Chapter One

Children of the Dark Lord

Darkness was the only thing the young boy saw as he opened his eyes. There was nothing he could really make out except for what looked like several forms before him. As his vision became clearer, he began to see their figures and hear their voices. They were all black-cloaked with pointy hoods and wore masks, hiding their upper faces from his watchful eyes. None of them were paying any attention to him and were engaged in conversations with each other.

He struggled to move but found his arms and legs tightly tied to the base of a tree. Wherever he was at was unrecognizable to him and made him feel even colder than the chilly breeze that blew through the area. There wasn't much to see due to the thick fog surrounding the place, but it looked like some kind of meadow buried in a forest. Large bundles of trees formed a circle around the foggy field, keeping the small area secluded from the dense forest.

One of the cloaked figures took notice to his trying to get loose and stalked over to him, staring into his lost and confused eyes. Long black hair rested over her cloak as she wore a seductive smile on her face, the only features he could see of her. Placing her hand on his cheek, she began to caress it, making the boy feel comfortable for once.

"You're very special, child," she whispered to him. "You have been given the honor of being chosen by him. Not many children have been able to join him at such a young age, but you, my dear, are particularly gifted with the art, and he does not want you to waste your ability. None of us do."

"Who… who's he?" the child asked, his voice trembling from both fear and the cold.

"You'll meet him soon enough," she smiled grimly.

As the woman pulled her hand off his cheek, he noticed a strange marking on her arm, one of the kinds he had seen his father watching on the news. It belonged to bad people and as he took a second look at the woman, he had no doubt what side she was on.

"Lestrange," a voice called from a group of the strangers.

The woman took one last look at the boy before heading over to the five cloaked people and began forming a line with them. The six figures kneeled in unison, lowering their heads in respect to the form emerging from the fog. The boy watched confused for a few moments, unsure of whom or what this figure was as he could only see a shadow. No matter what was going on, he didn't like it. Things were way too scary and he felt that those were the bad people the news were always talking about.

The dark figure drew closer until the child could make him out. Like the others, he wore a black cloak but without a hood. His skin tone was pale making the mysterious man look rather dead. His dark eyes and nose were buried into his face giving it hardly any shape. The man stopped before the kneeling group, waving his hand. Simultaneously, they all rose, standing straight and tall in the face of the strange man.

"You have the boy?" the pale man asked the woman who had just spoken to him.

"Yes, my lord," Lestrange replied, turning out of line to face to young boy. "We have him there."

With a wave of the man's wand, the ropes around the boy burnt away, sending him falling to the ground. The child didn't know if he should take that as help or hostility, and as the man approached him, wondered if he was about to die.

He stood over the young boy, watching him tremble at his sinister presence. A smile crept across his face as Bellatrix Lestrange walked to his side.

"He is the one, then?" he asked her.

"Trevor Fudge, five year old son of the ex-minister himself," Bellatrix answered watching the boy's face grow after hearing his name. "Picked him clean out of his room and the pathetic man didn't even catch us or was either too cowardly to try."

"What do you want?" the boy screamed, interrupting their conversation.

Both turned to him, their eyes lighting up at his small, weak form. The man bent over the small boy, watching him crawl backwards in fear.

"Do you know who I am, Trevor?" he asked, watching the boy shake his head. "Oh, well, I'm sure you know of me. You see, I'm a very misunderstood person among your people. I have several names you may know of, so let me see there's He Who Must Not Be Named and He Who We Do Not Speak Of and all those other callings, but as far as you're concerned my name is Lord Voldemort!"

A cry of fear erupted from Trevor's mouth, as he started to get up and run. Regardless of his determination to escape, he felt his legs lock as he fell to the ground, looking back to see Lestrange's wand pointed at him.

"Why leave so soon, child?" she laughed. "Master has a gift for you."

With a swish of her wand, the boy slid through the grass towards them, stopping right at their feet. Tears were flowing rapidly out of his eyes, yet the two figures above him showed no sympathy.

"Listen here, boy," Voldemort spoke loudly. "You're going to make a choice tonight, and if you answer my question right, you will get the prize of a lifetime. Answer wrong, and you will never see the morning of tomorrow. Do you understand?"

The boy broke into even more tears, before being met by a searing pain in his head. Bellatrix forced her wand at him, showing as much mercy as she would to an auror. The pain only made the boy cry harder and hold on to his aching head.

"No death eater of mine shall cry!" Voldemort scolded. "You will stop this or she will go on until your worthless life has ended!"

As hard as it was, the boy's crying halted. Bellatrix seemed disappointed to pull away the wand, but let it fall to her side at her master's command.

"Trevor," Voldemort began. "You're getting the opportunity tonight that will change your life forever. Not many are selected to join my ranks, as I only seek loyal, skilled fighters wanting real justice in this world. Tonight, however, you are being given the choice to be trained by the best. By doing this, you will become one of the most powerful wizards this world will have ever seen."

"But… but Daddy says you guys are…"

"Your coward father doesn't know a goddamn thing about us!" Bellatrix shot at him. "You head what would happen to you if you answered the question wrong!"

"Wha… what is the question?"

Bellatrix through her hands up and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Master, do we need a child in our ranks as stupid as this one?"

"He will have another purpose if he does not follow," the Dark Lord smiled at his follower. "Child, I have explained myself enough. Do you wish to be trained or do you wish to die."

"But I don't want to be one of you!" he cried. "Daddy says…"

"Answer the question!" Bellatrix roared.

"I don't wanna…"

"There! He answered!" Lestrange informed her master.

A large smile crept across Voldemort's face as he placed the tip of his wand against the child's temple. A burst of green light lit up the woods that morning, sending masses of birds flying out of trees. Trevor's eyes went blank as his lifeless body lay in the grassy meadow, surrounded by the followers of the Dark Lord.

"Mr. Fudge, will find this rather tragic," Voldemort smiled.