Kuro: Guess who!
Kaze: Kuronue...--'
Kuro: Party pooper.
Kaze: Gee, sorry if sugar don't affect me as fast as it affects you. Which is sad cuz I'm eating some of my kisses as we speak.
Kuro: Gomen. Ok, thanks to the people who reviewed. And we hope you enjoy this chapter as much or more as youhave the others.
Kaze: Yes, this one has some fun but not much. Another thing, you now get to meet our pets!
Kuro: Uh-huh. Now, we own nothing but ourselves and a few others.
Kaze: Yes, please enjoy and review. We would like at least 5 reviews for the chapter. Onegai? (please)
Kuro: Here it is!
Truth Lies in the Shadows
Chapter 6
The fire lit up the small replica of a common room. It was quiet other than the roaring flames and the soft beating of rain on the window at the end of the hall. Kaze had gone to bed two hours ago. Now, Reina was sitting alone on the carpet in front of the fireplace. Her mind was wondering, but she was jolted back to reality by a gentle knock on the door. She scrambled to her feet and went to the door.
"Headmaster?" Reina was surprised to see the man standing there. However, she invited him in nonetheless.
"I'm sorry if I woke you." Dumbledore said to the girl as he walked passed her.
"No, not at all. I was still awake." she replied.
Dumbledore relaxed in the armchair whilst Reina sat across from him on the couch. It was silent for a moment before the wizard said; "I wanted to talk to you about a few things, Reina. Is now a good time or would you rather do it tomorrow?"
"Tonight is fine, sir."
"Very well." Dumbledore shifted into a more comfortable position, but was poked in the back by something sharp. He reached behind the pillow to his right and pulled out the obstruction. "What's this?"
Reina's unusual colored eyes darted to the photo album in the wizard's hand. She had forgotten that it was there. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was still there." She scooted forward to retrieve it.
"May I?" Dumbledore asked. The half-demon wasn't quite sure why he wanted to look at it, but she figured there was no harm in it. The wizard flipped through the pages wearing a small smile, never saying a word. Reina just sat there watching him.
When Dumbledore was on the family portraits, his eyes peeked over his spectacles at Reina and then back to the photo. He looked through the remainder of the pictures and handed it to Reina. He then reached into one of the pockets of his robes, removing a piece of paper.
"Take this." he instructed, offering the object to his newest student.
Reina took the paper from him and turned it over. It was a photograph, one of a young man around her age. He was an attractive boy in the half-demon's opinion. His green eyes peered out from behind a pair of thin glasses. His hair fell over his forehead, but Reina could see the lightening bolt-shaped scar.
She looked up from the image and asked, "Is that him? Is it Harry?" With the wizard's nod, Reina's lips curled up in a smile.
"I thought you would like to see him. That photograph will have to do until September though." Dumbledore said.
"Thank you." the girl replied. She opened the cover of the album and placed her cousin's picture there so she put it in permanently later. "Was Harry what you wished to talk about, sir?"
"He is one of them, yes."
Now that the photo album was out of the way, Dumbledore made himself comfortable. "Once the students have arrived, I will make an appointment with Harry so that he can be informed about your existence."
"Sir," Reina politely interrupted. "I would rather not tell him yet. After everything that's happened lately, I don't want to burden him with the shocking news of a long lost cousin. It might not be wise to tell him of my existence so soon after Sirius Black's death. Not to mention the dangers that Voldemort has created."
"How do you know about Sirius?" asked the wizard curiously.
"I have a tendency to sneak off to the more shallow end of Diagon Alley. There I find stories in the Daily Prophet about the going-ons in the wizarding world. That's how I found out about Sirius's death. And I knew he was Harry's godfather because my father told me." the half-demon explained.
"I see." Dumbledore was beginning to think the girl's reasoning was understandable. "When do you suggest we tell him?"
"I don't know, but I will tell him in time."
"You are very considerate. That is a good quality in a student." said the Headmaster with a smile. He opened his mouth to continue, but was disrupted by a clicking sound. He and Reina looked to the window.
Perched on the outside windowsill and tapping on the glass was a black raven. It stared into the room with beady red eyes, an unusual color for a bird. When the bird noticed that the people inside were looking at it, the tapping ceased. Reina got up and strode over to the window. She opened the glass, allowed the raven to hop onto her forearm, and then went back to the couch.
The half-demon softly stroked the raven's head with her finger. "Good boy." she cooed. "Headmaster, this is Mayoke."
The raven cocked its head in the wizard's direction.
"Beautiful." Dumbledore commented.
"What else did you want to talk about, sir?" Reina asked, still stroking Mayoke.
"Oh, yes. The matter of yours and Ms.Soran's appearance during the school year. I will teach both of you a spell that will alter your features so that you may blend in with the other students. Do you have any questions?"
"No, sir."
"If so, then I think I will be going."
Dumbledore rose from his seat, as did Reina who followed him to the door. Before departing the wizard turned and said, "I'll be back in the morning." Having said that, he left.
After Dumbledore was gone, Reina picked up the photo album and flipped to an empty page. Taking the picture of Harry from the front, she placed it in the slits in the paper. Once it was secure, she closed the album and went to her room with Mayoke.
The next morning was bright and sunny, making the shadow demon even more reluctant to get out of bed. However, Kaze was up by nine o' clock, dressed and ready to go. Dumbledore kept his promise and showed up at around nine-thirty with another old wizard.
"Good morning!" Kaze chirped when she opened the door. Dumbledore and the second man walked into the sitting room.
"Good morning, Kaze." greeted Dumbledore. He looked around curiously for a moment then asked, "Where is Ms.Krone?"
Kaze glanced down the hallway and sighed. "Excuse me." She walked over to her friend's bedroom door. While pounding on the door with her fist, the wind demon yelled, "Reina! You were supposed to be out of bed half an hour ago. Get you butt out here!"
She stood outside the door for a minute, impatiently tapping her foot. The door then opened to reveal a sleepy half-demon. "What?" she hissed. Kaze pointed to the men watching them. Reina's half-open eyes widened and she retreated back into her room, slamming the door shut behind her.
"She'll be out in a minute." the wind demon said as she walked back to the wizards.
Sure enough, Reina emerged from her room in no more than sixty seconds, fully presentable but not fully awake. She greeted Dumbledore with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Headmaster. I didn't expect you to be here this early."
"That's quite all right. But you may want to get more sleep when classes begin." Dumbledore said. He then turned to speak with the other man.
Kaze moved closer to her friend. "Yeah, you should get more sleep." she whispered with a teasing grin at the half-demon's expense. She already knew the school's schedule was seriously going to screw up Reina's sleep pattern.
"It's not my fault that I'm not a morning person." Reina whispered back.
"Reina, Kaze," The girls directed their attention to Dumbledore and the second man, who they assumed to be another wizard. "This is Mr.Ollivander. He will be fitting you with new wands." Dumbledore informed them.
The wizard called Ollivander studied the girls intently from where he stood. When he was done with the overlook he gestured to Kaze.
"Let's start with you." he said.
With that said, a tape measure appeared out of thin air. It wormed over to the wind demon. "Hold up your wand hand." instructed Ollivander while he moved his wand in the direction of the back of the room. Like the measuring tape had, several thin boxes manifested and began stacking themselves on top of one another. As more and more boxes appeared, the tape measure moved in circles around the shorter girl.
"Well, wand hand up." Ollivander repeated.
"Is that the one I write with?" Kaze asked.
"Yes."
Kaze held out her right hand. The tape immediately began measuring her arm. While this was going on, Ollivander was looking through the many stacks of boxes. When it was done, the tape measure went limp and fell to the ground. It was then that the wizard carefully removed one of the boxes and approached Kaze. He opened the container, offering the wand inside to the wind demon.
"Try this one. Nine and three-quarters inches, oak and unicorn hair."
Picking the wand up, Kaze mimicked the swishing motion she'd seen Ollivander do. There was a loud popping noise, similar to that of a firework, followed by a streak of gold that burned a hole straight through the cushioning of the couch.
"Apparently not." said Ollivander. He took that wand from Kaze and gave her another. The results of the second were no better than those of the first.
While Ollivander shoved wand after wand at Kaze, Reina had stepped closer to Dumbledore.
"Headmaster, is it all right for him to see Kaze and I like this?" she asked.
"He hasn't a clue who you are. I told him that your appearance was the outcome of a spell that backfired. There is nothing to worry about." Dumbledore said.
At ease with the situation, Reina looked back to her friend's current dilemma of finding a wand. Kaze was standing there looking bored out of her mind. There were two more holes in the sofa, the vase that was on a small table in the corner was shattered, and the most recent mishap was Ollivander's now pink hair.
"I should've known that one wasn't going to work." Ollivander changed his hair back to its original white using his own wand. "You'll be needing an even stronger wand. Let's see." He walked his fingers across the boxes. He pulled out a box and opened it. "Nine inches, maple and phoenix feather."
Kaze held the wand, and didn't even have to wave it for something to happen. A breeze flowed through the room though all the windows were shut. Kaze felt a surge of energy in her arm that traveled to the rest of her body. When the wind stopped, Ollivander wore a triumphant grin.
"That's it. Now you." he said pointing at Reina.
The tape measure came back to life, going over the same process as before on the half-demon. As the string-like tool did its job, Reina watched Ollivander searching through the stacks. The tape finished, but this time vanished instead of falling to the floor.
"If you are anything like your friend there, we should probably start with the more advanced wands. Maybe it will save what is left of the sofa." Ollivander said as he gave the girl a wand to try out.
Reina held the magic stick in her left hand and gave it a wave. There was a crackling sound, then the half-demon yelped and instantly dropped the wand. In answer to the curious looks directed toward her, she said, "It shocked me." She blew softly on her red skin.
"Hm, that's strange." Ollivander mumbled as he inspected Reina's hand. "No wand has ever shocked someone before. Well, ready to try again?"
The tingling in her hand was fading. "Yes." replied Reina. Ollivander nodded, going back to searching through the stacks.
"Eleven inches, mahogany and phoenix feather." Once again the half-demon was shocked. She turned to Dumbledore.
"Is a wand really necessary?"
Dumbledore sighed. "I am afraid so."
"In that case, keep 'em coming." Reina said sarcastically.
With every new wand she tried, the skin on Reina's hand became even more irritated. After about the fifth wand, Kaze was no longer concerned about her friend. Instead she found it amusing how the half-demon always managed to get stuck in the strangest predicaments. Kaze couldn't refrain from letting a snicker escape at the look of impatience and boredom on Reina's face after trying who knows how many wands.
"Ten and a half inches, ebony and dragon heartstring. Pray this is the one."
Not having much hope it was, Reina took the wand from the wizard. She prepared for the pain, but it never came. Black smoke emanated from the wand's tip, swirling through the air around the girl. Dumbledore saw a strange symbol appear on Reina's forehead and then vanish as the smoke cleared. He hoped that Ollivander hadn't noticed it. From the looks of it, he hadn't.
"Finally. Now if you'll excuse me." Ollivander waved his wand making all of the boxes disappear.
"Yes, thank you for your time." Dumbledore said, escorting the wizard to the door.
Just as Ollivander left there was a knock. Dumbledore opened the door again. Professor McGonagall and another witch stepped in. The unfamiliar woman was middle-aged, gray hairs growing amongst blonde hairs.
"Let's get this over with, Albus. I'd rather be in my own home." she grumbled.
"Katherine, we were going to send for an animal. You didn't have to come all the way out here." Dumbledore told her.
"I don't trust the mail service these days." the woman said as she walked to the center of the room. She did the same thing Ollivander had done, but there were no boxes, just several cages. The room was filled with squawking, croaking, hooting, and other noises. "Now, who needs an animal?"
Kaze looked to Dumbledore who nodded in response. "I do." she said.
"Then hurry up."
The wind demon jumped a bit at the harshness in the witch's voice. She abruptly went to the cages and started looking around. 'Too slimy.' she thought when she passed the frogs. 'These birds are too loud. Hm, what's in here?' Kaze knelt down so she could look into a cage on the bottom. Inside and curled up in a ball at the back was a tiny kitten. The feline raised its head when it heard someone there. It was a midnight black with white front paws.
"Come here." called Kaze to the kitten.
The cat slowly walked towards the front of the cage. It stared at Kaze with its glowing eyes as if it were studying her. Kaze allowed it to sniff her finger through a hole in the small door. When it was satisfied, the kitten let out a soft meow.
"I'll take this little guy." Kaze said.
The witch walked over and looked surprised at the cat's behavior. 'That feline usually scares half the people that try to pet it. Oh well, at least it's out of my hands." She opened the cage, grabbed the cat, and thrust it at Kaze. She then collected her pay from Dumbledore and left.
"Headmaster, how are we to pay for all our things?" Reina asked. She glanced at Kaze who was cradling her new pet.
"Darikk gave me enough money to pay for any expenses you might have. And," Dumbledore pulled out a small bag and handed it to Reina. "He said this was for whatever you chose to use it for."
"Thank you, sir."
"I'll be back when the seamstress arrives." he said. The wizard then left along with Professor McGonagall.
"So, what are you going to name that cat?" Reina asked once the adults had departed.
Kaze thought for a moment before cheerfully saying, "Fireball!" The kitten's ears perked up at its new name. It meowed in agreement and rubbed against the demon's arm.
"Cute." Reina said with a sigh.
Later in the afternoon, the seamstress had come carrying a bag that seemed bottomless as she pulled countless things from it. Dumbledore and McGonagall weren't present during the fitting. This gave Kaze her chance to get out of wearing a piece of feminine lower body clothing. She was somehow able to convince the seamstress to make her a pair of pants. Seeing that Kaze was able to do this, Reina took a chance and got the woman to make her skirt ankle-length.
"You do know Professor McGonagall is going to find someway to use this against you." Reina said when she and Kaze were alone again.
"Like I care. I'm going to wear what I want to wear." replied the wind demon.
"This should be interesting."