Chapter Fourteen: Truth

"What?" Hope roared, not understanding. "Explain!"

"The Dark Lord had found a spell that allowed him to remove a part of his DNA, place it in a dangerous and very complex potion, and grow child," Valentina admitted. "He told me that if he failed then I was to groom his child to fill in his shoes and finish the job. But after the Battle of Hogwarts, I vowed to raise his child to be good and loving. I hid myself away in the countryside and waited for the baby to finish growing. Since it was an unnatural birth, the process took nine years."

"That was me," Hope gaped. Valentina began to cry again.

"I tried so hard to make you different but you look just like him. I tried to teach you good. I figured if I could keep you away from the world then you would keep your innocence but I was wrong," Valentina sobbed.

"You always say that I'm just like him," Hope muttered, stunned. Her brain couldn't handle this. Her mind seemed to be rejecting the facts that were all laid out in front of her.

"In some ways, yes, you are. But in others, you are truly yourself," Valentina assured her.

"You named me Hope because you hoped I wouldn't be like him," Hope continued.

"I still have those hopes," Valentina insisted. "I love you so much."

"You're not my mother," Hope finished. Valentina flinched, as if the thought deeply pained her.

"No, I'm not. But I've watched you grow for years. I've loved you since the very beginning. You're my child," Valentina cried out as she reached for her daughter. But Hope pulled away.

"I…I need a minute," she muttered and ran outside.

The cold air stung her skin and froze her tears. It was all true. Every bit of it. She was Voldemort's daughter. No one else's. She was 100% Dark Lord. She had nothing to offset those genetics. It was a miracle she hadn't turned to darkness yet. What was stopping her?

Hope reached under her dress and pulled out her two necklaces. One, a silver chain with a silver snake. The other, a leather cord wrapped around a pale piece of green stained wood. A fragment from her father's wand. Something he had wanted her to have. A reminder to finish what he had started.

Hope's entire life was a lie. She couldn't even begin to think again. Kneeling in the snow, she cried and sobbed. All those years when she'd been forced to live alone with no one but her mother. She was being protected, hidden. For whose safety, hers or the worlds, she didn't know.

She now knew that ignorance was bliss. She shouldn't have been so curious. Her mother was wise. Why hadn't Hope listened to her and let the subject lay? Even though she had suspected this, the certainty that this was fact nearly crushed her. She was the only child of Voldemort.

Hope's powerful magic became clear. Of course the daughter of Voldemort would have amazing abilities. She just hoped they would never be used for the purposes of her father wanted them to be used for.

Numb, Hope returned to her room. Valentina, her no longer mother, was looked into her own room, crying to her pillow. Hope locked her own door and wrote a letter to Rose, explaining how she wouldn't be able to attend her party due to personal issues. She couldn't tell her the truth. She may never be able to. Would her friends even look at her the same way once they knew she wasn't even completely real? She had been born out of a cauldron. She was unnatural, a freak. She shouldn't exist.

Doubts and fears swelled inside her heart as she lay on her bed, staring up at the water-damaged ceiling, contemplating her new identity. What would happen now?

Hope's eyes widened as she realized yet another thing. Voldemort had been a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. And if he was then so was she because she was just like him. That explained why Albany called her 'little snake' and wanted her dead. Because she was the descendant of her old lover, her greatest enemy.

Nauseous swelled in Hope's stomach and she groaned, turning over onto her side. Would she be able to return to Hogwarts with this knowledge? Now knowing who she was and what she could do, would she ever be able to face her friends? What if she killed someone, now that she knew she could? The temptation to unlock her father's abilities would always be there, never going away. Would she be able to resist it? Who would she be now that she knew her past?

"Is everyone here?" Hermione asked Rose who was standing on the front step, waiting for all the guests. Inside the house, the Christmas party was in full swing. Everyone was oohing over Cho Chang's ultrasounds and jealously staring at the diamond on Padma Patil's finger. Lorcan and Lysander, Luna's sons, were trying to sneak gingerbread men, but Percy's daughter, Molly, kept shooing them away.

"Not yet. SS isn't here," Rose admitted and tried to hid her disappointment. "And Hope can't come. She's got something else to do."

"Well, I'm sure the party will still be fun," Hermione assured her daughter, stroking the frizzy locks she had given her. "Hannah brought her pound cake. I know how much you like that."

"Thanks," Rose mumbled and craned her neck, searching for her friend. She knew that SS's family party was fancy and uptight, which didn't suit him at all. Rose was hoping to share her world with him, showing just how great her family was.

"Is he still not here?" Al sighed as he walked out of the door. His robes were a lovely green to match his eyes, with red ribbon around the collar and cuffs. The black badger pin with yellow diamonds that Hope had gotten him last year held them together.

"No," Rose replied, shaking her head miserably.

"Maybe he got sick," Hermione suggested and turned back to the party when she heard a loud crash. "Do try and not wait for too long? It's very cold outside and everyone will want to see you."

"Yes mother," Rose muttered and slumped against the doorframe.

"You know, maybe his parents didn't want to bring him. This is a party for the old members of Dumbledore's Army, after all," Al offered. Rose clenched her jaw for a moment before she sighed and nodded.

"I guess you're right," she admitted and turned back to the party. Suddenly, a bright light began to glow at the base of the hill and SS and his mother, Astoria, appeared. Together, the climbed up the hill.

"I hope we are not too late. I couldn't decide if I should bring cookies or pie," Astoria giggled as she approached Rose and Al. She was a regal woman with brown hair that was piled into a bun with pale skin that shone with makeup. She wore a long plain green skirt with a black poncho and black heels. Pearls sparkled in her earlobes and around her neck. Her hands carried a silver tray containing a pecan pie surrounded by sugar cookies. Apparently she had decided that more was merrier.

"Hey," SS greeted his friends, his gray eyes pinned to the snow covered ground. He tried not to think about the real reason they were so late. The fight that had erupted between him and his father, his mother trying to calm him, his father yelling at her, hating that she would defy him. The hushed conversation they had in their bedroom as SS listened through the key hole. The rushed preparation for the party. SS had decided to wear the red robes he had gotten for his family's party last year. The lion pin sparkled from the recent polishing his mother had given it. Every hair was in place, heavy under the many products his mother had piled into it. During their departure, his father had left the house. He was going to visit his parents.

"I'm so glad you could come," Rose told him with a smile. Al embraced his friend and shook Astoria's hand. She regarded the little Hufflepuff with narrowed eyes, trying to discern if her son should be hanging around him.

"Thanks," SS muttered and looked up. What he saw nearly took his breath away. Rose was in a shimmering green dress with gold lace around the hem of her skirt, on the neckline, and the waist. The dress was strapless and sparkly. Her red hair was pulled back into a thick braid with a golden braided headband sparkling in her hair. A light sheen of makeup brought her out her natural beauty and made people understand why her name was Rose. "Uh, wow Rose. You...you look amazing."

"Oh, thanks SS," Rose giggled lightly, her cheeks pink.

"Come on in!" Al cried out and dragged his friend inside. Astoria regarded the guests with a sharp eye and tried to fade into the background.

"Diner time!" Fleur called out from the kitchen. Everyone herded into the tiny area. Due to the amount of people, the magically enhanced table stretched from the entryway to the living room.

"Oh, Cho's husband makes best roast," Al told his friend as they sat at the section of the table where all the kids sat.

"Hey, SS, nice to see you here. Did you bring us all presents?" Roxy laughed when she spotted her Quidditch teammate. Louis patted his shoulder and Freddy offered a wave. They were becoming quite close.

"Of course I did," SS replied and pulled out tiny wrapped gifts. A startled gasp erupted from Roxy while the rest of the table burst out into laughter. Al's cousins reached forward and took the tiny gifts, eagerly unwrapping them.

"Cool!" Lily and Hugo cried out as they held their bundle of fireworks from Weasley Wizard Wheezes.

"Thanks man," Louis laughed, clutching a vial of love potion. Ever since SS had overheard Louis talking about how hot Emily Ashley was, he made fun of him every time he saw Louis.

"You didn't have to do that," Al assured his friend. SS just shrugged as he spooned some carrots onto his plate.

"I know. But Mother always says that the best way to get on someone's good side is by buying them things," SS replied in a whisper so the rest of the table didn't hear. "And I like buying people things. I have too much money."

Diner was a low key affair, with much laughter and caroling as the men got a little loopy with the eggnog. The kids soon broke off to hang out with each other. Rose dragged her two friends up to her room. The room had pale gray walls with a plush white carpet. Rose's loft bed was made of redwood and had blue messy blankets covering the mattress. A bookshelf dominated the wall underneath the bed. Her rocking chair had been pushed into a corner to make room for Lily's cot and trunk. Victore's makeup collection was sprawled across Rose's vanity that was also redwood. Dominque's dirty clothes littered the floor and Roxy's broom rested in a corner. Rose seated herself on a beanbag that was placed in the middle of the room. Al and SS grabbed some plush pillows from her bed and lounged on them.

"Are we going to do our gift exchange now?" SS wondered. Al nodded and pulled out his wrapped packages. He handed the blue one to Rose and the red one to SS. SS tore into the gift with relish but Rose took her time.

"Thanks!" Rose cried out when she saw the gift. It was a book entitled Interesting Spells and Charms for Practical Use. "I've wanted to read this for so long!"

"But I do think that I got the better gift," SS bragged and showed off his giant bag filled with homemade cauldron cakes. "Thanks bud!" Al turned red and became very interested in one of Roxy's socks.

"Well, here are mine," Rose declared and held out her books. Since she hadn't exchanged gifts with then last year, she wanted these gifts to be great.

Inside SS's package was a pair of chaser goggles. He giggled with delight and strapped them to his head. With his gray eyes bugging, his blond hair messed up, and his smile so wide, he looked hilarious. Al's gift was a cook book for beginners. Ever since he started visiting the Hogwarts kitchen, Al had developed an interest in backing.

"Thanks Rose," Al told her, smiling softly. SS nodded in agreement, bobbing like a bobble head.

"I guess that leaves me," SS said and held out his wrapped presents. Al and Rose both took their time in unwrapping the paper. "Would you two hurry up!"

"Sorry," Rose laughed and sped up her process. Inside the black box was pair of bronze earrings with sapphires. "These are beautiful."

"Yeah, thanks," Al added and pulled the yellow and black scarf he had received around his neck.

"Aw, don't mention it," SS replied, smiling. But soon the grin fell. "I wish Hope could be here."

"Somethings wrong," Rose sighed and slumped into her beanbag. "She didn't specify. She always gives us all the information. 'Personal reasons' is not a complete excuse."

"Do you think…?" Al whispered, not finishing his thought. But he didn't need to.

"No. Albany's busy elsewhere. I don't think it has something to do with her," Rose responded and Al breathed a sigh of relief. "All I know is she's going to have some explaining to do when we get back to school.

Al, Rose, and SS sat in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, waiting. The train was about to leave and Hope still wasn't there. Rose drummed her fingers on the wall while SS stared out the window. Al was pacing the compartment, nearly wearing a hole in the carpet.

"Do you think something's happened?" he asked Rose, his voice filled with worry.

"No," Rose replied, but she sounded unsure. SS suddenly jumped and waved frantically.

"I see her! She's here!" he cried out, relived. Hope was running across the platform with Valentina on her heels. Hope threw her trunk into the luggage car. Valentina hugged her one last time before she boarded the train. But something seemed wrong to SS. Hope was stiff. She didn't return the hug. Instead, she pulled away and climbed onto the train, not looking back once.

"Hope!" Al called out to her. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She walked over and sank into their compartment, sitting next to Rose, across from Al.

"Hi," Hope sighed and looked at her fiddling hands.

"How was your Christmas?" Al inquired, happy to have his friend back. But then he sensed something. Hope was distraught, her mind in turmoil. "Hope, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered and didn't meet Al's eyes. He pressed his lips together in a small frown before he brought out a tin of cookies he had made.

"Do you want a cookie? I made them myself," Al offered. Hope reached forward and took one, eating it slowly so she didn't have to talk. The train began to move, headed back to school.

"So, why couldn't you come to the party?" Rose asked her friend.

"I wasn't feeling well. Too many pieces of Mum's fudge, I guess. I do have your gifts, though," Hope explained and pulled out three shiny packages. She was dodging questions, lying. Hope wasn't ready to tell her friends the truth she had no idea how they would react.

"Thanks," SS exclaimed as pulled out the chaser gloves Hope had given him. They had a golden lion embroider on the palm, adding a personal touch.

"Yeah Hope, these are great," Al added and pulled on the yellow and black knit cap. His dark hair became ruffle and messy but Al just smiled.

"Thank you," Rose muttered as she pulled out a book on proper broom care. She knew what Hope was doing. She knew that something was wrong. But if Hope wouldn't talk then Rose couldn't do anything.