Hogwarts' night sky was utterly devoid of light. Even the moon and stars were blocked by thick, heavy clouds.
A ghostly glow flickered in the windowed room. Harry strained to peer inside, but it looked like a sinister haunted realm, and he shuddered as he pulled his gaze away.
Hogwarts had changed.
The four of them wandered through the forest somewhat dejectedly. They had to get farther away before they could Apparate, or they risked being detected.
The forest, with its gnarled branches crisscrossing overhead, seemed as dark as the present and the future. The four of them had to watch their footing carefully, or the tangled roots would ensnare them.
They had braved danger to come here, yet all they had brought away were two pieces of bad news and a foul mood.
A familiar light suddenly made Harry look up, and his eyes lit up as well.
A doe's antlered silhouette seemed to flash through the trees, dazzling Harry like a sudden flash of inspiration.
He shot forward, and the other three hurried after him.
Harry's eyes were filled entirely with that light. The doe's silhouette gradually spread through his mind. It was the shape of his mother.
Dodging around the tangled roots on instinct, Harry darted through the forest like a wild beast.
He rounded a branch and craned his neck to see the light clearly, only to find that it had already become nothing more than a glowing orb, weaving through the trees.
He still had no intention of letting the light go. No matter what, the appearance of such a strange orb in the woods near Hogwarts at this hour was something worth investigating.
The light gradually slowed. Its gentle silver glow pushed back the darkness in a small area, and the path ahead opened