Prologue
Tragedy strikes
He knew that something wasn't right the moment he apparated into the dark alleyway at the end of the street. There was an eerie quietness surrounding Godrics Hollow, a silence that was joined with an unusually dark neighbourhood.
It was coming up for Christmas and at this time of the evening the street was normally buzzing with the sounds of joy and laughter as witches and wizards took their children Christmas carolling or shopping.
Parents would normally stop in the middle of the street and talk about their latest plans for the holidays while the children chased one another around the statue in the middle of the square.
Tonight, however, the street was deserted. Even the small pub on the corner seemed lonely.
He was supposed to be going carolling tonight with his wife. It was their first Christmas as husband and wife and as she was heavily pregnant they had decided to do it now before snow arrived.
She had sent an owl to him twenty minutes ago asking when he would be home and he had sent an instant reply that he had only had to cash up the takings and close the door and would be back in five minutes.
With a smile that warmed his insides more than his thick dragon skin coat could he imagined her sitting by the fire, staring at the tree they had decorated the previous day.
As he turned the corner that led to the park across from his small two floor house he realised again how quiet it was. Maybe people had decided to stay in tonight; it was after all bitterly cold outside.
No, that wasn't it. The weather had never stopped them before. No, this was different. He had noticed the majority of the houses had their lights turned off yet he had seen curtains twitching in the moonlight as if the habitants were watching something or waiting for something to happen.
"That's it!" he realised with a start. It was the calm before the storm. Something big was going to happen and suddenly he had felt a panicked fear he had not known for years.
Quickly spinning around to take in the empty street he turned and made a run for the park. The only thing on his mind being that he had to get to the house, to his wife and unborn child. It didn't matter what else happened after that as long as he could get to them.
He was halfway through the park, pushing through the overgrown bushes when it happened.
An ear splitting scream, a horrendous bang then a thunderous crack that echoed throughout the darkness.
He was frozen to the spot, his heart hammering so hard in his chest that it could burst through his ribcage. His breath coming out in short sharp bursts.
It wasn't real, it couldn't be. This was not happening. Not again. Not after all these years of peace.
The green skull hanging high above Ron Weasley's house suggested otherwise.