Secrets, Stories, Selwyns [Harry Potter]

prologue: top

prologue: top

Silas Selwyn was no ordinary man. In fact, he was a wizard. Of course, if I just told you that, you may not believe me, like you most likely don't believe me right now.

However, it was true. Silas had grown up around magic and couldn't imagine his life without it. He also couldn't imagine a time he didn't know about magic. He always relied on magic in every situation, such as the one he found himself in at that very moment.

You see, Silas wasn't just a normal wizard. He was a dark wizard. He used his power to inflict pain on others and get exactly what he wanted, which sometimes led to death. Of the other person, not him, obviously.

And where was the perfect place for a dark wizard in 1981?

With Lord Voldemort, of course. Or, as Silas knew him, his Dark Lord.

Around five o'clock on March 27th, 1981, Silas found himself in a rather large dining room containing a rather large dining table. Only one chair, at the head of the table, was empty. It looked almost like a throne with its curved wooden edges and intricate carvings. Each of the other seats were filled with somewhat to extremely intimidating-looking witches and wizards. Just how intimidating they were typically depended on their sanity. Silas was somewhere in the middle. He looked to his left and saw his beautiful wife, Sofia, sitting next to him. She wasn't too extreme of a dark wizard, but joined Silas because of their marriage.

Now, Silas was frightened at that time. Why would a dark, powerful wizard be afraid at a time such as then which was the perfect time for dark wizards to unleash their power?

Simple. Silas had messed up. He was sent to locate the McKinnons. They were a pureblood wizarding family who strongly and openly opposed Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters. They were also suspected of being highly involved in the Order of the Phoenix, the main resistance group to the Dark Lord's reign and terrorization over the wizarding population.

The McKinnons were brilliant witches and wizards. Knowing this, Silas had set out to find them with little hope and lots of dread of what was most likely going to come if he failed.

The Dark Lord did not tolerate mistakes. He saw them as a weakness, and since he allowed no weakness in his ranks, he either killed you, killed a loved one, or taught you your lesson in some other cruel, harsh way.

This was why Silas was frightened. He was unable to locate the McKinnons and looked over to his wife, Sofia. He hoped the Dark Lord would spare them, but also had an even greater fear. Nine months ago, exactly, Sofia had given birth to their first child. She was a lovely, adorable little baby girl and they named her Rae, after Sofia's twin sister who unfortunately passed away during birth. He hoped that no matter what happened, Rae would come out of the Dark Lord's storm of anger unharmed.

Suddenly, silence filled the room. A slight breeze rushed over all of the Death Eaters, and they turned their heads to see their leader enter the room. They stood up, watched their Dark Lord walk to his seat, nodded respectfully, and sat down with him. Silas's hands and armpits began sweating profusely and he began to breathe very heavily. The Dark Lord had no clue what had happened yet, which meant the blow would be harder as well as Silas's punishment.

With one final sweeping look around the table, Lord Voldemort spoke at last. "Are they dead?" He asked, with a hint of excitement in his voice at the thought of his enemies eliminated.

This question was directed at Silas. The McKinnons were his Lord's top targets at the moment, so it had to be them he was asking about.

Silas remained silent. He was unable to muster up the courage to speak to his master, to tell not only the darkest wizard of all time but his fellow Death Eaters how he had failed his task. His eye began twitching as he prayed for his family.