Chapter 2

Hogsmeade, England

June 1st, 1980

The Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Albus Dumbledore walked down the road to Hogsmeade as he headed towards an interview for someone that he was inevitably going to refuse.

It was for the open post of Divination Professor which was a subject that Dumbledore was an open skeptic of.

Divination was one of the most unreliable branches of magic and many wizards nowadays weren't even sure if there actually were any real prophecies or if the correct prophecies weren't perhaps just based on careful observation and mysterious demeanor of the seer.

Dumbledore was inclined to agree with those people. He had studied many branches of magic and was an expert in many, but he had yet to find proof for real prophecies. Granted, there were more things on this world than wizard kind would probably ever know, but still.

In fact, the only reason why he was heading for the Hog's Head was that he had been too polite to refuse the candidate Sybill Trelawney for the vacant post of the divination teacher in an interview before he decided on discontinuing the subject at Hogwarts. Well, and because he had felt some pity for the poor woman.

The Headmaster already dreaded the moment he would inevitably have to tell her that he would not hire her. He could simply see no point in teaching such a subject to his students even if just as an electable. Hogwarts had to uphold a reputation as the world's best school for young wizards and witches and he wanted to emphasize the subjects most useful in later life and frankly, no one actually used divination.

So it was with some apprehension that he went to the pub's door and asked for a Sybil Trelawney. He was directed to the shabbiest room this place could offer.

"Hello Professor, so nice to finally see you in person. I had already seen your arrival, of course. The Inner Eye Sees.", declared Sybil Trelawney with an overly dramatic air.

Oh my, Albus Dumbledore thought and suppressed a sigh. He took in the way she had dressed herself, a very obvious attempt to look the accomplished Seer. Unfortunately, the effect was a rather ridiculous appearance reminding him of an insect wearing many shawls and beads.

He shook his head slightly to clear it, he really didn't want to be prejudiced against the poor woman just based on her questionable fashion sense.

"Good morning, Ms. Trelawney", he said, "It is my pleasure to meet you. Of course, I still have your school records, so I already saw you were an excellent student in this subject. If you were so kind as to tell me about your experiences after graduating Hogwarts…" he looked expectantly at her.

Sybil Trelawney did so most eagerly, telling him of the small fortune-telling business she had built up herself. He had heard of that one, mostly that prophecies she had made there were utterly false and the ones that were right probably only were true because of pure coincidence.

"However, the mundane people not blessed by having the Inner Eye did not always like the fate that was awaiting them. As if boycotting my business would alter their fates." Sybil sniffed.

"Most interesting. And do tell me what kinds of divination you are planning to teach. Never having studied this subject, I am of course not an expert in this field but I think I will be able to follow you nonetheless." answered Dumbledore.

Sybil seemed to pick up on his less than enthusiastic response and apparently tried to impress him by listing all ways to foretell fortunes he knew and then some more. In a way, it was impressive, he had to admit. There was no denying that Sybil Trelawney was very knowledgeable in her field, if he wanted to continue the subject, she would be the best teacher he would be able to hire seeing as how the real experts, the centaurs, would never agree to serve any human. But still, he felt it in his school's best interest to discontinue divination studies at Hogwarts.

He tried to prepare himself for the inevitable dreary reaction of the young woman and then started his hopefully polite refusal.

"While I do think you are an expert in your field" –her eyes shone at the unexpected praise- "I am afraid I will not be able to hire you. You see …" he tried to explain about his decision to discontinue teaching the obscure subject of Divination at Hogwarts when something altogether unexpected happened.

Sybil Trelawney's eyes rolled back in her head and in a hoarse voice that had nothing in common with its earlier breathiness

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches in youth... born to those who have thrice defied him, and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives"

Dumbledore hurried to make sure that Trelawney was alright as she came out of her trance he heard a commotion and a voice that sounded like his brother throwing out someone that he could not tell who at the moment

Someone had overheard though that was a risk.

Sybil did not remember a word she had said though as Dumbledore went over her words in his mind,

"Your dedication and expertise in this branch of magic are certainly impressive. I am very pleased to tell you that I am looking forward to seeing you teaching at Hogwarts." he smiled. "When will you be able to start?"

His decision to hire her on the spot surprised Sybil Trelawney, after all, she had thought he seemed not interested in her beloved subject. Better grab the opportunity as long as it's there, she thought.

"I am delighted, Professor. No indeed, I am most pleasantly surprised. Even though I foresaw that, of course." she hastily added. "I am available immediately"

"How about starting tomorrow, then? You could stay the night here and tomorrow you can move in and get started at Hogwarts. As long as the students are at home for the summer break, you will be able to settle in, set the curriculum, and make yourself familiar with the castle.", he suggested and upon agreement proceeded to clear most of the questions. He soon left Sybil who apparently still couldn't believe her good luck entirely. So much for predicting his answer.

On his way back to the castle he stopped to have a word with his brother about their intruder

The spy had been Severus Snape, a recently graduated student.

He was also someone who was no doubt connected to the Dark Lord.

Sybil would be in trouble then.

But she would also be a Hogwarts Professor soon and living under the castle's strong protection so that should solve that problem.

It was a problem though that their enemy Lord Voldemort would soon hear at the very least part of the prophecy since Albus was not sure how much Mr. Snape had managed to overhear before he was thrown out,

He wondered what Voldemort would take from the prophecy though.

After all, Albus was having trouble interpreting it himself.

As soon as he got back to his office Albus put his memory in his Pensive and dived down to view it again.

The basic gist of Trelawney's words seemed to be about someone who could defeat the Dark Lord.

Which was a good sign considering the current state of the war.

But the big question was who was the prophecy referring to.

It seemed to be a child born to those who have thrice defied him,

Who could that be though?

And was it of a kid alive right now or one that had not been born yet?

What did it mean by defying Voldemort three times anyway?

There had been many battles where Aurors and members of his own organization the Order of the Phoenix had been present alongside Voldemort.

Who had survived three encounters with the Dark Lord though?

That was a potentially long list the way Dumbledore was thinking of it.

And what if the parents had defied three times and had fallen in battle or had been murdered.

That could then mean one of the many war orphans out there.

Or what about twins he thought remembering hearing about the Potters earlier in the day who were expecting their second child soon in another month or two.

The Potters were one of those who had escaped Lord Voldemort three times and were not the only ones with more than one child.

Which presented a problem

He first had to come together with a list of potential candidates for the prophecy.

Maybe it was time for some research.

SCENE BREAK

Well after quite a few weeks of searching through his own personal records and the Ministry Auror Reports Dumbledore had come up with a list of names of those the prophecy might apply to.

Michael and Lavender Horrigan and their son George

Christine and Joseph Spender and their son Michael

Richard and Elanor Murdock and their daughter Layla

Raymond and Adeline Robertson and their son Phillip

Andrew and Cassidy Deutschman and their son Reynold

Lily and James Potter and their sons Harry and Michael

Addison and Michal Banks and their daughter Heidi

Richard and Abigail Claire and their son John

Frank and Allice Longbottom and their son Neville

Clarissa and Michael Chatfield and their daughter Lilah

Phillip and Mary Jones and their son Elvet

Susan and Eugene Harris and their daughter Jazmin

It was a narrowed list but still consisted of a dozen families that could potentially have the Prophecy child.

Albus was not sure how to narrow down the list though to find the right child.

The children had all been born over the course of the past three and a half years which made it hard to point down which one was the one.

He was debating about who to inform about this though.

The families had all started putting wards up over the homes as the war continued to escalate in its violence and brutality.

Should he tell any of them about the prophecy?

There are so many of them to tell though and the more people that knew the prophecy the increased likeliness the full prophecy would make it back to Voldemort.

And what would be the point of worrying those families even more about something that might not even affect them?

He could talk to the family of the Prophecy Child though and help them protect themselves.

Finding the right one was going to be a challenge though.

Albus did not want to share the Prophecy with anyone, not even his staff.

He trusted their loyalty but not the possibility that information can tend to leak especially in high-stakes, high-stress scenarios.

The question was then though not who Dumbledore thought the Prophecy Child was but who Voldemort thought that the Prophecy Child was.

Voldemort had been quiet recently anyway ever since the Aurors had beaten the Death Eaters in a large battle in the Forest of Dean.

Sadly three times the number of Aurors had died as Death Eaters though.

Dumbledore did not think that Tom"s forces would have been seriously impeded though.

They must be planning something though.

This moment of silence could not last forever though.

The Ministry was on the backfoot.

Many more Aurors were being killed than could be replaced, a problem the Death Eaters did not seem to be having.

It was a war of attrition.

One that they were losing.

And even though Albus was feeling optimistic about the prophecy there was no real indication of what it meant or who it referred to or even when it would take place.

He didn't even know the Prophecy was a weapon they could use or not and what importance Voldemort would place on it.

But putting any sort of reliance on a child seemed a bit of wishful thinking to Albus Dumbledore.