New Beginnings

Prologue (edited)

I Do Not Own Anything Harry Potter Related or pic/video above^

I have no Beta Reader, hope you enjoy

Edited

A raven-haired man sat at the edge of a cliff overlooking a crater that was once the castle that had been one of the last magical safe-havens, and his first genuine home, and the encompassing wasteland that was once a lush green forest saturated with magic.

The man's sharp emerald eyes are shining with sadness for the destruction of the only place he ever called home and anger at those who destroyed her, though the rest of his face remained blank. Suddenly, the man spoke.

"I hate seeing her in such a state of disrepair. I was to late to defend her and those who sought refuge within her stone walls from them."

As his quiet voice rang clear in the desolation surrounding him, the already gray light of day darkened with the appearance of a figure.

Shadows appeared to cling to it like a cloak of darkness and shrouding their features.

"*Master." Came a distinctly female voice that sounded like a melody. "*Do you wish to go back?"

The man's shoulders started to tremble.

Then he dissolved into chuckles.

Surprisingly, he only sounded slightly deranged.

Finally, the man addressed as Master calmed down enough to talk coherently again.

"My Lady Death, if I could go back. Why didn't you suggest it before now?"

Death's keen obsidian eyes watched her Master, only hesitating for a moment before speaking.

"*There were many requirements and conditions that had to be satisfied before I could offer the choice to go back, Master."

The man sighed as he stood and turned to face Death.

The man looked to be in his late twenties.

His handsome features were scared by the lightning-like white lines that went down the right side of his face.

The mark itself was practically invisible on his pale skin.

He wore his shoulder-length hair fastened at the nape of his neck with a strip of leather.

His basilisk hide fighting robes swayed, and his silvery cloak billowed as he sauntered over to Death. His eyes shone with a calculating light.

The man's mouth quirked into a knowing smirk for a second before his face once again went blank.

"And what? my dear Death is the price to traveling back in time?"

"*There is no price to be paid. Unless Master the divergence/destruction of this timeline as you know it, is worthy of note?"

The man looked doubtful as he said with a dry note to his voice.

"No, not worthy of note at all" Then he cleared his throat seemed to think about it for a second before answering.

"*It's less of a catch and more of a minor inconvenience."

The green-eyed man, getting irritable. He decided to cut Death's stalling short.

" Θάνατος!" The hint of warning was apparent in his tone.

"*Well, you see." Seeing the sharp look from her Master, she continued somewhat quicker.

"*Time-travel comes with predicaments. One such thing is not knowing precisely when or where you might end up. The only certainty on that head is it will be some time before Master collected the first of my gifts, though they have already dwell within you and always will."

"So, there's no way of knowing when I'll arrive."

there was a pause, then the man thought of something else.

"If I arrive at a time after I was born, will I merge with my old body or stay as two separate people?"

"*I believe Master would remain separate from his younger self but may end up in a new body in either situation."

The man sighed in resignation, then said.  "I suppose the unknown is better than watching Muggles finish destroying themselves and the rest of the world on their crusade to eradicate magic."

A fool's errand, because until they kill every plant, animal, and child. There will still be at least a spark of magic!

"Death, take me to the past!" "*As you wish, Master."

As Death said the last word, his world faded to black.

He was shrouded in a flashing vortex of swirling colors that slowly dissipated, leaving nothing but ash to be scattered over barren land that was once so full of life.

And as Hogwarts had turned to dust, so to did this branch of time soon wither to nothing but dust.