/I don't own anything you recognize in this story. /

Prologue

There was nothing in the starry sky to suggest anything unusual was going to happen. But Harry Potter knew better than to believe looks at first sight. He had learned too much in the seven short years that he had been living in the wizarding world to believe in such a thing.

The moon was full that night and Harry thought of Professor Lupin, wondering if the man had transformed into a fully grown werewolf, or had managed to get a hold of the precious potion that would make him docile. As much as he hoped for the latter, Harry knew that the former was most likely.

Shaking the thought from his mind, Harry strode through the neatly manicured grass, bending down every so often to look at a headstone to read the name. Not finding what he was looking for, he walked a few steps before checking another headstone. For such a small graveyard, it was hard to find what he was looking for.

His patience and persistence paid off, however. Nestled quietly in the corner of the graveyard underneath the old willow tree was one big headstone. Harry knelt down in front of it with a sigh, tracing the names that were carved so delicately into the stone. James and Lily Potter. He had found them at last.

How he wished his parents were here right now, alive and well. How he wished they were alive to help him through this dangerous task where there was no safe end in sight. But then again, if they were alive right now, he would never have had to be on this perilous journey in the first place. And that was an oxymoron in of itself.

Harry's friends, Ron and Hermione, stood several feet away, watching their friend visit with the parents he had never known. Watching the scene made Hermione's heart break. She didn't what was going through Harry's head and secretly she didn't want to. Because how many people would truly want their parents dead?

Hermione turned to Ron. "Do you think we should go to him?"

Ron watched Harry for several more moments before shaking his head. "No, I don't think so. This is his first time here. I think his first time should be by himself."

Hermione sighed. Ron was right of course, but she didn't want to admit it to him. After all, she always prided herself in being right all of the time and didn't want to acknowledge that for once, she had been outwitted.

"It must be horrible for him," Hermione murmured. "Going through all of that."

"But it is only the beginning," Harry said, appearing suddenly by her side. "We mustn't appear weak in front of our enemy. We need to be strong or we will never defeat them. They can sense our weakness and will use it to their advantage."

Ron gulped, his face showing the fear that all of them tried desperately to hide. Hermione wished she could wrap his arms around him, hold him close and tell him that everything was going to come out the way everybody hoped it would. What she hoped it would.

"So what do we do now?" Hermione found herself asking. She knew what must be done, but she couldn't help but asking anyway, as if she needed convincing that they truly needed to go through their plan.

She watched Harry walk several paces away from them before turning back around to face his old friends. Hermione shivered in fear. Harry's face danced with shadows and moonlight. Somehow it made him darker, more powerful. For a minute he was no longer the boy that she used to know so well. He was a man with a mission.

"We set out for Voldemort."