Prologue
~ The Mission ~

"How went your holidays, Severus?" Dumbledore questioned airily as he summoned tea for two. The younger man snorted and crossed one black-clad leg lazily over the other.

"Marvelously, Albus. I spent most of the time chatting up buxom volleyball players on the nude beaches in the south of France, but I did manage to work on my tan when I wasn't having wild animal sex with women half my age." Here he gestured upwards to his parchment pale face. "As you can see by the healthy glow that now suffuses my features." With an irritable sigh, the Potions master accepted the proffered tea and took a sip.

"Sounds rather like my summer," Dumbledore replied mildly as he sank into his armchair. Snape choked on his tea and spluttered in surprise, and the headmaster smiled slightly.

"And what did Minerva think of that? Or was she one of the players?" Snape queried smoothly, now recovered from his brief shock. The Headmaster took his turn drowning himself in tea, and Snape smiled enigmatically back as Dumbledore regained his composure. Touché, he thought.

"We'll call that one a draw," Dumbledore remarked, and Fawkes, a few feet away on his perch, let out a single note in obvious agreement.

"I didn't ask for your opinion," the younger wizard snapped at the bird. The phoenix feigned offense and presented his tailfeathers to the present company.

"Is this a social visit, Albus, or was there an actual purpose behind your invitation?" the Potions master demanded as he turned back to Dumbledore.

"Er. As much as I crave your company, Severus, this is not a mere companionable tea. I have a great favor I must ask of you." Snape waited expectantly, but the Headmaster took a slow, measured sip of tea and said nothing. He studied the younger wizard over his glasses, and for the first time since his decision actually questioned the wisdom of his choice.

"Is this your idea of entertainment, you obnoxious old fool? Do you plan to keep me in suspense for the remainder of our little chat? If so, I will take my leave and, on my way out, hurl my damn tea at that feathery git over there who pretends to understand what we're saying," Snape fumed. Fawkes gave him an inscrutable look over his shoulder, then began to groom himself elaborately.

"Patience, you miserable bat," Dumbledore replied cheerfully; this actually seemed to improve Snape's mood by a hair.

"We have received intelligence that there is a powerful new magical presence in America, in the Midwest. Although we at the Order ignored this information for a time, new details have come to light which suggest that this situation may require further scrutiny." Here the Headmaster paused, and peered once more at Snape over his glasses. The younger man stared back, betraying no irritation at the further delay, and Dumbledore smiled to himself. "We don't yet know whether this presence is a boy or a girl, man or woman. We do know this person's magical aura shows enormous power, but it is rough, untamed power. In fact, we suspect this person doesn't even realize he or she has magical powers at all."

"A wilder?" Snape questioned, his cocked eyebrow betraying his sudden interest.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied simply. Snape leaned back in his chair and slowly raised the delicate porcelain to his lips. This was certainly an unexpected development.

"How certain are you?" he asked, no sarcasm in his velvety voice.

"We are utterly sure; an enormously powerful wilder, quite possibly more powerful than Harry Potter is now, and with more potential than Tom Riddle ever showed, is entering his or her Freshman year at the University of Oklahoma."

"Interesting." Snape replied absently. He blinked, and focused on the Headmaster.

"Why don't you know who this person is? And how do you know that they are starting college?"

"Remus Lupin was traveling undercover, Muggle-style, chasing a pair of possible Death Eaters. His flight, however, was delayed at Will Rogers World Airport for three hours, and he was wandering aimlessly around the concourse to pass the time when he felt powerful magic being channeled nearby. He had almost located the source when the magic stopped, and he couldn't identify who had been channeling. Remus had almost given up when he felt another similar burst, only this time from farther away. He raced out of the airport, grabbed a taxi, and began following whomever it was. The bursts were brief, and he almost lost them several times, but eventually he reached the OU campus in Norman, where the person channeled again during some enrollment seminar. Although Remus spent the next few days in Norman, the person never channelled again."

"Are you certain he actually enrolled there?"

"We sensed a few similar bursts yesterday, when the students began to move into the dorms for the fall semester."

Snape carefully set down his cup and began to stroke his chin thoughtfully. It was amazingly rare for anyone with the talent to escape being noticed by the magical community until such a late age, even in America. In the course of his entire life, he had only known of one other wilder, and that boy had only been fourteen. This whole situation was. interesting.

"More powerful than Potter, you say?" Snape questioned. Dumbledore nodded.

"And he or she has the potential to be far more powerful than Voldemort?" Another nod. Snape rose and paced over to one of the windows in Dumbledore's study and peered out thoughtfully. "As engaging as I find this revelation, I do not see how it concerns me. Would you care to enlighten me, Albus?" Snape heard the older man sigh behind him.

"Severus, I'm afraid I must request your resignation. Hogwarts no longer needs you."

A/N The bit about wilders was borrowed from Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series. If you have not read it, then I must strongly suggest you do so.

R&R please- I try to show similar courtesy to those who review my stories and search for theirs to review in turn.