Harry Potter and the Curse of Grindelwald

Prologue ~ A Breath of Snow and Ashes

Last night I dreamt of standing in a snow covered clearing. All around me were towering evergreen trees, their boughs pointing towards the earth, heavy with a burden of fallen snow. I turned to take in my surroundings and noticed four paths breaking through the dark line of the trees.

It was cold. I was cold. The ground in the clearing was covered with a deep unbroken sheet of white.

I pulled my cloak closer around me as I breathed in the frozen air. My exhaled breath spread out in front of me like whispering smoke, disappearing rapidly with each inhalation. The stars above were masked from view by heavy gray clouds unleashing more sugary fine snowflakes towards the earth.

In the distance I could hear the sound of explosions. A few moments later, the soil rumbled under my feet. When I closed my eyes, I could imagine the sounds of men yelling, screaming, running as the ground erupted up around them, carrying them down and covering them with ashes, dirt and snow. I could see them in my minds eye, rushing through the trees, holding long weapons that shot flashes of fire from the blunt ends.

Somewhere in the expanse of this forest, there was a war raging.

I opened my eyes and the sounds were gone. Everything was muffled and silent and I wondered if I spoke aloud, would I be able to hear my voice?

Why was I here?

Gentle flakes of snow fell on me, lighting my face with little biting pin pricks. I lifted my head towards them, resisting the urge to stick out my tongue like I used to when I was a child. My frozen hands brought the fur lined cloak closer around my body and I pulled the hood up over my head. My feet were growing numb.

From behind me, I heard a soft snort and turned, surprised to find a pale unicorn standing at the edge of the first path. This beautiful animal snorted and tossed his head, his horn shimmering against the falling flakes. His coat shone with an inner radiance, illuminating the trees around him with a soft glow. He bent his head towards me, his long white mane sliding over his shoulder to brush along the powder. Another sound came from my left and I turned to find a large golden lion guarding the second path.

I swung back towards the other two paths, the snow under my feet crunching loudly in the stillness of the clearing. Wind came rushing through the trees, causing them to sway and send drifts of snow swirling into my face. I shivered as I closed my eyes against the frozen onslaught, tucking my face into the side of my cloak. When the wind left the clearing, I opened my eyes again. The third path was now occupied by a large two-headed snake, clearly as tall as I was. The snake lifted one head and looked towards me, flicking its red forked tongue, feeling for my scent.

The fourth path was empty, the dark corridor silent. No snow covered the winding path, and I watched it for a moment, feeling a flicker of fear rush down my spine for the first time since arriving here. The darkness seemed alive, like it was waiting for me, wanting to swallow me whole.

This time the shiver that ran through my body had nothing to do with the cold. I was afraid to turn my back on the darkness, but even more afraid to keep staring at it. It was drawing me towards it, and I gasped as my foot sank deep into the snow in front of me. I looked down and then up again quickly, at once thankful for the freezing snow falling down inside my boot.

The path was the mouth of hell and it awaited me. My eyes filled with hot tears and I felt them freeze against my cheek as they tumbled down my face. Finally, I could stand it no more and turned back towards the lion and the unicorn.

I jumped as the sound of another explosion ripped through the emptiness of the forest, echoing eerily against the snow-covered trees. Above, the low gray clouds colored briefly with orange and red fury and I knew the battle was no longer a trick of my imagination; the reverberations sounded much closer than before.

The unicorn and lion watched me, both standing soundless and still. If it weren't for the steam of smoke from their breathing, I could have easily mistaken them for statues in the wood.

They seemed to be waiting, waiting for something from me. I didn't understand.

Then suddenly, I did. I could feel the message they conveyed silently to me, just as I could feel the malice of the message from the paths behind me. It was a choice of course. A choice I would have to make somewhere, sometime in the future. I stared at them with the darkness at my back and smiled through my tears, whispering, "I understand."

But would I remember?