Tears of the Ages

When first year students arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry they were met by the booming voice of the groundskeeper, Hagrid. From there they would congregate and climb into the awaiting boats, which carried them across the lake. It was there that they got a first glance at the legendary castle that inhabited Hogwarts students. Those returning for years beyond their first would be taken to the castle by horse-less carriages. For most, the experience was forgettable, but for those that chanced to watch another life extinguish before them, it was daunting. Instead of seeing a carriage being magically pulled, they gazed upon huge, skeletal winged horses. They were black as night with white eyes that shined eerily from their dragonish faces. Often seen as a bad omen for their fierce appearance, or lack thereof, they were highly clever and magical creatures. The carriages at Hogwarts were pulled by Thestrals.

But to most people it was attributed to either a good feat of magic or invisible horses. They didn't know the truth unless they had seen death, and that was something one did not tend to share openly.

Upon arriving in the Great Hall, the new students were sorted into the four houses. One newcomer to Slytherin had caught Silvia's attention: Tidra Midnight. The eleven-year-old had azure eyes with pale skin exaggerated by the color of her ebony hair. She seemed to have a disobedient side and that was likely to be what made her stand out from the others to the Slytherin Colton.

Hogwarts fell into its usual routine after the first few weeks. Classes had gone much the same as they had the previous year, although History of Magic seemed to be a particular bore. Considering that it was taught by a ghost, it never had flair. New spells and charms were learned along with more difficult potions and more homework was assigned.

The green leaves on the trees outside began to fade in color to red and yellow and eventually fell to the frostbitten ground. After only days of this transformation, blankets of snow covered that ground and excited children shattered its perfect design by stepping into the soft sea of white.

The Heads of House were busy counting the students that would be staying at Hogwarts over the winter holidays. This year it seemed that a large number would remain behind because of events at the Ministry.

Dumbledore had received an announcement that their previous Minister of Magic had retired and Millicent Bagnold was taking up the position. Due to this change, the new Minister had requested that her employees stay over the holidays to help adjust to the new administration. Her reasoning was that Christmas was one of the biggest events in the wizarding community and with the changes, more accidents would accrue.

It was after dinner that night that Dumbledore stood up to address the students and explain what was happening at the Ministry. "Those students with parents who work at the Ministry of Magic will be staying over the holidays. If you do not know if you are considered or not, letters will be delivered in the morning post to clear any uncertainties up. Also, to celebrate the appointment of Mrs. Bagnold and to increase relations between the four houses, the students who will be remaining at Hogwarts will be sleeping in the Great Hall on Christmas Eve. That is all for now. I suggest you all begin packing you things."

Soon, students were heading off to Hogsmeade to journey home to their families. The downhearted students remaining at Hogwarts watched them leave, knowing that their friends had the better deal. The days that followed passed painfully slow.

The days on the calendars finally read December twenty-fourth. Those students still at Hogwarts had been amassed in the Great Hall. The teachers had decided that they would gather more sleep in their own rooms and left the four rivaling houses to themselves. The students bedded down in the Great Hall with particularly squishy purple sleeping bags.

"Merlin, I'm bored," Silvia declared, falling back onto her sleeping bag.

"Join the club, Via," Evan Rosier muttered from beside her, having chosen to stay over the break.

There was a definite segregation in the hall. Slytherins had taken up the farthest left corner while Hufflepuffs occupied the stairs to the staff table. Ravenclaw was situated across the doorway and Gryffindors spread out somewhere in-between.

Personally, Silvia would have preferred to be next to Aurelia. They could have thought of something to do instead of staring at the ceiling, which was cloudy and starless. She peered across the hall at the Gryffindor group and spotted her cousin having a detached conversation with Vouldora and Derkson, looking as though she would rather be anywhere else. And then, inspiration struck. Silvia stood up gracefully in the middle of the group of Slytherins, ignoring her comrades' curious questions. At the opposite end of the hall, Aurelia caught on and stood up as well.

Everyone looked up as she said, "Silvia, I challenge you to a game of truth or dare!"

"Aurelia, you can't play truth or dare without two people!" Silvia shouted back. "Besides, a Gryff couldn't possibly compete with a Slytherin. Doubt even a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff could," she added slyly.

"Oy! That's a load of puck that is," a Ravenclaw objected.

"Prove me wrong then," Via taunted.

"All right. We're in," proclaimed the Ravenclaw. "Not getting beat out by some Slytherin, that's for sure."

"Oh!" Silvia put her hand over her heart dramatically. "You wound me! Come on guys, lets show them what we're made of." She beckoned to the other Slytherins.

Aurelia turned to her fellow Gryffindors. "Well, that bravery we're known for, s'got to come in handy some time."

"So, we're being left out?" the Hufflepuffs asked.

"Unless you don't think you can handle it," a Slytherin teased.

So all four groups of students picked up their sleeping bags and migrated to the middle of the hall, creating a sea of purple. If Dumbledore wanted house unity, this was probably the best he was going to get.

Silvia rubbed her hands together with a smirk on her face, saying, "All right then, who's going first?"

The loudmouth Ravenclaw, whose name was Daniel Sedersin, called out before anyone else could contemplate raising their hand. Silvia's smirk broadened.

"Truth or dare?"

"Dare," he said evenly, now kneeling on top of his sleeping bag. The Ravenclaws around him were shooting nervous glances at the Slytherin Colton.

"I dare you to give a house-elf clothes."

Some Gryffindors and Slytherins suppressed their laughter while the confusion in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw was evident.

"There aren't any house-elves here," said Sedersin, puzzled.

"'Course there are!" said Emit Jorkins, a second year Hufflepuff.

"Who do you think cooks all the meals?" asked Sirius with a one eyebrow raised. "Hagrid?"

The whole hall erupted in laughter and James shoved Sirius in the shoulder good-naturedly.

"The house-elves are in the kitchens," said Rosier, once the giggles had died down. "You're in Ravenclaw. You're supposed to be the smart ones."

This comment caused another outburst accompanied by some angry scowls from the Ravenclaw end.

"But," said Sedersin, glancing around at his eager classmates, "I don't know where the kitchens are."

"I'll show you," said six different voices simultaneously. Aurelia looked behind her to see who else had said it and spotted James, Sirius, Remus and Peter with wide grins on their faces. She looked to Silvia, who was doing the same. Lia smiled and turned back to Sedersin, saying, "We'll show you."

Once Sedersin had tried to offer a spare sock to twelve different house-elves, all of them screeching and running away in a frenzy, knocking pots and pans to the floor in their haste, he finally gave up. His guides, all snickering and picking pieces of toffee out of their teeth, led him back up to the Great Hall. The Ravenclaws were shamed.

A Hufflepuff girl, Jillian Carne, was next to choose 'dare'. James Potter took out his wand and said, "Cambiare!" One section of the girl's hair turned from brown to a violent shade of red and the other side morphed into a dark yellow.

"I dare you to keep your hair like that for a week," said James, smirking at Carne's reaction to her new appearance. A few people around her gasped, but most were roaring with laughter. "Just tell anyone who asks that it was a Christmas present from your pals in Gryffindor."

The next volunteer came from Slytherin as a 'truth'. A Ravenclaw, Michael Nortin, asked, "So, what do Slytherins do in your Common Room?"

"Just homework," announced the Slytherin to a disappointed crowd.

"Just homework?" Aurelia whispered skeptically to Silvia.

"In the Common Room," she replied.

Their smiles vanished when they heard Avery's voice. "I dare the Colton cousins to go into the Forbidden Forest!"

Aurelia and Silvia both raised their eyebrows and looked at each other. There was a hush over the hall until Avery's explanation. "You started the game but neither of you've gone. I wanna find out which Colton's got more guts."

The girls heard Sirius and James snort behind them but no one else seemed to have noticed. Every person in the Great Hall was now staring at the girls intently, awaiting their response.

"Sure," Silvia proclaimed. "I'll do it."

Aurelia hesitated for a moment, then grinned because half of the eyes of her crowd were wide open in anticipation. "Yeah, sure," she said finally. "But how are you going to know we didn't just double-back? And how can I trust this Slytherin not to leave me out there?"

"Me and Evan will come out and make sure you don't," said Avery with a malicious grin which, no doubt, was meant to be intimidating.

"We'll go, too. " James and Sirius stood up.

"Can I go?" whispered a little Slytherin first year to Silvia.

"No, you'd better stay put, Tidra. We'll be back before you know it."

The girl pouted as she watched the six students leave the Great Hall. The others began going around in circles, asking questions for numerous 'truths'.

Silvia headed the group with Aurelia at her side, the four boys falling back a bit. The cousins were conversing silently until Avery asked Silvia why she was batting her eyes so much. They had to separate for a short period of time to gather cloaks and such before going out into the freezing cold and snow covered grounds.

They marched through the entrance hall and out the front doors. Woldrum had not been doing his best caretaking that year, for it regularly slipped his mind to patrol hallways and lock doors. They were careful when sneaking past Hagrid's hut to keep silent. The group reached the edge of the forest and Silvia was about the jump right in when Aurelia turned around and asked, "How far do you expect us to go in?"

Smiling maliciously, as if he were expecting the question, asked, "Why Colton? Afraid of meeting a monster if you go too far?"

"No," said Lia simply, "but if you expect me to keep going until I get scared...I'd rather sit this one out. I want to be here for the Christmas feast."

Avery appeared absolutely baffled, Evan gave her a funny look and grins appeared on James' and Sirius' faces. Aurelia was pleased with the effect she had on them, but when she looked over at her cousin she realized Silvia was still itching for a 'ready, set, go!' signal.

"Fine," said Avery testily. "Fifteen minutes. I'll give Via my watch."

"Excellent. We'll get started then." The watch was barely in her hand before Silvia leapt into the trees and dug through the brush.

"Spirit," said Aurelia in a mock tone of fondness, shaking her head. She pushed aside a tree branch and jumped in after her over-excited cousin. They met up with each other once they knew the boys wouldn't be able to hear or see them. As soon as they saw each other, they broke out in silent giggles.

"Did you see their faces when we said we'd go?" Silvia whispered, still trying to control her laughter.

"You'd have thought we'd just signed our life away," Aurelia answered.

"Yeah. I mean, do they really think we'll meet some hideous monster fifteen minutes in?"

"No, but perhaps they didn't take us into account."

The two girls stood frozen in their tracks when that cold, unfamiliar voice leapt out at them from the darkness. Through the sparse patches of light the crescent moon was offering, Aurelia could see a horse-shaped body and a human torso, as if a man had replaced a chestnut's neck and head. The sight was only slightly shocking, for both girls knew of centaurs, but they had never seen a real one before.

"What do you mean," Aurelia said, almost inaudibly, "us?"

The second she'd said this, seven more centaurs had appeared on the edges of the dimly lit clearing. Their sudden arrival startled the Colton girls so that they jumped.

"Where did you--" Silvia began, but was interrupted by one of the centaurs to their right, saying, "Do not burden us with your petty questions. The ways of the centaurs are too complex for human understanding."

Aurelia shot the centaur, a white-blonde palomino, a sharp glare and his tranquil expression turned stern.

"Dormotin," the leader said warningly. He then directed his eyes to the girls. "What are a couple of foals doing in the forest at this late hour? You may become easy prey for some of the creatures that roam these parts of the wood."

"We're just passing through," said Silvia firmly, giving the head centaur a look of defiance.

"You are trespassing," said the white-blonde centaur. "Olivon, these foals come from the school. Many young journey through the woods with Hagrid, but these two come alone. They must be punished."

"The forest isn't only yours, now, is it?" asked Aurelia suddenly, still glaring.

"It is our home," the leader, Olivon, replied softly. "It is not yours. Many things can harm you in this forest, but we"--he cast a firm glance at Dormotin--"will not. To harm a foal is a horrible crime. We will advise you to turn back and return to your school, for we will bring no aid if creatures of the wood come upon you. You have been warned."

With those words, the centaurs surrounding them disappeared into the shade of the trees. Silvia looked left. Aurelia looked right. They stared at each other for an entire minute before gazing straight ahead and continuing to tread through the forest.

"What do you want to bet something comes at us now, Lia?" Silvia asked with a hopeful gleam in her eye. It was obvious of her intent to look for trouble.

"Don't talk like that," Aurelia scolded lightly, "or something will come."

Silvia scoffed, "What's wrong with that?"

Aurelia just stalked further off into the forest. Silvia ran after Aurelia and tried to make her stop. Once she saw that it wasn't working, she lunged forward, effectively tackling her cousin to the ground. "All right, Gryff, I don't need anything to come out of the darkness. We can just keep walking peacefully through the Forest of Horrid Boredom."

Lia glared at Silvia before her eyes softened. "The forest is a tad boring, isn't it? I expected more besides some centaurs."

"I'm fed up with walking. Let's just sit here until the time runs out. We only have a few minutes left." Silvia glanced down at the illuminated watch on her wrist, a timer quietly ticking away the seconds.

The Colton cousins sat there for the remainder of the dare, talking like the twelve-year-olds they truly were. Once a small beeping emitted from the watch to signal the end of their time, they stood up and traipsed back to the others.

"I think we're going to disappoint them," Aurelia observed.

"Agreed. Probably thought we'd come out screaming like girls."

At this comment both cousins started to laugh.

They had almost reached the edge of the forest when they could see the group of boys waiting for their return. Aurelia was ready to head straight for them when Silvia caught her sleeve and pulled her back.

"Lia, how about we play a teeny, tiny prank on the boys?" Silvia noticed her cousin's disbelieving look and quickly added, "For not believing we could do it."

Aurelia chewed on her lip in thought. "Well, all right, but nothing harmful."

"Since when have I done something harmful?" Silvia asked innocently. Aurelia snorted in response. "Besides, putting everlasting icicles on the stairways isn't really harmful...to those who watch where they step," Silvia stated in a knowledgeable manner.

"Everyone watches their feet now--and it's because of you," Aurelia exclaimed.

"You see, now it can't happen again! It was helpful, not harmful."

"Right," Aurelia muttered as she felt a fleck of snow fall on her nose. She flicked it away impatiently and then her eyes lit up as she turned to Silvia. "You know, it is snowing outside..."

Silvia pounced on Aurelia, enveloping her in a hug. "Lia, I knew you were still in there somewhere."

The two girls sat down, planning what they would do to the four boys in revenge.

- - - - -

Evan, Sirius, James and Avery were all standing, rather nervously, a couple of feet from the forest's edge, waiting for the cousins to arrive. They knew from James' watch that the required fifteen minutes had passed and the dare was fulfilled. The fact that neither girl was out yet was making them both anxious and guilty.

"Do you think they met something?" Evan's face showed concern.

"They would have screamed," James pointed out.

"Unless they were eaten whole," Sirius deadpanned.

James socked him in the arm as the two Slytherin boys glared at him. "Not funny, mate."

"Maybe they just--" Avery began when they spotted a flustered looking Aurelia running out of the forest. The boys ran to her side to see what was wrong. Aurelia's face was tear-streaked and she looked terrified.

"Lia, what's wrong?" Sirius asked, worried. No one had ever seen her cry before.

"It...it took--it took Silvia. I don't know what happened," Aurelia wailed, burying her head in her hands. The boys looked at each other nervously, not noticing Aurelia watching them through her fingers.

"Aurelia, something took Silvia? Are you sure?"

"Yes," she answered, her voice muffled.

It was then that they all heard a rustling of leaves coming from a section of the forest nearest them and several twigs snapped loudly. Everyone glanced in that direction, hearing Aurelia breathe, "Oh no...it followed me!"

The boys barely had time to comment before something hit Avery hard in the back of the head, causing him to fall forward on his face. The others looked at him questioningly until they, too, were hit. Projectiles came from every direction, making the boys bury themselves in the snow with hands over heads. It was a full five minutes before the attack halted and the boys could hear laughter from their huddled positions. When they looked up, they saw the two cousins on the snowy ground, shaking with laughter.

"You should have seen--"

"--your faces!"

The boys quickly registered the crumpled remains of snowballs surrounding them and the fact that both girls had their wands in hand. It had been a prank. A very simple, very effective prank.

"Maybe you shouldn't doubt us girls," Silvia declared once she and Aurelia had finally stopped laughing. She threw Avery his watch back and walked back to the castle with her cousin. The two of them were still laughing silently when they approached the doors to Hogwarts. Apparently, they could collaborate civilly when they were after another person. Needless to say, the Colton cousins' daring was never questioned in the same manner again.