Forest Of Dean

Prologue

During the first year after Dumbledore's death and Harry's disappearance, everyone was sure that Harry would return.

But when Ron came to Hogwarts alone and guilt-ridden, they began to lose hope.

That hope steadily dwindled over the next fourteen years as more and more people disappeared without a trace.

Slowly the Order of The Phoenix and the D. A. faded underground, seeming to realize they were fighting a losing battle but not being able to give up.

Voldemort took over swiftly and efficiently, and once he was sure that Harry was not coming back, he assumed that the boy had died.

His power leeched the life out of Britain, and it spread far.

But, he forgot that good will always rise to combat evil.

...

Severus Snape usually wouldn't go down to the dungeons that held his ex-colleagues, but all the house elves had recently disappeared and Severus was the only one at Hogwarts during the summer so he had to be the one to bring food to the prisoners.

When he opened the door to the dungeon, Minerva McGonagall narrowed her eyes and turned away from him.

Severus laid out the bowls of food before pausing by the doorway.

An odd rasping was coming from one end of the dungeon, a rasping that hadn't been there a second ago.

Severus drew his wand and crept to the end of the dungeon, only to find that it was Trelawney who was rasping.

He was going to just go as this was normal for Trelawney, but then she began to speak in a rattling, ghostly voice.

"Two witches and six wizards will hear the call.

It is only them who can save us all.

Three from the forest, one from flame.

Another from the sky, two from the dark's reign.

And one from the Earth beneath, all with an oath to keep.

Snakes from fire and snakes from the deep,

Will meet in battle, a battle which will decide 

If the Earth will fall to ice,

Or if it will rise from fire."

Severus stared, trembling as the Seer's head rolled back and she fell into a deep slumber.

He remembered the last time that he relayed a prophecy to the Dark Lord, and how that resulted in the death of his Lily, while her arrogant swine of a husband lived.

It would be disastrous, he decided, if he told the Dark Lord of this.

However, Severus forgot that some secrets are dangerous.

He could have no way of knowing that this prophecy would be the thing that ultimately killed him.