the magic of ice

The dark-hooded figure stole through the night. He was like a shadow, silent and deadly. He could easily have been mistaken for a criminal, but he was far from that. He had never in his life done anything wrong. Yet still he had to hide his face, because the rest of the Wizarding World was after him. The rest of the Wizarding World believed him to be a servant to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Only one other man knew the truth.

Albus Dumbledore, current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, knew that Sirius Black had a good soul. He would never intentionally harm those who tried to do good deeds. He would certainly never help You-Know-Who to hunt down the Potters. Because he had been friends to James and Lily Potter, and he was the godfather of their son, Harry. But, for a reason that is yet to be discovered, the Dark Lord had killed the Potters, using the worst spell anyone could utter: the Killing Curse.

But the most unusual thing had happened. Harry had lived. He had somehow survived the Killing Curse. The curse had somehow backfired and Lord Voldemort was forced to flee. Everyone cheered, for they believed the dark wizard was gone forever.

But Dumbledore knew better. He knew Voldemort would return one day, to finish what he started. He knew the world would not be safe forever.

But Sirius Black brought more news that surprised the Headmaster. Voldemort had another target. He had another person he wanted to get rid of. It wasn't just Harry Potter he was after. And this unknown target had a very unusual gift. She was born to a Muggle family, yet somehow she had powers no-one had ever spoken of.

"Where did you get this information, Sirius?" Albus asked urgently.

Sirius removed his hood to reveal a thick mass of hair and a scarred face. He looked grimly at his former teacher. "In the Department of Mysteries," he said. "I went looking for the prophecy about Harry, and I found this."

He handed to Dumbledore what people would think a snow globe at first glance, but the 'snow' never settled. It just swirled around in the globe as if a force was keeping it moving. Albus peered closely at the engraving beneath it and a frown slowly began to crease his forehead.

"This matter shall stay between you and me," he said, "until she is ready to take the burden. Until then, we will have to protect her at any and all costs."

"But how will we do that?" Sirius asked. "She doesn't live anywhere near England. How will we get her to Hogwarts?"

"She does not need to come," Albus said. "As far as we know she only has those powers. If she begins to show any sign of magic too, then I think we can arrange a Portkey."

Sirius nodded and turned to leave the office, but Albus stopped him. "Oh, and Sirius, she needs to be protected even where she lives. I think you would be the right man for the job."