.-~"‾‾'~:Darkening Horizon:~'‾‾"~-.
By Fizban Hat
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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the associated characters or places; they are the property of the Ms. Rowling. I am merely borrowing them for my own amusement. Neither do I own the name Kalten; it belongs to Mr. Eddings I am just borrowing because I love the name. Any characters or things you don't recognise belong to me.
Just a few notes: I haven't yet read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, so none of the information contained in it will be part of my story. My apologies if that inconveniences you. Also please keep in mind that I am not quite eighteen so if I make a reference to something that happened out of the timeline, please overlook it. The title denotes the changing climate of the times they grew up in. I would postulate that the beginning of their Hogwarts were fairly free of danger, yet steadily grew more dark. One last note, if the characters seem a bit out of character, please forgive me for it, I am after all working with someone else's characters and that can be awkward.
.-~"‾‾'~:Chapter One: Owl Post:~'‾‾"~-.
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School was boring. Especially on such a fine day as it was. Outside the sky was clear of any cloud for miles and the sun was shining benignly down, the temperature was just right for a game of pick-up football. Inside the classroom the temperature was stifling and the one pathetically sputtering fan did little to ease the dead heat. Most of her classmates drowsed, waiting for the final bell to ring, signalling the end of school for another summer, while the teacher droned on and on about the importance of middle school. Lily Evans had stopped listening hours ago, and instead sat looking wistfully out the window.
Lily sunk back in her chair, shoving a few stray strands of flaming hair away from her face. She glanced idly about the classroom; the others all seemed as bored as she was. Lily half-closed her emerald eyes as the afternoon slogged on. Beside her Zan, one of her best friends yawned loudly, while her twin sister Celeste drummed her fingers impatiently on the desk. Would this day never end?
After what seemed an eternity, to the just turned eleven year old, the final bell rang. Their class got noisily to their feet once the teacher had dismissed them and filed out of the classroom, more or less. School was finally out for the summer. Lily and Zan got their bags while Celeste bossily urged them to hurry. Once they were in the hall they made their way through the crowds towards the exit. They slipped easily through the crowds, all of them being small for their age. Once outside they simultaneously took a deep breathe of fresh air. Of summer's promise.
"Say, do you want to go to the swimming hole?" Zan asked.
The swimming hole was more in the size of a small lake and was nestled in a clearing in the nearby forest. Although a lot of kids from their fair sized town played in the woods, the three of them were fairly certain that none had found the small lake. It was their favourite place to play, and except in winter they always went there after school. The lake was slightly larger than a pond, but unlike ponds it didn't have a mucky filmy bottom, instead it was a clear lake with a rock and sand bottom. They swam in it most of the time. None of them having the patience to fish. Sometimes they skipped rocks, but most of the time they used it as their sort of mythical place to have grand adventures in. Something Lily's older sister Petunia teased them mercilessly about. Petunia never had been one for make believe.
"When's your mum getting back?" Lily asked.
"Tomorrow afternoon." Celeste answered examining the dirt. "But you know our mum."
The three played about the lake just enjoying the first evening of summer break. The lake was refreshingly cool after the stifling heat of the classroom. The forest wasn't a dark or forbidding one, but rather one with an ancient feeling and trees spaced far enough apart for light to filter through the tops, dappling the ground and adding to the fairy tale feel of the place. Soon though the sun started to sink towards the horizon and suppertime drew near. The girls headed back towards town and Lily's house.
Lily lived in a quiet neighbourhood near the edge of town; it was a rather classy neighbourhood where everyone had expensive houses, wives and cars. Her house was large but modest with a neat yard and a Mercedes in the drive. The house and everything in it had an understated elegance about it, in contrast to the disgusting opulence around it. Lily's father was a lawyer and her mother was a professor of history at the nearby university. As the three young girls drew near the driveway they cold hear the raucous laughter of Lily's thirteen year old sister Petunia, coming from the back patio.
"I heard a dying donkey once," Zan said, "and Petunia's laugh sounds just like it."
Lily giggled, as her friends pushed their brown gold curls away from their eyes. It was a twin moment. Zan and Celeste's mother ran the local vet clinic, so Lily was fairly certain that they did indeed know what a dying donkey sounded like.
"Oh, there you are girls. Off swimming, I see." Warrick Evans said as he came out of the house. "Your mother just sent me off to look for you. Come in and wash up, dinner will be ready in a few minutes. I don't know about you but I'm starved for some spaghetti."
After dinner Lily, Zan and Celeste went outside to catch fireflies rather than listen to the older girls giggle while they watched television and gossiped. While the girls sat in the rather large oak tree in the backyard, they could periodically hear Petunia and her giggle or shriek about whatever it was girls like them talked about. Lily sighed as they were called in, she really didn't want to go to Petunia's school next year, if that was how everyone acted there. As she closed the back door a star shot across the sky overhead.
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"Lily, Celeste, Zan breakfast." Rose Evans called to the girls, who were in the yard playing with Isis, the family's golden retriever. The girls rushed laughing to the back door, Isis nipping playfully at their feet. "Don't track dirt into the house." Mrs. Evans shouted as she set the breakfast table. She could hear some guilty giggling as the girls removed their trainers.
"Yum, pancakes and sausages." Zan said as she hopped into her chair and tucking into the plate Mrs. Evans set before her.
"Is that all you ever think about Zan? Food." Lily asked as she and Celeste started on breakfast with a bit more decorum.
Zan shrugged. "Only when I'm hungry."
"Which is all the time." Celeste pointed out teasingly.
Petunia and her friends came into the kitchen and sat down at the table looking half awake. Juliet and Marge, Petunia's friends, were giggling and whispering about Vernon Dursley. Vernon Durlsey was the star rugby player at their school. Who just happened to be Marge's brother.
"Petunia has a crush on Vernon." Juliet giggled when Celeste raised her eyebrow at them.
Celeste looked at Petunia, who wasn't unattractive but neither was she striking. Her blonde hair wasn't thick, nor was it thin, it was just limp and dulled by hair styling chemicals. Petunia's neck was overlong, but she was proportioned so that it wasn't abhorrent. And Petunia's eyes could only be politely described as the colour of dishwater. Celeste shook her head not understanding a thing, as Juliet continued to giggle about Petunia's crush.
"I heard Vernon Dursley was just a big bully who sticks people's head in the school toilets for their lunch money." Lily announced.
"He does not." Marge said offended.
"Yes, he does." Zan declared hotly. "Jordan's brother wouldn't lie about having his head stuffed in a toilet."
"Girls, girls please." Mr. Evans said mildly, looking up from his paper, "That's enough."
Petunia got abruptly up from the table, her chair skidding out behind her. "We are going to the morning show." Petunia said tightly.
Then Petunia stormed from the room, Marge following close behind her. Juliet smiled at the younger girls before shrugging a shoulder and heading after the other two. They ate breakfast in relative silence. The silence was broken when an owl flew in the open window. It dropped three letters onto the table, and then perched on the back of an empty chair.
"Hey! There's a letter in my porridge!" Zan shouted, grabbing the letter out of her bowl of porridge. (Which she got after she finished her pancakes and sausages.) "This letter is funny looking, just like you Celeste."
Mrs. Evans shrieked once she processed what had just happened. She immediately grabbed Celeste away from the owl, which she was trying to coax into eating a sausage. Warrick Evans looked up from his newspaper for a moment, and then continued to read the business section. Lily had opened her letter, while all this was going on.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Ms Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress/i
"Oh mum, can I go?" Lily asked excitedly.
"Now Lily just be still a moment, dear. Zanarah, Celeste do your letters say the same thing as Lily's?" Mrs. Evans asked, pointedly ignoring the owl and incredulousness of the situation.
"Nope, mine says 'Dear Ms Cailleach', so does Celeste's." Zan prattled excitedly.
Rose Evans sighed. "Yes, dear but the rest of it is the same?" Zan nodded. "Good, now why don't you three run along and play while I discuss this with Mr. Evans."
Lily looked closely at her mum before deciding that now was not the best time to press the issue. "Okay mum, we're going to the swimming hole. We'll be back at dinner.
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"So do you think your mum will let you go?" Zan asked Lily. Lily shrugged and went back to staring at the lake.
"We don't even know if 'Hogwarts' exists." Celeste pointed out.
"What do you mean doesn't exist? Of course it exists. Why would we get a letter from a place that doesn't exist?" Zan asked hotly.
"I hope we can go. If it exists I mean. I hope it exists. It'd be like all of our make believe games come true." Lily said softly.
The three stared out at the lake in silence; each thinking about how much fun this Hogwarts place would be if it was for real. Real magic, was certainly more spectacular than make believe.
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Jean Cailleach knocked on the front door and then let herself in. She went to the kitchen hearing Rose call her towards there. She walked into the room to see an owl sitting on the back of a chair. In all her days as a vet, she had never seen an owl that wasn't hurt during the day for any length of time. Jean also noticed that her good friends Warrick and Rose were deep in discussion about something, there appeared to be several pieces of what looked to be parchment on the table as well.
"It's been there all morning." Warrick said pointing to the owl. "It likes sausages though."
"It was the strangest thing. It just flew in the window this morning, and dropped these into the girls' breakfast." Rose said, holding up one of the letters.
Jean took the letter from Rose and read it over silently. It seemed oddly familiar. She frowned trying to remember why. "Have you ever seen anything like it?" Warrick asked. Jean turned the parchment over for a few more minutes before replying. "Yes, I think I have. One of my nephews got a letter like this and went off to the school. Excuse me a moment and I'll call my sister and ask her about it."
Jean was a good ten minutes on the phone before she returned. "Well, my sister said the school is legitimate. My oldest nephew Danny goes there, he's entering his final year. I was speaking to him and he says, that we should send the children there, and also explained that that was why they've done some strange things. Danny's going to come and pick them up next Wednesday and take them to a place called Diagon Alley and get them what they need. Oh and Danny told me we had to write a letter saying that the children can attend before this owl will leave."
"He does look pretty official doesn't he?" Warrick observed. The owl apparently understood as it began to preen.
The Evans had just sent the owl off with two acceptance letters, when the front door slammed open and Lily came careening into the room. Zan and Celeste following close behind. "Can I go? Can I? Can I? Please?" Lily said breathlessly.
"Yes, Lily, dear, you're going to go to Hogwarts." Rose said, smiling proudly at her daughter. Lily squealed excitedly and hugged Celeste.
"Are we going too, mum?" Celeste asked Jean who was drinking a cup of tea.
"Yes, you and your sister are going too." Jean said grinning at the delighted young children. "Your cousin Daniel will take you were you need to go to get these supplies." She said holding up one of the supply lists. "He'll pick you up next Wednesday."
"We're going to Hogwarts!" Lily shouted.
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Mrs. Lupin looked up from the morning dishes and sighed as she watched Jania Kalten walk across the back of the field carrying a fishing pole in one hand and a burlap sack in the other. And as happened every Saturday without fail her son, Remus, tore across the field and tackled Jania. The two children scuffled for a few minutes before getting back to their feet. This time Remus had come off with a bloody nose and Jania a bloody lip. Mrs. Lupin grimaced as they both wiped the blood away with their sleeves. Mrs. Lupin looked up from the dishes a few moments later to see Jania offering Remus half of what she knew to be a peanut butter and banana sandwich. As the two children walked towards the river, Mrs. Lupin went back to washing up the dishes.
"Did you get your Hogwarts letter?" Jania asked around a full mouth.
"Yep." Remus said, his eyes lighting up, "Did you get yours Kalten?"
Jania nodded, "Yeah, and my Da told me that that Pettigrew boy got his letter too, even though he's more 'an half squib."
"He got his letter then, eh? My mum wondered if he would." Remus said.
The two walked the rest of the way to the river in silence, munching on their half a sandwich. Once they reached the sluggish blue river, Jania sat down on the bank and threw her line into the water, while Remus found some smooth rocks perfect for skipping across the surface.
"Think I'll catch something today?" Jania asked.
Remus shrugged and began to skip rocks. "Hey Kalten, what house do you want to be in?"
"Gryffindor. My Da and all his relatives were in Ravenclaw though. 'Cept my cousin Geoff, he's a Hufflepuff. What 'bout you, Remus?"
"Gryffindor, same as you. What'dya suppose they do to sort you?"
"Well my cousin Derrick, he's head boy this year, said you had to do a spell first try. But you know Derrick, he likes to tell tales."
"Rom said you have to make a potion right off, and the colour the potion turns sorts you."
"Your brother Romulus tells tales like Derrick does." Jania snorted.
"When you going to Diagon Alley?"
"'Prolly next Wednesday, you?"
"Wednesday too, our mums will want to go together."
"Yeah with my mum being a muggle and all."
The afternoon passed rather quickly, although in a lazy fashion. Remus and Jania stayed at the river, munching on some wild apples while fishing. Soon the sun began to set and they rather reluctantly left the river and headed back into their small village. The two walked rather leisurely back towards Remus', neither was in any hurry to go home for dinner.
"See ya tomorrow Kalten?" Remus asked.
Jania nodded. "'Course I still haven't caught a fish. And don't call me Kalten, my name's Jania!"
.-~"‾‾"~-. '`֊:֊'` .-~"‾‾"~-.
"James, get up!" Sirius shouted, jumping on James bed and rather rudely awakening his best friend since birth practically. James fell with a thump to the floor, as Sirius's enthusiastic jumping had bounced him off his bed. James jumped to his feet suddenly. "Did our letter arrive!?" He exclaimed.
Sirius looked blankly at James. "No… it's breakfast!"
James rubbed his eyes as he followed the overly energetic Sirius down to the breakfast table. Morning was not his favourite time of day. By the time he reached the kitchen Sirius had already dug into the food laid out, and had somehow in the span of ten seconds managed to get ketchup smeared onto his forehead. James filled his plate and dug in while Sirius continued to eat like a horse, oblivious to the ketchup. Just as they were finishing up an owl swooped in and deposited a letter into each of the boys laps, before wing sharply to the right and flying off just as fast at it came.
"Mum we got our letters!" James yelled excitedly.
"Yes, dear, that's nice." Mrs. Potter said as she walked in wearing an emerald robe and sipping a steaming cup of coffee.
"Well come on, accept it! Accept it! I'll go get Duke." James said before running off to get his parents owl Duke.
"Marie, how nice to see you. Sirius just got his letter." Mrs. Potter said, looking up from her tea to smile at Mrs. Black.
"I brought Hades along, knowing that would probably be the case. Fetch me some parchment Sirius, so I can write your acceptance letter." Mrs. Black said pleasantly.
"But, Mum, I'm eating." Sirius complained, biting into another forkful of scrambled eggs.
"Do you, or do you not want to go to Hogwarts?" Mrs. Black asked pointedly. Sirius was out of the room before she even finished her sentence.
Five minutes later, both boys returned. Sirius with parchment and ink and James with Duke and a couple of quills. Mrs. Black despaired to ever know how her son had managed to stain his hands with red ink in the five minutes he had been gone. The two women wrote out short acceptance letters, while Sirius and James fidgeted excitedly behind them. Once their acceptance letters were safely attached to the owls and headed towards Hogwarts. Sirius and James began to chatter a mile a minute at the same time.
"Mum, if we go now we can get to Diagon Alley as the stores open." James shouted.
"And we can get some more dungbombs!" Sirius chimed, jumping up and down excitedly.
Marie and Lydia exchanged glances. "Boys, we can't we have to work. We might be able to take you on Wednesday." Lydia Potter said softly.
James and Sirius looked downcast for a moment or two before smiling sadly at their mothers, and running off. Soon enough the two women heard James and Sirius playing with their brooms in the backyard. The two women exchanged a glance and small shrug before apparating to the Ministry of Magic, to meet up with their husbands who had left an hour or so earlier.
"So how long do you think it'll take Wednesday to get here?" Sirius asked flying in circles around James.
"Four days." James said looking at his friend strangely. "It is Saturday."
Sirius threw his hands in the air and promptly lost his balance, he flailed his arms about wildly trying to keep himself from falling off, he managed to regain his balance. "I meant how long do you think it will take for the time to pass."
James shrugged, "Not to long, I hope."
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.-~"‾‾'~:END OF CHAPTER ONE:~'‾‾"~-.