It begins on a train departing from platform 9 3/4, crammed full of scarlet-faced students waving or wilfully ignoring their wistful parents who watched as the scarlet-faced locomotive disappears from sight. It is as though everything is normal.

It is as though yesterday, when four wizards were brutally attacked and murdered by what the muggle press was calling "crazed fanatics" did not occur. It would only be so long before their world was entirely exposed, and those considered mad for believing in magic and trying to destroy it would take centre stage. But everyone knew, underneath, that things were changing. They could feel that sense of heavy dread upon their chests, for their precious protected little world was crumbling beneath their feet.

Dark times take a dark mind, they say. And here is where we begin.

As the train set off that morning, Scarlett Dread walked along the corridor scouring the compartments for acceptable company, but
everywhere she looked the trace of muggle seemed to stare her in the face. The rucksack on the first years' back, the skateboard resting on a seat, the black wire of something connected to a little block with buttons. Harmless in themselves, but right now, they stood for the most real threat to wizarding-kind Scarlett had ever witnessed. It was becoming so overbearing that it was almost as if she could smell it.

Just as Scarlett passed the last few compartments towards the backend of the train with open seating, three figures piled out at once and blocked her passage, talking loudly and laughing amongst themselves. Scarlett pursed her lips and waited for them to move, but they seemed so involved in their own self-absorbed world that they didn't notice the redhead glaring towards them.

"As if you'd get even close to the snitch, James. We both know you're chaser because you're too slow."

"You can't talk, you're a bloody beater."

"Who saved your sorry arse at least ten times last season."

Scarlett was just about to snap and blurt out a rude expletive when she noticed the third member of the party, a pretty girl with a slim sporty frame and gracious brown by the name of Cecily Wood hair tapped James' arm whilst staring right at Scarlett and muttered, "James," to get his attention, but the boys continued their laddish banter and simply ignored the interruption.

"Fred, will you shut your mouth for one second!" She said in a tone of fond annoyance, raising her voice above theirs. As the boys turned their attention to her, they realised they had company. "What do you want, Dread?" She asked briskly, with none of the friendly tones the girl normally had on show.

"Would you get out of my way." Scarlett half-growled.

"If you ask nicely." Said Cecily with her head tilted sourly, which prompted a few stupid chuckles from Fred, who was crammed up against the door of the compartment, having to bend his neck to avoid hitting the ceiling in the narrow corridor. The nerve that girl had; it was almost too tempting to reach out and slap her right in the face.

Scarlett responded with a sarcastic smile and was about to open her mouth when James interrupted.

"C'mon Ily, let's not start a fight on the train." Said James warily, moving aside with Wood following reluctantly to let Scarlett past. As she headed off she heard Fred say, hushed but still blatantly meant for her to hear,

"Sometimes, James, you're a real bore, you know that?"

Scarlett didn't give them the satisfaction of looking back, and felt her body tension dissipate when she saw her friends sitting on the row of seats towards the end of the train. Namely, a boy with large brown eyes and rich dark hair, and a superior look to all the other boys in the school. People said that Louis Weasley or Scorpius Malfoy were the most handsome boys in the school, but in Scarlett's opinion Roman Selwyn was a league above the rest. Pureblood, dark and devilishly clever, Scarlett didn't see what was not to like. With him sat Odette Greengrass, and Maeve Mistry who both watched as Scarlett sat down.

"Scarlett," Roman began, a smooth calm smirk on his face. "I was starting to worry you'd decided to commune with a group of mudbloods instead of our company."

"That's all that's left of wizards these days." Murmured Greengrass.

Scarlett was about to ask if they'd heard the news, but they undoubtedly had.

"It's as if it hadn't happened. They're too scared to take it seriously. The ministry are cowards, if that wasn't obvious already," said Mistry, tapping her fingers on the table that separated the four of them.

They sat in silence for a while, and then the three girls caught up about each of their summers. Midway through the conversation, Roman spoke up.

"I want to show you something." He said, and the three watched him attentively as he pulled out a piece of parchment and drew a circular shape on it. He turned the parchment around so that Scarlett and Maeve could see it, revealing the dark but simple image of a snake eating its own tail.

"It's nice to see you've been practicing your drawing over the summer, Selwyn." Said Maeve through the look of bafflement at Roman's insistence on mystery.

"Life, death and re-birth. Fertility out of decay." Roman explained in a controlled, matter-of-fact voice as he ignored Maeve's little quip. "Things are going to change from now on." He said, leaning back into his seat, those rich dark eyes catching each one of theirs. He knew how to make their hearts race.

"We use loss as gain, and we must renew the cycle of magic before it is too late."

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Prologue done! This was fun to write and I'm looking forward to getting in to this. If you're character hasn't appeared yet, please don't fret - I will introduce them when the time and place for developing the story is right, so be patient and enjoy, comment, vote, spam etc.