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. 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.

A/N: Some of these scenes were taken directly from the book but things will become less and less canon as the story goes. Thank you for the reviewers!

Disclaimer-This is not mine, aside from the plot of course. Anything you recognize belongs to the great Rowling.

Living a Lie

August 30, 1991

Far amid the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland lies a great castle. It far outshone Hogwarts in size and beauty, but, it was gaunt. From the distance, you could already sense the lurking evil within the fortress. It did not need the muggle-repelling charms that had been so dutifully applied and reapplied annually; its mere daunting presence was enough to turn any common hiker away from its path.

In a luxuriously furnished dining room within the castle's confines, two figures were talking. The fireplace behind them darkened their faces and their shadows lengthened and mirrored their actions on the long ornate table before them.

"Do think it is wise to send the boy there?" the woman asked the skeletal figure across her.

"Honestly? No. But I believe that it is for the best." The man answered in a whisper.

"How so?" the woman asked, a hint of challenge in her voice.

"He will be able to help me on my mission. Had the stone not been moved there, he would not have needed to attend." The man explained.

"But, don't you think that there is even a small chance that he finds out the truth?" the woman asked apprehensively

"Marginal," Came the sure reply. The woman seemed to stutter at the edge of speech first at the unexpected reply before a determined expression took on her face.

"I have received word that the Potter brat is coming as well." She argued. "What if they meet? What if…"

The man cut her off. "All for the better, it will be sure to strengthen his great dislike for her. Don't worry my dear, he will never return to them."

"Are you sure?" the woman whispered fearfully.

"I'm sure." He concluded. "He will always be our son."

The woman nodded, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have doubted…"she apologized. Then she ran toward the man and hugged him around the waist. "I'm just so afraid of losing him again." And she began sobbing on the man's shoulder. He patted her head gently.

"Don't worry, he can take care of himself, and besides, I'll be there with him all along."

At that moment, a man carrying a purple turban entered the room.

"I am ready."

September 1, 1991

Keiran quickly found himself an empty compartment once he boarded the Hogwarts Express. He hadn't seen Draco anywhere yet, usually that wouldn't bother him but since their cover story was that he had just moved to Malfoy Manor, it would be odd for him to arrive ahead of the Malfoy's, but it couldn't be helped. Time was running short.

He wandlessly levitated his trunk into the luggage rack above and he sat down while gazing out the window. His mother was waving to him from the platform along with his siblings. Kiara was torn between jealousy and sadness, both from Keiran going to Hogwarts, while Keelan was giving him one of his rare smiles. For a six-year old, Keelan had the maturity of one a decade older. Mentally he did not understand some things, that is true, but he perfectly understood that any word and emotion he said and showed could be used against him in the future. They all learned that the hard way

Keiran showed emotions more freely than Keelan or Kiara did. However, that did not mean that what he showed on his face was what he felt on the inside. Keiran beamed brightly and waved enthusiastically back at his Mother, who was getting teary-eyed.

Really, she had to stop getting mushy whenever he did something new; she had the ruthless devil mistress image to uphold! Oh well, he loved the attention anyway. A flash of fiery red behind his family caught his eye and he focused on the redheaded family he knew from description to be the Weasleys. They all had the fiery red hair of their parents and they were all boys. He knew four of them would be attending Hogwarts this year. This knowledge came from all of the times Draco complained about the youngest of the brood, Rupert was it? Maybe Reginald…Rufus? He was not sure.

Suddenly the door slid behind him and he turned quickly, wand out of his holster. But it was only Draco standing there with an amused expression on his face. He had two bulky boys Keiran didn't know flanking him.

"You should loosen up Keiran. It's only me." Draco sneered.

"Shut up and sit down." Keiran snapped irritably, putting his wand back in its holster and sitting back down. "What took you so long anyway?"

Draco sat across him and the two boys followed suit, taking the place on either side of his friend. Keiran raised his eyebrow at this and Draco scowled in reply.

"Father decided to saddle me with these…bodyguards." Draco said the last word like it was something very dirty, Keiran smirked at this.

"Bodyguards?" Keiran queried, Draco scowled deeper. "Now why don't I get those as well?"

"Father took me to take care of you." Draco said quietly.

"What? You're my nanny?" Keiran taunted.

"It's not like that!" Draco bristled.

Keiran continued smiling at his best friend to the blond boy's extreme irritation as the train began to move. Soon, Keiran decided to stop pestering Draco and he took out a book charmed to look like it was a simple spell book when it was actually his favorite book about dark rituals, and began reading it. Draco was staring out the window, picking a spot on his chin.

Keiran was just getting unto blood rituals when the door slid open and another one of his friends walked in. Theodore Nott. He smiled at his friends and gave a quizzical look toward the two bulky boys. Draco shot him a look that clearly said, 'Don't ask'. Shrugging his shoulders, he proceeded to levitate his trunk to the luggage rack. Keiran tucked a bookmark in his chapter and put his book aside.

"Hey, Theo." He said leaning forward" Have you managed to shift into your Animagus form yet?"

"No." Theo said, sitting on the empty spot beside Keiran, "You?"

Keiran shook his head, then he pointed his thumb in Draco's direction: No, but Draco has. He's a gull of some sort."

"I'm not a gull!" Draco hissed, "I'm an albatross!"

"Whatever." Keiran said offhandedly, "Have you seen Daphne?" he asked Theo.

"Yeah, she's with Draco's fiancé. She said she'll meet with us during the feast." Theo replied with a slight smirk in Draco's direction. Draco glared at the twosome.

"Is it irritate Draco day?" he demanded, looking dirtily back and forth between Keiran's amused face and Theo's innocent looking one. He groaned and ran his hand through his platinum blonde hair. Keiran smirked at his friend as he settled into a more comfortable position; it was going to be a long ride for Draco.

A few hours later…

A fleet of small rowboats glided gracefully through the calm waters of Hogwarts Lake. Aboard them were the first years of this generation accompanied by a dark hulking figure covered in moleskin overcoat. Not a word was said as every single one of them gazed upon the great castle before them. Most were looking up with awe and wonder, but as always, there were exceptions.

"Is this it?" Keiran whispered furiously to the blonde boy sitting beside him. "I expected more. Seriously, father's castle must be twice the size of this pile of rubble!" he folded his arms on his chest and scowled deeply.

Draco only chuckled in amusement at his best friend's reaction and shrugged. "You better keep it down, Kei. You are supposed to be living in my family manor. Not in some castle bigger than Hogwarts the great." He said, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

Keiran scowled down at Draco, "You really should trust me more. Do you seriously think that I'd speak about father out loud with all these people around?" he asked testily with an elegantly raised eyebrow.

"Well…I…uh." Draco was stumped. "What did you do?"

Keiran snorted, "Put very eloquently, Draco." Then he uplifted his hands. "Take a look around you."

And Draco did. That was when he noticed that a blue shimmery bubble surrounding the two of them that one would only notice if you took a closer look. Draco recognized it to be the privacy ward that Lucius had been teaching them before they were sent to school. Draco was yet to master it. It looked like Keiran had better results from the ward than he did.

"Heads down!" the big giant in the leading boat bellowed as the first few boats reached the cliff, their conversation was cut short as all of them bent their heads down and the boats passed through curtains of ivy draped across a wide fissure in the cliff face. Keiran removed the privacy ward around them as they entered a dark tunnel leading them under the castle. It would not do for a teacher to know that he could do magic taught to seventh years. Finally, their boats bumped against some sort of underground harbor where they clambered out unto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" the big man called while checking the boats people had vacated them.

"Trevor!" A chubby brown haired boy exclaimed, holding out his short hands. They climbed up a passageway in the rock after the giant's lamp, coming out at last unto the smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps which Keiran looked upon with disgust and crowded around a huge oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" then when nobody responded he raised one of his gigantic fists and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door abruptly opened and a formidable looking old witch in emerald green robes stood before them. She had a very stern face but that didn't face Keiran at all. She was a mediocre compared to when his father worked up a temper.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." The giant said

"Thank you Hagrid. I will take them from here." She replied in a crisp voice.

She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was barely as big as the one at his father's castle. Keiran yawned widely while everybody else looked around in wonder. Draco sniggered at his antics, but said nothing, he had been to his friends place and he knew just how magnificent that place was compared to this. Yes, this place did have a marble staircase, but Keiran's palace had a grander one by ten-fold...

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Keiran could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a drab doorway to the right-the rest of the school must already be there-but Professor McGonagall lead them into a small empty chamber, just off the hall. They crowded in slowly; Keiran observed the dirty room with an air of disgust, Draco clutched his sides in silent laughter. Theo on the other hand was looking bored.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Said Professor McGonagall. "The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the great hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be like your family at Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your House dormitory. And spend your free time in the house common room.

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." At this, Draco turned and wiggled his eyebrows at Keiran. Keiran eyed him weirdly and scooted a few inches away. "Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are here at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on the chubby brown-haired boy's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on a Weasley, Keiran thought, as he could see that he had the vivid red hair and a robe that was too small for him. Who had a smudged nose. What was his name again? Rufus? Reggie?

"I shall return when we are all ready for you," she continued. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber. Keiran immediately rounded unto Draco. "What was it with that eyebrow thing?" he demanded exasperated.

Draco smirked at him and said, "Just trying to freak you out. You've been irritating me throughout the train ride. I figured it was time for retribution." Keiran scowled at him. "How do they sort us into houses anyway?" he asked, changing the subject.

"You mean you don't know?" Draco responded in disbelief. Keiran shook his head. "I would have thought your Father would have told you. He tells you everything." He added.

"He said he wanted me to be kept in suspense." Keiran complained. "All I really am feeling now is annoyance."

They stood quietly for a few moments, taking in their surroundings. Keiran's brow still wrinkled in anger. Then suddenly Draco and Theo jumped in surprise as a gaggle of transparent figures streamed through the back wall, talking among them.

"Forgive and forget," a fat monk was saying. "I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost are you all doing here?" A ghost in tights and a ruff suddenly noticed the first years.

"Isn't that quite obvious?" Keiran mumbled to Draco who nodded brusquely. Keiran was eyeing one of the ghosts warily. This one was wearing a gaunt face and bloodied clothes with chains hanging from his hands and feet. The ghost was staring at him most eerily with his unblinking eyes.

"Uh, Draco. Who's that ghost with the chains?" Keiran whispered to Draco. He hid his uneasiness well, as the said ghost tilted his head to the side and his gaunt face took on an appraising look.

"That is the Bloody Baron." Draco whispered back.

The Bloody baron suddenly smiled, a small yet unnerving smile, before it flew away. But Keiran noticed that before it flew away he gave Keiran a brief and stiff nod. Beside him, Draco had gone pale, having seen the gesture.

"Do you think that he…"Draco began in a frightened voice.

"He couldn't have." Keiran cut through, "We went through the necessary precautions. It's impossible for him to find out." He was sure about that. Draco didn't look convinced though, but he didn't want to contradict Keiran.

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. 'The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned, one by one the ghost floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now form a line," the Professor told the first years. "And follow me."

Keiran fell in line behind a blonde girl with pigtails while Theo followed behind him, with Draco trailing behind, and they walked out of the chamber and through a pair of double doors leading into the Great Hall.

Keiran could only sigh as he entered the Hall. It would have been magnificent to anybody else but he had been used to more grandiose settings and much more luxuriant furniture compared to the four plain wooden tables and the straight wooden benches which didn't even have clawed feet or even a single trace of carvings. Keiran doubted that varnish had even been used on the pathetic things.

The only truly eye-catching thing about the room was the thousands and thousands of candles floating in the air, illuminating the vast space. Though it was true that Keiran had grown up in a place far more magnificent than this there was a slight flaw in the castle. It lacked light. And to add more to the things that Keiran liked about the room, and probably the only thing he really liked about it was the ceiling. Or rather, the space where the ceiling should be. He looked up and saw that there was a smattering of sparkling white stars above them; it was too beautiful to be a mere illusion.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." A bushy haired girl up front was heard whispering to the Indian girl beside her.

'That explains it." Keiran thought. 'Maybe I should request for father to recreate this at home.'

A sudden singing up front interrupted his musings. He looked on as the Sorting Hat, or if that really is a hat, more like a bundle of frayed dirty rags, sang the school song.

OH, you may not think I'm pretty

But don't judge by what you see

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me

You can keep your bowlers black,
your top hats sleek and tall,
for I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
so try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

!

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the tables before becoming still again.

"So we just have to try it on. I'd gladly do it if it weren't so dirty." Keiran heard Draco mutter behind him.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward, a long scroll of parchment in her hands. "When I call your name," she announced, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted."

"Abbot, Hannah!"

The girl in front of Keiran stumbled out to the front of the line. She put on the hat and sat n the stool. There was a moment's pause before the brim opened wide and…

"Hufflepuff!"

The table on the right cheered madly as Hannah was welcomed into their midst. Keiran ran his hand through his hair, causing it to be messier than it usually was, but he didn't mind. The messy look fit him.

"Black, Keiran!"

He stepped forward and walked toward the Professor. He sat on the stool and he winced as the woman dropped the hat on his head.

"Why, this is very interesting." A voice said in his head. "Would you mind Mr. Black if you remove your mind shields just for now?"

Keiran considered it before replying in his head. "Do you see memories or just the personalities of the people you sort?" he said warily.

"Do not worry Mr. Black. I see only your traits and personalities. And in any case I am sworn to secrecy." The voice replied.

"Good." Keiran thought. Then he brought down his mental shields.

"Hmmm." The small voice said in his ear. ". You are brave, but not over the top. You have a sharp mind and you have a great amount of patience. But I see that the greatest quality of yours is your thirst to prove yourself."

Keiran began to worry at that point. This sorting was taking way too long. Why did it have to do that with him? Wasn't it obvious that he was Slytherin through and through, wasn't it obvious?

"Ah, it's apparent now, yes." The Sorting Hat finally said, "SLYTHERIN!"

The hat shouted out the last word and Keiran handed it over to the Professor in relief. He wouldn't even dare to think what would have happened to him had he been sorted into another house. No doubt, newspapers would be flashing the headlines soon, "BELLATRIX BLACK MURDERS 11-YEAR OLD BOY". Yes that would probably be the reaction he would get.

He strolled toward the table on the far right while everyone was clapping their hands politely. He sat himself beside a burly boy who looked like he had troll blood in him.

"I'm Flint. Marcus Flint." The boy said to him, holding out his hand." Keiran took it with a small smile on his face. "I hope you'd help us win the house cup this year."

"Oh, I will." Keiran replied with certainty. Flint smiled approvingly down at him.

When: "Greengrass, Daphne!" was called and placed in Slytherin, Keiran made sure to applaud as loudly as he could. Daphne could be as frightening as Kiara could be when she was angry. Daphne sat beside him and gave him a brief hug before she struck a conversation once again with the blonde prefect across from her.

Keiran ignored the rest of the sorting ceremony, He had noticed that the Bloody Baron was floating just a few seats away from him and he was gazing at him unnervingly. It was only until "Malfoy, Draco!" was called that he averted his gaze from the mysterious ghost and focused back on the Sorting Ceremony.

Draco swaggered forward and the hat had barely touched the top of his head when the hat shouted in a sort of panic.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Draco grinned as he removed the hat and went to sit beside his best friend.

"Why did the hat take so long with you?" he inquired as soon as he had settled down on the bench.

"I had to remove my shields." Was all the answer that he got.

"Nott, Theodore!"

Keiran and Draco watched as the third member of their band had the hat placed on his head and was promptly placed into Slytherin. He sat beside Draco and didn't utter a single word. His friends didn't mind, they were used to his silence.

There weren't many people left now. Three more Slytherin's joined the table. Then there was a Ravenclaw, a Gryffindor and another Hufflepuff before something that made Keiran's blood boil was shouted out to the crowd.

"Potter, Violet!"

Keiran watched angrily as a red head walked to the front. Her auburn hair was covering up most of her face from his point of view. But he saw that she was short and thin, and she seemed to be shaking as she moved forward.

"Is that her?" he whispered angrily to Draco. "It doesn't seem like she could even cast a proper curse with the state that she's in. Draco nodded with a glint in his eye. Daphne ended her conversation with the prefect abruptly, looking up to the front in interest.

He wasn't the only one who was whispering about the Potter brat. All around the hall whispers had broken out and it seemed like there were suddenly tons of snakes in the area.

"Potter? The Violet Potter?"

"The Girl-Who-Lived."

Keiran clenched his teeth when he heard the last statement but he kept his temper down. He came here for a reason. Killing a schoolmate would greatly damage his cover.

Potter grimaced as she turned to face the crowd. She put on the hat and sat on the stool. Keiran waited for her to be proclaimed as a Gryffindor, what else could she be? But the hat remained silent and more whispers began to circulate in the crowd.

"What's taking so long?" they all echoed.

And then finally the brim of the hat ripped open and the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

"What?!" Keiran bellowed. And he wasn't the only one. People were staring up in shock at the pale girl in front of them. Hisses were heard in the crowd while everybody else just looked amazed. No one was clapping. Then just as suddenly, the school broke out of its trance and a few who had kept their heads began clapping politely as Potter made her way toward the Slytherin table.

"This isn't happening." He said furiously, and then he turned to Draco, "Make sure she doesn't sit beside us." He threatened.

And she didn't sit beside them, but she sat across from them. Keiran growled slightly and he kept his head down. He wasn't ready to see the girl yet. He didn't trust himself enough to not blast her into smithereens, not that he didn't want to. But he still had a job to carry out.

"So Potter, eh." He heard Draco drawl beside him, while he looked anywhere away from her. "How come you're not in Gryffindor? Your no pure blood and you definitely have none of our Slytherin cunning. Maybe you should be in Hufflepuff if even the great Gryffindor can't take you."

"You know nothing about me Malfoy." A surprisingly emotionless voice answered. Keiran looked up to see that Potter was looking at him with emerald green eyes. Her eyes were sad. Not one fit for an eleven year old. She looked like she had seen some things that she shouldn't have seen in her young age. Keiran could admit that he too had seen things no child should have seen, but he didn't have the haunted look her eyes showed. For a moment, he felt a stab of pity for her, before he remembered who she was and he looked away in disgust.

He found himself looking up at the staff table. Professor Quirrel was staring at him, terrified. Keiran smirked at him and he looked quickly away striking up an impromptu conversation with the hook-nosed teacher beside him. He would have to speak with the coward later on.

Keiran chose not to pay attention during the rest of the evening. He ate his dinner quietly, feeling Potters eyes on him but he chose not to comment. It was not until Dumbledore's ending speech that Keiran perked up when his ears heard something that he wanted to hear.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year; the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Keiran smirked at the old mans foolishness. Genius was he. Just by saying those words, a few of the troublemakers no doubt would snoop around that particular area. He had aroused their curiosity. And that was not to say people like Keiran were very interested in that one fact. The 'brilliant headmaster' was making his job so much easier.

"Off you trot!" Dumbledore announced and there was a great scraping as the benches were pushed back and everyone stood up.

"First years follow me." Flint called over the sea of heads.

Keiran and Draco made their way toward the fifth year with Potter on their heels. Waiting by Flint were some first years that Keiran recognized. Daphne was already waiting for them there and so was Theo. Severus Snape, their tutor was standing beside Theo, and he was currently glowering at the small redhead behind them. Keiran did his best to hide his smirk but he just couldn't. A fierce smile broke up on his handsome face, Snape obviously saw this and he glowered even more.

Flint led them down into the dungeons until they faced a bare stonewall. "The password is 'Parseltongue'." Flint said, and the moment he said it a concealed door in the wall sprang open and the first years filed in.

"I must say, this isn't what I was expecting." Theo, as whispered to Keiran, who nodded in disdain, "This is drab compared to Malfoy Manor…"

The room was dark and there were no windows. Green lanterns gave the room an eerie green glow. Several high-backed chairs stood facing the fireplace and a couple more were scattered everywhere, with coffee tables in between every five chairs or so. Snake carvings were seen in almost every piece of furniture and a big portrait of Salazar Slytherin was hung above the fireplace. In Keiran's mind it raked a bare passable.

"The boy's dormitories are on the stairs down to the right. Girls, door on the left. You should sleep well tonight. But tomorrow I expect all of you to be here early for the cerimonia di accettazione "Flint said, before he left them to their own devices.

Keiran, Draco, Theo and three other Slytherin boys strolled into their new dormitory. Keiran found that his bed was the one on the farthest end of the room. It was also quite obvious that his drapes and blankets were far more ornate than his dorm mates were, but that was expected. It was one of the advantages of having a Death Eater at school. Threatening him with endless cruciatus curses for an hour seemed to have done the trick. Not that he would do it himself. He had never performed an unforgivable before.

Theo looked like he wanted to say something to Keiran but he ignored it. He plopped down on his bed and pretended to sleep without even changing his clothes. Keiran heard his friend walk away from him and before long every single one in the room had fallen asleep, apart from him. Keiran stood up carefully. He tiptoed over to the Slytherin common room and when he was sure that nobody was there before he dived behind one of the high backed chairs, and a magnificent black phoenix emerged behind it.

The bird had a black plumage from head to toe, but even through his dark coloring, he still seemed to radiate light. There were only two things on the bird that deviated from the black colored scheme. On the top of his head was a silver stripe of feathers, which almost looked like a crown. His eyes, on the other hand, were a bright emerald green. Even though his eyes on his human form was a deep royal blue.

Without further ado, the bird disappeared in a flash of black flames.

~0~

Quirrel was staring into the fireplace. Deep in thought. His fingers drummed impatiently against the mahogany armrest of his chair. The boy was late. He was supposed to be here an hour ago, he had been on the verge of falling asleep on a regular basis but each of those times, a jolt of electricity, similar to the cruciatus, would sizzle through his skin.

"Not yet." The disembodied voice reminded yet. "He's coming."

And Quirrel had no choice but to obey. He was just beginning to fall asleep again when a flash of black flames before him sent him flying out of his chair. Quirrel fell on all fours and grimaced as he heard the boy laughing behind him. It was just the boy and he had to be so jumpy. Knowing the boy, he wouldn't hear the end of this.

"Stand up Quirrel." The boy ordered coldly when he had finished laughing. The sudden change in his manner was unnerving.

Quirrel stood up shakily and turned to face his young master. His cold blue eyes were looking him straight in the eye and Quirrel barely managed to suppress a shudder. Sometimes the young master could be even more intimidating than even the dark lord was, this was a feat in itself since Quirrel was sent cowering by a boy two heads shorter than him.

"Dark Prince." Quirrel mumbled reverently before sinking in a low bow.

"I wish to speak with him." The boy hissed, not even acknowledging the greeting offered to him.

Quirrel sprang to his feet. He turned his back to the boy and began unwrapping his turban. He waited in trepidation as layer after layer was shed. He knew that he must be used to hearing the Dark Lords voice by now but no matter how hard he tried it still gave him the creeps.

"Ah, Keiran, tell me how did your first day go?" he heard the cold voice greet the boy. It was beyond Quirrel how this eleven-year old boy could speak with the Dark Lord could speak without even a sliver of fear in his voice when fully-grown men were known to faint in his presence.

"It went well, Father." Keiran replied.

Oh, maybe that explained it.

A/N: And that's it! I hoped you liked it. His name was originally going to be Damien but I recently learned that the name meant "Sweet and harmless" and that doesn't fit at all so I chose Keiran which means "Little and Dark". Kiara also means little and dark while Keelan means warrior descending.

Feedback is greatly appreciated!