The room was dark and gloomy, the few lights that were on flickering due to the storm that was brewing outside. A boy and two men were stood in it, the youngest of the three in dark robes, helping him blend into the dreary sky outside and matching the dark bags under his eyes.

Eridanus Lestrange stood in a corner, his hands behind his back and his lips set in a thin line as he listened to a conversation between his Lord and one of his servants. They were in an abandoned house (or at least it was now) as it was the safest place for them to meet; the wizarding world not yet knowing that Voldemort was back.

"Eridanus," a slithery voice spoke, causing said boy's dark eyes to snap to the man, as he had previously been watching a candle flicker from the wind before eventually dying out. "I presume that you know what you must do?"

The curly haired boy's expression turned grim as he thought of what his Lord was referring to; not all that keen on the idea. However, Eridanus couldn't say no to the man so he simply nodded silently. The man nodded in affirmation back, not needing anything else from the boy to know that he agreed.

Peter Pettigrew, one of the Lord's most faithful servant, looked back and forth between the young boy and his Lord nervously. He was usually never one to deny his master's wishes, however, Eridanus was simply a boy and Peter didn't believe that such pressure should be put on his shoulders.

"My Lord," Peter began nervously, his voice high-pitched and squeaky, reminding one of a mouse. "Perhaps the task should be given to someone else. Eridanus is only a boy after all and you shouldn't risk everything you've worked for..." The chubby man trailed off, not wanting to continue after the look his master gave him.

Eridanus was almost offended by Peter's words, the man basically implying that Eridanus couldn't handle such a task as this one. However, Eridanus knew better, knowing how Peter has always had some sort of soft spot for him (although he had no idea why), and was simply trying to protect him. The Lestrange boy appreciated the gesture but he was fully capable of taking care of himself - which he had done for basically his whole life.

"Are you questioning my judgement?" His Lord snapped, glaring at Peter as if he were the bane of his existence. Eridanus almost chuckled at the way Peter trembled but he refrained, as the man was trying to help the curly haired boy himself, after all.

"Oh no, no, no, my Lord Voldemort," Peter rushed to fix his mistake, kneeling next to the chair in which their Lord presided. "I only meant...perhaps if we were to do it without the boy..."

Eridanus shook his head very slightly, wondering why Peter was wanting to help him so much. And he was definitely grateful, but not so much that he would stop Peter from making a fool of himself. It was quite entertaining if he did say so himself.

"No!" Their Lord shouted, outraged that Peter was trying change his plan. The frightened man began shaking so much and Eridanus actually did start feeling bad for him. "The boy is everything, it cannot be done without him and it will be done exactly as I say."

Peter bowed his head respectfully, knowing when to give up. "I will not disappoint you, my Lord."

Eridanus, feeling like his role in their meeting was over, decided to leave. He walked slowly over to his Lord, his back straight and shoulders pulled back, his hands still entwined behind him.

"If you don't mind, I will be taking my leave now." Eridanus muttered emotionlessly, having no care whether his Lord agreed with him or not. It was getting late and Eridanus had to return home soon, otherwise Narcissa would go into a fit about how he needed his rest.

His Lord, knowing that, agreed, nodding his head slightly in approval. "Yes, that is fine. I trust you will tell Narcissa and Lucius of what we discussed?"

"Yes, my Lord." Eridanus affirmed and with one last nod, made his way over to the slightly open door.

As Eridanus walked closer to the door he caught of glimpse of something, which upon further inspection he realized to be a lantern. Eridanus' charcoal eyes followed the dim yellow glow of the lantern up an arm until he locked eyes on a frightened looking man, more specifically, a muggle man.

Eridanus froze, not knowing what to do as he instead simply stared at the muggle who stared back at him, equally as shocked. The Lestrange boy wondered how much the man had heard and if he had understood or caught on to anything that they had been talking about.

Eridanus' heart hammered loudly in his chest as he thought of the consequences that would take place if his Lord knew that someone had been eavesdropping on them.

Eridanus took a step forward, the old and rickety floor creaking under his foot, yet that didn't deter him. He took another step forward, fully prepared to quietly warn the man to leave before anything could happen. But something stopped him, resulting in the young boy to freeze in his tracks, watching on in horror and knowing what was to come.

A green snake whom Eridanus knew to be Nagini, his Lord's faithful pet, slithered past the old man and the curly-haired boy, making a beeline for his master. The snake hissed something which Eridanus could not decipher but his Lord evidently could as he turned towards the two people in the room.

"Nagini tells me the old caretaker is standing outside the door." His Lord explained the snake's words, his face set in a manic grin.

Peter, curious, stepped up beside Eridanus (whom was still frozen in fear) and looked at the caretaker curiously. The old man was unsurprisingly terrified, if his trembling hand which was holding the lantern was anything to by.

"Step aside so I can give our guest a proper greeting." His Lord ordered and Peter did so immediately, while Eridanus was a bit more hesitant to do so - yet still did nonetheless. Eridanus wished he could call out to the muggle, warn him or help him get away. But alas he could not as it would either be the man's life or Eridanus' and his mother had given up too much for the boy to give up his life so easily.

So he merely took a small step to the left, allowing his Lord a perfect shot and the boy could only watch on in horror - once again frozen to his spot.

"Avada Kedavra!" Was yelled as a flash of green whizzed by Eridanus before hitting his target, the old man crumbling to the ground, lifeless, in mere seconds.

Eridanus blinked and in the next moment was swarmed with visions of the caretaker's life but he quickly shook them away, knowing that if he continued to watch them, he would do something that he would sorely regret. The boy shook his head to clear himself of the harsh thoughts that were taking place in his mind, knowing that now - or ever in fact - was not a good time to be feeling sorry for oneself.

His Lord grinned at Eridanus' reaction, feeling proud of the boy whom he had trained ever since he was young. "Very good," he approved, resulting in Eridanus to look at him curiously as his Lord did not give out praises often. "I have trained you well." It wasn't so much a compliment for Eridanus as it was for his Lord, however, he knew not to deny it.

"Thank you, my Lord." Eridanus replied sharply, his voice slightly croaky as his throat had become dry due to the earlier events. He was still in shock but he supposed he should've been used to it by now. Still, it was always hard watching someone die and not helping them - no matter who they were.

The Dark Lord picked up on his hostility yet did not comment on it as at that moment Lucius Malfoy came waltzing in, barely glancing at the dead muggle. However, when he did, he looked up at Eridanus and nodded approvingly, also proud of the boy for what he did - or more accurately, what he didn't do.

"Lucius," his Lord greeted the blond man, "what a surprise."

The Malfoy bowed to his Lord respectfully before going over to stand next to Eridanus, who was once again standing tall and stiff, as if nothing had occurred. And it hadn't - at least as far as Eridanus was concerned. That was the only way he could deal with it: ignoring that it had even happened in the first place.

"I apologize for dropping by unannounced, my Lord," Lucius replied as he placed a hand on Eridanus' shoulder harshly, the boy barely flinching from the sudden weight. "I am simply here to pick up Eridanus, you know how Narcissa worries."

Their Lord nodded his head in understanding and dismissed them, but not before giving Lucius a brief overview of their meeting. Lucius paled slightly at the plan however, he was not in a position to deny it so he simply nodded his head sharply, with his lips set in a thin line - much like Eridanus' was. If you looked at the two they looked somewhat similar, with their grim expressions, almost identical to the other's.

A few more formalities were exchanged, with Peter interjecting as to not be ignored, but eventually Lucius and Eridanus were able to leave, the latter being extremely cautious as they went around the deceased muggle. Lucius kept a tight hold on Eridanus' shoulder as he steered him out of the house, it making constant creaking noises from their heavy steps.

Once they reached outside Eridanus let out a small, and hopefully unnoticeable, breath of relief. He was glad to be out of the stuffy house, as he had felt as if he were going to suffocate in it.

He prepared himself for side-apparition to the Malfoy Manor, always feeling a bit queasy when it happened. However, Eridanus became curious when a few moments later they were still there and he turned his head to look at the older man only to find that he was already looking at him.

The two stared at each other for a few moments, waiting for the other to speak until Lucius finally did. "I just want to warn you to be careful, Eridanus. This year will be unlike any other."

Eridanus nodded bravely even though his face paled considerably. He wondered what he had gotten into (even though he had basically been in it since he was born) and hoped that Lucius was simply being extra cautious. If only Eridanus had known that he wasn't.

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I've had this written for about a week but I wanted to wait until I thought it was absolutely perfect before posting it. That is, of course, impossible, but this is as close as I think it can get! I'm really proud of myself for writing this so quickly, I like the style that I wrote it and it's actually quite long (for my standards aha). I already know that I'll love writing Eridanus' story, and I hope you guys will like reading it!

What do you think happened between Eridanus and the muggle caretaker? What do you think Voldemort's plan is? Let me know what you guys think and your predictions!