Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Anything you do not recognise from the either the films or the books, belongs to the author of this FANFICTION.
Shadows Falling
The platform was filled with noise, students bidding farewell to their families, owls hooting discontentedly, shrieks as friends reunited after a summer of twisted murders and some of the worst atrocities seen in centuries. Stationed at intervals were Law Enforcement officers dressed in their shocking red robes, hands on wands, looking around with wary eyes.
An old wizard dressed in a shabby blue cloak put a whistle to his mouth and blew. "All aboard! All aboard! Hogwarts Express leaving Kings Cross Station in two minutes!" The noise level rose as students began to pick their way through clumps of people, carrying bird cages or cat baskets in their arms, the occasional new broomstick catching the attention of admiring Quidditch fans.
James reached up and pushed the small sliding window shut, blocking out the clamour of the station. The compartment was hardly what he would have described as spacious, even less so when there were three other eighteen-year-old boys in there with him. Or nearly eighteen, in the grand scheme of things.
His own parents were not amongst those waving to their children, his father having had a rather pressing engagement to sort out at the Ministry, and his mother… well, she wasn't in the healthiest of states to come and say goodbye.
"You alright, mate?" Sirius asked, watching his best friend and the annoyance that was evident on his face.
"Huh? Oh yes, fine," James replied tonelessly. He grinned. "There are times when I think I should become an expert in the field of Charms and invent one that reduces noise to the level which you want it to stay at. Then we wouldn't have to listen to McGonagall berating us every time anyone causes trouble."
Sirius snorted with laughter, tearing his eyes away from the scenes outside the window. "You reckon?"
James grinned before launching into a dramatic speech. "You do not support me in my wish to become a Master in Charms? You do not think I am capable of graceful wand movements, you-"
The door had been pulled back.
"I don't know about Sirius but if you were asking me, I certainly wouldn't support your decision in becoming a Master of Charms. As for graceful wand movements, I've seen a hippopotamus with more elegance," interrupted a voice with a decidedly Northwest accent.
"Evans, don't be so harsh on the boy, he can dream can't he?" Sirius answered with a bark-like laugh. "Besides, I thought you'd stopped all of that nonsense at the end of last year?"
Lily waved it off. "Old habits are hard to break, Sirius, trust me. I spent the whole summer trying to control my temper around Petunia. It was sheer torture. And to top it all off, all my clothes smell of cleaning fluid," she replied, turning her head and looking at something down the corridor. "Jonesie! I've been looking for you. Come down here!"
Jonesie or Hestia, as she was christened, joined her friend at the door, smiling brightly. She was fairly tall and built with a heavy structure that made her resemble an Amazon woman. Her black hair was tied back in a long braid and her cheeks were flushed with a healthy glow. "Hello everybody," she greeted them cheerfully. A chorus of 'Hey' and 'Hello' went around the compartment.
"Why exactly did you have to try and keep your temper around your sister?" James inquired, a gleam in his eye.
Lily flushed and looked down at her trainers. Slowly she said, "Well, I've already received two official warnings from the Ministry telling me not to do magic outside of school, threatening me with expulsion if I did it again," she tapered off slightly red in the cheeks.
The fact that Lily had received warnings from the Ministry during the summer holidays after first and fifth years was something she had managed to keep quiet. Breaking the rules went against all her principles, and besides, both times she could truthfully say it wasn't her fault. If it had been anybody's fault, it was Petunia's- yet another reason for her to dislike her sister. If it hadn't been for Petunia and her huge desire to snoop through Lily's things, then she wouldn't have done the magic in the first place.
"Evans, you're going to have to learn when it's wisest to keep quiet about these things. For as long as you live I will constantly remind you of what a rebel you were at Hogwarts," James said casually, a broad grin adorning his face.
Lily rather childishly stuck her tongue out, causing much laughter amongst the compartment. "When I can think of something to blackmail you with Potter, be assured I'll do it," she warned.
"I'm sure you will." James glanced at his watch, as the train suddenly jolted into life. Slowly it began to pull away from the station, letting off a shrill blare as it went. Some of the smaller children started pursuing it, waving to the people at the windows with disquiet energy. They gradually fell back as the Express picked up too much speed, and resorted to chasing each other.
"Moony, when does the prefect meeting take place, again?"
"In about five minutes time." He looked up at Lily and let a small smile onto his drawn face. "Did you get Head Girl, or not?"
"Oh. Yes, yes I did. I was rather surprised, I thought Judith would make it."
Hestia snorted. "Judith wouldn't say boo to a goose. She's too meek to make any impression on a student, let alone give 'em a right telling off. You and that temper of yours on the other hand, those poor first years are going to be terrified." She shook her head slightly.
Lily hit her friend lightly on the shoulder. "Shut up. I can be nice to people! The only people they'll be frightened of is those four and their terrible pranks." She gestured to the four with accusing eyes.
James merely grinned. It wasn't as if they pulled a lot of practical jokes, it wasn't even as if the ones they did play were nasty. In fact, the main reason for them pulling a prank was to cause a distraction, or it had been up until they had created the Marauder's Map. Of course, they created distractions on a regular basis, especially when they wanted to raid a teacher's office or the private potion store that their Potions teacher had. All in the name of experimentation, naturally.
"Aww, come on Evans, it isn't as if they're hurting anybody, is it?" he said.
"No, but I can't say the same thing for all those poor people you hex. Especially Severus Snape," she snapped, before saying in a more light hearted tone, "How Dumbledore chose you as Head Boy is beyond me. I was really hoping for someone who would take their responsibilities seriously and I get stuck with you for the whole year."
James bit back the urge to mock her, and merely nodded in agreement. Before the conversation took a nasty turn, Remus cleared his throat. "We'd better be getting along if you want to get there on time." It was just as well that Remus had interrupted, before he had put his foot in it. He had only just gained Lily's friendship, it was important not to lose it.
The prefects' compartment was already filling by the time they had arrived. James had fished out his Head Boy badge and pinned it on his shirt, self-consciously tugging at it every now and then as if it would turn to dust before his very eyes.
He had been as shocked as everyone else had when he had received the owl from Dumbledore. He had even gone so far as to write a letter to his Headmaster insisting his mother wanted proof of Dumbledore's decision, that it wasn't some sort of wind up. Inside he had felt hurt that even his own mother couldn't believe for a minute that he was mature enough to handle a job with responsibilities, with out it being a joke.
The last people to arrive in quick succession were the Slytherins. James was surprised to see Sirius's younger brother, Regulus, there. He had already pulled on his black school robes and attached the Prefect's badge to his chest. In many respects he looked like his older brother, but his build wasn't the same. He was ganglier with chalky, pale skin that was taught over his face-not to mention the fact he was a Slytherin. With a jolt of realisation, James remembered that Sirius had looked just as gaunt and ill the first time they had met.
Lily had remained standing up, reading through sheets of parchment left by the driver of the train on Dumbledore's instructions. Her head was tilted towards the window, allowing her to read more easily and she seemed totally unperturbed by the malicious looks directed her way by the Slytherin prefects.
James' relationship concerning the Head Girl was just as confusing to him as it was to anyone else. She confused him to the point where he was in two minds about who she was. There were times when she could be perfectly civil towards him and they got on. Then there were times when she turned hostile with a cruel wit that was not by any means intelligent, rather snappish, and unnecessary.
Perhaps the most unnerving thing was he liked being around her when she was in either mood. She was a mystery to him, a mystery that he was keen to figure out regardless of the consequences; regardless of the fact he may be prying into territory that did not concern him.
The meeting ran smoothly: only minor disturbances were induced by the Slytherins and James did his fair bit of the workload. The amount of work that had to be done: sorting out the passwords for the prefect bathrooms and four houses, arranging patrolling schedules for both the train and the school corridors, as well as answering any concerns the new prefects had.
Hours later, when the sprawling cities and the neat countryside had been left behind, James had found himself in a compartment full of people. Along with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, he had been joined by Lily, Hestia, and Alison.
According to Alison and Hestia, their former compartment had become a playground for arguments after Kathryn Hunter and a few of her Ravenclaw friends had invited themselves in. It wasn't that the girls didn't like their Ravenclaw counterparts, for they got on considerably well, or they got on with Kathryn well, the others were more inclined to stick to their own house.
"Did you hear about the attacks in Wolverhampton?" Alison asked suddenly, looking around with large eyes.
James nodded slowly and swallowed. "It was hard not to with it being splashed all over the Daily Prophet like it was." He paused lowering his voice and saying, "I overheard my Dad talking to one of his colleagues the other day. From what I gathered, the Ministry had wanted Wolverhampton covered as much as possible. It wasn't the only place to be attacked that day. Nottingham and Halifax were also targeted, but of course Bagnold didn't want that becoming public knowledge, did she?" He leaned back in his seat. "Glossed over the whole thing, made it seem like they were in control of the situation."
"Why would Bagnold do that, though?" Hestia inquired cautiously.
Sirius snorted and Remus closed his book slowly answering, "She doesn't want to let the public know how insecure the Ministry is. Everybody looks to the Ministry in times like this. If they see it crumbling to pieces under the pressure You-Know-Who's putting it under, then there will be wide spread panic. People will join You-Know-Who if they think he's going to take over soon."
"Exactly," Sirius agreed.
Peter frowned. "I don't like what's happening. Don't like it one bit. My mum's been unbearable over the summer, even worse the usual. She's got her hands on all of those leaflets the Ministry gave out, pinned them all over the house, she has." He bit his lip and looked towards the floor, his shoulders sagging slightly.
"Don't worry Peter, everything will be all right in the end. It always is." Lily spoke up, giving the boy a comforting smile. "Mum and Petunia are oblivious to everything. John said it was for the best if they didn't know."
They arrived at Hogsmeade station at a quarter to eight in the evening. Darkness had already fallen, though the station appeared to be buzzing with life. James could see wizards in official-looking robes bustling around the platform, wands trailing thin beams of light that cut through the shadows.
A disembodied voice rang through the train, causing the chatter to die down considerably. "After disembarking from the train, please form an orderly line. A Ministry official will direct groups of students to a carriage. Leave your luggage on the train, it will be brought up to the school separately."
"Well, they're certainly not taking any chances this year," Alison said with a sigh, peering out of the train window tentatively as she stood up.
A wall of cold air rushed at them as they descended onto the Platform. It may have only been September the first but the weather was more suited to November, with its chilled winds and dark nights. The platform was heavily guarded by Law Enforcement officers who were directing students towards the invisibly drawn carriages.
The giant figure that was Hagrid, the gamekeeper, could be seen as timid first years were sent his way. "I wonder if the Ministry officials will go in the boats with them?" Hestia whispered just loud enough to be heard amongst their group.
"I don't know. At least they're not abandoning the traditional lake crossing, that's something I suppose. A bit of normality for once. I would've been upset if we hadn't been able to do the crossing as first years," Lily replied, hugging her cloak tighter to herself.
Eventually the queue of students dwindled down as the carriages started to trundle up towards the imposing castle. The Law Enforcement guards were watching them all carefully; some turned outwards peering into the gloom of the night as if expecting an attack to take place there and then.
They wouldn't be there if they didn't think it was possible.
"Sweet Circe, if they're like this just getting us off a train, imagine what Hogsmeade visits are going to be like," Sirius muttered, causing James to grimace. He couldn't envision any Hogsmeade visits taking place at all this year. Previously, especially towards the end of sixth year, they had to be escorted in groups from shop to shop by a member of staff, or two, depending on the size of the group.
The carriage smelt of damp wood, rotting straw and was nothing short of unpleasant, as it wheeled over the uneven track, occasionally making his head collide with the thick wooden board behind it.
There was relief all around when it finally drew to a halt in front of the steps. Light was spilling out from beyond the entrance hall doors, making the castle seem more inviting and homely then usual. An intense feeling of warmth swept over James as he stepped over the threshold.
The Sorting, as always, took a fair amount of time to complete. It was enjoyable all the same, for it would be the last Sorting ceremony any of the seventh years would see, unless they took up a teaching position at the end of the year.
After the ceremony came the feast, a delicious assortment of foods sent up from the kitchens below, though James highly doubted anyone knew that unless they'd troubled themselves in finding the kitchens. The food was well overdue in his own opinion, the last time he had eaten had been on the train, and even then it had only been sweets, hardly filling.
Nearly Headless Nick, or Sir Nicholas, as he was constantly reminding students, came up through the table causing several people to shriek with surprise. "All right, Nick?" James said, swallowing a mouthful of food.
"Hello, hello," Nick said jovially turning, his head in James's direction. "I have some news that might interest you, sir, yes indeed." He paused in which James suspected he was meant to look impressed. Nick lowered his voice and said, "There is to be an international Quidditch tournament held here at Hogwarts! Well? Don't you find it an exciting occurrence?"
"Nick," James began and diminished his voice quickly seeing that Nick's little outburst had attracted some attention. "Are you sure? Don't you think it would be a bit risky having, er, something like that with V-You-Know-Who taking over-"
"Oh tosh," interrupted Nick in a huff of cold air. "You'll see. I can guarantee it." With an air of bad grace and a good mood quickly abandoned, Nick swooped away to the other end of Gryffindor table.
James stared after the ghost, bewilderment riddling his face. It wasn't possible to have something like that at Hogwarts in the times they were going through. It just wasn't right. It would make Hogwarts more of a target, surely?
A/N: There you have it,first installment of Shadows Falling. This is a re-write of an old fic I had up on , Last Chance. My reasons for discontinuing it still stand and I like this version much better! Please review, I would greatly appreciate the engouragement that all reviews give a writer! Thanks so much for reading! Cookies for you all!
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