The Sound Inside a Shell by Alice in Potterland

Rated: 3rd-5th Years •
Summary: "Voldemort meant little to us then. It was just a name our frightened parents tossed around. They had grown up during Grindelwald's reign - knew nothing but fear. They were paranoid. To us, fear was tangible only in the moments spent considering another loss to Slytherin on the pitch."

Wedged comfortably between two eras of turmoil, the students of Hogwarts never imagined they'd go down fighting. Life at school was defined by teenage rebellion, tough classes, and nail-bitingly exciting Quidditch games. Grindelwald's defeat was news of the past, but some told of a new dark wizard on the rise by the name of Lord Voldemort...

But for Alice Emerson and Lily Evans, for Potter and Black and the rest of her class, that was simply irrelevant. The outside world stopped at Hogwarts' gates until tragedy in their fifth year brought it violently to the forefront.