"What is it, Albus?" McGonagall asked as the cry pierced the night air.
Dumbledore looking old and tired was staring out the window. "It is the Daughter of the Moon coming into her full powers."
"Kaeli is just a child, Albus." She said concerned.
"Karmen and Dynius have seen things that would make the bravest of us cowards. Potter isn't the only 'Chosen One' of the new generation, Minerva. Those two have more than enough reason to hate Voldemort and his followers. These children are not as innocent as we'd like to believe. They are the ones that will secure our future." He said softly. "They are the army you must rely on, Minerva, when Voldemort makes his final stand."
"But surely you will be there with us, Albus."
"I don't believe I will live to see that day," he said shaking his head. He turned to look at her. She looked so lost and alone right now hearing that. "It is you that will lead them, Minerva. This is my gift and my curse to you. You are the one I trust enough to face that certain future."
"Albus, surely you can see you would be the one that should lead us."
"I am old, Minerva, and I don't have much time. You must promise me you will do this."
"Oh, Albus…" she said looking sorrowful.
"Minerva…"
"I promise." She said softly as she started to weep and took out a handkerchief dabbing her eyes.
"We all must die, Minerva, and it is my time." He said going to comfort her.
"What will the Wizarding World do without you?"
"They will look to the rising generation and to Harry. He is our best and only hope."
"Potter is just a boy."
"He has shouldered a grown man's responsibility for years now. He and Erin, the Monsons, Longbottom, the Malfoy boy…they are all staggering under the weight heaped on them. It will make them stronger and strong enough to fight against Voldemort. It will take all of them to defeat him. The Prophecy is clear, Minerva, to all who wish to see it."
"Do you really believe that Draco will turn to our side? Or that Longbottom will be able to wield the Sword of Gryffindor?" She asked gaining control of her crying.
"I do. Rowena Ravenclaw saw our day. The Prophecy of the Woman Child has been correct about Erin and those around her so far. We spent too much time debating what it all means and only figure it out after. It predicts even my death, Minerva. 'The Great shall fall not by the bad faith or by the sudden fire, but by the hand of the promised. All must stay for a season before the truth be known to the Chosen One.' We cannot alter this fate, Minerva…if we do all that comes after may be lost. If we decide that our fate is too much, that the cost I more than we can bear then Voldemort will win. We cannot allow that to happen."
"He took Erin though, Dumbledore, and there is no child."
"It was not the right time. I have no doubt Voldemort knows the right time and place for that child to be born, in the end though it may not be Erin who bears that child, Minerva. There is another, after all."
"That secret has been kept, Albus."
"No, Mira knows who she is now. She eloped with Fred Weasley in October. It is only a matter of time before Voldemort finds out as well. The prophecy says if a child is born of the three bloods…I can't help but think that he may figure out a way around this…"
"It has to be Erin, though, doesn't it?" She asked desperately.
"I don't believe so. Erin and Mira are the prime choices…but don't forget, Minerva, a Black is at His side."
"Bella doesn't have any Lyancomp blood in her."
"No, but there is a Lyancomp heir about to be born, Ginny Weasley's child may well factor into this. It is too soon to know. Her child was also foretold."
"You see the prophecy more clearly than I do, Albus."
"More clearly than most…or perhaps I just care to know more. 'On the Yuletide he comes, the heir to the Lion's Valley, his coming foreshadowing the return of the age of magic.'"
"The age of magic…" she whispered. "Erin plans on the Wizarding University in Lyanesse…"
"The three great strongholds will once again appear, Minerva. That great trifecta of old. It was said that if Merlin, Morgana, and Lyana combined their powers, that the wizarding world was protected."
"And now…who are the leaders, Albus?"
"I do not know…I can only guess at when these three come together then the Wizarding World will once again know true peace. The swords choose who they will, Minerva."
"The great Sword Excalibur has been lost, Albus. The Rod of Avalon was destroyed and the Wand of Lyanesse lost to the seas when Lyana drowned the city to save her people from the hordes of Vikings coming to destroy them as they destroyed Camelot. We stand on the ruins of that castle, Albus."
"Sometimes we must wait, Minerva," he said looking out at the darkness once more. "And let things unfold as they will. Some prophecies and some things must be left to the rising generation."