Keiran Black was a mystery for everyone. He was a silent Slytherin who showed the signs of immense power but he insisted on poor spellwork. He harbored a strong grudge for the Girl-Who-Lived but he ended up as her closest friend. He was supposedly Draco's lost cousin. Keiran thought he had himself all figured out. But then he is more of a mystery than he himself knows. Dark! Harry.
Disclaimer: I am not making money out of this, and this isn't mine, except for the plot and the OC's of course.
A/N: Vote for who you want Keiran to end up with! The poll is on my profile! If there's somebody missing in the list that I put up then please inform me and I'll add the name!
Living a Lie
"Come on! You know you can do better than that!" Bellatrix taunted as she dodged a flying kick from her son. She grabbed the leg he had aimed at her and twisted it, causing him to twist in midair. Instead of falling on the floor as the move was intended to do to him, the agile young boy did an extra flip in midair and landed on the balls of his feet.
Smiling approvingly at what her son had accomplished, Bellatrix charged once again, aiming her powerful kick at the boy's feet. Before her feet made contact with his shins, the boy leapt up and he swung his right foot at his mother's side. She stumbled on the ground and her son landed on top of her with a triumphant grin on his face.
"K.O." he breathed, while wiping the sweat off his brow using the back of his hand.
"That was pathetic, Keiran! Three minutes! I've done it in one!" a mocking voice interrupted his moment of victory. His sister, Kiara, who had been watching the entire sparring session, was smirking at him from one of the armchairs near the fireplace, a stopwatch in her hands. "
Keiran hopped up from his mother, scowling. Keelan, who had buried his nose in a book while sitting behind his sisters' chair, looked up and tossed aside his book with an anticipatory gleam in his Prussian blue eyes, which were exactly the same as Keiran's. He had always enjoyed his siblings' quarrels, though he never joined them himself. He considered himself above such things.
"You only managed to do that because mother had already sparred with Keelan and I. She was tired." Keiran retorted.
"Mother takes a rejuvenating potion after each duel." Kiara countered, smirking "Just admit that I'm better than you." She added in an airy voice.
Bellatrix went to sit beside Keelan, copying his amused grin. Their actions proved that this was a common occurrence in the Black household. Keiran flicked his wrist and his wand fell from his holster and into his waiting hand. He pointed his wand at his sister threateningly and hissed, "I challenge you to a duel, with wands."
Kiara looked horrified for a minute but she quickly wiped the expression off her face. She pocketed her watch and stood up fluidly from her chair. "No," she snarled. "Hand to hand combat."
"We both know that magic is what most wizards would use to fight instead of martial arts. Would you lower yourself to muggle standards?" Keiran said in mock indignation, raising one elegant eyebrow. "Or are you just too afraid of me and my little stick?" he began twirling his wand in his long fingers, while giving his younger sister a look of pure superiority.
"Without your wand, you are nothing."Kiara laughed.
"I'll make sure not to lose it then."
At this point, both were sending death glares at each other and Bellatrix decided to intervene. She stepped between the two, pushing Keiran's wand down as she did so and gave Kiara a warning glare.
"Why don't you two try a hand on sword fighting instead?" She suggested. "Neither of you have beaten me in that area of combat yet. It should help the both of you blow off some steam" She suggested.
Keiran and Kiara glared at each other for a little while more before they nodded simultaneously. Keiran tucked his wand back in his holster while Kiara slinked over to the glimmering swords lining the wall.
"Steel or wood?" she asked sweetly, a cruel grin on her face.
"Don't you even think about it Kiara," Bellatrix warned threateningly. Although she did love the pleasure of blood and causing pain, she would not take lightly to any of her children getting hurt. Woes betide on the person who even causes a scratch to appear on one of her children for her wrath doubles when it concerns her child.
"Fine then, wood." Kiara sighed, looking as if Christmas had been cancelled. She grabbed two of the wooden swords from the wall and tossed one to Keiran with the pointy edge soaring over to him in the hopes that he would be impaled by it because even though the swords were wooden, that's not to say that they weren't sharp. She was vastly disappointed though, as Keiran caught it deftly with his right hand even as he gazed out the window. He had spotted a dark speck in the distance, getting larger by the minute.
However, this was not the time to focus on that. Kiara held the hilt of her sword in both hands and took up a battle stance. "Do your worst, older brother." She taunted.
He smirked coaxingly at her and took on a battle stance as well, Keelan was cheering for his older brother while Bellatrix went to sit on the chair Kiara had vacated so that she could watch the fight clearly.
Without a warning, Kiara suddenly charged, swinging her sword at her brother's rib cage but Keiran managed to block her attack. Their swords collided with a loud thud as wood slid against wood. He smirked as Kiara tumbled backward but she easily got her footing back again and she was not pleased. She charged again and this time Keiran barely managed to dodge, he countered with a trust straight at her stomach but she parried and hopped to the right and before Keiran had even pulled his sword back toward him, Kiara swung her sword with all her might toward Keiran's feet, intending to send him to the ground.
However, he managed to jump just in time to avoid the sword trust and at that moment an owl flew inside a room clutching a letter in her talons and she dropped it right in front of Keiran, who reacted to instinct and caught it with his free hand. Nevertheless, it was distraction enough for when he had landed back on the ground; Kiara hit him on his stomach so hard he hit the ground.
"Ha, I win!" Kiara gloated, throwing her sword aside.
Keiran glared at her, "That's unfair! I was distracted!" he whined, thrusting the letter into her face. "The owl dropped this and I caught it!"
Kiara shook her head as if she was talking to a four-year old. "If you continue catching random stuff while we're in battle, you won't live a very long life."
Keiran frowned; he chucked his sword aside and turned his attention on the letter that had caused his first loss against his sister. He was in a decidedly foul mood, but then, when he saw the crest on the letter his face immediately brightened. Sealing the letter was a crest with a lion, a snake, a badger and an eagle, with a large H in the middle.
"It's my Hogwarts letter!" he exclaimed happily. Kiara dropped her haughty exterior and became the excited girl she always was outside the training room and hurried over to her side to gaze at the Hogwarts crest as well.
"Open it! Open it!" Keelan urged anticipation in his big blue eyes, showing emotion that he usually kept to himself. He walked towards them but unfortunately, he was not tall enough to be able to see the Hogwarts crest too as the top of his heed barely reached his sisters elbow.
Keiran eagerly obliged and broke the crest; he pulled out the parchments inside and unfolded them. He grinned down at the writing before his brows came together and he frowned. Kiara frowned as well.
"This isn't mine." Keiran announced dejectedly.
"It isn't?" Bellatrix asked, moving behind them with a worried expression. When she read the first line, her eyes widened momentarily in alarm but she wiped it off her face before any of her children could see it. Keelan grabbed the letter from his brother's hand and read.
"Dear Mr. Potter…" Keelan read, "Who's that?"
Keiran was wondering as well. He flipped the envelope over and gazed at what was written at the back.
Mr. H. Potter
Right wing, sixth floor
Slytherin Fortress
Ireland
Kiara's eyes widened suspiciously, as Keiran stared dumbly at the envelope. This letter would not come here if there were not really a Mr. H. Potter somewhere here in the castle. The only Potter male she knew was James Potter and that top auror's name definitely did not start with a letter H.
"Who is this 'Mr. H. Potter?" Keiran asked his mother, Keelan gave the letter back to him and he folded it and put it back in the envelope.
Bellatrix gave him a strained smile and said, "From what I know there is only one Mr. H. Potter, and that person is dead. He's Violet's twin brother." At this, everyone in the room narrowed their eyes in hatred.
"Why would I be receiving messages meant for him?" Keiran asked curiously.
"Maybe it's their way of taunting us." Bellatrix replied, not looking any of them in the eyes though none of them noticed this. "Everybody knows it was your father who killed the little boy."
"How very childish of them." Kiara muttered disapprovingly, and then she suddenly smiled evilly. "If they plan to do these things to us then it would only be fair if we did the same, would it not?" she said, taking out her wand and transfiguring one of the wooden swords into an envelope. Without a moment's hesitation she stuffed the Hogwarts letter inside the envelope she conjured and with another wave of her wand, it was gone.
"What did you do to it?" Keelan asked curiously.
"I sent it to Mr. James Potter. It would be nice for him to know that somebody is using his dead son's name." Kiara said sweetly, "He wouldn't like it."
Bellatrix was smiling approvingly at Kiara until she noticed Keiran's stony expression. "What's the problem, Keiran?" she asked in concern. Alarm bells rang in her head, could he have found out? No, that was impossible. It cannot be.
"Why is it that they want to torment us for killing that Potter boy?" Keiran demanded through clenched teeth. "If anything else, it's us who should be tormenting them for what the brat's sister did to Father." He clenched his fist in anger, the weapons on the wall began to vibrate, and some even clattered unto the ground.
Bellatrix released a mental sigh. Keiran had not found out yet. It was absurd to think that he would realize that after seeing a letter. She kneeled in front of her oldest child and held his shoulders reassuringly. She had to calm his feelings; his fury was a frightening thing when it was not controlled.
"We'll get there someday, Keiran. One day that girl will pay for what she did. I'm sure your Father will give you the pleasure of torturing her yourself." She smiled coaxingly.
Keiran nodded grudgingly, still glaring at the spot where the letter had been. The other children did not know what to do and Bellatrix frowned down at them. When she realized that there was nothing more that she could do for Keiran aside from making him anticipate the Girl-Who-Lived's torture, she stood up.
"Why don't you lot continue your dueling, this time cast imperturbable charms on the windows so there wouldn't be any distractions. Keelan, watch their moves, you'll be fighting against Kiara when I return." Bellatrix ordered, the trio gave a murmur of assent. "I'll just go check on your Father."
With that said Bellatrix slipped out of room and released the breath she had been holding in. She knew that Keiran would be receiving his Hogwarts letter this year, but she definitely had not known that that would be written on it.
'I need to fix this!' Bellatrix thought frantically as she rushed toward the nearest fireplace in the area. She threw floo powder in and when the flames turned emerald green, she said, "Malfoy Manor."
And she stuck her head in and looked around. It was very fortunate that Lucius Malfoy was already in the room she had fire-called, he was reading a book while facing the window.
"Lucius!" Bellatrix shrieked nervously.
Lucius turned his head and at the look of alarm on his face, it was obvious that he was not expecting any calls from his boss' wife in a long while. He threw his book aside and immediately scrambled to sit by the fireplace.
"What is it Lady Bellatrix?" he asked quickly.
"You are a school governor at Hogwarts are you not?" Bellatrix asked.
Lucius nodded vigorously.
"Good. Well, I have a job for you."
Living a Lie
Albus Dumbledore was quickly emptying his newly refilled bowl of lemon drops as he listened to a heated tirade from one irate Severus Snape once again about the staff positions. Snape had never really trusted Quirrel, but it was so hard to recruit someone who was brave enough to take on the Defense Against the Dark Arts Post and since they already had one he didn't really see the point of firing this one and hiring someone else.
"He is nothing more than an incompetent fool!" Snape snarled, "I shall not have a bumbling airhead teaching any one of the students I have been tutoring since they were three. They deserve more than him!"
"Ah," Dumbledore said, leaning on his table and steeping his fingers. "Who are these students of yours, Severus?"
"My Godson and his friends…but that doesn't matter at the moment! I want that abomination removed from his post to be replaced by someone more capable of teaching children how to keep their lives!"
"You seem to be very concerned for the students, Severus. That's very admirable." Dumbledore mused, all too calmly.
"Haven't you been listening to me at all?" Severus cried, his eyes bulging in anger.
"Yes, I'm listening to you. Have you seen Fawkes by any chance, he's been missing for some time now."
"Dumbledore!"
"Yes?"
"I have no time for this."
Snape stormed out of the office, with his cloak billowing impressively behind him as it always did. Dumbledore looked incredulously after him. His fingers busy with un-sticking two lemon drops.
"I wonder what may be bothering the lad." Dumbledore mumbled. Then he took another lemon drop and popped it in his mouth.
Living a Lie
Snape barged out of the Headmasters office, fuming. He old man just never listened to a word he said. He though that age would make someone wise, it was quite the opposite with the senile old man. He had requested meeting with him so that he could hopefully remove the mediocrity Hogwarts was putting up with, but maybe getting Dumbledore to pay attention was just wishful thinking.
He could just imagine what his student's reactions to the school would be. Draco would insist to hire him as a permanent private tutor and wouldn't want to enter the school. Keiran would see it all as a joke, Snape could see him now with his innocent expression, quizzing the incompetent Professors about the things he had learned of and not getting any answers. Theodore would just be plain disgusted and wouldn't be paying attention in class. And Daphne? She would go along with anything Draco was doing.
And there he had been telling them for the past eight years that Hogwarts was the best school in Europe. He sneered in disgust as he took another look at the place. Keiran wouldn't appreciate the musty interior at all, and Draco would be right behind him. Both of them had been brought up to know nothing but the best. What would they say to this? To Quirrel's classes? To Flitwick's over enthusiasm? To McGonagall's too easy spellwork? To Binn's endless drone? He would never hear the end of their complaints. Why had he ever said that this was the best school in the first place?
He stalked past McGonagall's office in a dark mood, than he did a back take. Minerva seemed to be the only person who was able to talk to Dumbledore and be taken seriously. If she was not able to rid Hogwarts of Binns and Quirrel, nobody could.
Without another thought, he entered the office in a fierce stride, drawing himself up to look as fearful as he could make himself be. Bu then, McGonagall did not even seem to notice him. She was too busy gaping at a scroll of parchment on her desk, and to see the stern deputy headmistress gaping was a rare thing. Snape would have gaped too if he hadn't honed his face to not make any facial expressions. In his line of spying, to do so was to die.
"What are you gaping at Minerva?" Snape asked, curious yet still staying indifferent.
"S-Snape, look." She said, pushing the parchment over to him and pointing at a specific spot. Snape leaned over the paper, and to his astonishment, he saw a name of a boy he hadn't thought of for a long time.
"This means, he's alive Snape. We must inform James. Harry's alive!" McGonagall said quickly, while Snape just stared dumbfounded at the parchment. It wasn't possible for the Potter boy to live. He had disappeared that fateful night of Halloween, while his twin sister was found wailing in the crib without a scratch on her and a pile of robes at the foot of her crib. No sign of the Potter boy had been found, and Lily was too much of a gibbering wreck to tell them anything else but: "Harry...my poor baby boy…..taken…..gone." and they all assumed the worst.
Then before Snape's very eyes, the name Potter, Harry glowed faintly, and disappeared. McGonagall noticed the white light, she pulled the parchment back to her, and she gasped when she noticed that the name they had been staring at had just vanished.
"No." she exclaimed, totally losing her composure," No! If a name disappears on the student register then that means….no." she leaned back into her chair in shock, both of her hands pressed against her ears.
"If Potter wasn't dead before, he certainly is dead now." Snape said unemotionally.
"If we'd only known," McGonagall wailed, quite unlike herself. "If only, then Lily would be cured by now. That poor boy, he could have suffered years of torture if he was alive all this time. James, hasn't gotten over his supposed death and even more now when he realizes that his son had been alive and yet we hadn't known…" she continued rambling.
"Then we mustn't tell them."
McGonagall looked up quickly, mouth hanging open. "We can't possibly do that!" she protested, her face going red. "James would never forgive us if he found out!"
Snape smirked down at her, "Look at it this way, Potter's son is dead now. There is nothing we can do to change that. Potter will never have to find out. It will just torture him to find out that his son was alive all this time and we could have saved him. If the boy was still alive then we would tell Potter, but since he's dead. It doesn't change anything."
"I feel like a terrible person."
Snape snorted in his head and just refrained himself from saying that she was. He had to be on her good side in this. Nobody was going to know, and he was going to find out just which one of his friends had held Potter's son hostage all these years.
"We're just sparing him from the pain."
McGonagall's lip tightened into a thin line and she nodded gruffly. Snape smirked slightly, glad that he had succeeded; it had been getting easier and easier to manipulate these people. Save Dumbledore of course. But since the Dark Lord had died, people had become lax and now they stopped thinking that anybody would try to trick them. He had something to report to Bellatrix now.
"Good." Snape said, he had completely forgotten about the reason he had gone there in the first place. He could get rid of Quirrel any other time. However, this could not wait. Bellatrix had to know. He swept out of the office, leaving a tight-lipped sweating Transfiguration Professor behind.
Neither of them had noticed that during their little chat, the parchment had glowed once more and a new name appeared on it in the place where Harry Potter's was. Written in formal writing was the name: Black, Keiran. And in the list under that where the names of the students entering the school next year was written, there was another glow and another and the name Weasley, Ginny was replaced with onw of: Black, Kiara.
Living a Lie
A/N: okay, I know the first chapter is rubbish. I'm terrible with introductions. But if you please stick with it, I promise that there's a roller coaster ride of emotions and action waiting for all of you!