Hi guys! This is one last short chapter that belongs to the prologue – then there will be a time jump and the real action begins ….

…

"But tell me now, where was my fault

In loving you with my whole heart

Oh, tell me now, where was my fault

In loving you with my whole heart?" Mumford & Sons

The Pact

Amongst The Marauders

As soon as they were out of sight of the castle of Hogwarts, James put away the invisibility cloak. As they slowly walked down towards the woods their manner grew more solemn. What had seemed like a good joke in the warm and cosy castle, now appeared more and more foolish. However, none of the three would have admitted that.

It was a clear night and a half-moon illuminated their path down to the forest. Adventures followed …

In Another Dimension

Remus sat stiffly on his seat opposite the two adults claiming to be his parents and scowled.

"Do you not like the food, dear?" Hope Lupin asked. Lyall Lupin shifted next to his wife, full of insecurities. What does one do when one is suddenly the parent of a son one has lost five years ago? What to do with a son that does not speak to you or acknowledge you in any way as his true parents?

"I'm going outside," Remus said stiffly, getting up from the lunch table. He was as much at a loss as his parents. His werewolf pack had never been shy around him, but these adults treated him as if he was made of glass. It was not to be borne!

As soon as the young werewolf had left the front garden of his house, he began to run in the direction of the nearby forest. Underneath the pied light of the forest, he tried and tried to transform, walking further and further into the wilderness. However, transformation did not come. It would have been a blessing for his insides were on fire with a horrible longing for is actual father Fenrir Greyback. Would he never see him again? Would he never sit by the fire at night beneath the stars and listen to the wise man who had travelled the world?

"That depends on you, my boy, that completely depends on you valour and your courage," a voice said. Remus stopped in his tracks and turned around. Behind him stood a pale and handsome young man with dark hair and a cold look to his dark eyes, twirling a wand between his fingers.

"Who are you?" Remus demanded, frowning. The man had read his thoughts! Would the trespassing of the wizards never stop? Was it not enough that they had taken away his family and pack?

"Someone who would like to offer you a deal, young Master Greyback," the stranger said and smiled a charming smile that somehow seemed off and wrong to the boy.

"That would be?" Remus asked, crossing his arms.

"I have come to the knowledge that your pack, and especially your father, my good friend Fenrir, have been arrested by the prejudiced witches and wizards of the ministry. Of course, I do not wish to see such injustice happen to my friends and stand by without action. Who would want that?" Again that calculated smile, a little lowering of the voice: "I have a plan, young Remus: I want to free your pack from Azkaban … I have some connections … you know, they did not get a proper trial and some people in the right places could still get them out. I mean to say: what could they possibly have done other than the passive act of simply being bitten? No, it is not just to lock them away. Together, we will get them out."

Remus was still suspicious: "And what do you want me to do?"

"Oh, well, that is not much. I want you to be a good boy and stay with your blood relations … Hope and Lyall Lupin, is it? And I want you to be a good son to them. And once you are going to Hogwarts, I might have one or the other little trifle for you to do for me."

"You mean, you will free my pack, but I can't go back to them?" Remus asked.

"Well, you will get to see them – but in secret only. You will have to be a proper son to the Lupins and an excellent student at Hogwarts. Well, would you rather your pack stayed in Azkaban just because of your selfish wish to live with them? Life is not always fair, Remus," the man said, still smiling nicely.

"But why can't I go back to live with them if they have not done anything wrong?"

"Because we will need someone reliable at Hogwarts. If I was you I would see this as a honourable position… Well, now, you might have all day, but I do not. I have some werewolves to safe from unjust workings of the juridical system. You remember your job, Remus, which is to be nice and complacent, and when you are needed, we will let you know. I assume you agree to this little pact?"

"Yes," Remus said, "if you can truly free my pact I will do everything you want me to do."

The man smirked and had already raised his wand to disapparate, when Remus cried out: "Wait!"

"Yes?" the man asked mildly.

"What is your name?"

For the first time since he had appeared the smile on the man's face seemed genuine: "I am known by some as Lord Voldemort. You, amongst a select few, may call me the 'Dark Lord'." Then Voldemort was gone. Sadly, not for long or otherwise this story might have gone quite differently.