Author's Note: Hopefully this chapter will piece the story together seeing as I didn't really explain in the prologue, this chapter takes place in Fifth Year Winter Break if anyone was wondering. Sorry if any of the character's are really cliche.

Tales from Hogwarts

Chapter One: The Beginning of the End

1-Year Ago

The cool air of the winter ran throughout the air. Animals of all sorts made nests to prepare for the long cold hard winter.

Dead, thought the boy. Gone for good, whipped out of existence he thought again. He searched frantically for something, within minutes the room was littered with clothes and junk. At this rate, he'd never find it.

Come on Matthew he thought, you're a thinker, an idea man, you don't give up like that. There was a moment of silence in the room where he then broke out screaming.

"I'll never find my wand!" he shouted, suddenly something hit him on the head with a slight cluck. It rebounded off his head and bounced on the floor. Matthew rubbed his head wondering what the heck hit him on the head?

"I believe you were looking for that?" said a voice, Matthew groaned, he reached a hand out only to come in contact with a sneaker. "It would make things a whole lot easier if you acknowledged me" continued the voice. Matthew stood up, looking down on his diminutive brother. Alex, he'd always been a smart guy but largely unappreciated, he was also very good with jinx's and hexes, something Matthew always regretted.

Alex pulled out his wand, pointing it at Matthew. "Surprise, surprise" he said, he muttered a spell. "Aguamenti" said Alex, Matthew knew what was coming next, a jet of water sputtered from Alex's wand and into his face, he was wet, drenched if you might say. Alex laughed and ran off.

"Matthew come on man!" shouted Joshua, he was getting quite impatient for his friend, he sighed deeply and looked across the room. Christopher was examining everything he could, strangely enough. "Chris, I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Joshua, he began to tap his foot on the ground. Click, click.

Christopher adjusted his glasses as they began to slip off the bridge of his nose. "Knowledge is power, when worst comes to worst your going to be looking at the brains to save all of you, watch" replied Christopher. Suddenly Matthew came walking down the stairs, his shoes made a little metallic click with each step.

"The little twerp blasted me with water, I had to change, again. At least I found my wand, right?" said Matthew, he tried to lighten the mood, it wasn't helping. "I bet the girls got tired of waiting by now" replied Josh, he tied his shoes and straightened his tie.

Today was one of the few days where everything had to be nice, good clothes, good whether, perfect everything. Today was a special day because it was Bill Weasley and Fleur D'Cleur's wedding day, mounts upon mounts of wizards and witches were invited. Joshua simply wanted to make a good impression, first, second, third, maybe even last, as long as it was good, he could deal with it.

The three walked off to the park, and by taking the trial from the park, they ventured into the woods. There was a patch of forest that wasn't covered by anything but wood chips, this was the Spot. No one was there, or so it seemed.

There was a slight displacement of air in one corner of the woods, the image of a tree shuddered and distorted. After a slight shimmer it returned to normal. "There" said Christopher, he was the first to notice it, he always was. "Well, it took you long enough" said a voice from the sky, technically it was a tree. Someone climbed down, another boy, as soon as he reached the ground the tree that shimmered was no longer there. Behind a cloak revealed a group.

"Nice hiding spot" said Matthew, he began to clear his throat. "Haven't seen you 4 in a long time have we?" asked one of the girls, in the group. It was Samantha, always first to speak, always what's on her mind.

Matthew nodded. The reunion was so broken up as Joshua began to shout. "Ack!" he exclaimed, "We're going to be late! Someone hurry up and get that port key" he added frantically. Daniel, the boy who had dropped from the tree, brought out an old boot from his pocket. His long pointed ears shuddered, they twitched to be exact. Daniel was a half-elf, he was wizard born but at the same time elf born also. Which sometimes explains his sense of humor and senses most humans don't have. His ears vibrate, therefore giving him somewhat of a seventh sense, he could hear and feel things miles upon miles away.

"I know it's not much but no one said Port Key's were to be fancy, am I right?" said Daniel, he put the boot on the ground in the middle of them.

"You sure you didn't hide anything nasty in there?" asked another girl, Megan, words weren't exactly a fitting description except for peacemaker. "I swear, no anaconda's, bad horror movies, spiders" began Daniel, he began to list what he hadn't done.

"We get the point" said Joshua eagerly waiting to leave. Daniel nodded, he stuck out a foot into the boot. Suddenly there was a swirl of immense light, it was blinding almost. The woods and the trees disappeared from around them, instead they were surrounded by different shades of light and colours. Then the ground beneath them disappeared, it soon became apparent that they were falling.

The lights disappeared and soon took the form of skies as flakes of snow flew down slower and slower. Their bodies were forced to become flat as the wind was too much. They even caught glimpses of other dimensions, for a split second they were on the moon and soon they were scattered across the green.

"I think I'm going to puke…" said one girl, Lola, no one had noticed she was here until to spoke, they all looked at her, edging away slowly.

The scenery began to come together, they were no longer in the forest or the city, but in a forest made entirely of ice, the trees, the flower's (which looked similar to giant snowflakes on stems), and even the grass was a sort of chrome colour. "Really, I think Bill and Fleur out did their selves, this place is like something out of a fairy tale" said Matthew, he stood there examining each and every detail, it wasn't every so often he got to visit mystical places like this.

"Come on already" said Brittany, the last one in the group, she got angry easily, especially if most things didn't go her way, all around, she was a good friend. Matthew began to run down the hill and towards the field where many people danced, talked, and ate (which is what half of the people came to do).

Joshua had given up being tense and decided to relax, he ran over to the long table where mounts of food lay, Daniel followed him. They both reached at long round silver plate full of something that looked like shrimp or maybe it was a crossbreed of some sort. Daniel grabbed one and held it over his mouth, he was about to drop it in when the shrimp spoke. "Please sir, have mercy" it said. "We really would like to live, just a bit longer" it squeaked, Daniel showed mercy and lay the shrimp back down on the plate, he smiled, the shrimp smiled back and was about to speak until another hand came and grabbed the shrimp, it was Christopher, he stuck it in his mouth and swallowed.

"What? Can't the genius relax for once?" he questioned, Daniel just starred. "You ate a living creature…" said Daniel, he began to take a few steps forward. His elf side was speaking, as loving and humorous as elves are, they had principals to stick too. And that no animal can be eaten, unless it was completely dead. Of course Daniel hadn't eaten the shrimp, but Christopher did, and right in front of him.

"My stomach really doesn't feel to well if that make's things better" replied Christopher, he began to accelerate as he walked backwards, Daniel starred, he began to chase him, it was then that Christopher vowed never to eat another shrimp as long as he lived, if he lived that is.

"Hahaha, laugh it up, so I fell at my first Quidditch Match, big whoop. At least I know how to play" said Matthew, Brittany laughed until she heard the last part of that sentence. She didn't kick, punch, cry or anything along those lines, she simply stamped her feet. "I'll show you, I'll join the Quidditch team this year!" she exclaimed. "Hah!" replied Matthew, "I'd like to see you try, I'm Team Captain this year!" he continued. Brittany stayed silent. Samantha gave Matthew a chuckle and a stare that said, she's going to get you back one way or another.

Suddenly a loud bell rang, it was like a sword that silenced everyone at the wedding, the man in a tower that had rang the bell began to announce. "And now I present to you, Bill Weasley and his soon to be wife, Fleur D'Cleur", the crowd began to cheer as the wedding began as the newly weds walked down the aisle.

Fairies shackled to the field, began to throw sparkling dust in the air, they flew around being sure not to get too close to humans. Matthew didn't feel so good, he was at the wedding of the year and he felt sick to the ground. He'd taken a drink earlier, it was bitter but still the same old drink. That is until he noticed the colour, it was transparent, completely clear. His drink had been spiked. He looked across from side to side, looking for any possible suspects. Brittany, who was talking with the other girls sneered. "Definitely her" muttered Matthew.

"What'd she do?" asked Joshua, Matthew was about to talk but he didn't feel up to it. His stomach ached, he needed a bathroom, fast. "I'll…be…back" said Matthew as he ran off, there had to be a washroom somewhere.

"What happened to him?" asked Christopher. Joshua shrugged, he was guessing something in between death and no return. Suddenly Daniel tackled Christopher.

Joshua winced, "that's got to hurt" he said.

Bathroom, bathroom was all Matthew thought, he ran through the woods and come to a ditch, who knows how long he'd been searching. He'd just have to do it in nature, the old fashioned way. He would regret it, he reached for the button of his pants when suddenly he tripped over a rock. He fell backwards into the ditch, he tumbled down, hitting every rock in his way. He finally came to a stop, he'd hurt his leg badly enough, and he was sure to have a big swollen head later today. He groaned, until an idea came to mind. He was close enough to the school, which meant he'd be able to use magic. He grinned until a voice shouted out to him.

"Who goes there?" asked the voice. "I should be asking the same thing" replied Matthew, surprisingly enough, the stranger had Apparated behind him. Matthew knew instantly who it was. "Professor Lupin!" he exclaimed, Lupin put a finger to Matthew's mouth.

"Quiet now" he said. "They might hear us" he added. Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Who's they…?" he asked, Lupin didn't need to reply, Matthew would've found who they were soon enough. In the distance, various beasts silhouette could be seen. Including a troll, whose every step shook the field. Leading the pack was a chariot of fire, lead by two horses each covered in blue flames. "You have your wand?" asked Remus Lupin, he began to trudge up the ditch. Matthew nodded, his heart began to pound against his rib cage. "Brandish it, you'll need it" replied Lupin as he came tumbling back down the hill, he grabbed Matthew and they Disapparated with a loud popping noise.

They Apparated on a hill looking upon the wedding. Lupin took a moment to rest, "you, go warn everyone in there, I'll try and hold them off" said Remus. "All of them?" asked Matthew. "Go!" replied Lupin, showing him off, Matthew understood, he ran down the hill, forgetting all about the need for a bathroom.

Once he got there he thought he had it all figured out, he'd save everyone, become the hero. Sadly, the words didn't come out but instead in a inhuman scream. "The…the…troll…and the army…of…of" he began, everyone was starring at him now. No, he said to himself.

"Get off the stage!" screamed one person in the audience. Matthew returned that statement with a rude finger gesture, to be more exact he stuck up the middle finger. Before anyone could gasp, or even criticize, the glass of ice behind Matthew broke, the force of the chariot of fire broke through. Remus had failed thought Matthew, before he was lifted off the ground by the immense force. He was thrown through the air and landed somewhere in the wet grass.

"What the hell?" began Joshua, Imps began flying through the air, sneering and causing all the mayhem they could. Daniel grinned and released Christopher. "I'll let this one slide, only because we're in mortal danger. But if I ever catch you eating a living animal I'll-" he said, Christopher turned pale and began to throw up, along with it came the shrimp who wasn't dead. The shrimp shook a claw, and ran off only to be crushed by a troll's large foot.

The troll looked down on them. Daniel was the only one who said anything. "Poor shrimp…" and he ran off.

"Incarcerous" shouted Megan, ropes sprouted from the ground and binded the troll. She smiled, and blew the smoke off her wand as if it was a gun. Joshua and Christopher ran out of the way as the troll came crashing down. "You realize that's not going to hold it?" said Christopher, his smart was now kicking into gear. Megan nodded. "That's why we need to get away now!" she exclaimed, they ran as the ropes began to slowly untwine.

"Diffindo" shouted Samantha, the splitting charm missed the imp she was aiming at and hit a curtain on the stage causing it to rip in half. The imp stuck out its tongue and began to show its backside. Brittany didn't take too kind to that, she decided to give the imp a taste of it's own medicine. "Densaugeo" she exclaimed, the spell rebounded off a mirror and into the imp, it squirmed on the floor, it's teeth grew larger and larger, obviously it was paining the little imp. Its teeth were now so large that it couldn't fly. Brittany gave the imp a rude hand gesture just to show it that it wasn't a joke.

"My head…" complained Matthew, he finally woke up, he hoped he wasn't too late. "Yah, yah, yah, get up before you get crushed by a troll" said Joshua helping him up, a troll lifted its dirty large foot over them and crunched the ground behind them. "They're leaving, they didn't mean to attack at all" said Christopher, he examined them through his spectacles.

"They're passing by, they're looking for something in that direction" said Christopher, he almost followed the large army. "That's not going to work at the moment, we need to get out of here" said Daniel, his ears twitched once again, he managed to utter a word. "Griffin…" he said.

The screeching of a large Griffin could be heard, it screeched loudly and was head right for them, readying its talons. "Run!" exclaimed Christopher, they ran, they ran across the field through the large mounts of people. But at the same time they screamed, something you didn't see all too often. Joshua soon passed Fleur, her dress was ruined and she lay on the ground right in the path of the Griffin. He hesitated for a moment, then he came to a decision.

"Guy's go ahead, don't wait!" he exclaimed, he went too her aid.

"Josh! What the heck do you think your doing? She's a Veela! She's just attracting you, she'll be fine!" said Christopher, Joshua scowled at him. "She's quarter Veela now leave" he shouted back, he brought out his wand and shouted a spell. "Protego" he shouted, there was a white light and he was heard no more.

"Come on, down here" shouted Matthew, everyone followed until they fell into a large troll footprint, it was enough to fit all seven of them. "Not really how I expected to die really…" moaned Lola. Daniel put his index finger up, assuming this was an international hand sign for be quiet. She nodded. The chariot of fire passed above them, scorching the grass and setting it on fire despite how wet it was, it melted all the ice. This wedding was officially, ruined.

It was quite a while until things died down, no one knew how long it had been, it felt like hours. "So, who wants to take a chance?" asked Matthew, ironically, they chose him. He groaned as he lifted his head above the pit. He looked around, fires were still burning, people weren't in sight. He was about to complete his 360-degree turn of the scenery when a growl was heard. He looked up. A Werewolf had just jumped above him, landing on the grass with a cold thump.

There was no point hiding again, he'd just lead the location of the others, he just stared waiting for an idea to pop into his head. The Werewolf growled, it sent a shiver down his spine. But something was mysterious, the day was still at least early dawn. And a New Moon wasn't due to arrive for several more days, then it hit him. This wasn't an ordinary Werewolf, it was Fenir Greyback, the start of most transforming werewolves. Fenir howled, it pierced the night like a silver bullet, which would be great to have at the moment.

Suddenly the air in front of Matthew distorted, others in the pit began to look up only to see Lupin Apparate in front of them. "Stay" said Lupin, he held his wand out at Fenir, he was clearly the hero here but even Lupin was shaking, fear could be seen in his every move.

Fenir decided to laugh, and laugh he did. "Real funny Remus, now move out of the way so I can get the kids over there" he said, it then became certain that Fenir wanted to kill them, or worse, turn them into werewolves. "No!" shouted Remus. "Leave!" he continued too fearful for full sentences.

"What are you going to do if I don't eh Remus?" asked Fenir, he was proud and moving forward. "Relashio" shouted Lupin, sparks emitted at the tip of his wand and straight into Fenir's chest, it sent him flying into a tree. Lupin was stunned, he walked towards the tree. He knew it was too good to be true. That's when Fenir launched himself at Lupin, he used that as leverage to jump at the pit, as he pushed off, Lupin's rib cage could be heard crackling in the moonlight. Fenir grinned, he was heading straight for Matthew.

Matthew blinked, when he opened his eyes it was a blur, he could hear various voices shouting some of which included Samantha, Brittany, Daniel, and, they were all so mixed and distorted he couldn't tell. Was he dead? He couldn't tell, he just sat there, in darkness.