Prologue
A foggy, sleepy English street spread out as a tabby perched on a brick wall. The cat was unusual by the markings around its eyes, which looked like spectacles.
It looked down the street as the lights blinked out suddenly one by one. It meowed loudly as a tall figure appeared at the end of the street, and strode toward it. A bundle of blankets was in his arms.
"Good evening, Minerva." the man smiled pleasantly.
The cat shifted and morphed until it turned into an older, bespectacled, severe-looking woman dressed in robes. "Are the rumors true, Albus?" she whispered, terrified.
"Unfortunately yes. The good and the bad." Albus Dumbledore offered the bundle to the woman, revealing a dark-haired boy who was barely a year old with a jagged cut on his forehead like a sideways lightning bolt.
Minerva McGonagall suppressed a sob, pulled out a tissue and dabbed her eyes with it. "Will he be all right?" she whispered.
"He'll be with his grandmother." Albus assured her. "She may be tough, but she will take good care of him. His name will be infamous among our world. She will keep him safe."
"But He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers will go after him, won't they?" Minerva shivered in the cold night air, pulling her robes tighter around herself.
"They are scattered in the wind. They will not dare to attack him without their leader. Besides, I have placed protection on this house. He will not be harmed while he can call this place home." Albus assured her.
He strode to the doorstep and placed the bundle on the concrete. The baby stirred fretfully. Albus smiled a little. "You shall be famous, young son." he murmured. "Good luck, Neville Longbottom."