The year is 1940, the month September. It should be a happy time, as students are
returning to the hallowed halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but
teachers and pupils alike gather with heavy hearts. World War II is ravaging Europe, and
the German blitz has just begun on London. There are empty seats in the Great Hall that
were not there in autumns past. Some are empty due to untimely death in the blitz, others
because young wizards are enlisting in the army with the aid of magically(and thus
perfectly) forged birth certificates and government identification. In addition, bigotry
has found new places to take root. With Irish independence resting on 17 tumultuous years
it has now declared a neutral stance in the war, and is refusing help to both sides of the
fight. Brought up to believe the Irish inferior, many students take this action to be
further proof that the Irish aren't worth their salt. The halls have become a war ground
with the Irish boys standing firm against the new waves of persecution that have risen
against them.

Amidst the havoc the muggle Hitler is wreaking, another evil is rising as well. The dark
wizard Grindewald lurks across the channel waiting for an excuse to cross the waters.
Though he lacks the courage to confront old friend and current nemesis Albus Dumbledore,
purists on the English side of the sea are far from timid in waving the Grindelwald banner.
Those who believe in the purity of blood are taking matters into their own hands and
forming a branch of Grindewald's army on the English side of the sea. Unchecked by
Grindewald's wariness of the island fortress, the rogue faction is growing increasingly
bold. Those with money and power are pushing and shoving the pieces into place for a full
blown takeover. Screw the blitz. People are disappearing from their own homes. A
strange mark is burnt into the woodwork of their lintels, one that is beginning to carry
weight in the minds of those who are informed enough to know of it.

And Hogwarts you ask? What of those students residing under the watchful eye of one lowly
transfiguration teacher? Well, they're doing alright. But children are a reflection of their
parents and trouble is stirring in the halls of Hogwarts. Sides are being chosen, and where
house rivalry hasn't meant anything in a long time, lines based on the color of ties are laid
down. Fights in the halls are more frequent, and anyone who isn't pure is finding life in the
castle to be far less pleasant in than it used to be.

With all this going on, it's no wonder no one is noticing the worsening humors of a boy who
will become the darkest wizard of any age known to history.