Jordan: As I am far too lazy to sit down and rewrite all the things I have written in my profile, I'm going to make you go there for all the info on the fic.

Shadow: Gee, aren't you nice.

Jordan: No one asked you. Now shut up so everyone can read this.

Shadow: Aren't you forgetting something?

Jordan: No, I don't – oh, yeah. I don't own anything but the plot – and my original character: Jordan Erin Caine, who doesn't appear until either the second or third chapter. I don't know yet, I still have to go write them.

Shadow: That would be helpful.

(Shadow runs away screaming as Jordan chases her around the house trying to strangle her)

Harry Potter and the Fight for the Future

He was sitting on a throne like chair surrounded by figures dressed in black robes and their faces covered by white masks, and even though he couldn't see her, he could feel the female snake, Nagini, slithering around his feet. As a few scattered 'pops' announced the arrival of the late comers and all the gaps in the circle were filled he stood and made his way around the circle, occasionally stopping to make a comment to one or two of the hooded figures at a time until he had returned to his chair.

"McNair. Report."

The hooded figure called McNair stepped forward and bowed, "My Lord, the giants are proving very willing to listen to what we have to say. The current chief of the East Mountains has agreed to join forces with you but the chief of the west side is proving to be slightly less willing to join with us, but I am confident that he can be persuaded to accept our offer."

"You said that you would have them in a few months! It has now been four years!" He hissed menacingly, causing McNair to flinch as he rushed to explain himself.

"We thing that the half-giant -"

"I don't want thoughts! I want results! Crucio!" And he felt a cruel satisfaction as he watched McNair fall to the ground and scream.

"Next time I ask, I want to hear that we have all the giants on our side," he said as he removed the curse and McNair struggled to return to his place in the circle.

As he listened to the different reports on the assignments that he had assigned different people to do he cursed everyone for either failing in what they were supposed to do or cursed them for not bringing fast enough or good enough results.

"Bella," he called to the circle as Greyback had retreated, "come forward."

The black figure called Bella moved forward and bowed. "You have failed me Bella," he hissed before she could speak, "I gave you the assignment to either capture or kill the Mind Mage, Jordan Caine, two years ago. So far you have failed to do neither and have cost me many of my Death Eaters and according to my spies in the Order of the Phoenix, you have driven her to join the very group that I did not want her to join!"

The spell that he sent her seemed to be a version of the Sectumsempra spell that Severus Snape had invented. It cut Bella in seemingly random places on her body and caused blood to gush out of her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. With another wave of his wand the bleeding slowed and then all together stopped. "Do you have any good news for me, Bella?"

"Yes master." Bella seemed to be eager to prove to him that she hadn't completely failed him. "There are rumors – I mean – there are a few among the loyal who believe that the Auror you have asked me to kill, this Jordan Caine, is really the daughter of Maurice Carrow."

"WHAT!" cried a male voice from the circle, "My granddaughter's -?"

"Silence, Clayton." He cut in, "You have done well Bella-" he felt her brief triumph, but immediately crushed it, "perhaps you are not as useless as I had thought. Severus!"

"Yes, my lord?"

"Come forward." He watched as the figure called Severus stepped forward and Bella, giving Severus a look of loathing, returned to her place. "The rest of you may go." And he glimpsed Bella giving Severus a look of loathing before she left.

"Come here, my most loyal and faithful of servants, you were Morgaine Carrow's godfather and Jordan Caine's teacher. Tell me what you know of the two."

Severus bowed and nodded. "About a year before the Morgaine received her acceptance letter to Hogwarts, she disappeared. No one knew if she had run away or been kidnapped, no one sent a ransom note. As the two months died the search for her died with it and Morgaine's acceptance letter was given instead to a half-blood orphan who would not have been accepted otherwise.

"Jordan Caine was that orphan. When she went, she was sorted into Gryffindor and although she was an 'outstanding' student she always kept to herself. She was also a prefect and then later, Head Girl." As Severus told the tale, he used Legilimancy to sift through Severus' memories to make sure he didn't leave anything out.

"No one suspected that she was a mage, let alone a mind mage, until she had passed the test to become an Auror on the first try after only a year of study. But now that I think about it, I think Dumbledore knew what she was and was giving the girl private lessons. It would certainly explain all those times we couldn't find her."

"Well done, Severus. And before I let you -"

Severus cut him off, "My lord, I smell a rat," and he sent a curse behind the throne like chair he was sitting on.

"Well, well, well. What are you doing here, Wormtail?"

"I-I-I- I have news for -"

"That still doesn't explain why you were spying on me and Severus, Wormtail. Crucio!"

And thousands of miles away, a seventeen-year-old Harry Potter turned over in his sleep, the sounds of Wormtail's screams still echoing in his ears and an unexplainable happiness following in its wake.

Jordan: There you go. Chapter 1. Not exactly the most exciting chapter ever, but rather important for later events. Now if you'll excuse me – and Shadow permiting – I need to go finish write chapter 2.

Shadow: You mean start writing. You haven't started yet.

Jordan: (snorts) Shows how much you know.

Shadow: Have not.

(Jordan drags Shadow off to show her the written part of the second chapter)

Shadow: Oh.

Jordan: Idiot.