Though it happened when they were young, Albus could vividly remember the day they first met in the old woods just at the end of the neighbourhood street. It was the eve of his sixth birthday when his mother was running around the house, doing her best to organize the house and get everything ready for the birthday party the following day. James was out in the back with their father as the two cleaned out the backyard. Of course, on occasion, his father would use magic to lift and move heavy things out of the way only when necessary.

His father never believed that one should abuse the power of magic to do trivial things that one could do with their own strength and wits. Albus had always though it was rather strange belief because compared to his mother, magic was always the answer. I guess that's how being raised in a muggle family as opposed to a wizarding one would mould how you see the world. His sister Lily was in the kitchen with mom, trying to help out but proving to be more of a hurricane than anything else. Between running back and forth to the refrigerator, checking the cookbook's cake recipe and a million other things, cleaning up after Lily would have easily made any normal mother go berserk. Not Mrs. Potter though, she would simply wave her wand and the mess would clean itself up. Just when Albus was about to head upstairs to his bedroom, two identical faces popped up from the corner.

"Happy Birthday Albi," the slightly taller one said as the other handed Albus a small box. "

It's not my birthday yet guys," Albus replied and hesitant about grabbing the box from Fred's hand. These were his cousins.

If it hadn't been for the fact that George Jr. was slightly taller and Fred had a little more blonde in his hair, they would have been impossible to tell apart. For a while, George had been called J.R. instead his entire name but it had gotten to a point where he and his brother were getting yelled at so much, the letters were slurred together into "Jar" instead. Uncle George and Auntie Namena had arrived earlier that day via floo powder .

"What you waiting for Albi, take your present," Fred pushed on and wiggled the small box. "How do I know it's not one of Uncle George's old prank candies again?"

With bright red hair and mischievous grins, the twins leaned in. George looked around, keeping guard as Fred leaned in the closest and whispered into Albus' ear.

"It's a key to an old abandoned house in the heart of the old woods."

Albus' eyes lit up as each word slipped through his cousin's lips and into his brain. An old abandoned house? Maybe it was like the old house his father mentioned in a bedtime story about a house that was placed on the other side of a tunnel, hidden beneath a large willow tree. The tree was like a gatekeeper, coming to life when people got too close to the tunnel.

"Is there really one?" Albus shouted excitedly. Jar shushed him quickly and placed a finger over his lips. "Do you want everyone to know about it?" Shaking his head, Albus took the box from Fred and opened it. Inside laid an old, black key that was scratched up and beginning to rust on the corners. His eyes widened when he looked at it, if the key in the box had been true then the house had to exist! "Can you take me there now?" Albus whispered excitedly and nearly hopped on the spot, clutching the key tightly in his small hands.

The twins looked at each other before smiling once more and nodding.

"One exception-""-we can't leave now-"

"No, no. Too risky-"

"-will have to leave later-"

"-much later."

"When the sun goes down-""-and not a minute after-""-we'll be waiting for you-""-by the shed in the backyard.""But remember-""-tell no one."

Along with their tricks, Fred and Jar had a habit of moving back and forth between each other to finish an entire thought. Albus nodded and passed by them to run up to his bedroom. When he reached his door, he looked down at the black key in his hand and pocketed it quickly. The day was still young and nightfall was a long ways off. The rest of the day was going to be excruciatingly long and unbearable.

Inside his bedroom, he headed for the bed and got down on his knees to look under the bed. He had to check under there every time he went inside because their might be bogarts or nargles in there. He had never heard of a nargles until they had gotten a visit from his parent's friends one summer. The most he could remember about her was that she smelled funny and she had no shoes.

She would talk about all the animals she got to see on her trips, especially the scary ones like bogarts and erkling. When he asked about the smell, the lady, Luna was what his parents addressed her as, would explain how it would keep nargles away. When she said that, her parents laughed nervously. This could have mean one of two things. Either nargles was a funny word or they were so terrifying that it made adults laugh to show they're not scared in front of their kids. When Albus looked under the bed, all he saw was a couple of toys and a butter beer cork that was left under there for too keep them away (it was a gift from the lady just before she left).

Reasured there was nothing there, Albus stood up and walked over to his dresser. In there were many things. More toys, old candy that he had gotten from the twins he didn't trust, occasionally clothes, and a spool of yarn. He grabbed the spool and pulled at the yarn until he was satisfied with the length before taking a pair of scissors and cutting it. With that, Albus slipped the yarn through the key's handle and tied the loose ends together. With the necklace done, he slipped it over his head and tucked the key inside his shirt before heading back downstairs.

His dad was back inside and helping mom out with the cooking while his Uncle George watched his siblings and cousins in the living room. Auntie Namena was using her hat to hide her face the best she could because the morning they had left for the Potter's, Fred and Jar had spiked her tea with boil juice. Of course she was mad at them but she was madder at her husband for giving the boys old trick candy recipes for their ninth birthday. Albus joined the rest of the kids just when the fireplace began to glow emerald green once more. Harry and Ginny called all the kids back, to make room for the new guests arriving.

Through the green flames walked out a family of four. "Uncle Ron!" the Potter and Weasley boys ran up and hugged him while Lily shouted out Hermione's name and did the same for her. Close behind them, two identical but miniature sized figures of their parents, were arguing about something. "Hugo you idiot, how can he possibly in two places at the same time," Rose rolled her eyes as she walked away from him. Hugo made a face behind her back just as Hermione caught him doing so.

The adults visited for a few hours as the kids ran around and played outside. It was getting darker outside but none of the kids seemed to mind, none except Albus that is. Albus ran up to the twins as the two were poking at a gnome that had gotten itself trapped in one of the many live traps that were hidden in and around the garden.

"Hey, do you think its dark enough?"

"Not dark enough yet-""-probably in another hour."Albus groaned and kicked a weed in disappointment. He was about to turn around and head back when JR spoke up, that mischievous tone in his voice making itself known once more. "Of course we could start to go now. An hour should be more than enough."Fred had caught on and smiled, "Yes, by the time we get there it would be sundown, wouldn't it?"

Excited, Albus ran up to them and took out the key from inside his shirt, "And I've already got the key with me so there's no need to go inside. No one will know we're gone. The twins looked over to the other kids and saw how they were all busy. James was showing off his Chocolate frogs to Hugo while Rose and Lily were hidden in the garden. Silently, Fred, J.R. and Albus ran off and headed towards the old woods at the end of the neighbourhood street.

The trip to the end of the street took under ten minutes but for Albus to gather his courage to step inside after dark would have took him an entire day, had it not been for the fact he had the key hanging from his neck. Fred turned and faced Albus when they reached the edge of the woods, "You sure you want to go in there-""Because once we step in-"

"we're not walking out."Albus pulled out the necklace and clutched the key tightly before looking up at the twins, his eyes burning with determination. The twins shrugged their shoulders and the three of them began their journey to the heart of the old woods.

A fog began to sweep over the ground, making it hard for the boys to see where they were placing their feet. The entire trip was made in silence, with the twins leading the way and Albus looking around, his eyes darting from side to side. The further they went inside, the more Albus became more jittery, remembering all the tales Luna told his parents. What if they came face to face with a Centaur? Or stepped on an Ashwinder? Or stumbled across a nest of Nargles? "I should have brought my butterbeer cork," he whined and picked up the pace so he was directly behind Fred and Jar.

"What would a butter beer cork do for you?" Jar said, over hearing the boy. Embarrassed and not wanting to tell them about the nargles, Albus followed them in silence. The sun was long gone and the canopy blackened the sky with its sea of leaves, though some holes in the canopy allowed rays of moonlight to hit the fog, illuminating the mist. Owls hooted, signalling that night had arrived.

"There it is," Jar whispered and stopped. Had Albus not been paying attention, he would have clearly bumped into the boy. Looking out through the gap between them, in the distance an old house stood, clearly out of place in the thick of the woods. It was made of dark wood that was covered in patches of green on the corners of the roof and parts of the walls. A porch had began to settle and pieces of wood hung loosely from what was left of the stair railing. Had it not been for the moonlight, the Enterance would have been lost in a black shadow. From the roof, dead leaves laid there, rotting away with the rest of the building and a battered chimney stuck out of the centre. The windows were covered in dust, some glass having been broken and shattered by rocks thrown by previous children who had stumbled across it.

"What are you waiting for Albi-"

"-go in."

Albus blinked and looked at the two, stricken with fear, "You guys are not coming with me?"

"Of course not."

"Besides, only the one-"

"-who holds the key-"

"-is allowed in."

"That means-"

"-it's you, Albi."

Albus' hand trembled but the key seemed to have a power of its own. No matter how scared he was, the key was telling him to go inside. Slowly, Albus walked towards the house. A cold sweat ran down his body and his eyes were wide open, too afraid to blink because having them close for that split second would give whatever was inside enough time to sneak up and attack him. Carefully, he made his way up the rickety stairs, hearing the wood creek and settle under his weight. The door was large and black, not colours on it at all with the exception of a tarnished brass doorknob. Opening his hand, Albus finally registered just how afraid he was for the key had left an imprint in his hand, the cornered bits were red where the metal was cutting. Trying to calm himself down, he took a few deep breathes and gathered his courage and strength before approaching the door. He held the key and grabbed the doorknob with the other hand.

Slowly, he eased the key into the keyhole and turned, hearing the lock click and the door loosen. Albus pushed the door open, with the key still in the keyhole, and looked inside. It was just as dark as he had imaged it to be inside, making it hard to see anything at all. He turned around to face the twins, who hadn't moved an inch since he had approached the house. Fred and Jar encouraged him to go inside and telling him everything was fine with OK hand gestures and thumbs up. Not wanting to wuss out after getting this far, Albus walked inside.

With no light source to speak of in the enterance, Albus held out his hands and felt his way around. His hands had gotten caught up in some spider and cobwebs, making him pull back his hands and quickly rub them against his clothes, thinking about how gross it felt. His body shook with the eerie presence of this place until he found an empty room where a window allowed moonlight in. It was a dusty and barren place that had nothing inside at all with the exception of a black cloth that was bundled up in front of the window. It looked too tall to just be just the cloth itself, maybe it was covering something. Slowly, Albus approached it. The floor boards creaked with every step he took and the closer he got to the black mass, he further he stretched out his arm. When he was in arms reach, he grabbed the cloth and it moved.

The blood curdling scream ran throughout the house and pieced the night air. The twins screamed aloud, being startled themselves by the sound and instinctively ran from the house's presence. Leaving Albus there in the house with his own screams.

Another screamed followed and the two figures fell back and crawled backwards towards the opposing walls. Albus' heart raced so loud he could hear the blood pumping in his ears. His senses on full alert, he knew could not only hear his own breath and the functions of his body, but the heavy breathing of the figure on the other side. "Who are you?" The figure asked in a frightened tone, its voice young and cracking under its own fear.

"A-Albus. Albus Severus Potter," he replied carefully and slowly. "What about you?" The figure pulled the cloth off from over its head, unveiling the face of a young boy, approximately the same age. "Thomas Theodore Riddle," the boy replied and the two stared at each other while their bodies recovered from the shock. "What are you doing out in this house by yourself," Albus asked as he got to his feet, dusting himself off while the other boy got up and began to fold the large black cloth. "I'm bird watching," he remarked, in a tone that made it sound like the answer should have been obvious. "What about you? Why are you in my bird house?"

"Bird house?"Thomas shook his head and laid the blanket in front of the window, making a soft mat to sit on, "This is where I come to watch birds. I can't do any real bird watching at home because its mostly crows that fly around all the time." Nodding, Albus watched the boy pull out a pair of small binoculars from his shirt and peered through the large hole in the window. "Is it fun," Albus approached the boy and stepping into the blanket. "It can be. When you find a bird you don't see all the time, then it's really exciting." Lowering his binoculars, Thomas looked up to Albus and that was the first time their eyes met. "Do you want to watch the owls with me?" Albus nodded and joined Thomas on the blanket. As the hours passed, the boys had caught a number of owls hunting, even seeing a few catch small animals that were just beyond the window.

"Albus!" A voiced called out, startling the boys once more. "What was that," Thomas asked and watched Albus get up and head towards the door. "That sounds like Dad. Do you want to meet them?" Albus' smile soon faded when he noticed Tom had turned his attention back to the owls and continued to watch them hunt smaller creatures. Harry's voice rose out of the darkness once more, closer this time.

"Uh… do you come here all the time?" He asked the boy quietly.

"Sometimes. When I can," the other replied coldly, the close feeling they had earlier was starting to fade.

"Maybe I can meet you in here again," Albus leaned against the wall. He really didn't want to leave his new friend but he was probably in enough trouble as it is for running off into the woods without any of the adults knowing about it.

"I'll be here tomorrow," Thomas replied and faced Albus, placing the binoculars in his lap. Harry's voice was now just outside the house, accompanied by the voice of another male that was unmistakably his Uncle Ron's. "You better get going or else you'll be grounded and we won't be able to hang out tomorrow" and with that, Tom turned back to his bird watching.

The train jolted to the side once more, forcing Albus out of his memories. Tom had started to eat his tangerine and Lenore was still looking at them with that same drowsy smile. "Well," he finally spoke after losing track of time, "long enough."