Disclaimer: As always, I don't own this.
A/N: This one's a little shorter than usual, but hopefully worth it. 3 more chapters are completed and waiting for posts. Keep those reviews coming.
Once upon a time, there was a wizard who sought to blame others for the misfortune that befell his family. Unlike his father, who in his haste had been caught, this wizard bided his time, instead focusing on proving the potential seen in his youth. He travelled extensively, learning all he could of matters both arcane and mundane. He hobnobbed with the powerful, the learned and the wealthy, gaining their insights, influence and admiration. Like the subtle serpent, he slipped among them all, waiting for the opportune moment.
This is not to say he was idle in his life's work. Not in the least. As he moved about the upper echelons of magical society, he observed his enemies, seeking their weaknesses, observing their strengths. As a wizard of great power, the length of his life was projected to be long; giving him ample time to bring his enemies low while elevating his own star.
Nor did he neglect his enemies among the Muggles. As they had initiated the tragedy that tore his family apart, they would suffer the greatest and longest. Mild curses were gently placed upon those bloodlines that would last generations. The Dursley males would have difficulty containing their rage and bigotry. The Snape finances would always remain on the verge of ruin. Accidents would strike every Evans male before the birth of their first grandchild.
All three bloodlines would fail to produce children after the first male born.
It was years before the wizard was able to land his first blow against his magical enemies. In the meantime, the wizard was patient; slowly building his reputation as both a great scholar and a wizard of power. In time his efforts bore fruit and the wise and powerful began to seek out his counsel as his name became known among the societal elite.
The Gaunts were a family of modest means but long and noble heritage. Descended from both the Peverell and Slytherin bloodlines, they took great pride in their pureblood heritage. It was that pride that would be their downfall.
Judge Corvinus Gaunt, named for one of his 18th century ancestors, had fallen ill with a relatively mild wizarding disease, but a tainted potion had resulted in his untimely death. He was survived by two children, Marvolo – 19, and Pleione – 15. Centuries of close breeding to keep the line pure had left these two with unstable personalities at best. These instabilities were easily influenced by the wizard who was able to catch them alone at a vulnerable moment during the wake that followed the funeral. The wizard returned to Godric's Hollow that afternoon with a sense of great satisfaction and a Gringott's key weighing down his pocket.
Only the very best would now be good enough for the heirs to Slytherin. Marvolo Gaunt had become convinced that the only suitable way to keep they Slytherin bloodline pure was for his sister to bear his heirs. Pleione Gaunt largely ignored her brother's efforts, having little care for the act one way or another. She had long admired the finer things in life and now chose to spend their non-existent fortune among the pricier boutiques of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.
Within three years, the Gaunt family home had been reclaimed for the payment of debts and Pleione had born her brother's son. They relocated to a tiny shack near Little Hangleton, taking with them only a few valued heirlooms and a great distrust of other wizards. Marvolo blamed his sister's wastrel ways for their problems, feeding his rage and hatred which he passed on to his son. Pleione cared little for the boy, but spent what few years she survived her daughter's birth filling the girl's head with tales of her future: that one day she would be a princess, carried away from that awful life by a Lord on a noble steed.
