Disclaimer: All I own is the plot. Any people/places/things you may recognize are the property of JKR.

Chapter 1:

The silence that met Dumbledore's statement was deafening. Harry sucked in a breath and hesitantly looked at the other members of the Order, not daring to move too quickly for fear of starting World War III. Sirius' mouth hung wide open and Ron's eyes had grown to twice their normal size. Harry turned his gaze back to the man in front of him to find a confident Tom Riddle meeting the stares of the Order head on.

Harry took this time to study his enemy closer. He had not changed much from the boy Harry had met in the Chamber of Secrets. Though he seemed a little older, maybe nineteen or twenty, his features were the same. His tame hair, black as midnight, was slightly wavy and reached down just far enough to obscure his eyes. They were a light, chocolate brown with flecks of gold that sparkled when hit with sunlight; however, Harry knew of the intelligence and cunning behind those eyes. Harry's eyes traced further down Riddle's face and stopped upon his nose, which was long and perfectly shaped, resting above a pair of full petal pink lips. Harry continued down Riddle's face and came to a strong, masculine jaw line that was dotted ever so lightly with dark stubble. Apparently Riddle hadn't shaved this morning. Harry glanced back up into Riddle's eyes to find that they were staring straight back at him. Riddle slowly blinked.

And all Hell broke loose.

"Albus! You can't be serious!"

"Tom Riddle? As in, Tom Riddle the Dark Lord?"

"Are you mad!"

"They've got Dumbledore under the Imperious!"

The scraping of wooden chairs across the stone floor could be heard as Sirius and Moody abruptly stood up. Sirius banged his hands down on the table while Moody drew his wand and pointed it at the Dark Lord.

"SILENCE!"

The thick silence of before filled the Great Hall again, this time charged with crackling magic and tension. A vein pulsed on Dumbledore's left temple. "You will all remain quiet. Wands away, please." Several other members of the Order warily pocketed their wands, keeping their eyes trained on the Dark Lord. Still, the members of the Order had an undeniable trust in Dumbledore, which was probably the only thing keeping them from causing total chaos.

"As I said before, we have a situation on our hands," Dumbledore started.

"Yeah, I'd bloody well say so!" shouted Sirius. Several murmurs followed his statement.

Dumbledore continued as if Sirius had said nothing. "You all are probably questioning why Tom," (here, Voldemort's eye twitched- apparently, he still hated his muggle name.) "is here with us. He is here on peaceful terms and none of you will break that peace." Dumbledore leveled Sirius with a brief stare. The gravity of the situation struck Harry at that moment- here he was, sitting in the Great Hall with the Dark Lord. Harry hadn't seen Dumbledore act so serious since Cedric's death and he realized that for the old man to act so somber meant something must be horribly wrong.

"This morning, the Ministry received word that the Bulgarian Government has formed an alliance with both the Grecian and Macedonian Governments. For some reason, the Bulgarians have set their sights on England and have offered us an ultimatum: we must either fight or surrender our country and let these foreigners invade us. The Minister attempted to negotiate, but the Bulgarians wouldn't hear it." Dumbledore had never seemed older.

"This came from the Bulgarian Minister of Magic?" Hermione asked, a small frown creasing her forehead.

"Ah, ever the smart witch, Ms. Granger," A snort could be heard from Draco Malfoy. "but no. Three years ago, just before the Triwizard Tournament, riots broke out through all of wizarding Bulgaria. These riots quickly escalated into a civil war. A large group of terrorist wizards eventually rose to the top and are now in control. Bulgaria no longer has a Ministry of Magic; instead, it is ruled by a King: Anton Krum. As you may have guessed, Anton is Viktor's elder brother." Dumbledore explained. He paused, letting the news sink in.

"Are the Bulgarians really that much of a threat if they just came out of civil war?" Remus' hesitant voice broke through the quiet.

"Yes and no. The Bulgarians do not have enough military strength to take on all of England alone- hence the pact with Macedonia and Greece. The only thing that makes the Bulgarians themselves frightening is that they know how torn our own country is, because of their occupation here during the-" Hermione cut Dumbledore off.

"-Triwizard Tournament." Harry looked at Hermione and could almost see the wheels turning in her head. "That's the whole reason they came to the Tournament in the first place! It all makes sense- their King is Viktor's brother! They were spying on us all along!"

"Very good, Ms. Granger. Yes, I fear that the Bulgarians should be considered a threat. Their new alliance only makes them stronger- Greek wizards are known for their ancient magic." Dumbledore halted his explanations and began pacing at the front of the Great Hall.

"Well? What did Fudge do?" Sirius' voice was bitter, betraying his hatred of the Minister.

"Cornelius has declared War on Bulgaria. That is why we are here today. It will be impossible to defend our homeland against such a threat if we are also fighting our own countrymen." Now, Dumbledore's eyes seemed to come alive. He nodded his head in Riddle's direction. The Dark Lord calmly got to his feet and joined Dumbledore at the front of the hall.

Now the dark haired man took up the speech, his silky smooth voice washing over the troubled minds of the people in the hall. "I have pledged my allegiance to this cause. Though I do not share the same ideals as you, I do believe in protecting my home against a foreign invasion. My followers will also defend our country, whether they like it or not." Lucius Malfoy's eye twitched. Harry noted that all evil wizards seemed to do this when they were annoyed. Maybe it's a side effect of all the dark magic they use. Or maybe Malfoy's just taken too many Crucios.

Harry was snapped out of his musings when Sirius abruptly stood up. "He's lying! There's no way he could possibly make a truce with the light!"

"I have made an unbreakable vow to Albus Dumbledore. If you think I am lying, you can ask him." Riddle's voice had dropped to a low growl.

Once again, a brief silence descended upon the room. Sirius sat back in his seat, effectively cowed by the Dark Lord. He glared at the wooden table in front of him.

"Due to the impending war, Hogwarts will be used as a fortress. The four founders blessed this place with so much magic for a reason- it was meant to defend against evil in times of need. Both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters will be residing and training here during the war. We do not have professors, so volunteers will have to teach the youngest of us how to combat. The Death Eaters will arrive tomorrow, after Mr. Riddle has had time to inform them of these new developments. There will be no fighting amongst us." Dumbledore's voice rang out into the hall with an edge of finality.

HPTRHPTRHPTRHPTRHPTRHPTR

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in the Gryffindor Common Room that night. Harry shivered, even though it was July- the Common Room seemed so much bigger without the hustle and bustle of the entire Gryffindor House inside it. The lonely red tapestries on the wall did not bring the warmth to the room that they usually did; instead, it seemed as if they were all that remained of a house unity that would never live again.

Hermione broke the silence in the room. "What do you guys think about everything?"

"It's a bunch of bull! There's no way the Dark Lord would pledge his allegiance to Dumbledore- even if we were going to be invaded! Dumbledore's off his rocker! Why would he go to the Dark Lord for help anyway?" Ron fumed.

"Ronald, it's not as if the Light could win this war alone. Much as I hate to admit it, we need the Death Eaters on our side." Hermione sighed. "I've read about ancient Greek magic before. It's very powerful. We're going to need all the help we can get to win this war."

"I don't care! How's Malfoy going to help us win the war anyway? He'll probably just turn his wand on the Order as soon as we hit the battlefield!" An angry flush stained Ron's cheeks.

"Ronald! Will you listen to what you're saying? Do you honestly think Malfoy wants the Bulgarians to invade our country? It's time for you to grow up and let go of a petty childhood rivalry!" Hermione had stood up sometime during her rant and was gesticulating wildly with her hands.

Ron stood up and turned on Hermione aggressively. "You're just upset because it's the Bulgarians who are invading us! What? You can't accept the fact that it was Vicky who gave them power over us in the first place? I was right about him all along! He was just using you!"

Hermione's face screwed up in anguish and she bolted out of the Common Room and up the staircase to the girls' dormitories. Ron turned to Harry, who had been silently watching the whole exchange. "Girls are crazy." He muttered, plopping back down into his chair. The two sat in silence for a few moments until Harry calmly stood up.

"I'm going to go check on Hermione and then go to bed. I suggest you go to bed soon too. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Harry set a foot upon the first step of the staircase leading to the girls' dormitories and, upon seeing that it did not flatten into a slide as it would have during the school year, slowly disappeared up the staircase, leaving Ron alone in the Common Room.

A/N: The plot thickens! muahahaha! Thanks to the lovely people who reviewed the prologue! I know this chapter is a bit boring... hope it didn't put you all to sleep. : )