Nico, Voldemort's Older Brother: Book One (Rewritten)

Prologue

"Come on, Harry!" Ron announced, barging into the room. The door slammed against the wall, causing a shower of dust to rain from the ceiling. "Dumbledore's called a meeting! There's a lot of grownups there!"

"It's Headmaster Dumbledore, Ron," Hermione reminded him, looking up from the book she and Harry had been studying. "And what do you mean 'Dumbledore's called a meeting?' So what? We haven't been allowed the past few times he's called one."

Harry nodded in agreement, placing his quill down on the table. Over the summer Hermione had been helping him study different subjects and various defense strategies. He didn't want to be caught unaware again—not after what had happened last year, or the year before—or the year before that. Come to think of it, he didn't know much about the magical world at all... How was he expected to save a world he knew nothing about from an enemy that he also knew nothing about?

"Yeah, but he's letting us come this time!" Ron exclaimed excitedly, marching over to the duo and snatching the book away.

"Hey!" Hermione gave Ron an annoyed look as she retrieved the book, smacking him lightly on the head with the text after doing so.

"We're allowed in the meeting?" Harry gave his friend a disbelieving look, "Are you sure you heard that right?"

"Yes," Ron said impatiently, tugging on their arms in an attempt to drag them to the meeting. "Come on! Headmaster—" he shot Hermione a pointed look, "Dumbledore said it was really important and related to Voldemort."

Hermione gasped, "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?" She swiftly placed a bookmark in the textbook, closing it soundly. "We need to go!"

Ron gave Harry an amused look at Hermione's sudden change in attitude. He stifled a laugh, smiling in return.

"Children!" Hermione huffed, "As amusing as this may seem to you, we actually should get downstairs before everything happens without us."

"Fine, fine," Ron rolled his eyes as they scrambled to the kitchen where the order meeting was being held. Mrs. Weasley was speaking in hushed tones with Dumbledore when they got there, while the rest of the Order seemed to be waiting idly.

"Harry!" Sirius smiled as he saw his godson, beckoning the teenagers to sit down next to him.

"What's going on, Sirius?" Harry asked, pulling out a chair and sitting. "Do you know what's going on?"

Sirius shrugged, "I guess we'll just wait for Dumbledore to tell us. We should be all here." He beamed at Harry. The boy looked so much like his father, it took his breath away.

"Now, Sirius," Dumbledore had turned away from Mrs. Weasley and toward the dog animagus at some point. "We still have one member that has yet to arrive."

At that moment, Snape slipped into the room with a dark cloak over his robes, concealing his usual teaching robes. "Ah, Severus!" Dumbledore greeted, his eye-catching robes swaying as he walked toward the Potions Master.

"Headmaster," Snape gave a brief nod, his black eyes flickering over the room's occupants. "You didn't hold up the meeting too much, did you?"

"No, no," Dumbledore gestured to a seat at the table, "You're just in time, my boy!"

Sirius made an over-dramatized motion of cringing away as Snape stalked past him, walking past the chair and to the dark corner.

"Now that we are all gathered here, I have some important news to share." Dumbledore's tone became somber. "I have recently discovered that Voldemort has an older brother."