In Memoriam

PROLOGUE

Birds chirped as they flew, frigid wind biting at their wings and beaks. The sky was overcast, but that wasn't anything new in Scotland during autumn. Hogwarts, a majestic castle that sat atop a cliff above an eerie lake, tall and stoic. Great turrets and towers, dungeons deep in the ground, and even an owlery could be seen. Hundreds of windows and even more stairs, all made of grey stone, worn and weathered from age. This castle was a school for pupils of the most magnificent kind; witches and wizards.
Currently, those students were all congregated in the great hall, enjoying their breakfast before they had to split up from their friends and head to class. The tinkling of metal and the scratch of silverware against plates could just barely be heard over the din of noise coming from the students.
There were five very long tables. Four going vertically down the large room, and one going horizontally on a dais at the head of the hall, just underneath very large windows. The head table sat all the teachers in the school and sat dead center of the table was the headmaster; Albus Dumbledore.
The students all sat at the other tables, divided by colors; blue, green, red, and yellow.
No student that was wearing green was talking with those that wear red or yellow, and no student wearing red talked to anybody wearing green, though dirty looks and rude hand gestures were exchanged freely.
Sat at the end closest to their professors, a trio of pupils wearing red ties were chatting at they ate. I say they, but I really mean him. Just one. A ginger was scarfing down food like he was afraid it would get taken away from him, and he'd never have access to anything of the sort again. A girl with bushy caramel curls and deep amber eyes was quietly reading a very large tome while occasionally taking sips of pumpkin juice. The last member of their party was a boy with black hair and emerald eyes covered by circular wire-framed spectacles. He also had a rather curious scar on his forehead, shaped like a lightning bolt.
These three students were Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter. They were all sixteen and currently in their sixth year of school.
Ronald was a boy from a large family of wizards. He had five older brothers and one younger sister. Being the youngest boy had gifted him some problems-mostly with self-worth and trying to find himself amidst his brilliant siblings, not to mention the eating. He had two wonderful parents; a well-meaning but stern mother and a doting but fumbling father.
Hermione was an only child, coming from two Muggle parents. Her parents spoiled their only child, but not to the extent of turning her rotten-unlike some at the school. Her parents were both dentists and, as such, were very strict when it came to sweets and anything that could possibly harm their beloved daughter's teeth. She grew up getting everything she wanted, though she would mostly ask for books as she had such a voracious hunger for knowledge. Her parents
gently encouraged their daughter to follow this need, and Hermione did so with pleasure. Although, her need to know everything has made her a bit of a loner, feeling more at home with her books and their characters inside whom she thought of as her friends. Her schoolmates weren't quiet when they called her a 'know-it-all' in the halls. She knew how they felt about her, but if her friends, both those in books and those in real life, remained by her side and defended her, she didn't care what anybody else thought.
Harry. The final piece to the Golden Trio's puzzle. The glue that kept them together. He was also an only child. Raised by his loving parents and his weird uncles. His mother and father had been together since they were seventeen and had him not even four years later when they were twenty-one. They had had to go on the run after he was born because a very powerful dark wizard was after them. He had been told of a prophecy that foretold his death and had decided that baby Harry would be his downfall. He had tracked them down when Harry was only fifteen months old. He had stunned James-Harry's dad-and had tortured Lily in front of Harry's crib. After Lily had passed out from the pain, Voldemort had set his scarlet gaze on the baby. However, before he could do anything, he had been ambushed by Harry's uncles-Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, who had received a distress signal from their brother in everything but blood when he'd felt the wards shift. They held him off in a duel; two against one until the Ministry had arrived along with its most talented aurors. A very large fight had ensued, which had resulted in Voldemort being detained and sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. James and Lily were lucky to be alive as nobody had lived once Voldemort had decided to kill them. They were heralded in the Wizarding World as being the family that brought down the Dark Lord. Harry was very famous before he even went to Hogwarts because of this.
The blue table all sat spread out in groups, either going over an old, weathered text or debating what was better to use in a love potion; clove and honey or bay leaf, and jasmine. A young girl with white-blonde hair and wide, curious blue eyes sat all by herself, though she didn't seem to mind.
The green table was separated into groups. You could tell which one was the most popular because those who weren't in it kept glancing down the table at them. This group consisted of a blond-haired boy named Draco Malfoy, a black boy known as Blaise Zabini, a curly-headed brunet named Theo Nott. On the outskirts of the trio of boys sat two more; both large and burly, although one had curly black hair and the other had lighter hair shorn close to his head. Next to them was a girl with black hair cut just underneath her ears with sharp eyes and a nose that was upturned, maybe a tad too much.
At the yellow table everybody was talking to everybody. There wasn't anybody that was left out. They wanted everybody to feel included, which wasn't surprising given that one of the traits of their house is kindness.
"So, then what happened?" Ronald demanded as he shoveled more bacon into his mouth, the crunch sounding like breaking bone in their ears.
"He flew the nuclear bomb into the wormhole!" Harry told him, with a look of awe on his face.
Hermione shook her head and sniffed. "Which was rather stupid of him. It was just luck that he fell back through before it closed."
"That's what makes it brave, 'Mione. Because he didn't know if he was going to be coming back." Ron argued as he watched Harry pour some honey and sprinkle cinnamon on his porridge.
"I hope to be just as brave as Tony Stark one day." Harry beamed before he spooned a forkful of breakfast into his mouth.
"Just hope that you won't have to be brave like that someday." Hermione hissed back. She was worried about her best friends. They were both idiotic and did everything 'shoot first and ask questions later.'
"If I'm going to be an auror when I graduate then I'm going to have to be in situations where I have to be brave and maybe where I'll have to make serious decisions like Tony Stark did during the Battle of New York." Harry argued back.
Ron pointed at him. "He's got a point, you know." He noticed the glare on Hermione's face and was quick to look back down at his plate as he bit a large chunk off his toast. "Sorry."
"I get that you want to be heroic, Harry-" Hermione started only to be cut off.
"No, 'Mione. Not heroic. I just want to be like my dad."
Her glare softened, but before she could continue, a loud pop sounded, almost like a firework, and every single person had to shut their eyes as they were blinded by a bright white light.
When it was gone, there were more people, dozens of them, standing all around the great hall.
Multiple students recognized their family and loved ones right away.
"Mom! Dad!" Harry scrambled up and over to his parents where his mother started to fuss over him. You'd think he'd be embarrassed, but he just smiled and reveled in the love of his mother. "What are you doing here?"
Before they could answer, they were joined by Sirius and Remus. "That's what we'd like to know as well, pup."
Harry smiled even wider-if possible-and threw his arms around his godfather. "Padfoot!"
Sirius smirked and glanced back at his husband. "I think we know who his favorite is." He teased.
Remus just scoffed with an amused smile as he hugged Lily.
As the reunions were going on across the hall, another bang and another flash of white light hit. Once it had disappeared, standing in its place was a group of men and women, all ridiculously attractive.
"What the bloody hell did you do, witch?" Snarled a man with dirty blond curls.
The woman he was directing his anger at didn't cower. She just squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. "I didn't do anything, Klaus!"
A blonde woman was quick to walk up to the black woman who looked like she was getting ready to brawl. She gently tugged on one of her braids to gather her attention. When she had it, she wrapped her arm around the darker woman's shoulders and started to lead her away.
Now that everybody was staring at them, it was easy to realize that the group had separated into two smaller factions. One group had the black woman with the beautiful hair, the blonde that consoled her, and another brunette that looked identical to another woman that was standing as far from both clusters as she could while being surrounded by people from all sides. This group had a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He had short black hair, piercing blue eyes, thin lips, and pale skin. Next to him was a younger male, maybe late teens. He had spiky brunet hair and deep-set eyes the color of the forest. A young blond man with clear blue eyes and a cleft chin was standing next to a muscular boy with black hair and black eyes. Finally, there were the last two. A man that looked to be in his early to mid-thirties. He had dirty blond hair that fell messily to his chin and ocean blue eyes and a scruff along his chin and the bottoms of his cheeks. Standing next to him was a beautiful strawberry blonde woman with green eyes.
Standing a few feet away was the other group. The angry blond from before who had dark blue eyes that were shimmering and shining as if there was a storm stuck inside. He had full lips and stubble around his mouth and on the bottom half of his face. Standing next to him was an older male with dark brown hair, even darker eyes , and, oddly enough, a three-piece suit-a black suit with a sleet gray undershirt and a black tie His shoes looked expensive-they were probably foreign, Italian, maybe. In fact, his whole ensemble looked to be made up of things not made in the UK or the US. Standing next to him was another male. He, too, had dark hair and dark eyes, though his hair wasn't slicked back into a careful style like the other's had. He had a cleft chin and was smoothly shaved, though there was a shadow of facial hair. He was wearing clothes that were not of the time. They looked expensive but were outdated. Standing next to him was another man who looked as if he'd stepped out of time. He had shoulder-length brown hair and deep, sad brown eyes. He was wearing leather and fur. He looked medieval. Finally, the woman. She had blonde hair styled intricately with a headpiece. She was wearing a beautiful flapper gown that swayed with her when she moved. Most alarming of all, though; she was covered in blood.
Albus Dumbledore rose from his throne-like chair and descended the stairs to greet their new guests, his wand in hand. "May I ask what you are doing here?"
The blond man whirled on him. "Who are you?" He snapped aggressively.
The man in the suit approached and placed his hand on the other man's shoulder. "Calm yourself, Niklaus." His eyes widened, and he was quick to step away. He let his hand drop uselessly to his side as his eyes finally surveyed their surroundings. His mouth dropped as he finally saw the people standing closest to him. "Rebekah?"
The blonde woman looked up. Her blue orbs lit up as she made eye contact with him. "Elijah!" She quickly jumped into his arms with a laugh. He hugged her back fiercely, as if afraid that when they let go, she would disappear.
He glanced up, and his smile widened. "Kol, Finn. I'm so happy to see you." He pulled both men into a rather uncomfortable looking hug. The youngest looking one was quick to tug himself free.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you, Elijah?" he asked as he smoothed his hair back-it had been ruffled when he'd been unceremoniously pulled into an embrace.
The man now known as Elijah glared reproachfully at Niklaus. "Klaus told me he threw your coffins into the ocean."
All three whirled on the man named Niklaus-Klaus-and started yelling. His eyes widened, and he took a small step back.
The other group that had arrived with the yelling trio was just watching. Well, the strawberry blonde was having a panic attack and the twin with the straight hair and a boy that looked kind of like her with brown hair and brown eyes trying to calm her down. The man that was standing next to her pulled her into his arms and started whispering into her ear as he rubbed her back soothingly.
Dumbledore raised his voice to be heard over the yelling. "You are at Hogwarts."
The black woman stepped forward, her long braids swishing as she moved. "What the hell is Hog Warts?"
He gave a grandfatherly smile. "It is a school for witchcraft and wizardry in Scotland."
They all stared at him as if he'd gone mad.
"A school for witches?" The blonde next to her asked.
"Yes. And wizards."
The black woman raised her hand as if she were in a classroom and wanted to ask a question. Dumbledore nodded at her to signal her to start talking. "I'm a witch, and I've never heard of Hog Warts."
Dumbledore nodded and waved his wand with a flourish. Many of them looked like they were ready to attack him as he did so. "Ah, I thought so. You, young lady, are an entirely different species to us. We are known as core witches and wizards. We have our magic within our very souls. You are an ancestor witch. You get your magic from nature and your ancestors."
Klaus stepped forward. "I'm over a thousand years old, and I've never heard of core witches."
Dumbledore smiled mysteriously, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon glasses. "But we've heard of you, Klaus Mikaelson."
Klaus and the people surrounding him snarled as veins appeared underneath their eyes. Their sclera turned black, and their pupils were red as fangs dropped from their mouths. They hissed and bared their teeth.
The strawberry blonde woman near them gave a small scream, but nobody but those surrounding her paid her any attention.
"How do you know me?" he demanded through a vicious sneer.
Hermione stepped forward from where she was standing next to Harry and Ron, who were both being circled by their families. "We're taught about you."
They turned towards her.
"Excuse me?" Rebekah asked incredulously.
Hermione nodded. "In fifth year, we're taught about vampires and how they came to be, starting, of course, with your family."
Rebekah, nor Klaus or Elijah, looked very happy with this. However, Kol looked fascinated.
Before anymore could happen, the bang and the white light came back. When it had dissipated, left in its wake was another group of people. They mostly consisted of teenagers just like the last group. And just like the last group, they were all ridiculously attractive. The one in the center had olive skin, black hair, and brown eyes with an uneven jaw. Next to him was a semi-scrawny semi-muscular boy with dark hair and whiskey eyes with moles dotting his face. He was also wearing flannel. Next was a rather tall girl who had fair skin and dark brown hair with matching eyes. Standing near was a strawberry blonde girl with green eyes wearing the most fabulous outfit some of the students of Hogwarts had ever seen. There was another girl with light brown/dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. She also had an olive skin tone. There was another girl of Asian descent, dressed almost like a child with leggings under her skirt and a shirt with sequins on it. A younger boy with blond hair and blue eyes stood near the first boy. After him we have a man with black hair and light green eyes. He had nice facial hair and was wearing a leather jacket. Next was a boy with curly blond hair and blue eyes. He was quite tall.
Standing near them were the adults. One black man with no hair on his head but with a goatee. Another man wearing some kind of uniform, with short dark hair and blue eyes. The man next to him had blond hair dotted with gray. He had steel blue eyes and full lips. He was also wearing a leather jacket. Next to them was a woman. She had curly black hair and black eyes that shone with warmth. She was wearing some kind of uniform as well, pale blue pants and a shirt that kind of resembled a smock.
"What the hell?"
"Stiles!" The many voices echoed around the hall as they all groaned.
One of the boys, the one in flannel, started spinning around, waving his arms in the air. "What the hell happened? Where are we?"
"I'd like to know that as well." Another voice piped up from the corner.
They all turned, and whispers started up immediately.
"Oh my God, the Avengers!"
"That's the Avengers!"
"What are they doing here?"
"I can't believe I'm in the same room as THE Iron Man!"
Stiles whipped towards the boy with the uneven jaw and started to slap his shoulder repeatedly. "Scott, Scott, Scott!"
Scott sighed, "Yes, Stiles?"
"That's Tony Stark!" He pointed at the man, his mouth gaping and his eyes unblinking.
"I can see that, dude." Scott pointed out, but Stiles didn't seem to be listening.
Standing in formation was Captain America, Black Widow, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, The Falcon, The Vision, and Wanda Maximoff and Bruce Banner. They were all in civilian clothes and had no weapons with the acceptance of Thor, who never went anywhere without Johnathan. Nearby was Bucky Barnes and Loki.
Near them was King T-Challa, Princess Shuri, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury and Maria Hill.
Excited whispers started up in the hall from all over, sounding like little hissing fires.
"You are here," a voice started from behind them.
They all whirled around to see a skeletal looking man with thinning black hair slicked back, dark green eyes, and wearing a black suit. He had on an unusual ring and carried an intricate cane in his left hand.
He gave them an eerie smile. "You are all here to watch the end of the world."
Gasps and sobs sprung up from everywhere as they all processed his words.
"Or, to change it." He finished. He sat down and started to search through the platter of bacon to find the crispiest bits.
"How do we change the end of the world?" A young boy that was hidden behind Tony Stark asked. This was Peter Parker. He had medium brown hair and deep, soulful brown eyes an
thin lips. He moved from foot to foot as if he couldn't sit still and glanced around himself self-consciously. He seemed very awkward.
"By watching the past, present, and future of the very people the world has depended on again and again." He answered.
"So we're going to watch the Avengers?" A Muggleborn from Ravenclaw asked from the back.
"No." He answered simply. "You're going to watch the life of the Winchesters."
Nobody moved. Nobody blinked. Nobody even breathed.
"Who?" Everybody burst out.
The skeletal man rolled his eyes and continued his search through the bacon.
Draco Malfoy, a Pureblood in Slytherin who thought he was superior to anyone, and everyone stepped up. "I won't watch the lives of some pathetic muggles!" He hissed.
"Yes, you will."
"And just who are you?" Asked a man that looked like an older version of Draco, just with hair that hung to his shoulder blades.
"Death."
The answer was simple, but it caused the ruckus to stop. Everybody stopped talking and all turned to stare at him intently.
"I am Death, and you will do what I want you to" He gave a flourish, and his cane disappeared and was replaced with a wicked looking scythe. He leaned his chin on the top of the handle and stared into the soul of every person that was there.
"How are we supposed to believe that?" Lily Potter nee Evans spoke up from near her husband and son.
"Believe what you want. I don't have the time to try and make you believe. But you will do it."
"Why?" Molly Weasley asked.
"Because you don't have a choice." He answered back with a sly smirk.
He snapped his fingers, and the tables all disappeared. In their place were couches, chairs, stools, poofs, bean bags, fainting couches, and rocking chairs of all different colors and styles. It was eclectic and instantly made the Weasleys feel at home. It is, after all, what their house looks like.
"Introduce yourself and your species." Death ordered, and he moved to another table to begin picking through their bacon.
"Klaus Mikaelson, Original Hybrid."
"Elijah Mikaelson, Original Vampire."
"Kol Mikaelson, Original Vampire."
"Rebekah Mikaelson, Original Vampire."
"Finn Mikaelson, Original Vampire."
"Damon Salvatore, vampire."
"Stefan Salvatore, vampire."
"Caroline Forbes, vampire."
"Bonnie Bennett, ancestral witch."
"Elena Gilbert, doppelganger."
"Jeremy Gilbert, human."
"Jenna Sommers, human."
"Alaric Saltzman, hunter and human."
The curly-haired twin heaved a long-suffering sigh as she rolled her eyes. "Katherine Pierce, doppelganger and vampire."
"Tyler Lockwood, werewolf."
Death interrupted before anybody could start screaming. "There are many kinds of werewolves. You have the ones that can be born and bitten, the cursed wolves, and of course, the wizarding werewolves. You'll find out more eventually."
"Matt Donovan, human."
"Next group," Death hummed.
The second group stepped up.
"Scott McCall, True Alpha, werewolf."
"Stiles Stilinski, human."
"Allison Argent, hunter and human."
"Lydia, banshee."
"Liam Dunbar, werewolf."
"Isaac Lahey, werewolf."
"Derek Hale, werewolf."
"Kira Yukimura, kitsune."
"Melissa McCall, Scott's mother, human."
"Noah Stilinski, Stiles' father, human."
"Chris Argent, Allison's father, human and hunter."
"Next," Death sang with a creepy smile.
"Wait," Hermione called out. "We all know them already." She gestured towards the Avengers and co.
"You know all of them?" Death asked simply.
Hermione glanced over and let her eyes rover over the lot of them. "Well, no-"
"Then they'll introduce themselves. Sit. Down." As if she was a puppet and somebody else was pulling the strings, she was tugged towards a chair and forced to sit down, a grimace on her face.
"Tony Stark, Iron Man, human."
"Steve Rogers, Captain America, super-soldier."
"Bucky Barnes, super soldier."
"Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow, human."
"I am Thor, the God of Thunder!"
"Loki Friggason, God of Mischief and Lies."
"Clint Barton, Hawkeye, human."
"Bruce Banner, Hulk, sometimes human."
"Wanda Maximoff, Scarlet Witch, human,"
"Peter Parker," he glanced hesitantly at Tont Stark and waited to continue until he had permission. "Spider-Man, human."
Steve's head snapped towards Tony. "You brought a kid to the fight?"
Before Tony could respond, Death waved a dismissive hand and said, "Continue."
"T'Challa Udaku, King of Wakanda, Black Panther, human."
"Shuri Udaku, Princess of Wakanda, human."
"Doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme."
"Sam Wilson, The Falcon, human."
"Vision." The answer was simple and vague, but based on what he looked like, having red skin with a shiny stone in the middle of his forehead, nobody pressed for further information.
"Good," Death stood and motioned for everybody to find their seats. "Now, let us begin. There are bathrooms behind you and to the left are bedrooms. Get comfortable, everyone. You're going to be here a while."
With a blink, he was gone, the windows were covered, and a large screen descended from the ceiling at the head of the hall where the windows were.
They all quieted down as the screen turned on