Here's the next chapter. I'm feeling generous so I'll give you another one to chew on.

Kaze: Chew on? Now I know you've gone batty. But yes, another chapter.

Kuro: First off, I'm a vampire/bat thing so what did you expect. Second, I'm hungry.

Kaze: No feeding. We don't want to scare away our readers, do you?

Kuro: I won't feed on them, unless they give us a bad review of course.

Kaze: Bad Batty! You'll do no such thing. Scold them yes, but no feeding on them.

Kuro: Meanie.

Kaze: Not the point. Now we hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Kuro: Yeah, and review!

Kaze: Remember we own nothing but ourselves and maybe a few others.

Truth Lies in the Shadows

Chapter 2

"But, Father," the teenager said. Her father had just told her of the trip he must take and that she was not going. "I am not a child. I'm capable of taking care of myself, so why can't I come with you?" Usually he allowed her to got with him on his travels. Never before had he not permitted her to accompany him. How is this time any different?

"It is too dangerous." Darikk replied. He was trying his best to refrain from yelling, but it was getting increasingly harder. "You'll be much safer if you stay behind."

Not being allowed to travel alongside her father wasn't bothering her as much as something else Darikk told her. Instead of having Reina stay in the town with the rest of the demons, he was sending her to some magic school full of humans.

"Then why not let me stay here with our kin?" the girl said in retaliation. "Is it because I'm a half-demon? You think that because I'm not as powerful as a full demon my age that I can't defend myself?" The words slipped out before Reina had realized it. She knew she had crossed the line when Darikk's dark eyes became bottomless. She immediately tensed and took a step back.

Darikk was a person who didn't get angry easily, but if anyone questioned his feelings about humans, his temper shot up. His daughter was no exception. Reina had learned this lesson before and it's one that she will not forget. But she was one to vent her anger out verbally or physically without thinking. And incidents like these came up every once in a while.

"Do you recall what happened to your mother!" yelled Darikk. The girl flinched at the mention of the mother she never knew. "I do not want you taken away from me the same way! Everytime you step out of my sight I worry. I fear that your blood will spill over the cold stone like Marina's did." Darikk forced himself to calm down. The last thing he needed was his daughter's anger directed towards him.

He looked down at his daughter. Her lavender eyes were focused on him, full of sadness and anger and a sense of loss. The black mark was not visible on the girl's forehead, but it surfaced whenever she used her powers in difficult techniques. Darikk took a step forward. He reached his hand out to place a stray strand of dark blue hair behind her pointed ear. "You look like her." he said in a soft voice, finally breaking the ackward silence.

Reina managed a small smile and returned the hug her father gave her. She was blessed with a loving parent that cared and protected her, despite what she was. That alone cancelled out the curse of being a half-demon.

"Go ahead and hang out with your friends. We'll talk more about this later." said Darikk once he pulled away. "I'm sure you're anxious to see if Emi would like to join you at Hogwarts." Reina nodded. She grabbed her cloak, threw it on, and left the house.

It didn't take Reina long to arrive at the small clearing of the Forbidden Forest where she and her friend hung out. She spotted Emi, who much preferred to be called Kaze, right away for her blonde hair was hard to miss amongst the lightless trees.

"Kaze!" she called out. The wind demon turned her green-grey eyes onto the teen. She smiled and jumped down from the tree limb she'd been sitting on. Reina walked closer to her, the cloak swaying as she moved.

"Hey! What's up?" Kaze jerked her head so that her hair moved out of her face, falling a couple of inches below her shoulders.

Reina pulled off the hood of the cloak. She tried to look like nothing was bothering her, but the false smile she wore was deceiving her. Even if she was able to hide her distress better, it wouldn't have helped. Kaze had been the half-demon's best friend forever. The wind demon could tell when her friend was upset, even without the use of her telepathic abilities.

"Okay, spill. What's wrong?" said Kaze sternly. Reina laughed as she leaned against the closest tree.

"I've got a bit of a problem." she started. Kaze sat down against the tree next to Reina's. "My father has to leave for a while. He says it is too dangerous so I have to stay behind."

When the girl was silent for more than a few seconds, Kaze spoke up. "And? Unless there's more to it, that isn't a problem. You can stay with me while he's gone." said the wind demon. She wasn't looking at Reina so she didn't see the half-demon take a step towards the middle of the clearing. She was more interested in playing with the mini tornado she had just made by moving her finger in a circle above the ground.

"There is more to it, Kaze." Reina surveyed their surroundings. She had sensed something coming, but wasn't sure what or whom it was.

"And what would that be?" asked Kaze when the teen paused again.

"I can't stay in the village. Father is sending me to Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Why the hell would he send you there?" Kaze had deserted her toy at the notion of the magic school. The little tornado abruptly disappeared.

Reina had been wondering that herself. At first she thought Darikk was just being overprotective. But the more she thought about it, the deeper her reasoning got. "I think it's because of my mother. She was a witch, remember? And she attended Hogwarts. That's how she met my father." she said.

The wind demonthought about it for a moment. "Oh, yeah. So, does that mean you will be enrolling? I mean, you are a half-demon, but you are also half human which means you're a witch."

"True." She never thought of that. Her assumptions were that she'd be working for the teachers or something. 'Am I going to Hogwarts to learn magic?' Their conversation was interrupted by loud grumbling. "Damn it. I knew I sensed something"
Reina mumbled.

Both girls recognized the voices that were growing louder as they got closer. "Come on." Kaze instucted. The two quickly climbed up the trees they had been leaning against. Making sure they were well hidden, Reina and Kaze looked down to see a group of teenage guys come into the clearing.

"Where is she?" one of them asked angrily. "I know I saw that damn halfbreed come in here."

"Calm down, Kirk. Anger will cloud your judgment." The first boy, being rather dumb, didn't comprehend what was said to him.

"He means don't be yelling for her to come out or we'll never be able to catch her and have fun pounding on her. She's been able to evade us lately because of your impatience." another guy said acting as the leader of the group of thugs.

Kaze smirked when she saw Reina roll her eyes. "Let me guess, that's not the reason they can't catch you." she whispered. Reina's lips curled into an evil grin and an all too familiar glint appeared in her lavender eyes. They looked back down to the guys still lost as to where the halfbreed got to.

"Maybe she's not here." the second one suggested. The others began to agree, but their leader wasn't going to give up that easily. He walked around, studying every inch of the clearing.

"I know she's here."

Reina was getting bored of this. Knowing she could defeat these morons, thanks to her witch blood amplifying her demonic powers, she climbed down to a lower branch. Kaze could tell what she was planning to do and didn't stop her.

"Hagrid, what do you know about this Darikk?" Dumbledore asked, taking a sip from the huge mug Hagrid had offered him. They were sitting at the table in the gamekeeper's cottage. Dumbledore wanted to find out as much as he could about the child he had agreed to take in. And at the moment, Hagrid was the only reference the Headmaster had.

"Ah, Darikk. He's a good man. I 'ave known him fer quite some time. Met him back in the Dark Forest abou' eighteen years ago." replied Hagrid, gesturing in the direction of the forest.

Dumbledore wasn't surprised. The demons wander through the forest all the time, but it was strange that one had wandered as far as Hogwarts. "Have you met his daughter, Reina?"

Hagrid took a gulp of his drink. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. "Aye," he answered. "Good kid. I babysat her when she was a tike a few times." The half-giant added the last thinking it was no big deal, but he regretted saying it at the look Dumbledore gave him. "Oh, uh... I was jus' doing Darikk a favor, sir." he stammered trying to apologize for not telling the Headmaster this years ago.

"No worries, Hagrid." Dumbledore said with a smile. "You've done nothing wrong." Hagrid relaxed at the wizard's words. "I am only seeking information on the child that will be staying with us."

"So, she will be staying?" Hagrid questioned. The man across from him nodded. "Tha's good. When Darikk left last nigh, all he said was thank you. Then he left."

"I see." was all Dumbledore said. He was silent for a moment, debating on whether to ask something or not. There was a good chance Hagrid knew who this demon was exactly. He could very well have been the reason Marina was continuously able to sneak into the Dark Forest unseen. "Hagrid," he began in a low voice. Hagrid noticed the seriousness in Dumbledore's face. "Do you know who this demon is? Who his daughter is?"

The gamekeeper became deep in thought. After a few seconds, he realized Dumbledore meant. "Aye, sir, I do." he said, confirming the Headmaster's suspicions. "And Reina knows, too." They sat there, neither of them saying a word.

Dumbledore broke the silence when he finished his tea. "Thank you very much, Hagrid. I will let myself out. Goodbye." He stood up and left the cottage. On his way back to the castle, he glancedto the forest. 'I wonder what Harry will think of his lost relatives.' he thought as a small smile graced his lips and continued up the hill.

Later that night, Reina walked into the house, closing the door behind her. She removed her and hung it up near the fireplace. "Father!" she called. She heard shuffling coming from the kitchen followed by "In here!". The half-demon walked into the room to see dinner on the table and her father eating.

"Hurry up or yourfood will get cold." Darikk told her. She quickly sat down. "So, how was your day?"

"Fine." Reina said, digging into the food on her plate. "Kaze agreed to come with me to Hogwarts."

Darikk watched hi daughter push up her sleeves past the tattoos on her wrists. He remembered when he first saw them. At first he was furious with Reina for carving ink into her skin, but he later accepted her need to be even more different than she already was.

"You told her to meet you here tomorrow morning?" he asked. Not wanting to be rude by talking with her mouthfull, Reina nodded. "Good."