Prologue
Sometimes I really hate that night… The night that I gained a near-perfect memory…
My Dad was yelling something through the house. I just barely understood it. I knew, at least, that whatever was happening was bad. My Mum grabbed me and my one-year-old brother off the floor where we'd been playing and ran to her room. As she retreated, I saw a green light and just barely caught a whooshing noise. When she put us in the crib, she moved a bit, but then thought better of whatever she'd been about to do. She kissed us and whispered to me,
"Four is too young for this to happen, but it is happening, and I'm sorry Hail. Please keep Harry safe."
"I…will." I said, not understanding exactly why she was saying it. I was getting scared. Very scared. She smiled at me, and the door came open. She turned and began saying things urgently to the man in the cloak coming in. He walked forward pointing one of those sticks – wands; I'd corrected myself – at Mum threateningly. I realized then exactly how scared I should be. Nobody points one at someone like that. I shook with fear. The man said something, green light flashed, and Mum dropped to the floor, eyes open. She didn't blink. She didn't move at all. I looked at the scary man in fear. He laughed. He definitely thought something was funny, but it didn't have the pleasant ring to it like any of my family's laughs. He pointed it at us, now. I wrapped my arms around Harry, shaking. The man spoke the two words that, even though I didn't understand them right then, would be engraved in my memory forever.
"Avada Kedavra."
When the green light hit us, it hurt. Back then, the only thing I'd been able to compare it to had been how it'd felt when I fell off our toy broomstick, but multiplied a million times… maybe more. My head hurt especially. The last four years flashed past my eyes, in perfect detail. The green light filled the room… brightened… then the man screamed, and last thing I knew before I passed out, he disappeared. The next thing I knew, there was a huge, cold wind, a roaring, and a giant man looking directly ahead of him. When we stopped, I squirmed. The man set me down, starting a little. Another man came over. A tall, thin man, with white hair, and a white beard. He knelt down, and said,
"I'm Albus Dumbledore. I'm sorry Hail, but you'll have to come with me."
I nodded, slightly fearful, but when he picked me up, I felt just a little better. He was nearly the exact opposite of the man who'd just killed my parents. After they put Harry on the doorstep of the house we were in front of, Albus Dumbledore let me down to say goodbye.
"It isn't really goodbye… but for now, we should go to my house."
"Okay," I said smiling. I was kind of looking forward to it.