What Lies Within

Over one thousand years ago, four of the greatest witches and wizards came together with a vision and a shared dream. Working together, they raised, stone by stone, a grand castle where they could educate younger magical children and keep them safe until they were ready to face the world. For many years the Hogwarts Four worked in harmony until divisions between them broke them apart. While the stories say that the rift was caused by Salazar Slytherin's disdain for those without pure blood and when his goal of disallowing halfbloods and muggleborns was thwarted, he sealed a sleeping basilisk within the school to await his heir, the truth of the matter is a far more murky affair. For Slytherin did leave after a painful dispute with Godric Gryffindor and he did seal a basilisk inside the school. But the King of Snakes was not all that was eventually sealed within a hidden chamber...


In 1981 the peace and happiness of a loving family was shattered and out of the depths of a young woman's greatest sacrifice, a boy was marked by destiny to destroy the most evil wizard of his time. By 1998 when the boy had grown up and into his abilities as a wizard, friend, leader and warrior he embraced destiny by changing from "The Boy Who Lived" to "The Chosen One" to "The Saviour of Britain." And once the aftermath of the Great Battle of Hogwarts died down, he was free to marry his sweetheart and live happily ever after and help remake the wizarding world. And while Harry Potter's victory at Hogwarts rid the world of Voldemort and help lay the foundations of an era of peace and tolerance it also had an unseen and unexpected side effect. After all with all the magical blood and power that was spent in battle, something was going to be affected...and what was affected weakened the shackles of a dormant force in the heart of the castle...


With nearly a quarter century's peace and tolerance in the British Wizarding World, the attitudes of the new generation of Hogwarts has shifted. No longer are house rivalries firmly entrenched and pureblood status is no longer a requirement to join the most prestigious cliques in the student body. While ambition and self advancement are still the watchwords of the Slytherin students, they no longer have the reputation of being the House of Darkness or elitist bullies and these days can look at members of other houses and not make too many crass comments. With the four Houses cooperating more and more, student life in the last twenty years has been peaceful, almost boring. (Aside from the standard explosions in Charms and Potions of course.) It was in this environment that young Bradley Smith went to school in and where his greatest concern was not being late to his own graduation ceremony. After all, as Head Boy, it wouldn't look right if he was late. However a clumsy moment as he raced towards the Great Hall resulted in a smear of blood in the middle of the Entrance Hall. A smear which quickly sank into the stones below....


As he and his friends had once joked so long ago, Harry Potter sent off his three children at the start of the 2021-2022 school year with a comment that there was no such thing as a quiet year at Hogwarts. However his words rang true in a way he could not have predicted. While the students of this year have not had to deal with a Dark Lord itching for his return to ultimate power, an escaped and highly dangerous convict or the rigors of an international contest, things are happening around the castle. Strange and unpredictable things. At first it was innocent with trick stairs moving unexpectedly or statues wobbling out of place but soon events grew more serious - and dangerous. By the end of October, the school matron had already dealt with four severe injuries, two of which incapacitated a pair of students for weeks, and saw others in successive months needing her services for injuries from things that should not happen. In the midst of it all two students have heard a voice only they can hear while another dreams of it and they chaos that comes with it. Within the fall term there were seven unexplained and barely resolved events causing injuries and a sharp increase in tension around the school. People now ask themselves what will happen next, who will be the next to end up in the hospital wing and what can be done to keep them safe.