Sorry for the long wait for an update. My priorities have been a bit scattered lately. Hopefully you can forgive me. Btw, Kaze is currently unavailable to help with the A/N so I have someone else to help for this chapter.

Nobunaga: Hello peoples! I'm Nobunaga! I think you'll find this chapter really interesting, I sure did! Thanks for making it so entertaining, Kuro.

Kuro: I try. Now, I noticed in my reviews that some of you were frustrated with the little cliffy I left in at the end of chpt 14. This chpt is not a cliffy so you don't have to worry. But that doesn't mean their won't be more in the future. evil grin

Nobunaga: Oh and thanks for ending the torturous cliffhanger of the last chapter! If you hadn't who knows whether I'd be here to help with the author's note? You readers should heed her warning, I have a feeling that when Kuro is feeling particularly sadistic, she'll toss in several more cliffhangers... trembles nervously

Kuro: Yep. Ok, I own nothing but the OCs and their pets. Hope you enjoy and please review.

Nobunaga: Yes, everything she says is true. Reviews are welcomed and she owns nothing but her OCs.

Review Responses:

Ficrocks- Lol, I know cliffies are torture for the readers. But they're a lot fo fun for the author. Like I said this chpt isn't a cliffy so now violence or threats neccessary.

C K Brook- Thanks, glad you like it. I'll try to find more time to write so I can update sooner.

Black Roses of Death- Sorry, about that, Serenity. Heh, but hey, now you can see what Harry says.

Amatoya- Yes, Hashi does kick ass. He's our favorite little fox pup of the HP world.

Truth Lies in the Shadows

Chapter 15

The door to the attic opened, creaking with every inch it moved. Reina walked into the small room serving as Ron and Harry's bedroom for the time being. Harry closed the door after he entered and then turned back to the girl. She had her back to him, instead looking out the small circular window on the opposite wall.

"Reina," Harry said softly.

Harry's voice drew the half-demon out of her thoughts. She moved her head to glance back at the boy then spun the rest of her body around. Keeping her arms folded over her belly in an attempt to calm the jumpiness, Reina took a deep breath.

"Please sit down."

"Thank you."

Both teenagers sat down on a separate bed facing each other. They sat in silence for several minutes, neither of them knowing how to start a conversation. After a few more minutes of the unnerving lack of sound, Harry decided to speak first.

"How have you been?" he asked.

"Not bad. And yourself?"

"I'm alright."

"That's good to hear."

Harry leaned forward on his arms and gave Reina a questioning look. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? You haven't had anymore…" He stopped mid-sentence because he was unable to find a word to describe whatever had been coming over Reina.

The half-demon gave him a small smile. "I took care of it like I promised." She said. The awkward silence returned, but didn't last as long this time. "Harry, I know this is going to sound weird, but just bear with me." She waited for the boy to give her some kind of sign to continue; he nodded. "Okay, do you know all of your parents' siblings?"

Her statement about this being weird was something Harry agreed with after hearing the question. "Yes," he answered. "My mother's sister and brother-in-law are who I've stayed with all my life. And my father was an only child."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." Once he said this Harry realized that no one had actually told him specifically that James was the only Potter child. 'But if he had a sibling, why wasn't I left with them instead of the Dursleys? If there was another magical relative of mine left alive, surely Dumbledore would have put me in their care. Wouldn't he?' These thoughts suddenly began to unnerve Harry. He looked back to Reina who was still waiting for him as though he had more to say. "Well, no one has ever told me any different."

"How would you feel if your father did have a brother or sister?" Reina said eagerly. For some reason unknown to her, she was starting to get excited about telling him. 'Maybe he'll like to know that I'm his cousin. Dumbledore said Harry would and he knows him well enough.'

The young wizard went quiet. How would he feel if he had someone from his father's side? He had never really thought about it since he always believed James to be an only child. Of course he'd wished there was someone else after living with the Dursleys all his life. After putting up with those people, who wouldn't want to escape. But was there another reason besides his current home life that would leave Harry wishing he had family to love him and for him to love?

"I guess," he began. "That I would be grateful to have a piece of my dad's life living during my own time. Knowing that if something ever happens to me, the Potter bloodline could still live on really makes me believe that my parents will always live on through their descendants."

Such an unexpected answer like the one Harry just gave left Reina in a state of shock. She was looking for a simple one or two emotion answer, not one so complex and depressing as this. "Harry, nothing is going to happen to you."

"Maybe so, but I can't rely on that with what's going on." Harry said sternly.

"Let's not talk about that." The half-demon didn't want to think about the war. There may not be a way to escape Voldemort's intimidation over the world, but that didn't mean they had to stop enjoying life because of it.

"Then what are we talking about?" the boy questioned curiously. "Where is this going?"

Reina let out the breath she was unaware that she was holding. 'It's now or never.' She could feel her grip in the concealing spell loosening because of her scrambled thoughts. Out of instinct her hand went to her pocket where the vial of potion was that Madam Pomfrey gave her. Reina pulled her hand away. There was no sense in wasting a potion when she had to remove the spell soon anyway. Instead she opened the schoolbag she'd brought with her and pulled out a photo album.

Harry watched as the half-demon flipped through the pages of the album. When the off-white pages stopped turning, Reina spun the book around so that it faced the wizard. "Look at this." she commanded as she handed the book to him. Looking down at the photos, Harry recognized the man in them as his father when he was young. Next to James was a woman at least two or three years younger. Harry looked back up at Reina suspiciously.

"Why do you have a picture of my dad?"

"I know the woman next to him."

With a quick glance at the photo, Harry asked, "Who is she?"

"James's little sister." Reina said softly.

Dropping his eyes fully back to the photo, Harry watched in silence as the two people moved around the background. James was holding a book up high in one hand and holding back the woman with his other. After a few seconds of being toyed with, the woman used her bigger book to hit James in the stomach knocking the wind out of him. Once she regained her belonging, she smiled at the camera as James grumbled something behind her while clutching his gut.

"They do act like brother and sister." Harry admitted. He set his gaze back on Reina. "How come I've never heard of her? No one who knew my parents has ever mentioned my father's sister."

"When James and Marina were still at Hogwarts, something that Marina did upset their parents to the point that they disowned her. After that she ran away and only kept in touch with James resulting in people's ignorance of her existence."

In a matter of just a few minutes, Harry's mind was full of questions and unsure of which to ask next. During his confused state his emerald eyes had dropped to the photo once again, but he could still see Reina in his sight. When his brain caught up with his vision, he no longer looked upon the half-demon but at the woman called Marina. However, there wasn't much difference between the two. Their facial features resembled each other a lot. Suddenly there was one question in particular that pushed its way to the front of Harry's mind.

"How do you know her?" the young man said sternly with suspicion evident in his voice.

Unlike the last set of questions, Reina didn't answer this one right away. She thought she'd conquered her nerves on the stairs, but apparently not. Pulling her left leg up onto the bed, she tucked it under her thigh. She kept her eyes on Harry as she opened her mouth. "She was my mother."

Harry's lips parted in awe at Reina's words. 'Her mother? How is that possible? She told me before that her mother was dead. But if it's true that would explain why Dumbledore didn't leave me with her. And yet Reina lives with her father so I could still have stayed with them, unless Marina's lover didn't want me.'

"Your mother?" he voiced after the initial shock.

"Yes."

"My aunt is your mother. That makes you my…" Harry trailed off as he realized just how much this knowledge affected him.

"Cousin." Reina finished for him. "I am your cousin. And it gets worse."

Harry raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Worse? How is us being cousins bad?"

"I-It's not! I just thought that you…well…" Reina dropped her head with a sigh. "I'm not sure it will be easy for you to accept me as your cousin once you learn what I am."

Before Harry could question the girl's train of thought, she reached out to the photo album and turned the page. When she pulled her hand back, Harry saw a picture of Marina a few years older and a man that wasn't James. This man stood with Marina wrapped in his embrace, both wearing smiles containing a small does of the powerful love they have for each other. However, this only held Harry's attention for a mere second. Stealing his focus was the man's appearance; pointed ears in plain sight and a strange symbol on his forehead.

"A demon!"

Harry nearly dropped the album at what he saw. He quickly fumbled with the thick book to keep it from hitting the floor. A he did so, Reina reached out to catch it, which she did when Harry failed to keep it up. "Careful!" she said sitting back with the album in her arms. "This thing is old."

"What is a demon doing with your mother?" Harry asked dumbly as if it weren't obvious.

"His name is Darikk and he's my mother's husband." Stated Reina after she closed the photo album and placed it on the bed. "In other words, he's my father."

The famous teen furrowed his brow. "How can that happen between a human and a demon?" he asked, his mind floating in a cloud of confusion. He could accept the fact that he had an aunt and that Reina was his cousin. However, Harry wasn't sure how he felt with a demon as an uncle. The demons he met in Care of Magical Creatures didn't seem dangerous and deadly like rumors portray them. But they were friends of Hagrid, the one person who remarkably makes the most dangerous things seem harmless.

"Believe it or not, humans and demons are very similar. Both can be in human form and both are capable of speaking the human tongue. Because of the similarities it is easy for the two species to mate." Reina explained. She couldn't read what Harry was feeling by the look on his face, but it wasn't from lack of trying.

When Harry remained quiet, Reina relaxed her muscles and let the concealment spell fade away. She kept her eyes closed, but she could still hear Harry's reaction, which he made no attempt to keep quiet. The sudden gasp and a loud thud convinced the girl to open her eyes. All she could see was her cousin's feet sticking up in the air on the far side of the bed.

"Harry!" Reina pushed off the bed she'd been sitting on and rushed around the furniture. "Are you okay?" She knelt down next to the boy toppled over on his back. As she held out her hand to help him, Harry scrambled to his feet and backed away.

"It's you!" Harry's voice echoed off the bare walls of the attic. "The one from Hagrid's class!"

"Harry, please keep your voice down. I don't want to scare anyone." The half-demon pleaded.

"You don't want to scare anyone? I'm pretty sure you've passed that right up." Harry snapped.

Reina cringed at the stabbing tone. He was angry it seemed, but was it true anger or was he just covering up some other feeling. "You're right and I'm sorry. But I couldn't think of any easier way to show you."

Unsure of how to take this, Harry stared at the creature he once thought was human. He bravely took a step forward and asked, "What are you?"

"I'm a half-demon; half human, half demon." was Reina's simple reply. Mixed in with the visible anger on Harry's face was confusion. "I know this is hard to understand and even harder to accept, but you have to believe me. I have no intention of hurting you or anyone else. I'm still the same Reina you met at the beginning of term."

A loud knock on the attic door made both teenagers jump. Following the noise was the sound of Mrs.Weasley's voice. "Harry, dear. Are you all right? We heard a loud ruckus coming from up here."

After a moment of contemplation for Harry and fear for Reina, the boy looked over his shoulder. "I'm fine." he called out. Looking back to Reina, he noticed that she had relaxed a bit after he answered Mrs.Weasley.

"Okay then." the Weasley mother said from outside the door. The two teenagers inside heard Mrs.Weasley start down the stairs, but then her steps retreated back up. "Oh, by the way, a young woman is here to see Reina. She says her name is Kaze." After adding this last piece of information, she went downstairs again.

Harry and Reina avoided looking at each other for the next awkward minute, neither moving nor saying anything. Unable to stand the sick feeling developing in the pit of her stomach, the half-demon turned and walked over to Ron's bed. She put the photo album back into her bag, which she then slung over her shoulder. As she stood up straight again, the she removed a small vial from her pocket and gulped down its contents, her scrunched up face giving the sign of a disgusting aftertaste.

"What is that?" Harry asked suspiciously, arms crossed over his chest.

Reina faced him with a firm look that Harry couldn't read into. He felt those lavender eyes fixed on him and he had to struggle to keep the shiver at bay that threatened to run down his spine.

"A potion that hides my demonic traits. Normally I would use a concealment spell, but I've been reacting unusually to it lately."

"You mean your lapses?"

"It could have something to do with that, but we're not sure." As Reina was saying this, Harry watched as her appearance began to change back to that of a human. Once the transformation was complete, the half-demon approached the tense young man. "I shouldn't keep Kaze waiting. She's not one for being very patient."

Harry nodded and stepped aside to allow the girl to pass him. Reina walked out of the room and downstairs, Harry following from a safe distance. The two entered the kitchen where Mr. and Mrs.Weasley, Bill, Fleur, and Lupin were sitting. "There you two are. Behaving yourselves, were you?" Bill teased. The others, with the exception of Lupin, laughed a bit at this incentive, but Harry and Reina saw no amusement in Bill's joke. "What's wrong?" the eldest Weasley child said when the teens remained somber.

"Nothing." replied Harry.

The half-demon glanced over to her cousin for a mere second, and then addressed the adults. "Thank you so much for allowing me to join you her in your home, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. You are very kind." She retrieved her cloak from the coat rack and put it on. "It was really nice meeting all of you."

As she opened the door to leave, Lupin stood up from his seat at the table. "I'll accompany you out." he said. Reina stopped and looked back at the man. Understanding his intentions, she nodded. Before he went over to the half-demon, Lupin came up behind Harry. "Don't go anywhere." he whispered and then left with Reina.

The two inhuman creatures walked along the path leading from the house. Immediately they found the Weasley children and Kaze having a snowball fight in the yard. Reina waited for Lupin to speak instead of calling for the wind demon.

"How did it go?" the werewolf questioned, although he could pretty much tell the answer by the melancholy face the young woman wore.

"It could have been better." was the expected and given reply.

"Don't fret over it. I'll talk to Harry and surely Dumbledore will, too." He put a comforting hand on Reina's shoulder.

With a sad smile, the half-demon said, "Thank you. And that reminds me." She opened her bag and removed a small parcel, which she handed to Lupin. "Please give this to Harry, and this." The second thing she gave to him was an envelope addressed to Harry in handwriting that Lupin recognized as Dumbledore's.

"Of course."

"Thank you."

Reina turned while putting her gloved on and walked away. As she reached the other teens, goodbyes were said and the two demons started off. But they only got a few feet down the path before Kaze stopped suddenly.

"What are you doing?" Reina asked.

Kaze didn't answer, but instead turned back to where the others were about to go inside. An evil grin graced her lips and she raised her head up high. "See you later, moron." she said telepathically. A few seconds later both the girls heard a clear scream undeniably belonging to Ron. Letting out a triumphant "Ha!", Kaze continued down the dirt path with Reina at her side.

-----

When Lupin entered the house, Harry was waiting for him in the living room. He walked in and sat down in one of the cushioned armchairs, ignoring the bewildered look on Harry's face. Leaning forward he placed the parcel and the letter on the wooden coffee table. "Those are for you." he said.

"What are they?" asked Harry as he moved to the table.

"Why don't you look and find out."

Harry was unsure how to interpret Lupin's tone, which was flat and slightly cold. However, he did as the man said and picked up the two items. He glanced back to Lupin before sitting in a nearby chair. The letter he assumed was from Dumbledore because of the recognizable handwriting. Harry folded the envelope over and stuck it in his pants' pocket deciding to read it later. He then took a closer look at the small parcel. The paper taped to it read To Harry From Reina. A sour look found its way onto the boy's face.

From the adjacent seat, Lupin watched Harry's reaction closely. "Aren't you going to open it?" he asked when no movement was made to undo the neat wrapping.

"Maybe later." Harry placed the gift back on the table.

"Harry, I am disappointed in you." Lupin said, successfully catching the boy's attention and a quizzical look. "I've never known you to discriminate against a person just because of their background. Reina is a nice young woman and does not deserve the treatment you are giving her."

"You don't understand."

"Yes, I do." Lupin cut him off sternly. "You may not know the history that wizards and demons share so let me give a short outline. The two sides as a whole hate each other. Demons aren't welcome amongst humans, muggle or not, and vice versa. So imagine what would become of someone who is neither human or demon but a mixture of both species. They are welcome by no one for a reason that they have absolutely no control over."

As he listened to his elder, Harry suddenly felt a pang of guilt in his stomach, which only grew worse from Lupin's words. However, he still possessed his anger that was battling to overcome the guilt. "But she lied to me. Why wasn't I told of this sooner?"

"Reina didn't want to lie to you, but it was the only way she could gain your trust and keep from being discovered." Lupin explained. "That girl has been through hell her entire life. Coming to Hogwarts gave her the opportunity to start anew without anyone knowing who she was. Telling you her secret at the beginning wouldn't have guaranteed the keeping of it."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but snapped it shut at the look Lupin was giving him. "I'm sorry, Remus. I am still trying to sort everything out."

"I understand that, but don't blame it on someone who was only trying to protect you. Now, I should be going. Merry Christmas, Harry." Lupin stood up and walked out of the room, clasping Harry on the back as he passed.

"Merry Christmas."

Later that night, Harry lie awake in his bed wishing his eyelids would remain closed. After everything that happened earlier in the day, he just couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts were swimming around his head. Ron, on the other hand, was sleeping perfectly fine despite having been told by Harry about Reina. Although, he was a bit shaky before Harry said anything. Ron claimed that it was because he heard Kaze when she was nowhere near.

Eventually Harry grew bored of counting the crack in the wood of the ceiling. He sat up, leaned over the side of the bed, and retrieved the envelope from his discarded blue jeans. Pulling up on the wax seal, Harry removed the letter tucked inside.

Dear Harry,

By the time you read this you will already know Reina's secret. I'd imagine that you are upset and confused. When you return to school I will be available to answer any questions you might have. I highly recommend you come to my office to talk. Enjoy what's left of the holiday break.

Albus Dumbledore

Harry fell back against the wall with a sigh. Dumbledore's recommendation to speak with him was actually an order, which Harry knew. This whole thing was becoming incredibly stressful and it hasn't even been twenty-four hours. In just one day Harry got a deceased aunt, a demon uncle, and a half-demon cousin. What else could happen to make his life even harder?

He glanced over to the bedside table after putting the letter back into the envelope. The package from Reina rest on top of the wood surface next to his glasses. Grabbing his glasses and putting them on, Harry tore off the red wrapping paper around the parcel. For a moment he held the small box in his hand, and then he opened it carefully. Inside resting on a soft, velvet base was shiny golden plaque with the letters HP printed in bold. Harry was initially unsure what it was, but then he remembered seeing similar plaques on the handles of broomsticks. A small smile crept onto his face as he closed the box again. He then noticed the piece of parchment taped onto the lid.

Harry,

I hope this is a suitable gift for a grand Quidditch player.

Reina