1/9/2015: I've fixed this chapter up a bit, though the length shouldn't have changed greatly. Personally, I was pretty happy with what I'd done with this, so a lot of it is cosmetic work and such. :)

Rating: T, though might change to M for violence.

Warning: There will be angst. There will also be violence, mentions of attempted murder, and in general, just a lot of non-happy elements until later in the story. This is based off a rather dark little short story from The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a set of Harry Potter fairytales. The characters might be OOC, due to the fact that this is both an AU and the fact that I'm likely to twist their personalities to better fit the setting I've placed them in.

Disclaimer: I have no ownership over any of the Inuyasha characters or any elements from The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Those belong to Takahashi-sensei and J.K. Rowling. The only things I own are the nonsense words I sprinkle in and the occasional OC to move minor plots forward.

Prologue

He wouldn't suffer the same way his friends had...he would not fall prey to the thing that had struck his brother. He wouldn't!

He would hide it...no. He would have to consult the psychic. She would know what to do about this.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Damn that wench. Damn her and all her descendants to the seven hells! How dare she...he wouldn't fall in the path the prophecy had lay out! He'd make his own damned path, or die trying.

The first step on that path...

He would have to take the dagger and do what should've been done long ago. Back before all the trouble had started.

Back before his thrice-damned brother had brought the beginning of his ruin.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Deep within the depths of the castle of the Western Lord, in a room where the light didn't dare enter and the very air lay still, stood an ethereal creature which seemed more fey than mortal.

Within one hand, the creature held an ornate silver dagger tightly, the tip trembling the slightest bit as the its holder turned its eyes to a podium in the center of the room. More specifically, to the basin and box which rested on the podium.

Taking a deep breath, the creature approached the podium with slow, measured steps, stopping only when its reflection was clearly visible within the water of the basin.

Golden eyes flashed in the water, and the air began to stir, rippling the water slightly and carrying whispers of the name of the creature.

Sesshoumaru...Lord Sesshoumaru...

Sesshoumaru made no answer to the voice, choosing instead to observe his reflection in the water. Distorted slightly by the movement in the air, his reflection was still a sight to behold. A smirk flickered onto his face for a moment. He knew he was a prize. With the long, starlight-colored hair and the golden eyes which marked his lineage, he was the envy of other males and a feast for the eyes of women. The sapphire blue crescent which graced his brow, the mark of his rank, drove many men and women to crazy endeavors both to earn his favor and his ire. Those who tried to earn his favor tried doing so by trying to make him fall prey to that which had snared his brother, however, Sesshoumaru refused to allow such weakness to befall him.

Thus how he came to his current actions.

His smirk falling away, Sesshoumaru adjusted his grip on the dagger and lifted it until it was lined up with the gap between his lung and his heart. Closing his eyes, Sesshoumaru began to murmur the words his mother had taught him then made him swear never to use. With each word, his heart began to slow and a numbness began to steal through his body, until finally, his heart was barely beating and his body seemingly nerveless. Once done, Sesshoumaru opened his eyes, took a deep breath...

...and then plunged the silver dagger into his body. Once in, Sesshoumaru began murmuring more words of magic and made a smooth cut upwards before pulling the dagger out and making two more cuts along the bottom and top of the first cut. As the words passed Sesshoumaru's lips, his body shivered once before the magic it was faced with, before slowly, the flesh over his heart parted, revealing within the pulsing crimson jewel which held Sesshoumaru's life. Closing his eyes and making a slow, shuddering breath, Sesshoumaru reached into his chest and tightly grasped his heart.

"Istmart tetheleya!" He whispered, wincing as his heart slowed further and then stopped. "Ratsakim alarante. Biokshume ferelis!" Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped open and he pulled at his heart, the organ coming out with a sick, wet pop noise.

Gasping, Sesshoumaru let the dagger clatter to the ground as he reached for the box. It positively hummed with the magic Sesshoumaru had called into the room, and quickly, Sesshoumaru set his heart within and sealed it. The box was then dropped into the basin, and Sesshoumaru shifted his hands to hold his flesh back over wound, now bleeding steadily.

"Fortudas! Fortudas asuntik prevas! Prevas istmart tetheleya!" he shouted, falling to one knee as he felt the lethargy and weakness of blood loss fill his limbs. He did not know how long he knelt there, his hands held tightly over his chest. But slowly, painfully slowly...the bleeding stopped. Feeling began flooding back into his body, and with it, the throbbing pain where the flesh had mended itself. Then came the rush of ecstasy and power that came with the change of his energy source from his heart to his youki.

Sesshoumaru held onto his chest for a few moments more before carefully removing his hands and noting with a sense of detached satisfaction that all the was left was a thing scar, easily hidden with minor effort.

Standing easily thanks to the youki which now fueled him, Sesshoumaru gave a cold smile as he began to leave the room, the words of the physic -who had been wrong, Sesshoumaru had proven her wrong!- began to echo in his mind.

My Lord, you will grow to be a mighty and feared ruler.

In time, your wealth and fame will increase by tenfold. Your strength, by twenty.

However, this comes with a price.

Your heart will wither, forever unknowing of the warmth and kindness it can feel.

And in time, when it becomes too much, it will finally vanish, bring you down with it...

Fear for your life, Sesshoumaru. You may not have too long to enjoy it.