Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything Harry Potter related. They are all owned by J.K. Rowling. I just like to take them out to play.

Chapter One

Severus sat at the staff table and glanced around at his fellow faculty members. This was their ninth year together, ever since the old staff were either killed or disappeared with the Order. The first year that Voldemort had taken office the school had been closed because there was just too much going on.

And while the school was running smoothly, after a few years of hiccups that needed to be worked out, Severus still hated it. He had never liked children and, with the exception of Harry, the feeling was mutual. But his Dark Lord commanded and he had no choice but to obey.

"This year Harry Riddle will be joining us," Severus informed the others, though he was certain they all knew already. It had been very big news, the Dark Lord adopting a son - and not just any boy, but the one of prophecy. No one had been sure of what to think of the announcement; some even thought their new Minister had lost his mind. But of course no one dared speak that a loud, or they wouldn't be speaking for long.

There was murmuring around the table and Severus allowed it for a few moments before raising his hand to silence them. "Not many know this, but the Dark Lord wiped the boy's memory when he was still an infant so that he would never remember his parents. And no one is to ever mention them to him. As far as he knows, he was left to die in the streets during the war and Lord Voldemort found him; and in his infinite wisdom he decided to take the boy in. No one is supposed to know who Harry's parents were before Tom Riddle. And he shall never know." He emphasized the last sentence as he gazed at each of his staff members in turn, a warning in his voice. They knew the consequences of going against any order of the Minister.

They discussed a few changes in the curriculum. Then Severus stood. "Before I dismiss you all, there is one final, rather large change to Hogwarts this year. The Dark Lord and I have discussed this thoroughly and we have agreed to get rid of the Sorting Hat. It is ridiculous to force the students into Houses that they may not wish to be in. It is far better to let them choose their own. In fact, our Minister in all his wisdom has said that he believes we all make our own destinies.

"So this year we will simply ask the first years which House they'd like to be in. Should one House receive no members, and it continues for several years, we will close down that House when the last of its members has graduated. But I severely doubt that will be the outcome." He glanced around the table. The staff looked curious but not as though they were going to argue so he added, "Right then. You are all dismissed."

He strolled out of the room, his black cloak billowing behind him. Though his expression remained masked at all times, his thoughts were anything but emotionless. He wasn't sure how he felt about Harry coming to Hogwarts. He'd avoided the boy as much as he could as the child grew up - as did Voldemort, for that matter. They'd shown him the Dark Arts and spent enough time with him to make sure he'd become the child they wanted him to be - a child of darkness, rather than light. But neither man was interested or good with children. So Severus had hired a nanny - a half-blood witch named Victoria. She had actually attended Hogwarts at the same time as Severus and Lily and had been in Ravenclaw. She had been sworn to secrecy, of course, regarding Harry's true lineage. And she had done well in raising the boy. The Dark Lord had rewarded her handsomely for her efforts, as she had been let go a few days ago. Now that Harry was going to Hogwarts, there was no longer a need for her.

Severus closed the door to his office and sat behind the great desk that had once belonged to so many other Headmasters - including Albus Dumbledore. There was no painting of Albus in the room; Voldemort had been strict about that. All images of a magical person had a connection to their living counterparts, and Voldemort couldn't have a painting spying on him.

He leaned back in the chair and stared blankly at one of the paintings. He often wondered what his life would be like right now if Voldemort hadn't risen to power ten years ago. Would he even still be at Hogwarts? Merlin, he hoped not. He hated the place. But it was where Voldemort wanted him and one did not argue with the Dark Lord.

He was just about to begin going through applications for Professorial positions when he heard a tapping on his window. He rose and strode to open the great glass window.

A pure black owl flew into the room and landed on the desk, then presented its leg for inspection.

Severus removed the letter and gave the owl a treat he kept in a glass bowl before the great bird flew from the room once more. Clearly it had not been instructed to await a response.

He recognized the Minister's seal, the Slytherin crest, as the Dark Lord was the heir of Slytherin. He broke it and read:

Severus,

It has come to my attention that several witches and wizards in the surrounding area of Hogsmeade have begun to disappear. I am sending Lucius to you; together you will discover the reason behind the vanishing of my people. Whatever or whoever is doing it, deal with it swiftly and quietly.

TR

To his intimates, Voldemort still used his given name. It was a sign of how much he trusted his inner circle.

Severus sighed and ran a hand through his recently cut black hair. He wondered why he hadn't known of the disappearances until now. Well, this was going to make for an interesting year.

Harry and Draco sat in the garden of Riddle Manor - the home Harry had grown up in the past ten years. The house was an old stone cottage, built in the 1800's, and had never been wired for electricity, which was good for a wizarding family as electronics never worked well with magic.

Originally the home had looked much like something out of a fairy-tale with vines and roses climbing up the walls; a beautiful, traditional English garden complete with marble statues of fairies and elves and such fantastical things that one would expect from Alice in Wonderland, perhaps.

Once Severus moved in with Lord Voldemort, Harry and Victoria, however, the place was quickly redecorated. The interior became darker and more masculine, all except Victoria's room, which she had been allowed to do with as she pleased. The exterior was cleaned up - all flowers removed and magical vines planted that would both protect and defend the house from any who tried to attack it; as if the dozens of magical wards were not enough.

The garden was destroyed and replaced by two separate areas: one was a magical garden filled with all manner of wizarding herbs and plants that could be useful to Severus in particular, as a Potions Master. This was where Harry and Draco were allowed to spend their time.

The second area was a giant hedge maze that filled the rest of the property. Inside the maze were hexes, curses and all manner of dark creatures. Once one went in, one did not come out. There was no exit. The Labyrinthe de Terreur, as Victoria - who was French - had named it, was meant only for the enemies of the Dark Lord. Harry had never even been tempted to venture inside; the screams of anguish that issued forth periodically cured him of any curiosity.

Draco plucked an Angel's Trumpet flower and began to pull the petals off one by one. "I can't wait to get to Hogwarts. It's got to be better than being stuck at home all day, every day."

Harry nodded absent-mindedly as he twirled his newly purchased wand in his fingers. He couldn't use it until he reached Hogwarts, but he couldn't seem to let go of it anyway.

His mind was far away on thoughts of his future. Not many eleven-year-olds bothered to think of their future, but Harry seemed unable to think of anything else. The few times he did see Severus, the man always talked about who Harry could become. It seemed the future was very important to his godfather.

Harry stood and began to pace slowly through the garden. Draco was used to his friend's queer ways and remained seated, though he watched him curiously.

Harry hadn't had a normal childhood, if there was such a thing. His father was one of the darkest and most powerful wizards in known history, and he rarely saw the man. When Harry had learned to talk, he had been shown many dark spells by his father. It had terrified his toddler mind at first, but eventually he grew used to seeing people being tortured, dismembered and far worse things. It seemed the only time he saw his father was to be "taught a lesson". Not that any dark arts were ever used on Harry himself. He was just meant to watch and learn.

The second largest influence in his life was his godfather, Severus. As Headmaster of Hogwarts, he rarely saw him either. When he did, the man usually spoke of Harry's future and taught him things such as potion-making. Harry actually enjoyed making potions. Some of them could be done without magic, so he could do them before attending Hogwarts, which he enjoyed. It gave him more of a connection to his magical life.

Neither man showed any affection toward Harry. Like any child, Harry had craved love. He had learned quickly not to expect it from Voldemort or Severus; but thankfully for Harry, he had Victoria.

Victoria was a half-blood woman, once in Ravenclaw, the same age as Severus. She was demanding and tough on Harry, but he never once doubted her love for him. She was more like a mother than a nanny to him. And she was really his greatest influence, because he was with her every day.

She taught him Muggle schooling, such as History, Science, Maths, English and the like. Severus and Voldemort didn't care, so long as he didn't develop an affinity for Muggles. But Victoria refused to let Harry be an "ignorant Wizard" as she called them; mostly purebloods who believed they only needed to learn magic and nothing about the Muggle world.

Victoria always told Harry that that kind of thinking was the peak of idiocy. After all, the Muggles outnumbered the magic folk at least ten to one, if not more. It was really the Muggle's world and the more wizards knew about them, the better. "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," she always said.

Harry tugged on his black robes. It was funny that many of the students who'd be attending Hogwarts had grown up more immersed in the Muggle world; even resorting to wearing Muggle clothing in their daily lives. But Harry had been kept from...well...everyone honestly. The only friend he'd ever had was Draco. And Draco was only approved of because his father, Lucius, was the Head Auror and part of the Dark Lord's inner circle.

"Are you going to pace all day or can we get some food?" Draco asked casually as he examined his own wand. Their house-elves had gone out shopping earlier that day to buy all their supplies; the wands, however, were a different story. Ollivander had been brought to Riddle Manor with a supply of wands and Harry and Draco chose their own.

Harry turned away from the fountain that spewed what looked a lot like blood - though Harry had never tested it to find out - and smiled at Draco. "Yeah, of course. Let's get food."

The two boys ran into the house, neither seeing the dark figure that watched them from beyond the borders of their land. The figure waited until sure they would not reemerge and then vanished into thin air.

Hermione and Ron sat in Dumbledore's office at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. Hermione's hands were folded in her lap as she gazed inquisitively at their leader, while Ron was fidgeting in his chair.

Dumbledore looked at them both kindly over the top of his half-moon glasses. "Now, you both know why I called you here, I'm sure. Tomorrow you will leave for Hogwarts on your seven-year mission. Ron, what is your mission?"

Ron looked up, startled at being addressed. He flushed and his skin turned almost as red as his hair. "I..uh..what was the question sir?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and her hand shot up and waved frantically. Dumbledore chuckled and nodded at her. She sat up nice and tall and replied, "Our mission is to befriend Harry Riddle, no matter what. We are to join whichever House he does..."

"As if there's a doubt he'll join anything but Slytherin," Ron muttered.

Hermione continued as if he hadn't just interrupted, "...and we are to make sure he wants to be our friend, even if that means pretending to be people we are not. We will not, however, do any dark arts except that which is required in the classroom, because it is our job to bring him to the 'light side'."

Ron snorted. "Like that's going to happen."

Dumbledore looked at him intently and he blushed and stared down at his hands. But he was too stubborn to apologize because he believed he was right.

"Mr. Weasley, I know it seems impossible to convert Harry to our side. His father and godfather are such dark and evil men, and have had too much influence on his growing years; but his nanny was not an evil woman and so he is not beyond hope. Also, he won't be influenced by them nearly as much at Hogwarts. He will, instead, be guided by his peers - which includes the two of you. No one is beyond hope, Mr. Weasley. Even Tom Riddle himself."

Ron looked at him in disbelief but Hermione raised her hand again. "Sir? I don't mean to question you, sir, but are you certain that my papers won't be detected as a forgery?" She couldn't keep the tremble of fear from her voice.

One of the first laws that Voldemort had implemented was the removal of all Muggleborns from the wizarding world. He believed they tainted the magical blood and were a disgrace. So the Muggleborns within Britain were rounded up and killed - no matter what age. Many escaped with the help of the Order, but hundreds more did not.

No Muggleborn could attend Hogwarts either, and Hermione was Muggleborn. But thankfully for her and others of her bloodline, Dumbledore and a few others that worked for him were very good at forgery magic.

To attend Hogwarts or get a job in the wizarding world, one must have documents to prove that one had at least a single magical parent. So Dumbledore forged such documents for Muggleborns so that they could live in the wizarding world - especially as spies for the Order.

Hermione was one such person. Dumbledore had forged papers identifying her as a half-blood from Ireland, which was harder to trace. For years she had been taught how to speak with an Irish accent and a false past and identity, as she could never speak of her Muggle parents. Though he kept her first name, her surname was changed.

Dumbledore smiled at her kindly. "I am quite certain that my magic will stand the test. You will be safe, my dear."

She grinned back at him. He was a very kind and powerful wizard, and she was proud that he had chosen her for one of the biggest and most important missions he had - bringing Harry Potter home again.

Ron sighed and quirked a half smile. "Well, I guess with this mission school won't be boring at least."

Hermione looked horrified by the thought that school could ever be considered boring.

Dumbledore laughed as he dismissed them, though the hilarity ceased once the door closed. He gazed at it for quite some time and wondered if he was doing quite the right thing. He was endangering both children quite badly; for if their deception was discovered, they would be tortured and killed and it was unlikely he could save them.

Though he did have one ace up his sleeve and he smiled to himself as he thought of her. She would come in handy, he was certain, before the year was up.

A/N: Thank you all who are following my story! Please do leave me some comments as I would quite like to know what you are thinking. If they are critiques, please make them helpful. Second chapter should be out in a few days!