Chapter 16: Lake of Souls Pt. 1

Hogwarts at Halloween held the atmosphere of a dream. Decorations powered by enchantments and only loosely rooted in reality floated through the hallways. The Forbidden Forest wore orange and red colors of Fall. Lit and animated pumpkins were the norm, but House mascots and depictions of magical and mythical creatures were a common exception.

There was a prowling lion that roamed the ceilings of Gryffindor Tower, leaving its home to prowl the main hallways at mealtimes. A regal gold and black badger tunneled through the castle with impressively realistic visual and audio illusions of the stone giving way like dirt as he dug through it. There was a winged green and silver serpent that swam through the air with an easy grace. A bronze eagle with blue eyes and tail feathers was known for pulling the hair of students, and reportedly even Professors, who incorrectly answered questions in the hallways and at meals.

Perhaps most impressive was the iridescent Phoenix that flew free in the castle and its grounds. It was said to be a monument to Albus Dumbledore, the previous Headmaster of Hogwarts that was said by many to be the last truly great wizard. The Phoenix was a grand creature, it's iridescent plumage almost indistinguishable from the illusory flames that trailed the magical beast. When it passed close by, one could hear the rustling of the wind through it's feathers and feel a wave of heat accompany the bird.

Halloween or, as Cecilia called it, All Hallows' Eve, was a magical time. The Professors eased up on their workload in the week that preceded it, leaving the students with more free time than they'd had since the first week at Hogwarts. Students started pick-up games of Quidditch, lounged by the lake, and played games of Exploding Snap in their common rooms. Myles still spent much of his free time in the library, sometimes joined by Cecilia or with Kory and Rose, who still hadn't forgiven Myles but had stopped ignoring him entirely. He learned more about the Wizarding world, though most of his sources were centuries old, found strange spellbooks, such as The Color Compendium - which focused entirely on spells that affected colors, and read about a variety of magical skills and powers in The Possibilities of Magic. Despite all the time he spent in the library, Lyla still managed to pull him into her and Elias's antics, a combination of exploring the castle and harmless pranks.

Halloween dinner was the best Myles had ever had, and the desert was even better: tables filled with confectionery-filled pumpkins and apples, cauldrons of lollipops, carrot cake, bats made of something that Myles couldn't identify but loved nonetheless, and countless other treats. After desert, Headmistress McGonagall allowed the Roaring Lions and The Lonely Badger, a Hogwarts band made of three Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff, to perform. The benches were forgotten as even the Ravenclaw House raised to their feet to dance (with much awkwardness) to hits like Pink Thoughts and Love Potions. The music and spirits were such that even the Slytherin table cheered the band off their makeshift stage at the end of their performance.

There were rumors of a Gryffindor party every other week, but Ravenclaws were often more interested in a quiet reading room than a party. Tonight, however, even Ravenclaw celebrated the holiday. A few of the upper years conjured Butterbeer and Firewhiskey from their rooms. Firewhiskey was held far and away from the first-years, but Myles was handed a Butterbeer that was delicious and settled warmly in his stomach.

Still, the party was doomed to an early end by the stuffed Ravenclaw students, who all needed to sleep off the feast they had just consumed. Myles turned to sleep almost as soon as he tucked into his bed, expecting a long a restful night.

"Pssh! Myles!" Myles responded to the insistent whispers and the poke at his side with a sleepy moan that he had intended to come out as words.

"Get up. I have something to show you," Cecilia whispered into his ear, and Myles was awake enough now to comprehend her words, though he still had trouble imagining that what Cecilia wanted to show him would be more important the warmth of his bed and the lull of sleep.

A few moments later he pushed himself up to a seated position with a groan. "What is it Cecilia?"

"I can't show you here, come on!"

Myles reluctantly stepped out of the bed and threw his robes over his long johns - it didn't take him long to get dressed. "Where are we going?" He asked as he pulled on his socks and shoes.

"You'll see," She replied mysteriously.

Myles checked the clock by in his dormitory, seeing that it was approaching midnight. "It's after curfew, we can't leave the common room."

"Not tonight, no one will be enforcing curfew on All Hallows," Cecilia said definitively. "We won't be the only ones out tonight."

Myles was confused, but he trusted Cecilia enough to follow her out of the common room and into the hallways. He'd never been out in the hallways past curfew, and Hogwarts at night was a place of dim torches and long shadows. The paintings, often a source of chatter, were silent except for the occasional snore. That might've worried Myles, he often asked them for directions, but Cecilia confidently led the way.

Cecilia took a shortcut to the main stairway and they descended to the ground floor. As Cecilia had said, they weren't the only ones that would be walking to hallways tonight. A few other students were out in the corridors, all going to the same mysterious destination that Cecilia was leading Myles.

They walked outside to the Hogwarts grounds. The lake was ahead of them, it's flat and mirror-like surface reflecting the dazzling light show of the night sky. The moon was full, and it lit the water and the grasses of the grounds with an otherworldly glow that was just enough to see by. It was a temperate night, with a slow breeze bringing the occasional chill. The night reminded Myles of the first time he'd seen Hogwarts, traveling along the lake to enter the magical castle.

A number of students stood ahead, scattered at the lake's edge. Despite the dark, no one illuminated the surroundings with their wand and despite their numbers, no one spoke above a whisper.

There was something more to the night's air. Myles couldn't put his finger on it, couldn't identify even how or where he felt it, but it was there nonetheless. It wasn't the silence of the students, or the darkness of the moonlit grounds. These were only symptoms of what he was feeling, cues taken from the atmosphere of the night.

Cecilia turned to him when they reached the lake, an indecipherable but genuine smile on her face. "Here," she whispered, pulling an object he couldn't make out in the moonlight out of her robes and holding it out to him. Myles didn't know what he'd been expecting, but he certainly hadn't expected a candle.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" He whispered, looking around at the other students he could see they were all holding something, and thought that they might've been candles.

"Just wait," Cecilia whispered back. "It's almost time."

Myles wanted to know what it was almost time for, but given Cecilia's mysterious behavior so far tonight, doubted that Cecilia would tell him. He resigned himself to waiting and took in the the star-studded sky and lake in the silence of the gathering.

Something happened, or some time was reached, because the students began to move. Cecilia nudged his shoulder, and held her candle up with her wand to the wick. "Incendio," she cast in a whisper, lighting up the candle in a small stream of fire and motioning for Myles to do the same.

Candles, already released by the students lining the lake, slowly floated out on the water. Ripples formed around them, distorting the lake's reflection of the night sky and the candle's own fire. Myles and Cecilia approached the water's edge and laid their candles down on the lake, nudging them forward forwards the join the rest.

They stepped back, watching as the last of the candles were laid on the water's surface. Even the whispers had died out, and the silence was so complete it felt as if it was a magical one. The wind had slowly come to a stop, and even the wildlife on the grounds or off in the forest seemed to be observing this moment. Amidst the stillness of the night, the candles slowly floated off towards the vivid reflection of the moon. Myles thought he was imagining it at first, the disappearance of candles, but a glance at the lake showed there truly were fewer candles. But they weren't sinking into the water as he'd expected but rather… fading into the moonlight.

At any other moment he would've asked Cecilia about the disappearing candles, but in the stillness of the night, so powerful as to feel palpable on his skin, it didn't feel right. Even whispers didn't belong here; they would've felt sacrilegious.

They watched the lake as the candles disappeared from it's starry surface. The sounds of the wind, forest, and lake returned in degrees and reclaimed the unnatural silence of the night. The students began to move again, even the sound of their robes rustling was loud in contrast to silence that had been there before. Many of them left, returning to the castle, but Myles stayed behind; he wasn't ready to go back to bed. He lowered himself onto the grass and Cecilia wordlessly joined him. They sat there until all the other students were long gone. Neither felt the need to speak. The companionable silence reminded Myles of Livian, the two of them had known each other so well that they had rarely felt the need to speak. He thought of the horrible uncertainty of where or how she was, of his guilt in not searching for her. The turn of thought set his foot tapping with restlessness and eventually goaded him to rise from the grass.

"It was beautiful." Myles spoke softly, but the words still seemed rough abasing the night. Cecilia turned to him, smiling. It was a genuine smile, one that exposed her others as guarded. The girly innocence was gone and a mystery resided behind the smile.

Cecilia's mouth moved to speak, but the voice that spoke was nothing like her own. The moonlight turned her face to emotionless stone. A static formed in the air around her, raising the hairs on the back of Myles's neck. Her eyes popped and glowed, purple orbs lighting up like portals to another world, threatening to draw him in.

And her voice. Her voice was unforgettable. It rolled with the power of thunder and cackled with the violent energy of lightning. Each syllable etched itself painfully into Myles's head, as if forming scars on skin.

Twins born on darkest night

Split Red and Blue

At crossroads of Clock and Fate

The Crystal shines and its storm brews

Magic falls as lighting strikes

And the Gatekeeper will arise from the Ruins

Myles, hair rising from the magical static in the air and heart racing from the sudden intensity and presence exuding from Cecilia, had taken a step back. But as soon as the last word had left her mouth the force in the air around convulsed and dissipated. Cecilia visibly and magically deflated. Her legs wobbled and Myles rushed forward to catch her before she fell to the ground.

He caught her back and braced himself for her weight, but she was surprisingly light. Myles hadn't realized how thin Cecilia was; the folds of her robes had always obscured her body. Her stone-like expression had faded away, leaving a sheen of sweat covering her face, which had turned from pale to ashen. Her purple eyes flickered between unseen ghosts with unnatural speed and she rapidly muttered under her breath.

"twins... blue... crystal... wand... beyond... gate... gate... gatekeeper..."

Myles sank to his knees, still holding Cecilia in his arms. He saw his hands and realized they were shaking.

"Cecilia!"