Chapter 1

"The ones with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approach ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark one as his equal, but combined, they will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either family must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... "

Albus Dumbledore stared into his pensive, remembering when he first heard that prophecy. He was always grateful that Trelawney had always been a soft spoken witch or Snape might have given the Dark Lord an accurate recounting of the true prophecy. He had been careful to change the wording, to keep the secret for as long as possible. It was bad enough that Voldemort knew that one child had been born. Knowing that two children existed would have put a lot more peoples' lives in danger.

It had already been a chaotic situation. Lily and James were dead, murdered by Voldemort on All Hollows' Eve under over two years ago. Their infant son Harry was now safely protected by his mother's blood which lived in her sister and nephew. Sirius was imprisoned, although Dumbledore still wasn't entirely sure that he had been the real culprit. Peter was also gone, killed by Sirius. He got up from his chair, looking out his window at the grounds below. Minerva was in the courtyard, playing with her three-year-old granddaughter Marissa. Class was scheduled to being in just a few days, which would necessitate that the toddler be hidden away from the prying eyes of Hogwarts.

Behind him, he hears the door open and his new Potions Master walks in, looking decidedly unhappy, which was normal for Snape. "Do you enjoy tormenting me, Headmaster?"

"She will be gone before evening," Dumbledore said, sitting back down at his desk and looking at his former student. Snape had always been sort of a problem, since he had started butting heads with James Potter and his friends. For twelve years Dumbledore had played referee to a degree, letting the boys work out their differences, interfering only when he had to. It had all come to a head when James started to date Lily Evans, the girl Snape had fancied for years. In his anger, Snape had ruined all chances of a relationship with Lily when he called her a Mudblood. That comment sent her straight into the arms of his rival. Years later, when James and Lily were married, Snape's vindictiveness would rear its ugly head and it would be the Potters who would pay the price. Snape had finally realized the errors of his ways when he heard the prophecy and realized it referred to the unborn child that the love of his life carried in her womb and to yet another child also still in its mother's womb.

After the birth of both children, Snape had sought him out, confessing what he had done. Dumbledore had turned him into a spy, gaining information about the coming attack, praying that the defenses put up around the two children would hold. Snape had been devastated when he learned that Lily Potter had been murdered by Voldemort, to the point that he had to be sent to St. Mungo's. By the time he had recovered, the children had been placed in magical protection more powerful that Voldemort could ever anticipate.

"You enjoy parading her around in front of me, after telling me I was never allowed to go near her again." Snape growled, walking to the window. He stared out the window at his fellow professor, who was playing with the little dark haired girl.

"You do not have any rights to her. Voldemort knows nothing of her existence. Only three people in the world know that a second child was born. To a mother who had thrice defied him, who was born as July died? I will not allow for Elizabeth's sacrifice be in vain." Dumbledore said to him, picking up a treat for Fawkes and giving it to the phoenix.

"What about my sacrifice? She is my daughter!" Snape explodes, whirling around to face him.

"Rights to a daughter you gave up when you told Voldemort about the prophecy. You cared nothing for her mother. You only wanted to hurt James for taking Lily away from you. As Minerva's granddaughter, she can grow up safe and protected from Voldemort."

Snape looked back out the window then looked back at Dumbledore. "He will sense them if they are together?"

"This is why Marissa will not attend Hogwarts when she comes of age. Minerva and I have located a school that will be a safe enough distance from Hogwarts to allow her to remain safe and if we are very lucky, she will not draw attention to herself until after we are sure that Voldemort is defeated." Dumbledore explained. The Siren's Academy on Cyprus was a private witch's school located far from Voldemort's hunting grounds, should he return. He had considered sending her to Beauxbatons, but his friendship with Madam Maxine was too well known. "As long as Voldemort doesn't know about her, she is safe."

"How long do you honestly think that you can keep the true contents of that prophecy secret?" Snape countered, turning back to face Dumbledore.

"For as long as possible. Voldemort is weak at the moment. When he attacked the Potters, he lost a great deal of his power. Lily's sacrifice, along with Elizabeth's, protected the little boy. It is proof that Voldemort is not all powerful. He can be defeated."

"By two young witches who were calling on an obscure ancient magic and relying on a great deal of luck to save themselves and one little boy. Do you honestly think the most powerful Dark Wizard in history will be stopped by one little boy?"

"The future is always in motion. A wise Wizard once said that." Dumbledore said, smiling at his own joke. Lucas was a true wizard of the screen and his morality tale of good verses evil did teach valuable lessons. He can tell by Snape's dumbfounded look that he didn't get the reference, but it didn't matter. "Right now our job is to protect the children, keep them out of Voldemort's line of sight and do the best we can to defeat him when he does arise again. Now, is there any other business that brings you here, Professor?"

Snape bristles at that obvious dismissal of the conversation. "A new potential student's name just appeared in the book. Transfer from Beauxbatons, Hermione Granger."

"Her file?" Dumbledore holds out his hand. Snape hands him the file, which he opens to find a picture taken of a very young brown haired girl, not quite four-years-old, playing on a swing set in some park. The picture was obviously taken by a wizard or witch who was trying to make it not appear that they were taking the girl's picture. Standard operating procedure when the magical child in question was the offspring of Muggles. "Highly intelligent, preliminary tests indicate she will be a very powerful young witch when she begins to develop her powers. I foresee a very bright future for this one."

"Shall I give the Deputy Headmistress her file then?"

"No…I will handle it. Thank you." Dumbledore says, continuing to look at the file. He waits until Snape leaves his office before he pulls out a number other files, all with students' names on them. He may not be a Seer like Trelawney, but he did have a good sense of those who would be influential to the Wizarding world. He had done it before, with other young witches and wizards. His Order of the Phoenix's members had included a collection of students he had seen great potential in before and after they attended Hogwarts and for the most part, he had been right. Hagrid, Minerva, Lupin, Pettigrew, the Longbottoms, and the Potters had all served the Order well. He placed the file on top of the others, which included a Potter, an Auror's son, an editor's daughter, and a school governor's son and now included a dentist's daughter, along with quite a few others. His choices might be considered controversial by those who believed in the Pure Blood mania, but he knew talent when he saw it and the group he was beginning to acquire had talent.