Chapter 22
Life was running smoothly for everyone now. Students and teachers finally settled into their routines, and the Hogwarts castle sprung into life full- force. Quidditch rivalries raged, especially after Ravenclaw edged out Slytherin in the first game of the season. Lily buried her nose in schoolwork and struggled in Potions while the Marauders brewed schemes for infiltrating the Slytherin common room. Everything seemed normal, almost too normal some perceptive few decided. But life went on in the castle that shielded them from the outside world. No one saw the shadows that were slowing creeping across the continent, not until it was too late.
-
The atmosphere in the Hogwarts castle prickled oddly that October morning; Lily felt it the moment she opened her eyes and woke up. She had to clutch the covers of her bed up to her chin as the chilliness crept into the warm pocket of air that surrounded her body. The room was blanketed in dull shades of gray and the happy, bright sunbeams that usually danced on her curtains were missing. Outside the window, the sky was a dark, churning mass of storm clouds with flickering snakes of white lightning appearing and then disappearing just as quickly.
Lily shuddered involuntarily and then sat up and looked around, blinking her eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the dormitory. It seemed like all the colors in the room were a shade darker, or tinted with gray or brown. The maroon curtains and covers where a dirty brown, the cherry wood dressers were even darker, and her blue nightgown was a sort of washed out gray. She lifted up one of her hands, which felt like they were sitting in ice, and looked at her palm; it was beginning to turn slightly purple from the cold.
To her left, someone stirred and Lily tensed up slightly. A couple seconds later Alice's round faced poked out from behind the bed curtains, her lips were formed in the shape of a little "o" and her eyes wide with uncertainty. They stared at eachother unmovingly, though neither of them knew what for. Through the silence they conveyed their confusion; both girls kept furrowing their eyebrows wildly and they finally established that they were on the same page. Alice flicked her eyes towards Wilona's bed, and Lily shook her head warningly.
A loud, rolling burst of thunder shocked both girls to their full senses as the windows rattled noisily and the castle shook on its foundation. Or at least, it felt that way. Lily shot quickly out of bed and glanced at the ceiling, shivering with her arms wrapped around her body. Her teeth clattered, and she felt Alice stand up and move close to her. Alice turned to look at the side of Lily's ashen face; the lightning flickered and accentuated her high cheek bones, her straight, very British-looking nose, and her small pouty lips for a second before it all went dark again.
"What do you think it is?" whispered Lily slowly, her grayish blue nightgown fluttering limply on her shaking body.
"I don't know.. I don't know.." Alice whispered feebly, clutching onto Lily's arm. "But you feel, too? Do you hear it?" Her soft voice cut through the heavy air like ice; there was a lull in the storm and both girls stared out the window at the fat raindrops that began to splatter against it. Lily didn't answer. The air kept prickling.
Someone behind them giggled, and both girls whirled around quickly. Wilona's sleepy face smiled at them, her skin a pasty gray and her blonde hair faded. She stretched her arms.
"What are you guys doing?" She yawned and shivered, a flicker of lightning cracked down into the depths of the Forbidden Forest before the thunder rumbled again.
"What a storm. It woke me up," she giggled naively and then looked at her two friends in the middle of the floor questioningly. "What?"
Lily let out a heavy breath; she had been holding it in since Wilona woke up. She reached up and ran her cold hands through her hair and then held on tightly to her auburn locks, her eyes squeezed shut. Her head began to throb, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and a wave of dizziness rolled over her, making her stagger to her left. She felt a pair of small, strong hands grip her arm and hold her straight.
"What is it?" she whispered incredulously, planting her feet onto the floor firmly. She opened her eyes and met Wilona's awed gaze.
"What's what?" The girl asked.
"You mean you don't..." Alice trailed off before she inhaled deeply. She looked thoughtful.
"It's nothing," Lily said suddenly, shrugging. "It's just the storm." She exaggerated a shiver to support her lie. Alice coughed.
Wilona squinted at her doubtfully through dark gray eyes that normally were a light, sparky blue.
"No. I'm not stupid. What is it?" She stood up and crossed her arms, shaking her long, tangled hair out of her face.
Lily opened her mouth hesitantly. She wasn't sure how to respond. She wasn't even sure if anything was wrong to begin with. Perhaps it was just the storm of the century raging outside that made everything feel weird. Of course. That would explain the buzzing air and the grayness of everything. She almost felt the urge to giggle, but suppressed it and glanced at Alice, who seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Alice gave her a tiny smile, and they both shook their heads.
"You guys are doing it again," Wilona said suddenly, her eyes ablaze. "You always do this. It's always you two together... and then me."
"Wilona, please. It was nothing..." Lily began weakly. She was annoyed now. Lily could think of at least ten comebacks to throw back at Wilona, starting with: 'where were you last night around 7:00?'
"Don't try to hide it!" Wilona shrieked loudly. Jilly Arrington poked her head out from behind her curtains and drawled sleepily, "Whaa's going on? Woke me up." She yawned noisily and then stared Wilona, who was spitting fire out of her eyes.
"Sorry! We were just going to get some breakfast," Alice said quickly and then began dragging Lily out of the room, ignoring Wilona's shrieks.
"No! No, go back! You can't just leave..." Lily protested when they were in the hallway in front of the dorm room door. She reached for the doorknob.
"No. Something strange is going on. I can't figure it out," Alice said, swatting Lily's hand away. "Wilona has been acting weird. And then the storm. Well. You felt it, right?"
Lily nodded. Her head was swimming with utter confusion. The whole mess was almost silly. Almost like they were making a big deal out of nothing. Perhaps she was taking the Auror thing a little too far. She was about to tell Alice this when a loud, crunching clap of thunder rolled by overhead, making her cringe and duck instinctively. She couldn't help it; she'd always been afraid of thunder.
"God..." She muttered softly and then straightened up and looked at Alice sheepishly. Alice was staring at her wide-eyed.
"Your hair is moving..." she said slowly.
"What?" Lily stared at her friend.
Alice reached out a shaking hand and touched Lily's hair, which was flowing softly in front of her face. Lily shivered from the odd sensation of single strands of hair carressing her face; she could feel it now. A slight breeze wafting in from somewhere behind her, sending a spray of goosebumps across her arms and bare legs. To her right on the wall, a candle flickered furiously, the little yellow flame fighting to stay alive. All at once, it died, creating a small, empty, black space where the light had once been; all that remained was a translucent spiral of gray smoke that drifted upwards.
Lily and Alice stared at it, entranced. Finally, Lily tore her gaze away and said quietly, "Want to go down to the Common Room? It's a bit too early to eat." Alice lifted her eyes up and nodded. They turned and padded down the stairs softly, a smaller clap of thunder rolling overhead
Life was running smoothly for everyone now. Students and teachers finally settled into their routines, and the Hogwarts castle sprung into life full- force. Quidditch rivalries raged, especially after Ravenclaw edged out Slytherin in the first game of the season. Lily buried her nose in schoolwork and struggled in Potions while the Marauders brewed schemes for infiltrating the Slytherin common room. Everything seemed normal, almost too normal some perceptive few decided. But life went on in the castle that shielded them from the outside world. No one saw the shadows that were slowing creeping across the continent, not until it was too late.
-
The atmosphere in the Hogwarts castle prickled oddly that October morning; Lily felt it the moment she opened her eyes and woke up. She had to clutch the covers of her bed up to her chin as the chilliness crept into the warm pocket of air that surrounded her body. The room was blanketed in dull shades of gray and the happy, bright sunbeams that usually danced on her curtains were missing. Outside the window, the sky was a dark, churning mass of storm clouds with flickering snakes of white lightning appearing and then disappearing just as quickly.
Lily shuddered involuntarily and then sat up and looked around, blinking her eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the dormitory. It seemed like all the colors in the room were a shade darker, or tinted with gray or brown. The maroon curtains and covers where a dirty brown, the cherry wood dressers were even darker, and her blue nightgown was a sort of washed out gray. She lifted up one of her hands, which felt like they were sitting in ice, and looked at her palm; it was beginning to turn slightly purple from the cold.
To her left, someone stirred and Lily tensed up slightly. A couple seconds later Alice's round faced poked out from behind the bed curtains, her lips were formed in the shape of a little "o" and her eyes wide with uncertainty. They stared at eachother unmovingly, though neither of them knew what for. Through the silence they conveyed their confusion; both girls kept furrowing their eyebrows wildly and they finally established that they were on the same page. Alice flicked her eyes towards Wilona's bed, and Lily shook her head warningly.
A loud, rolling burst of thunder shocked both girls to their full senses as the windows rattled noisily and the castle shook on its foundation. Or at least, it felt that way. Lily shot quickly out of bed and glanced at the ceiling, shivering with her arms wrapped around her body. Her teeth clattered, and she felt Alice stand up and move close to her. Alice turned to look at the side of Lily's ashen face; the lightning flickered and accentuated her high cheek bones, her straight, very British-looking nose, and her small pouty lips for a second before it all went dark again.
"What do you think it is?" whispered Lily slowly, her grayish blue nightgown fluttering limply on her shaking body.
"I don't know.. I don't know.." Alice whispered feebly, clutching onto Lily's arm. "But you feel, too? Do you hear it?" Her soft voice cut through the heavy air like ice; there was a lull in the storm and both girls stared out the window at the fat raindrops that began to splatter against it. Lily didn't answer. The air kept prickling.
Someone behind them giggled, and both girls whirled around quickly. Wilona's sleepy face smiled at them, her skin a pasty gray and her blonde hair faded. She stretched her arms.
"What are you guys doing?" She yawned and shivered, a flicker of lightning cracked down into the depths of the Forbidden Forest before the thunder rumbled again.
"What a storm. It woke me up," she giggled naively and then looked at her two friends in the middle of the floor questioningly. "What?"
Lily let out a heavy breath; she had been holding it in since Wilona woke up. She reached up and ran her cold hands through her hair and then held on tightly to her auburn locks, her eyes squeezed shut. Her head began to throb, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and a wave of dizziness rolled over her, making her stagger to her left. She felt a pair of small, strong hands grip her arm and hold her straight.
"What is it?" she whispered incredulously, planting her feet onto the floor firmly. She opened her eyes and met Wilona's awed gaze.
"What's what?" The girl asked.
"You mean you don't..." Alice trailed off before she inhaled deeply. She looked thoughtful.
"It's nothing," Lily said suddenly, shrugging. "It's just the storm." She exaggerated a shiver to support her lie. Alice coughed.
Wilona squinted at her doubtfully through dark gray eyes that normally were a light, sparky blue.
"No. I'm not stupid. What is it?" She stood up and crossed her arms, shaking her long, tangled hair out of her face.
Lily opened her mouth hesitantly. She wasn't sure how to respond. She wasn't even sure if anything was wrong to begin with. Perhaps it was just the storm of the century raging outside that made everything feel weird. Of course. That would explain the buzzing air and the grayness of everything. She almost felt the urge to giggle, but suppressed it and glanced at Alice, who seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Alice gave her a tiny smile, and they both shook their heads.
"You guys are doing it again," Wilona said suddenly, her eyes ablaze. "You always do this. It's always you two together... and then me."
"Wilona, please. It was nothing..." Lily began weakly. She was annoyed now. Lily could think of at least ten comebacks to throw back at Wilona, starting with: 'where were you last night around 7:00?'
"Don't try to hide it!" Wilona shrieked loudly. Jilly Arrington poked her head out from behind her curtains and drawled sleepily, "Whaa's going on? Woke me up." She yawned noisily and then stared Wilona, who was spitting fire out of her eyes.
"Sorry! We were just going to get some breakfast," Alice said quickly and then began dragging Lily out of the room, ignoring Wilona's shrieks.
"No! No, go back! You can't just leave..." Lily protested when they were in the hallway in front of the dorm room door. She reached for the doorknob.
"No. Something strange is going on. I can't figure it out," Alice said, swatting Lily's hand away. "Wilona has been acting weird. And then the storm. Well. You felt it, right?"
Lily nodded. Her head was swimming with utter confusion. The whole mess was almost silly. Almost like they were making a big deal out of nothing. Perhaps she was taking the Auror thing a little too far. She was about to tell Alice this when a loud, crunching clap of thunder rolled by overhead, making her cringe and duck instinctively. She couldn't help it; she'd always been afraid of thunder.
"God..." She muttered softly and then straightened up and looked at Alice sheepishly. Alice was staring at her wide-eyed.
"Your hair is moving..." she said slowly.
"What?" Lily stared at her friend.
Alice reached out a shaking hand and touched Lily's hair, which was flowing softly in front of her face. Lily shivered from the odd sensation of single strands of hair carressing her face; she could feel it now. A slight breeze wafting in from somewhere behind her, sending a spray of goosebumps across her arms and bare legs. To her right on the wall, a candle flickered furiously, the little yellow flame fighting to stay alive. All at once, it died, creating a small, empty, black space where the light had once been; all that remained was a translucent spiral of gray smoke that drifted upwards.
Lily and Alice stared at it, entranced. Finally, Lily tore her gaze away and said quietly, "Want to go down to the Common Room? It's a bit too early to eat." Alice lifted her eyes up and nodded. They turned and padded down the stairs softly, a smaller clap of thunder rolling overhead