Atropos

A chance of birth, a meeting place
Eavesdropping at the pub,
A traitor's sleight of hand, a switch,
The potency of love.

A shadow lifted suddenly,
Rejoicing near and far –
And the anguish of companions
To a newly fallen star.

The Fates, they weave their threads more skillfully than any artist
And four that are the keyest shorn the shortest.
A news day without much to write,
A messenger unwitting,
Shapeshifting from a distant past,
A vow of vengeance fitting,
A hasty slash that foiled it all,
A potion left aside,
A stupid bout of mercy:
From the Moon one cannot hide.

And from its base foundations
Shadow took a shape anew,
And how could lightning strike now
After all that they'd been through?

But the Fates, they weave their threads more skillfully than any artist
And four that are the keyest shorn the shortest.

A weapon of mistaken prize,
The D.A.'s chosen name,
The strike of fangs, a rash command,
A break-out of some fame,
The rise of a new Head of School
Who crimped Professor Snape,
Much vision, but too little thought,
A liar of small shape.
Amidst all this false atmosphere,
That package was forgot
And all the links were put in place –
You know what that has wrought.

The secrecy was broken
For those most blind to see;
War will lash out with fury
And yet more tragedy.

Of those times, only one
And all his memories remain
And Atropos has no mercy;
Atropos has disdain.

Yet hope remains.

For though four threads instrumental
Have been always shorn the shortest,
Atropos follows orders
From a most ingenious artist.

Author's Note: For a heartening example of Rowling's ingenuity, find every reference to goblets in Chapter Five of Order of the Phoenix. If you didn't see anything significant, you probably weren't worried.