To Be Luminous || HP [REVIVAL 2021]

Chapter One

A Million Little Lights

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'It is a pity that the best part of life
comes at the beginning—
and the worst part at the end.'

Everything will change, Scorpius.
For better or for worse.
Take it in stride.
As gracefully as you can.

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She's been thinking more and more about the sun's inevitable demise.

Despite the illusion of the ceiling above her—which glitters with thousands of old, twinkling lights—she knows that the sun is the only star in their solar system. This one star, although the center of their entire existence, is, in fact, average among all other stars.

One day, as all stars do, their sun will die.

Forget the explosive arguments between civilizations that set fire to cities and reap families from homes. Forget mourning. The sun's death won't matter, in the way that a dear grandmother passing away slowly matters. There will be no time for grief when the star passes through them. There will be no revenge to take upon themselves.

There is unspoken beauty, and undeniable tranquility, in total annihilation.

It has been an especially difficult month for Kiara LeClerc. Perhaps it's because she finally feels as though she has settled in, five years later, that she's begun to think of how scary everything actually was back then. For years she quickly went from one project to the next, staying distracted from her tragedy.

For her, comfort comes with paranoia.

Complacency inspires thoughts of obliteration.

Accepting this, she decides she'd much rather think about all the stars collectively. The ones that exist surreally, abstract and intangible—so far away, their gravity means nothing to her, even if they do boast more luminosity. Many, she reckons, have died long ago. She likes this idea, that these dead lights have not disappeared from Earth's sky. It gives her a sense of security, even if it doesn't truly mean anything—just that they're very, incredibly, extremely faraway.

Thoughtful and at complete rest, she silently thanks the wizard that enchanted this ceiling all those years ago. She wonders if they could have known at the time that it would bring such warmth to an undistinguished witch, and uninspired girl, in the middle of an existential crisis. It is admittedly a small contribution to everything that Hogwarts has to offer, and yet an elegant reminder to always look up when the road ahead appears impassable.

All at once thousands of stars wink in her direction. It can be difficult not to feel a type of way about the night sky—even for such a practical witch as Kiara. Sometimes she catches herself wanting to wish upon shooting stars. But rather than whispering glittery stories to a witch that hardly gets any attention from other humans, wouldn't the stars rather find something worth twinkling for?