lily across the table.

“Stalker,” James muttered.

“If you lusted after us so much, all you had to do was say so, Kennicott,” Sirius quipped.

I gasped and looked at Lily. “Did you tell them?”

Lily placed a hand against her cheek in mock-surprise. “You know, it might've slipped…”

We all burst out laughing as Alice flushed brightly, her naiveté exposed. Our mirth echoed against the gaping windows of the Great Hall and startled the few breakfasting students.

To an outsider, this would not have seemed like the end of something - no one would've imagined that that in a few hours we would go our separate ways, leaving behind the school that had brought us together.

But right now all that mattered was this moment - and our laughter.

-------

My gaze involuntarily drifted to the full-length mirror facing me, examining the reflection of a pale girl whose dark eyes nearly engulfed her small face. I felt like my robes were some kind of ceremonial dress, preparing me for my entrance into the world beyond Hogwarts. Hm, black…hopefully not a bad omen, I thought. Yeah, right.

Shrugging, I turned to my night table and picked up a blue ribbon. I tossed my hair over my shoulder, its length reaching the floor. My hands dexterously wove through the thick hair, forming a long braid, and I tied the ribbon to its end. There. Hopefully, Alice will approve. The only make-up I wore was around my eyes, since I detested the cakey, stuff some other girls wore on their faces. Lily, I knew, would wrestle with the Giant Squid before putting any make-up on. And Alice…well, Alice is just lovely, make-up-loving Alice.

I suppose the rest of the graduating Ravenclaw girls were downstairs in the common room. I didn't know what else to do, now that I was finished dressing. It had taken a shorter time than I thought - and only this morning I had thought that getting dressed for graduation would be the hardest part. Nope. The hardest thing is going to be going down those stairs…and knowing I won't be climbing them again as a Hogwarts student. Tomorrow morning everyone was leaving.

“Oh, enough of this,” I snapped, shaking my head. “I just have to go downstairs like any normal person would do. Chat a bit, say good-bye to some people, and then go down to the grounds and join everyone else. This is like any other day, that's all.”

Yeah, a day where you'll be leaving everything and everyone you've ever truly cared for.

“Great, now my head wants to talk back at me,” I muttered. “And now I'm talking back - oh, forget it.”

I smoothed down my robes one last time and opened the door, shutting it without looking back.

========

"Chapter 2: At the brink" is coming up next! Please tell me what you think - I would really appreciate it.

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2. Chapter Two: At the Brink

Two: At the Brink

The chatter in the Ravenclaw common room livened my spirits some. I was quite glad of that - I didn't need to see anyone sobbing or getting emotional, or I suspected I would be, too. I stood near the stairs, taking in the familiar scent of pine mixed with musty parchment that permeated the room.

Gleaming moonlight sifted through the tall rectangular windows that surrounded our oval common room. It was so bright that no one had bothered to light the glass lamps or crystal chandelier. The common room was constructed almost entirely of windows, with only thin slabs of stone between the ridges to assure you that you were in fact inside a building instead of standing on a tree top, overlooking the vast Hogwarts grounds. Having your common room in the Astronomy tower has its perks. I caught a glimpse of the crescent moon hidden behind the dark foliage of the Forbidden Forest.

“Riona!” a girl with long, mousy-brown pigtails came running over to me. She came to a sudden stop and clapped her hands, her round eyeglasses catching a glint of the moonlight. “We were wondering when you'd come down. Aren't you excited? Everyone's talking about the concert for later tonight, we even have bets about who's going with who - and of course we have bets on who will win the House Cup, I mean it's got to be Ravenclaw - we all made some pretty accurate calculations and they showed that we have a higher percentage of points than all the other houses except for Gryffindor, but there's always a marginal difference -”

My hands jerked to grab her shoulders, and she stopped in mid-sentence. “Marlene,” I began with utmost impatience, and then took a deep breath, “I am excited about graduation. And I don't know who's going to play at the concert. I don't want to make bets, either on the band or who's going to win the Cup. Frankly, I don't care. Ravenclaw never wins because we focus too much on academics and not as much on - well, anything else. Okay?”

Marlene McKinnon frowned, but then broke into a smile. “Are you sure you don't want to cast a bet? If not for the House Cup, then maybe about who's going with who -”

“To where?”

“The concert, silly!” Marlene giggled, blushing. “I asked Sirius Black to go with me, but he said he was temporarily deaf and if I could ask him some other time. The poor thing, I asked him if he wanted me to take him to Madam Pomphrey's, but he said it's incurable. Is there really an incurable deafness?”

I pulled on a straight face. “Yes, of course.”

“Well, maybe when I see him tonight I can ask him for a dance. I'll lead, since he won't be able to hear the music,” said Marlene, clapping her hands again. “So who are you going with, Riona?”

“Er,” I began, feeling that this was going to cause more trouble than it's worth, “No one, really.”

Marlene gave such a loud gasp that it caught the attention of half the room. “No one? Oh, dear - did no one ask you?”

I scowled and crossed my arms indignantly. “I don't need to go with anyone, you know. This is the 70s, Marlene. Witches don't need wizards to be valued. Besides, are you going with anyone?”

“Gil Bates. He's a dear, but we're really only friends,” Marlene replied, lowering her voice into a conspiratorial tone so that I had to bend closer. “Gil wants something more, but my heart still belongs to Sirius Black, the one and only wizard who is the noblest, the handsomest, the smartest -”

Luckily Darren Peeters, a prefect, approached us before I could gag my breakfast and lunch over the floor. “Here are you honor cords,” he said briskly, handing Marlene and I two white velvet ropes from the pile he held in his arms. “You two are graduating with academic honors. Congratulations,” he yawned, then walked toward more seventh years.

“Oooh, lovely,” Marlene squealed, taking hers and looping it around her neck. “I was wondering when we'd get these! I have three others - one for Charms club, another for the Herbology club, and the other for the Alliance of Politically-Minded Wizarding Youth for the Defense of Magical Creatures' Rights…”

“APMWYDMCR, I remember,” I said. I fingered the honor cord and lifted my braid to put it around my neck, pulling the fringe at the end of the white rope. “I don't really know what these are for except for showing off -”

At that moment a shrill voice rang beside my ear, and I jumped in fright.

“CONGRATULATIONS, CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE WON ACADEMIC HONORS! WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!”

“WHAT IS THAT?” I shouted, looking around while the rest of the Ravenclaws stared at us.

“THE WHOLE SCHOOL IS PROUD OF YOU! YOU ARE LA CRÈME DE LA CRÈME, THE ELITE, THE BEST, TRIUMPHANT, MAGNIFICENT -”

“Oooh, the honor cord talks!” Marlene said in delight, pointing at the cord.

I noticed that the fringe at the end of the rope was slightly quivering, and I could only figure that I had set off some type of enchantment while I played with it. Great. I yanked the fringe with a vengeance, and the blaring acclamations instantly ceased.

“Yes, okay, show's over people,” I snapped, waving off everyone's gawks and smirks.

“Listen up!” Darren yelled. He was standing near the common room's entrance. He had to shout twice before he got everyone's attention diverted from playing with their own honor cords. For a few minutes, the common room was filled with cheers and jolly congratulations, and Darren had to jump up and down several times while shouting. At last, we all looked at him expectantly.

Panting from his efforts, Darren took a deep breath. “Everyone, get ready - the graduation ceremony is about to begin.”

----

“No, you look better.”

“Nah, mate, you do.”

“I insist, Prongs, you look better than I do.”

“No, no, my dear Padfoot, you look much better.”

“You both look like prats,” Remus interrupted in amusement. Peter chuckled, straightening his crooked robes' collar, while James and Sirius grinned. They were standing, along with the rest of the school dressed in their graduation robes, in front of the Grand Staircase. Several students were talking with the portraits of past teachers and renowned contributors of the school, while others were in small groups - hugging, laughing, and talking. James, Sirius, Lily, and Peter were grouped to the left of the staircase.

“But as prats, we look quite dashing,” said James, patting down the silk black robes and ruby-red tie that hung loosely on his athletic frame.

“You got that right,” Lily remarked, shooting him an appreciative look and giving him a soft kiss on the mouth.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Sirius protested, his own red tie cast distractedly over his shoulder. But Lily and James continued to kiss as he exclaimed, “You know the rule, Prongs: no snogging in front of your friends unless they're snogging someone, too.”

“You're just angry because Patricia Fisher broke your date tonight,” James retorted, pulling Lily into his arms so that her head settled underneath his chin.

“I broke up with her.”

“But I was there when she broke up with you in the Gryffindor common room,” Peter reminded Sirius, who broke into a scowl. “She said you're too flighty for her - and that you flirt too much.”

“Who knew?” Remus remarked, exchanging grins with James and Lily.

“Well, what are we waiting for, anyway?” Sirius muttered, eyeing the crowd of chattering students with impatience. “When is this bloody ceremony going to get started?”

“When Dumbledore gets here,” Alice replied, joining them. The lit crystal chandeliers shone against Alice's blonde hair, which was dressed lavishly in whisps of curls. She was proudly holding Frank Longbottom's hand, who looked quite uncomfortable in his stiff-necked black robes.

Frank scratched his neck and tried to pull at his collar. “It's awfully warm in here, don't you think?”

“Are you still drunk from last night?” asked Sirius, smiling knowingly.

Flushing amidst Alice's curious gaze, Frank shook his head. “No…just warm, that's all.”

“Oh, Lily, you styled you hair - it looks perfectly lovely,” Alice squealed, patting Lily on the shoulder.

Lily quirked an eyebrow and glanced at her straightened hair - she had conjured a charm to iron it as her cousin Gwen had showed her a few weeks ago. “Uh, Alice, I didn't curl my hair like you asked me to.”

Alice waved a dismissive hand. “But that kind of style becomes you! It's so…so…”

“Flat?” James supplied, groaning as Lily gave him a swift punch in the stomach. “And gorgeous, of course,” he added hastily.

“So where's Riona?” Alice asked, looking around at the room that was already packed with the graduating colors from all four Houses. As each House arrived, they carried their banner featuring the House mascot and colors - and Ravenclaw's bronze eagle, flying across a velvet cloth of blue, already stood over the crowd of black robes along with the other three House banners.

“I don't know,” Lily replied as the boys started debating whether they should run around in the buff as the ceremony's grand finale. “She said she'd be here as soon as Ravenclaw arrived, but I haven't seen her anywhere.”

----

“I cannot believe I got lost on my last day at Hogwarts,” I muttered, sighing and peering into the dim, abandoned hallway once more. My voice echoed back at me, signaling that the tunnel-like corridor would go on farther than I had already walked. I held up my lit wand, which only brightened a few paces in front of me, and tried to look for an exit nearby. But there was nothing, and I slowly began to panic.

While the rest of Ravenclaw House has sensibly gone down the Grand Staircase to meet everyone else, I had wanted to take a last glimpse of the school grounds from the Astronomy Tower before I joined them. But as I left the Tower - distracted, I suppose - I obviously took a wrong turn and ended up in this forsaken hallway.

Lily and Alice now cannot say that I'm not nostalgic, I thought, taking a few hesitant steps to what felt like a draft - and possibly a window. My fingers found nothing, however, as they reached along the grimy wall - and then, for some reason, my hand began to shake.

It seemed like it moved on its own, had its own mind - that it was a trigger, for my whole body began to tremble even though I felt no pain or fear. That was when a piercing ache started at the back of my neck. For a moment I faintly wondered if something had bit me, but somehow I knew that this pain was internal, caused by something inside of me -

The darkness of the corridor deepened into a black without depth. I was blinded - my stomach turned inside out, thick bile rising in my throat - my body shaking uncontrollably, the pain in my neck now spreading to my head so that all I could do was scream - and scream - and scream - letting out all the pain that was pounding inside of me -

I saw Lily. I saw her shout. She was dressed in her graduation robes, and streaks of unnatural green light were flying across the ink black sky -

And then Lily transformed into Alice, whose hair was disheveled as she struggled against an unknown person dressed in black robes and hood -

I saw a gloved hand holding a wand in the starless sky, and at that moment I knew that Lily and Alice were dying.

Their screams…. their screams tore my heart. Indescribable pain was killing my best friends, and I could do nothing about it -

Blood - so thick it was almost black - dripped over the school grounds…the nausea in my stomach only grew as I saw the slaughtered bodies of Remus, James, Sirius and Peter -

The crescent moon stood silently in the black sky while the hooded wizards stalked over the dead bodies and entered Hogwarts -

Then the blackness engulfed me, and I fell to the stone ground seeing nothing.

----

”Where is she?” asked Lily in concern. “I can't believe she would miss her graduation.”

“She won't,” Alice reassured her, even though she didn't sound so confident. Playing with the tip of her golden Hufflepuff tie, she sat up straight in her chair to look across the crowd of students again.

The crowd was immense - in an open space in the middle of the school grounds, facing the castle, students were filed into a large semi-circle over the trimly cut grass, sitting in plush velvet seats. Their families sat on the outer circle, chattering loudly and flashing pictures that made the students rub their eyes. The teachers were sitting on a raised platform in front, talking amongst themselves, while the House ghosts floated over the ground to the right of the stage. Besides the soft gleam of the moon, Professor Flitwick had enchanted dozens of candles to circle the crowd, flames burning in the warm summer night air. An air of expectancy and excitement had settled over everyone - except Alice and Lily, who were quite worried.

“She's probably on her way, don't worry,” Remus said, leaning over James to talk to Lily and Alice. “Riona's always late for everything.”

“True,” Lily admitted, but she still sat tensely in her seat, her eyes alert for any sign of her friend.

“I can't believe that Dumbledore's not here yet,” Sirius, who was seated at Remus's left, griped. “You'd think that as our Headmaster he'd be here immediately.”

“Well, he did tell us - at a Head and prefect meeting, I mean - that he might be a little late,” James said, remembering.

“Maybe Dumbledore is getting something special for the graduation ceremony,” Peter suggested. “He did that for last year's ceremony, remember?”

“Yes,” Sirius said, grinning. “Those everlasting fireworks didn't die throughout the whole night…”

A scuffle to Alice's left alerted her to Frank coming back from greeting his parents. “Right angry they are,” he said cheerfully, smiling at Alice as he took his seat beside her.

“Why?” she asked, frowning.

“Because I didn't get as many honor cords as they hoped,” Frank answered. He ran a hand through his neatly trimmed brown hair and shrugged. “I only got three.”

“At least you got honors,” Alice comforted him, placing her head on his shoulder. “I didn't get any, and Mum's actually happy - she says ladies shouldn't show off their intelligence.”

“But you don't need to show off because you already are very smart,” Frank murmured against her hair.

A few seats over, Lily's patience was starting to wear thin. “You're not going in the buff after the ceremony, James,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“I don't have anything to be embarrassed about,” James said, winking.

“Besides, we need to finish our legacy at Hogwarts,” Sirius added, shaking back his shaggy black hair. “The school will be lonely without us.”

“I, for one, think going in the buff is too easy,” said Remus, shaking his head. “I'm surprised at you, Prongs - I thought you were the master of pranks.”

“Now wait a minute,” James protested, with Lily laughing beside him, “Going in the buff is only half of the plan -”

“Shhh!” Peter suddenly whispered. He nodded up at the teacher's platform, his watery blue eyes wide in anticipation. “Dumbledore's just arrived.”

A tall silver-haired wizard had walked up the platform and was now facing the crowd, which erupted into loud cheers and clapping. Under his dark violet wizard's hat covering his white hair, Albus Dumbledore gave them all a welcoming smile, although his eyes were clouded. Clearing his throat, he aimed his wand at the base of his neck and muttered something. “Good evening to all of you!” he declared, his deep voice magically amplified. “And what a beautiful evening it is!”

He then stretched his wand to the sky, and the twinkling stars glided over the night sky to form one glistening word: Congratulations to the Hogwarts's commencement class of 1978! The crowd broke into gasps of surprise and delight, which were only heightened as Dumbledore's wand hovered over the four corners of the grounds and caused jets of white streamers to shoot from the ground and coil into sparkling branch-like ornaments that surrounded the semi-circle. While the candles' brightened in their light, the Headmaster nodded to Professor McGonagall, who brought out a leather box filled with rolled parchments tied together in thin black bows.

Dumbledore beamed in pleasure and nodded at the applause. “Let the ceremony begin!”

And as Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat to begin his farewell speech, no one noticed the group of black hoods that slithered towards them from the shadows of the Forbidden Forest.

================

What did you tihnk? *grins* This chapter is part one of two, so don't worry - the cliffhanger will be answered soon!

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3. Chaptre Three: The Circle of Five

Three: The Circle of Five

As I struggled to open my eyes, I found that a pair of red, beady ones was staring into mine. A whiskered, moist nose between the eyes sniffed at my clammy skin in curiosity while I tried to swallow down the nausea and pain that threatened to overwhelm me. The balding rat blinked, as if it was surprised I wasn't dead. I was surprised, too. As I attempted to sit up, the rat scurried away into a crack inside the stone wall.

I didn't know how long I had been unconscious, but I figured that the graduation was already underway -

And then it all came back to me.

The screams, the black hoods, the blood - and the graduation robes. My heart leapt with one thought, which seemed impossible but at the same time so horribly real: what if whatever happened to me - call it a vision, call it luck, call it fate - would happen tonight? Why else would Lily, Alice, Remus, James, Peter, Sirius, and everyone be wearing graduation robes? Why else would I have collapsed for no reason?

“It's a warning,” I breathed, wiping the sweat that was trickling over my face again. “But no, it can't be…how can it be?” Do you want to risk being wrong about something like this?

“I've got to do something,” I murmured, more to convince myself than to play the hero.

Yet as I stared around in the barely lit corridor, surrounded by stone walls, my resolve shrunk.

“Wait, you're a witch,” I reassured myself, nodding and digging my wand out of my soiled robes. “Seven years in a magical school should've taught you something…”

But all that my mind came up with were the awful images of my vision, the gruesome slaughter that might happen any minute…any second…. In my anguish I shouted, kicking the wall in front of me - and immediately regretting it as the pounding pain in my foot only added to the ache of my entire body.

“HELP!” I yelled, all my imaginary resolve and courage melting into despair. “ANYBODY, PLEASE, HELP!”

“You needn't scream so,” a calm voice said behind me. “If I weren't already dead, you would've scared me to death.”

I whipped around, clutching my wand with a trembling hand - only to face the Grey Lady, the Ravenclaw House ghost. She peered at me inquisitively, her sheer form floating through the darkness and settling in front of me.

“I could hear your screams from downstairs, but I thought it was Peeves who was attempting to make an end-of-the-year joke, as is his custom,” the Grey Lady began, her placid, invisible face tilting to the left, “But I am glad it is you instead, Riona. I did not want to ruin the festivities with Peeves' shrieks of my torturing him.”

“You have to help me,” I gasped, “I'm lost - I need to get to the ceremony - something terrible is going to happen -”

“Shh,” the Grey Lady remonstrated, holding up one thin finger. “The graduation has already started, so you are shamefully late, my dear -”

“I don't CARE!” I screamed, startling the ghost so much that she glided back a few paces in shock. “I NEED TO GET DOWN THERE, RIGHT NOW!”

“All right, all right, all you had to say was please,” the Grey Lady sighed, placing an icy hand on my shoulder and guiding me down the musty corridor.

----

“Sirius Black!”

Flashing them a cheeky grin, Sirius jumped up, cracked his knuckles, and walked up to the platform to receive his diploma from a smiling Professor McGonagall. The rest of the Hogwarts professors, including Dumbledore, who was reading off the list of students' names, nodded or smiled back, while parents applauded politely - all except one stern looking man and pristinely dressed woman to Lily's left. They were sitting quite calmly, applauding with their fingers as they observed with frowns Sirius's leap off the stage once he received his diploma.

“Mr. and Mrs. Black seem lovely. Are they always so severe?” Lily whispered to James as they cheered for Sirius.

James curtly eyed the Blacks, who were sitting along a row of identically pale family members. “No, that's them being nice.”

“Get an eyeful of this,” Sirius whispered, sitting down and waving the elegantly wrapped parchment in his fist. “They're my free papers! I'm my own bloke! Nothing can stop me! I can finally become the man that everyone has tried to suppress in me for the last seven years -”

Arching his eyebrows, Remus, who was sitting between James and Sirius, snorted. “Oh yes, very manly you are. Say, Sirius, how are those hand-knit stockings holding up for you? You know, the pink fluffy ones you're wearing tonight because you consider them to be your lucky pair?”

Sirius scowled at him, but Remus deftly dodged the blow Sirius aimed at his head.

“I knew I shouldn't have shown you my lucky socks,” Sirius muttered, trying to grapple Remus while Peter and James started laughing.

“If you four would calm down, we might be able to hear who's next,” Alice hissed, leaning over Lily.

“They just called Ira Carney from Hufflepuff, so we still have a while,” Frank said, forcing down a yawn as Remus tried to lift Sirius's pant leg to show James and Peter the hand-knit stockings.

“I'm just so nervous,” Alice fretted, playing with a stray blonde curl. “And Riona is coming up next! Where is that girl?”

“Something must've happened to her,” Lily replied, biting her lower lip. “This isn't like Riona. I know she hates attention, but she wouldn't have missed her graduation without telling us.”

“Why don't you tell one of the ghosts?” Frank suggested. “They can probably find Riona.”

But Lily shook her head, taking off her witch's hat and standing up while Dumbledore continued to call students' names and camera flashes went off in every direction. “No, I'm going up to the castle. Something might be wrong.”

“I'm going with you,” Alice added quickly, jumping up.

“What?” Frank asked in surprise. “We're in the middle of the ceremony - just ask a professor, I'm sure they can help -”

“No,” Lily insisted, pushing Frank's legs out of the way. “I have a feeling that something happened to her, and I'm not just going to sit around and wait to see what it was.”

“And where are you going?” James called after Lily, giving swift punches to Remus, Sirius, and Peter so they would stop their bickering.

Lily nodded up to the castle, and James stood up as well, stretching. “Good, I was getting bored sitting here.”

“Sit down!” hissed a whiskered wizard behind them. “This is no time for lollying around!”

But Alice, James, and Lily ignored the old wizard's protests as they hastened away, keeping close to the towering trees so that no one else would interfere on their way to the school.

The crescent moon barely lit their way as wisps of thickening clouds began to hide it from view.

----

“This way, this way,” the Grey Lady soothed, calmly floating down yet another set of steep side stairs despite my urgencies to hurry. It seemed like she had taken the longest route just to spite me. And then she added lightly, “It doesn't matter when you get there you know, since you're already shamefully late.”

If she had a neck, I would've strangled her.

Once we reached the bottom of the staircase, I looked wildly around. The smallest sense of relief washed over me as I realized where I was - the third floor, next to my Necromancy class. I sped off to the left, my torn robes billowing behind me.

“A thank you would have been acceptable!” the Grey Lady called after me, her serene voice tinted with annoyance.

But I didn't care, for at the end of the hallway were the polished marble steps of the Grand Staircase. I almost tripped over the ends of my robes as I took the stairs three at a time, my lungs gasping for air. Please, oh please, let me not be too late…

----

“You know, I'm going to miss this school,” James remarked, striding after Lily and Alice's hurrying forms under the night sky. “It's been like a second home to me. A jail, but a second home nevertheless -”

“Just help us look for Riona,” Alice snapped, brushing away hair from her face as she surveyed the dim grounds. The cheers and light of the ceremony had grown faint, and she could barely see her own two hands in front of her.

“Oh, so that's why we're out here in the middle of nowhere,” said James. “Does Riona fancy hiding in the dark or something?”

“Maybe she fell?” Lily suggested, lighting her wand and holding it up high. “Perhaps no one could hear her cries from here…”

“Do either of you know a kind of spell that makes the moon turn red?” James suddenly asked. His voice echoed from somewhere behind Lily and Alice, but the girls didn't bother to turn around.

Alice let out a sigh of frustration. “Look, if you came with us, you should spend your time in helping us instead of trying to make up some new prank - ”

But Alice stopped short as James brought his lit wand to his face, which had gotten deathly pale. James continued, his voice steady. “Because if neither of you knew how to do it, and I sure didn't know how to do it, then who just turned the moon red?”

Lily and Alice followed the direction of his lit wand - and once he lifted it to the sky, they understood what he was raving about.

The moon was blood red, set against the inky sky amongst stars whose light was being extinguished by an invisible hand, one by one. It was as though someone had flicked off the lights, and the school grounds immediately had immediately fallen into impenetrable darkness. Not even their lit wands could spark enough light. Far off in the distance, they could see that the glowing illuminations that Dumbledore had conjured for the ceremony had been snuffed out as well, instantly followed by shouts of surprise and fear that burst into the cold night air. By the sound of it, turmoil had erupted.

In the dark Lily grabbed James's hand in her own, and then Alice's. “What's happening?” she whispered, almost too afraid to speak.

As if in answer, a strange rhythm - as in marching feet - began to drum over the grounds, louder than the confusion of the ceremony. The unearthly sound came from the Forbidden Forest.

-----

My ears tingled at the pounding march that was rising in volume by the second. I knew, without trying to remember, that it was the same foreboding sound from my vision. Trembling, the familiar sense of nausea and bile crept into my throat - but I walked out of the school's entrance. I don't know if it was either from shaking courage or curious cowardice, yet my feet led me to stand against one of the pillars the guarded the school's marble entrance - the pillar that held up a statue of Ravenclaw's flying eagle.

The sickest sense of déjà vu overcame me as I remembered the exact same perspective of the grounds, the same one I was looking at from this spot, in my dream. I raised a quivering hand to my mouth, shaking my head. As though I could will this all away, as though I could wake up from this as I had from the numerous nightmares of these past weeks. All the while, a part of me tried to deny the reality even as I watched it unfold.

My feet stood rooted in their spot as I watched five black hoods crawl from the depths of the Forbidden forest. Screams pierced the cold air, and a flurry of movement and noise scrambled at the center of the grounds, where I supposed the graduation ceremony was located. Flashes of green, red, and blue light illuminated the dark grounds - various glowing forms of corporeal patronuses flew left and right - shadowed shapeless figures fought blindly against each other -

“HELP, SOMEONE, PLEASE!”

My numbed mind woke up at the familiar voice, and I tried to light my wand to search for the source. But the darkness was too strong, and my small wand barely made a dint.

“LILY! ALICE!” I screamed back, forcing down tears. “ARE YOU THERE? TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE!”

“RIONA!” Lily shrieked, somewhere in front me. “RIONA, SOMETHING'S HAPPENED TO ALICE! JAMES AND I CAN'T -”

I ran down the small hill, stumbling in my haste, helplessly shouting, “STAY WHERE YOU ARE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!”

-----

“Where the h.ell is James?” Sirius shouted, grabbing Remus, Peter and Frank by the arms amidst the wrangling bodies that pushed and pulled like hunted animals, trying to find their way in the dark. The steady marching had continued until it drummed in everyone's ears, along with spells that zoomed seemingly out of nowhere. The only way Sirius knew that he was holding his friends' arms was because the light of a random spell had briefly illuminated their faces.

“He left with Lily and Alice,” Frank replied, almost stumbling over as someone slammed into his back. “They were going to look for Riona -”

“EVERYONE, PLEASE DO NOT MOVE!”

“Who's that?” Peter squeaked, jumping. “Who just said that?”

“Dumbledore, I think,” Remus said over the din of human screaming. “Maybe he's trying to do something -”

A flash of white light bloomed into the night, encircling the graduation stage and the people that had not yet found a way to run. At the center stood Dumbledore, his faze ablaze, holding up his wand into the air.

Only with the circle of light were Remus, Sirius, Frank and Peter able to see the black hooded wizards standing now on the other side of the light, their wands held aloft with the intent to kill. They had stopped marching, now separated from their victims. Faceless and silent, they stood on the edge of the circle of white light, waiting.

Lifeless bodies were already strewn across the grounds amongst puddles of blood. And, to their revulsion, a decapitated head was lying next to Sirius's feet.

Dumbledore's spell had somehow calmed most of the guests, professors, and students, for their screams had faded away - only to be replaced by shock and anger as they all stared at the hooded strangers standing outside their protected circle. And yet the five strangers did nothing.

“What are you waiting for, Dumbledore? Kill them!”

“Who could they be?”

“Why are they just standing there?”

“They're not dementors, my patronus didn't work against them…”

“Be quiet!” Dumbledore commanded, striding through the crowd, his hat blown away and his silver beard and hair a mess. “They do not seem human. Do not make any attempt at contact.”

“We….are not human,” came a soft, unearthly hiss.

It took a moment for everyone to realize that the hiss had come from one of the hooded strangers.

“What do you want?” a witch asked, sobbing.

Dumbledore gazed expectantly as the strangers, his tall frame tense and alert.

“Swyn Llyfr,” the five said in unison. “Swyn Llfyr.”

Hesitating, Dumbledore asked, “And why?”

“We do not bow to anyone's will, especially a wizard's,” croaked another of the five. “All we want is Swyn Llyfr.”

“Who sent you?” Dumbledore demanded, his wand still held high to keep the circle of light. “Who sent you?”

“We do not bow to any wizard,” they repeated in unison. “Now, prepare to die with your kind.”

----

I lifted Alice up, her unconscious form heavy. “So are you sure you two are all right?”

“We're fine,” James replied impatiently. “It seems like one of the spells flew over here and hit Alice on the back. But she's still breathing - now we have to go see what's happening down there.”

“Let's go,” Lily agreed, turning to head down to the screams and flashes of spells.

“Wait,” I said quickly. “We can't. We're not prepared to fight what's down there.”

“How do you know?” Lily demanded. “We may be all the help they can have right now.”

“Why don't we alert the Ministry of Magic? The Aurors? They'll know what to do!” I insisted, flashes of my vision reappearing in my mind.

But James and Lily didn't have the same vision that I had, and they ignored my protests to run down the hill and toward the graduation stage. A spell of blinding white light suddenly blew into a protective circle around the stage, and James and Lily only hastened their pace.

“Wait! Don't go!” I shrieked, helplessly looking at their retreating forms and at Alice's comatose body in my arms. I hurried to set her against an oak tree, then hurried after James and Lily.

As I lifted my robes so that I could run better, the pulsating rhythm of before began to sound again, more threateningly. Sprinting across the grounds, I could faintly make out five black hoods standing at the edge of the circle of light, holding up their wands as they faced Dumbledore, who was standing in the middle of the tussling crowd.

“Swyn Llyfr is to be opened tonight!” the hooded strangers shouted into the dark, lifting up their wands and shattering the circle of light. Darkness settled over the grounds once more.

The hooded strangers stormed into the screaming multitudes, who were vainly trying to defend themselves. In the confusion I lost sight of Lily and James, and was immediately thrown into a rush of bodies that were heading for the castle as fast as humanly possible. But the strangers weren't human - I had known that since my vision - and they seemed to glide over the bleeding grounds, in pursuit of the fleeing wizards and witches.

I vainly tried to look over the horde of heads for someone I knew without falling down, but I found no one. Instead, I found myself facing the end of the crowd, which had already trampled past. One of the strangers was stalking toward me, and I could do nothing but stay still - it was as though it drew me towards it, unwillingly. And I knew that I had seen it somewhere before.

I didn't know what it was going to do, but what happened was something I had never expected.

The hooded stranger stood in front of me, its wand held high. But the faceless thing only looked at me, and I could not see anything but blackness inside the hood. No hands, no feet - they were clothed by the black robes.

“Swyn Llfyr,” it hissed. It raised an arm to Hogwarts castle. “In there, it is hidden in there.”

Then it scurried away, following the mass of frightened wizards and witches into the castle.

“Riona?”

But I stood staring after the figure, trying to understand what it meant.

“Riona, come here!”

A hand reached out to my shoulder, and I turned around dizzily. Remus's gray eyes looked at me in a mixture of relief and confusion.

“We were wondering where you were!” he said, shaking me by the shoulders gently. “Look, we're all here. Dumbledore has a plan.”

“What?” I asked, feeling very cold all of a sudden as I looked back at the castle.

“Dumbledore has a plan to fight these….things,” Lily said, coming up from behind Remus. I then noticed that we were standing on the eastern side of the castle, by the court yards, where there were crevices inside the stone walls big enough to hide in.

“We were beside Dumbledore when those things broke his protection barrier,” Remus continued. “He told us that he would meet us here after he did something, he didn't say what, and then he would tell us how we can help.”

“How'd you guys get here?” I asked.

“We found our way here after we left you,” James replied, followed by Sirius, Frank, and Peter.

“Where's Alice?” asked Frank, staring at me.

“She's safe,” I reassured him. “Now, tell me about this plan.”

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4. Chapter Four: The Finding of Swyn Llyfr

Four: The Finding of Swyn Llyfr

The walls of the castle shook as we approached the Entrance Hall, which were smattered with shoes and pieces of cloth in the crowds' harried escape from the creatures. Streaks and bursts of light erupted from the Great Hall and above the grand staircase, along with terrified screams that chilled my heart.

“Why aren't the Aurors here, or anyone from the Ministry?” Peter yelled over the din, following us further inside.

“Probably busy shining their shoes,” Remus retorted, holding his lit wand aloft into the darkness of the Entrance Hall.

“It's because the communication is broken, floo networks included,” Sir Nicholas announced, startling the group. “Some students tried it already, to flee - ”

“Geez, don't do that!” Sirius snapped, lowering his wand and facing the ghost, who was floating mid-air behind them. “I don't want to end up like you, thanks.”

“Excuse me -”

“Oh, shut it,” James commanded, his own lit wand lighting up his frustrated face. “We don't have time for this. We've got to find a way to alert the Ministry while Dumbledore and the rest of the professors try to protect everyone else. That was the plan, remember?”

Sir Nicholas gave Sirius a last glare and straightened his ruffles around his collar with dignity. “Well, like I said, the floo network isn't working properly. It seems these things thought of everything before they attacked.”

“Owls won't get there quick enough,” Frank murmured.

“And if they've cut off the floo networks, then that means we probably won't be able to leave the grounds at all,” I added, running a hand over my face.

Sirius slammed a fist against his palm. “They've caged us in!”

“All right, then we've got to find a way around this,” said Lily, forcing herself not to cringe as the screaming heightened with another glaring burst of spells in the Great Hall. “But we've got to get out of range first!”

Just then a ray of red light zoomed just above their heads and crashed into the stairwell, breaking off the entire left banister - which started began to tumble down on them -

“WATCH OUT!” Sir Nicholas bellowed.

“RUN!” Remus shouted, sprinting into a side corridor. Everyone else followed, along with some wizards and witches who had been hiding under the staircase. The crash thundered against the stone walls, dust settling in thick clouds while the screams and flashes of light continued.

“Lucy! We left her behind!” a witch sobbed, holding on to what looked to be her husband. “We have to go get her!”

The wizard wrapped her in his arms, while the rest murmured in anxiety and fear. I followed the others further into the dark corridor, my stomach tightening as I wondered whether “Lucy” had been Lucy Patrikis - my roommate.

“We've got to get out of here,” Sirius repeated, crossing and uncrossing his arms as he shook off the dust from his shaggy hair. “I'm not letting some things without visible legs and arms to get the best of me, thanks.”

Leaning against the wall, James shut his eyes. “We've got to split up.”

“What?” I shook my head fervently. “No, that's how you all d-” But I caught myself from saying anything further.

“That's how we all what?” Frank prompted.

“Never mind,” I muttered, turning away. I didn't think telling my friends that they could die anytime soon would liven their hopes.

“So what do you mean by splitting up, James?” asked Remus.

“I don't think splitting up is such a good idea,” Peter interrupted, wiping his sweaty hands on his robes as he sunk down to the dirty floor. “Isn't that like splitting up our forces?”

“Do you have any better suggestions?” James retorted, lifting up his hands in defeat. “I know it's not the smartest idea, and you'll think I'm crazy, but…”

“Just tell us,” Lily said quietly, taking his hand in hers. “You're not crazy.”

“Well,” James began, calming down a bit, “I look at this like a Quidditch match, you know? If we split our team while staying together, we can carry out our goal. First, we've got to alert the Ministry. Second,” he continued as he glanced over at the sobbing witch, who was clinging to her husband and murmuring their daughter's name, “We've got to gather as many people as we can. They're scared stiff.”

“I'm already scared stiff, don't think I can be of much help,” said Sirius, tapping his wand against his leg and pacing the narrow corridor once again.

“If we're splitting up,” Frank said, biting his lower lip, “Then I'll be in the group that rounds up everyone. I'm scared, too, but somehow I think I'll forget the urge to jump out of my skin if I'm doing something.”

“I'm with Frankie,” Sirius said, nodding. “And I'll go with him. I know how to get into the Room of Requirement - perfect place to hide.”

“I'll go, too,” Lily added, taking out her wand. “We can use the Head Boy and Girl's rooms.”

“Don't think passwords will keep these things out,” Remus pointed out.

Lily rolled her eyes. “I didn't say so - but the Head Girl's room is crammed with protection spells. I made sure of it, to keep James out.”

“All right then. We'll meet you soon - hopefully,” James said, squeezing Lily's hand.

“We'll all be fine,” Lily said firmly.

“Let's go!” Sirius said, sprinting into the Entrance Hall just as another bang erupted from somewhere above them. Frank and Lily ran after him, while Peter jumped up from the floor and darted in their direction, yelling for them to wait up.

“So where do we start, captain?” Remus asked, smirking.

James shrugged. “No idea. Didn't think about that part yet.”

“How about with floo powder?” I suggested, crossing my arms. “I know Sir Nicholas said it wasn't working, but maybe there's another way to communicate with it?”

“Do you want to construct a door with the floo powder?” Remus asked, arching his eyebrows.

“Remus, you're being sarcastic again,” I sighed. “And you're not helping.”

“Sorry.”

“What about broomsticks?”

I peered into the thick blackness to see who had been the idiot to have such a suggestion, and was rather unsurprised to find James as the culprit. “Are you kidding me?”

“Think about it,” James pushed, running a hand through his hair, his eyes lighting up at the thought. “We can't physically get out of the grounds….but protective spells like that always have limit breaks, which we may be able to fly over, right? And my Silver Arrow is the fastest broom to date.”

“And we can always swipe the other Silver Arrows from the Quidditch supply closet,” Remus added, thinking.

I stared at them. “I can't believe this. You two are mad. But no matter what, there is no way I am getting on a broom.”

----

“This broom is poking my BUM!” I shouted, awkwardly adjusting myself on the ebony wood of a school Silver Arrow. I clutched my cloak tightly around my neck with one hand, while with the other I tried to guide the bloody broom. The icy night air bit at my exposed neck, arms, and legs as we three zoomed over the Hogwarts grounds, brushing against the leafy branches of the Forbidden Forest. The crescent moon shone silently overhead, its light peeking at us through dense gray clouds.

“Try to sit on the broom, Riona, not lie down on it!” said James, with what he thought were comforting words. He was flying his broom as easily as if he were flying on his own, his cloak fluttering behind him. My cloak, on the other hand, wrapped itself around my legs so that I almost fell into the Great Lake as we passed over it.

“So what are we gonna do once we get to the Ministry?” Remus yelled.

James was quiet, then said, “We'll think about that when we get there!”

----

“Okay, these things are really STARTING TO GET ON MY NERVES!” Lily yelled, aiming a freezing spell at one of the creatures. It swiftly dodged it, and then scurried after a group of children who had taken advantage of its distraction to flee.

“Oh, no you don't,” Frank muttered, picking up a broken chair and heaving it at the creature. It passed right through it, slamming against the opposite wall. But the chair had caught its attention, and it turned away from the children to face them.

“Run, run!” Sirius said under his breath, staring at the creature's gaping eyes, which started to glow red as it lifted its wand. He, Frank, Lily and Peter sprinted into a nearby classroom, just missing the flash of blue that exploded to their left. They all clapped their hands over their ears as the creature shrieked in anger.

“Sounds like a bloody banshee,” said Frank, wiping the sweat off its face.

Peter peered over the edge of the doorway. “I think it's gone - or at least, it's disappeared…the children are safe, they're hiding in the classroom across from us.”

“Good,” Lily said, sinking onto the wooden floor. “We've got the first and second floors covered, at least. It seems like these creatures are trying to get upstairs.”

“I wonder where Dumbledore is,” Frank said quietly.

“We'll find him when we find all the creatures, I bet,” said Sirius. “And I wanna be there, too - I want to see these things suffer for all they've done.”

“I've lost count of the number of bodies we've passed,” Peter murmured, tightening his cloak around himself.

“Cris Bryant…Roanoke Gilsbury…Omar Limkin…. even Professor Lunemein,” Lily whispered, rubbing her eyes with her fists. “You'd think Lunemein would've figured out how to avoid his death, being the Divination professor…”

“Who's next?” Peter asked, shaking his head.

Frank shrugged. “What's next?”

“Well, we've got to get to the third floor,” Sirius went on, swallowing and taking out his wand again. “If we think about what we're doing, we'll end up like Professor Lunemein.”

----

“All right, let's get to my dad,” James said hurriedly, racing out of the lift as soon as its gates clanged open. “I know he'll help.”

As we made our way through the bustling wizards and witches in the cool and spotless Atrium, all arrayed in varied states of stiff Ministry robes, I wanted to roll my eyes at their inquisitive and disapproving looks. One stern witch actually tried to stop me by grabbing onto my robe as I tried to hurry away, except that Remus pulled my other arm so that I lunged in his direction and got away from the witch's flared nostrils.

But something was wrong. Everyone was acting as if nothing had happened - I had expected at least a flurry of worry - that our officials could at least be working on something to help the people who were dying by the second at Hogwarts. Yet, the Ministry officials chatted about the latest law on breeding magical creatures, on the latest case raised to the Wizengamot.

“Hey, Potter, what're you doing here?” a hefty wizard with a coarse beard greeted us at the entrance to the Ministry departments.

“You haven't heard?” James asked, surprised.

The guard raised an eyebrow. “Heard what?”

Remus gave an annoyed sigh and handed over his wand. “Look, we need to get through - to see Mr. Potter. It's an emergency, so hurry it up, will you?”

“Aren't we crabby today?” the wizard grumbled, clearing Remus's wand and broom and then doing the same when James and I handed over our wands and brooms as well.

“I can't believe no one knows about what's happened!” I snapped, slamming the gate shut as we ran toward the lift as soon as we escaped from the guard's chuckles. “Isn't Hogwarts supposed to be a prestigious magic school? Don't this bloody guard's kids go to Hogwarts?”

“All the underclassmen left Hogwarts already,” James replied, his face pale. “And Hogwarts is cut off from the magical world right now…”

“Well, what did you expect?” Remus asked, furrowing his eyebrows as the lift's gates clanked shut in front of the Fountain of Magical Brethren, its water tinkling cheerfully into the air and back into the pool. “The Ministry has never been quite clever, has it?”

“What do you have against the Ministry, Remus?” I asked, glancing at him as the lift rose past Department of International Magical Cooperation.

He and James exchanged a look. “I just…don't like how they're running things,” Remus answered, shrugging.

Before I could respond, we arrived at the second level. The gates cranked open to spill us in front of the glass double doors of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. Although it was well past eight, the office was busy with activity - wizards and witches hurried in and out, reading stacks of parchment or carrying boxes of miscellany from singing tea pots to severed hands that were snapping their fingers menacingly. James pushed past them all and led us into a warm office filled with wooden desks and chairs and masses of more parchments and boxes.

“Hey, James,” a wizard greeted him, his glasses on top of his head as he faced a pile of folders on his desk. His nametag read “Prewett,” in scraggly letters. “What brings you here so late? Going home with Frederick? Wish I could go home - being an assistant here is a major pain -”

“Sorry, Fabian, I don't have time to talk now,” James interrupted. “I need to see my dad, it's an emergency - do you know where he is?”

“'Fraid he's kind of busy,” Fabian said, looking apologetic. “The Ministry got an alert of something happening up north, something about dark creatures and a stronghold of magical activity. They called for all the help they could get from the senior officials, so your dad went.”

“All right, we have to count on you,” James said, as Fabian peered at our flushed faces in concern. “Hogwarts is under attack. Our communication has been cut off by these creatures -”

“Dark creatures,” Remus added, “That are trying to kill everyone -”

“And are looking for some kind of artifact,” I went on, and then paused. Remus glanced at me curiously, his eyes asking the same question that had made me hesitate. How did I know that Swyn Llyfr was an artifact?

Fabian stared at us. “You're taking the mickey out of me, right?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Do you want us to bring the chopped off heads and legs that are strewn all over Hogwarts?”

“We were supposed to graduate today!” Remus exclaimed, lifting up his hands. “Graduate, not try to save our school. Why would be here otherwise?”

“So…you want me to alert the Minister of Magic?” Fabian said slowly, taking in our anxious faces. “You want me to tell her that the most impenetrable school in the magical world is being attacked?”

“If you won't, then I will,” James snapped, taking out his wand. “And trust me Fabian, once the Minister finds out that we are in fact telling the truth, I'll make sure to tell him that you wouldn't try to help us in the first place.”

Fabian clenched his jaw and jumped up from his desk and grabbed his cloak, nodding. “All right, all right, I get your point. Follow me.”

-----

“GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Dumbledore yelled to us, aiming his wand at two of the creatures that were slithering across the cracked wooden floors of the sixth floor. A luminous sphere captured them in place - for moments, at least. With that the Headmaster turned his wizened head to the group of wizards and witches that the creatures had been trying to attack.

“Go on, follow Professor Flitwick,” he said, exhaustion etching in the corners of his face. Flitwick gestured to the abandoned Necromancy classroom, and the people followed him, in varied states of fear, pain, and despair.

“Thank you, Dumbledore,” a wizard murmured, placing a tired hand on the professor's shoulder.

“You think that'll contain them?” Sirius asked Lily, Frank, and Peter while they stared at the frozen creatures, their disheveled robes hanging loosely over their skeletal frames.

“No,” was Dumbledore's simple reply, carefully walking over the corpse of two students. He waved his wand over their bodies, and they gently floated to another classroom that had not been completely demolished. “These Kakev are smart creatures - the more they are exposed to a certain spell, the more able they are to fight against it. Professors McGonagall and Sprout saw them break through three immobilization spells… ”

“So that's their name,” Frank said. “What are they after?”

“Swyn Llyfr, whatever that is,” Peter answered. “That's what they were chanting on the grounds, remember?”

Lily examined Dumbledore's troubled face. “Do you know what Sywn Llyfr is, professor?”

Dumbledore's eyes clouded as he shook his head. “Very little…but the little I know is no good news…speaking of news, have the others succeeded in establishing communication?”

“They're trying,” said Sirius, looking across several unmoving bodies strewn across the waxed floor. “We don't know what they're exactly doing, but -“

“Get back,” Dumbledore commanded quietly, lifting his wand. They obeyed, uneasily looking around to see what was happening.

The creatures had stirred in the immobilization charm, their gaunt bodies stretching against their jail of light. As soon as they broke free, shattering the sphere into dozens of pieces, Dumbledore yelled, “Run! Get to the seventh floor!”

Lily started to lead the way up a side staircase, until Frank grabbed the edge of her robe and pointed at Sirius, who was still standing behind Dumbledore.

“Sirius, get a move on! We have to get our of here!” Peter bellowed.

“Not this time!” Sirius shouted, aiming an elemental fire spell at the creatures' robes, which promptly ignited.

“Foolish boy,” the creature hissed, letting out a shriek of laughter as it gathered the fire into its hand and flung it in Sirius's direction. A jet of water splashed over Sirius just as the fireball began to burn him - and as Sirius turned around to see the water spell's source, he saw Lily lowering her wand and urging him to follow upstairs.

“Swyn Llyfr!” the Kakev cried. “We need it…we want it…it is ours by right…”

“What do you want with Sywn Llyfr?” Dumbledore demanded, his severe voice tinged with perplexity. “What would you do with it? It is of no value to things like you….”

“You are wrong,” one of them whispered, its tone menacing. “Swyn Llyfr was created for us, and its power is the solution to the imbalance of power. Give it to us…and we may spare your lives…”

“What does it hold for you?” Dumbledore pushed, drawing closer. “How can it solve an imbalance of power if it will only increase your power so that you can lose it afterwards?”

“We know how to work its wonders,” the Kakev said in unison. “It can turn to work for darkness once more, in its deserved place.”

“No one can open it,” Dumbledore interjected, his eyes flashing. “It requires a key, one that you are not able to attain. No one would trust you enough to give it to you.”

“There is one who will,” the Kakev replied, their laughter resembling the screeching of dying animals.

Dumbledore hesitated, stopping in mid-step. “Is Tom behind you, then? Did he tell you to take Swyn Llyfr?”

“You are boring us, wizard,” one of the Kakev croaked, lifting a skeletal arm. “We will find the Swyn Llyfr for ourselves.” It swung its arm, and Dumbledore flew across the hallway and slammed against the stone wall. They lunged for him once more, until they heard yelling to their right.

“Hey! Here's the Swyn Llyfr! Over here!” Lily shouted, waving her arms. Her eyes widened as the Kakev flew towards them, and she added to Sirius, Peter, and Frank, “Go! Go! Go!”

The Kakev suddenly paused. They began to sniff the air - almost tenderly. A soft hiss emitted from them as they scurried to a staircase leading into the Northern Tower.

-----

“We hope that you are right, children,” Emmeline Vance, a director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, said with a frown. “I would think that you are old enough not to make practical jokes. The Aurors are on high call now after these alerts from the north, where dark creatures are massacring Muggles.” She dusted off her navy blue uniform robes as she, the dozen Aurors under her command, and James, Remus and I Apparated at the far end of the Forbidden Forest, just outside of the school grounds.

“I do not see anything,” Ms. Vance said slowly, narrowing her eyes and examining the thickets.

“Will you stop with the doubting?” I snapped.

“Just get to the castle, and you'll see,” James urged her.

“Not at this pace,” said Ms. Vance, and took out her wand, nodding at the rest of the Aurors to do the same. She tapped her head with her wand, as did they, and I soon caught on. The hastening charm worked at once, and as the Auror squad walked forward, their steps were hastened by five times their speed. The result was that they left us behind as we hurried to cast the same spell.

Soon we caught up to them, and we saw what they saw as Hogwarts castle arose out of the midnight mist: smoke billowing from the topmost towers, light exploding from inside - and we could still hear the screaming.

“Goodness gracious,” Ms. Vance murmured under her breath - then quickly turned to her squad, who were whispering amongst themselves. “All right, I need half of you to go to the highest point of the castle, and the rest of you to the lowest. Meet in the middle, and capture everything and everyone you see. Go!”

“Wait, what's that?” Remus exclaimed, pointing to the Northern Tower. Something had begun to glow from the tower's windows, emitting a light that turned the castle, grounds, and night sky a sickly green.

The Aurors exchanged glances before they began to sprint into the castle. But before James, Remus and I could follow them, the Northern Tower exploded, bricks and stone falling down like hail over us. Screeches of triumph echoed over the grounds, and far away I could see the five dark creatures soaring out of the castle - carrying something between them - and flying towards us, their ragged cloaks fluttering like wings. We quickly bent low, but the creatures flew overhead and back into the Forbidden Forest, laughing.

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