Arthur sighed as he waved goodbye to his father on the platform. He sat in the empty compartment alone. He brushed his short blond hair out of his face. His blue eyes fixating on the glass pane. His trunk, with his school supplies, was sitting above him, his wand was tucked in his messenger bag. Arthur smiled wryly as the train whistle blew. He sighed in relief as the train had begun to pull away from the station. He knew it was pathetic, but he was glad to be away from his father.
His father was Uther Pendragon. A wealthy CEO of a large muggle investment company. He was the richest man in Muggle Britain. Of course due to this his father never really had much time to spend with Arthur. Arthur was practically raised by nannies. His mother, Ygraine Pendragon had died when he was born.
Arthur's father was certain Arthur would grow up to take over the company. But Arthur… it wasn't what he wanted. He wasn't sure what he wanted, but he knew taking over the company wouldn't ease the ache in his chest.
The ache that he had been feeling for as long as he could remember. Arthur somehow just knew, deep in his soul, that something was missing.
Something important.
Something he could not function without.
Upon the arrival of Professor McGonagall, who had explained to Arthur and his father that the young Pendragon was a wizard, that he had magic, Arthur had wondered if that was what had been missing. And upon the offer of a place within the school Arthur had quickly accepted. His father had taken some convincing, but he loved his son. Thus, despite his disapproval, with the promise that Arthur would be able to attend muggle university on time if he so chooses, Uther agreed to let Arthur attend.
However, he wasn't pleased. He thought it was a waste of time, and this drove the father and son apart further still.
"Sorry-"
"But mind if"
"We sit-"
"Here?" Arthur turned towards the voices, jumping slightly at suddenly being pulled from his thoughts.
There were two boys, Arthur's age. They were clearly identical twins.
They both had bright orange hair, brown eyes and freckles. But from the way their eyes twinkled with mischief and their matching smirks, Arthur could tell they'd be trouble makers. But despite this, he liked them instantly.
"Absolutely. Come on in." he welcomed them, he was glad to have met some people. The two redheads sat down on the seat across from Arthur, once they had lifted their trunks up onto the racks.
"So" one began,
"What do" the next continued,
"they call you?" they finished together, Arthur found the entire thing impressive. This must have taken a lot of practice.
"I'm Arthur Pendragon." the two gaped at him,
"Seriously?" one asked,
"Yeah I know, named after a king of legend. The funny thing is that my fathers name is Uther Pendragon like in the legends too." Arthur laughed, the twins nodded approvingly.
"I'm Fred," the one on the left said,
"And I'm George" the other continued,
"Weasley."
"Nice to meet you two." Arthur said.
The conversation soon turned to what house Arthur thought he'd be in. Upon making his confusion known, the twins had smiled and gladly told him about the school.
According to them there were four houses, and you get sorted into one depending on your most prominent traits. The twins were certain they'd be in Gryffindor. Arthur, upon hearing the traits that made up the houses, thought he'd probably be in either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff.
He noticed how the twins talked about the Slytherins, and upon asking they gave him a whole history lesson.
Supposedly the Slytherins are made up of people who look down on those with non-magic ancestry. The most famous Slytherin, besides the founder himself, was someone they called You-Know-Who. They refused to tell Arthur his real name, but explained that You-Know-Who had tried to overthrow the government around 8 years ago and eradicate all muggleborns. They said that the Dark Lord would have probably succeeded but one night, he went after the Potter Household. He killed the father, mother and their one-year-old boy Harry Potter. However something had happened that night. When he killed the toddler, the blast hit him too, and he disappeared without a trace, only his wand left behind. Harry Potter was dubbed the Child who Conquered, and was known throughout the entire wizarding world.
Arthur felt sorry that the man's downfall required for a young child to lose his life. However he couldn't help but feel as though the Dark Lord sounded familiar.
Familiar yet foreign.
"Alright Mate, we best"
"change into our robes,"
"the train will be arriving any minute."
And so, just as they finished changing the train slowed to a stop. Arthur couldn't help but feel nervous. But at the same time, he felt warm. Like he was almost home. They disembarked the train, leaving their luggage behind which would be collected and brought to the castle separately. (Arthur felt his heart skip a beat whenever he heard "castle")
"Firs' years'" they heard a rough voice call. They turned and saw a man, who must've been at least ten feet tall, with a long scruffy black beard, holding a lantern and waving randomly.
"Firs' years o'er here" he called again. Arthur and the twins quickly made their way over to the giant man, and soon they left the station. He led them to a dock, told them no more than four to a boat, although the man had needed one all for himself. The trio got into a boat together, and were joined by a dark skinned boy, who introduced himself as Lee Jordan. Arthur liked him too. Before long the boats began moving on their own.
"Alrigh' soon you lot'll be seein' Hogwarts for t'e firs' time." the man announced, and as the boats rounded the corner, everything in Arthur either froze or combusted.
He knew this place.
It was on the tip of his tongue, the name of the castle.
He screamed internally. Looking at it, it felt... right.
Like he was coming home. But it also felt as though something was wrong, like when you come home after a few years and the place feels smaller.
"You alright there mate?" Arthur was wrenched from his internal ravings by the question, posed by Lee Jordan. The Twins also looked at him in question.
"Yeah… yeah. Fine." The Blond said. Obviously not quite believing it.
The boats pulled into the dock, and the giant man, who had introduced himself as Hagrid, led them up to the school, through the main entrance. Arthur's heart still pounding in his chest like a jackhammer. This place… Arthur hadn't noticed Professor McGonagall stood at the front, introducing herself before instructing the first years to wait in the entrance hall til the rest of the school was ready. Arthur was far too focused on the little details of this place. For whatever reason, he was certain he could find his way around with no issues.
"Alright, first years. The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin, please follow me." Arthur was nudged forward by one of the twins, still focused on the room.
"Dude, I know the place is impressive, but still." Lee Jordan joked,
"It's not that… I don't know how to explain it." Arthur began,
Then they entered the Great Hall.
Arthur was certain he'd been here before. It felt so familiar. So right.
And yet so wrong.
He couldn't help but feel as though the layout of the tables should be different, that the ceiling wasn't meant to be showing the sky outside.
A thousand years or so ago
When I was newly sewn,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began.
But now of course the time has come
To tell a truth long lost
For the founders had had help
To found this school we love
They say this castle houses lost truths
Stories told with many faults
In rooms sealed off by the silent fifth
Waiting to be found once more
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favourites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!
Arthur's jaw dropped when the hat had begun to sing. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed it. What kind of insane school was this? Whispers sounded around the hall at the mention of a fifth founder. I mean, who could it be? Arthur felt something stir in his gut. He felt as though he knew who the hat had been talking about. But for the life of him he couldn't bring a name to mind.
"Now, when I call your name please come forward, and sit on the stool. I will place the hat upon your head and you will be sorted."
"It would've been brilliant if we had to fight trolls." One of the twins said, Arthur shuddered,
"I'm good without that, thanks." He responded, soon he was shushed.
"Albert, Conrad." Arthur watched as the first boy made his way up to the front, and sat on the stool as the hat was placed on his head. There was a moment of silence and then,
"RAVENCLAW!" the table second from the right started cheering. The boy removed the hat and returned it to the professor before making his way to the table.
Names went by, going to different houses.
"Jordan, Lee." The dark skinned boy smirked and confidently made his way over to McGonagall. He sat on the stool and waited.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat called, Lee smiled and made his way to the table that was cheering. More names passed and then,
"Pendragon, Arthur." Arthur gulped before stealing his nerves away. Pendragons don't get nervous. At least that's what his father had always said. He confidently strode over to the stool and sat upon it. The hat soon was placed upon his head, and was big enough to cover his eyes.
Hmmm… yes I see. You are unique aren't you? He heard in his head, calm your majesty. It's just me. The hat.
Oh. Arthur sighed, wait. What did he mean by unique?
You are just starting to learn this on your own. Though I imagine you would need something to trigger the process. Anyways lets see. Plenty of courage. Yes, and an unbreakable devotion and loyalty to family and friends. I see a desire to do good in the world, to help people and to make the world a better place. Yes. I know where to put you…
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled aloud, Arthur sighed, and after returning the hat to the professor, made his way over to the table that was cheering. He sat in one of the empty seats.
Soon enough the sorting was over, the twins being sorted into Gryffindor the moment the hat touched their heads.
"Now before the feast begins, I have a few start of term announcements." A man, who was quickly introduced by his tablemates as Headmaster Dumbledore, began. "First I would like to welcome our new Defense Against The Dark Arts instructor, Professor Rakepick. I hope you all welcome her with open arms. Also I would like to inform new students that the forest surrounding the school is forbidden. Hence the name the Forbidden Forest. 2nd year and older students who wish to try out for their house quidditch team, your team captains will be posting sign up sheets in your common rooms, as well as information on when tryouts will be." The man smiled, "Now. Tuck in everyone." There was some applause, but it died as soon as the food appeared. The food appeared. Out of nowhere. Arthur chuckled. Magic was amazing.
"So, Arthur-" one twin, Fred if Arthur was not mistaken, began,
"Want to tell us-" George continued,
"What the bloody hell was goin on there?" Fred finished,
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked,
"I mean when you spaced out." Fred said,
"You looked like you wanted to jump for joy," George said,
"Or be sick,"
"At the same time." they finished together,
"I don't really know." Arthur admitted, which was true," It's like, deja vu. You know what that is?" the twins nodded, "well it was like that, but way more intense. This place, it just feels so familiar, and right. But wrong at the same time."
"That doesn't really make sense." Arthur shrugged,
"Well that's the only way I can think to explain it."
Arthur's first year had been no more eventful than if he had attended a muggle school. He, the Twins and Lee had become good friends. The twins, had early on revealed themselves to mischievous individuals. Early on that year filch, the caretaker, had brought them to his office for setting off a dungbomb in the hallway. They had found a drawer marked Confiscated Highly Dangerous had naturally had to snoop. They ended up nicking a piece of parchment. They tried to figure out what it was, and Arthur had suggested that perhaps it had a passcode. Eventually they figured it out as the parchment would flicker now and then, and they were overjoyed at their discovery. It was called the Marauder's Map apparently. This led to the twins wreaking havoc in the school, whilst managing to avoid punishment. Arthur had realized he was right in his weird deja vu episode thing. He found that when he knew where the classrooms were generally, it wasn't long before he found his way there, while most of the first years had quite a bit of trouble figuring it out.
"Maybe you have been here before." Lee had joked, but Arthur couldn't help but feel as though he had.
Professor Snape was awful. He clearly had no trouble showing bias towards the Slytherins and against the Gryffindors. Arthur had raised his hand several times and had been completely ignored. And so he and the twins pulled a prank on him. Turning his hair bright pink, in retaliation.
Arthur had shown promise in most of his studies, even History of Magic, which most people slept through due to how mind numbingly boring the ghost teacher was. Arthur simply opted to ignore him and read the textbook on his own and self study. It wasn't long before others followed his lead.
Flying lessons had been fun. Arthur had always had a natural athletic ability, and had ridden horses back home. Arthur found that the brooms were rather like horses. And so with his confidence, Arthur had been able to learn techniques much quicker than others.
The class he truly excelled in however, was DADA. The teacher Professor Rakepick was a lovely woman, and fair to her students. She had always been happy to provide extra help or extra credit to those who needed it. Arthur had not been one. He found that if he trusted his instincts, he would almost always get it right the first time.
"Okay." Fred exclaimed one day,
"How are you so bloody" George continued,
"Brilliant?"
"I don't know. Defense feels almost instinctive. Like I already knew this stuff in my subconscious and am only realizing it now."
"You Arthur Pendragon,"
"Are one of a kind."
Second year had been similar to the first. However, Arthur and the Twins all tried out for the quidditch team. The Captain, Oliver Wood, had been thrilled when the twins managed to keep every single bludger away from it's target. And Arthur, well he wasn't afraid to pull stunts, and he had somehow managed to catch the snitch in record time. And so, Arthur and the Twins were on the team. This year has been great. But somehow Arthur knew it wouldn't last.
Arthur was now in his third year. The twins younger brother Ron was starting Hogwarts this year. He had sat with Arthur and the twins on the train where after mentioning his love of chess, he and Arthur had played several rounds of chess. Ron, who had never lost a match before, soon found himself a worthy opponent in Arthur. And throughout the year, he and Arthur would sit in the common room and play chess.
Arthur didn't trust the new professor. Something just rubbed him the wrong way. Arthur didn't know why.
"Yo mate!" Lee called, "Get your head out of the clouds, let's go! Hogsmeade today!" Arthur smiled, right. This was his second time going to Hogsmeade. He had rather enjoyed it. The group of four made their way to the village. Of course their first stop was Zonko's, where the twins and Lee had quite a bit of fun. But at around Lunch they made their way to the Three Broomsticks. The owner had needed to cast a spell to make the room larger in order to accommodate so many people with the influx of Hogwarts Students. But each group got a table.
"So, you guys want to open up your own joke shop?" Arthur had asked, the twins grinned and nodded.
"You know, my father owns an investment company. If I can convince him the shop will be a hit I'm certain I could get him to invest." Arthur pointed out,
"Seriously mate?" Lee asked, Arthur nodded. He opened his mouth the speak when the door to the cafe burst open and a man ran inside. The man looked terrified, his short beard was tattered, his clothing looked as though the ends had been dragged through the mud.
"I saw him! Rosmerta I saw him!" the man exclaimed, the entire restaurant fell silent as the man continued.
"It was him, I'm sure of it!" Rosmerta rushed over to quiet him,
"Who? Who did you see Calvin?" she asked,
"The Mourning Man!" And immediately hushed whispers fell among the adults and older students.
"Are you certain? I thought he could only be seen at night?" Lee frowned in confusion,
"Excuse me, sir?" He asked, the man, Calvin, turned to look at him,
"You've never heard of the Mourning Man, boy?" The man asked incredulously, Lee shook his head,
"I don't think most of us have." he informed Calvin. Calvin seemed to debate with himself before making a decision.
"Alright lads and lassies." he said, he pulled a chair out from a table, and moved so he was sat in the center of the room. "I'll tell ya, but you gotta remember, this here story is real." The students nodded, and soon everyone was sat to at least somewhat face the man.
"The Mourning Man has been around for a long time. Most believe he's been around longer than Hogwarts itself. But he ain't a ghost." Arthur felt something in him shift, "No one knows who or what he is. Were not really sure how he's been around for as long as he has been. We only know a few things for sure.
The Mourning Man has been around for longer than this village or the school.
Every night he walks through the Forbidden Forest.
Wandering.
Silently crying.
Wherever he goes, time seems to stop.
The animals stop moving around, instead they watch him pass, as though they grieve for him. The wind stops in its tracks, not even making the leaves of the bushes and trees around him quiver. Before picking back up as soon as he's gone.
The man never pays any notice to anyone or anything, simply continues on his way. He wears clothes that are so old, the shirt and trousers are only held up by a single strand of fabric.
He walks barefoot, his shoes having rotted away completely long ago, but the man hadn't noticed, just keeps on walking.
He wears a cloak, with a hood pulled over his face so we can't see his eyes.
But his skin is pale, sickly pale. And he's got scars covering his forearms.
Some people have followed him during his walk. And each of them have reported that at one point the man ended up on the shore of the Black Lake.
They say that only on the shore would the man stop walking.
He'd collapse on his knees and sob, some who had followed him reported that he had cried until the sun rose, and only then would the sobs cease.
They saw him leave a flower on the shore, right at the water line, before standing.
That's when they saw his face.
His eyes were gold. Pure molten gold as though they hid the sun itself behind his irises.
But empty of everything except pain. As though his soul had been burnt to ashes within him and now he only feels pain.
And his tears... were black. Think black goo running down his cheeks when he cried.
The man would look right at them, empty, hollow eyes, and they ran." Calvin's audience was captivated by the story, Arthur felt empty himself. "Now no one really knows who he is, but there is a widely accepted origin story for the Mourning Man.
They say that he is neither dead, nor alive.
They say that he is ill, and the illness keeps him from aging and dying.
They say that he has forgotten who he is, the only thing he knows of himself is that he's lost his other half, and that despite being told they'd return, the Mourning Man has lost hope. And thus every night mourns his other half."
"The other side of his coin." Arthur murmured. Calvin looked to him curiously,
"They say however, that according to the centaurs the Mourning Man will one day be cured. One day his other half will return to him, and remind him of who he is." Calvin revealed, "That's the story of the Mourning Man."
Arthur was aware of people asking questions, but he couldn't hear. His heart was beating so hard that it was the only thing he could hear. Gold eyes. Two sides of the same coin. Around for over a thousand years. Arthur could only replay the words in his head. His gut was churning. Why did he feel as though the man's pain was his fault? Why was he so certain that he knew the man? And where had he gotten that coin phrase from? What is happening to me?