Between the Cracks // 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂

1. First Day

Anne-Leigh Conway was one of the students whose last year at Hogwarts didn't quite turn out as expected. What she envisioned to be cozy (yet stressful, of course) late nights in the library preparing for exams, and memorable moments with her friends, instead became fighting for her life and saying tearful goodbyes to classmates who gave their life to defeat Voldemort, the one who should indeed be named.

Like many others, she decided to come back to Hogwarts, in the midst of grief, to both properly finish her education, and deal with her feelings and fears together with others who had experienced the same thing as her. It was both heartbreaking and a relief to realise that life indeed goes on; the world keeps spinning and academic and career expectations were still very much present.

Not much had been communicated about the structure of the forthcoming term, but Anne-Leigh was hoping she, and all other students, would be receiving clarification in the great hall soon.

Most people who were here fighting in the battle parted ways sooner or later, leaving the castle in groups to go home to a relative, to return to muggle parents, or, if a wizarding family fought together, to leave together to go home.

A select few decided to stay at Hogwarts. The castle was in ruins, yes, but it was there, still acting a refuge for people who had nowhere else to go. Leigh was one of them. If she really wanted to leave she surely would've found somewhere. But Hogwarts, even in ruins, felt most familiar.

With muggle parents, Leigh found it difficult to stay in contact as uncertainties started brewing in the Wizarding world. It was difficult for her, and others like her, but undoubtedly also difficult for muggle parents who faced the same situation from the opposite end. She knew many students who had been in the same boat, or a similar one, back then. Parents wave off their kids into this wonderfully magical world only to, years later, be faced with the reality that they might die fighting evil in it. Some parents begged their children to return home, pleading with them to "forget the magic!", while others stood steadfast and supported their children to the end.

Leigh's parents belonged to a third category. The closer the danger came to her, the more her family seemed to draw back. It was as if they were avoiding the horrifying thought of loosing her by pulling away and attempting to stop caring for her all-together. Not that she blamed them. As the culmination of the tensions neared, many students made the impossible decision to protect their muggle parents or family members by simply allowing them to...forget. By the time Leigh was faced with that same decision it was almost a relief. The spell, obliviate, slipped past her lips just as easy as an exhale.

So, after the battle she had decided to stay in the castle, watching it be rebuilt slowly but surely. A few other students decided to do the same, and yes, they saw each other every now and then, but that was it. There wasn't a lot to say anymore. Weeks later, and that still held true.

That was, however, not the case with everyone who decided to return. She, and everyone else, received a letter a few weeks ago, welcoming students back to Hogwarts. Today was the first day, and chatter was already heard all throughout the school. People catching up, speaking of the train ride, or munching on some leftover treats bought from the trolley during their journey.

A welcome feast was supposed to be held in the great hall, and as she made her way in that direction it hit her how strange it felt to have the school once again bustling with life. Even if Hogwarts was re-opening its doors, she knew that it would never be the same.