ONE

November third, nineteen eighty-one saw an influx of orphaned children to Wool's Orphanage. Because of the battles that had raged in the magical world, many kids were left parentless, and homeless. Into the breach came Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, to save the day for one particular orphan. When Harry Potter's parents died, the child was taken to Petunia and Vernon Dursley to raise. He was left on their doorstep in the middle of the night, a note pinned to his blanket as he slept in the basket. The following morning, Vernon was the first to check for the paper, and found the abandoned baby. Instantly he called the police, who, with a child care worker, collected the last Potter heir and took him to the orphanage, the note still pinned to his blanket.

Draco Malfoy's parents were killed in a firefight. Aurors had come to the manor with cursebreakers to bring down the ancient family wards, and in the vicious confrontation, both parents perished. Little Draco was then taken to the Ministry, where Cornelius Fudge, in order to keep his ascent to the Minister's position on track, took the orphaned child and abandoned him in front of a Catholic church in the muggle world. He was left in a cardboard box, only his name pinned to the front of his shirt. Fudge thought, with the Malfoys out of the way, he would be assured to attain Minister, once Bagnold retired. The church couldn't accommodate him, since their own orphanage was full to bursting, so they took him to Wool's orphanage, where he was immediately taken in.

Neville Longbottom's parents were driven to insanity, and could no longer care for their son. Augusta Longbottom, in a fit of selfish despair, told Algernon Longbottom to take Neville into the muggle world. She knew that the boy was a squib, since she couldn't feel his magic, and she hated the very sight of him. He reminded her too much of what she had lost, so she threw him away. Algernon walked around for a few hours, looking for a place as far away from the wizarding world as possible. It was purely by accident that he found Wool's orphanage, where he unceremoniously dumped his nephew. The only thing that identified the child was his name, on a tag sewn into the collar of his shirt.

Theo Nott's father was in Azkaban, and his mother dead. The Aurors had come to arrest the known Death Eater, and his mother had died in the confrontation, trying to protect her husband. No one gave a thought to the child, and it was hours later that a house elf had dropped Theo at the orphanage, making sure that the child was warm, and ensuring that his name was prominently displayed on a piece of parchment attached to the side of the basket. The elf thought that the muggle world would be safest for the Nott heir, since there were so many enemies in the magical world out for the Notts' blood. Four magical children, all orphaned, all ensconced in Wool's orphanage. It was as Fate had decreed; the apocalypse had begun.

Tom Riddle, known in the magical world as Lord Voldemort, had sent one of his followers, in polyjuice, to retrieve the Potter heir. It was the minion who had died in the battle at Godric's Hollow; the substitute Voldemort had been trained and trained until he could believably take the place of the Dark Lord in any confrontation. Riddle didn't count on the blood protections that would surround the baby, so the opportunity to obtain Harry Potter was lost to him when a stray spell hit the protections and blew up the house, killing Lily Potter and the Death Eater in disguise.

Sending out his magical senses, as well as a few shadow ravens, he searched for the bright light of Harry Potter's magic. He couldn't find sign of the child in the magical world, but, as he was searching, he had come upon the same bright light in three other areas. He went to each location in spirit form, hoping to find the child that had drawn him like a moth to a flame, but in each instance the baby was gone. He mourned for the Malfoys upon seeing their corpses; they were the best of the best and his close, personal friends. He was shocked to see that another was the Longbottom boy, the other 'prophecy child'. Not finding any of the children where they were supposed to be, he returned to Slytherin castle to wait the news from his ravens.

It was hours later that they returned with information. "Master," the lead one hissed chillingly, "we have found the child. He resides in the muggle world in a place called Wool's orphanage. He is with three others that feel like him." Frowning in thought, Tom sat back in his chair, eyes distant as the voice of Fate continued to speak in his mind.

"I am here to retrieve Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, and Theo Nott," Riddle intoned solemnly. The director of the orphanage looked at the man, taking in the obvious wealth and stature, surprised that someone with obvious breeding would come to that dank hole in the wall orphanage for children.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously on the man. "What do you want them for?" he asked belligerently.

Riddle's eyebrows rose in surprise at the tone as he skimmed the surface thoughts of the muggle. Grimacing in disgust, he snapped, "Not for the prurient reasons you believe. I have documentation giving me permission to retrieve these four children." He handed over the forged paperwork and continued. "I was to be their teacher and guardian whilst their parents worked. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, their parents perished, and I am here to fulfill my duty to the children."

The director looked over the paperwork, eyebrows rising at the signatures of several prominent citizens of the muggle world. His eyes lifted once again to Riddle and narrowed on the man. "How did you come by all of these signatures?" he asked. "There are some big names on this paperwork."

"I have worked closely with many of them," Riddle replied softly. "I knew that just the release wouldn't be enough, so I obtained some letters of reference. I am not here to harm the children; I have come to give them the home that they deserve." Seeing the indecision still on the director's face, Tom sighed. "I would also like to make a sizeable contribution to your organization, to ensure that the children here are adequately cared for and fed. The donation will be renewed quarterly, to ensure that any upgrades to the orphanage may be made." Tom watched the avarice enter the other man's eyes, and smirked.

"The fund is to be managed by my oversight team, just to make sure that the money goes where it is needed." The director scowled for a moment, before pushing the intercom button.

"Mrs. Brown, would you please bring Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, and Theo Nott to my office?"

The toddlers were in their shared room, in individual beds and sleeping soundly. A house elf was monitoring them, in case they awoke, as Tom started barking out orders to his followers. "A new day is dawning," he said to the crowd, watching with pleasure as they stood straight and tall, and silent. "I have found the children who will bring about the apocalypse, and they are now sleeping upstairs.

"Bella, I need you, Barty, Rabastan and Evan to be the sponsors for the children. Bella, you will sponsor Neville. Rabastan, you will sponsor Harry. Barty, you will sponsor Draco. Evan, you will sponsor Theo. You all will be responsible for every part of their upbringing, and I expect you to protect them with your lives."

"Yes, my Lord," the four murmured with bowed heads.

"As for the rest of you, you must infiltrate the Ministry, as well as any and all publishing firms, so that we may, when the time is right, disseminate information to the wizarding and muggle worlds, warning them of the coming apocalypse."

"Yes, my Lord," the Death Eaters said in unison.

"Dismissed."

Harry was the first to open his eyes, and he looked around the spacious room happily. He sat up in his crib, then pulled himself up by the railing to stare around in wonder at his surroundings. His emerald eyes fell on the other three cots in the room, and he grinned, glad that his friends were there with him. One by one, the other three boys opened their eyes and looked around before standing up in their cribs, grinning at each other.

The door to the room opened quietly, and Tom stood in the threshold, surprised to see the children already awake. "Hello, boys," he said softly as he entered the room. "I am glad to see you awake. My name is Tom Riddle, and I am to be your guardian."