Disclaimer: Any characters mentioned in this chapter (except for Emily and her family) do not belong to me. They belong to J.K. Rowling, the greatest author of my time...

A/N: This chapter is basically the prologue. The idea is mine, but the concept somewhat resembles the beginning of Goblet of Fire. (which also belongs to J.K..) So, yeah... On with the story. This is my first attempt at anything fanfic, so don't hurt me if it's not that great. Thanks for your time and enjoy.

*all things in italics are Emily's thoughts

*the thing in {} and italics is a flashback

Let Go

Chapter 1:

Sweet Sixteen?

"... Happy Birthday, dear Emily. Happy Birthday to you." They ended the infamous song with loud claps and hoots.

"Now blow out your candles!" The enthusiastic 6-year old looked up at his sister and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. Emily, who had just turned 16, deeply inhaled and blew out, making her cheeks puff out and mouth form a little "o". Her family clapped and hooted again, making her blush. Her mother disappeared into the kitchen and returned holding a large knife.

"Alright." She waved the knife in the air. "Who wants cake?"

"I do! I do!" said the little boy, jumping up and down. At the moment, he somewhat resembled a kangaroo. Emily laughed.

"Alicia, do you really think it's wise to give such a hyperactive child cake?" Emily's dad said, voice full of concern.

Alicia shrugged. "Sure, Rupert." She cut into the cake. "Why shouldn't I?"

Rupert looked at his bouncing son and sighed. "Fine. But you can deal with the consequences at his bedtime."

"Here you go, Matt." Emily handed her little brother a piece of freshly cut cake and ruffled his hair. "Don't make a mess." He swatted her hand away, mouth frowning and full of chocolate cake. "I won't..." She smiled warmly at him, then her parents. 'Life is good.'

Her dad picked up a piece for himself. "What are you smiling at?" Emily snapped out of her daze and shook her head. "Just thinking."

"Yeah. Probably about some boy or what-not." She threw a napkin at him, but he was too fast. "You see, Emily, you're a teenager." He took a bite of his cake and waved his fork in the air. "Teenagers aren't supposed to smile, or laugh, or have any fun whatsoever. Your only job is to whine and complain about frivolous things and to piss your parents off by rebelling against us when we ground you for something illegal that you've done." He took another bite. "Like stealing a car." He pointed his fork at her. "Or getting 'jiggy' with some boy."

"Dad, nobody says 'jiggy' anymore. Besides, you know damn well I've never done any of that stuff." He nodded. "That's true." She shrugged. "You and mum are always telling me that I'm not a normal teenager. So, why can't I just live up to the description?"

Rupert put his hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay. Point taken."

Her mom handed her a piece of cake and sat down. "What were you thinking about anyway, dear?"

Emily smiled again. "You guys." Alicia raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Us?" "Yeah. And how lucky I am to have you as my family."

"No need to suck up now." Her father, now standing behind her, grabbed her playfully by the hair, making her lean back. "We already got you a car."

Emily smiled. "I know, but I figured some accessories for it couldn't hurt." He kissed her forehead, then released her hair. "Dream on, Pumpkin."

She put on a look of mock surprise. "I wasn't sucking up." Her parents and Matt looked up from their cake and gave her a look that said "Yeah. Right."

"Whatever. You guys should feel special." She took a bite of her own cake. "There's no shame in loving your family. Even if you are a whiny, rebellious teenager."

"Awww." Her mother wiped away a fake tear. "We love you too, Emily." Her family crowded around her in a little circle. Rupert looked childishly at her and yelled. "Group hug!" Emily, underneath the entanglement of arms, let out a smothered giggle.

"See, I knew you guys did. And for that, I also want to say thank you." Rupert pulled back a little. "For what?" She shrugged. "Well, if it wasn't for ya'll, my family, I would probably be dead right now."

BOOM!

The far right wall imploded. Emily and her family were thrown back and separated. Emily to one side of the dining room, her family to the other. The remains of the crumbling wall were flying passed her, scratching her now dusty face. One fragment hit her mouth, cutting her lip.

She looked towards the spot where the dining room wall had once been and saw about five people standing there in a somewhat triangular formation, their faces were hidden beneath their black hoods. It didn't matter though. Emily knew who they were. Death-eaters.

A noise, like nails on a chalkboard, suddenly washed over them. The scratching seemed to grow louder as the Death-eaters entered the house. Emily screamed, covering her ears, her head feeling like it might explode, every inch of her body throbbing with bouts of pain. She saw her family, across the room, doing the same. After what felt like an eternity, the scratching seized and the room fell in silence again.

Emily, terrified and confused, tried to scramble, on all fours, towards her family. Halfway there, however, she was cut off as the cloaked men swished passed her, stopping in front of her family. A thin, raspy voice broke the silence.

"Stupid muggles." The man at the front of the triangle kicked Rupert's leg in disgust. Emily could see her dad wince in pain. The front Death-eater turned to his left. "Kill them!"

"No!" Emily jumped to her feet and tried to push passed the men.

The man to the left raised his wand and a brilliant green light shot out from its tip. Emily shut her eyes, but could still hear the anguished cries of her family. She opened them again, her body still pressing against the men, but she was too late. Her family, the very thing Emily wanted more than anything else and worked so hard to obtain, was gone, obliterated in a matter of seconds.

She stopped trying to fight her way through the triangle of Death-eaters and slumped to the ground. She sat there, too stunned to say anything, the tears brimming her almond-shaped eyes. Finally, she spoke, her voice barely a whisper.

"You bastards." She got up again slowly, her legs threatening to buckle beneath her. She steadied herself on the leg of the overturned dining table and wiped the blood from her cut lip. Clearing her throat, she could feel the nausea creeping up, but she managed to swallow it back down. She spoke again, her yells of fury bouncing off the walls. "You fucking bastards!" The Death-eaters turned around, finally acknowledging her presence. Her fists were clenching and unclenching at her sides. Her jaw was set, her face twisted in a menacing stare.

"I'll kill you all!" Her tears of anger mingled with the dust on her face, making it even more dirty. "I swear to God I will!" She lunged at the front man, her fist headed towards his face. He caught her wrist, effortlessly, and spun her roughly around.

"Will you now?" His face was close to hers, his nose nuzzling the back of her head, and she could feel his hot breath on her ear. He snickered. "With what, dear Emily?" Emily realized she was unarmed. Her wand was sitting on her dresser, untouched and covered in a thin layer of dust. 'Damn it.'

She snickered. "I'd kill you with my bare hands if I had to."

She struggled against his locking embrace, causing him to tighten his grip. A small "Oh" escaped from her lips. Emily's hand behind her back was so close to her neck that she could probably turn her head and kiss it if she wanted to. (A/N: If it were that close, it probably would've popped out of it's socket. But eh, oh well...)

"Feisty, are we?" The other Death-eaters scoffed behind them. Her captor lowered his head and gently kissed her neck. She couldn't see his face, but could tell he was smiling. "Feisty like a little kitty cat." Emily's eyes widened in shock, her free hand went up to cover her gaping mouth. "Oh my god." 'Only one person's ever called me that.' She gulped.

"Peter? Peter Pettigrew?" He pulled down his hood and kissed her neck again. "The one and only." "You slimy little git. You aren't dead yet?" "Of course not, you silly girl." He loosened his grip a little. "With me working as the master's servant, I am invincible." She let out a small snicker. "Don't worry, Peter. You'll get your comeuppance."

He released her with a sudden push and she fell to the floor with a gasp. He leaned down and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "My master has waited such a long time, kitty cat." She looked at him, flabbergasted. "What?" He nodded, his index finger trailing down her neck, and stopping on her collar bone. "No...n-not...yo..your m-master..." She stuttered. "Yes." He smirked, cocking his head to the side. "You remember him don't you, kitty cat?" He tapped his finger against her collar bone. "And what he did?"

{{The green flash lit up the room as it hit her. "Lily! No!" She stumbled over to the fallen woman, avoiding the overturned crib, the tears brimming her eyes. She knelt down, taking Lily's hand in hers, and held it affectionately against her cheek. "Don't go." She held back a sob. "Please don't leave me." The woman drew in a deep breath, and gripped her hand lightly. "I have to." The young girl shook her head. "No..." Lily nodded. "It is my time." She coughed, blood staining her pale lips a deep crimson. Her eyes started to droop, her breathing becoming more shallow. "No! Come back! Lily!" It took some effort, but the dying woman opened her eyes again. "You're going to have to let go, darling. Just let go." Lily smiled warmly up at her, then turned her attention to the baby crying helplessly on the floor. "Take good care of him, okay?" The girl nodded, releasing Lily's hand. Lily closed her eyes, her head slumping back, the last breath of life leaving her body.}}

A single tear fell from Emily's widened eye. Peter brushed it gently away. "Yeah. Unfortunately I do remember." He laughed. "Amazing. After all, it's been what... 16, 17 years since you last saw Vol- er... my master." She continued to stare at him, angry, as he stood up and looked down on her. "He will be very pleased to hear of your capture, Emily." He gave her a swift kick to her lower abdomen. She coughed, holding her stomach, and turned towards him, the anger flashing in her eyes. She wiped her bloody lip again, smirking.

"You haven't caught me yet, you pathetic rat."

He smiled, stepping back, his wand raised. "I'm sorry to hear that, kitty cat."

BANG!

A thick, black cord shot out from the end of his wand and wrapped itself around Emily's ankles, then wrists, and finally her mouth. She was completely immobile, lying somewhat dazed on the floor. He looked down at her and laughed. "You were saying." He turned to the rest of the group, who were standing back, watching intently. "Take this disgraceful display of a witch out of my sight and straight to You-Know-Who."

Emily tried to wiggle backwards, but was only able to move an inch or so. (A/N: How far can you get when your tied up and lying on your back? Ooh wait, that sounds naughty...) One of the men grabbed the band around her ankles, another one by her wrists. Seized by her restraints, she was lifted upward. Emily felt like a pig on a stick, rotating over a huge fire. She swayed from side to side, her body rocking underneath their grips. 'Uh oh.' She felt something tickling inside her nose. 'Not now.' She wrinkled it to try and stop the soon-to-be sneeze. The feeling disappeared and she let out an inward sigh of relief. 'No sneeze. Thank goodness.'

ACHOO!

'Never mind.' By some miracle act of God, the binds holding her captive vanished and Emily fell to the floor with a loud thump. She looked at her free hands in amazement. "Cool." She quickly flipped over on her stomach and tried to crawl through their legs. She could feel their hands trying to recapture her. She punched and kicked, struggling to break free. They grabbed her by the back of the shirt and lifted her up again.

"No! Let go of me!" They ignored her pleas and continued to carry her, bloody and screaming, through the missing dining room wall. Her screaming got louder as the sound of nails on a chalkboard took over the room again. One of the Death-eaters placed a strong hand over her mouth, but Emily bit down, causing him to pull back in pain. She freed her right hand from one of their grips and tried desperately to grasp onto something, anything to help her, but got nothing but useless air.

You know if one listened carefully, they could probably hear bits of the warning Emily was shouting to an unknown person.

"Watch out... been captured...Voldemort...could die...safety... reunited soon... don't worry..."

The last thing Emily screamed before she was engulfed by the black night, her hand still outstretched, was his name.

And that name was Harry.

***************************************************************************

Harry Potter sat up in bed, sweat dripping down his face, his usually messy hair sticking flat to his head. His lightning shaped scar was burning painfully above his right eye. He reached up and gingerly touched it.

"Some dream..." He whispered into his empty bedroom. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. It sounded more like a frustrated sigh than a relaxing breath. He was obviously confused, bits of the dream still playing in his head.

"Why me? Why my name?" He paused. "Why now?"

He looked over at his bedside clock, the red numbers casting an eerie glow upon his tired face. 3:37. He had been 16 for exactly 3 hours and 37 minutes.

"Well, happy birthday to me, I guess." He scanned his moonlit room, his green eyes falling on Hedwig's cage. She was sleeping soundly within, her snow white head tucked beneath an equally white wing. He remembered how happy he had been when Hagrid gave it to him for his 11th birthday. Harry smiled.

"Yeah. Happy birthday to me." He lay back down, the bed springs creaking beneath his weight, and pulled the blankets over his chest.

Still smiling, he closed his eyes. "To me and Emily both."

A/N: So, did you like it?! Sorry if it was a bit too long. Please R/R (flames are welcome) so I know if this story's worth continuing. (And for those of you who care, I've already got chpt. 2 ready to go, so it's all up to you guys.) Thanks!