font type=arialfont size=ten PROLOGUE

All good things must come to an end.

I stood solemnly, gazing at the massive structure looming above me. My classmates of the past seven years were all standing near me, their black robes fluttering in the wind, silent tears rolling down their cheeks. None of us spoke a word as we stared at the majestic castle; none of us moved a muscle as we tried not to hyperventilate and sob. We knew this was the end… But yet, we couldn't bring ourselves to say goodbye.

A professor said something to us, her voice magically magnified to reach every ear of the crowd. The words she spoke fell on deaf and uncaring ears. We were all too busy trying to find our way because we were hopelessly lost in our thoughts.

Someone, however, nudged me, speaking words that made no sense. Apparently, it made sense to others because they all started moving forward, a solemn and silent procession of black robes, trimmed with the House colours. My feet were not obeying my commands to walk, and someone ran into me from behind. They said a mumbled apology, but that was just the push I needed to un-root my feet from the dry ground.

The metal gates that we walked through were crashed and mangled, even beyond magical repair. The protective spells cast on the twisted metal had died, no longer preventing even a fly from entering the grounds of the castle. We marched slowly, passing the gates and walking on the long, twisting road to the castle. The bushes and flowers and trees that once flourished on the grounds were gone, burned and dead, ugly and miss-shapen. I took a deep breath, steadying myself as we passed Hagrid's hut. It was not even recognizable as a house. It had caved in, burnt to the ground, and the only remains a few bricks and charred pieces of blankets and furniture. A porcelain cup shined out of the grit of the remains, and a new sob rose up in my throat. As a distraction, I turned my head to look at the castle, but the castle's foundation had been blown apart as well. Bricks were falling as gaping holes dotted the sides of the landmark. My home had been destroyed, and the ugly rubble was all that remained of a once beautiful escape.

The knot in my throat grew, and a sob broke forth, echoing across the barren landscape. I began crying hopelessly, unable to control myself. I dropped to my knees, buried my face in my hands, and kept crying. My broken cries echoed across the grounds, breaking the solemn silence of the black procession. They all stopped and avoided looking at me as they tried to maintain their composure as well. Samantha dropped beside me as she wrapped her arms around me, whispering encouraging words in my ears. Blake dropped beside me as well, running his fingers through my long, strawberry hair, letting me know he was there, that he was always there, that he would always be there. They let me cry. Everyone, including the professors. They let me have my moment, my over-dramatic, ridiculous moment, because they knew the same thing I did. They all knew, but none hated me, and that just made my sobs increase.

They all knew that this—the destroyed castle, the broken hearts, the broken lives—was my fault. They knew I was the cause, the cause of these traumatized lives. Like shattered glass, sharp and painful, it pierced deep, leaving scars, leaving bad luck in its trace. The original piece of glass could be fixed, but it would never be the same, never as beautiful and pure as it once was. I was the hammer that shattered the glass, that shattered these lives, and I could never fix the damage that was left in my wake.

I had survived seven years at Hogwarts. Now seven years of bad luck would follow in my place.

All because of Shattered Glass.