THE FOX AND THE CROW++ [prologue]

A coal-black crow sits in a tree,
A morsel of cheese in his beak has he.
A fox slinks by as sly as you please,
And cunningly plots how to get the cheese.

"Oh how I admire your feathers so spry,
The sheen of your tail and the glint of your eye,
The elegant curve of your beak sharp and long -
But would I could hear your sweet voice raised in song!"

At this the crow's flattered and quite taken in;
To impress the fox further he will now begin.
He throws back his head, and rasping and raw,
He utters a raucous, cacophonous "Caw!"

With beak all agape, the cheese tumbles out,
The fox snaps it up in his long pointed snout.
"Sing, Crow, your vanity, long as you please.
You keep your song, and I'll have the cheese!"

Paul King


It was May 2, 1998. That night, shouting and crashing permeated the air of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But in the gardens, the sounds of the battle inside were distant.

The Fox hummed a childlike tune as she approached the pillar that hid what she had been pursuing. Her swaying figure cast a shadow at the mouth of the courtyard, tall and looming. Her black boots made little sound against the stone floor; but you could hear her cloak swishing wildly in the wind, its red fabric billowing around her tiny body. Her ears picked up the sound of frenzied, shaking breaths, and abruptly her humming morphed into an open-mouthed song. "Ring around the rosie… pocket's full of posies…" Her voice dropped low into a triumphant murmur as she put her hand on the pillar. "Ashes… ashes… we all... fall… down."

Fluidly, she pivoted around it, grinning gleefully. Her wand hand was outstretched before her, but she needed no wand. It was the look of terror on the two aurors' faces that gave her the power she needed. The expression sent a pleasant chill through her spine, and she felt her fingertips tingle. "Evictum."

The first auror collapsed, chains tangling through his arms and legs. "Remus!" the other cried, reaching for him. The Fox's tongue flickered against her teeth. That wouldn't do. She murmured a spell under her breath and suddenly the female auror's legs gave, and she crumpled onto her knees. Chains bound her wrists and ankles together, and The Fox made sure that they were extra tight. The Fox was not Voldemort- she knew she could still be beat. She wanted to make sure that if this girl escaped her, she would forever have the scars on her wrists.

The Fox stalked up to the girl, looming over her. Her long black hair hung like a curtain over her hanged head. The Fox knelt before the girl, running her fingers almost soothingly through her hair. "Tell me, Aubrey…" she cooed, pausing when the auror started slightly. "Does it surprise you that I know who you are, Abby?" she inquired, using the girl's nickname. When Aubrey gave no answer, The Fox scowled and dug her fingernails, purposely sharpened into claws, into her scalp. "I asked you a question, love," she breathed. "Does it… surprise you… that I know who you are?" she repeated slowly, tightening her grip on Aubrey's hair with every word.

Aubrey was shaking now. After a moment, she nodded slowly. The Fox's face relaxed into a smirk. "Then you still don't know who I am…" she murmured, going back to petting her hair. "Come now… we were friends... if you don't remember me, I might be insulted. We don't want that now," she chuckled. Aubrey didn't respond. The Fox sighed. "I'll give you a hint. I am The Black Fox. You are…" she leaned down and whispered something in Aubrey's ear.

At the sound of her words, Aburey stiffened and her eyes grew wide. The Fox swiftly darted away from her ward, leaning against the pillar, because she knew now. Aubrey knew who The Fox was. The Fox, Voldemort's favourite pet, the spectral killer whose face no one had ever seen, was her.