The Golden Trio Saga
Book One: The Twilight's Lord
Prologue: The Forest of Dean
Hermione Granger was sitting on a stump besides the tent, gazing into the woods of the Forest of Dean, thinking about Ron's departure the day before. How could he not understand that Horcrux hunt was more important than anything else? She could not tell. So she just sat there, wondering about the feelings she had for him, trying to understand them while also keeping watch for Harry who was sleeping in the tent. He was her best friend, and he had such a huge burden on his shoulders. She was doing everything she could to help him win the war…or was she. There were no books here in the forest, to serve as distraction, and so her mind wandered. She was not used to having nothing to read! Knowing that it would be a bad decision to make, she still chose to walk to tree line, if only to calm herself down a bit. It was not like Harry would be any less protected if she went thirty feet from the tent. I am getting paranoid, she thought, looking at a hawk in the sky and wondering if it was an animagus. Turned out she was not, for the hawk indeed was an animagus. It descended to the ground, transforming into a man in white trousers and shirt, with a cloak just as white, and a symbol that resembled a silver tower over it. He was neither short nor tall, and had long black hair and somewhat shorter beard, long, seemingly greasy moustache that made him look elegant and unkempt at the same time. His brown eyes seemed curious, but also relieved, as if he found something he has been looking for a long time. The man made no movement, instead just looking at her, as if trying to decipher if the wand she had pointed at him was a threat. He seemed confident, but also watchful. He reminded her of Professor Dumbledore in a way, if Dumbledore ever looked so young. The Animagus seemed to be less than thirty years old, and probably closer to twenty. Still, the eyes… those held the wisdom of centuries, and instead of twinkling like those of the late Headmaster, they seemed to suck all the light from the surroundings…as if the heart of darkness was hidden beneath them. The man held no wand in his hand, nor did he seem to even have one…not that she believed that even for a second. He also wore no jewelry, rings, necklaces or watches. He seemed both ordinary and extravagant, and that confused her. She wanted to yell for Harry, but who knows how the man would react if she did that? For all she knew, he had no idea he was even there. But then again, if he wasn't looking for Harry or her, why would he descend and transform? Her face was just as known to the wizarding Britain as his, and the hawk's eyes were surely good enough to recognize her. But who was he? He was not a death eater, at least a known one. Polijuice wouldn't last through the animagus transformation, so that was out of the question. He was not a member of the Order, not that they would know how to find them. He could be a ministry official, except that he was not wearing a uniform. His clothing… it was neither wizarding nor muggle, instead having an ancient feeling to it. She was sure she had seen robes such as his in a book at Hogwarts, when she was looking for the origins of the Horcrux ritual, but she could not place them. And then it hit her.
Hermione's soon-to-be acquaintance, not that he usually referred to himself that way, was indeed curious about the wand in her hand. He was not afraid of getting hexed, he was curious as if she would see him as a threat. After all, his information of this war that seemed to be taking place outside of the forest was incomplete. He heard of a Dark Lord, and of a prophecy. Such trivialities usually did not concern him much, he was ancient, eternal, and the affairs of mortals were none of his business. At least, that was how things were most of the time. However, this Voldemort was different. He was rumored to have found a way to escape death without an Eternal's blessing. He was…most peculiar, that one. And he seemed to be associated with the Lady somehow. That was dangerous. If she was coming back into the world, twenty years before he thought she would be… that was indeed dangerous. He sighed, already making adjustments to his original plan, and then walked forward, preparing to meet the brightest witch, actually, brightest Being of the age.