Eternalism

Chapter I: The Scroll

Dumbledore was dead...

Those three words echoed through Hermione's brain repeatedly without stop, a part of her unable to fully process it. The wise old headmaster was the last person she ever expected to die. She, along with many others, had always thought that he would be at the forefront of the battle against Voldemort, fighting side by side with Harry, and yet he was one of the first to go.

One thing was for certain; Hogwarts was lost without Dumbledore.

A state of panic and chaos had filled the student body in the days to come after their headmaster's demise. Many were demanding to return home, no longer feeling safe in the castle. Professor McGonagall, who had stepped up to take Dumbledore's place, was trying to maintain order as best as she could, but you could clearly tell that even she was at a loss.

Both classes and quidditch had been cancelled until further notice, with strict laws implemented in order to keep the students as safe as possible.

Students were not allowed to leave their respective common rooms without permission, and even then they had to be escorted to their destination by no less than two teachers. Every night and every morning, a register would be taken by the head of the house to ensure that no one had gone missing.

Mail both in and out of the school was restricted and was to be searched before being delivered to its recipient.

Specific rooms in the castle were strictly off limits, namely the Room of Requirement as well as Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom. Basically, any and all rooms they thought might hold a connection to Voldemort and his death eaters.

And so Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves on lock-down, confined to Gryffindor Tower with a gradually increasing lack of things to keep them entertained. There were only so many books in the tower for Hermione to read before she ran out and there were only so many games of wizard's chess and exploding snaps that Harry and Ron could play before they got tired of it.

After about two weeks of confinement, everyone was starting to grow tired of it. Although they pleaded over and over for the lock-down to be lifted, or at the very least to be lessened, the teacher's minds were made up. Ginny even argued with McGonagall, pointing out that a small quidditch match might help lift the students' spirits. As much as McGonagall liked quidditch, the answer was still the same. It was too risky.

"How much longer do you think this is going to last?" Neville asked as they all sat around the fire in the common room. "You don't think they'll keep us here forever, do you?"

Nobody knew quite how to answer that, probably because they were all wondering the same exact thing.

"I'm sure that McGonagall will let us go as soon as it's safe to do so," Hermione tried her best to stay optimistic. They all needed as much reassurance as they could get.

Harry, who up until that point had kept to himself for the most part, scoffed at that. "In that case, we're likely never going to leave this place. No one is safe, not as long as Voldemort's out there."

"Don't say his name!" cried a nearby first year.

"I refuse to let myself live in fear!" Harry exclaimed. "Voldemort will only grow stronger unless we go out there and try to stop him!"

"And how do you suggest we do that? If Dumbledore couldn't stop him, what chance do we possibly stand against him?" asked Seamus.

Tensions were running high. Being cooped up had left everyone frustrated. They were starting to give up hope, and for good reason. The circumstances were undeniably grim. Voldemort could very well attack the school at any given moment now that he had succeeded in killing Dumbledore.