Prologue
Prologue
The sun was sinking slowly below the pink and orange streaked horizon of trees. There were no living things in sight, save for a young girl running desperately through the forest. She didn't know where she was going; all she knew was that she had to get somewhere where they wouldn't find her.
Finally, after having run non-stop for what seemed like hours on end, she collapsed, gasping for breath. Nestled between two unearthed roots of a large oak tree she fell asleep.
The morning found her still asleep beneath the large tree. Her dark hair had fallen in front of her tear and dirt-streaked face. Her clothes, a simple pair of blue jeans and a green tank top, were torn and dirty; her feet bare.
When she awoke, the sunlight shining on her face and the twigs uncomfortably poking her happily convinced her that she was gloriously still alive. Only when something solid banished the sunlight from her upturned face did she open her eyes. Standing before her, with the sun poking tendrils of light around his sides and almost confusing her into thinking she was looking upon something other worldly, stood a boy who seemed to be close to her age. She couldn't see his face, but she could feel his surprise and concern.
Embarrassed at the state of her appearance, she quickly stood up and tried to flatten her hair. She could barely manage to keep her balance. As she stumbled and almost fell the boy rushed forward to break her fall.
"Thanks," she wearily muttered before once more passing out. For what seemed to her to be an eternity, she drifted helplessly in and out of consciousness. She was aware, however, of being lifted from the boys arms into another, stronger hold. She could remember nothing after that.
When she finally regained consciousness, the first thing she noticed were the white curtains surrounding the white clothed bed upon which she lay. Beside and across from her, going all the way down a long hall, were many beds just like hers. A chair sat right next to her, and in that chair sat an aged man with a long, flowing silver beard and hair. His twinkling blue eyes shown from beneath half moon spectacles perched precariously on the edge of his long, crooked nose. He smiled warmly when he saw her awake.
"Where am I?" the girl groggily asked.
"You are in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he cheerily replied. The man seemed so cheery that he didn't even flinch when the girl sat up straight in obvious excitement.
"Hogwarts!" she practically screamed. "I made it?! This is wonderful, I've been trying to find Hogwarts for months, and I almost gave up hope." She looked closer at the man and then almost shouted with joy. "You're Dumbledore, aren't you?!"
Dumbledore bowed his ancient head in acknowledgement. "I am," he said quietly. "And now may I ask who you are?"
"My name is Keira. Keira Potter. I'm trying to find my parents. They're wizards. Do you know where they are? All I know about them is my mother's name: Lily."
Dumbledore smiled warmly, but Keira could see the almost perfectly concealed sadness hiding behind it. "I cannot now tell you where your parents are, Ms Potter. But I can introduce you to someone else. Send him in, please." This last statement was addressed to an elderly woman standing by the door at the end of the corridor. She abruptly opened the door and admitted a young boy Keira's age.
As the newcomer approached and Keira got a good look at him, her eyebrows clicked together in slight confusion as his did, for despite a few major differences, the two looked identical. He had unruly black hair the same colour as hers and eyes just as bright green as hers. Unlike her, however, he wore round, wire-rimmed glasses and had an oddly shaped scar on his forehead. His green eyes were as wide as hers were as each looked at the other in complete bewilderment.
"Keira," Dumbledore began. "I would like you to meet Harry Potter. He found you this morning in the Forbidden Forest."
The girl's eyes widened excitedly, not because she knew of the famous young wizard, but because she thought she may have found the family member she had come to Hogwarts looking for. At first she thought he may have been a cousin, never did she think he was someone closer, someone who would in a few weeks be her best friend and protector.
"Harry, this young lady is Keira Potter." At this Harry's eyes widened themselves and he stared at her as if he had never seen anything like her before.
Dumbledore wasn't finished. "Keira," he said to Harry, "is your twin sister."