Harry Potter and the Children of the Seeker's Stone

A/N: Wow. This is the first HP fanfic of mine that I'm actually satisfied with. This is basically chapter one, and your [the readers] first look at a central character. Or rather, this is her background story. Forgive me if it's either too short or long for you. I hope you enjoy it =]

Disclaimer: If I honestly owned the HP series at all, I'd most likely be a very, very rich woman and not sitting on my ass all day typing this up for you.

*Holds up mug of oatmeal* Here's to a hopefully successful story. Cheers?

_Harry Potter &

The Children of the Seeker's Stone_

Prologue

Location: Shores of Constanta, Romania

Time: Dusk, February 23^, 1980

"This stone is legend," spoke a hoarse and bone chilling voice as it pierced the symphony of waves crashing against the mouth of a cave shrouded in darkness. A stout and balding man was the only figure the natural light of day seemed to reach, shrinking in fear from the cave's touch.

"One fit for an embodiment of fear and perfection, my Lord," the balding man replied to the voice valiantly, even though he kept eyeing the nearest escape to the white powder of the beaches below every few seconds.

"Do you fear death, Julius?" the cold voice spoke to him once more, somehow inching further out of its cradle in the rock, so its face would come into view. The face, once revealed, was the most colorless and sleep deprived figure that Julius had ever seen. His face was as pale as virgin snow, his cheeks gaunt, lips as thin as thread, and his eyes were narrow snake like slits that seemed to blink in and out of focus.

In the end, this mysterious man looked as though the joys life had never gotten through to him. Julius trembled as the other towered over him, his cloak sweeping gravel in his wake.

"I-I don't fear anything, m-my, Lord," Julius managed to squeak, disregarding his heritage's strong, commanding vocals. The taller man began to laugh and cough at this statement in disbelief. A laugh that caused the stout man's flowing red blood to run cold in his veins.

"Such a bold statement for a man groveling rather than standing to face me," the other man drew a wand from his robes.

He pointed the tip at Julius's sweating forehead.

"Now, where is your present for me?" the taller man gently hissed as he tightened the grip. In trying to answer the question, Julius drove both of his hands into his robe pockets.

He held out a pale yellow stone no larger than his chubby palm.

"For you, L-Lord Volde--"

"Speak my name, Julius," the Lord mocked playfully.

"Please, don't m-make me," Julius forced out of him with some of the final strength that he could muster. In doing so, the waves kissing the sides of the rock face seemed to mount like an audience in watching him, blowing fresh sea water onto his face.

The taller man snatched the yellow wonder before the sea touched Julius's arm.

The threads of his lips kissed the tip of the stone.

"Lord Voldemort praises you for such a marvelous discovery," he began, now grasping the stone tightly in his empty hand.

"Yet-" at this word, Julius looked deeply into his lord's eyes, praying for some sign of relief.

"Yet, I will not tolerate to care for a man who has already served his purpose."

Julius dove for the ends of Voldemort's robes. He started to kiss them.

"Please, my Lord, I swear I will do absolutely anything to stay in your favor!" he screamed and sobbed like a piglet awaiting its death in the night.

"Anything."

Lord Voldemort stared hard at the sobbing Julius before him, narrow with peaking blood red eyes between his snake like slits. The muscles of his mouth curved and he gave Julius a very warm and almost affectionate smile.

"Then die for me, Julius," he breathed into the night's air before clearly speaking, with a tone of heightened malice.

"Avada--!" he started.

"PLEASE DON'T, MY L--"

"Kadavra," Voldemort finished simply before the stout, balding little man fell to his knees and collapsed completely softly onto his face.

"Disgusting rodent."

At the utter of the word 'rodent,' the silence of the air had been broken with a sudden "Pop."

A new even smaller man, slightly hunched wearing an Earth battered traveling coat walked hesitantly into view.

Voldemort dropped the stone into the man's outstretched hands.

"I wish for you to devastate a family with a newborn child," he spoke as the lips on the other man curved into a devious, animal fanged smile.

"Do not disappoint me."