Prologue
A tall man with dark hair strode confidently up Diagon Alley. The few milling witches and wizards paid him little notice; they were hurrying home from a long afternoon's shopping, or busy locking up shop. A few were straying toward the Ministry of Magic Headquarters at the top of Diagon Alley; a Ministry meeting was taking place that night.
The man slowed down. After all, he was in no hurry. Wand held loosely between his fingers, he turned and headed toward the Ministry offices, whistling a bit. Not that the man in the long, black cloak was a member of the Ministry... Anything but, he thought forcefully.
The towers of the Ministry glittered against the night sky, windows aglow. With a twisted grin, the dark-haired man tightened the grip on his wand. The place was a sitting duck.
He had reached the top of the cobbled street. With his eyes locked on the building, he began to mutter furiously under his breath. The tip of his wand began to glow. This was a powerful curse to work, especially without preparation; But, then again, he thought to himself, sweat creeping down his brow, I'm no ordinary wizard, am I?
But there was no time for that now. He turned his full attention to the larger window on the fourth floor of the building. Master had told him to take out the main meeting room, and that room, only. The man with the dark hair was not sure why - it would, after all, be more efficient to destroy the entire building, wouldn't it? - but the Dark Lord was not one to be questioned.
His breathing was quick and shallow. Knuckles white, his incoherent murmurs mounted to a roar; with a furious shout, he threw himself forward, arms flailing. Blazing red flames sprung up around him, and thick streaks of lightning shot toward the Ministry office. The dark-haired man collapsed onto the street, gasping for air, head pounding. His wand fell from his fingers and lay on the ground, smoking.
The resounding explosion from the Ministry was deafening. The spell had hit, right on target, by the sound of it. Triumphant, he tried to push himself to his feet...but now, there was a deep rumbling - he looked up - a scarlet beam of light was ricocheting off the building and was now bearing down on him - he threw his arms up in a vain attempt at self-protection...
And then everything went black.