A/N: Thank you all so much for waiting! As you know, this is a sequel to my previous fanfic Can you keep a secret? and it has taken a while to think up and get posted. Please, read and enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Harry Potter and I never will

CHAPTER ONE/PROLOGUE

The woman lay on a bed right in the middle of a large room. Her eyes were closed and her face was covered in sweat from the great strain. She was in labor. Another contraction and a soft groan of pain escaped her. Despite the pain, she also looked proud, for she knew that the child she was bearing was of great importance. Many people surrounded her bed, wearing dark hoods and cloaks and waiting in anticipation. One man, a tall and menacing being, stepped forward.

"The hour is near, is it not, Bella?" he asked in a cold voice that sent chills up the spine. The woman's eyes opened and landed on the man. She nodded and he smiled. "Excellent. Your husband left you to me to carry out my plans before he died. Trust me, Bella, the pain you are feeling is well worth the glory you will receive when this is done."

"Yes...my Lord," the woman said softly. She grit her teeth as she felt the baby begin to come out. The pain was almost more than she could bear, but she was a proud woman and kept quiet. Lightning flashed outside, followed by a loud crash of thunder. The man turned and faced the hooded beings.

"This hour the child of Lord Voldemort shall be born! Even if I should somehow vanish from this world, the child will carry out my legacy, and you shall all follow." He paused as the men cried out and applauded, then turned back to the woman. "It is coming." The bell outside began to chime midnight, and the woman gave a tremendous push. Out slid the limp form of a pale baby. At first, it appeared to look as snake-like as its father, but then it formed into a normal baby.

"It is done," the woman breathed as her body relaxed. The man walked over, cut the cord, and held the crying baby up for all his followers to see.

"Behold! This child, born of Bellatrix Lestrange and myself, shall henceforth be known as the Death Child." As the followers again cheered, the man took his wand and pressed it onto the baby's back. The child screamed in agony, but he ignored it. When he removed his wand, there was a black tattoo of a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth covering the baby's entire back. Grinning, he handed the baby to the woman. "Raise that child and make sure he lives."

"My Lord," the woman said, bowing very low to him.

"If anything ever happens to myself, though I doubt it will, you are to look to my son as your new Lord."

"What shall be the child's name?" the woman asked timidly. The man picked up the child and looked him over. Then he broke into a grin.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," he replied in a soft whisper.

Startling green eyes shot wide open as a nine-year-old girl jerked awake from her nightmare. Breathing heavily, she tucked a strand of flaming red hair behind her ear and reached over to turn the light on. She got up out of bed and made her way over to the window. It was still pitch black outside, and even though the weather was cold, she opened the window. Cold air immediately blew in, cooling her down.

"That's better," she sighed "I wonder what time it is." Her gaze averted to the alarm clock on her bedside table. It read midnight. "Midnight...the midnight of my birthday...that's why I had the dream..." She looked down at the X-shaped scar on her ankle. "That's what woke me up, the scar was burning." For some reason, every midnight on her birthday, for as long as she could remember, she'd have that same dream and wake up with her scar burning. The scar had been there for a long time too. In fact, she couldn't remember not having it. "I'd better get back to sleep, my Quidditch game is in 10 hours." Sighing, she closed the window, climbed back into bed, turned off the light, and drifted off to sleep.

A/N: That's all I'm gonna write for now, but the other chapters shall be longer! Please bear w/ me, I have 3 other fics that I'm working on so I may work on those more than this, but when I get inspiration I will resume typing. Let me know what you think!