Hello there, again! I might start to add short lore notes before the chapter, related to something which will be shown in the chapter. Like the one below, in the form of a book's passage a character wrote. Mainly because I'm reading the 'Farseer Triology', by Robin Hobb, and they appear there. I just want to try them.

Since the history of the world came to be written, many times have been this so-called Omens referenced. Though never in a good light. And never backed with a reason to explain their existence. It was a feeble man, more dead than alive, sick and breathless, who once brought word of the Nightmares to the people of the Alazthi Kingdom; his words, later carved into a tomb of gold and silver, became the epitaph to the most proud and elitist civilization this world has ever seen. It was a seer, a woman crazed by the Talent she came to wield, the Great Sight, who foresaw the end of what later we came to know as the Ancient Age. It was the crumbling of Adeene Tower, by fire and light, which saw the birth of a new breed of monsters, Dementors. It was a bloody and fleshless elf who spoke of Gellert Grindelwald. It was a heavy storm, one which lasted twenty-one days and twenty nights, which preceded the claim of Lord Voldemort to this world.

Lawrence the Third, in 'History of the Wizarding World', chapter 57.

Chapter 51 - A voice of dusk

Dawn had yet to come when Daphne Greengrass woke up that day. It was a cold morning, more so up in the mountains. A dark one, in which a thick sea of clouds acted as a greyish curtain which barely allowed a few rays of moonlight to seep through. Frosted dewdrops gathered outside the window atop of her desk, making the once sheer glass now a misty wall. There was no wind, fortunately, as the calmness from outside let her know.

She sprang out of her bed after much hesitation—the sooner, the better, she decided with a sigh. In less than a minute she was already dressed. A thick, yet flexible, coat was the jewel of her attire, along with the woollen scarf around her neck, of a deep-green shade. Comfy trousers and high leggings went down her legs, which, with the help of some wool-lined boots, would protect her body on such a cold and awful day.

Because today a trip down the Emerald Valley would take place. And not one for leisure, but for academic purposes.

A knock on her door pulled the blonde out of her thoughts. She was quick to open it, and there awaited two of her new friends. Laure Smith was a blond girl, too, but full of curls instead, just as her eyes were of a cold grey while hers were of a deep blue. She was taller than Daphne by a few inches, and a tad slimmer too. And smarter and better in all they tried, though that was a silly detail she liked to not think about, of course.

"Morning, beauty girl!" Now, Lara Miller was just the opposite when compared to the two blondes. Shorter, of brown hair which reached down to her shoulders and hazel eyes, she was the chirpiest soul to ever take a breath. Very alike to Tracey, in fact, thought of much wilder humour and personality. "Excited for your first gymkhana ever?"

"Not really," Daphne grumbled as she stepped out of her dormitory. Although sorted in Houses, each student had their own bedroom in Ilvermorny; a thing she thought wonders about. "I hate going outside in Winter. Would rather spend the entire day here, by the warmth's embrace."

"It is not so bad a day," Laure pointed out sourly.

"She says that because her father was the one who thought of this lecture," Lara grinned, much to the other girl's annoyance. "And she's totally daddy's princess!"

A smirk appeared on Daphne's face, though hidden under her green scarf. They paced through the castle's hallways in silence then. Of far fairer stone than those at Hogwarts, the light and warmth from the torches and lamps seemed a far mightier thing to fight away Winter's embrace. It was a long stroll down, from the North Tower to the Hall of Spring.

There, they met with everyone else, and their group grew by two. But her eyes ignored them in favour of the many tapestries which decorated the Hall. They showed pictures of blossoming; in the many ways the word allowed to. Of flowers and trees, making a forest so large it seemed endless; of thriving civilizations in which folk helped one another; of family, a love so pure and warm which they shared; of time, in which a child developed into a adult, and then into an elder, with all the changes it brought to a person.

She would rather have this than those awful, tiresome pictures at Hogwarts.

Alexander was quick to join them, not a single trace of sleepiness within his features. His azure eyes travelled from one face to another, taking in every detail in the blink of an eye. "Morning," he just said.

Now, Killian Leonard, the white-haired boy whocame after him, gave them a far warmer greeting. "Ready for the day?" the boy smiled. "I brought drinks and snacks for all," he said as he showed them the bag which hung from his shoulders. He stood, at least, half a head taller than the rest—he was perhaps as tall as Ron, Daphne reckoned. And he was, with no hint of doubt, the most talented and less ambitious person she had ever met.

"Where's Russ, by the way," Lara asked then. "Don't see him anywhere."

"He couldn't sleep and woke up earlier than us," Alex started. "He went for an early breakfast and had the misfortune to bump into Professor Kyle. I believe he was dragged against his will to the Emerald Valley, to help the Professor prepare the last bits of today's lecture."

"Then he's got the advantage over us," Laure mused.

"Good for him," Alex said with a shrug. "It won't make no difference, though. I'm gonna win regardless of the task. Only Killian can stop me, and we all know he's far too soft to try hard enough."

Now, Daphne had seen malice and arrogance since the day she was born, for those were traits purebloods excelled at. And although those words showed a great deal of disrespect, and an even greater lack of touch, there was none of those within them. Alexander was far better than them, and they all knew. It was a truth, as cold and tough as they were.

And his words were met with a wide range of reactions. Lara just shook her head in disbelief, giving the boy a quick slap on the shoulder; Killian just smiled apologetically; Daphne just rolled her eyes at them, yet in disbelief more than annoyance; and there was fire within Laure's eyes, the one who still tried to compete against Alex for much she was defeated.

"We'll see about that!" she hissed, walking toward the exit of the Hall.

"You are so stupid," Lara sighed, going after her.

And so, one way or another, they all made their way to the Thunderbird Gate. Which was not much of a gate, all in truth. It was a simple room, well-illuminated and embellished by a bright, velvety carpet of gold and blue, which showed the flight of a Thunderbird. At the end of it rested a tall and wide mirror, embellished by wing-like projections.

To go through it would take them to the Emerald Valley. It was one of the ways to go down there; the quickest and most comfortable one for the students. Alexander was first to venture into the mirror, as per usual, and he was followed by some others whose names Daphne had yet to learn. There were more students here than at Hogwarts. And it wasn't as if she had tried so.

"What kind of trial do you reckon we'll face today?" Killian asked as they waited for their turn. The line shrunk at a fast pace, fortunately, but a choir of whispers had yet to die. "Last year, it was a race through the Valley, with multiple obstacles of every kind. And before we did a survival game, in which to get hit by a spell meant elimination. They are great fun, honestly. It shows how much Professor Kyle cares about us and our education."

"Perhaps," Daphne admitted reluctantly, "but it could be done another day. I'd love not to freeze to death!" Yet she shared the boy's point. To compare Professor Kyle with the likes of Quirrell and Lockhart was to compare day and night. "I just hope it won't be too demanding. I still remember far too well the stiffness after he told us to run three miles in the very first week of the year…"

"Actually, he was feeling rather kind that day. Last year we came to run about ten miles. And then we needed to duel each other—the more opponents we defeated with no rest in between, the better our grade would be. I did pretty well myself, to be fair. Second, right behind Alex."

Finally their turn came. Daphne strode through the mirror with the confidence of someone who had done it countless times already. And she barely paid a second thought to the wave of freshness which almost made her shiver. And to the feeling of missing her next step and almost falling to the ground. Indeed, such was the confidence of someone who had done this countless times.

But it was all blown away the moment she stepped into the Valley. Down there, Winter's embrace held no power. Whether it was a mighty spell or a ward, Daphne ignored. But here the grass was bright, green and warm. A field full of flowers and trees of every kind, run by rivers and creeks of pristine water. And the sun shone brightly, too, its rays so powerful she felt the need to loosen the scarf around her neck and to unbutton the top of her coat.

"Isn't it a wonderful place?" Killian smiled fondly. "My favourite one, perhaps. It reminds me of the countryside where I grew up in Canada. Though not such a wonderful place in Winter, that's for sure."

Daphne hummed in response, her eyes far too busy in taking in the picture to answer him as he deserved. It had become her favourite place, too. The two of them resumed their walk, pulled to the choir of voices from ahead.

Uphill waited everyone, gathered around a tall wizard of blond hair and grey eyes. He wore black, as every Professor did, and his voice was firm and loud. "Today will be a very important day for your grades," Kyle Smith said, eyeing his students with a strict look. "The first trial of the trimester. A day in the open field in which you will take all the theory you have learned in these three years and make it practical."

A choir of whispers were heard then, yet silenced shortly after.

"You will be put into pairs, which I have designated myself," the Professor went on. "It will be a game of tag, in which the last remaining pair will achieve maximum points. As you might have guessed already, you will compete among yourselves. However, it does not end there. I have deployed many obstacles through the Valley, of each and every nature. Hostile creatures and magical traps among those. There's nothing you should not be able to manage by now. More so with another person by your side."

Daphne could but sigh in defeat. She hated these physical trials with all her might. But when her grades were on the line, there was no other option but to give her best.

Because of this, she found herself walking on her tiptoes through the darkest part of the forest, wary of each and every sound. The sun had already set itself atop of the sky, a disk of light so very bright, yet it was not strong enough for its rays to seep through those thick and large leaves, of a shade of green so dark it almost seemed to repel them. It was too warm a day now, but thankfully she had dropped her thick coat back at the clearing.

"Perhaps no one else thought of the forest," Killian said thoughtfully. He walked several steps ahead of her, wand ready at hand. His stride seemed relaxed from the outside, but she'd seen him turn his head like an arrow at a snapping branch or a chirping bird. "We should have encountered someone already."

Words could not describe the relief she had felt when the boy's name had been announced after hers. With him by her side, all Daphne needed to do was to not get on his way.

"I do not think so," she said at last. "This part of the Valley is far too good a place to be ignored by all but us. Though I do not really care about them, honestly. I'm sure you will be able to feel them as soon as they get close enough to us. And to handle them, too. However, I do worry about Alexander. You are his main rival, and he will come after you. Whether you think of him the same or not does not matter to him. His pride is so big he will see that everyone knows of your defeat."

"I'm pretty sure we can avoid him until there aren't many pairs left," Killian smiled. "That way, a decent enough grade will be guaranteed."

Their walk through the forest continued. Twice they needed to run down the bank of a creek; and there she almost tripped enough times to lose count. There, Daphne halted and kneeled by the water, empty canteen in hand. "The water is so fresh and clean here," the girl mused, a bit in awe.

"It is. I almost feel the need to empty mine so I can refill it here." Killan stood far from her, keeping watch around the place, but still did her words reach him. "We should hurry. This place is far too exposed for my liking."

Uphill they went next, through a nonexistent path. A hard one to follow, so much her forehead soon glistened with sweat and her legs ached in protest. Daphne's strategy had been to wait out the game, and Killian had nodded to her plan. They did not need to put on a show to win, after all. Just to survive.

At some point in the morning they came to rest near a little pond. It was hidden by a ring of tall pines and thick bushes. She took a seat on a round log which had been cut, and almost gulped down her canteen yet again. Killian took off his boots and sank his feet into the clean water. He shared with her one of his snacks before resuming the walk.

It took them a while to find the first trap. And she was saved by Killian, of course.

Daphne walked right into it. To her eyes, the forestry picture was just the same—to be surrounded by trees of dark, thick leaves. But not to him. "Watch out!" Killian exclaimed as she stepped over a large root of a tree. He all but tackled her into the ground. And the light rope which was set to coil itself around her legs cracked against the empty air with a whistle.

Daphne stood rooted into the ground for a few seconds. There she realised in which position they had fallen into. With him atop of her, their faces far too close, his eyes far too set into hers. "Are you okay?" Killian asked then.

Whining like a child she pushed the boy away. He rolled onto his back, more surprised than hurt. "Oh! I'm so very sorry!" Daphne was quick to apologise. She could only hope for her face to not be as red and hot as it felt. "It was just that you… That you…"

"That I weighed too much?" Killian smiled, sitting up without any trouble. "I should have done it a softer way, I know, but it was a well-crafted Ward. Well, it is Professor Smith whom we are talking about, after all."

Then he bolted up, so fast it startled Daphne. But she did not have much time to question him. "Stupefy!" A red light rocketed from his wand toward the thicket. A loud gasp came from it.

"Shit!" came from behind the thicket. "I surrender! Damn it! I surrender, I said!" It was Derek's voice. He came from the bushes with his hands raised to the air. A tall and lanky boy, he was. He reminded her of Theodore Nott. Only that his hair was of a light brown instead of raven-black. And he wasn't mad, either. Nor sadistic.

He also dragged out another body as best as he could, that of a girl. It was Lacey, a short, plump girl of dark-blond hair, who had been hit by Killian's stunner. She looked like a rag-doll in the boy's arms.

"Drop your wand," Killian warned him, yet kindly.

"I dropped it the moment your spell came at us like a damn missile!" Derek grunted, his face pale as marble. "Seriously, isn't anyone else around that I have to bump into you, Killian? Bah. It could be worse. It could be Shawn."

"Your tokens. Throw them away."

Derek sent him a foul look, but did as told. With a firm hand he pulled a black card from his pockets. Then he broke it. "Lacey's too." So it happened again, another card broken by his hands. That was another couple they had outlasted. "Good," Killian nodded. "Do you want me to revive her? It is a rather simple spell."

Daphne used that moment to finally stand up. It would shame her to admit it aloud, but she had only reacted because her lower back hurt. Not because an enemy was there, right in front of her. Or because she was supposed to survive. "I can do that," she offered, clearing her throat while at it.

A pair of eyes fell over her—Killian's, accompanied with a smile, and Derek's, who gave her a nod. She walked toward the unconscious girl, whose body had been dropped on the tough ground. "Rennervate!"

Lacey woke up with a gasp, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured all over her. "The voice!" she shrieked. "Run, Derek! Run for your life, damn it!" Her words were met by silence, and then she took in her surroundings. In their surprised faces. "Oh." A blush was quick to colour her face. "Hello, Killian. And you too, Daphne. I guess we've lost, right?"

Daphne and Killian shared a look, then glanced at Derek.

"We lost, indeed," he sighed, helping Lacey to stand up. "Now, about that voice she's just mentioned… Well, it is quite a funny story. I'm sure you have better things to do. Such as winning this damn trial."

"Actually, I do want to hear about it," Killian said. "And you?" Daphne replied with a shrug of her shoulders, to which he grinned. "See? Come on, spill the beans. I deserve that, as I disarmed you."

Derek shook his head, yet talked, "Well, it all began twenty minutes ago, or so. We were walking through the forest, knowing we had shat our chances to last long in the trial. Now I wonder whose idea it was to come here. To such an awful place."

"It was yours," Lacey cut in.

"Well, anyways, we walked and walked," the boy went on. "And found nothing, which was a most pleasant surprise. But then she heard it. A very faint sound, almost like a whistle. I thought of the wind, and told her so. She bought my idea and we ignored it then. But as we deepened into the forest, I too came to hear it."

"It was then when I realised it was a voice," Lacey added with a shudder. "And it spoke of the night. That it was so very close, it said."

"At first I thought this was one of those traps Professor Smith had mentioned. And, knowing him, it could be possible. Or so I said to myself. But it all smelled too bad. And then it got closer and closer to us. And louder and clearer. 'The night is close!' it said. 'And it's dark and cold. As it once was!' I lost it then, mate. And we ran and never looked back."

Killian blinked, "So, that's why you came at us so recklessly. It makes sense."

He shrugged the matter away as if it was a silly thing. Which it probably was, she reckoned. But Daphne had kept an eye on Derek's and Lacey's faces through their tale. She had seen fear in their eyes, that which could not be faked. She chose to shrug it away, too, but for a very different reason.

Shortly after, both Lacey and Derek walked out of the clearing, defeated and anxious to get out of the forest. And Killian kept his eyes on them until they disappeared behind the wall of trees. "Well, that was something," he said. "What do you think of their story?"

"I think they were truly scared," Daphne pointed out.

Killian tilted his head thoughtfully. Then he began walking. Toward the path from where Derek and Lacey had appeared. "Wait a moment!" Daphne gasped. "That's where-"

"Where they came from? Running from that strange voice which totally freaked them out. Yes, I know." He kept walking without turning his head. "I want to see it with my own eyes. Or hear it with my own ears, better said."

"Why?" Despite the voice inside her head which told her to run the opposite direction, Daphne followed him.

"I'm curious. That's all. Besides, if such a voice can inspire so much fear, then I reckon there's no safer place to be. It will frighten all away. Not Alexander, of course. But we will deal with him if it comes to it."

"Curious? Have you gone mad suddenly?" It needed to be that. Else, Ron's soul had taken over Killian's body. Shuddering, Daphne pulled every thought about souls out of her mind.

"Perhaps," the boy shrugged, using his wand to cut a path through the thicket. Many branches got tangled into her hair, which was already up in a ponytail, and also into her sweater. "Call me as you may, but I'm going regardless. We could split here, of course. Professor Smith said nothing about that. On purpose, I bet. It would be harder for others to track us down."

"There's no way I'm going alone!" Not now, after hearing such a story. But that was a detail she did not add. "If you go there, I'll go with you. Damn you! Boys will be boys!"

The walk toward that voice was a very long one. Not by distance, she reckoned, but by time. Every step she took felt as if a pound of weight was added to her stride. It was oppressive, to a point in which she almost halted. But Killian did not. And so did Daphne.

Why do I always end up surrounded by monsters? Ron, Potter and Granger, then Killian, Alexander and Laure. People of firm beliefs and morals which did not doubt themselves, no matter who or what stood in front of them. And then came she, Daphne Greengrass. A girl which all she could do was to run away from her problems.

But, oh, she did excel at it!

The oppression she felt became heavier, and they now walked through a part of the forest in which even the wind had stilled. No noise was carried to them, nor a single scent. The branches could have been made of stone, due to how little they moved. A sudden light was born ten, from Killian's wand. Daphne did the same.

They finally halted near the entrance to a cave, its mouth so dark it seemed to be made of void itself. "I have never been here before," Killain mused, eyes set on the cave. Fortunately, he did not seem to have any intention of venturing inside. "And I have explored the Valley countless times. Alone and accompanied. I thought we had already mapped the whole of it."

Daphne got closer to him, even if that meant walking toward the cave. "I don't like this," she mused. "Please, let's go back."

And then it came to them, the Voice. From the cave.

It spoke in a strange language, full of sharp sounds and slow words. But time seemed to wait for those words, to mould for them, as fear gripped every inch of her body. Her legs felt lifeless, as they refused to obey her brain. She could now feel the cold air against her skin, and took delight in it, for it seemed to keep her alive.

Then the words made sense. "O, cometh the Night thee summoned. Eternal and pure. Asketh the question was—when shalt thy Prince return? O, cometh the Dawn, bright and warm. O, it shalt come, thine salvation awaits. O, it shalt not come, thine doom awaits."

Faint footsteps came next. Slowly, slowly, so slow a breath became eternal. A shadow then, wrapped up in the cave's darkness. It took form. Of a monster. No, of a human. Of an old man; skin so pale and weathered, beard so white and long, bones so thin and cracking, robes so torn and mossy.

Killian stilled, wand pointed at the ground, eyes fixed on the old man. Daphne gasped, took a few steps back, fought through her fear-induced stillness. And the old man walked closer, and raised a hand toward them. "O, the Night!"

He was engulfed in a black fireball, its flames so bright it almost hurt to look at them, so furious they hissed as they consumed its prey.

Daphne's legs finally gave up. She fell to the ground on her butt, pathetically, and it ached in protest once more. But not enough to prevent her from crawling backwards. Killian finally raised his eyes from the pyre, and glanced to the left. From there came the echoes of more footsteps. For a moment she closed her eyes and waited for it all to end, in any way it might be. And cursed her lord father while at it, for sending her to this School.

But a voice she knew spoke then, and her fear disappeared as if dust carried by the wind. "Now, what the hell was that?"

Alexander came from the darkness of the thicket; bushes and trees allowed him a free path as he twisted them with his wand and hand alike. He came alone, no trace of Beckett, his partner for the trial.

It all hit Daphne just then. "You… You killed him! You killed someone, Alexander!" Not so mighty words were those she uttered from the ground.

"I killed it," Alex corrected. "Whatever that was, it was not a person. It was a dangerous creature. Did you not feel that aura of fear he oozed? And its decrepit body? No old man could have walked on those legs, nor seen with those eyes or breathed with those lungs."

"Then… Then what?"

"That's a question I too have."

Killian, however, did not allow the matter to die, "You killed it," he accused, a firmness in his voice Daphne did not believe to be possible. "In cold blood."

Alexander blinked, then disappeared. In the blink of an eye he appeared right into Killian's face, and raised his hand to the albino's breast pocket; where he had stored his token. But Killian's hand was quick to seize it before that could happen. Daphne could but watch from afar as they glared at one another, stilled as their hands fought to break free.

"It was dangerous," Alexander said coldly, shaking himself loose from Killian's grip. "It could have hurt you. Or worse, it could have hurt Daphne. That thing, whatever it was, it was not supposed to be here. I know that. And so do you. This is a dangerous world, Killian, with plenty of dangers of each and every kind. It should be about time for you to understand it." His wand rose then, pointed at Killian's face, "Now, I'm gonna get your token."

"Have it, then." Killian tossed the black card at Alexander, who let it fly past him.

Alex lowered his wand, though his eyes remained set at Killian. And it was not a delighted look which they expressed. Daphne finally stood up, still shaken from all which had happened.

"And what about yours, Daphne?" Alexander asked. "Are you going to fight for it?"

Daphne pulled her token out of her trousers' pocket. "It ain't worth it. I'm pretty sure we outlasted enough people to have a good enough grade."

That too seemed to irk Alexander. And the cold aura between the two boys did nothing but grow. Daphne knew she had to do something. Last time she had felt his kind of aura between friends, friendships had changed beyond repair. She could still feel Ron's disappointment in Blaise and she, as they had walked away from him when he most needed their help.

"Let's walk back to the Gate, together," she almost implored. "This is no time to discuss this, as your blood is still running hot. No, it would be better to talk about it with a cold mind. I think both of you have a point. You should have not killed it so…, coldly. And you, Killian, know he is also right. That thing was dangerous, and not meant to be here."

The two boys turned at her and seemed to consider her words. Then they both nodded to one another, though reluctantly. After that, the three of them made their way out of the forest. They found no one in the way. Still they felt plenty of differences.

The wind ran through the forest yet again, colder now as the sun was making its way down. And it brought them plenty of scents—of berries and flowers, of pine wood and humidity. And plenty of noises, too—that of the creek running downhill, of chirping birds and singing crickets, of voices, too, as they finally emerged from the forest.

Atop of the hill waited the tall figure of Kyle Smith, eyes already set on them. And around him sat and stood all the students, and those who rested down bolted up as they began their way uphill.

Only then did Daphne notice how fiery the sky looked, its clouds almost made of fire, and how low the sun stood in the darkening picture of dusk. She could but hide her chin into her sweater.

"How long did we wander through the forest?" she mused. Killan and Alex refrained from answering, and led the way up. The three of them came to stand before Professor Smith.

"Care to elaborate?" the Professor said then. The fact they did not coward to such a look was a miracle. All the eyes were set on the three newcomers. Sympathise could be seen in them.

"We went to the forest," Killian started, "thinking of it as a great place to hide. Then we encountered Derek and Lacey, and they told us of a mysterious voice they had heard. I felt very curious, and decided to investigate. I thought it was one of those traps you had mentioned, and wanted to find it, to see if I could learn any magic from it. But then…"

"Then we found it," Daphne cut in. "At the entrance of a cave we did not know it was there. What came out of the cave was a… A…"

"A strange creature," Alexander added. "I got rid of it."

"You got rid of it?" Professor Smith raised a brow. "As you got rid of Beckett, your teammate?" Daphne glanced at the dark-skinned girl, who wisely chose to stare at the sky now that all the eyes were set on her.

"She would have slowed me down," Alex said with a shrug. "I believe you said nothing about that in the game's rules. Besides, I dropped her in a safe place, where I knew not many would roam about." He glanced around then, as if to make his point, "And I won, did not I?"

"You won," the Professor accepted. "But your grade will not be the highest one. Now, before night comes, you all are free to go back to the castle. All but you three. You will come with me, to my chambers, and there we will speak of this strange creature. And you will keep no detail to yourself. Was I clear enough?"

And Daphne could but obey. Thinking about all the amount of sleep she would lose tonight. This was not a simple matter, that she knew, and Professor Smith was not a man to leave things undone. He would get to the end of this, and for that he needed their testimony.

It seemed that, no matter whether the castle's name was Hogwarts or Ilvermorny, trouble always found a way to Daphne Greengrass.