The Wizarding World had been in turmoil for years until one day the threat vanished. Why a man who desired nothing but power would suddenly up and disappear, no one knew. His followers knew not what to do with no one to lead them and went chaotic- except for a select few. The madman's Inner Circle went about with their lives as if nothing had changed, but they themselves changed. They started using his name- Tom Riddle- and no longer referred to him as their Lord which angered many of their inferior, fellow ex-Death Eaters. They spread the true story of Tom and rid the world of the hyped up lies of a monster out to destroy everything and everyone in his way. The man who had only sought to rule the world at first had quickly dissolved into a maniac seeking to purify the world of all of those he deemed "impure". These few people ensured that the same world Tom sought to purge of impurity knew that the man behind the scenes had only one magical parent. There was nothing pure about him in blood or character, and, ultimately, he had been mortal despite all of his searching for immortality. He had entrusted pieces of his soul to the wrong people.
A boy groomed his whole life to follow the examples of hatred and bigotry set before him began Tom's defeat. He gained the trust and help of a man only a few years older than he and who had regretfully discovered that the promises made to him meant nothing anymore. The unlikely team had secured the help of another wizard who had grown to resent what and who he had all but signed his life away for, and who had just discovered his wife's pregnancy. From there, the support of the downfall of Tom grew within his most trusted followers. Not long after Regulus Black had entrusted Peter Pettigrew and Lucius Malfoy with his plan, Bellatrix Lestrange approached them in need of their help through her sister and Lucius' wife Narcissa. Bella was pregnant, and the baby did not belong to her husband but to Tom Riddle. She feared for her baby's life and her borderline obsession with Tom had slammed to a halt when she came to the realization of what he would do when he learned of her pregnancy. She held certain to the belief that either Tom would kill her baby or raise it to be his heir. She could not fathom and would not tolerate Tom raising her child to be a twisted, cruel, and insane witch or wizard.
A boy with nothing left to lose, a friend who had lost his way, a man just starting a family, and a barely of age woman who already had a husband and was being seduced for her power started a chain of events that would screw the recent prophecy of a baby being able to defeat Tom with a power he knew not and would change the course of the future.
A/N: If you couldn't tell, this story will be AU; and the M rating will be for possible language and violence. I do not (at this time) see any other things that could warrant an M rating, but if something comes up in a chapter that should be for mature audiences only or could have possible triggers in it, I will warn you in an author's note at the top of the page. Thank you for reading, and I hope you stick around to see if this unlikely cast can find redemption for what has become of them and their lives.
