Hogwarts, Book 1: Lifeless
by: Stelvani
Disclaimer: Most characters in this story were created by me, but many of them are used from the original Harry Potter series. This book is based on the school of Hogwarts, and on the entire magical world, which is property of J.K Rowling.
Summary: Book 1 of 7. This story takes place during what would be Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts. It is about of a group of first years who are headed for Hogwarts for the first time, and they have to not only learn everything about magic, but also about the art of making and breaking friendships, the hardships of school life, and of the mysterious group of evil witches and wizards known as the Death Eaters.
Prologue: Ellis
Phillip Ellis stared blankly up at the clouds. He lay on his back, resting his head on his hands, spreading out across the side of a hill. There was a slight breeze, coming from the summer air, and it blew his longish brown hair down across his forehead. His light blue eyes sat open, yet he did not concentrate on anything in the sky.
The day was perfect. The weather was brilliant, for a peaceful, quiet day, and it gave Phil a good atmosphere to think. He was thinking about the many times he spent on the very same hill, contemplating his day. But all those times, over the past eleven years, he was smaller, and had less to think about. His thoughts never came to any very serious contemplating, for he led a very simple life.
Phil and his mother and father live in the large sub-urban area, called South Londing, which sits just South of London, England. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened, the people were always quiet, and the area felt a little too peaceful to Phil. He wanted to be somewhere different, and he wanted to meet some friends.
The streets of South Londing run in parallel and perpendicular rows, and are usually named something along the lines of East Mallary Road or First Spencer Drive. Phillip, whose family lives on East Farthing Drive, has a house the farthest away from anything around. The identical houses, and similar people there, all create a somewhat bland place to live. But the worst part of living in South Londing is the fact that there are no other people his age. No ones he had ever met was near his age, except at school, which essentially meant there was never anything to do.
Phil rose up off of his hands, and sat upright. He looked down the hill and across the sidewalk, at the boring street. He looked up once more, toward the horizon. The sky was getting darker. The blue sky faded to red at the edge of the sky, almost as a warning to Phil that he should head home. He stood up and stretched his arms. He had been at the hill for a few hours.
Phil stepped lightly down the hill, and reached the sidewalk. He looked both ways before crossing the street, even though he knew no cars would be driving around on a Sunday evening.
He walked for about a mile, when he came to his street. He turned to the left, down East Farthing Drive, and strode down to the fifth house. It was a pretty good size house, almost too big for three people. Phil's parents weren't really wealthy, but he was a little better off than most. His house was a brown and white three story building, just like every other house in South Londing.
As Phil walked toward his front yard, he suddenly felt strange. He felt like something was wrong. He stopped walking for a minute, and listened. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. But he felt something.
The sky was much darker now. He barely see down the street, much less anything. He quickly ran as fast as he could down the sidewalk, and turned into his front yard. Suddenly, he saw a huge burst of light from the first floor window. There weren't any noises that he could hear. He ran forward, and just as he reached his front door, he could just make out three figures in the front hallway. One was on the ground. Another was hunched over it. The third figure suddenly rushed in Phil's direction, and he was able to move just in time, as a flailing body of robes came bursting out of the door. Phil lunged aside, and hid behind a bush in his yard. He watched as what was unmistakably a madman ran down his street into the darkness, and was gone. He didn't see what his face looked like, but at that point it didn't matter.
Phil was awestricken. Someone was in their house. Were those two people inside his parents? They had to be. He ran out from the bush, and up the porch stairs. He reached the door, and ran inside. The house was completely dark, except for one light above his head. Below him, his mother lay on the ground. His father kneeling over her body, which seemed utterly lifeless.
"MUM!!!" Phil cried out loudly, as he jumped forward to her. "WHAT HAPPENED?"
"Phil…Phil…We have to go." His father, Jonathon Ellis, said quietly.
"WHAT IS GOING ON? WHAT HAPPENED?" Phil yelled, turning to his father, staring holes into his eyes.
"Phil, we have to go. We have to take her to the hospital. Its very fatal I think. But she is still breathing."
"Who was that man ---"
"Phil, I'll answer everything as best as I can. But right now we have to get her to the hospital." his father said still quietly. He stood up, and walked out of the room, rather quickly. He returned a second later, with a small bowl.
Inside the bowl was a strange silvery powder, that Phil had never seen before.
"Into the living room, we have to hurry." He handed Phil the bowl, as he bent over and lifted his wife off of the floor.
Phil quickly followed his father into the room, over to the fireplace.
"What are we doing?" Phil asked.
"Um. This may seem a bit strange, but do exactly what I tell you. I'm going to make you go first." His father reached onto the mantle, and grabbed the matches, carefully holding up Phil's mother, who hung limply from his arms. He handed the matches to Phil. "Light the fireplace. But quickly, we have to hurry."
"I thought you said we were going to the hospital! What are we doing? What if mums dying?"
"DO IT!"
Phil quickly pulled out a match, and tried lighting. It caught on fire, and he threw it into the fireplace, where some pieces of paper and wood were already laid out. The flame burned the paper, which lit the wood on fire, quickly creating a small fire.
"Now Phil, take that powder. Take a handful and throw it in. Quickly."
"But---"
"DO AS I SAY!!!"
Phil did it. He threw the powder in the fire, and it burst into green flames, much larger than it was. But it didn't give off any heat.
"Now step in there, and say these words, VERY clearly: St. Mungo's Hospital." his father said. Phil's father was growing impatient, and he knew he must be fast.
"WHAT?" Phil turned to his father. "ARE YOU MAD? WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON!?"
"Move." Phil's father had it. He pushed Phil aside, and bent down into the fireplace, which barely held two people. He was inside of the fire, yet he was not burning up, or screaming. "Saint Mungo's Hospital!" the green flames burst higher, and Phil's father was gone.
Phil stood there, in his empty house. It was dark in the room, except for the small fire.
"What in the world…" Phil thought he was dreaming. Where was his father? What happened to his mother? What should he do now?
He looked around the room. He felt very panicked.
He turned back to the fireplace…