I had lived long enough, yet I was still scared of death. So instead, I slept. I didn't dream, it was a just pure black.I couldn't tell how much time had passed. Minutes could feel like months, and years like seconds. I wasn't even fully aware. I just seemed to float through the darkness, no breath, no heartbeat, so motionless that sometimes I feared that maybe I was truly dead. But then I would get what seemed to be an itch behind my left eye. Would I have an itch if I was dead? Sometimes the little itch would be more like a bee sting, I could feel a presence of malice with every little ache. And sometimes I remembered what that itching and aching meant. Like glimpses into my own memories, I remembered asking for the sleep. Asking to be able to sense the evil in the world. But it was never quite enough to wake me. Maybe I would never wake up again, maybe there was nothing that could truly wake me. The irritating itch grew stronger. I wished I could scratch it.

The itch grew painful, much more than a little sting. If I had a voice, I would have called out. Then it felt like as if my brain itself caught fire. I saw bright rays of light tearing through the darkness, grabbing at me. And then I could hear again, a cruel, high laugh filling my ears, jerking me violently awake, finally. Air slammed into my lungs, painful and stiff from lack of use. I didn't have to breath, but it made me feel more alive. I took in the scent of my surroundings; dust, decay, and fungus. But there was also magic, a strange scent that tended to tickle my nose. I blinked the foggyness from my eyes. I must have been asleep for a very long time indeed, long enough for my stone walls to crumble; mushrooms and climbing ivy taking over several areas. What little light there was outside peeked in through the cracks.

I tried to sit up, and barely managed. My armor and chain mail had gone rusty, and looked as if ready to fall apart. I tried smaller movements, testing my range of motion in my wrists and fingers. The large ruby pendant on my chest began to hum as it grew warm, indicating that I would soon have company. As it all had been planned, as soon as I awoke, an ally would arrive to take me away. With a sharp crack, a man appeared. He was wearing long purple robes, his beard streaked with grey and long as his waist, and his crooked nose holding up his glasses.

He smelled of magic, lemons, and wool. But he also smelled of sunshine, and of juicy baked lamb.

"You are not Merlin." My throat burned, and my voice was low and cracked.

"Yes child, unfortunately he has not been around for a few years now." He held out his hand for me. "We should get going, and I can explain everything once we are in a safe place."

I took his hand and stood, about half of my armor crumbling and falling as I did so. We both stared at the pile at my feet.

"You call me child, yet I am older than you." I broke the silence.

He laughed, " Yes, but the world is more willing to accept small misconceptions, for I look so much older than you." His eyes twinkled.

He gripped my hand tightly, "Let us get you some new clothes and something to eat possibly. Then we can talk about why you are awake." He gave me a wink.

"The name?" I asked, and for the first time his eyes grew serious.

"Voldemort." And then with another crack we were gone.

~ 27 years later ~

"Honestly, I don't understand why he is so upset. It's his own fault that he is on medical leave." A short woman with a large mess of curly hair said to her companion.

"Oh he is just upset because this could be the most interesting case we've had in ages, and he has to miss the first week." Her companion replied while brushing his own hair out of his eyes. They were walking through the corridors at the Ministry of Magic, going to meet with the head of magical law enforcement and a consultant to help with their latest case, still a mystery to them.

"I wonder who this Andy person is anyway. I tried looking for information on him, since we are going to be working so closely with him, but there is no trace at all. No mention of a consultant by that name was listed in any file in the entire system." The woman gave a frustrated sigh.

"Honestly Hermione, you known the bloke's name for only a day and you're already obsessed with his work history. We don't even know the details of the actual case, why would they give us much more information on the people helping us with it?" He gave her a little shoulder nudge.

"Just knowing that he was close friends with Dumbledore was enough for Ron and I, you need to just leave the fellow be, you bookworm."

Hermione gave her foot a little extra stomp. "Harry James Potter, You and Ronald would be dead 100 times over if it wasn't for this bookworm!" Harry ducked his head and gave a chuckle.

"You are so dramatic." He said, knocking on the door they had arrived at.

"Come in ." Harry held the door open for Hermione, and nearly ran into her as she had stopped suddenly.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, may I introduce you to Andy, your case consultant. After you get acquainted we really need to set down and get the details in order." Department Head Wallace gave a dismissive wave in introduction. Neither of the two expected Andy, the mysterial Ministry consultant, friend of Dumbledore to be what was before them. The woman in front of them looked as though she belonged as a shop hostess, anywhere really, besides law enforcement. She was short and curvy, with short back hair, and didn't look a day over 20.

"Pleas're to meet ya, though I can tell by your looks that I'm no' much of what ya expected. Don't worry, I get tha' alot" Andy said with a slight Scottish accent and a bright smile.