Chapter One

Present Day:

A small metallic click echoed quietly through the long corridor outside room 332B, as the lock was undone by the hushed whisper of the boy outside. He looked quickly to both sides of the hall, but there was no movement other than his own.

The boy held his breath as he turned the metal knob and pushed the door open just far enough for him to squeeze into the room.

As he stepped inside, he raised his hawthorn wand slightly, whispering "Lumos" as he did.

It didn't take the boy long to find what he had come for. She was laying sound asleep in one of the two twin beds in the small dorm room. The other was thankfully empty, as he knew it would be. The empty bed belonged to a Melissa Springer. She had gone home for the weekend to meet with visiting family. She would be gone until Sunday evening. The boy had done his research.

Scanning the room quickly, he noticed the artifacts of his target's life. Massive literature books lined a small bookshelf that doubled as a nightstand near her bed. Twain. Dickens. Shakespeare. Names that were well-known in the muggle world. Names at which he scoffed.

On top of the nightstand lay a small journal, it's pages worn. The boy's hand reached for the worn book instinctively but stopped when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. His attention was drawn to what appeared to be the corner of a photograph tucked into a neatly folded letter. Carefully he slid the picture from the crisp paper that held it.

Looking at the photograph he saw two young, happy looking parents with a child between them holding her hands. What caught the boys attention, however, was that the parents were literally swinging this child between them as they walked, clearly laughing as they did so. It was an enchanted photograph. He watched when the child's eyes squinted in delight as she held tight to her parent's fingertips.

Flipping the photograph over, he saw thin, scribbled writing that he could just barely make out:

Em,

I thought you would like to have this picture of your parents. They loved you very much. I know this time of year is especially painful for you, but just remember that they would have been proud of whatever life you lead.

Love,

"Aunt" Katherine

The boy threw the photo back to the nightstand in disgust. To have even a piece of the magical world in this room was blasphemy. The whole place reeked of muggle.

With that thought, they boy raised his wand, ready to perform the task he knew he must do. His heart hammered in his chest, and he cursed this one sign of weakness. His life was on the line. It was his life or this girl's—a blood traitor who deserved to die.

Despite this knowledge, the boy closed his eyes and griped the wand in his hand tightly. Taking a deep breath, he whispered, "Avada…"

Before he could finish the killing curse, a high-pitched noise filled the air. At first, he thought that it was the girl discovering him standing there. Opening his eyes, the boy realized that it was the small cell phone sitting on the bedside table. A young blonde's face popped up on the screen as music played and the phone vibrated. He cursed the muggle device as the girl sleeping just inches away started to stir. Debating the best plan of action, the boy dashed across the room, whispering "nox," and escaping through the door.

Once out of the dorm room, the boy sank down against the wall in the dark corridor. He cursed his weakness and slammed his hand down onto the ground. The Dark Lord would not be happy with failure. He would have to accomplish his task the next day. He just hoped he would be strong enough to do it.

A/N: Thank-you for reading the first chapter of my new story. I am super excited about it! This will be my first attempt at Harry Potter Fanfiction, so I hope you like it. Please let me know what you think : )