The Next Generation and the Followers of Darkness

Once classes started, though, Melody had hardly any time to read any of the books she had borrowed from the library. Homework had begun to pile up by the end of the week, and she, Rose, and Albus were spending most of their time sitting at a table in the common room, scribbling on pieces of parchment with their textbooks propped up in front of them.

By Friday afternoon, the three of them were lounging in a near empty common room, all their classes having been earlier that day. Rose was muttering to herself about what classes she had homework for, and Albus was half-asleep, his chin dropping ever slowly to his chest. Melody was curled up in a nearby armchair, thinking about the past week. School was definitely better than Amelia, Jeremy, and Oliver had described it.

Her elder siblings had always said how boring some classes at Hogwarts were; Melody, on the other hand, had enjoyed every single one of them.

Amelia, Jeremy, and Oliver all had one they adored above all the others. The Head Girl was a fan of Arithmancy, a class that she had chosen to take at the end of her second year. Amelia was always jabbering on about how wonderful the teacher was and how interesting the curriculum was, with numerology and gramatica at it's core. As a class many aspiring Ravenclaws made the decision to take, it was no surprise that Amelia had chosen Arithmancy and Ancient Runes as the two courses she wished to take. The oldest Smith had wanted to be a translator for the Ministry of Magic since she started at Hogwarts. Jeremy loved Muggle Studies, another course that one could choose to take at the end of his or her second year. As the name suggested, it was a study of the nonmagical population of the world. Few people took this class, and those who did were usually young wizards and witches who were interested in becoming liaisons between the Wizarding world and the Muggle world. Unlike his elder sister and brother, Oliver enjoyed Potions the most, despite the fact that this class was in the dungeons and taught one how to make some truly revolting draughts. Most students hated the class for this very reason. But Oliver couldn't care less. He was very good at brewing potions, too.

And while Melody could not yet take Arithmancy or Muggle Studies, she was enjoying Potions. The teacher, Professor Alpheus, was a kind woman who was dedicated to her subject. She tried as best she could to help the students along. But she was also very strict. As Jeremy had told Melody, there had been an accident four years back in which as student had been horribly injured. Although the student had survived, he was still in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies apparently, recovering. Professor Alpheus had been terribly shaken by the incident, and, due to the fact that she never wanted anything like that to happen in her class again, she had tightened her rules and made sure that everyone was using the correct ingredients before setting the class to work.

Snoring brought Melody back to the present. She looked up to see Albus's eyes closed, a bit of drool dripping down his chin.

"He better wake up soon," Rose grumbled. Melody whipped her head around to where her friend was sitting in the armchair beside her.

Although Rose was no where close to falling asleep, there were dark circles under her eyes. The Gryffindor girls — Melody, Rose, Isabella Dawson, Lissa Groves, and Gianna McIntosh — had all been up until midnight the night before, working on Transfiguration homework from Professor Fintan. All of them were dragging their feet and yawning today.

"Why?" Melody asked.

"We're supposed to go and visit Hagrid at four," said Rose, covering her mouth as she yawned. "I don't even know what time it is right —"

Rose had glanced up at the clock on the mantel to see that it was ten to four. She squeaked before jumping up and shaking Albus awake.

"All right . . . all right!" he growled, rubbing his eyes. "What is it, Rose?"

"It's almost time for tea with Hagrid," she explained. Albus groaned and tilted his head back onto the cushion behind him. "Is there anyone in your dormitory right now?"

"No," he yawned. "They all went outside to enjoy the sunshine. Why — ?"

He didn't get a verbal answer, but watched as Rose ran up the spiral staircase to the boys' dormitories. Albus rolled his eyes before closing them again.

Melody got to her feet, grabbed her school bag, and settled down at a table by the window. Far below on the grounds, people were walking about beside the lake and lying beneath trees. After the stormy weather earlier that week, the sunlight was greatly appreciated by everyone in the castle. As Melody sat by the window now, long beams of light were cast across the common room from the tall windows, warming the tower. The weather had been nice enough the past couple days that the fire had been allowed to decay to embers. No one had bothered to put more wood on the night before, so charred wood was all that remained.

Rose scampered down from the boys' dormitory back into the common room, holding Albus's trainers. Again, he groaned.

"Do we have to go?" he moaned.

Rose looked as if she wanted to slap him. Standing up straighter, she glared down at her cousin.

"Albus, we wrote to Hagrid last week saying we'd be over for tea on the first Friday after classes began," she said, obviously trying not to lose it. "We have to go."

"Argh, fine . . ." He started lacing up his shoes, throwing glares at Rose every few seconds. She tapped her foot impatiently.

Melody sat in silence, pulling out a piece of parchment and her quill to start her homework for the weekend. Despite her exhaustion, she wasn't about to waste a perfectly boring afternoon sleeping — might as well get something done to have the weekend free.

She waved at Rose and Albus as they made their way toward the portrait hole, but Rose spun around as Albus was crawling out to look at her friend.

"Would you like to come, Mel?" she asked. "I don't want to leave you alone."

"Er — maybe I'll come down in a bit, after I've got some of this essay done," she said, smiling. "Thanks for inviting me."

"See you later."

The portrait hole closed behind the two of them. And Melody found herself completely alone in Gryffindor Tower.

For about a half hour, she sat there, unable to do anything. Homework seemed pointless to do, since she knew she would be up late on Sunday trying to finish everything. Melody was a horrible procrastinator. She thought of going up to her dormitory to read one of the books she had borrowed from the library, but not even that seemed tempting.

After spending so much time with the rest of the first years this week, Melody had longed for some peace and quiet, some alone time. But now, rather than savoring the silence around her, she felt lonely. Perhaps it was the fact that she had spent so much time alone the past two years, but Melody realized how much she hated being by herself. In fact, she feared it.

Running her bag up to her dormitory first, she dashed back down to the common room and out the portrait hole. The corridors echoed her steps as she rushed down the halls. At one point she nearly ran straight through the Bloody Baron, but she side stepped quickly to keep from running through the ghost. She knew exactly how to get to the entrance hall now and made it down in record time.

But as she pushed open one of the big, oak doors, Melody found herself facing Eadric Almer and his group of followers on the front steps.

"Well, well," Almer sneered. "If it isn't Melody Smith. Thought you were still in the hospital wing after your little 'accident.' I can't believe how pathetic you are. And certainly not clever enough to figure out what happened."

She narrowed her eyes, but didn't speak. Instead, she shouldered her way past him and down the steps. Almer didn't let up on the insults.

"You know, you're not as brave a Gryffindor as I thought," he spat. "Whimpering about broken wrists. They shouldn't have let your family into Hogwarts, anyway. With those Mudblood parents of yours."

"Stop it," she hissed. Insulting her family had crossed the line. "Right now."

Almer glared down at her as she turned to look back at him. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Scorpius sitting among the group, watching her.

After their argument on Sunday, they hadn't said a word to each other. Melody was quite glad that he had found friends that suited him. His heart was as cold as any of the students sitting here.

"Why should — ?" began Almer, but Melody interrupted him.

"Just stop," she whispered. Without allowing for another word to be spoken, Melody whipped around and stalked off across the grounds, not looking back at the bully. A couple second year boys who had witnessed the encounter smiled at her encouragingly and gave her the thumbs up.

Since the incident on the train, Almer's power over the rest of the school was being drained as more and more people stood up to him. Melody was glad that the Slythein boy was being stopped, but it was only a matter of time before he ordered another attack on her.

Melody was clever enough. She had put the pieces together that night in the hospital wing. It hadn't been hard to figure out. Of course she knew that she had not fallen down the stairs by accident but had most definitely been tripped. Someone had pulled a rug from under her feet. And she knew exactly who it was: Scorpius. Almer had said that morning he had an assignment for the first year Slytherin, and Melody had known that Almer was pissed off about her stand on the train. Only he would have told Scorpius to harm her. And knowing how desperate the boy was for acceptance, Melody wasn't surprised that Scorpius had followed through. When he hadn't come to visit, it had only confirmed her suspicions.

Hagrid's little hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest had come into view. Smoke was pouring out of the chimney, and the light was on inside, as the dwelling was in the shadow of the trees. Melody pushed any thought of Scorpius from her mind as she sped up.

She knocked on the door. This incited a few weak barks from within, followed by heavy footsteps on a wood floor. The door opened a bit to reveal the giant of a man she had met on the platform a week earlier. Unable to stop herself, she backed up slightly, not out of fear but simply to see him better. Melody had seen Hagrid in his seat at the High Table from where she sat in the Great Hall; however, standing directly in front of him was completely different. She needed to crane her neck to look up at his face — or where it ought to be — as it was barely visible through a thick tangle of hair and beard.

"Can I help yeh?" asked Hagrid.

"Er — Albus Potter and Rose Weasley invited me down here a little while ago," she explained, not blinking, staring into his glittering black eyes.

"It's all right, Hagrid," came Rose's voice from inside the hut. "That's Melody — the one we were just telling you about."

"Oh, well, come on in, then," said Hagrid, his eyes crinkling as he smiling at Melody and swung the door wide open.

"Thank you," she mumbled, trying to be polite. But as she walked into the house, she couldn't help but gape.

It was more of a one-room hut than a house. In one of the corners sat a gigantic bed, with a quilt the size of a Muggle car cover — and Melody could make the comparison since she lived in London. Rose and Albus were on the other side of the room, sitting at a table that was much too high for them. Bundles of feathers and claws hung from the ceiling. Her jaw dropped for a moment, but she snapped her mouth shut when she realized what she was doing.

"Hello, Mel," Albus and Rose said together, smiling.

"Decided to come down, then?" Rose said.

"Obviously," Melody teased.

Just then, something big and black came hobbling out from under the table toward Melody. At first, it just looked like some wrinkled old creature. But, in fact, it was. The huge boarhound made its way slowly over to Melody and looked up at her with droopy eyes. She patted his head for a moment before taking a seat at the table.

"That there is Fang," said Hagrid proudly. "He was a lot younger when yer mums an' dads were here. He's gettin' ol' now."

He smiled sadly at Fang. The dog had settled at his feet.

"So yer Amelia an' Jeremy an' Oliver's little sister?" he asked Melody. "She's a piece o' work that one. Always arguin' 'bout somethin'. Jeremy's just quiet. I haven' talked to him that much. But Oliver . . . oh, him an' James are almost as bad as the Weasley twins were. Not as destructive, mind yeh. . . . Anyway, how're you likin' classes up at the school?"

"It's interesting," she said. "I don't think I could choose a favorite teacher or class. By the way, are the Heads of House always this lenient?"

"Oh, no," Hagrid chuckled. "The last Head of Gryffindor was Professor McGonagall herself. Neville's jus' got a soft spot fed you all."

Hours passed as the four of them kept talking. Hagrid made them tea from a big kettle in the fireplace. Along with that, he served rock cakes, which were so hard that Melody thought she had chipped a tooth when she took a bite. But other than that, Melody, Rose, and Albus had a good time discussing with Hagrid everything that had happened that week. Kindly enough, the half-giant had avoided the fact that Melody had already been in the hospital wing, as that was how many people recognized her in classes. Still, it felt odd to be friends with someone who might be her Care of Magical Creatures teacher if she decided to take that class.

They had just been laughing about Albus falling asleep in History of Magic, when something hit the window pane by the door.

"What was that?" Rose asked.

"Dunno," Hagrid mumbled.

They returned to their conversation when something hit the window again. Hagrid leapt to his feet, the floor vibrating slightly, as he stomped over to the door and open it wide. Just as he did so, a little stone hit him square in the forehead.

"Oi!" he bellowed. "Stop doin' that!"

Melody, Rose, and Albus peeked out from behind Hagrid to see Almer tossing a pebble right at the window again. His "friends" were right behind him.

"Clear off!" continued Hagrid. "Yeh better listen, or I'll have Professor McGonagall down here to straighten things out! Go on!"

Fang had stumbled along behind the three first-years, and now stood beside Hagrid. A growl rumbled in Fang's throat.

Almer glared at Hagrid, Albus, and Rose, then fixed his eyes on Melody. His eyes narrowed. There was a moment's silence during which no one moved. Even the boys and girls who usually milled around in Almer's wake had stopped to watch their leader.

"Mudblood spawn," he spat, smirking horribly at Melody.

She didn't react, not wanting to drop to his level by throwing insults at him, but Hagrid was not about to put up with Almer's slander. He stormed out of the hut right toward the third year. But the boy fled as soon as he saw Hagrid coming, his entourage running along behind him. Even Almer wasn't arrogant enough to mess with a teacher.

"Git," Hagrid muttered. The four of them took their places at the table again inside the hut, Hagrid still fuming. "He has no right to insult someone's bloodline. No one does."

"Hagrid, thank you for standing up for me," said Melody, "but I've already put up with a lot from Almer. He's not too much for me to deal with."

"Yeah, him and his 'followers of darkness' may have the advantage of numbers, but —" Albus began, but he stopped at Hagrid's look of horror. "What?"

"Did you say 'followers of darkness'?"

"Er — yes," replied Albus. "That's what he calls that group of his. Why?"

"My God, that's one morbid kid," Hagrid said, dropping his head into his hands.

No one spoke. Hagrid kept looking around. It was as if all the laughter and fun of the past few hours had been sucked right out of the air. It was getting dark. Melody, Rose, and Albus would have to get back up to the school for dinner soon.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked finally. "What are the 'followers of darkness'?"

"It's an old legend from the Wizarding Wars," Hagrid said quickly and quietly. "You really wouldn't want to know about it."

"Hagrid," Melody prompted. "What are they?"

Finally, he looked her right in the eyes.

"Yeh all know what Deatheaters were? Of course, that would be taught now. Well . . . the Followers of Darkness was an idea that was formed by You-Know-Who — by V-Voldemort — I'm still terrified of sayin' the name. He wanted to create a group of elite Deatheaters to carry out his most horrible duties. He never had time to do it, though. Too busy fightin' yer dad, Al. But the legend continued on . . . and for that git to call them his 'followers of darkness' is terrible. If a group like that had ever been formed, the Wizarding an' Muggle worlds might have looked a bit different."

Hagrid shuddered. Melody looked down at her hands. Almer was an even more horrible person than she had thought.

~~~~~

Melody, Rose, and Albus had eaten dinner in a solemn mood, glancing every now and then over at where Almer was sitting, surrounded by his followers. They lost their appetites fast.

Every child born after the Second Wizarding War had heard the story over and over, of Voldemort and his army of Deatheaters facing Harry Potter in the final battle at Hogwarts. Voldemort had been destroyed once and for all, and most of the Deatheaters were sent to Azkaban. But the idea that an elite group of these terrible witches and wizards having survived created a knot in Melody's stomach.

After dinner, she and Rose retreated from the noisy common room to the relative silence of their dormitory. Melody picked up one of her books to read, trying to ease her mind, when the title of the one below caught her attention. Legends and the History Surrounding Them. The book Mr. Witt had been reading. She took that instead and sat on the floor. Could the Followers of Darkness possibly be in here?

She flipped to the table of contents and searched, finding the name instantly. Although it was a library book, the words were underlined in ink. Flipping to the page, she found a piece of parchment marking it.

Someone had been researching this myth before her.