The Dark Mark

The Dark Mark - Chapter One: Marked for life.

The winter snow that had encrusted the grounds of Hogwarts shifted gently underneath his unsteady steps. The atmosphere was chilly and all amphibians had long gone into hibernation. The weary boy carefully made his way towards the sunset as it radiated hues of crimson, tangerine and yellow, blending with the lavender-blue sky above him. Standing at the edge of a frozen lake he stood silently admiring the scene before him, utter perfection that could only be achieved by nature's mysterious ways.

The day drew on and the large fiery mass that was the sun eventually disappeared behind the powdered mounds of mountains surrounding the enigmatic school. Gently, the moon rose to the sky, joined soon after by it's companionable stars. Several hours passed before the cold winds forced the boy to seek shelter. He slowly lowered himself to the ground, under the dappled moonlight of a large oak tree as he looked over the frozen ice that capped the vast lake before him. Sighing, he glanced up at the full moon, smiling at it's magnificence. It was so close and yet so far away, like so many things in his life. His smile faded as snow dropped heavily on his shivering form. He silently cursed the insistent wind and the aging tree behind him.

The memories clouding his mind drifted silently through his thoughts, some recent and others once thought to be forgotten. Looking back up at Hogwarts castle, encased in a shimmering beam of moonlight, he sighed. His overwhelming burdens had grown to an intense climax over the holidays and he was not ready, as of yet to face a whole school of questioning students. Bowing his head, he took a moment to gaze down at his left forearm. Ebony coloured lines intertwined themselves in and out of each other, mingling with his once burning flesh as it took on the form of the Dark Mark. All his life, he knew this fateful day would come. Yet never did he consider what it would truly be like to be marked as evil.

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An emerald-eyed hero slowly climbed the spiraling staircase up towards the Astronomy Tower, towards the West wing of Hogwarts castle. Panting, he pushed open the large oak door, moonlight immediately drowning his features. He stared up at the full moon and smiled, comforted by the mysterious shimmer that was radiated from its core. He moved over to a nearby ledge and lifted himself onto the cold stone platform, dangling his legs over the side and swinging them idly in time with the cold winter wind. His eyes roamed over the powdery site before him, even the Forbidden forest looked beautiful from his position. With the snow gently brushing the tops of black, ethereal trees and shrubbery and gentle white tufts of clouds descending over the scene.

The boy thought forlornly over his life and nothing but pain and misery came to mind, constant anguish that could not have been avoided. And so, he had always come to this place when the snow started to fall, taking his mind off all that had happened. The innocence and beauty of the snow almost mocking him for being the opposite and yet soothing him in an unexplainable fashion. His thoughts roamed further, delving deeper into the confines of his mind. Fame was extremely fickle, always for the wrong reasons - the public always expecting more when you had nothing else to give.

Green eyes swept over the snow, velvety, innocent and untouched as far as the eye could see. Craning his head to the right, the boy spotted deeply imprinted footprints moving towards the lake. He slowly tracked them with his eyes, squinting as they moved further away. Blinking blindly, he removed his glasses to clean off the accumulating fog and placed them back on the bridge of his nose, continuing his hunt for the intruder who had disturbed nature's beauty. His eyes met the bottom of an old oak tree where a student sat, gazing out at the frozen lake, unseeing and mesmerised as blonde white wisps of hair whipped gently at his cheeks. Once again the boy's glasses fogged up, preventing him seeing. Frustrated, he rose from his perch and moved towards the door, intent on finding the blonde haired student below the old oak tree.