by DarkStar and their (evil) muses
(see Chapter 1 for details)
Prologue – Darkness Descends
The sky was dark over Durmstrang when it happened.
It was dinnertime, and the students and teachers were, as usual, all gathered in the main dining hall.
There was the normal, powerful smell of the rich dishes served by the house elves; tonight a splendid roast boar with full trimmings adorned each of the tables.
There was the normal loud chatter, a cacophony of voices filling and echoing through the room, including a heated debate between the potions master and the transfiguration master over 'proper' use of Polyjuice potion.
There was the normal seating plan; a table for each year and one for the teachers, with a huddle of students around Viktor Krum's younger brother Trevor, who was trying to sell fake autographed copies of the seeker's new autobiography, 'Krum by Krum' to unsuspecting (and filthy rich) first years.
So absorbed were they in their routine that they weren't aware of anything else until it was too late, and even then, very few noticed more than a flash of green when the stone walls were blown apart, as a second wave of light flowed over them, their thick fur cloaks offering no protection as they were pulled down into a final slumber.
As the smoke cleared under the familiar symbol glowing brightly in the sky, the few students who had survived lay on the ground and wept, the stinging rain falling all around them offering no relief.
...
At that moment, Harry Potter sat up in his bed in Gryffindor tower, gasping at the pain in his forehead. Knowing that sleep would offer no solace, he mechanically pulled his Invisibility Cloak round himself and set off to the kitchens for some hot chocolate, resolving to visit Dumbledore after breakfast for the third time this week.