Chapter 1 - A Sinking Ship

A/N: If you are meme-inclined, look out for them up here ⬆️ 

I really hope you give this story a chance ☺️ Any feedback is welcome!

2025 EDIT: my writing has improved a lot since these earlier few chapters, so don't let them put you off!!  Any day now I'll get round to rewriting them

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BEGINNING OF SHADOWS PART 1

Asha was losing her grip and she knew it. The warm, supposedly cosy air of her dorm was suffocating. The soft breathing of her blissfully sleeping peers was mocking. 

Every time Asha closed her eyes, images of those tiny blue lips, that pale face and those lifeless eyes flashed inside her head.

This was a nightly battle. 

Her insides were knotted. She was hyperaware of the solid walls that enclosed her. She couldn't bear to lie here any longer.

The clock on the wall read 1:03 am. 

Slipping out of bed, she pulled on her hoodie, sweatpants and sneakers, grabbed her wand and crept out into the deserted common room. Standing in front of the warm coals of the fireplace, she looked into the mirror hanging above it. Asha was willowy and pale, with dark hair pulled into a high bun, messy from the endless tossing and turning.

With a precise flick of her wand, she whispered, "Caveatis porcina" and watched her reflection as the somewhat successful disillusionment charm made her body appear to meld into the flickering shadows behind her. The badger hanging on the wall banner behind her seemed to look down with disapproval. Inspecting herself, she came to the conclusion that this was a slight improvement from the last time she had tried the charm.

Stepping from the Entrance Hall into the crisp outside air, Asha finally felt like she could breathe again. As she jogged down the grassy hill towards the Black Lake, the smell of trees and damp grass filled her nose. 

She stopped at the water's edge and took in the view of the surrounding mountains and stars. Letting her disillusionment charm dissolve away, she used her wand to silently raise a rock off the shore and send it skimming across the water with a flick. 

A year ago she wouldn't have dared risk the sound of the splash, but since then she had been out here many times and had never once been caught. Sure, there had been a few near misses with patrolling teachers, but they didn't often come out here after midnight.

Apart from these late-night excursions, Asha didn't normally break the rules, preferring to stay on the good side of the professors. This was mostly due to the fact she couldn't be bothered with 'disciplinary measures'. Plus she liked to stay below the radar. But it was also because she was mature enough to understand that the teachers deserved her respect. However... what they didn't know couldn't hurt them. On nights like these, Asha felt the reward was well worth the risk.

Unfortunately, the serene, moonlit atmosphere of the lake had done little to subdue the tempest brewing inside her. No, brewing wasn't the right word. It felt like the weight she was carrying had finally become too heavy. She was cracking up. 

It was getting harder to act normal. Harder to put a pin in her emotions. Harder to focus on the things she was supposed to be focussed on - homework, friends, what's for lunch... She could feel her inner strength diminishing every day. She was trapped on a sinking ship with nothing to do but watch.

Something within her just felt innately wrong. Though this wasn't new. Things had been twisted ever since ... Cole... Asha's chest tightened and she instantly wiped her mind clean. 

She tried instead to focus on the sound of the stones as they skittered along the water's surface and out of sight; tried to focus on the way their trail made the reflection of the moon warp and bubble. 

But it was no use. Though she refused to let herself get sucked into those memories, there were other things that kept adding to her inner turmoil. Asha's jaw tightened as she remembered the incident that had taken place at Lockhart's abysmal first duelling lesson...

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A/N: The chapters get longer!

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