Prologue: An Open Letter to No One
Cunning.
Ambition.
Curiosity.
Ingenuity.
Power.
Passion.
Lust.
There are those who condemn these qualities and concepts. But they are the traits that make us human. The same traits that inspire greatness. They are the qualities that live in the deepest roots of my heart and they are the qualities that gave me a home. My father told me not to be ashamed of being a Slytherin. But, I can only imagine it was because he didn't understand what it means. I know I have shamed him now.
I hoped my father would understand what lives inside of me when he himself, once hosted a piece of the Dark Lord's soul inside his own body. And perhaps he does. But, I don't want his pity. Not anymore. The Dark Lord ripped his own soul into pieces and my father destroyed each of those pieces one by one. Some of you will understand me because your souls too, have been split and eaten by the passage of time. Some of you condemn me because your souls remain whole, and I have made my peace with this. Say what you will about me, but a broken soul is a pain I don't wish on anyone. I hate my father's pity because he does know this pain and he has watched it swallow me. He believes I had a choice, and I write this letter so I may have my say and tell you that sometimes, there is no choice.
My father told me he named me after the two bravest men he knew. My path should have come as no surprise. Like me, both of those men understood that power is the way to progress. Like me, they did great and terrible things for love. And like me, they were both liars.
I will pass out of this world by way of the sea. The same place we all crawled from. There I will join my kindred spirit, a creature that understands rage and beauty in a way I never have in this life. Waves like great, grey mountains will swallow us together and it will be our final gift to each other. I hear the thing now, calling like an ancient foghorn. I will write these few words. And then I will go.
When you learn my story, you will wonder how I was such a disappointment to my family. There is no answer. Fate isn't always kind.
-A.S.P
** Author's Notes: This will be my longest note. I generally don't write lengthy ones, if at all.
First off, Disclaimer: All aspects related to the Harry Potter world are created by J.K. Rowling. Any views and philosophies expressed by the characters are not necessarily a reflection of the writer's personal beliefs.
Now that's out of the way... I will try to remain as compliant to post DH canon as possible. Feel free to call me on something that is non canon. I may take some liberties with appearances and nicknames. I have given Neville Longbottom a daughter because a) I really wanted to and b) J.K. has not specified whether or not he had any children and how old they may be. This fic will span several years and I'll title the chapters with how far we've jumped ahead in Albus' timeline. I guess fair warning, if you stick with it (and I stick with it, but I normally see things through to the end) I do plan to break hearts hard. I think this will be an interesting story, but not a happy one. That being said, enjoy and I love hearing your thoughts in the comments.