Secrets and Lies





Several hours later, a dazed Cordi sat in the office of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. While they waited for her godfather, the teenager and the professor just stared at each other. After what seemed like an eternity, the door burst open to reveal a panic-stricken Snape, something most people had never seen.

"Morrigan," he breathed.

The godfather and goddaughter stared at each other for a moment before Cordi jumped up and threw her arms around the older man and began to sob. Snape just stroked her hair, rocking her back and forth.

"Its okay, Morri, just let it out," he said gently, using his pet name for her.

When Cordi had calmed down, Snape sat her down in a chair and turned to Dumbledore.

"What happened, exactly? I got bits and pieces from Arabella, but not the full story."

The ancient wizard looked his age for once. Dumbledore sighed and closed his piercing blue eyes for a moment. "It was Voldemort. He killed Gavin, Deirdre, and Gwen and left them in Cordi's bedroom for her to find. It seems that now that he's risen, he wants Discordia back."

Cordi blinked her puffy red eyes. "Back?" she questioned softly. "When did he ever have me in the first place?"

The two men exchanged a quick glance. "Well," Snape said slowly, "he never had you, exactly. You see, when you were born, you were promised to the Dark Lord. That is why you bare the Dark Mark." It wasn't a complete lie.

Looking like she was about to be violently sick, the young witch just nodded. It certainly wasn't what she had expected to hear. "What's going to happen to me?" she whispered.

Dumbledore looked at her closely. "You and your sister were trained at home, correct?"

Cordi nodded.

"You're at fifth year level, if I remember correctly. Now, your godfather is going to be away most of the summer, but you can stay here if you like and in September you can begin school here. With Voldemort's return, many of our staff members will be around, making sure that the school is secure."

Cordi just nodded dully.

"She's had a long day, Albus. I think I'm going to take her to my quarters and put her to bed. We'll talk more in the morning," Snape said and helped his goddaughter up.

"Alright, Severus. I'll see you two tomorrow."

With that, Snape and Cordi left the office and headed down to the dungeons where Snape lived. He led her to a spare bedroom and placed her bags next to the bed.

"Try to get some sleep, Morri," he said. Snape kissed her forehead and left, closing the door behind him.

Cordi looked around her room slowly. It was a bit smaller than she was used to, but it would do. She quickly changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, staring at the ceiling. She desperately wanted to go to sleep, but one thing was bothering her: why had Severus lied to her? Cordi had an uncanny ability to tell whether or not a person was lying, and his explanation of her Dark Mark may have been partly true, but she wasn't fooled. There was something they weren't telling her and she was going to find out. Later. A few moments later, the traumatized girl fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.



Miles and miles away at number four Privet Drive, the boy named Harry Potter shot up in bed, clutching his scar. He had had a rather disturbing nightmare in which he saw Voldemort kill three people and leave their bodies on another family member's bed. Harry shuddered, reached for his glasses, and climbed out of bed. A glance at his clock told him that it was a little after midnight, but it would be a while before he could go back to sleep. While he was up he might as well get a glass of water.

Harry stretched and walked toward the door, stopping momentarily to look in the mirror. He'd actually had a growth spurt in the few short weeks since school had let out. Now at 5'8, Harry had also developed some muscles from his work in Aunt Petunia's garden and the daily morning runs he now took to get his mind off Cedric and Voldemort.

Running a hand through his unruly hair, Harry walked downstairs to the kitchen. It was then that things started to become a bit weird. Right away, he noticed that the liquor cabinet was open and he walked over to investigate. To his surprise, half of the contents were gone. A crash and a grunt from the living room attracted his attention. Cautiously, the young wizard crept toward the direction of the noise and poked his head inside the room. What he saw stunned him.

His uncle, Vernon Dursley, a horrid man with a bad temper and no tolerance for magic, was lounging on the couch, completely drunk.

"What are you doing up, boy?" Vernon snarled in a slurred voice.

"Just getting a class of water," Harry replied quickly and turned to leave, but Vernon grabbed his arm.

"You were going to do magic, weren't you?" his uncle accused with a maniacal glint in his eyes. "You were going to use magic to turn me into a fairy!"

Harry was at a loss. "No, I wasn't going to use magic to turn you into a fairy, Uncle Vernon. I just came down for a glass of water."

"Liar!" the larger man shrieked and backhanded Harry across the face, sending the boy to the floor.

Harry gulped. This was not going to be pretty.