Dumbledore sat in his office, reading and rereading the 7 sentences on the old, dusty parchment that he had spread across his desk. It was the summer holidays, and all the students had gone back to their respective homes, but he wasn't going anywhere. He could still hear Harry Potter's voice as he reappeared at the end of the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. 'He's back… he's back. Voldemort!'
Dumbledore looked back down at the prophecy lying on his desk. It had been written several thousand years ago, soon after the wizarding world had come into existence. One of the most famous wizards of that time, Ognibene the seer, had been one of the few wizards to have ever been in existence who did actually have, as Professor Trelawney put it, "the inner eye". He had predicted several events during his life, all of which had come true. Among his prophecies was the creation of the Philosopher's Stone, and Harry's survival against Voldemort, making him "the boy who lived". Of course, the prophecies were extremely vague and cryptic, so often people didn't even realise what they meant until after the event mentioned had happened.
The one Dumbledore was concerned with now was one of Ognibene's cleared messages. In simple terms, it meant that every generation a witch or wizard would be born who would be powerful enough, when joined with all the other witches and wizards from this prophecy, to defeat Voldemort.
Dumbledore had been very strongly involved in this prophecy, and had gone into great details to prove its truth. He had found that instead of one of these children being born in every generation, it was actually much more ordered:
Every 7 years 2 pupils would come to Hogwarts (it had always been Hogwarts, never Durmstrang, Beauxbatons or any of the other wizarding school). When these 2 students kissed for the first time, both of their bodies would be put under a spell that would never leave them, leaving these 2 students madly in love until the day they died. Something in this spell also made these 2 pupils crave sex, until the time the conceived their first child. This child was to be one of the chosen few in Ognibene's prophecy.
Dumbledore sighed again, rolling up the parchment and placing it back on one of the many shelves that surrounded his office. Usually he waited until the 2 pupils were in seventh year before finding whom they were, making sure they kissed before they left Hogwarts for good at the end of the year, and hoping all went successfully. So far, he had a 100% success rate, and several of the chosen few had already passed through Hogwarts.
But now there was little time left, with Voldemort back to his full power. Due to his calculations, there were only about 16 of the chosen few alive in the world today, and he wasn't sure whether that would be enough to defeat Voldemort.
Picking up his wand from his desk, he turned to face the brightly burning fire in his office, pointed his wand at it and muttered, 'Summendo house-elf' There was a small popping noise, and a small, dishevelled house-elf had walked out of Dumbledore's fireplace.
'Professor Master Dumbledore Sir,' the house-elf said, bowing so low its nose touched the ground. 'You summoned Duna, sir?'
'Yes,' Dumbledore said to the house-elf, Duna. She raised her head to look up at the headmaster, awaiting his orders. 'Please may you go and find Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape for me, Duna? Tell them it's urgent.'
'Yes, Professor Master Dumbledore Sir, straight away Professor Master Dumbledore Sir.' Duna squeaked, bowing again and running off towards the door of Dumbledore's office.
'Oh, Duna?'
'Yes Professor Master Dumbledore Sir?'
'Call me Albus.'
'Yes, Sir, of course, Professor Master Albus Sir.' And with that, Duna rushed from the room.
***
10 minutes later, Minerva, Severus and Albus were all seated around Albus' desk, a plate of sandwiches in the middle.
'I know it's early.' Dumbledore began, 'but I think that when the students return after the holidays, it will be time to find the two who will parent the next, and most probably the last, of the chosen few.'
'But they will only be in fifth year, Albus.' Minerva said. 'Surely that will pose some difficulties. They'll be forever wanting to do… you know what… and then we'll have a pregnant fifth year on our hands. That will be fun to hide, especially if it's not one of our female students who end up carrying the child for nine months!' There had been several times in the past when, by chance, the 2 students both turned out to be male. Of course, in such situations, one of the boys had to end up getting pregnant and giving birth, but luckily they hadn't had too much trouble with that before. It had always just needed a good pain-numbing charm, a top doctor from St. Mungo's, and a scalpel.
'I agree, Minerva, there will be risks, and it will be trickier, but Voldemort…' Albus' two colleagues shuddered, but Albus went on regardless, 'has come back, more powerful than before if that can be possible. We don't have another two years to wait before we find the 2 students. There just isn't time.'
'Aren't these 2 students in Potter's year?' Severus asked.
'Yes, Severus, they are.'
'Bit if a coincidence, isn't it? Potter survives an attack from He Who Must Not Be Named, and then he ends up in the year where 2 students could help to save mankind?'
'Yes Severus, it is a coincidence, and in my opinion that is all it is. Harry has just a good or bad chance of being 1 of the 2 as any of the other purebloods in his year.' All the witches and wizards who had been chosen to conceive one of the chosen ones before had always been pureblood. Not necessarily through hundreds of generations, like the Malfoys or the Weasleys, but at least their parents were both of the magical variety.
'And you have no idea who they could be this time, Albus?' Minerva asked the headmaster. A few times, Dumbledore had had some notion as to who the 2 may be, and he had usually been right. Other times, however, he had had no idea whatsoever.
'This time, Minerva, I haven't go the faintest idea. This is the most talented, varied year Hogwarts has seen ever since I started working here. It could turn out to be anyone. They could be best friends or they could be mortal enemies. They could come from rich families or poor. I guess we'll just have to wait until next term.'