Prologue: The Magical Quill
A/N: This is a story that will take place in the next generation of Hogwarts students: Rosie, Albus, James, Scorpius, and other such characters will play important roles. First though, a prologue to set the stage...
One fine morning in the year 2010 (the morning of November the first, to be exact), headmistress Minerva McGonagall sat in the Great Hall, tucking into her breakfast of sausage and eggs. However, she was soon interrupted by a large tawny owl that had landed directly in front of her, and proceeded to stick his leg out, with the day's copy of The Daily Prophet attached to it. Professor McGonagall absently leaned forward to collect her paper from the delivery owl, untying it and depositing seven knuts into the owl's collection pouch. Minerva unrolled the paper, and her heart froze.
MUGGLE CITY ATTACKED!
STRANGE MARK IN SKY SPREADS TERROR
Last night, Halloween celebrations turned deadly for the residents of East Sussex. The Ministry's auror department reported a total of 573 deaths. What was most strange about the attack was the mark in the sky: horrifyingly reminiscent of the dark mark, a glowing purple image of a skull protruding from the mouth of a snake floated above the homes of the murdered muggles. Unfortunately, by the time the aurors arrived at the scene, it was too late. "Our sources didn't catch wind of the attack until the attackers were already gone, so all that was left to do was clean up the wreckage and send in the obliviators to modify the memories of the survivors," an unnamed auror informed the prophet. The list of those killed ranges from Alverson to Williams, with-
Williams... that name sounded familiar, but professor McGonagall wasn't sure where from... suddenly, it hit her. Without taking a bite of her breakfast, she walked briskly out of the Great Hall, and to her office. Once inside, she pulled a book from one of the shelves, revealing a secret room. The room was small and circular, with stone walls. There were two small windows, allowing light to stream in and onto the desk, which had a small assortment of items on it: a large stack of parchment being held in place by a circular black paperweight, a candle sitting beside a stack of envelopes, a small inkwell, a bell, and a stamp of the Hogwarts crest, and an owl perch. However, the two most prominent items on the desk were a large book, and a bright blue quill that was sitting in a slightly larger inkwell. Professor McGonagall rushed behind the desk and took a seat in the brown upholstered chair, quickly opening the book to a section labeled 2006. She scanned the names on the list, until she came towards the final one: Alexandra Williams. Professor McGonagall's heart sank. The magical quill may write down the names of the magical children, but it was the headmaster or headmistress's duty to locate the children.
Professor McGonagall didn't need to open the drawer and look through her notes on where the children born in 2006 lived to know that Alexandra Williams was a muggle-born had lived in East Sussex- the very place that had been attacked last night. Not only that, but The Daily Prophet had said that Williams was the surname of at least one of the muggles who had perished last night... which could very well mean that there would be one fewer acceptance letter for Minerva McGonagall to write when it came time to send them out to children born in 2006. Professor McGonagall somberly closed the book, and headed back into the main room of her office. She walked behind her desk, and up to the portrait of the headmaster before her, Albus Dumbledore. "Albus," she said. "I need you to go to your portrait at the Ministry of Magic, and send me someone from the auror department." "Certainly," the portrait of Albus Dumbledore answered, and he immediately turned around and walked further into the portrait, until his figure disappeared. Minerva sighed, and took her seat at the desk, doing her best to fight the impulse to stand back up and pace the office. A few moments (that felt like hours) later, Professor Dumbledore reappeared in his portrait. "An auror will arrive via floo shortly," he reported back. "May I ask what this is about?" "There was an attack on a muggle area last night," Professor McGonnagal replied. "I fear one of Hogwarts' future students may not have survived." Professor Dumbledore's portrait nodded gravely, an expression on his face that indicated he had suspected such to be the case based on Minerva's behavior.
A moment later, the fire in the fireplace turned bright green, and a wizard stepped out of the grate. "You called, professor?" The auror asked.
"I did, " Professor McGonagall replied grimly. "It has come to my attention that a muggle residential area was attacked last night, resulting in hundreds of deaths?"
"That's right," the wizard replied, looking down. "A right mess that was, trying to sort all that out. The obliviators only just finished up about an hour ago," he said.
"Do you have any leads on who might have done it?" Minerva asked him.
The auror frowned. "No, that's the odd part... usually, we're able to get there in time to at least know who it is we have to track down... this time, the only hint was that weird mark in the sky," he answered. "Why? Do you know anything?" he asked.
"Of course not," professor McGonagall replied. "I called you here because I need to know who survived," she clarified. "More specifically, there's a muggle-born girl by the name of Alexandra Williams who lived in that area. Do you know if she survived?"
The auror nodded, an even more downcast expression appearing on his face. "She was a mess, that one," he answered. "She was the only one in her family to survive... we found her barely conscious, hiding behind her father, with a broken leg. We had to knock her out and get her treated at St. Mungo's. She's healed now, and was just placed in foster care," he reported.
"And her memory?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"She was obliviated," the wizard answered. "We didn't know she was magic at the time... should I tell the obliviators to lift the charm?" he asked.
Professor McGonagall hesitated. "...No, it's probably for the best if we leave things as they are for now," she finally answered. "We can lift the charm if and when she's ready, but for the time being, she's too young to understand the truth"
The auror hesitated, but then nodded. Minerva guessed that he was imagining if the same thing had happened to his own daughter, and had come to the same conclusion. "Is that all, then?" he finally asked.
Minerva nodded. "That is all," she said. "thank you for your assistance."
The auror nodded curtly, and pulled a pinch of powdery, grey ashes from his pocket, throwing them into the fire. He stepped into the now green flames, and very clearly said "Ministry of Magic!" He became a swirl in the green flames, and then he was gone.
Professor McGonagall sighed, and slumped over slightly in her chair. It had been over a decade since anything like this had happened... She turned around to face the portrait of Albus Dumbledore.
"Did I do the right thing?" she asked.
Albus nodded. "I believe so," he answered. "However, you must be careful not to coddle her too long... you must be careful not to make the same mistake I did with Harry, trying to protect him from the truth for too long. I agree that she is not ready to know at this point, but that does not mean she'll never be ready," he said.
Professor McGonagall nodded. "And the attack?" she asked. "What does it mean, Albus?"
"That," he answered, "is a good question. At this point it could mean a nearly endless variety of things... I took the liberty of gathering information from the portraits at the ministry, though... If I were to take a guess, I would say it means that Tom and his death eaters were sadly not the last of those to persecute muggles"
"What should we do?" Professor McGonagall asked, voice hushed.
"At this point, there is nothing more we can do... nothing but to watch and to listen for what this will mean in the future," Dumbledore replied grimly. "Whether anything will come of it... only time will tell," he finally said. "It could be an isolated incident, but I highly doubt it. It is far more likely that this is only the beginning."
A/N: Well, there you go. I hope you liked it! If not, please review and let me know why not. Also... just so you all are aware, whether or not I continue depends on how many reviews I get. I have a whole story planned out in my head, but without reviews, I fail to get myself properly motivated to write... This isn't a threat, just a fair warning: if you want it continued, let me know in a review!