Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it? *thwack* OUCH! oKAY, oKAY! JK's stuff is obviously hers, everyone else is mine, ya hear me? Excepting Kildare, that is. };)
A/N: I don't expect anyone to understand about the "Smoke me kipper" thing except Severa. Oh well, I'm not sure I really understand it either. I know Voldemort seems out of character for now, but honestly, he doesn't play a huge part yet. He redeems himself quickly, never fear.
Chapter 9: Getting Your Bearings
Leena gasped and started struggling twice as hard, causing her captor to kick her in the knees, making them buckle. She fell to the floor in an ungraceful heap, Mina collapsed in fright next to her and their captors promptly disappeared with a turn on their heels. "Dear daughters...I had so hoped to meet you in a more conventional way, but..." the red-eyed man said in an icy voice, "Introductions are in order, I presume. I am your father, but I ask you not to call me that. Others are your parents as well and that name is worthy for them, not for me. Call me either 'Tom' or 'My Lord'. 'Lord Voldemort' is preferable of the three names. You have already met Lucius, by the looks of it." He indicated to Lucius, who was standing on the right. "This is Severus," he motioned lazily towards the black-haired man on the left, "These two men will be your patrons and shall be the closest to you out of all of my faithful followers. Now why don't we all get to know one another?"
***
As the conversations and false explanations ended, Leena refused to speak at all. When asked why, she replied, "I've been told to hold my tongue." Her eyes smoldered with the suppressed fury that seemed to have settled permanently in her face now. Everyone turned to look at her, calculating glances and surprised looks were evident. She raised her chin with an arrogant air. Mina looked worriedly at her. She knew that being cold and haughty was an act for covering up fear for her sister, but she also knew that Leena got carried away with it. This was one of those times. Thankfully, Tom seemed amused by it and wasn't disturbed in the least. In fact, he seemed more pleased with her reaction than either Lucius or Severus. Severus had a thoughtful but guarded air about him, eyes glittering with an unreadable emotion as he regarded Leena with the same scrutiny as before. "I think it best for these two to get to bed, as it's late and there is much to do tomorrow. Severus, show Leena her chambers; Lucius do the same with Mina. After they're settled, come back, I want to discuss some issues with you," Voldemort stated as if the Twins weren't there. The two men got to their feet and took hold of their respective twin, pulling them towards the door. Voldemort quipped, "Pleasant dreams, girls." Lucius snorted at the comment and Severus shook his head wryly. The foursome walked down the dark, dank hallway in silence, splitting at the top of the sweeping staircase in the front hall. Severus and Leena went left, Lucius and Mina went to the right.
Footsteps echoed for what seemed an eternity as Leena followed Severus down flickering passages of candlelight. The candlelight didn't hold warmth like it used to, Leena observed. Everything in this house was dark and forbidden-looking, like everything had a secret that wasn't supposed to be known. She shivered, thinking, 'What is this place...?' Severus glanced at her just then and caught her shivering. He had a feeling that it wasn't from being cold, more like a fear factor. He gave her a sympathetic, understanding half-smile to show her that he knew how she felt. She returned it with a blistering stare. He cocked an eyebrow at her, immediately making the understanding go out of his eyes and ice come in. Leena was taken aback by that; she certainly wasn't expecting this guy to use her own defense against her. Her fear went down and her curiosity rose a notch. This was turning out to be one weird day...
Severus knew that look. As a teenager, he himself had used it to hide when he was frightened. Truly, Leena had inherited more than just his looks. It would be interesting to see exactly how much of everyone showed up in her and her sister as well. He paused by a door, opening it for Leena and motioned her in. "Here we are, home sweet home. We tried to transfer as much as we could from your rooms at home to here in hopes that you would derive some comfort in it," he said in a low voice, "If not, you'll soon get your bearings around here. Breakfast is to be served at 9:00 tomorrow morning in the Dining Hall. I'll be here at 8:30 to show you the way. Be ready." With that, he closed the door with a soft click and left Leena inside to ponder the night's events.
***
"Why didn't you tell them the truth?" Lucius was spitting out as Severus walked in. Voldemort was facing the empty fireplace, a poisonous look firmly in place on his unnaturally white visage. 'Because, Lucius, I want their parents' identities other than mine to remain unknown from the rest of the Circle, that's why. There are Death Eaters running around all over the place around here and Wormtail is lurking in the corners somewhere in this room as we speak," he snapped irritably back. A small squeak emitted from a dark corner next to a bookcase and Wormtail crawled out from his hiding spot. "You-you could tell I was in here?" he warbled uneasily. "But of course, Wormtail, as I've told you before countless times: Lord Voldemort knows, he always knows..." Voldemort turned his fathomless red eyes to Wormtail's. Severus and Lucius smirked as Wormtail visibly hunched his shoulders in fright. "Leave us. You have duties elsewhere in the house, do you not?" Voldemort stared unblinkingly at him while he spoke. Wormtail bobbed his head and scampered for the door, anxious to run before something happened. "Idiot..." Voldemort hissed, rubbing his head tiredly, "To business, then. I did not let them know who you truly are because I want you to make friends with them first. I'm sure that after today's display, they think you evil, Lucius. Severus has done nothing to receive their suspicions yet." "On the contrary," Severus broke in, voice cold and carefully drained of emotions, "Leena is already spooked, I could tell. She thinks us all wicked, no doubt. I presume this is the reason she hasn't spoken at all tonight. Mina asked questions, but all Leena did was stare at each one of us in turn. Lord, it's going to be difficult to get her to accept the inevitable," he sighed, then broke into speech again, "I fear that she might need some persuasion to gain trust in us." Lucius stepped forward, eager to have his input. "We might be able to achieve that through the gifts, shouldn't we? They are coming at the end of this week if I remember correctly. By then Leena should be talking and have warmed up considerably." Voldemort reflected on the statements, then said, "Time will tell and we should get rest. See you in the morning." And all three went to their rooms.
***
Leena was woken up by a soft knock on her door at 7:00 the next morning. She glanced around the room, found her sweatshirt and opened the door, looking upwards. She expected to see Severus again and was surprised when a tiny squeak of a voice from near the ground squealed, "Excuse me, miss, I is sorry to interrupt your sleep, but you is needing to get ready for breakfast now." Leena snapped her eyes downward and jumped. Two huge brown eyes were staring up at her. Long ears protruded from the sides of the thing's head and a slight nose poked out beneath the orb-like eyes. Tiny hands wrung together as the creature cringed. Leena moved back, allowing whatever it was to enter the room. It did and introduced itself rather nervously. "My name is Adelle. I is supposed to be helping Miss get ready for breakfast." Leena furrowed her brow, then said, "What are you?" "I is a house elf, Miss. I is supposed to serve Master Riddle for the rest of my life. I is so lucky..." Adelle trailed off. "Why lucky? I shouldn't want to serve him for even a day, let alone the rest of my life!" Leena exclaimed. Adelle pulled her into a chair and started to brush Leena's hair. "Because I was a disgraced elf who could find no work. Then Master Riddle allowed me to serve him and I is no longer a wicked elf, no no, not at all."
Adelle now was placing various pieces of hair carefully up and securing them with gentleness. Leena sat carefully, thinking that the elf looked like a very large, out of proportion, dirty doll. Adelle then went off to the wardrobe and pulled out a black robe. "You is to wear these robes from now on, no more Muggle clothing." Leena took them reluctantly. She didn't want to look like an overgrown bat. Adelle started to set the room in order while Leena dressed in the bathroom. She caught sight of herself in the mirror above the sink and was surprised. The robe was surprisingly comfortable, but it flattered her figure with the cut and style. Her hair was pulled back at the sides and was held there by combs set with the mark on her arm in them. The effect was simple, yet it suited to her liking. She chanced a smile to be sure it was really her in the mirror. Of course it was. She came out and Adelle handed her a silver necklace to match the combs. Severus came into the room just then and stopped short, stunned. He recovered quickly and said briskly, "I see you're already dressed. Breakfast awaits and so does the rest of the day." He took the necklace from Leena and clasped it for her. "There. The perfect touch." And he led her to the Dining Hall.
***
Leena was still silent as she walked next to Severus to breakfast during the next few days. She also noted that the house she was in looked quite a bit better in sunlight, but still held that cold quality when she had explored it. Mina had been poking around the grounds and was talking to everyone in sight. She quickly got over her initial shock of being kidnapped and became friendly with Lucius easily. Severus was a bit colder, but Mina befriended him all the same. Leena didn't bother to talk with anyone except Adelle. She knew who everyone was and relatively what they looked like. Just now she realized exactly how tall Severus was; if she had thought Lucius was lofty, he was nothing compared to this towering figure. Severus in turn had been quietly observing the Twins for their differences and similarities. He was surprised to see that Leena's eyes were slowly turning from the darkest of the blacks to stormy gray, then to deep blue towards the end of the week. But they always had that icy edge to them, no matter what color they were. Often he sat up late in the night, thinking about it. She certainly acted like he did, he knew that for sure. There was more to her than met the eye, but it was a lost piece of the puzzle that he couldn't find. Yesterday afternoon, he had been absorbed in a book about Poisons and Antidotes, how to brew them, their symptoms, and their potency. He heard the faintest of sighs and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Leena sitting in a chair staring at him, a probing look on her face. He gave her a small smile, then went back to writing the lesson plans for Hogwarts' 7th year students in the upcoming semester. He couldn't fall behind.
He was back in the library on Friday, his lesson plans out again when the door closed. He didn't turn around, figuring it to be Adelle; she often closed the doors when she cleaned. She didn't like to be caught cleaning if she could help it. A shadow fell across the table he was working at and didn't move. He raised his head expectantly. Leena was just standing there, arms folded. "Yes? What do you want?" Severus said with a bite of impatience as he put his quill back in the ink well. "Tell me why you're sad," she said in a low voice. The book fell closed with a thump. He blinked slowly, trying to sort out an answer. That took him completely by surprise. "You think I'm sad?" he asked softly, "Why would you think that?" "You seem so distant from everyone else. Like you don't really belong. Besides, your eyes told me," she replied ethereally. Severus leaned back in his chair, thinking of a response. 'She's sharper than I thought...' he couldn't help thinking instead. "Many things contribute to it," he said at last, "most of which I can't tell you at the moment. But most of all why you wouldn't talk to anybody. It must have been hard not talking to anybody for a week." "Not at all. Not when you don't have anything to say to people you don't like," she responded crisply. "What did I do to make you not like me, if I'm permitted to ask?" he questioned. "Associating with Lucius and Tom. They are like, I dunno...not exactly honest, to say the least." "Why do you say that they aren't honest?" This was getting interesting. He steepled his fingers under his nose, waiting for the cryptic answer she was certain to give. "Because they are hiding something."
So much for the mysterious answer. "Every time I walked by or came into the room, they stopped talking abruptly. I don't like people who hide things from me. And you carefully avoid talking at all around them. You just let them chatter on and I want to know why." Her face was set, but her eyes were still blue. "I don't know how to answer that except to tell you that eventually all your questions will be answered and what they are talking about will be revealed," he said vaguely. "My turn for the questions now. Why don't you like Mina that much? I don't think you've spoken to her all week, either," he asked, puzzled. "Because she changes every once in a blue moon. Most of the time it's for the worse and this is one of those times," Leena said shortly. "Changes how? Is there anything physically wrong with her?" he had a thoughtful look on his face now. "She gets this harsh edge to her voice, her face seems to get thinner and paler, and she becomes irritable quite quickly. Annie used to give us this funky drink and that was the end of it, though. She used to give it to us once a month, but sometimes she would forget. That's when Mina gets like this," she said quietly, reflecting upon the memory. Severus furrowed his brow in contemplation, then gasped, "That's it! That is it! That's what we forgot!" Leena, perplexed, countered, "What's it? What did you forget, the weird drink?" He pulled out a silver pocket watch with a snake engraved on the cover, ignoring her last questions and said, "We have an appointment to make down in the West Garden, did you know that? You might find that this is part of the reason for secrecy around both of you." Severus stood up, stuck the rest of the papers in folders and held out his arm. Leena hesitated, then took it and allowed herself to be led outside, wondering what he was hiding.
Mina was already there, Lucius by her side. Voldemort was standing imperiously beside a medium-sized building, the black robed people flanking him on either side. Wormtail was next to the entrance. "Ah. Leena...So nice of you to join us," Voldemort said, smiling coldly. She cocked an eyebrow at him and said icily, "I didn't know I was missed." Mina stiffed her giggles and Lucius arched his eyebrows sarcastically, saying, "So she can talk! Amazing." Severus shot him a look and Lucius smirked. Voldemort said, "Follow me, I have something to give to you." Mina and Leena glanced at each other, then stepped into the darkness of the building. Severus and Lucius followed in turn. Wormtail turned on the lights. Mina gasped in delight and Leena was rendered speechless. Severus crossed his arms, looking unimpressed. Lucius curled his lip, looking extremely out of place in the barn.
Voldemort motioned for the girls to follow him closer to the stalls where two horses were waiting, nameplates on the door. Leena's was on the left and Mina's was on the right, as usual. "I'll leave you to get aquainted and I'll see you at dinner," Voldemort said with an amused tone, then Apparated back to the house. Lucius left as well, mumbling about needing to go back to his manor for a few days. Leena turned to Severus, who was still in shadow with his arms crossed. "You're staying, aren't you?" she asked after a while. "Of course," he replied, surprised that she wanted him to, "I am a teacher by profession and there is much you need to learn by the time September rolls around. You need to be in 5th level magic in order to go to school." "School? For magic? I don't believe there's such a thing," Mina scoffed, petting her dapple grey horse on the neck. Leena gave a half smile and said, "Cool! That would explain some things..." And she went back to letting her horse smell her over. "What breed are they?" she asked inquisitively. "Umm, I believe that yours is a Friesian and Mina's is an Irish Draught. I hope you like them. We knew that both of you were avid riders and that you might like to continue jousting," Severus returned. Leena read her horse's name plate:
***
Monday came, and Mina was back to her usual self. Leena, nonplussed, let it slide, figuring that she had been given one of those weird-tasting concoctions of Annie's. The girls took a seat in comfortable arm chairs with end tables set up for them, anxiously awaiting to see how exactly you preformed magic. Severus walked in, his usual black robes swirling around his feet. "Today, you are going to learn the basics of magic. Since you are several degrees above my usual students, I think that you shall have no difficulty in mastering these techniques in a few days. Keep in mind that we are going to move at a fast pace in order for you to be enrolled in Hogwarts at the 5th level, in order to be with your peers. Make every effort to achieve that goal, otherwise I can assure you that you will fall behind at an amazing rate. Now, to begin..." he said. Leena glanced worriedly at Mina, who looked just as apprehensive. They decided to pay attention if it killed them. It paid dividends in the end.
***
Transfiguration; Charms, Hexes, and Curses; Potions, Poisons, and Antidotes; Herbology; History of Magic(they quickly dropped it, as it was unimportant), Astronomy; Astrology; Dueling and Weaponry...The classes made the next two weeks fly by in a blur. Leena and Mina quickly became skilled and were being taught things that no Hogwarts 5th year ever would be. Severus proved to be an excellent teacher. The one subject that gave him the most trouble was Transfiguration. Voldemort wanted the Twins to become Animagus as soon as possible. Wormtail, being one himself, was brought in to teach it instead of Severus. Severus used this time to sit in the corner and plan his classes for Hogwarts or just to sneer at Wormtail to make him uneasy. Mina was skeptical at first when she learned that Wormtail was to teach them how to transform. He could barely do it himself! Leena scoffed at him, eyes darkening to grey every time she thought of how he struggled to explain the concept. She noticed Severus biting back a smile, a malicious glint in his eye as he scribbled on sheets of parchment as Wormtail faltered through it. Towards the end of the lessons, Mina was getting close to completing her transformation and Leena was ready to do it right then and there.
On July 25, Severus announced that he had obtained the tests for the girls to take in order to enter Hogwarts and 5th year. Looking a bit sad, he tagged on the end, "Alas, our classes are over after tomorrow. This is unfortunate, as there is still much to learn. However, you are going to one of the best Wizarding schools in the world. We shall see how you do. I must also take a leave of absence to take care of my affaires at home, then go to the actual school myself. I might be able to take a few days to come visit, but they will be few and far between." Mina snapped her head up, Leena dropped her vial that she was holding. "You can't leave now!" she cried, "You can't go, we still need to know things!" "Lucius will take over for answering your questions and Wormtail will still be attempting to teach you Transfiguration," he smirked at the thought, then continued. "Don't worry, you will see me at school," he reassured her, "Now tomorrow is when you'll take your test, today is the last definite day of lessons. To make flames appear on your fingertips for light or to set objects on fire, whisper Accendo Digitale..." he stated, closing the subject from further discussion.
At lunch, Leena and Mina had a visitor: Lucius had brought his son along. Draco was almost an exact carbon copy of his father, same mannerism, smirk, and cold glint in his eyes. Leena looked Draco up and down, judging him. He was almost as tall as Lucius, probably 6 feet. Mina was studying him with a critical eye from across the table. Leena frowned, thinking, 'He looks almost exactly like Mina, this is so weird. I wonder...' and then Voldemort stepped in, glancing around the room. His red eyes lingered on Draco, who gazed back unfalteringly. Leena noted with amusement that he had clenched his hands into fists underneath the table. Lucius sat down next to his son, who was now looking over the Twins again. Severus was already seated and waiting, bored from the looks of it. Draco finally spoke, drawling, "Professor Snape, how nice to see you so soon. I hope you're well?" "Likewise, Mr. Malfoy. I'm fine, yourself?" he returned, a small smile playing about his lips. "Quite well, thank you," he returned cautiously. Lucius broke in, saying, "Draco, meet Leena and Mina Riddle. Lord Voldemort has finally found his daughters and wishes for you to meet them. You three will have all afternoon to get to know one another."
After lunch, Draco and the Twins headed outside to roam the grounds while Lucius, Severus and Voldemort stayed inside to discuss the next month. "Are you ever going to tell them the truth, Master? I know that they bought the story of their mother dying during birth and you being in a terrible accident about a year later-" "I was in an accident about a year and a half later, Lucius-" "-but you know for yourself that Mina is showing her vampiristic traits quite a bit more than Leena is. She's already had one episode where she needed blood and she's growing pale again. Leena has yet to show anything other than fangs," Lucius huffed. Voldemort pursed his lips, drumming his long white fingers against the dark polished wood.
"Leena is beginning to ask why she needs to know how to make somebody curl up in pain, what is wrong with Mina, and what the mark on her arm is," Severus put in a voice like death, "As well as why you are hiding things from them. She's exceptionally perceptive, you wouldn't believe how much she's noticed up until this point-" "Truly your daughter, eh Severus?" Lucius cut in with a grin, "You have a knack for noticing things most people would glance over in a second. Not to mention the way she looks and acts." "Same to be said about Mina, Lucius. Almost identical to you and Draco, and she has your acidic flare for sizing people up. She prances around like a princess, much like Draco does at Hogwarts," he shot back. "I don't care who shows what, the fact that remains is that after another 2 weeks, they will be split up and sent to live with each of you. I will tell them the truth separately, so that they will only know who their own parents are. I'll also explain anything else and why their last names are to be kept 'Riddle'. That fool Dumbledore might catch on, but he might not. He's reaching an age where he's becoming senile... From then on, it's your responsibility to get them to Hogwarts and to buy their necessities until summer again. I will personally escort them to you when it is time for them to reach you," Voldemort snapped sourly, sick of their bickering.
Draco, Leena, and Mina hit it off almost immediately. Leena remained quiet at the beginning, but quickly warmed up. After spending a month here, she was surprised to find how nice everyone actually was. Lucius was charming and good for a laugh, while Severus was good for bouncing ideas off of and answering questions. He had a rather morbid sense of humor, but he was also the one who Leena felt most comfortable with, the one who she could confide in more. Lucius was the one who did most of the spying for Voldemort, so she tried to keep her innermost thoughts to herself around him. Mina laughed, and Leena gave a start, saying jokingly, "What'd I miss...?" That just made Draco and Mina laugh harder. Leena joined in, realizing that the joke was that she should have been the blonde one; she was certainly acting like it. After they stopped giggling, Draco answered questions about school and they answered questions about American Muggle schools. While they talked and laughed, they roamed the gardens, the forest, the stables, and even tried to sneak of into the town of Little Hangleton, but one of the black-robed people caught them before they got close to the gate. "Come, Draco, it's time to go home," Lucius called down the sloping lawn. "Aw, Dad, do I have to?" he whined. "You're coming back tomorrow, so I don't see what the fuss is about," Lucius snapped. Clearly the meeting hadn't turned out the way Lucius had hoped. Draco saw the danger signal and waved good bye, saying jauntingly, "Smoke me kipper, I'll be back for breakfast!" With that, all three teenagers burst out laughing and Lucius shook his head, pulling Draco away to the car in the driveway. Draco was still cracking up as the chauffeur drove off.
***
Severus was woken up at midnight by a creepy feeling. He sat bolt upright and found Leena staring at him piercingly through the darkness. "Bloody hell, Leena, I could have seriously hurt you if I had my wand! Don't DO that!" he snapped, eyes glittering in anger. "Not a morning person, I see," she retorted icily, returning the glare full force. "Not this early, no. What did you want, now that you've successfully roused me?" he grumped. Leena cocked an eyebrow at him, then told him about the thing that had been troubling her lately: Why did everyone look at her so strangely when she had said that she had been told to hold her tongue the first night? "You're asking me about this now?" he hissed, rubbing his hands tiredly over his eyes. "Fine, if you don't want to answer, I'll go ask Voldemort. And you know how he is, waking up..." she said slyly, looking at him through the corner of her eyes.
Severus groaned, "That's not what I meant. I would have expected you to ask me about it then, not the day before I leave." "I'll remember that the next time I'm kidnapped. Now, why did you all look at me as if I was a psychopath?" She obviously had inherited his razor wit, as she was being so insolent. "Because when you said it, you didn't use your mouth," he replied, stifling a yawn. "I'm afraid I don't understand you, Severus. You're obviously not too keen to give me answers to questions after you've just woken up..." she trailed off, starting to move towards the door. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. "I'm making just as much sense as you at the moment. Sit down," he yawned again, "I can't understand why anyone would want to wake anybody else up in the middle of the night just to ask a question." Leena plunked herself on the edge of the bed, waiting expectantly. "I should think it's quite obvious on what you did, if you didn't use your mouth to speak," he said with the usual bite of impatience. Leena just sat there, staring at him. "Oh, come on, do I have to spell it out for you?" still the unblinking stare "Huh...and I thought you were the smart one...You told us through your mind, so therefore you must have some mental ability, don't you think?" All she did was blink a few times. "Since you are being completely insane, I'm going back to bed. Now if you don't mind getting out of my room..." and he pushed her onto the floor.
She sat stock still and after 5 minutes, Severus threw back the covers and snapped irritatedly, "WHAT?" Her voice came floating up from the floor, like a velvety succubus from hell. The effect was positively unnerving. "I knew that I could talk to animals..." "You what?" "...but I didn't think I could do it with humans," she finished. Severus groaned again. "Anything else you'd like to ask while you're here? I'm awake for good now..." he said, resigned. "Yeah, I do," she said, holding back a laugh at his annoyance. "Spit it out," he snapped. "Why do I have the Dark Mark and Mina does not?" She stumped him there. "I have no clue as to that..." he said, thoughtful himself now. "Ok, then why do me and Mina look so different? She looks like Lucius and I look like you, to be perfectly frank," she said bluntly. Severus looked outside the window, contemplating how to answer. "Well?" she said in a dangerously soft voice. "Because you do. I'm not at liberty to say that, either. You will find out, I promise. Now to bed; I have a long day tomorrow and Draco is coming again," he said vaguely. Leena got up, her probing look back on her face. "Hmmm..." was all she said as she stole quietly from his room.
A/N: Ok, no doubt that this is longer than the rest of them! Sorry, but I just had to do it, I wanted to get some things cleared up and some other things even more confusing. Is it working? Good!