Shadow's Truth

Rolling over in the bed she pulled the covers up around her head. Lenna knew the sun had risen, yet she was still in bed when she really should have been up and in the Great Hall having breakfast. It was strange being back at Hogwarts, even more so since last night. The young medi-witch slowly opened her eyes and looked at the wall displaying the blown up chocolate frog card turned poster of Cliodna moving around a forest grove with her three birds. Lenna had aspired to be like the woman in the poster. Though Lenna was yet to find anything quite interesting enough to grant her to privilege of appearing on a chocolate frog card. That is until you find the cure to the toxin and help defeat the Shadow! Lenna thought to herself as she pulled herself out of bed.

Looking at the wardrobe Lenna released a sigh and set to work on finding something to wear. A soft smile played at her lips as she looked at her old school wardrobe. Her school uniform had been pressed and hung next to a pair of black trousers with a matching high-necked black, long sleeved shirt. Running her fingers over the Ravenclaw school robe, she half debated seeing if she could still actually fit into it. Instead, she pulled out the black trousers and laid them out on the bed, returning to the wardrobe to find a decent looking robe to go over them. Pulling out a simple black one, she moved to change while wondering how much longer breakfast would be served, or if she should just simply head to the kitchen.

Moving across the room Lenna pulled on her robe and walked out into the common room where she found an envelope with her name written on it pinned to the back of the door. Smirking, she picked up the letter.

Breakfast in the Great Hall. There is room at the Head Table.

It wasn't signed, but Lenna knew her father had written it. Even in his writing she could see the scowl on his face and the tone in which he would have spoken the message to her. She knew she had little choice in the matter, he would be waiting for her at the breakfast table, and he would make his students wait until she showed up.

Leaving her father's quarters the young woman made her way through the empty hallway, up a flight of stairs, and to the doors of the Great Hall without so much as hearing a sound from anyone; there was no shuffling of students rushing to get to breakfast before it was too late, no house rivalry fighting in the corridors, there wasn't even a ghost to bother her. In the day and a half she had been back at Hogwarts, she hadn't seen or heard from Peeves, or any of the other school ghosts for that matter. In all her years at the school she had never seen the corridors so quiet.

Stepping inside the Great Hall she watched as several heads looked up from their food to watch her. There was no idle chatter, no gossip, no flipping of the morning paper just simple eerie silence. She had almost wanted to pull one of the Weasley Twins pranks just to get a rise out of the children. As she walked through the Great Hall and closer to the Head Table, she took in the forlorn, pale faces. She saw the fear behind the eyes of the students and it reminded her of the time just before the defeat of Voldemort. How many of the children sitting in the vast room lost friends and family to the Shadow or to the Toxin? How many of them were hiding symptoms of the magical virus? She really didn't want the answer to those questions.

Taking a seat next to her father she looked around and found that the children had returned to eating. Something drastic had to be done; some one had to remind these children exactly what fun was. Someone had to show them a good time, to show them that even though there is danger outside the front door there was no need to forget to live. She may have witnessed her grandmother's torture, and seen her father near death in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, but she did have some great fun while attending one of the best Wizarding schools.

"This is sad," Lenna muttered and pushed the bowl in front of her away. "I can't believe this is the same school I attended."

"It's been like this since I came in this morning," Terence uttered, watching the students very closely. "It's almost like they're in a state of shock; or worse, walking zombies. And it's not even close to exam time!"

Lenna laughed and watched as several people turned to look at her. "Oops! This is worse than one of our NEWTs Level Potions class. No offence father, but this is too much. I can't believe an entire school is sitting here without so much as word being said. I'll need to owl Fred and George; someone needs to liven this place up again."

"When's the next Quidditch Game?" Terence asked Severus, who didn't look too pleased at the fact that two of his old students weren't eating.

"There hasn't been a game of Quidditch played in two years," Severus replied sternly.

"No bloody wonder this place has gone to..." Lenna stopped mid-sentence when she noticed the angry glare she was receiving. "Okay, okay. I mean honestly, how do you expect these children to survive without having a bit of fun? It kept us sane when Voldemort was around. Quidditch was the best thing to keep our minds off of the danger. You need to reinstate the game. Please, for the children's sake!"

"It's too dangerous," Severus said between a sip of coffee.

"Like bloody hell it is! How many times was Harry told it was too dangerous to play Quidditch? Did that stop him from playing? No. The only time it stopped him was when the Basilisk petrified Hermione and when Umbridge banned him from Quidditch. He played right up until he killed Voldemort. You have got to put some life back into these children, or they'll end up no better than you!" Lenna hissed pushing back from the table she went to walk away.

"Sit down!" Severus growled, and pulled his daughter back into the chair. "You are not leaving this room until you've had breakfast!" He heaped two large spoonfuls of porridge into her bowl and waited for her to eat.

"I'm not hungry!"

"You are going to eat, now!"

"I am not a child anymore. Stop treating me like one."

"When you start acting your age, I'll treat you like it!"

Growling, Lenna picked up her spoon, a smirk forming on her lips. She was going to liven this school up if it was the last thing she did. They couldn't exactly give her detention for causing problems. And if it showed the children how to have fun, she'd do it. At least just to see a smile on one child's face.

She ate half the bowl of porridge, then spooned out another bite flinging it off the spoon and down the Great Hall hitting a young Ravenclaw boy in the head. Of course, that was just the beginning. Soon the whole room was in a large mess of food, including one Severus Snape, who hadn't participated but was attempting to hand out detention to the whole school population. Lenna laughed hysterically at the sight the Great Hall was in, but was grateful to hear laughter coming from the students again.

"Not Fred and George Weasley, but it worked." Terence laughed as he and Lenna snuck out of the Great Hall to find Draco, Hermione, Ginny and a few others in the hallway. "Good morning."

"Food fight?" Ginny smiled.

"Which house caused it?" Hermione questioned. "You know the Slytherins will certainly say it was the Gryffindors and vice versa."

"Actually, you can blame Miss Snape here," Terence said, bowing before Lenna. "After all, it was priceless to see Snape's face at the sight of his daughter starting a food fight."

"I don't know why I didn't try it when I was a student. But then again, we did have Fred and George to contend with."

"That was the most childish thing I think I've seen from you." The group turned to face Severus, who was seething. "You are an adult, act like one."

"Excuse me, Mr. Sourpuss! You are the one person in this whole school that needs to lighten up. How long have you held grudges against a certain Potter, hmmm?" Lenna replied, still smiling even knowing she was in more than enough trouble.

"I would have expected more from you."

"Disappointed?"

"More than you know," Severus said calmly, walking away from them.

"Well, that wasn't exactly the way I'd have said goodbye to him," Hermione stated.

"He doesn't know we're leaving yet," Lenna muttered. "I need to go meet Jonathan, I need to talk to him about something. I'll meet you guys back here before we leave."

Lenna muttered a cleaning charm and left the school. She knew it wasn't the smartest idea starting a food fight the day she planned on leaving again, but she had to do something; at least she knew the students would be talking about it for some time.

The school grounds were blissfully quiet; the only sound was the wind rustling the ever-changing leaves. She could hear the giant squid splashing in the lake water and the birds and other forest creatures waking up. From where she was standing she could see a light on in Hagrid's hut and hear Fang barking. She passed a small garden of slowly dying plants and slipped into Green House three where she found Jonathan waiting for her.

He was studying one of the plants while she watched him. She had forgotten how much he had enjoyed Herbology. Saying nothing, Lenna sat on top of one of the worktables and waited patiently for Jonathan to turn and notice her. She didn't want to startle him, and simply just watched him. He reached for the watering can next to him and began watering a plant that she had never seen before. He moved around the leaves with careful expertise watering just below the lowest leaf, and then moved on to the next.

Turning, he noticed her sitting there with a pleasant smile on her face. He was glad to see she was happy for once; though the smile didn't reach her eyes. He knew her better than anyone else; she was his best friend. They had spent seven years together of sneaking around a dusty old castle, getting into trouble, copying homework, and curling up on couches waiting for the morning light to wake them. He no longer saw her as his best friend; she was family.

"Good morning, Jonathan," Lenna said calmly.

"Good morning, Lenna," he replied.

"I was worried you wouldn't get my message to meet me here." She smiled and hopped off the table. "How is Sarah?"

"Resting. Isaac asked about you this morning."

"I figured he would." Lenna turned her back on him, and released a heavy sigh. "Jonathan, I want you to stay at Hogwarts."

"What?" he questioned, his voice filled with shock.

"You've fought against the Shadow for several years. You know more than the Professors here. Someone needs to stay back and help them. I want you close to Sarah and Isaac," Lenna replied sadly. "She needs you here more than I'll need you where ever I'm going. Please understand that I'm thinking of both of you."

"I'll stay," Jonathan replied. He knew she was doing what she thought was best for everyone. "I'll take care of them until you come back."

"Thank you," Lenna said and turned to look at him. "I want you to work closely with father on finding a cure. I know you don't like him, but he's the best potions master. With your knowledge of the Shadow and the Toxins and his knowledge of potions, you'll come up with something to slow the toxins effect until we can return. I've written Draco to see if he has any suggestions on who else to include to work with you and father. They're waiting for us in the Great Hall."

Jonathan nodded and the two left the Green house for the Great Hall. They said nothing as they walked through the school grounds and into the school. Chatter filled the halls with students were gossiping about Professor Snape's daughter. He looked at his best friend who smiled meekly at him.

"There she is! I can't believe she stood up to him!" one Hufflepuff Prefect stated.

"Did you see her hit Erick in the head with the porridge? I thought Snape was going to have a heart attack," a Ravenclaw student said excitedly.

"You've started a revolution, you know that? I don't know of any Hogwarts Alumni who caused this much trouble," Jonathan laughed.

"Hey, at least it got them talking again. Besides, any one of them could have done it. Next time I'll just make sure I have the latest pranks from Fred and George readily available."

"Miss Snape, what house were you in?" a young, presumably first year Slytherin questioned her.

"Ravenclaw," Lenna replied simply. "Though, some of my best friends were in Slytherin and Gryffindor."

"You were friends with Gryffindors? I hardly think that would have gone over well with Professor Snape."

"No, no it didn't. More so since I was a friend of Harry Potter's." She smiled at the reaction of the students before they ambushed her for more questions.

They pushed their way into the Great Hall that was now clean of the mess caused earlier that morning. The students were ushered off to their classes, and Severus Snape sat at the head table talking with those who had arrived and were left waiting for Lenna and Jonathan to show up. A hushed silence fell upon the room, as the two friends moved down between the four house tables, before taking a seat.

"Neville? Seamus? Dean? I didn't expect it to be you three that Malfoy was contacting." Lenna smiled, she hadn't seen the three Gryffindors since the night Voldemort had been killed.

"Good to see you too, Lenna," Neville replied and looked over at the fourth person. "Flint informed us that there was something going on at Hogwarts and that we were being asked to come."

"Marcus Flint? Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch Team? I thought he was a Death Eater," Lenna replied truthfully. She hadn't spoken to Flint in over eight years, and hadn't planned on talking to him either. "In fact, I thought the Ministry was looking for him. I believe there's a spot at Azkaban with his name on it."

"Actually, they've given up that hunt," Marcus replied.

"Someone could have told me he was here; I'd have shut up," Lenna hissed.

"You're not one to keep your thoughts to yourself anyway, Lenna," Marcus replied calmly.

Lenna glared at him. He had betrayed her trust so many years ago, and as far as she was concerned he was no better than her mother. She hated him, hated him more than she hated most people she had once been friends with. Her mind lingered on the pain of losing a friend to the dark side. She wanted to believe he was trustworthy, wanted to believe that he really had changed since he was enlisted as a Death Eater.

"I want nothing to do with you, Flint. I want don't want you to have a part in this," Lenna stated maliciously.

"You don't have a choice," Marcus snapped in reply. "Minister of Magic requested I help you."

"And we all know my views on the Ministry of Magic. Get out, Flint! Just walk away. Tell the Ministry I threatened to kill you if you tried to follow. I honestly don't care what they think. You betrayed me once; I won't have you risking our lives."

"I've been in contact with Marcus for four years, Lenna," Draco interjected as he watched the woman fume. "You really take after your father, you know that?"

"I'll take that as a compliment, Malfoy," Lenna replied harshly and turned to look at Flint.

"Arguing about this won't get the topic at hand dealt with. You've obviously called us here for a reason. Flint didn't tell us anymore than we needed to know," Seamus said, looking at each person in turn.

"There wasn't much I could tell. Draco left a lot out in his last letter," Marcus replied.

"Last night the Ministry of Magic made a visit. They've cordially requested that I track down a cure for our current epidemic. Now, most people already know that I've been searching for a cure to the toxins and hoping to find a way to defeat the Shadow. Since I have no choice now I'll be leaving to find the cure. That means that I'm leaving those in my care in the capable hands of the Hogwarts Medi-witch. I've left all necessary information with her. Anything she needs is on that list," Lenna began. "I've also asked Jonathan to stay behind and help inform those left behind about the Shadow and the Toxins."

"Then why are we here?" Dean questioned Lenna.

"I was getting to that," Lenna smiled softly. "I wrote Draco last night asking him to invite those he thought would be beneficial in helping out with what I've been asked to do; he chose you three. He also informed me that you three have been working with Muggle officials. I want you three to stay in contact with Jonathan, and if you make some development with the Muggles in finding a cure you're to report it to both my father and him. Who knows, the muggles might just find a cure to the Toxins. Ginny, Hermione, Draco, Terence and I ..."

"You've no choice Snape, the Ministry has ordered I go with you," Marcus interrupted. And personally I'll take my chances with you than seeing the inside of Azkaban."

"...and Marcus, will be leaving this evening to follow a lead we picked up on last night, "Lenna continued, ignoring the interruption. "I'm not sure where this information will lead us, but when we arrive at our destination we'll write, and then we'll begin our search there. Though Jonathan knows the most about the Shadow I would like all incoming information to go through my father first. The Order of the Phoenix may have been destroyed over the years, but some of us are still here. We'll use Hogwarts as our new Headquarters," Lenna stopped. She could only hope she was making the right choice.

Every choice she made when she was younger had led her friends into danger and now she was on the verge of doing the same thing again. The Order had been destroyed; one by one the members had been killed by rouge Death Eaters or the Shadow after making its first appearance. Even now there were so few of them left that it was near impossible to call in more then twenty people; and not many were willing to fight against an unstoppable demon.

"Madam Pomfrey will begin training the seventh year NEWT students to work with the three patients we've brought to the school, as well as help with daily medical check ups for the survivors. Thanks to Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape they have a corridor on the fourth floor. We'll be able to monitor them closely without having to worry too greatly about the Shadow," Jonathan informed them.

Lenna released a sigh and looked down at the table. "Children should not be learning how to deal with the toxins; they should be out having fun, playing as all children are meant to be. I understand we need the help of anyone wanting to become a medi-witch and I understand that it will give them extra experience, but it is likely that they will contract the disease also. As such, any child that develops any sign of the toxins will immediately be moved to the corridor designated for the survivors and toxin victims of St. Mungo's."

"Lenna, we should get ready. We need to leave as soon as possible," Hermione said as she looked around the table. "We may never have planned for another adventure to Merlin knows where, but we have friends and family counting on us. We need to hurry before anyone else gets hurt or killed."

The group stood, nodded to each other, and began leaving the room. Severus and Lenna had barely said two words to each other; it was easier on both of them not to. Lenna knew well enough that her father was not a man to show emotion, publicly or not. She knew that he worried about her, and that was enough. Saying goodbye for her, way as if saying she was not coming back, and she had no plan on dying while she was gone.

She left the room quickly, and headed to her room when her house elf appeared in front of her.

"Mistress Lenna, Henderson took the liberty of packing a small bag for your journey." The small grey house elf offered the bag of clothing, and other necessities. "Henderson would like to accompany his mistress to where ever she is going."

"Henderson, I need you here to help Madam Pomfrey. I'll be fine." Lenna smiled, and began to head towards her friends.

This is the right decision, she thought to herself as she joined the others. This is the only choice we have. Though she hated the idea of walking into the unknown, they had no other choice in the matter. The information they had found led them to Greece, and that's exactly where they were going. She waited for everyone to return with the things they needed; most had come prepared with everything, but were saying last minute goodbyes to nieces and nephews that were attending Hogwarts.

"Ready when you are!" Ginny stated as she joined the rest of them.

"I had my uncle prepare a portkey to the family estate. We'll appear in the front yard, and then we'll see if my uncle can give us any information that can point us further in the right direction," Terence informed them as he held out the portkey.

"I hate portkeys," Lenna muttered as they all grabbed hold of it.

She felt the pull at her navel as they disappeared into thin air leaving behind some startled students, and one, none to happy, Potions Professor.