Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The sound was unbearable.
Thud.
There was nothing that could be done about it.
Thud.
Thud.
It was a sound unlike no other. One that would forever imbed itself into their minds. It was the sound of desperation. The sound of all hope being lost.
The sound of bodies hitting the ground.
Those who were trapped inside the burning castle on the upper floors had no escape. No hope of being rescued.
Not even magic could save them now.
People stood from a distance. Some gaping at the site before them, some screaming out from the sheer horror of the site unlike any other they had ever witnessed before.
It had been like any other day. Students woke up, got ready for classes and headed down for breakfast. As everyone headed off to their first class of the day, not a soul would have told you that an hour or so later they would all fear for their lives.
Like silent clockwork it happened.
Fires began erupting in various parts of the castle. Strategically. The owlery, the dormitories, teacher's offices, the entryways to the towers…
People calmly tried to put out the fire with some simple spells. Their composure began to deteriorate upon the realization that this fire could not be put out. Water was not working. Nothing was working. Slowly they began to realize they were trapped.
It was pure chaos in the hallways as students and teachers ran for the exits. Some exits were already blocked off…sealed off.
It started to become apparent to many that this was not a spontaneous accident.
Secret passageways were utilized by those who could not gain access to the only unblocked exit out of the castle. Many were exiting as some fought their way through the masses to get back inside.
Fighting to save as many as they could and then going back for more.
These were the selfless acts that would ultimately fade with time.
Everything would fade with time.
The screams could be heard from a distance. The desperate acts of people waving their cloaks from a window could be seen. The glow of the raging fire behind the windows grew more intense with each passing minute.
Not a broom could be summoned or a single spell cast.
They all felt like helpless muggles.
It had become so difficult to see through the thickening smoke and those still inside were unintentionally walking on the dead…able to feel the odd sensation below their feet as they stepped…able to hear the cracks of the bones they did not mean to break.
Then there was the other unforeseen event that no one could have predicted.
Explosions.
The sounds of shattering glass could be heard inside and out. Ear piercing screams were coming from inside the castle, making everyone's blood run cold.
It was not the explosions that made people realize everyone needed to get out of the castle. It was the sudden collapse of the Astronomy Tower.
It happened so quickly. There it stood, reaching up towards the sky, and then where the fire was now raging out of the windows, the tower began to buckle.
It went down in an abnormally graceful form. The upper half remained intact until reaching halfway to the ground.
A thick cloud of smoke and debris spread rapidly towards the grounds, making people run in the other direction before the cloud consumed them.
For those it had consumed, nothing could be seen but black. Pieces of debris were flying, knocking some to the ground where they met the same fate as the dead lying inside of the castle.
When the dust finally settled, all looked like a nuclear winter with ashes still falling from the sky like the beginnings of a winter storm.
The Astronomy Tower was no longer there.
A sense of urgency to get the remaining people in the castle out became more pressing.
Some older students and some teachers rushed towards the castle, preparing to perform more of the too soon forgotten selfless acts. Selfless acts that cost them their lives.
Explosions began to go off in the remaining parts of the castle. Those remaining on the grounds grew silent. They knew what was about to happen.
And just as quickly and gracefully as the Astronomy Tower, the rest of the castle fell in succession. Everyone stared motionless as the same cloud of smoke and debris rose and made its way towards the grounds. As it got closer the screams and running began again.
When the dust settled, everyone was covered in grey ash. Many were having trouble breathing. Many had gotten up and blankly stared at the sight before them.
There was nothing before them. Hogwarts was no more….
In the following days and weeks, all in the wizarding world were mourning all of those who were lost in the attack on Hogwarts. Acts of heroism were told by many who had been saved by someone who had selflessly made a point to go back into the castle to save others.
No one needed to be told who was behind the attack and one person did not need to be told to do something about it.
For Harry Potter knew it was his responsibility and by now so did the rest of the wizarding world.
It is not an easy task to hunt down a man who has the luxury of being the most skilled wizard in the world. But the longer Harry takes, the more people turn against him.
With each passing anniversary of the attack, news coverage becomes less. Other more recent, yet less significant events overshadow coverage of it.
Four years later, memories of the attack on Hogwarts have faded. The heroes are long forgotten. The only thing done to remember the events of that fateful day are the day and night ceremonies held on the Hogwarts grounds by those who were most affected by it.
Some of them had even stopped coming.
Did everyone forget the events of that day? All that died? All of those selfless acts of courage and heroism?
Those who had lost the ones they loved would not forget. Every day that past, every holiday that there was now an empty seat at the table was a constant reminder of what had happened that day.
A carefully, brilliantly thought out attack that devastated the wizarding world.
Four years later you wouldn't know that. Four years later you wouldn't know students were transferred to different schools until a new one could be built.
Four years later there was still no Hogwarts castle. There never would be again.
For all that was lost, how could such a tragedy be so easily forgotten? Its magnitude so minimalized?
For all that was lost, for all of the memories left in vain, for all of the forgotten heroes…
Harry would fight for it…he would fight for all of it.
He will never forget.
A/N: This is my dedication to all of those lost and forgotten during the 9/11 attacks on the WTC and Pentagon. It was originally penned on September 11, 2005 as I watched the Tribute in Lights from my window that are lit in remembrance. I have not forgotten and I never will.