Prologue
The Three Fates
Albus leaned forward over his desk, his eyes for once refusing to twinkle even in the slightest as he stared at the three children in Hogwarts student robes in front of him.
Two boys and one girl, sitting in three tall wingback chairs, scooted close together so the youngsters could hold hands.
In the chair to the far left, a raven-haired young boy sat, with his mother's eyes and his father's disposition. Dumbledore knew those eyes well, from both mother and son.
On the opposite side sat another boy, destined to live in his friends' shadows until he would become a Prefect – but always the consummate brave and loyal Gryffindor.
And in the middle, their mutual best friend supported both of them, a brown haired, bossy little girl, with a head full of questions and answers.
He watched as the girl squeezed both their hands and said it was all for the best. He watched as she gave them each a hug and kiss, whispering encouragement in their ears and showing them the kind of love that is born out of adversity and mutual lost innocence.
He watched as she escorted both boys to the door, making them promise things to her that he couldn't make out, even with his supposed omniscience. He could afford her that much privacy.
When she returned and sat alone before him, he wondered if he had made the right choice.
"Headmaster, Sir, I'm ready," she said, with all the bravery a child could muster.
Squelching his growing feelings of discomfort, he hoped no one ever realized that he had put the entire fate of the Wizarding world on the shoulders of an 11 year old girl.
A/N: Welcome, and thank you to my Drakien. (Yes, she's MINE!)