Chapter One
CLICK, he was two, and his mum and dad came home carrying a bundle containing his little brother.
CLICK, he was five, and was making the toys in his playroom dance around him in the air like a carousel.
CLICK, he was nine, and his mum had grown tired of all the freaky things that always seemed to happen around him and his brother, so she packed her bags and left without a single goodbye or looking back.
CLICK, he was ten, and had developed a habit of photographing everything memorable, for pictures would never abandon him.
CLICK, he was eleven, and a woman who introduced herself as the 'Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts' had brought him a letter of acceptance to that school because he was a wizard with magic.
CLICK, he was was eleven and a half, and he found himself unable to move or do anything after encountering a giant snake on his way to the Hospital Wing to visit his new idol, the famous Harry Potter.
CLICK, he was thirteen, and Dennis had been invited to Hogwarts as well, and was Sorted into Gryffindor alongside his elder brother.
CLICK, he was fourteen, and hot wet blood was trickling down from the words carved into the back of his hand: 'I must not spread my filthy muggle lies.'
CLICK, he had two weeks left of being fifteen, and was sobbing alongside his friends, watching the best and bravest Headmaster be encased in white marble, watched as the only one who kept You-Know-Who from attacking Hogwarts and it's muggleborn students was sealed away forever
CLICK, he was sixteen, and he and Dennis were hiding from everyone in the Wizarding World, as Snatchers and narrow-minded pureblood bigots wanted to capture and imprison people like them for 'stealing magic' when their only real 'crime' was having non-magical ancestors or parents.
CLICK, he was almost seventeen, and Neville called him to Hogwarts via Protean-charmed galleon because Harry was back and they were going to fight Voldemort once and for all.
CLICK, he was underage and told to leave with those either too young or who didn't wish to stay.
CLICK, he stayed back anyway.
CLICK, he was shaking, faced against a Death Eater more than twice his size.
CLICK, "Filthy mudblood, barely even worth my time."
CLICK, "Crucio!"
CLICK, excruciating pain reverberated through every particle of his being and someone was screaming, no, he was screaming.
CLICK, "Avada Kedavra!"
CLICK, "No, Colin!"
CLICK, a beam of green light sped towards him. He could have dodged it, but there were innocent people behind him, so he stood his ground, the cruciartus curse still fresh in his mind, and was hit square in the chest.
CLICK, "Gryffindor!"
CLICK, "Look, Colin! Look, I got a letter, too!"
CLICK, forming Dumbledore's Army.
CLICK, making 'Support Harry Potter' badges with Dennis.
CLICK, developing a small crush on Luna Lovegood.
CLICK, casting his very first spell in Transfiguration class.
CLICK. Can't see.
CLICK. What's happening?
CLICK. I don't want to go yet.
CLICK. I want to know if we win the war.
CLICK. There's so much I haven't done yet.
CLICK. No, no please.
CLICK. I didn't tell my friends goodbye.
CLICK. I want to tell Den and my dad I love them one last time.
CLICK. I don't want. . . to leave.
CLICK. Sight is disappearing.
CLICK. Won't. . . accept it.
CLICK. It. . . isn't fair
CLICK. Blackness.
"Why are you not in class?"
The emotionless voice nearly made Colin jump out of his skin.
"Huh?"
"School has already started, so why are you lying on the ground?"
Colin blinked up at the bright blue sky, not sure of anything at the moment. For starters, last time he checked, it was the middle of the night, not a spring afternoon.
"What's going on? Who are you? I. . . I thought I d. . . I thought that I died."
She peered down at him beneath silver bangs and answered without faltering once. "I am the Student Body President Tachibana Kanade. You think you died because you did. Everyone here is dead."
Tachibana turned and started walking away towards the large building Colin presumed was the school, though why there was a school in the afterlife he couldn't fathom. The whole idea of an afterlife wasn't too weird; after all, he'd been having interactions with ghosts who couldn't move on for the past six years.
"Hey, wait for me! My name's Colin, Colin Creevey." He said after catching up, slowing to keep at the same pace as the short girl. "So, everyone in that school's dead? That means that everyone else who died in the battle must be here too!" Colin looked around excitedly, hoping (and feeling rather guilty about it) that there was someone who knew the outcome of Harry vs. Voldemort.
She shook her head. "No, only if a person did not accept their life or death. I am going to class now. Goodbye."
Colin was about to grab her shoulder to stop her from leaving when a bullet whizzed through the air and pierced his hand.
"Bloody hell, what in the name of Merlin was that!" Colin screeched, nearly biting through his tongue to stop from crying, hopping with his wounded hand between his legs, trying to both relieve the pain and staunch the flow of blood. Faintly he could hear teenage voices shouting at each other about not hitting an angel. Tachibana was still unperturbed; Colin couldn't tell anything from her empty amber eyes, even when more shots rang out and one of the bullets caught her in the leg.
"God Skill, Distortion."
Her voice sounded slightly metallic, and to the young wizard it looked like a shield charm surrounded her. It certainly worked like one when the tapered balls of metal pinged off. So entranced by the scene, Colin had forgotten about what happened when something hit a shield charm, so he was totally off-guard when a bullet ricocheted into his stomach.
Vision blurring, Colin could barely see Tachibana walk calmly away towards a flight of concrete stairs, the top being where all of the bullets had been. Loud curses were shouted, along with a cry of retreat, and a small group of people fled inti the school.
Colin shut his eyes and prepared to did for the second time.
'If any entity can hear me, I hate your guts.'