The light in Dumbledore's study flickered a few times, and the old wizard adjusted his glasses, peering at the cramped writing in his spellbook. Old spellbooks often had impossibly small print, since parchment had been a premium for ages. It had been practical at the time, he was sure, but the practice sure made it damned difficult to actually make sense of the spells and notes after a few centuries. He was scowling at a particular word, trying to decide if it said incartis or incantis, knowing that mispronouncing it could have disastrous repercussions.

He nibbled on the tip of his sugar quill, smiling as the lemony taste tingled his tongue. He really couldn't make it out. He turned his attention to Fawkes in exasperation. "Do you know if it's incartis or incantis?" he asked the phoenix, knowing he wouldn't get an answer.

"It's incantis," a voice said unexpectedly.

Dumbledore whirled to see who had spoken, who had managed to pass his security without him being aware of it. A handsome man in elegant, though old fashioned, clothing stood across from him. "My apologies for my rather… rude entrance, Professor Dumbledore," he said, his voice smooth as well-aged whiskey, "but I doubted that I was going to be summoned any time soon to this world, and I needed to speak to you privately."

"Summoned?" He produced his wand from up his sleeve, mentally preparing to cast a banishing spell. "Why did you have to be summoned?" Summoning was something that was associated with demons and other nefarious creatures, and though the man in front of him looked perfectly human, Dumbledore knew better than to trust appearances.

The man smiled. "I see you don't know me. Perhaps we should introduce ourselves properly." He bowed slightly at the waist. "My greetings, Sir Albus Dumbledore… my name is Christopher Chant, and I'm the current Chrestomanci." He was very polite and genuinely respectful, but his dark eyes practically shone with power.

Dumbledore coughed in surprise. "The last time I knew, that position was held by a rather unpleasant fellow named de Witt." He remembered the gray-haired gentleman with an uncharacteristic swell of dislike. The few times they had encountered each other, he'd found DeWitt's arrogance and ostentatious attitude annoying as hell.

Chant smiled softly. "He did have his good points- he wasn't much of a people-person, but he did his duty. I've been on the job for the last seven years, though."

Dumbledore scowled, his aged face looking truly formidable. "What do you want? You'll forgive me if I'm not thrilled to see you- your predecessor was less than helpful when we needed him."

"May I sit?" Chrestomanci asked.

"I can't stop you," Dumbledore said ungraciously. He normally would have been more polite, but the grudges that were stacked against the office of Chrestomanci were simply too grave for Dumbledore to completely overlook.

Chrestomanci sighed and magically beckoned to the tall, ladder-backed chair by glancing at it with his sparkling black eyes. The chaired walked over and he sat, taking his seat like an emperor. Dumbledore watched him, surprised at the sheer presence of the black-haired gentleman; it was true that magic was concentrated into the man's form until it practical had to spill out, but the current Chrestomanci had style as well. "I am sorry for this office's lack of cooperation in the past matters," Chrestomanci began.

"Really? De Witt let Voldemort take control here without putting in a single appearance- even Voldemort might have backed down from Chrestomanci. Instead, when our Ministry appealed to him, he gave them a spiel about "internal affairs" and that he would intervene when it threatened another world in our series." Dumbledore scowled, looking truly impressive. Enchanter or not, Dumbledore wasn't about to back down from the other man.

"Gabriel was afraid. There's worse things then dying, and Voldemort knew most of them."

"Then he shouldn't have been Chrestomanci."

"It's not like there's plenty of choices for the post. The qualifications needed are exceptionally rare. Besides, I don't know of anyone who knew him who wasn't afraid of Voldemort."

"I'm not," Dumbledore said.

"But you couldn't defeat him, either." The man sighed and raked a hand through his hair, yet it didn't become at all mussed, falling right back into order. "Actually, that's what I came about. I wanted to make sure that nothing like that happens again- and possibly make amends for the past mistakes of this office."

Dumbledore looked at him in surprise. Chrestomanci -whoever held the title- was almost always the most powerful enchanter in all the known worlds, and hardly ever bothered to apologize. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I have heard that Voldemort is rising again," he said grimly.

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Two years ago, a ceremony was performed that… restored him. I wouldn't say brought him back to life, since he's not exactly human anymore… we didn't bother to notify you since it was an 'internal affair'."

Chrestomanci nodded, ignoring the barb. "I have a student who is about ready to enter the final years of his training- he is my successor."

Dumbledore watched him carefully, wondering where this was going.

"Since he is an nine-life enchanter, he is able to cross the barriers between worlds with no ill-effect. He's been trained to the fullest extent of his powers, and he is powerful. He still needs some polish, but he's very capable."

"What does this have to do with making amends?" Dumbledore asked warily.

"I want him to attend here for a year, as your ward." He held up a hand to forestall and protests. "He'll be able to help keep your students safe, and learn about your world. If he learns to care about the other worlds in the series, he'll be much more efficient at his job, which could only benefit us all. Your world is a good one to start with- the wizards are aware of the job of Chrestomanci, have a different system of magic, yet hide from the mundane -or 'Muggle'- world."

Dumbledore nodded. "It seems like a good idea, but- will he be able to cope with the different magic system? And the world? Our Britains are quite different… he won't even know what America is!"

"His foster-sister actually came from a world very much like this one, except for the magic- a practically non magical world. He's been learning quite a bit about the differences, and he'll need to learn to cope with going into a world that isn't his own- the Lord knows that I've been Summoned across series multiple times."

"Why as my ward?"

"He needs some protection and guidance- and you're one of the best." Chrestomanci's eyes seemed to bore into him. "I'm placing the magical future of the Known Worlds in your hands… will you accept the challenge?"

Dumbledore chuckled and raised an eyebrow, feeling himself start to like the enchanter in spite of himself. "Have I ever backed down from a challenge?"

END PROLOGUE