Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series/books (whatever you want to call it). Any characters you might recognize from the series do not belong to me. All the other characters you do not recognize from the book are mine.

Chapter 2 – Nepenthe, Nathaira and Reina

"You are Voldemort's daughter?" Sirius asked quietly, hoping it was not true. It was hard to believe that someone like her, so innocent and quiet, is...

"Yes." Nepenthe answered, her voice trembling. She was wishing Sirius would not abandon her. As far she knew, Sirius was the only relative she could turn too. Dumbledore had made that suggestion in the first place. Dumbledore knew that if Voldemort knew about her, he will use her against them for her power is far greater than his [Voldemort's] or anyone else, Harry Potter included.

Sirius led them back to where Remus was. They found him, this time, in the kitchen, reading the same book he was holding earlier. Sirius pulled out a chair for her beside Remus and indicated to her to sit down.

Remus looked up and saw Sirius' face, an emotion he couldn't quite understand. Disbelief? Concern? Worry? He diverted his attention to Nepenthe and almost dropped his book. She looked paler than he remembered.

"Is something wrong? Padfoot?" Remus turned to Sirius questioningly.

"Nepenthe," Sirius started taking a seat beside Nepenthe, "is Voldemort's daughter."

Remus brows furrowed, "How did you find out that you're Voldemort's daughter, Nepenthe?"

She looked up and said, "Dumbledore. My muggle parents knew I was a witch since one of their relatives is muggle-born but is in Hogwarts," she elucidated. "They told me the truth of my upbringing. I'm an adopted child. A man found me left all alone in the forest 15 years ago. He brought me to an orphanage and after a few weeks, my foster parents brought me to my new home. As I grew up, I noticed some things unusual about me. I have the knowledge I couldn't quite understand. As I turned 7, my foster parents heard about their niece sent to a wizarding school so they wrote to the Headmaster, Dumbledore. Dumbledore helped me a lot since I couldn't control my powers by that time. Things started to break, or float, or disappear when I feel a strong emotion. Dumbledore sent someone to me who had had the same trouble. She taught me how to control my powers and after a few months, I could perfectly keep them from running amok. My parents knew I'm not a normal muggle or a witch for that matter but they loved me all the same. Dumbledore advised them to keep my existence a secret so I remained confined in our house for the past years. Dumbledore guessed I'm Voldemort's daughter but it was not yet proven, not until I turned 14." Nepenthe paused. Her face clearly showing that whatever happened a year ago was too painful for her to bear but she continued, "I started to feel pain. If Harry's scar aches, mine is my whole body. I became weak and I was unable to move. I cannot eat, drink, talk or even sleep. They used technology to help me eating, drinking, and everything and I take pills to make me sleep. But nothing... nothing can make the pain go away. Dumbledore suspected it was a sign that I truly am Voldemort's daughter. But that was only his suspicion. Of course, knowing Dumbledore he had a way to find out."

"Which was?" Sirius interrupted.

"You're a Parseltongue, aren't you?" Remus asked.

"Yes," she answered quietly.

"A snake?" Sirius asked, grinning.

"How did you know?" Nepenthe wondered.

Before either Sirius or Remus could answer, however, the front door banged open. Sirius and Remus shot out of their chairs and disappeared out the kitchen. Astonished, Nepenthe followed them out towards the door. As she crossed the room, she heard a horrible, earsplitting, bloodcurdling screech. She ran out the kitchen as quickly as she could and reached the moth-eaten velvet curtains she had passed earlier. It had flown apart but there was no door behind them. For a split second, Nepenthe thought he was looking through a window, a window behind which an old woman in a black cap was screaming and screaming as though she was being tortured – then she realized it was simply a life-size portrait, but the most realistic, and the most unpleasant, she had ever seen in her life.

The old woman was drooling, her eyes were rolling, the yellowing skin of her face stretched taut as she screamed, and all along the hall behind them, the other portraits awoke and began yelling too, so that Nepenthe actually screwed up her eyes at the noise and clapped her hands over her ears.

Lupin and Sirius darted forward and tried to tug the curtains shut over the old woman, but they would not close and she screeched louder than ever, brandishing clawed hands as though trying to tear at their faces.

"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers–"

Finally, they were able to close the portrait and Lupin ran down the hall stunning the other pictures.

Sirius turned around to his guest. What he saw rendered him speechless. A teen about Nepenthe's age was standing, looking at Sirius, bewildered. "Was that your mother?" She asked, her deep black eyes questioning. She has straight, black, shoulder-length, layered hair with red streaks. She wore a black hanging top that showed her pierce on her bellybutton, with low-waist denim Capri pants. She stood around 5'3 tall and (unbelievingly) has black nail polish to finish her outfit.

"Yes," Sirius answered. "And who might you be?"

"Nathaira" she answered.

Nepenthe snapped out from her stunned form and looked at Nathaira. "Is that really you, sis?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Yup! And it's so good to her your voice again! Althougth I have to get used to it, eh?" Nathaira replied.

Lupin returned and smilingly asked, "Who is might be your 'guest' Padfoot?"

"Nathaira." Nathaira answered.

"Sis?" Sirius asked Nepenthe.

"Biologically, no, but that's how we treat each other." Nepenthe answered.

"Yes, and we were trained together." Nathaira added, walking over to Nepenthe. As she turned her back on Sirius and Remus, her tattoo on her lower back showed. It was diamond shaped yin yang with a serpent forming the letter 'S'. It was divided into two parts; one was colored green and the other black. On the black side was a dagger, its tip touching the circle and on the green side was a cross, 'standing' on the circle.

"Trained? You mean trained to control your powers?" Remus asked.

"Yes," both answered in unison.

"Who trained you?" This time, Sirius asked.

Nepenthe smiled and so did Nathaira, making them look like twins; only Nepenthe's eyes are of dark red. "Reina" Nepenthe replied.

"Reina?!" Sirius inquired skeptically.

"Yes, what is so wrong if I taught them?" a voice asked.

Startled, Sirius looked around and found Reina standing beside him.

Reina smiled at Sirius, "Long time no see Padfoot, Moony."

A/N: Reviews - comments, complaints and suggestions are always welcomed. Thanks!

I got parts where the portrait was concerned from the 5th book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I do NOT own that so don't sue.