Kuro: Guess who's back!

Kaze: Yes, we're back and ready to reck more chaos.

Kuro: Hell yea! You don't know how much I've missed all of you readers. (gives readers a big hug)

Kaze: (pulls Kuro away and ties her to a chair) Calm down, Kuro.

Kuro: (pouts) But I can't help it.

Kaze: Too bad. Now, remember we own nothing but ourselves and our pets.

Kuro: You see how she treats me. How rude. (sigh) Oh well, we hope you enjoy this long awaited chpt.

Kaze: Yep, and please review.

Truth Lies in the Shadows

Chapter 13

"You idiot!"

"Ow!"

"Don't hit him!"

"Stay out of it."

Lavender moved back, fearing Kiku's stern look. After slapping Ron upside the head a second time, Kiku ran after Hermione. Transfiguration class obviously didn't go very well. Hermione had laughed at Ron, along with many others, when his attempt to change his eyebrows gave him a mustache. In reply to that, Ron went too far in making fun of Hermione.

"Damn Slytherin." Ron grumbled gathering his things. When he walked to the door, he saw Harry giving him a disapproving look and Reina glaring a hole through him. He quickly left the room, Lavender right on his heels.

"Hermione left her things." Harry picked up his friend's forgotten books as well as his own bag. "This is ridiculous." he sighed.

"Maybe they'll make up soon." Reina said trying to be positive, but she didn't even believe it herself.

"Not likely."

Harry, Reina, and Kaze left the classroom in search of their bushy-haired classmate. They found her coming out of one of the girls' bathrooms, Kiku and Luna Lovegood in her company. "Hermione!" Harry rushed down the hall. "You forgot your things."

Hermione sniffed and took the books Harry offered her. "Thanks, Harry. Well, I have to get going." After smiling weakly at all of them, she turned and walked away.

"I swear, if Ron doesn't get his act together then I'll give him a reason to hate me." the water demon said angrily.

"Make sure it's through legal means." said Harry smiling.

Taking a peek at her pocket watch, Reina sighed. "I've gotta split." With that she quickened her pace. Before turning the corner she heard someone call out about her presence at dinner. "Maybe!" she shouted back and then continued for the Entrance Hall.

When she jumped over the last three steps, the half-demon saw that Hagrid was already waiting by the door. Pushing the strap of her bag up on her shoulder, she walked over to him. "Sorry I'm a bit late, Hagrid. We had a small mishap in Transfiguration." she told him.

"It's all righ'." the half-giant said. He looked around the hall, which was mildly busy, and gestured Reina over to a secluded corner. Making sure no one was listening, he bent over closer to the girl. "Reina, would you mind doin' me a favor?" Hagrid said rather anxiously.

"Of course. What did you have in mind?"

"Why are we going to Care of Magical Creatures class?"

"Because Hagrid want us to see the newest creature he's showing his class. He also said something about helping out with the demonstration."

The Gryffindor trio was walking out to the grounds where the class was held. They saw the gathered fifth years and Hagrid standing at the front of the group. The half-giant waved them over with his large hand. "Listen up." he began. "I'm sure most of you know Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They'll be helpin' out. Now, today we'll meet a creature tha' most wizards find very dangerous. Before we see 'em, open your books to page seven hundred an' thirty-eight."

While the students turned to the designated page number, the trio caught sight of the topic of the chapter printed in fancy writing at the top. Hermione's gasp matched some of those from the fifth years. "Demons?" Ron said stunned. "Blimey, Hagrid! You can't be serious."

"Demons? You're saying that they exist?" said Harry. He had been taken by surprise before when he discovered that mythical beings such as dragons and unicorns did exist. But he would have never thought demons lived outside of stories of Hell.

"Yes, they do, Harry." Hermione confirmed. "However, they are not the devilish figures painted by most religions. The case was as such a thousand years ago, but evolution came into play. In the present time most demons appear in human form. Here, read for yourself."

Harry took the book and read the passage. Everything Hermione had said was written there; the origin, folklore, and the modern day perception. He went on to read more about these creatures.

Demons are able to blend in with muggles and wizards alike, but they do possess distinguished marks that separate them from the human race. Such attributes include abnormal hair and eye color, misshapen ears, sharp features, strange body art or birthmarks, powerful auras, and unnatural powers. Not only are they recognized by their appearances, but also by their behavior and/or personality. Demons have been said to be malevolent creatures that care only for themselves and others of their kind. Encounters with demons by humans usually end in injury or even death for the unlucky human.

As for the unnatural powers demons possess, they can be a number of different things. Control over the elements of the earth is a common ability. Others have been recorded to create material items from nothing. But no matter what they can do, these powers are considered very dangerous, especially if the demon in question is a high ranking one. Demonic powers are discussed in more detail later in the chapter.

"As you can see they are very dangerous." Hermione said disrupting Harry's concentration. He made a mental note to read the whole chapter on demons later.

"So they are against wizards?"

"And humans in general. Good thing they know to stay away from us." said Ron with confidence, but he was still unnerved about it.

"Not all of 'em are bad." Hagrid grumbled in the demons' defense. "Besides, the demons here ain't foreign to out world." he added.

Hermione still wasn't pleased. It was obvious that no matter what the gamekeeper said, she wouldn't be at ease with the situation. "Does Dumbledore know about this?"

"Yes, he does. Dumbledore agreed to it as long as they kept their identities a secret."

"Their identities?"

Hagrid suddenly realized he said a bit more than he should have. "I think it's time to bring 'em out." The half-giant trudged to the side to give the students a better view of the clearing behind him. "Come on out!" he shouted. Nothing happened. Looking around anxiously, the kids could see no one. Hagrid cleared his throat and yelled again. "I said, come on out!"

This time there was a reaction to Hagrid's call. A strange wind came out of nowhere, making everyone cover their faces from the dust that escaped the overlying snow. A tornado about half the size of a normal one stopped in front of the class and then broke apart. Standing in its place was a short young woman who looked relatively normal. Besides the pointed ears and tornado tattoo on her chest, she could pass as human.

Once the dust completely cleared, a black hole was visible in the ground next to the strange girl. When it stopped growing the darkness in it began to ripple. A few seconds later, someone emerged from the blackness. Before anyone could look this person over, a hovering ball of what astonishingly appeared to be water floated over. There was a splashing sound when the orb touched the ground and exploded. However, the water evaporated before it hit anyone or anything.

Unlike the first demon, the last two could not pull off the act of blending in. The second one to appear, rising up through a pitch-black pit, had long dark blue hair that was left down, covering her pointed ears. They were close enough for some of the people up front to see lavender eyes also. The third demon stuck out just as badly; amethyst hair framing her face, and purple eyes with a swirl to them.

Hagrid walked over to stand next to the three females. "This here's the creature tha' people fear. But these three are friends so there's nothin' to be scared of." he said heartily. "Let's see, this is…" He had to think for a moment about the names the demons had given him. "Hisui, Kurenai, and Satsuki." he announced starting with the purple haired girl and going down the line.

As Hagrid and the demons were talking to the fifth years, Harry leaned closer to his friends. "Is it just me or do those girls look familiar?" he said. Ron and Hermione glanced at the subjects for the class lesson.

"I'd say it's just you, mate." Ron said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"But don't those two look like…"

"Oh, come off it, Harry. I thought you were done being suspicious of Kiku and Kaze. You said yourself that Reina sounded truthful when you talked to her. It's impossible that those demons are them." Hermione saw Ron looking at her, which made her anger swell up again. She had only agreed to come because Hagrid asked them all. If he hadn't then she'd still be avoiding Ron. Without another word she walked away from the boys and over to the class.

Ron and Harry also joined the group, each taking a different demon to help. Mostly they were supervising and in a few cases, trying to convince the younger students to approach the demons. To Harry's surprise, the unusual females acted differently from the description in the book. These demons were careful when showing something to the students or even doing harmless things to them. By the end of class most everyone was reluctant to go.

"We'll come back to visit." The blue-haired demon said kindly.

The short one next to her smacked a boy's hand away from her ear. "Not if they keep poking and prodding me I won't."

"All righ', class dismissed." Hagrid called out. The fifth years collected their stuff and started off for the castle. Hermione said a few more things to the demons and then she, too, went back to the building. "Thanks fer helpin' out."

"I'm glad we could help." said Harry. After one more suspicious glance at the supposed "dangerous" beasts, he and Ron began their walk to the castle.

It was the day before Christmas break, and unfortunately the day of Slughorn's party. The Great Hall was decorated with several towering trees, candles floating in the air, and mostly filled with Christmas joy. There were no classes so everyone could pack up their things and prepare to leave.

"Are you staying here, Kaze?" Hermione asked. She and the wind demon were seated a few feet down the table from Harry and Ron. Occasionally one of the boys would glance over at them, but there was no further contact.

"I don't really have a choice." Kaze replied, taking a bite of the sandwich she'd chosen for lunch.

Hermione put her drink down and looked at the girl across from her. "What do you mean? I thought your home was in the same town as Reina's. And she told me it wasn't far away."

"It's not, but if I go back then I'll be bored out of my mind. I live alone." She added the last part when she noticed Hermione's curious gaze. "Long story short, I am an orphan and got tired of the town I was born in. So I left." The explanation through a mouthful of ham and cheese cured the young witch's curiosity, although she could have done without the view of chewed food.

Down the table, the boys were also discussing their plans for the holidays, and some other things. "You could've picked anyone and you choose Looney Lovegood." Ron grumbled with disapproval.

"I asked her before I realized what I was doing. And don't call her that." Harry returned defensively.

"Don't call who what?"

The two boys turned quickly to see the girls who had been missing all morning. Reina sat next to Harry without thinking. When Kiku remained standing, her mistake became clear. Quickly getting up, the half-demon stepped up onto the bench and jumped over the tabletop to the other side. Landing on the floor, Reina spun and sat back down beside Ron, who was staring at her as if she were crazy. Kiku then filled the empty spot on the bench in front of her.

"What was the point of that?" Harry asked although he had his suspicions of the reason. Just then, a shadow was cast over Reina from behind. The half-demon didn't bother to look behind her, sensing who it was, like everyone else.

"Krone! If I see you do that again you will face a Saturday in detention with me." came the hissing sound of Snape's voice.

The people closest to the conniving professor looked from him to the young woman, whose back was still facing her accuser. Some, like Kiku and Kaze, were concealing chuckles behind their hands while enjoying their friend's humiliation.

"Am I understood?" Snape asked grimly when Reina did not react to his initial statement. But again he got no immediate reply. He opened his mouth to address the rebellious teen a third and final time.

"Yes, sir. I understand you perfectly." The confirmation of understanding had cut the snipe professor off. With a smug look directed at the back of Reina's head, and then a curious one at the lone Slytherin, Snape turned on his toes and walked away, his pitch-black robe swaying with the man's movements.

"Don't you just love that man." Kiku's voice rang with cheerful sarcasm, but Ron either didn't know that or wasn't paying enough attention to notice.

"Are you bloody kidding me?"

"Yes, Ron, she is." Reina sighed and then allowed her head to fall forward onto her overlapping arms.

A few seconds later, a dinner roll flew through the air a short distance, its trip coming to an expected end when bounced off the half-demon's head. Reina slowly raised her head and glared at the unaffected culprit. "Head off the table." said Kaze, positioning to finish off her sandwich. "It's bad manners."

"Lighten up, Rei. Put Snape out of your mind and focus on what we've planned for tonight." Kiku said reassuringly, a grin playing at the corners of her mouth.

That seemed to brighten Reina's mood considerably. "Huh? What are you doing tonight?" asked Hermione, speaking up for the first time since Kiku and Reina got there. "Are you going to Slughorn's party?" Ron cleared his throat at the mention of the party, but Hermione ignored him.

"Invited, but not going." was the water demon's answer.

"What about you, Reina?"

"Unfortunately, I also received an invitation thanks to our talkative Professor Mikers. But I don't do parties, resulting in my absence tonight."

"Slughorn is just going to keep bothering you about it." Kaze bluntly stated. "And no teacher of mine it going to blab." She smiled triumphantly and earned a few glares. Harry then repeated Hermione's question, two matching evil grins being his answer. "That would mean nothing good for the people around them." said the short blonde before getting up and leaving the Great Hall.

Later that night, the meaning of Kaze's last words at lunch became all too clear to the Gryffindor trio. Harry had just finished getting ready for Slughorn's party when he exited the boys' dormitory. He found Ron in a corner with one Lavender Brown, so he instead went over to a relaxed Kaze, who was sitting in a chair with Fireball curled up in her lap.

"Have you seen Hermione?" he asked.

"She already left." Kaze answered without looking at him. She seemed to be distracted by something. Curious as to what she was looking at, Harry followed the girl's line of vision across the room. What he saw was nowhere near what he expected.

Mugs of butter beer and pumpkin juice were being levitated above the heads of a group of older boys including Seamus, Neville, and Dean. In a blink of an eye, the mugs were severed in half by an invisible force, the contents spilling over the shrieking boys. A few feet away, some remaining drinks suddenly caught fire scaring the first and second years around the table. Then all the sources of light in the common room were extinguished. Screams erupted form every corner, some not even sounding human. When the lights returned a minute later, all the furniture had been rearranged, small birds were fluttering around the room, and a third of the people there were drenched in water. Ron and Lavender just happened to be two of those people.

"What the hell is going on!" Ron stormed over to Harry and Kaze, his red hair plastered to his face.

Kaze softly scratched behind Fireball's ears, making the cat purr in pleasure. "Now you have seen first hand the damage sugar can cause. Maybe you'll think twice before prompting Reina and Kiku with candy." she said accusingly.

"Reina? She's behind all of this?"

With an uncaring look on her face, the wind demon lazily pointed to the balcony she now faced since her chair had been turned. The boys whipped their heads around to view the higher level. Ron swore under his breath because he saw nothing. However, Harry's quick eyes had caught the tip of an ebony wand. Ignoring the argument that was beginning to brew between the two people next to him, Harry walked away and dashed up the stairs.

Coming around the corner, the Boy-Who-Lived saw his friend sitting cross-legged on the floor with a small brown paper bag at her side. "Hey, Harry!" the girl chirped when Harry crouched in front of her.

"Hey, Reina." said Harry. "What are you doing up here?"

The half-demon looked up at him with a sweet and innocent smile. "Having fun, of course." That was obvious, and possibly an understatement depending on how one looked at the situation.

Harry leaned forward a bit on his toes in order to see inside the bag. It was filled halfway with nothing but assorted candies. Reina picked up the paper bag and offered it to Harry. "Want some?"

"No, thanks." replied Harry with a smile. "I need to be going. Have fun destroying the common room." He stood up and walked over to the stairs. Looking back at Reina, he saw the girl standing with her wand pointed over the crowd.

"Engor-oh!"

Reina's wand fell from her hand and clattered on the balcony's ledge. Staggering back from the edge, Reina's knees gave out and she fell to the floor. "Reina!" Harry quickly moved over to the girl. She was now on her knees, one hand on the floor supporting her weight and the other grasping her chest. Her breathing was fast and her eyes were squeezed shut against the pain.

Once again, Harry wasn't sure what to do. The struggle in Reina's face appeared even worse than the first time. "Hang on. I'm getting help." Harry almost bolted away, but Reina's sudden and strong grip on his wrist practically pulled the arm out of its socket.

"No," she gasped. Slowly, Reina began breathing normally again. She sat back and leaned against the wall under a window. When she was sure Harry wasn't going anywhere, the half-demon broke her hold on him. "Help isn't needed."

"Help isn't needed? Reina, what just happened wasn't normal." Harry said desperately. He knew something was terribly wrong. But why was Reina denying help?

"I am not normal." Reina flatly stated. She looked the boy square in the eye. Determined to keep this incident a secret, she took Harry's hand in both of hers. "Please, Harry. Keep this to yourself. I'll take care of the problem if you don't say anything about it."

"But,"

"Trust me, Harry. Please."

Harry was having a hard time with this. Despite his suspicions earlier that term, he now considered Reina a friend. And he wanted to help her, but he didn't know how to do that. His gut was telling him to tell someone, and yet Reina's desperation couldn't be ignored.

"Fine." Harry sighed. "But you better take care of yourself."

The half-demon gave him a sincere smile. "Thank you. Now, you better get going. Your date is probably wondering where you are." Without arguing, Harry left the girl to her bag of sugarcoated chaos.

"Sukue!"

Pansy's shrill voice echoed throughout the Slytherin common room. Her patience, as well as the patience of many other Slytherins, was wearing dangerously thin. For the past hour or so, Kiku had been wreaking havoc on her housemates for an unknown reason. Now, the water demon was sitting in an armchair, enjoying her work with a maniacal grin. Curled up in her lap was Hashi, the curious arctic fox pup.

"How may I help you, Parkinson?"

"Cut the sarcasm, Sukue." hissed Pansy. The girl's eyes narrowed and her cheeks were a light pink. "What is wrong with you?"

Kiku cocked her head slightly. "Oh, whatever do you mean?" After saying this, she had to refrain from laughing. It was so easy to imagine steam coming out of Pansy's ears at that moment.

"Argh!"

The rather annoying priss stormed off, completely unaware of the drawing on the back of her shirt. Kiku laughed out loud as the gold doodle of a stick figure vomiting with an arrow pointing up at Pansy's head danced out of sight. Even Hashi lifted his head and wrinkled his nose.

"Kiku!"

The low growl of her name stopped the joyous laughter. After a disgruntled sigh, Kiku glanced to the right where the one and only Draco Malfoy was watching. "Yes?" The chair turned ninety degrees so it now faced the Slytherin boy. Kiku stopped petting Hashi, leaned back against the black cushion, and put her fingertips together.

Draco said nothing for a few moments, but just studied Kiku's demeanor. By the smirk playing on her lips and the mixture of deception and delight in her eyes, it was clear she was on something. "What are you doing?" he asked crossing his arms. At that time, Crabbe and Goyle came forth to stand behind their leader.

The smirk became more defined after Draco's question. "Well, let me think." Kiku's eyes rolled up to the ceiling, fingers in position to count off the many deeds of the devious water demon. "I have silenced a few people who were getting on my nerves, vanished some needed items of my housemates, made Zambini's ass as big as his ego, locked the lavatories' doors, and instigated a couple of harmless bird attacks."

There was an awkward silence from the boy and his lackeys when Kiku had finished. But the demon didn't think her actions tonight deserved this long a silence. She's done much worse in the past when she got a sugar rush. "Are you going to say something or just stand there and gawk at me all night?" Kiku said to end the damned silence.

"Not bad, Sukue. Although, you should be careful about who your little pranks are aimed at." was Draco's smooth reply, which was not what Kiku was expecting. She stared dumbly at him until the true meaning of his statement became clear.

"And by that you mean not to prank you?" she said standing up. Draco's bleach blonde head tilted forward slightly, the movement being a hidden "yes" in Kiku's mind. "Tell me, Draco. What would happen if I did do something that made you the primary target?"

"Heh, you wouldn't dare." the Malfoy heir answered with a chuckle.

"Wouldn't I?"

By now some of the students in the common room had stopped to see what was going on. In no time there were clusters of kids at safe distances around the group.

"Draco, let me give you a piece of advice." Kiku took a step forward. "It is much easier to piss me off when I am hyper. And you are so close to reaching the end of my shortened fuse. So move out of my way." Kiku's charm seemed to work on Crabbe and Goyle for they wearily shuffled away a few feet. However, Draco didn't move. Instead of causing a scene, the water demon walked past him, Hashi right on her heels.

"That little bitch needs to learn her place."

Draco turned with his wand out, but had no chance to take another breath, let alone say a spell. He stumbled backwards from the force of Kiku's punch, his eyes beginning to sting from the tears. Quickly he regained his composure and looked over to Kiku, a sudden reminder of Hermione's punch flashing through his mind.

"I warned you." Kiku smirked.

Crabbe and Goyle charged at the girl when they got over the initial shock. With skill and grace, Kiku maneuvered out of the way so that the two guys collided with each other before falling to the floor. It was obvious that they were of no help anymore, if they were even any help to begin with. Draco straightened up and went to grab Kiku from behind. But the inevitable happened when you're fighting a demon in hand-to-hand combat...you lose.

A door across the room flew open, hitting the wall behind it. As it rebounded back, a pale hand stopped it abruptly. "What is going on out here!" Snape yelled over the crowd of students. Knowing the altercation was now over, the people who did not participate in fist throwing scattered. When Snape reached the small group left, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were back on their feet. "Explain."

"Malfoy tried to hex me, sir. I did not have my wand out so I reacted the only other way I could." The girl nodded towards Draco's bloody nose.

Before Draco could say a word to defend himself, Snape scolded him for his intentions. After that the professor gave a warning glare to them all and then departed the common room. Draco also left quite hastily.

Kiku watched from a corner as the boy crossed the room and exited Slytherin territory. A suspicious feeling pulled at her gut. "Hashi," The fox pup raised his ears at his name. "Follow him. And I'll have a plate of meat ready when you return." With the promise of a good meal, Hashi bolted after Malfoy.