Burning Shadows and Shallow Graves: Chapter 4 is up!
TITLE: Burning Shadows and Shallow Graves
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warning: Major Character Death
Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Characters: Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Original Characters, Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Dean Thomas, Justin Finch-Fletchley, James Potter, Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
In a world where the war is never far from people’s minds, who died is not who you think and neither are those who will save the day.
CHAPTER 4 TITLE: “The Great Lake”
“Firs’-years! Firs’-years over here!”
They went in direction of the voice, and [Neville] nearly fell as the three other kids stopped dead in their tracks in front of him. The man who had called was twice as tall as any other man he’d ever met, and at least thrice as big. He looked scary indeed, what with the huge beard that ate most of his face, but his voice was friendly.
“C’mon, follow me – any more firs’-years? Mind yer step now! Firs’-years, follow me!”
“Who is that?” Hermione whispered in his ear, as they followed the man out of the station and down a steep path. It was too small for them to be walking as a group, so they went one after the other – Dean first, then Neville, then Hermione, then Justin.
“I’ve no idea,” he whispered back. “Wasn’t it mentioned in Hogwarts, a History?”
“The staff isn’t mentioned, no,” she scoffed.
“I think it’s the gamekeeper,” Justin said. “He’s called Hagrid.”
Both of them turned around, raising an eyebrow.
“How do you know?” Hermione asked.
Justin shrugged: “That’s what they’re saying back there. But keep walking, everybody’s pushing me now!”
They turned back around and stayed silent for a while. Neville’s teeth were chattering, and Dean frequently looked back at him, worried.
“Alright, mate?” he asked after a while.
“I d-don’t think I’ve ever b-been this cold in m-my entire life.”
“Where do you come from?” the boy laughed. “It’s not even autumn yet.”
Neville shrugged and gathered his cloak around him in hopes of keeping a little warmth. The path wasn’t so narrow anymore, so he went back to shielding himself with his group of friends, reckoning that if penguins could survive blizzards that way, he could survive a Scotland’s end-of-summer evening.
“Yeh’ll get yer firs’ sight o’ Hogwarts in just a sec,” the gamekeeper said, “jus’ round this bend here.”
They reached the bend and let out an amazed “oh”. Under an ink black sky, over the ink black water of the Great Lake, was Hogwarts. Warm lights were emanating from every window, contrasting against the darkness as towers and passageways appeared in front of their eyes. For the first time since the train had departed, Neville felt the tension in his chest relax a little. Everything might feel foreign, from the coldness of the air and the smell of the forest to the way people acted and the absence of his loved ones, but Hogwarts – Hogwarts – of which he had heard tales from the youngest age, really did welcome him with all its wild and wise heart. And for a moment, as he stood on the shingle, surrounded by the forest, the quiet breathing of the crowd around him and the castle overlooking them, his homesickness seemed to melt.
“No more ‘n four to a boat,” said the gamekeeper, his voice a quiet grumble that almost seemed loud in the stillness of that moment.
The four students climbed onto one of the boats, and soon enough, Hagrid was ordering: “Forward!”, and the whole fleet started to glide onto the surface. No word was uttered, but Dean leaned closer to Neville and pointed to the centre of the lake; there was nothing to be seen, exactly, but the young boy nodded. It may have been a simple ripple or an inaudible clapping sound, or maybe his imagination after hearing so many stories about the Giant Squid but he would have sworn a languid tentacle had caressed the surface from below.
