The Lost Black: Book One

Prologue

Light and Darkness, so similar yet so different; both needing the other to survive. Nothing can stop darkness from coming but it needs the light to actually survive.

Darkness can show up at any time, the same can be said for the light, but to have them survive and grow, their significant other has to be there to fight with, for domination, an eternal war which rages between Dark and Light.

The fight goes back and forth, no one winning.

And that is where it is to say.

No winner.

The two always fighting but that is all they can do.

There are people, though, who ignore the meaning of balance in the world, and try to a side to win...whether it is those who stand for the 'good' that is represented by the Light, or the 'evil' which is represented by the dark.

It has been happening since the beginning of Magic and Time. Though people have the best intentions when they try to make their side win, there is always death which is caused by those intentions.

There is one thing neither of the sides ever tried to do, though; cooperate with one another. They can try to mesh the two and with that, a grey side would be born and balance would be kept, but otherwise, there would be no settled dispute between Dark and Light without that grey.

Sadly, the sides didn't want that. They were happy with what they were doing, so death kept fighting.

Years passed.

Fighting continued.

The cycle kept going, no one bothering to break it.

Though, now there may be someone who can break it.

A light in the darkness, accepted by the darkness. A light, that was bright and drew everyone to it, but that light can only shine so long when another light wants it to go out.

-x-x-x-

Year: 1958

-x-x-x-

Her hair was long in length, falling over her shoulder in a loose braid that was held tightly at the end by a sparkly tassel-like ribbon. Big wondrous silvery blue eyes looked curiously at the old man in front of her and her mother who sat a few feet away from her.

"Miss. Ollivander, thank you for coming on such short notice," the old man spoke kindly, looking to the child of seven years old.

"It is not a problem, sir..." she hesitated before continuing, moving a lock of her fair blond bangs from her eyes, "Father said you would want to talk to me."

"And so Garrick was correct in his assumption," his eyes twinkled over half-moon spectacles as he said this.

"Astraea, tell Dumbledore what it is you told us!" the little girl's mother ushered, somewhat pale in comparison to the girl.

Astraea seemed a little hesitant to divulge the old man with what she told her parents, not so enthusiastic about him knowing of her talent. Astraea Ollivander had, from a very early age, the ability to foretell the future, not by reading the stars, or tea leaves, or crystal balls, but by simply closing her eyes. Not that she could see everything, she saw flashes, and then her mind would blank, and she, in turn, would hear soft spoken words, these words she would often tell her mother and father, as they could sometimes confuse her, but never anyone else.

Looking carefully at the man, she knew who he was, and could even see some of his own fate, his name was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, he was the Headmaster of Hogwarts, had been for two years now. She knew he was destined for many more triumphs than he'd already faced in his one hundred years. But she knew that a great many terrors awaited the old man who had at least sixty more years of pain and suffering to go. Finally, she sighed, raising her head as she revealed what may someday become a cause for his pain, "Light be lit bright as the moon, Encasing darkness in a warm cocoon, Ancient Four held tall and strong, By the light which only to them belonged, Stolen away then will darkness fall, Shadows soon to take its toll, A hidden light kept from sight, Silenced memories store an unknown plight, War will break with evils rise, Till Chosen One peels forth Dark cries, Peace for years until time halts, Then stolen Light will reveal lights faults..."

Albus stared hard at the girl for a few moments before speaking, "...what images did you see with these spoken words? Was there anything else, a name, a face?"

Astraea smiled, "Many things, I saw many...but they will not aid you, for the future has many directions that it may take, you never know what avoiding a disliked outcome can do, Headmaster Dumbledore," her own eyes twinkled as the man had never actually introduced himself, "While in your attempt to avoiding such an end as the one you do not wish, you may, in fact, be the cause for which it ends as such, to begin with. I will say no more, for my meddling will be short lived, I've seen my stars, and know well that life will be short for myself, but I ask then when you see my face again, headmaster, be courteous not to question her of what horrors or wonders the future may hold."

The silence was kept, and Dumbledore, stared on in surprise at the mouthful, nodding his head as the two left him to his thoughts.