Disclaimer: Harry Potter is property of J. K. Rowling. All I own is this particular storyline.
-tadsfa-
Prologue: That Peaceful Easy Feeling
August 18th, 1995
In a cold, dank cell in Nurmengard an inmate paced in a circle, the walls of his prison just beyond the length of his shackled foot. The carvings on the chain burned a dim, oppressive red, reminding him of its magical properties, mocking his dreams of freedom. Fourteen years caged had taught him the necessity of conserving strength; he should have stopped his useless movements but the whispered news he had overheard from the guards kept him moving. Hushed rumors of Voldemort's return: usually scoffed at, but always with a hint of uncertainty… even fear.
Fourteen years he had been in this cell. It was from inside these walls that he had first heard of the downfall of Voldemort, the death of James and Lily Potter; it was here that he had first heard the name The-Boy-Who-Lived. It was from the rumblings of the German Aurors that he learned of Sirius Black's incarceration and, years later, his subsequent break-out of Azkaban. And it was here that he heard of the tragedy of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. And it was this that had him pacing.
It was time. For two years this plan had been fermenting in his head, lacking the last bit of momentum he would need to carry it through. But that motivation had come. Whether or not the guards believed it, Voldemort had risen; War was a hand. It was time.