: Hogwarts Great Hall 1977 :

Dumbledore stood up once everyone had finished their dinner and as was the custom the whole hall fell silent.

"Another year has passed, and it is now the time to award the House Cup. In fourth place with three hundred and thirty five points is Ravenclaw, in third place Slytherin with three hundred and ninety points, and in second place we have Gryffindor with four hundred and twenty five points which means that Hufflepuff have taken this years Hose Cup with four hundred and fifty points. Yes congratulations Hufflepuff, congratulations. I'd also like to say farewell to those who won't be joining us next year and to thank this years Head Boy and Girl for doing such a wonderful job. I would also like to ask that you join me in taking a moment to mourn those of whom we lost to the forces of evil. The whole Hall fell silent once again, mourning the loss of their friends and families. The noise only returning when dessert appeared on all the House Tables.

Although it was by no means a cold night, while dessert was appearing there was a sudden gush of cold wind throughout the hall and the once clear star studded night sky was now covered with clouds, the rumbles of thunder that had started a while ago were getting louder and louder. But what held the attention of everyone in the hall, including Dumbledore was the ball of clouds that were steadily growing larger and larger in the centre of the roof emitting lightning bolts that you couldn't see the end of and that were not the normal colour of lightning but were the colour of the deathly 'Avada Kedavra.'

The thing that snapped Dumbledore and everybody else out of their hypnotic stupor was a deafening rumble of thunder that was followed by another by another flash of green lightning that looked like it illuminated the whole sky as well as blind people.

"Heads of houses please take everyone to their dormitories immediately. And make sure everyone is accounted for. I don't want any students taking any detours or shortcuts. Understood?" Dumbledore said, leaving no room for discussion.

Though this was easier said than done, because when everyone reached the doors to the Entrance Hall they found that they were unable to open not only those doors but every door leading out of the Great Hall could not be opened. Even by Dumbledore, who was now producing the most complicated and advanced spells known to wizard kind to try and open the doors.

After many hours of complicated spells flying at the entrances, Dumbledore along with the other teachers admitted to defeat for the night. The evening ended with Dumbledore conjuing purple sleeping bags for all the students and teachers, even though he didn't think that anyone would sleep. He also conjured a protective shield above the students, so as to keep them safe from whatever kind of magic was erupting above them.

At five o'clock the next morning Dumbledore's assumptions proved to be correct – not a student or teacher at Hogwarts got any sleep at all. And even though no-one could enter or leave the Great Hall, the House Elves still managed to cook a delicious meal for everyone. What was even more surprising was the fact that war hadn't been declared by a few certain Gryffindor and the entire Slytherin house.But the biggest shock of all came when the ball of clouds reached boiling point with the lightning and thunder raging, threatening to take the roof itself off. There was a monstrous rumble of thunder, the largest clap of thunder yet and then something was thrown from the centre of the clouds. It bounced off Dumbledore's protective shield causing it to shatter; it then hit one of the walls and fell to the floor in a crumpled heap with many sickening cracks.

The storm came to a halt, only to be left with an extremely cloudy sky. There was silence in the hall, only to be broken by the sound of running footsteps towards what had been so violently thrown from the 50 ft roof. There were collective gasps and shudders through the Hall as the object that had been thrown from the storm was rolled over to reveal a blood and dirt stained raven haired boy that looked to be no older than twenty, with scars upon his face and body that looked to be dead.