Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long to update. I will try not to make you wait that long again. I'm also sorry that this chpt is a bit short, but it's an important one. So enjoy and review, and have a happy holiday!

Review Responses:

Kaname- Thanx and I will try to update faster now that I got more people yelling at me to update.

HellHathNoFuryLikeMine- Kuro really likes ur name.Hehehe. Yes, Kaze and I love tormenting Ron. And I'm sorry the last chpt scared you. Hopefully this one won't since it's now meant to.

Blackflame180- You never know what will slip out.

Truth Lies in the Shadows

Chapter 18

"Father!"

Reina jumped at the man she almost attacked just seconds before. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the man embraced her tightly. "Oh, Father, I missed you so much," the half-demon said refusing to relinquish her hold on the man.

"I missed you, too, Reina." Darikk loosened his grip and pulled back from his daughter. "It seems you've made some drastic changes since the last time I saw you," he stated moving a lock of brunette hair out of the girl's face.

"Oh," gasped Reina. She had forgotten about the concealing spell that was still in place. Quickly she took out her wand and stepped back. "Absconditus fateor," In the blink of an eye she was back to her natural appearance.

"Now there's the Reina I know."

While this little family reunion was happening, the other three people in the room watched on in interest. Harry especially was drawn to the scene. He recognized the man as a slightly older version of the one from Reina's photo album. This demon was his cousin's father. After another minute of joyous reuniting of father and daughter, the two demons focused their attention on the humans around them. Without warning, Reina scurried over to Harry, grabbed his arm, and pulled him over to Darikk.

"Dad, this is Harry," the half-demon said pushing the boy in front of her father.

Harry did nothing but stand there motionless, unsure of what to do. It wasn't like this was just another person he was being introduced to. The man standing before him was his uncle whom he didn't know existed until recently. Not knowing how else to go about it, Harry held out his right hand.

"Harry Potter," he stated.

Darikk looked at the extended hand and then took it in his own. "Darikk Krone. It's a pleasure to see you again after so many years." He paused as his eyes took in the young wizard's appearance. "You've grown into a fine young man, Harry, a spitting image of James."

"Thank you."

Darikk and Harry let their hands fall back to their sides. The half-demon stood beaming next to them. This was great; she had her family together and nothing could go wrong. Or so she thought.

"Reina," The half-demon looked up into her father's face. "I have someone that I'd like you to meet." Darikk looked over his shoulder and a black misty hole appeared in the back wall. A few seconds later, a woman emerged from the darkness. She paused long enough for the portal to close, and then she glided over with light footsteps.

"Hello, Reina," the woman said with a sweet smile.

The half-demon examined the woman with narrowed eyes in confusion. She was a few inches taller than Reina, and undoubtedly attractive, which suddenly scared the half-demon. Darikk's voice rang through her ears ripping Reina from her thoughts.

"Sweetheart, this is Aleera. She has been traveling with me for the past four months," Darikk explained smiling.

That smile expressed on the male demon's face was rather disturbing in Reina's perspective. What made it worse was Reina recognized the goofy smile her father wore, the one that love-struck teenage boys used. She glanced from Darikk to the woman and back, unsure how to react to this. Initially she was shocked, but it wasn't long before the anger settled in. Since last summer Darikk had been gone, refusing to tell his own daughter where he was going. And now he shows up with some woman he says has been traveling with him and never bothered to mention her in any of his letters.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Reina. Darikk has told me all about you," said Aleera sweetly. She tilted her head to the side and a wave of shimmering black hair fell around her face.

Reina remained silent while the other shadow demons waited for her to say something. It was during this awkward silence when the half-demon realized that Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Harry were no longer in the room. The only other creature left was Fawkes who continued to watch the demons closely. 'They must have snuck out while we were talking.' Reina thought before focusing back on her father.

"What are you doing here?" she said to Darikk, completely ignoring Aleera.

"Well, the Headmaster informed me of the problems you've been having. He suggested I come here and give my opinion on what it might be."

"So you're not back for good?" Seeing Darikk shake his head, Reina turned away from him. She wasn't going to let him leave again without knowing where he's going. "Does Dumbledore know where you've been?" There was no answer. She turned back around sharply causing her hair to fly out and fall over her shoulder. "Does he?"

This time Darikk couldn't ignore her, nor could he hide the truth from her. "Yes, he knows," he stated. Reina's eyes narrowed slightly and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Last year there were rumors going around in our clan that a few demons had deserted their kind and joined forces with Voldemort. With everything that has been happening it was doubtful that they were just rumors. Voldemort is not only a threat to wizards and muggles, but also a danger to all other creatures in the area. Upon learning this I was instantly concerned about your safety. I decided to find out what else was going on among other demon clans. It is a dangerous journey so I left you here at Hogwarts because I knew it was the safest place. I told Dumbledore so he could make some use of my findings."

Darikk's seemingly good explanation did nothing to calm the girl. "Why couldn't you have told me that to begin with? Maybe I wouldn't have been so worried about you had I known where you were." Reina said making no effort to hide her frustration. She was about to say what she was thinking, but bit her lip as she remembered the argument she and Darikk had before he left.

"Reina, your father was only trying to protect you," stated Aleera. Her expression was one of concern, but Reina swore that it was a cover-up for some smile of enjoyment from her pain. There was something strange about this woman. And the way she said the half-demon's name made her feel sick.

After throwing the woman a rather dirty look, Reina gazed at her father. "Why didn't you tell me?" she repeated.

"Because I didn't want you to worry." Darikk took a few steps toward his daughter. "I'm sorry for not telling you, Reina. That was poor judgment on my part. I now see that keeping it a secret only succeeded in worrying you even more. Now, do you forgive me?" He put his hands on the half-demon's shoulders. "Please."

Reina's anger backed off a bit at her father's gentle expression. Her heart was telling her to forgive him, but her brain began pointing out something else Darikk had kept from her. Unfortunately her heart was fighting a losing battle. "What about her?" She tilted her head towards Aleera, keeping her arms crossed so she could have something to grip or anger control.

"Her name is Aleera." Darikk corrected. "We met in one of the villages I visited in the fall. There was an attraction instantly, one that I couldn't refuse." To emphasize his point the shadow demon backed up to Aleera and took her hand in his, kissing the soft skin gently.

This show of affection brought forth a sick sensation in Reina's stomach, which only aided the oncoming headache in making the girl ill. But sick or not, she wasn't going to let Darikk off the hook so easily. "And it just happened to slip your mind every time you cared to write?"

Darikk let go of the woman's hand and once again stopped close to his daughter. "This was something I wanted to talk about in person. I couldn't explain it all in just a simple letter." Even though his words were truthful, Darikk still looked into the face of an angry half-demon. He could understand why she was upset, but he thought Reina would be easier to speak to and convince that everything would turn out okay. And yet it was obvious his assumptions were off. Not only was Reina taking it harder than he originally thought, but Darikk sensed something wrong with the girl's aura.

"Reina, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay." Reina hissed through clenched teeth. "How can I be okay after knowing my father has been lying to me? How can I be fine when he brings back some woman to replace my mother? Tell me how anyone can be okay with that!"

After the raise in Reina's voice, Fawkes cooed to draw attention away form the argument. The half-demon swiftly turned to the phoenix. Its eyes caught hers in an intense stare, calming rays being exchanged. Reina relaxed her muscles momentarily and walked over to the perch. "I'm sorry, Fawkes," she whispered as she stroked the beautiful creature, being reminded of Mayoke as she did so. From behind she could hear the footsteps of her father.

"Aleera is not trying to replace your mother." Darikk's tone had grown heavy with guilt and anger. "I would appreciate it if you would show her the respect she deserves. Once you get to know her I'm sure you will enjoy Aleera's presence." When Reina still refused to look at him, the shadow demon grabbed her shoulder. "Let's discuss this over dinner."

Reina spun and smacked his hand away. "No, I am going to share a meal with my friends, people I can trust." With one last glare at Darikk, she pushed past him and walked out of the room. By now her head was throbbing allowing only the thought of escaping to come through clearly. That single thought powered her actions as she descended the stairs two at a time, passed her teachers and cousin, and continued without stopping.

Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Harry watched as Reina stormed by paying no attention to them. Instantly worried about his cousin, Harry called out her name, but got no reply. Seconds later Darikk emerged from behind the statue, stopping when he reached the Headmaster and teacher.

"This is going to be harder than I originally thought," he stated to no one in particular. Once his daughter was out of sight, the shadow demon turned to the people next to him. "I apologize for causing such trouble, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Oh, it's no trouble. Reina's reaction is expected with everything she's been through. Just give her some time to sort this all out." The Headmaster smiled gently before quietly walking back to his office, passing Aleera on his way.

"Where did Reina go?" asked Aleera as she came over to stand next to Darikk. When he told her the girl had run off she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. "She'll come around. Maybe I should talk to her," she said with a smile that seemed out of place.

Returning the comforting hug, Darikk relinquished a sigh. "No, that would be the worst thing to do." The smile on Aleera's face suddenly disappeared as if she was disappointed that she couldn't talk to the half-demon.

Harry noticed this and thought it odd. He felt a bit uncomfortable standing there with the two demons. McGonagall had left with Dumbledore, so he was now in the presence of strangers. Averting his eyes from the couple, Harry looked off down the long corridor in which his cousin had vanished.

"Uh, Mr.Krone,"

The male shadow demon pushed the woman away and looked at the young man. "Please, Harry, call me Darikk."

"Yes, Darikk. Do you mind if I talk to Reina? I'm not sure how exactly, but I think I can help." Harry said.

"Of course. If the two of you have indeed become as close as Dumbledore said them you might be the only person who could make an impact on her." With the desired permission granted, Harry took off in search of Reina.

An hour of searching through the castle had worn Harry out. He'd checked every place imaginable inside Hogwarts. Kaze and Kiku told him everything they knew about the half-demon's hiding places, but the search still turned up empty. After another half hour of wandering outside around the grounds, Harry resorted to visiting Hagrid.

"Sorry, but I haven' seen 'er. Have ya tried the pitch?" said the half-giant.

"The Quidditch pitch?"

"Yeah, Reina told me tha' she sometimes goes there to wander abou' the stands."

Having this new piece of information, Harry left the small cottage and walked to the Quidditch pitch. A quick scan of the field turned up nothing. The wizard then searched the stands, but was still unable to spot anything in the moonlight.

"Where could she be?"

It was then that an idea popped into Harry's head. Reina was a shadow demon meaning she was attracted to the dark. Where at the pitch could the moonlight have difficulty reaching? Anxious to find the girl, he ran down the stairs to the ground, lifted up the clothe over the sides, and ducked behind it. He carefully climbed over and under the many wooden beams, continuing the action until he saw the form of a girl sitting on one of the low beams. As he approached, Harry distinctly heard sniffling.

"What are you doing out here this late, Harry?" came Reina's choked voice.

The Boy-Who-Lived swung his right leg over the beam, followed by his left, and sat down next to half-demon.

"Checking up on you." Harry replied calmly. Reina refused to look at him, even after she wiped her face off with her sleeve. This was the first time Harry had seen his cousin cry, and it pained him as she did.

In reality it had only been two months since Harry first found out who Reina was. But in that short time they had learned so much about each other and become so close. His heart wouldn't let him betray her now when she truly needed him.

"Reina, I'm sure your father didn't mean to hurt you. He loves you."

"He sure as hell isn't acting like it," the half-demon snapped. "All my life I've had no reason to doubt him. He's always been there protecting me as much as he can from the hard life I was subjected to. He is the one person that has never treated me differently for what I am. And now look at what's happened. He's lying to his daughter, bringing back some strange woman, and acting like nothing's wrong!"

Harry went quiet after his cousin's expression. He watched as Reina sighed and hid her face in her hands. When she lifted her head again, she turned to Harry. "I'm sorry, Harry. I shouldn't have yelled. It's just…it's…" Reina covered her mouth, muffling the sob that followed. The tears were falling freely and she hid her face again.

"Reina," Harry moved closer to the half-demon and held her in a comforting embrace. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Reina's sobs came to a slow stop. "Everything is going to turn out fine," said the wizard as his cousin pulled away.

Wiping away the tear trails, Reina nodded to him. "Thank you. Again I'm sorry for bringing you into this, Harry." She used her sleeve to dry her eyes, laughing as she did so. "Oh, I'm pathetic. You'd think I would have learned to control my emotions better than this."

"You have every right to be upset. But look at it this way. At least you know your father is happy and being taken care of. Aleera seems really nice." Harry said with a smile.

"Yeah," The half-demon paused. "I guess I was just thinking of my mother. If she were alive none of this would be happening. I'm not trying to keep Dad from finding love again, but I was sort of hoping that I knew the person in advance. Is it really wrong of me not to want to keep my father away from that pain again?"

The young wizard returned his arm to his side. "I understand, but these things happen. It's not your fault Marina died."

"Maybe not but the ones responsible might still come back to punish my father once more."

"What?"

Reina looked up into the boy's confused face. She then remembered that he didn't know, almost no one did. "Harry," she said. "There's something else I haven't told you yet. My mother didn't die during childbirth. She…she was killed." Her lavender eyes strayed away from their emerald cousins. "Almost everyone in our village hated my parents, mainly my mother. A few demons were so full of hatred that they killed my mother. They tried to kill me also, but Mom was able to place a protection spell around me before she died."

As Harry listened to these words he was reminded of his own mother. She had sacrificed herself for him, protected him from harm. Marina had done the same for Reina. The two of them had even more in common now.

"Come on, let's go. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." Harry offered, not wishing top dwell on such a painful subject. His cousin happily agreed and they stood to leave. But as Harry turned to leave, he was called back by a painstaking scream. "Reina!"

The half-demon was doubled over clutching her side. Another scream forced its way pass her lips. "Reina! Hang in there!" Harry's words never reached her ears as the pain proved too much and Reina slipped into unconsciousness.