Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does. I made a birthday wish once that I could own it... wait what? Now it won't come true since I told you... just great.

Prologue

Lights flashed in front of the imposing fortress prison of Nurmengard. Far below the battlements of the ancient fortress two forces of nature strived to extinguish the other's existence: light and dark. Lightning flashed against the clouds almost as if fingers were grasping the clouds and not allowing them to bestow the cleansing waters they contained.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore wiped away the perspiration dripping from his forehead as he led the combined forces of several international ministries against the forces of the Dark Lord known as Gellert Grindelwald. The battle had raged for half-an-hour with both sides trading spell after spell in the early pre-dawn hours. At first it had seemed that the forces of Light had the upper hand as they attacked the imposing fortress that was situated in the middle of a broad valley until they themselves had been surrounded. With no choice of retreat Albus had taken the iniative and ordered everyone to move toward the large clearing where the fortress stood.

Dumbledore frowned as he leaned against a tree in the dark forest that the wizards were moving through. His senses told him that the entire affair had been a large trap to kill off the last vestiges of resistance in England. Grunting softly, he moved along with the group as random spells flew passed them.

Suddenly all the spells stopped as they came to the edge of the forest. In front of them and the other groups loomed the tall dark castle. Even more disturbing to Dumbledore, was the host waiting for them in front of the castle. In front of the host stood a large man clad entirely in black. His long icy blond hair trailed behind him as wind blew through the valley. The cold calculating look on his face was illuminated by the floating torches spaced evenly throughout the entire clearing.

Whispers spread throughout the ranks as many finally realized it was a trap. Some tried to apparate but were foiled by the wards around the clearing. Knowing that this was the best chance the Light had to defeating the Dark Lord, Dumbledore stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Forward brothers and sisters! Tonight we dispel the darkness that has oppressed us for so long!"

Many wizards and witches looked to the barely known leader before them and with shouts rallied to the man. Leading the charge Dumbledore ran with several others toward their fate. Moving quickly he swiped his wand in a wide arc, causing several pieces of rock to levitate. With another incantation he maneuvered them in front of himself; blocking the first large barrage of spells that erupted from the Dark Lord's ranks.

With a roar the two sides clashed together amid screams and curses. Dumbledore barreled into a man about to cast a spell and with a quick backwards glance stunned and incarcerated him. A masked man on his left threw several curses at him which forced him to move behind a pair of brawling wizards. Suddenly the fighting seemed to move and formed a clear path to Dumbledore's target; the one who was responsible for all the fighting.

"Gellert!" he roared, "End this madness!"

The Dark Lord turned towards him and sneered. "Albus! A surprise! I didn't expect to see you here. After all, I thought your cowardliness would keep you away."

Flinching slightly from the voice whose owner he had considered a friend from his younger years, Dumbledore drew himself up to his full height and took a dueling stance.

"It's over Gellert. Only one of us will leave a free man tonight."

Gellert smirked. "Free? I'm afraid if you have that view point Albus, I've already won!"

He easily dodged the trio of incarcerous spells Albus cast at him and laughed. "Ever the pacifist I see! Let me show you where that weakness gets you!"

He fired several spells toward Albus who erected a shield only to watch as the spells came nowhere near him and impacted against several Aurors and Hit Wizards from several different countries. Growling, he shot a spell of pure white in Gellert's direction only to be blasted off his feet by a curse that weaved its way past his shield. Tears slipped from his face as he realized what his actions had cost.

Suddenly his sister's screams filled the air. Dumbledore shook his head and moaned. His sister was dead. Why could he hear her? His answer was given to him as he saw several dark billowy shapes descending from the top of Nurmengard. Their cold presence confirmed his suspicion that the beings were dementors. He struggled to form a happy thought as he tried to stand up. He gasped as he was suddenly kicked in the side. He moaned in pain as rolled a few feet closer to a group of fighting wizards.

"Do you hear her?" Gellert asked in a sickly sweet voice.

Blinking his eyes Dumbledore realized his enemy was standing over him. He twitched and reached for his wand only to see it underneath the Dark Lord's boot. With a smirk the Dark Lord proceeded to put more weight on it, causing it to crack in half. The screaming of his sister grew louder as Dumbledore watched the Elder wand point down at him. He shivered from the cold but refused to close his eyes against the spell he knew was about to come.

"I'm sorry Aberforth." he whispered.

Gellert smirked evilly once again. "Goodbye Albus. Avada-" He shrieked as a dark shadow flew into his face. Gellert's spell impacted harmlessly to Dumbledore's side and he stumbled away clawing at his face. Dumbledore slowly blinked his eyes as the night grew brighter from newly cast patronusses. All kinds of pure white beasts flew through the air banishing away the cold and filling him with hope.

Suddenly loud explosions shook the valley. Dumbledore recognized the falling of the wards around the clearing as the valley became a mess of activity. Lights flashed as several people apparated and attacked the Dark Lord's forces. The most prominent color in the sky were red flashes from which people were jumping out of to join the struggle of bodies.

Dazed from the ringing in his ears Dumbledore tried to stand up but failed, falling to the ground. Suddenly a flash of red appeared to his right and he watched several fighters as they seemed to appear from the source of light before disappearing from his view. Most ran in Grindelwald's direction who was currently slashing his wand through the air and cursing as the shadow that had attacked him darted everywhere, evading him.

One of the figgters who had appeared ran toward him quickly. "Are you okay?"

Dumbledore, still stunned, shook his head and tried to stand.

"You must stay down. You'll be safer." The voice commanded. Dumbledore shook his head again. The voice he was hearing sounded much too young to belong on a battlefield.

"I must defeat Grindelwald. I'm the only one… who knows how to get past all his tricks." He rasped. "Help me stand. Please.

The boy, who Albus noticed was clad in all red with a mask covering half of his face, reached under his arm and lifted him up. He held Dumbledore up as his legs almost gave out before he was able to balance himself. Dumbledore felt something pushed into his hand and looked at the wand in surprise.

"May my wand serve you well sir." The boy said as he picked up some rocks with his other hand. He let go of Dumbledore and ran into the masses of fighting people.

Dumbledore didn't hesitate and shot a green curse at the Dark Lord who had been his former friend. Grindelwald dodged and, upon seeing Dumbledore, growled. Running towards him, he batted several people to the side with an almost inhuman strength. His transformation into a sleek panther caused Dumbledore to blink in surprise. His friend was an animagus?

Caught by surprise he missed as the panther leaped towards him with its claws outstretched. It jerked to the side as the raven flew into its face. Growling the panther whirled around and shredded the bird's side with its claws.

Dumbledore screamed and shot a bolt of golden light at the panther pushing it paws-over-head as it rolled over. Quickly morphing back into the dark wizard it really was it cast several spells against the golden barrier Dumbledore had quickly erected. One of Grindelwald's arms hung loosely at his side as the two titans dueled.

Spells and curses flew back and forth as the two tried to extinguish the other. Dumbledore summoned a large phoenix made of fire and caused it to soar towards Grindelwald. Grindelwald banished it in a wave of darkness but failed to see Dumbledore running towards him, another incantation already running from his lips.

A spout of water exploded from Dumbledore's wand which cracked from the pressure. Several other spouts erupted from the ground and surrounded Grindelwald wrapping him up in its embrace. Dumbledore let the now useless wand fall to the ground and used his hands to control the magic surging forth from the earth.

Screaming Grindelwald tried to mouth a counter curse but his wand was swept out of his hand and into Dumbledore's. The water formed a sphere that encased the dark lord. Panting from the effort Dumbledore raised the Elder Wand and cast a stunning curse.

The water fell as the figure inside it slumped down onto the ground. All around Dumbledore the defeated Dark Lord's forces threw down their wands at the sight of their fallen leader. Falling to his knees Dumbledore saw the raven which had helped him.

"Thank you friend."

The raven croaked and then turned slowly into a man who was clad in another red cloak. The mask that covered the left half of his face was cracked in the middle and his cheek had been crushed. Mumbling softly so that Dumbledore could hardly hear him, "My…. Son. Is he okay?"

"Who?"

"…Ravencroft. My son?" he murmured.

"Father!"

Dumbledore looked up as the boy who had given him his wand run over with tears streaming down his face. As the boy's wails filled the air the lightning finally released its hold on the clouds. Dumbledore bowed his head as the rain soaked his already damp cheeks.

The Beginning of a long adventure! Hope you liked!