Chapter 4:

1st September 1995

The journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a long one from London. Everyone knew historic Hogwarts Express was charmed with many spells, in order to speed up the journey to the middle of nowhere in Scotland. However, this spelled flying car, that the four teenage witches and wizards currently occupied, was not.

Oliver was sitting in the drivers seat, one hand lazily relaxed on the steering wheel, while the other toggled with the radio system trying to find a track to please them all. Riding shotgun beside him was Esme. Running a delicate hand through her long black hair she huffed, once again rejecting Oliver's music choice as she continued to sulk and stare out of the window. Behind her, gazing with a vacant expression out of the window, sat Scarlett. She nervously tapped her foot, keeping her eyes fixated on the ground all the many kilometres beneath them. Alex took no notes of the girl's incessant tapping as he fidgeted, sending coloured sparks rolling over his fingers as he played around with a small amount of landless magic. He sighed, a bit over dramatically, as his mind skimmed over why they were on the blasted journey in the first place.

It had now been four years since the 'disappearance' of Harry Potter, an the wizarding world was still in a state of shock. The Boy Who Lived was supposed to be their saviour, yet somehow he had vanished. It was then that the rumours of Voldemort's return had begun. After all, why else would the boy have gone missing without any explanation. For the first few months, Albus Dumbledore had publicly stated that Harry Potter was in hiding, hence his lack of appearance for what should have been his first day at Hogwarts in 1991. This, however, fuelled the panic as people were left in belief that there was something to hide from. After a while, it became impossible for Dumbledore to keep up the pretence of knowing the location of Harry Potter, and he officially owned up to the vanishing of Harry Potter in 1987 and shared his belief of the boy's death at the hands of some fanatic follower of the Dark Lord. While the wizarding world took the time to mourn the death of their saviour, Albus Dumbledore managed to slowly wean away from any blame that could be cast his way, while also removing the fear that Lord Voldemort had returned.

Throughout all this, Alex, Esme, Scarlett and Oliver had remained residing in their loft at the Leaky Cauldron, hiding from crowds who might have wondered over their presences there rather than being away at Hogwarts. Were they ever seen, they would claim a lack of funds for their attendance and that Tom had been doing a wonderful job of homeschooling them. They had spent many days in constant debates over topics such as; Dumbledore's competence, their safety- mostly Alex's- in their guises, whether or not the world believing Harry Potter was dead was a positive turn of events, and other things of the sort. When not wrapped up in studying, they had taken to spending time wandering the Lower Alleys of Magical London. It was there that they had found themselves introduced to a new world, one that most people in Magical Britain were completely unaware of.

The area they had found themselves enthralled by was known by the locals as Lilium. It was here that they came across witches and wizards living in harmony with werewolves, vampires, goblins, elves and faeries. At first the place had terrified the four, being completely aware of the grey magic that seemed to fill the air and being unaccustomed to being in close proximity to the wide amount of species that the Ministry of Magic deemed as dangerous and inhuman. However, they had slowly realised that the reason Lilium existed and functioned was that no one gave a care for whatever species they all were. The fact was, they had found a place to live and be employed, without interference of the pompous wizards who ran the Ministry. No one here lived by the laws of Magical Britain, it was somehow a haven in which they lived under their own unspoken rules. On account of most wizards fearing Knockturn Alley, Lilium lay hidden from the majority of the population, only to be found by those who had been actively seeking something more. You had to walk deep into the Dark Alleys to find it's entrance.

Alex supposed now that, even if Scarlett had not proposed their outing to explore the Dark and Lower Alleys those years ago, they would have stumbled upon it inevitably anyway. Their group had had a sort of affinity to attract trouble over the years and their discovery of Lilium had only increased this. Upon their third visit to explore, they had met Storm.

Throwback - October 1991

Alex finally relaxed his grip on his wand under his long sleeve as they stepped into the square. They remained close by one another as they made their way through the fairly busy market, slowly returning their wands to their holsters as they recognised the danger of lurking strangers in the Dark Alleys was far behind them. As they circled the fountain and headed towards an unknown street, Alex felt a prickle on the back of his neck and quickly turned around and lifted his oversized hood slightly. It was a strange feeling, but it had felt like someone was watching them. At a display of concern, Alex had assured Oliver that his alarm had been nothing, as he could see nothing out of the ordinary, and the two caught up to the girls who had continued to walk ahead, their black robes billowing slightly in the cool October breeze.

They had walked along the same road for about ten minutes, marvelling at the range of shops and rare items they had seem displayed in the windows, before Alex turned around to examine the outside of a pub behind them but shocked the others but pulling out his wand suddenly. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen a flash of something. Once again lifting his hood, he walked slowly over to a small alley beside the pub. Before he was even within one metre of the entrance, a figure in a dark green robe had suddenly jumped out, brandishing a wand and aiming it at him. Within a second, Oliver, Esme and Scarlett stood behind Alex, their wands pointed at the stranger.

"You've been following us," Alex said, coldly, not even moving a muscle on his wand arm and trying to remain calm when the figure raised it's left hand.

With a slender hand, the figure pulled off it's hood, revealing the smirking face of a girl who looked not much older than themselves. "Yes I have," she said, lowering her wand an stowing it in a dark red holster on her wrist. She stood there, saying no more, but looked the four children over with an amused expression until they too returned their wands to their holsters.

Scarlett was the first to pull off her hood, feeling slightly compelled to in the moment, and gestured for the other's to do the same. They could see the girl looking them up and down, her smirk turning more into a smile.

"I'm Storm," she said, after the long silence, surprising the four with a small bow, before looking back at them expectantly.

"Scarlett," Scarlett began to reply pointing at herself, "Alex, Esme, Oliver." She indicated to each of the others one by one, who each gave a small nod to the blonde girl.

"Hmm," Storm cocked her head to the side as if thinking deeply, before suddenly clasping her hands together. "Oh, August is going to love you!" she exclaimed before steering the group down the alley she had just hidden in.

1st September 1995

In the car, Alex smiled to himself at the first memory of the eccentric girl who had later become an older sister figure to him. As he had later found out, August was Storm's best friend and was known in Ilium as the King of the Lower Alleys. Of course, it was an entirely unofficial title and only acknowledged by the kids in his 'family'. This family, however, was made up of almost every child who resided in, or lurked in, Ilium and the Lower Alleys. The group was large and consisted mostly of orphaned or runaway witches and wizards, with a couple elves and werewolves thrown into the mix. The youngest in the group then was a mere six years old, a young witch who was known as Midge, and the eldest had been August at sixteen. August had not held the position as King for his age, however, he had earned the position. At fourteen, he had challenged the old King, a guy called Matthias, and won his place. Matthias had gallantly stepped down and then followed under August until he had turned seventeen, at which time he left the Underground.

Now however, almost four years later, Alex Withers held the title of King, having accidentally won it from Storm who had taken the place as August's successor when he had come of age. Storm loved duelling, and had organised a tournament in the Underground in early 1993. In the final round, it had come down to Storm and Alex.

"You realise what happens if you beat me now, you take my place as King," Alex remembered how Storm's eyes had sparkled with excitement as they'd circled each other as their match began. It had been then that Alex had realised she did not want her position anymore. Storm had always loved her freedom and being out and about as a spy, rather than in the position of responsibility for the kids who looked up to her. The match had not lasted long, Alex suspected his friend had not tried that hard, and he was claimed King and slightly in shock.

However, over the years he had grown into the position, and he had always had Esme, Scarlett and Oliver at his sides. The four of them had not lost their bond while being integrated into the Underground community, rather it had grown stronger and they knew it. Initially, after being introduced by Storm to the Underground, they had split their time half and half between their lessons in the Loft and their 'extra-curricular' activities in Lilium. They had spent their time being taught by the elders to duel and getting sent out to spy on the dodgy goings-on in Lilium and the Dark Alleys. The Underground considered themselves an auror force of sorts. As children without much adult influence, they felt they were best equipped to see and deal with the corruption their world was facing. They were never seen but always found a way of pushing the dark deeds of others into the light where others, such as strong wizards in Lilium or aurors who dared venture to patrol Knockturn Alley, could discover it and deal with it.

Eventually, when Alex took over as King and was required more and more in the Lair, and underground bunker that took up almost the entire space beneath Lilium, running back and forth had not been an option. The four had acquired a set of cupboards from Borgin and Burke's, at Mr Borgin's discretion. The cupboards worked simply and effectively. You stepped inside one, closed the door and, when you opened it again, you had appeared inside the other. One cupboard remained in the King's Corner in the Lair, while the other resided in their room in the Loft. Esme had found a simple charm that allowed a knock to be heard from one side to the other, so they would know if they were needed in the Lair while they were perhaps studying in the Loft.

By the time that Alex was crowned, he and the other's had spent so much time running through the shadows of the Lower Alleys that the little kids, who were more often than not perched on window sills and rooftops to observe goings-on from safe distances, had developed a name for their King and his closest companions. The name had been whispered so many times throughout the Underground that eventually it became official and it stuck. The four were known as 'The Shades'.

Albus Dumbledore's office - July 1995

"Albus something must be done," Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, threw his hands up in despair. "This has gone on too long now!"

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk with a defeated expression adorning his face. This was a nightmare. Across from him, sat the hysterical Minister and Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, with her arms crossed and a somber expression. They had come to berate him about the importance of safety at Hogwarts. The past few years had been a mess, and they all knew it.

It had all begun the year that Harry Potter was supposed to begin at Hogwarts. As Albus had assumed, a spirit of Lord Voldemort had attempted to steal the Philosopher's Stone. Originally, he had wanted this to happen. He had agreed with his old friend, Nicholas Flamel, that he could effectively guard the stone at Hogwarts better than it ever could be at Gringotts. His plan had been for Lord Voldemort to come to the school in some form, tempted by the stone, and Harry Potter would fight him off, thus initiating his hero status. However, without Harry Potter, Albus had not himself been as aware as he had expected himself to be. He realised, all too late, that Lord Voldemort had possessed one of his teachers and the man had eventually gone mad at his inability to obtain the stone from the Mirror of Erised, taken three first year students hostage and almost killed them. The DMLE had been notified when the voice of Lord Voldemort had echoed throughout the school and attempted to exchange the students for the stone. The DMLE had quickly intercepted and saved the children while dispelling the spirit however, the fact remained that Dumbledore lost a bit of trust and the world was then aware that the Dark Lord was not dead and gone.

The following year, the Chamber of Secrets had been reopened and muggleborns had been petrified. Had it not been for the Department of Mysteries getting involved. They had quickly discovered, from the ghost of Myrtle Alfred, the location of the chamber's entrance. With a member being a parselmouth, they were able to gain access to the chamber and subdue the basilisk before anyone was seriously injured. A full screening of every student indicated young Ginny Weasley's possession. Once again, the spirit was removed and destroyed by the DoM.

After this had come Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. The escapee had made his way all the way from the prison to the Gryffindor Dormitories at Hogwarts. It was widely assumed that he was searching for Harry Potter, to finished off the job that Lord Voldemort had started, therefore causing mass hysteria in the school. Sirius Black was, however, eventually pardoned as Dumbledore, finally able to do something about the issues within his school, found the man hidden in the form of a dog animagus. Taking the time to talk to Black before sending word to the DMLE, Albus discovered that the man was innocent. Though he had been looking for Harry Potter, and was almost destroyed to hear of his disappearance, he had come to search for Peter Pettigrew, who he believed to be hiding as one of the Weasley boys pets. Albus had alerted the DMLE, Black had been tested under veritaserum and, to their horror, was being entirely truthful. A subtle search of the Gryffindor third year dorms had indeed found Pettigrew in his rat form and the man was immediately escorted to the Ministry for questioning, while Black was pardoned and began on his search, with Remus Lupin, for the truth about Harry Potter. Their 'investigation' was another cause of Albus's headaches.

Finally, this past year had meant to be a glorious one. Hogwarts had hosted the Tri-Wizard tournament. It was a disaster, put simply. Bartemius Crouch Junior had not only taken the form of Alastor Moody, killed his father and fatal injured young Percy Weasley, his assistant, but had also made an attempt of Albus's own life. The man had also set the dragons free to attack the crowds after the first task and turned the cup at the end of the third into a portkey to a graveyard where Peter Pettigrew, who had escaped from the Ministry, killed Cedric Diggory as a sacrifice for a ritual to bring the Dark Lord back in his own body.

Needless to say, Hogwarts did not currently have the ability to claim it was safe. With parents threatening to pull their children out of the school, action was required.

"I have no aurors to spare to protect children as a school, which is supposed to be one of the safest places in Wizarding Britain," Amelia Bones had her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. "I do have another option. It's possibly risky and I don't know how effective it will be, but I believe it could be a start."

"Yes?" Cornelius looked at her, his eyes still bulging in panic. Albus lifted his head slowly, waiting to hear the suggestion.

Amelia sighed. "For a while now, our department has been aware of some… help that we've been given regarding information we've been sent as tips or even suspects who have just suddenly turned up mid investigation when we've needed them." She stopped, as if considering what to say next. "There have been rumours, heard in both Diagon Alley and Knockturn, of a powerful group cleaning up the Dark and Lower Alleys of Magical London, doing work that we apparently miss…"

Albus tipped his head to the left slightly and observed her. It was as if she was not quite sure whether to believe the information herself that she was trying to convince them of.

"Thing is," she began again, "they're apparently kids. We've heard them called The Shades."

Albus nodded in realisation. He too had become aware of this nefarious group, from excited conversations of the children at his school, or even from Severus who had reported some of their alleged work against known Death Eaters in the Dark and Lower Alleys behind Diagon Alley. Albus had never, in all his years, ventured farther than Knockturn Alley, but recently he was beginning to feel a trip may become necessary.

"I have heard of them," he said. "However, are they not rumoured to be children?"

Amelia tightened her jaw momentarily. "Yes," she said. "But powerful. They must be powerful after all we've heard, and even seen."

"You've seen them?" Albus asked, curiosity getting the better of him as he leaned forward. "I thought no one had?"

"I'm not sure myself," Amelia admitted. "Their name came from whispers heard in the alleys and our officers have recently reported hooded black figures occasionally spotted briefly when one of these suspect persons suddenly turns up. And none of these people ever know how they've ended up with us, but those who have vague memories before either being knocked out, remember hooded black figures."

Albus pondered for a moment, but his thought process was disrupted by the Minister. "Well, get these children here then!" he suddenly burst out. "If they are children, they should be in school anyway. Offer them free education for in return keeping an eye out around the school, it'll be their payment it's perfect."

Albus resisted the urge to snort at the man. If these children were doing so well without being at Hogwarts, he doubted they would want much education. However, they were just that, children. How could they really be as powerful as everyone was claiming. He wanted to discern that for himself. Perhaps these children would be threats. After all, how light could they really be if they were in the Dark and Lower Alleys.

It was decided. The three wrote a letter, addressing it to 'The Shades, The Lower Alleys' and all three signed it off. In a state of desperation, the letter implied that there would be persecution against them and their homes raided- though this could be an issue as no one knew where they lived- if they refused to comply with these official summons. The three stared after the messenger owl as it flew away. Cornelius looked pleased, Amelia looked concerned, and Albus wore a blank expression of anticipation.

1st September 1995

"I don't want to do this," Esme said for the fifth time that day, refusing to turn and look at any of them.

Scarlett scrunched the parchment on which the damned letter was written into a ball, rolled down the window and threw it into the empty air. She rolled the window back up and crossed her arms, as if to show her agreement with Esme.

Oliver sighed as said nothing as he kept his head straight forward as he clenched his teeth together and started toggling with the radio again.

"We have to," Alex replied, looking at the back of her head. "You know we do."

"To protect the Underground," Esme said in a low voice that Alex knew was to imitate him. "Dude," she suddenly swerved around to stare at him. "It's been four years and no one's found us, they wouldn't know where to start."

"I know," Alex said. "It's just… We just have to, ok?"

"But-"

Esme was quickly cut off by Oliver. "Lay off him."

Esme stared in shock at him. "You think this is a good idea?" she exclaimed in horror.

"He blames himself," Oliver started, ignoring Alex's protests. "For all the mess at Hogwarts and with Riddle and all. He thinks if he'd been there he could've stopped it." He took a moment to look meaningfully at Alex through the rearview mirror, as if imploring to open up to the others.

Esme's expressions immediately softened as she looked seriously at Alex. "You can't think that," she sighed. "You would've been eleven when you started, what could you really have done?" She held up a hand as he tried to answer. "Everything that's happened since you left the Dursley's would not have happened if you'd stayed and suffered just to turn up at Hogwarts and be some Boy Wonder to save the day. You wouldn't even be able to save the day anyway, because you wouldn't have known anything about magic or this world and-" she stopped, taking a deep breath.

"I think the point Esme is trying to make," Scarlett said. "Is that none of this was ever your responsibility. The media is just using the disappearance of Harry Potter as a scapegoat to try desperately to explain how they're failing so badly."

Alex nodded. He knew they were right, and he was as against the idea of going anywhere near this school as they were, but he still had the gut feeling deep down that it was up to him, no. He stopped himself, it was up to them to do something to help. Even so, he had no problem with helping so long, so long as he wasn't prevented from showing those adults that he was there because he had chosen to be. They, especially that old coot Dumbledore, had no power over him. Never again.

1st September 1995 - The Great Hall, Hogwarts

The Great Hall was buzzing with chatter as students caught up with their friends over the lavish meal. The children sat excitedly gossiping about their summers and the rumours that had already begun snaking their way through the Hogwarts grapevine. The one thing that the professors could pick up popping up in conversations all throughout the hall. "The Shades".

Clearly, someone had overheard someone who had overheard someone else about the plans for the Shades to attend Hogwarts this year as an extra security precaution. For the students, the tales of the Shades had become somewhat infamous and the group had developed idol status for many witches and wizards.

Throughout all this, a few students around the room sat silently, holding back smirks as they heard those around them sat gushing in hero worship and exchanging rumours about the infamous group. Little did they all know that the Shades were not alone, but they were a part of something so much bigger than anyone had thought to imagine. The rest of the Underground remained in hidden in the dark behind the spotlight that its leaders had been forced into, and they were loving every minute of it. No one suspected their existence, therefore no one would realise that they really did have eyes everywhere. Including Hogwarts.

It was midway through the feast when Headmaster Dumbledore finally stood, ready to address the rumours before the arrival of the Shades. He was disappointed, they were supposed to have taken the Hogwarts Express and arrived with all the other students. They had not shown up with the student body, and Albus had instead received a note saying they preferred to make their own way and planned to 'get there when we get there'. The Headmaster had brushed off the hint of defiance and chosen to see it as children's dramatics and love for the fame they were coming into.

"Welcome students, to another year at Hogwarts!" he announced grandly as a hush fell over the hall. "There is one notice that needs to be addressed. As some of you are already aware, for the security of the school, we will be joined this year by a group of-"

At that moment, there was suddenly a loud noise from the back of the hall as the doors swung open and everyone swivelled around quickly to get a look at the disturbance. In the arch of the grand doorway, stood four figures in long black robes with their hoods up.

"The Shades!" an excited whisper hummed through the room as everyone sat with their eyes fixated on the four.

After a moment, they began walking towards the front of the room, all at once pulling off their hoods. Everyone's eyes followed them as they walked down the middle isle to the front of the hall. No one had ever seen their faces and now they were drinking in every details, desperate to remember the moment that the Shades were unmasked. At every table, a hand full of students watched with smirks as one of the four subtlety made eye contact with them while their gazes swept the room.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore spoke up in attempt to regain attention as the four rather intimidating children approached him. They looked up at him but made no other gesture to indicate a response. "Students, please welcome the Shades, who will be joining us at Hogwarts this year."

A hushed silence enveloped the room as they had made it to the front and turned to face the room. On the far left was a pale, brown haired boy, very average looking apart from the shocking dark blue burst of colour in his pale eyes. Those close enough to see the details of his eyes sat fixated, unable to tear their eyes away. The boy wore a bored and unimpressed expression that spoke volumes. The girl beside him stood tall and regal with refined features which strongly implied Pureblood aristocracy. Her thick mane of glossy black hair fell effortlessly to the base of her ribcage, swaying slightly as she scanned the room with her narrowed dark blue eyes. To her left stood another boy, almost polar opposite of the other. With his tanned skin and sandy blond hair, he looked like a kid who had just returned from the perfect holiday. However, there was a coldness to his sea coloured eyes as he glared at the back of the room. The girl on his other side was the only one who lacked the tough appearance. She looked especially young with the scatter of freckles on her nose and wavy auburn hair falling to her collarbone. She looked over the mass of students with a knowing look shining from her green and brown eyes.

"Perhaps we should proceed with the Sorting?" Dumbledore spoke rather uncertainly into the prolonged silence.

The auburn haired girl turned to look at him before stating simply, "We're not getting Sorted."

Dumbledore was taken aback for a moment. "It is required," he protested.

"We're not getting Sorted," the girl repeated, her voice rising through the Hall.

The students watched the exchanges eagerly as the teachers exchanged shocked expressions.

"Perhaps," Severus Snape suddenly spoke up, "we should allow the students to resume their meals while logistics are sorted with our new… additions?"

The boy on the left turned to look at the potions master, his raised eyebrow indicating his amusement was lost on the other students but intrigued the professor as he felt a sudden familiarity that he just could not place.

"Wonderful idea," the dark haired girl proclaimed with a hint of sarcasm. "Shall we?" and she began walking back the way they had come. The other three were on her heels immediately.

"We shall," the Headmaster conceded, manoeuvring around the podium to follow them. "Professors Snape, Flitwick, McGonagall and Sprout, if you would join us."

The rest of the student body stared in shock at the events transpiring. The four Shades acting like they owned the place and Dumbledore seeming… misplaced? The four heads of houses scurried to follow after the group and as the grand doors shut behind them, the children and remaining professors were left with thoughts of how interesting this year was looking already.

Hope you enjoy, please review and let me know what you think!

Also, starting to think about pairings… Might set a poll after the next chapter but until then review or PM me with any ideas you might have!

thelonglostpotter x