Chapter One: Prologue

Matilda Clarke was hurrying through the corridors of the Hogwarts Castle. With each step, she got closer to the Headmasters Office. Her heartbeats were fluttering like the butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't imagine why she would be summoned there in the first place-it was the middle of Summer! She rounded the last corner to see the gargoyle had already stepped aside to allow her entrance.

Climbing up the spiral staircase, she shut her eyes and pleaded to nobody, Please let this be a mistake... Please let Professor Dumbledore not see me... Opening her eyes to the great oaken doors in front of her she took a deep breath, then nudged one open, hoping no one was inside.

Two pairs of eyes fell upon her. One pair twinkling blue, the other coal black.

Matilda's fear doubled. Professor Snape was here? He was probably still angry about the Draught of Peace that melted his shoes...

She whispered to herself, "I am in deep shit..."

Dumbledore smiled kindly at her, either oblivious to her previous statement or ignoring it. "Matilda, would you like to sit down? We have much to discuss."

Mutely nodding, the girl slid into the nearest chair.

"Lemon drop?" The silver haired man asked her. She shook her head quickly, and so he took one for himself. "You seem quite frightened. Don't be, you're not in trouble." The kindly old man chuckled.

Matilda visibly relaxed and sank deeper in her chair. She didn't however, feel brave enough to speak. So much for being a Gryffindor, she thought.

"We are here strictly on business." The Headmaster said.

With a voice that didn't betray her fear, Matilda asked, "What business?"

Instead of answering, Dumbledore rolled up the sleeve of his robes. On his finger, she saw a cracked ring, but his fingers themselves were far more damaged than the jewelry. His entire arm was blackened. Matilda couldn't help but flinch.

His voice was less warm than before, "The business of my death."

Matilda inhaled in shock. Death? She had never talked alone with Dumbledore before today, but knowing he was going to die, she felt more desperate than ever before. This was the greatest wizard alive! How could he just die?

"Sir!" she cried, "I'm sure it's preventable! St. Mungo's can help," She faltered as she looked at the faces of her professors, "Right?" Matilda's head was swarming with idea's that she hoped, but didn't believe could help.

Albus Dumbledore's eyes were full of sadness as he told her, "Nothing could help me now... nothing except for the Emerald Dagger."

Hope surged through Matilda once again, "Where is it?" She asked eagerly.

"Unfortunately, it was destroyed years ago."

"So how is it supposed to help you now?" Sarcasm laced the girl's tone.

Through most of the conversation, Snape had been a silent presence. His cold voice cut through Matilda now, though. "Recently, I have been researching cures to this... condition. I came across the properties of this Dagger, and that of a potion. This particular potion is called the Elixir of Obsolete. It returns the drinker to a time that is obsolete, a time that has already passed." The man's lip curled, "Do you think you could illuminate why this potion would be useful?"

"We could... go get the Dagger thing, right?" Said she.

"Correct. We need to obtain it before it is destroyed."

The girl thought, "Why haven't you taken it yet? Have you even got it?"

Snape seemed offended that she would even think such a thing. He spat, "Naturally, stupid girl, otherwise you would not be here. It has some serious side effects on those older than sixteen... as does it's brother, which returns you to our time."

Matilda could not believe what she was hearing. "So, you want me to go BACK IN TIME, because you can't. And while I'm at it, I grab some stupid Dagger, and somehow save Dumbledore. That's all? Should be a piece of flipping cake." She said angrily. "I don't even know where it is! Or what it looks like, for that matter."

Severus Snapes stone cold voice said, "It should be somewhere inside Hogwarts, and it's title should give some clue to the nature of it's appearence."

"And how do I get back? You should know I can't make the return potion. What will I tell my parents?"

Snape's eyes glittered with malice. Dumbledore noticed and answered, "You may want to make a few friends that are better in Potions than you are. It will help a great deal when you need to return home. And to us, you will only be gone a minute. It's all taken care of. The only question is, will you go? It is quite a dangerous mission." The old man's blue eyes twinkled as he spoke.

This was where the Gryffindor bravery came to life with in Matilda. She was a shy speaker around strangers. She did not like to do anything that would attract too much attention. But she was not cowardly. Especially in the physical sense. "Danger? I laugh in the face of danger. Ha ha ha ha." She quoted the Lion King. "Is that the potion?" She demanded of Snape when she spotted a misty pink vial on the table. In response to Snape's "Yes," She lunged for it, then drank without a second thought. I'm not a coward. She thought.

With a snap like that of an apparition, she was gone.

The Headmaster smiled merrily at this development.

Snape, however, was less than pleased. "Now will you tell me what that was about?," The man demanded, "You know there is no cure. As a matter of fact, you know there's no Emerald Dagger! Why did we just send a girl into the past? What was the point of this?" His voice became less angry and more remorseful with each sentence he spoke.

Dumbledore ignored the angry tone of the Professor's voice. He continued to smile in his merry little way, as if nothing was wrong, saying only, "You'll see."