Chapter One
The Goodbye Before Hello

Professor Dumbledore emerged from his Pensieve, shaking at the recollections of the memory, his hands curled around either side of the perch on which the magical device sat. That night had haunted him. It would forever. But no one could know, would know, or did know. It was his and the young couple's secret.

The bundle he held in his arms only fifteen years previous, had grown to be the quiet, strong, intelligent young girl who stood on the opposite side of Pensieve, having requested to see her parents one last time in his memories before embarking on a mission that could change the entire future.

She had tears in her emerald green eyes, but she was strong. She refused to let people see her emotions, a trait she had learned over the years of hiding, training and preparation for her task.

Once she had been old enough to understand, Dumbledore had explained her past to her. She accepted it immediately, and demanded training. Straight away, he had begun training her, even before the legal age of magical-use. She was a bright girl, highly intelligent for a girl of her young age.

Her reddish-brown, auburn coloured hair flowed down her back, her emerald-green eyes the exact eyes of her mother. She was quite tall for her age, inheriting her height from her father. She was quick thinking, agile, determined, and was fast becoming the makings of one of the greatest Aurors he would ever meet.

When he had first been given the child to protect, the old Professor was unsure of her future. Unsure of what he should let her do, what she could be capable of. The task she was about to embark on was completely of her creation. She had absently suggested it to the professor when she was only seven. She was too young to realise the significance her idea could have. But as she grew older, she had come to recognise it herself. She urged the Professor to help her, to let her see it through.

After hours of pondering, of debating, he agreed, with a sense of reluctance still tainting his outlook on the outrageous, yet brilliant plan. For years he had trained her, advancing her abilities to levels beyond even what would be taught in the final year of the school he was Headmaster of, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you handed her a NEWT level examination paper right this second, he had every confidence that she would get full marks, or beyond.

"Are you ready, Lyla?" the old wizard asked, gazing up at her over his half-moon spectacles.

She looked up at him, and nodded. "I was born ready, Professor." She said quietly, her voice so similar to her mother's.

"Very well." He replied, still astounded at the magic he was about to perform, at the task he was giving this fragile fifteen year old. It amused the old Headmaster slightly that he could be amazed at magic he would implement himself, having carried out some mind-boggling feats, even to wizarding standard, in his past.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, the old Headmaster extracted his wand and swirled it in the air, murmuring the incantations and enchantments. A small shimmering wisp began to form in the centre of the room, growing in size as he continued to chant. Using complicated hand gestures, Dumbledore continued conjuring up the spell.

Lyla stayed by his side, mouthing the enchantments and imitating his hand movements exactly, making sure one last time that she knew them by heart. They would have no contact in a matter of moments, for who knows how long. Admittedly, the thought scared her slightly.

Professor Dumbledore had acted as her father for the last fifteen years, after her parents had given her to him, swearing to protect her. The Dark wizard who had been at large, Lord Voldemort, had murdered her parents the following night. Or Tom Riddle, as she would soon call him.

After another few moments of spell casting, the shimmering wisp had grown to the size of a door. It was flickering around the edges, casting odd shadows across the Headmaster's office.

"Remember everything I taught you, Lyla. Everything I told you about him. I will not know who you are in the past, maintain your cover and identity, keep to yourself, but focus on him. He is your target, your mission. But do not isolate yourself - it will draw attention. Make friends, but do not, under any circumstances divulge the mission you are on, or your real identity. Do you understand?"

She nodded, her jaw set, with a look of determination in her eyes. "I do, Professor."

"You will arrive near the Hogsmeade platform as we planned, you must stay calm and blend in. You must not draw attention to yourself. I will not be able to contact you, as I do not know you in this time. You know the incantations, you will come back at the school holidays just as we discussed, to tell me anything you have found out."

The young girl nodded, before turning to hug the Professor.

"I will miss you Professor. You have been a support to me my entire life, and I thank you for everything you have done for me. You have been the father figure to me, when my own could not. I will miss you." She said quietly, giving him a smile that made her father's image flash before his eyes. He hugged her back, feeling the exact way she did. She had grown to be a daughter to him, just as he had grown to be a father figure to her.

"As I will you, Lyla. You were like a daughter to me also. It was a privilege getting to watch you grow, getting to know you. You will make an outstanding witch Lyla."

She thanked the old wizard, then grinned, clutching the handle of her trunk in one hand, the handle of her owl, Arrow's birdcage in the other. She took a deep breath, before walking calmly towards the Portal.

Just as she was about to enter it, she looked over her shoulder, her eyes shining once again.

"I love you Professor, you will always be a second father to me." She said quietly, a smile playing at her lips, before turning once more, stepping inside the Portal and vanishing in a flash of light, leaving the old Headmaster alone in his office and quite lost for words.