Prologue: A SEER'S WORDS Chehel Minar, Persia, August 1926
Albus Dumbledore was tired beyond all belief. He had spent most of the past few weeks practicing with some of the most powerful wizards in Europe and the Middle East, searching for new techniques and magics to bring back to teach at Hogwarts in the fall. Headmaster Dippet had sent him on this quest, and Albus had risen to the occasion as always. Now that summer's end was fast approaching, he was musing over his findings one of the many local haunts in the magically hidden city. Intriguing, thought Albus, that the wizards here would build this great city on the ruins of an even greater muggle one. It was an even greater miracle that the rumours of Grindelwald and his horrors did not reach this far…yet. While lost in thought, he failed to notice a strange man sat down beside him. The man ordered a drink, and then looked at Albus with concern.
"You seem very worried," he said. It was only then that Albus broke his train of thought and stared at the man, perplexed.
"I'm sorry?"
"I just said you seemed very worried."
Albus quickly composed himself. "I just have much to think about." He felt something foreign reach into his mind and felt quite horrified as it pulled out. He glared daggers at the man, assuming he had an explanation.
"Many apologies," the man answered, "Here it is customary to be truthful, and what you call 'legilimency' is seen as a method to see the truth." Dumbledore thought he shouldn't have been surprised by this, but he today was an off day.
"I accept your apology, and I should have been expecting that, seeing I have been in the Zagros Mountains for weeks now."
The other man's interest was peaked. "Really? How are you finding Persia, then?"
"It truly is magnificent, in many ways," he replied. Albus began to talk of his adventures this past summer and struck up a very lively conversation with the man. Several hours and drinks later, the man realized how late it was.
"Oh blast, is it really that late? I really must get going. My name is Mansur, by the way. If you ever need lodging here in Chehel Minar, please feel free to find me." Suddenly, the man was gripped by paralysis, his eyes rolled back into his skull, and his voice became thick and layered, full of cryptic wording.
"The world shall plunge into chaos…lead by a man who wields the wand of destiny…he shall destroy the last ties that link this world to the other plane, and will shred the veil that hides his power…but his downfall shall come from two…one born in darkness, raised by the light…the other born in light, raised by the darkness…born under justice's scales and the altar's sacrifice…together they shall bring his downfall…together they shall reunite this plane with the other…together they shall bring balance to the world." Mansur came out of the trance, stumbling, panting, and nearly ready to pass out. Within two strides, Albus managed to catch the faltering man, while the rest of the patrons had not even seemed to notice this episode. 'Did no one else just see this?' thought Albus. It took a few more minutes for Mansur to recover, after a few sips of water and heavy panting. Albus was about to start asking a barrage of questions when Mansur looked up at him with desperate eyes. "Please," he begged softly, "Do not reveal I am a seerby asking those questions I can see on the tip of your tongue."
"So then why did no one else notice those events?" he whispered.
"It means that only you and I were meant hear this prophecy, and since you are my witness, I must check your memory to confirm it." He promptly entered Albus' mind once more, and confirmed what he dreaded. "Yes, take heed to this prophecy, for those that it involves will come into your life, and you will need to be ready." This made Albus stand and think long and hard on what he just heard. So with twinkling eyes, he responded, "I would like to bind you to oath, so that when the time comes, you will help me with this task." Mansur, desperate to keep Albus' mouth shut, reluctantly agreed. After performing the wizard's oath, they went their separate ways. 'Tomorrow I shall return to Britain,' thought Albus. 'I need to keep my eyes peeled, and I need to be ready for anything.' It would be the beginning of many years of sleepless nights for the great Albus Dumbledore.