The Dark Lord was on the rise, a war was underway.
The loss of life would be catastrophic in the next couple years, except one night changed everything. Monday, July 31st to be exact.
Voldemort suddenly became Tom Marvolo Riddle again. His mind intact, his soul back in one piece and all he had done came flooding his mind.
He had lost himself. Something he vowed he'd never do, no matter how many times he fractured himself he had sworn to keep to his goals. Not to be swayed by his peers. But his quest for immortality had warped his mind, he hadn't even claimed his birthright.
In a moment of clarity for the first time in years, he called his followers to his side and gave them new instructions. Those who rose against him were cut down, but those who remained loyal were rewarded.
They would make a new name for themselves.
--
Nearly 2 years later when a prophecy was told to him, Lord Tom Marvolo Slytherin dreamed that very night.
In it a voice spoke of the self-fulfilling prophecy, images flickered through his mind's eye of a war that would devastate wizarding Britain in a way it could never recover, causing aftershocks to other communities, leading to the end of the world as they knew it.
'Who are you?' he asked the voice.
'I'm no one special. Just someone who wishes to live a safe and happy life.'
Lord Slytherin woke and called his man, making him make an Unbreakable Vow to speak of the prophecy to no one.
At the end of the week, Lord Slytherin read the papers, his brow furrowing over the contents.
'POTTER HEIRESS DISAPPEARS!'