Barty breaks his father's mind control early and goes off to seek his master. Unsuccessful in his search, he decides that killing the Boy-Who-Lived is the next best thing on the list. What he didn't expect was to end up a foster father to a neglected child and thus, 5 years later, a very different Harry Potter turns up at Hogwarts.

Headmaster Riddle's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is arguably the best magic school in all of Europe. Unbeknownst to many, the shadow he casts is as black as tar and vast enough to hide machinations and schemes that run deep into the heart of British magical society. When he takes the young Heiress Black, née Potter, under his wing, a dangerous dance begins.