Shadow's Truth

Harry Potter and the Shadow's Truth

By Leanne

Chapter Two

He moved swiftly through the streets of London and slunk against a walk at the sound of voices. No one was stupid enough to wander the streets since the Shadow came. Muggles and Wizards alike took to hiding, and no one but those that searched through the dead walked the deserted streets. He, on the other hand, was on his way to St. Mungo's on an urgent call. The small house elf had disappeared a few hours ago, and left him to find his own way through the rubble.

Severus heard a man shout, "she did what?"

"Isaac heard her talking to Henderson. She's sent for her father. He'll probably be here by now." He knew the owner of the second voice. Terence Higgs, a Slytherin student the same age as his daughter.

"We don't need his help! I told her only to have him send the needed ingredients to make the potions."

"Since when has she ever done anything she was told?" Severus interjected, joining their conversation.

"Professor...when did you arrive?" Jonathan tried to sound polite and hide his aggravation.

"Where is my daughter?"

Jonathan blinked, then turned to walk towards St. Mungo's. He had never really liked Professor Severus Snape. They had been right to believe him evil; after all, it was in their fifth year at Hogwarts that they had found out that the Head of Slytherin house was a Death Eater and working for the Dark Lord. Lenna had fought against the rumours, but refused to say why she had believed him to be innocent. The Ravenclaw trio had avoided the Potions Master like the plague through their years at Hogwarts, having typically run into some form of trouble with the man.

Pushing open the door to the Hospital, Jonathan weaved his way through the beds and over to the staircase leading downstairs. He said nothing as he pulled open the latch and walked down the stairs. He could hear a patient scream, and hoped that it was not Sarah. Cringing he took Severus into the dark room.

"Isn't much, but its home," Jonathan stated as he walked over to Sarah's bed.

"Jonathan if you're finished talking to yourself, mind making yourself useful?" Lenna said.

"What's wrong?" Jonathan questioned, knowing that Severus' eyes had yet to get used to the darkness.

"Isaac's convulsing again. Third time this morning...it is morning right?"

"Yes," Severus replied simply, and walked towards the noise of the child.

"Father? Oh thank Merlin you're here!" She smiled inwardly and turned her attention back to the boy. "I ran out of half my potions over night, and, as you can see, this is no condition to grow herbs in. I hope you brought what I asked for?"

"Henderson made it sound urgent. Obviously the creature was right!" He grumbled under his breath when he stumbled against one of the empty beds. "How do you see down here?" he cursed.

"You don't." Jonathan half laughed.

"Jonathan! Help my father or so help me, I'll leave the lot of you to fend for yourselves!" Lenna hated using threats but knew that if she was going to get any results between Jonathan and her father she had no choice.

With a swish and flick of the wrist, a light bluish grey light flew across the room and hit Severus in the back. He had not been expecting the charm, nor would he have been able to dodge it in the blackness.

"It's a night vision charm father. We'll take it off you when you leave to return to Hogwarts," Lenna replied simply and felt her father walk up beside her. "He's stopped for now. This last stage is a bugger, the most painful and heart breaking of the bunch."

She had been fighting back tears since she had been woken from her semi-peaceful sleep by the screams of the eight year old boy. Her heart went out to each and every patient she had lost over the months since they had come to the basement. No one would know if she cried for the loss of another innocent child, no one would care if she took the time to mourn just one more lost soul. Three years of death and everyone else grew cold and hard towards the dead, while she forced her self to feel the pain and suffering of each of her dying patients. She was the one that sat up late into the night and listened to their fears, to their aspirations, to their dreams; she was the one that sat up long into the twilight and soothed their cries. Her heart went out to each and every person she came across, and she silently wept for their pain.

"You've been dealing with the Toxins for three years Lenna, you'd think you'd be used to it by now," Jonathan stated, oblivious to Lenna's caring nature towards those who were sick.

"Unlike you, Mr. McCoy, I happen to have a heart!" Lenna grumbled and threw a pillow at the man. "Now, I want you to take Sarah for a walk. She's the least sick in the room, and she could do with some exercise. Take her upstairs; let her see the sun again."

"She's sleeping."

"Fine, leave her and I'll get you later. Just get out of my hair!"

Laughing, Jonathan left the room, his heavy footsteps being heard on the staircase and floor above them.

"Don't you people use light around here?" Severus snarled and lit a candle to hear the soft cry of someone in the corner.

Lenna blew out the candle and motioned for Severus to join her in her room. It was one thing to wish for light and heat, but it was another to get it. Over the years, they had learned that the light and heat had brought the shadow, but also learned that those suffering with the toxins illness couldn't stand the light and that in advanced the disease quicker.

"Obviously you've never had to deal with the Shadow or the Toxins before." Lenna sighed and took a seat around her table. "Take a seat father."

Severus looked at his daughter, suddenly wishing for a little light in the room. He could hear the weariness in her voice and was concerned that it showed on her young face. "There have only been a few cases of the toxins at the school, but they are shipped off to one of the camps."

"Of course they are. No one at Hogwarts wants to have bodies shipped off in the middle of night to be incinerated. Let me explain a thing or two about the shadow and the toxin. We've gathered more knowledge about the Shadow than half the camps set up to help those suffering. We've searched for the truth, and still we haven't found it." She paused. "The Shadow comes when there is heat present, or when there is bright light. We remove it from our daily lives. We freeze but we survive. We long for light, but we use none. Those upstairs are healthy, those down here are dying. I am the only medi-witch for a few kilometres."

"And you do what?" Severus snapped.

"Father, this is not the time to harass me on my job. I do what I can to ease their suffering before they die. There isn't anything I can do to cure the toxin. It eats away at your immune system, and then moves to your organs. If the convulsions don't kill you then the disease will destroy your heart or brain." She released a heavy sigh, and looked down at the table.

"When was the last time you were outside?"

She laughed at his questioned, finding a sick sense of humour. "That's the funniest thing I've heard all week." Her expression turned serious as she looked up at her father. "I've been cooped up down here in this dungeon for three years. I haven't seen the light of day or felt the warmth of the sun."

"It's high time you left this cell of yours and breathed some fresh air." He half ordered her, as he took her small wrist in his hand. "You're not eating are you?"

"I...I don't have time to worry about myself. I worry about those dying. We don't have all the food in the world to survive off of. We make do with what we have."

"You are going outside to get some fresh air, and then you are going to eat a meal or two. If I have to force the food down your throat myself, I will!" Severus snarled, and half dragged her out of the room.

"I can't leave them!" Lenna yelled at her father, and fought against him. "Ouch!" she cursed, as she felt a small pop of a muscle or ligament in her arm. "That's just bloody lovely. Why don't you just give me more damn work to do! Thank you oh so very much!"

"If you'd stop fighting you wouldn't have got hurt, now would you?" Severus said dryly as they walked up the stairs and into the main room of St. Mungo's.

Lenna's shielded her eyes against the bright light and turned away from the gasps. She hated people gawking at her, and she definitely was beginning to hate the sun. As much as she wanted to see the outdoors again, it was going to kill her to be outside. The sun and her eyes would not get along anymore. Three years in a dungeon would turn a woman into a hermit, and have her never wanting to leave there again, especially knowing the damage that outside world had suffered.

"What are you doing?" Terence exclaimed, walking over to Lenna.

"Taking her outside that's what!"

"She can't!" two people shouted at the same time.

"They'll die without her," An elderly woman stated softly.

"They'll die anyway," Severus growled, and pulled Lenna along.

"She's agreed to stay down there and keep an eye on all those we bring in. If she leaves then she's condemning them to suffer further," Terence stated calmly. He knew that fighting with his old Professor wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"They'll be fine for a little while. Henderson will take care of them." Lenna winced at the pain in her arm, then forced herself to look up at Terence. "Besides, I won't do them any good if I'm dead, now will I?"

Blinking back the tears that had come to her eyes, she rubbed gently at the irritation she felt. Breaking her promise was one thing, but looking at the popped muscle, bulging from her thin arm, was another. She had neglected her health for too long, and had allowed magic to keep her up and running while exhaustion played at the back of her mind. Now that her father had come to give her the ingredients she needed, she knew one of two things was going to happen: she was going to be forced to return to Hogwarts with her father, or she was going to be given strict orders and followed by one of his house elves. It had not been the first time he had put her under a form of house arrest, and it probably wouldn't be the last. As grumpy as he was, he did look out for her well being, and if he couldn't, then he made sure that someone was there to do it for him.

Giving in to the forces that worked against her, she pulled out her wand, healed her arm, and began walking towards the door. It wouldn't hurt her pride if she walked out of the house herself, but it would have if her father had dragged her kicking and screaming through the streets of London.

Her head spun as she opened the door, and she stumbled backwards at the sheer site of what had once been home. She had finished school and bought a flat down the road from St. Mungo's. It was easier to walk in the sunlight than to apparate and find yourself longing for the site of the outdoors. Now the world she had known had become a desolate ruin of pain. Suddenly she understood why it was that many of those who had come to visit the sick were angry and cold.

"I think I'll take my self made prison over this any day," She whispered, and watched Jonathan walking up towards the hospital.

He looked at her and thought the worst. She never left the basement.

"Lenna?"

"Sarah is alright." Her hand moved slowly from her side to rest on her head, the other reaching out to grab a hold of the door frame.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jonathan questioned, reaching out his hand to steady her.

"Potion..."

"Which one?" Severus questioned, standing behind Lenna.

"Endurance," she replied simply, closely her eyes, her hands falling down around her sides.

Severus caught her as she fell backwards, her head lolling to one side. He had used the potion himself a number of times while he was in school and while he was raising his toddler daughter. The effects had always made him wonder why people took them. He had never used them as extensively as Lenna had, but he certainly knew she had over exerted herself fighting against him.

"She needs a place to sleep quietly for several hours. Preferably in the sun," Severus stated, carrying her over to one of the empty beds.

He grumbled about nothing in particular as he placed her down on the bed. They would most definitely be having a discussion when she woke up and had something to eat. Why she had allowed herself to get like this was beyond his wildest imagination, she wasn't a stupid girl, yet she had not thought this through. She had gained an Exceeding Exception in his NEWTS level classes, yet she had obviously ignored the side effects of an endurance potion.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what's wrong with Lenna." Jonathan wished he had not opened his mouth as soon as he questioned Severus.

"Of course you wouldn't. You were never decent at making a potion," Severus chided. "An Endurance Potion, allows the drinking to gain a second wind. The side effects are not dangerous to any witch or wizard, as long as they aren't used extensively. The drinker could use the potion as a way of remaining near their patients. If one is not eating properly, the potion will eat away at their fat cells and wear them away until there is nothing left."

"She's starving herself," Jonathan assumed.

"Aren't we a bright one!" Severus snarled, and called for Henderson. "I want you to find Dobby and Winky. They should still be at Hogwarts. I want you to bring them here for Lenna."

"Henderson is worried about Mistress Lenna. Henderson will find Dobby and Winky, if it will help Mistress Lenna get better," the house elf chattered on as it apparated away.

Severus stood up and walked towards the staircase leading down into the dungeons. No one questioned him as he moved through the room. Most people had heard rumours of a traitor who had helped Harry Potter defeat the Dark Lord. The Daily Prophet had reported how a number of Death Eaters were brought to justice with the help of Ex-Death Eater Severus Snape. It had quickly become common knowledge that the Potions Master of Hogwarts had been spying on the Dark Lord for years prior to his first defeat and returned to the position as spy after his resurrection.

Slipping down the stairs, Severus watched as his eyes adjusted to the darkness quicker than when he had first arrived. The spell had been a blessing, but he knew little of the effects the spell would have later. He made a mental note to speak to Lenna about itat a later date. Right now, he had to check on his daughter's patients to make sure they were still living and did not need any further assistance.

He went to the young girl of sixteen, hiding in the corner, first. She had a fever and a chill. After helping her back into bed, he put a slight warming spell on the bed and then a cold compress on her forehead. Madam Pomfrey would have been a better choice for taking care of such trivial aliments, but they didn't have time to get the Hogwarts medi-witch there. Making due with what he had, he moved to the young boy, and found him sedated in a magical sleep. That was one less problem he wouldn't have to deal with.

Stumbling with his footing in the dark room, he came upon the bed of his daughter's best friend. He had wondered how they had come to such a situation. How the three of them had come to St. Mungo's, hiding away in a basement. After the three had left the school, they had taken to doing their own thing, Lenna working for St. Mungo's, Jonathan working for the Magical Reversal Squad and Sarah working for the Daily Prophet. He had known the three kept in touch with one another, but the letters from his daughter had been few and far between, until they just stopped. He had not worried about her, knowing that if something had happened, the house elf he had given her would return to him.

"Lenna?" the girl whispered in a hoarse voice.

"She's resting."

"Professor Snape?" There was a lingering question hidden behind her anxiety. "Is...is...she...." She coughed on the thought and looked away from her old Potions Professor.

"No," he replied simply. Better to get in and out before they grow attached, he thought.

He heard her sigh in relief. Checking her temperature, Severus placed another cold compress on her and handed her a potion to bring down the fever. He had not been there more than a few minutes, taking care of the three patients Lenna had left, but he already knew what she was going through. They were demanding of her attention, and he knew his daughter better than anyone else. He knew she would not give up until they were all healthy again, or unless all had passed on. He knew that once she started something, she would see it through until the end, whatever the end might be. Severus had never truly understood how it was his daughter had grown into the compassionate young woman she had. He knew her mother far better than she did, and he knew the woman was vindictive and cunning. He had sheltered Lenna from the woman that she might have called mother, and kept her from the truth of her existence. It was one thing to know that your parents had no feelings for one another, but another to know that you were never supposed to exist. His daughter, the child of a one-night stand, had become a beautiful young woman.

"Master Severus, sir?" Henderson whispered his question, not wanting to disturb his Mistress' father.

"What is it Henderson?"

"Mistress Lenna, sir, she is fighting against her sleep. She is talking in her sleep. Henderson thought that Master would like to know."

Nodding, Severus turned away from the bed and began walked up the stairs. He found a group of four children huddled in the corner furthest from where Lenna and Jonathan were. The adults stood near the doorway, muttering to themselves, watching as the young medi-witch thrashed in her sleep. Many had seen this as a part of the toxins effects and began to worry that their only healer was dying.

"What's going on?" Jonathan questioned upon seeing Severus.

"Her will to help those that are sick is refusing to allow her to sleep. She'll fight against the exhaustion until it kills her," Severus explained as he looked at Dobby and Winky. "You two will go down into the basement and care for the three patients that are sleeping. If they wake come and find me." He turned his attention to Henderson. "I want you to warm some water and bring it here. Then bring me my bag."

"Yes Master," Henderson squeaked and disappeared.

"Will she be alright?"

Scowling at the young man, Severus stood up and walked over to the shuttered window. Opening it, he allowed a beam of sunlight into the room. The times that had come after the defeat of the Dark Lord were far worse than he had ever seen before. There were no words to explain what was becoming of a desolate land. He had no idea what was going on outside the British Isles; for all he knew, this shadow had taken to devastating the whole world. They needed an answer to the pains of the present, but there was no one to turn to in times of great darkness. They had once turned to Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of all time, but he, like many others, fell to the power of the Dark Lord.

Severus had once believed that the answer would be in books, but to no avail, the answer evaded him. He had turned to those that were older and wiser than him, but even they had no answer to give. Working for the Dark side for so many years had not aided him in his attempts to find the answers to the questions that plagued their minds. He had even so much as gone to speak to known Death Eaters in Azkaban Prison to see if just one of them had an answer that was different than the last.

Her eyes shot open, and she looked at him with fear. She said nothing, only panted holding her chest. Blinking several times, she tried to move from the bed but found herself unable to.

"Let me go!" she hissed. "I have to get out of here...we have to go!"