Stardust Promise

Once upon a time, there was a girl. She was a Gryffindor, brave, kind, and occasionally temperamental. She never expected to fall in love with someone who was so completely forbidden to her.

Once upon a time, there was a boy. He was a Slytherin fifty years before the girl was born. He had dreams of power and changing the world. But lurking within his heart was a darkness only she could vanquish.

In an act of magic made to bring the two together, the girl was thrown into the boys time. She had to learn to grow up in a time where her mortal enemy was just laying the foundations of his order. She had to learn the ways of the snake.

The boy was curious. The girl defied him, avoided him, seemed to hate him. They were at each others throats every five minutes for the smallest things. She was a challenge and she was intriguing. He had to learn how to gain her trust.

It started out slowly. The arguments became more playful, turned into banter. She sought him out to ask questions. Tentatively, she formed a friendship with him. Her greatest enemy quickly became her greatest friend.

She was his first true friend. She knew his darkness and accepted it for what it was, although she didn't stop saying he could be more. He was surprised. No one had believed the best of him in years. Yet this girl believed in that small spark of light within him.

The girl brought the teacher and the boy together. The teacher grew to understand the boys thoughts and the girl was pleased. Their conversations were long and lasted many hours. The boy, the teacher, and the girl became very close.

The teacher had once warned her against the boy, but the girl had been stubborn. Now, the teacher was glad that she had been. The boy was intelligent, charming, and he could bring the world to a new and better era. The teacher came to love them as his own children.

As time passed, the girl and the boy came to love each other. The teacher was happy for them and they celebrated the love. The girl was happy to have found someone to complete her.

One day, the boy decided that he never wished to give the girl up. He could still be cold and cruel but with the girl, he became a leader that others were proud to follow. He bought her a locket of stardust, and made her a promise.

They were engaged. On their wedding day, the teacher walked the girl down the aisle. She wore a flowing dress of white silk and satin lace. She carried the symbol of a snake on her left arm — a golden snake armlet. She carried a bouquet of red tulips, and her locket hung around her neck.

The girl was happy and terribly sad. She knew that today she would return to her time. She knew that she had not aged while she had been there and that she would return to the moment she left. As the teacher handed her off to the boy, she vowed to always be his and never let him stray from the path he chose as her husband.

The girl and the boy kissed. The girl prayed for her unborn child's safety, the child she had yet to tell him of.

The girl disappeared to a time where her love was her greatest enemy.

And it is there, the day after she returned, that our story truly begins.