Shadow's Truth

With a thud they landed roughly on the ground in a heap of flesh. Groaning, they all slowly moved. Lenna found herself on the bottom of the pile.

"Someone had best remove their hand from my backside or they're going to lose it!" Lenna growled, and the hand was quickly removed. "Thank you! Now GET OFF ME!"

As much as she knew it was one of the few ways of traveling she wasn't much of a fan of it. Terence had explained that there was no other way of traveling to the estate as the Apparation points were changed regularly and the house wasn't set up with the floo system. He had quickly told her to stop "bitching" about it, and left promptly to pick up the portkey well before their meeting with Professor Snape and the others.

Much to her surprise, they found themselves on a beautiful property, very few trees, but a long cobblestone pathway with hedges lining the way to the door. Off in the distance she could make out the sound of running water, the soft call of the birds, and children laughing. The house, mansion was more like it, was white with a large front window looking out over the rolling hills, and heavenly landscape surrounding. A second floor balcony was off to the right side of the house, and an open doorway led into the house. A staircase of six stairs led up to the front door underneath a large overhang.

Smiling inwardly, Lenna thought of home. Though her family never had a large house, she felt like she was home here. She looked up at Terence who seemed less pleased with being there than she was. Her expression changed at his discontent, and instead she turned her attention back to the landscape.

"We'll take a day or two to relax here before we continue on. Just because we have a journey leading us into Merlin knows where, doesn't mean we have to forget that we need to take care of ourselves as well," Lenna said calmly, really wanting to explore the land around the house.

"Terence, how good of you to visit. Is your father well?" The group turned around to look at an elderly man behind them.

He was clean-shaven, with tufts of white hair around his ears, bright grey eyes, which gave Lenna the impression that he might have, at one point in his younger years, had blond hair. His face was ever so slightly wrinkled with age; but he walked as though he was as young as ever. Having seen how Professor Dumbledore had walked later in his years, Lenna found it almost impossible to tell the age of the man speaking with them. He wore simple clothing, blue trousers with a pale blue tee shirt and a gold chain around his neck.

"Uncle," Terence replied simply. "Father is faring well. You know we are here on urgent business for the Ministry of Magic."

"Ministry of Magic!" the man grumbled. "Keeping family too busy to talk. You'll stay awhile and visit."

"Yes, of course. You have a lovely home, sir," Lenna said as politely as she could muster without sounding completely ridiculous. Inwardly she hated having to be polite, wishing she could just speak openly and freely around everyone; but the man was much older than her and deserved respect. Should her father ever find out she had even thought of not showing the proper respect to an elder, he would have her head!

"And who is this lovely lady, Terence?" he asked his nephew.

"This is Lenna Snape."

"The girlfriend you spoke of so often when you were a boy?"

Sighing heavily, Terence only nodded. "That is not the case now uncle. Lenna is a widowed woman. And we have a lot of work to do."

"And these are?" he motioned to the others.

"Draco Malfoy," Terence motioned to Draco, "Ginny Weasley," Ginny nodded her head, "Hermione Granger, and Marcus Flint."

"Yes, I remember Marcus from when he was a child."

"This is my Uncle Jamison. Don't pay too much mind to him. He's senile in his old age."

"Terence!" Lenna and Hermione chided.

"Let us show you in. Ladies, shall we?" Jamison placed a hand on the backs of both Ginny and Hermione, since they were the closest.

"If he so much as touches you, Lenna, I'll have his hands," Terence mumbled and followed everyone inside.

"You don't trust him?"

"Do you trust your mother?"

"That's not the point. My mother is a sadistic murderer. I hardly see anything wrong with your uncle," Lenna said calmly. "This place is beautiful. Why didn't you mention you had this estate?"

Lenna took everything in, from the golden colour of the portrait frames to the green marbled flooring that lead up the stairs. The hall split off into rooms on both sides. Jamison explained that the rooms in the back were family rooms and the ones in the front of the house were generally used when entertaining guests. Malfoy had said that it was quite like that at his family's manor. They had not seen behind many of the closed doors, but were led into a room at the back of the house.

Lenna had forgotten she was in the middle of a conversation with Terence when she saw the backyard. A large in-ground pool spread out from behind a large rose bush, and the running water she had heard before was from a fountain in the middle. A large white table sat in the shade of the house, and ornate patio stones led to the pool. Small flowers bloomed around the stones beside the patio.

"Please, have a seat around the pool. I'll have Nicolas bring out refreshments while we discuss the matter of why you are here," Jamison replied shortly as a young man exited the house.

"Sir?"

"Refreshments for our guests, and when you finish with that, be sure to check and see that Diana and Darien have finished with the room preparation."

"Of course, sir."

"You have people for servants?" Draco questioned, an appalled look on his pale features.

"Do you not?"

"No, we have house elves, creatures that do what we want," Draco explained.

"Are they magical, these people servants of yours?" Lenna questioned, eager to learn more.

"Heavens no," Jamison replied.

"Nicolas, Diana, and Darien are my cousins, on my Aunt Pauline's side of the family. When she learned none of them possessed magical abilities she sent them off to Uncle Jamison. The family hates squibs! They disown and sell them into servitude if they can make a pretty penny off of them. How much did you pay for them, Uncle?" Terence questioned.

"That is none of your business, boy," Jamison hissed, causing Lenna to notice a distinct resemblance between Jamison and Lucius Malfoy.

"Down to business then," Lenna said hoping to ease the air a little. "We're here to ask if you could direct us to the nearest area that has had Lethifold activity."

"My dear, there hasn't been a Lethifold in this area in over five hundred years. They were exterminated when they attacked a young child who had been lost," Jamison replied. "A man a few years back came searching for them; told him the same story and sent him off on his way."

"What did this man look like, Uncle? It's very important," Terence said urgently, sitting up in his chair.

"I don't remember. Just remembered that he came looking for them; snooping around the town, hoping to find them. One of the villagers sent him here, and I had to turn him away. Poor lad, I have no idea why he was looking for the Lethifolds, but we haven't any," Jamison replied curtly.

"For someone that doesn't remember what he looks like, you certainly remember a lot of details about when he came. Are you sure you don't remember anything more?" Draco questioned sternly. They were getting nowhere with the old man, and it was rather annoying Draco.

"My dear boy, I would not lie to you."

"Excuse us Uncle, but I think we should all retire to our rooms and freshen up," Terence said as he stood and offered his hand to Lenna. He shot her a look of 'we need to talk, now!'

When she took his hand, the others quickly followed suit not waiting to see if their host had a problem with it. Though, they hadn't a clue where their rooms were and had to wait and see if the man would show them the way.

"Yes of course. You're right my boy. Come along, I'll show you to your rooms."

The group of friends walked closely together, saying nothing as they made their way through the halls, up the stairs, and down another corridor. Lenna looked at just about everything as they walked down towards a large set of double doors. There were paintings of family members lining the walls, and all of the people turned to watch them.

"This is your common area. I hope you find your rooms satisfactory. If you need anything let Diana know and she will get it for you." Jamison smiled sweetly and left them alone in the hall.

Lenna cringed inwardly. Since Jamison's outburst against Terence, she had a feeling of distrust towards the man. To her, he was acting almost sickeningly sweet to them, more so to Hermione and Ginny. He almost never looked at her, she wasn't complaining about, just found odd.

Stepping into the common area, Lenna found it almost identical to the Ravenclaw Common Room at Hogwarts. There were couches and chairs and a large bookcase. A fire burning in the hearth, and a large picture of a woman above it, the carpet was lush and a warm yellow. But it was the picture of the woman that brought her attention away from the bookcase. Lenna felt as if the painting was watching her closely, but every time she turned to look at it she found it looking at Terence.

"Terence?" Lenna questioned taking a seat in one of the chairs. "You're rather quiet."

"I hate being here."

"You suggested it, mate," Marcus replied quickly, taking a seat across from Lenna.

"Don't remind me. I had hoped Jamison wouldn't be in charge anymore. But then, I should have known better. If he had of been stripped of his duties..." Terence sighed and stood in front of the fireplace, his back turned to the group.

Marcus and Lenna shared a moment of understanding. They had known Terence longer than the other three had, and so they allowed the young man to have his space. However, Hermione seemed to want to know more on the situation.

"Explain what you meant, Terence. If he'd been stripped of his duties, what would have happened?" Hermione questioned.

"If Jamison was stripped of his duties, or was killed, then the next male wizard in the family would take over. My father is ill, and couldn't possibly take over."

"Passing over him, you'd be next," Draco finished for him, having known much about being the heir to a family fortune or duty.

"Exactly. It's just a little more complex than just taking over your father's business or estate. Our family has been guarding something, though I'm not sure what, for thousands of years. If Jamison gives up his right, I take his place and the life I've built for myself in London would be disallowed. I'd have to leave my job, my friends and if I had a family of my own, leave them too. It's not something I want, but I have no choice," Terence said forlornly.

Lenna stood up quickly and left the room for what she hoped would be her room. They heard the door slam behind her, and Terence kicked the wall beside the hearth.

"You didn't tell her, did you mate?" Marcus questioned.

"How was I supposed to tell her? It doesn't matter that I love her. This family doesn't care about such 'trivial' things. You do what you have to, to keep the family secret safe. No friends, no family, just a life of solitude in this hellhole of a house. It's a fate far worse than death. I want her, not this life."

"Does she know that?" Ginny asked sitting by the window with Hermione, while Draco and Marcus sat nearer to Terence.

Terence opened his mouth to say something, but just looked at the ground in defeat. What was he supposed to say? He had hurt Lenna once before when he broke up with her, and he was just now getting back in her good graces. He should have known that coming back here would make things worse; that he would eventually have to tell her the truth, he just didn't expect it to happen so soon. How was he going to make it up to her? How was he going to convince the one woman he loved more than life that he wanted nothing more than to wake up with her sleeping comfortably in his arms ever day for the rest of his life? It wasn't one of the easiest things in the world, and harder more so because Lenna wasn't one to give forgiveness easily.

"Let us talk to her," Hermione said calmly. "We'll see what we can do to fix this mess you men seem to create." She smiled cheekily as she stood up, Ginny following suit.

When the girls left, Terence threw himself into the chair Lenna had vacated. Draco had found a flask of liquor on the table with a note attached to it. 'For the men of the group.' Pouring three glasses of the Brandy, Draco handed one to Marcus and Terence before taking his seat again. It seemed only natural to have a drink, seeing as one of them was hurting.

Terence simply looked at the glass for a moment, before downing the contents. He hadn't had a drink with friends in years. It was nice to sit in the comfort of someone else's house and not have to worry too much on what was going on in the outside world. However, he knew the liquor wouldn't do much for his mood, but it was the thought that counted. They weren't about to discuss what had just happened, no, they were just going to drink themselves into a stupor, and then bitch and complain about the complexities that were women.

In the other room, Hermione and Ginny had snuck into the room to find Lenna standing by an open window, her back turned to them. Her shoulders hunched, and her head bowed; both girls had known their friend was hurting. This was the third time they had found her, alone, in her bedroom, upset with something one of the men in her life had done; the first time had been when Marcus had betrayed her friendship and joined the Death Eaters, and the second was when Terence broke up with her. Now they had to put the pieces of their friend back together.

"Lenna?" Ginny asked quietly, and watched as her friend turned to look at them.

"What?" she cried, as she wiped away her tears.

Hermione looked at Ginny and the girls nodded to one another before going and pulling Lenna away from the window and over to the bed. They sat on the bed, Hermione on Lenna's left and Ginny on her right.

"I think we need to have a girl talk, with some chocolate ice cream and hot cocoa," Hermione said as she summoned three tubs of ice cream, and three cups of hot cocoa.

Lenna laughed at her friends, but took the offered ice cream. "I don't think I've ever sat in bed eating ice cream."

"Yes you have! Remember when I was seventeen and mum had asked you to come over to the house because of Dean breaking up with me. Remember how she brought us ice cream and we all sat up talking," Ginny said with a smile.

"I remember," Lenna cried into her ice cream. "Why is it he always finds away to break my heart?"

"Sweetie, all men have this precognitive ability to know just the right thing to say to break a girl's heart. I can remember how many years I went through Hogwarts with a crush on Ron before he went and asked Luna out? And Harry leaving me," Hermione said truthfully. She had been hurt by her best friends; the two most important men in her life had left her, but she had picked up the pieces and moved on in her life.

"Why do we put ourselves through so much heartache? Why did I even think to forgive him?" Lenna laughed coldly.

"You could talk to him when you've had a chance to cool down. I'm sure he'll be able to explain to you why he didn't tell you sooner. I don't think he planned on hurting you, Lenna. You're his best friend, the woman he fell in love with, and the reason he wants to avoid this life style. He'd do it all for you," Hermione said calmly, wrapping an arm around her friend.

Sighing, Lenna put down the ice cream and looked down at the bed covers. "I...I know. But how are we supposed to have any sort of relationship if he keeps things from me? I've been honest with him all my life. I've never kept anything from him. I've made sure people knew the truth, except with what I am. And that was for other people's safety more than anything else."

"You sure about that?" Ginny replied, receiving a very evil look from her distressed friend. "I'm only saying, Len, that necromancers are feared beings, and they are typically sought out and killed. Was it really for their safety or your own?"

"...A little of both, I guess. I don't know. He still hid stuff from me! How much more is he hiding from me?"

"Talk to him, find out. Give him a chance to explain. Don't shut him out of your life; you won't forgive yourself for that," Hermione said.

"I want to, really I do. I'm just..." Lenna sighed, "Afraid."

"I didn't think I'd ever hear the day that Lenna Snape admitted to actually being afraid of something!" Ginny teased.

"Oh shut up!" Lenna laughed, and took the pillow from behind her and hit Ginny playfully upside the head.

A pillow fight ensued and soon the boys were standing at the door, staring at the mess of melted ice cream, hot cocoa, and feathers all over the bed. The girls were laughing, and looked at the shocked expressions on the boys face.

"Can we join?" Marcus joked, and was hit with a flying pillow.

"Or is it a girls only thing?" Draco laughed.

"Have you boys been drinking?" Ginny questioned taking in the flushed cheeks, and odd behaviour of the old Slytherin Boys.

"Polished off this bottle of...oh it's full again," Terence hiccupped.

"Oh bloody hell. How many times has it refilled on you?" Ginny said with concern in her voice.

"I lost count after...four." Marcus replied taking the bottle from Terence and taking a deep swig.

Lenna blinked, then laughed, "don't come to me asking for an anti-hangover drought tomorrow."

"I think I'm going to be sick!" Terence staggered towards the washroom, leaving the girls giggling in the bedroom.

Hermione and Ginny left the bed and took both Draco and Marcus out of the room, claiming they were going to put the drunken boys in their rooms before they did something they might regret. Lenna had known it was a ploy to get her and Terence to talking, though she would have rather talked to him when he was sober and not drunk. It would serve her right in just leaving him drunk, she might just get the truth out of him that way; but if she was going to have a serious conversation with him, and this conversation would be serious, she wanted him sober.

While Terence was still in her bathroom, Lenna used a quick cleaning charm on the bed, pulled out a sobering-up potion, sat it on the bedside table and then took a seat near the window. She had looked over the now clean room while waiting. A wardrobe was against the wall across from the four-poster bed, and two nightstands were on either side of the bed. Across from where she sat, was the door leading into the bathroom. But for Terence to get to her, he would have had to climb over the bed. She had purposefully placed an object in her way when she took her seat at the window.

"We should talk," Terence said as he stumbled back into the bedroom. "I want to explain," he slurred.

"Terence, take the sobering-up potion I left for you on the nightstand and then we'll talk. I refused to have any sort of conversation with you while you're likely not to remember it in the morning," Lenna said sternly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Doing as he was told, Terence took the potion and sat down on the bed while waiting for the effects to clear his thoughts. When he was sure he was himself again, he turned to look at the woman of his affection. He could still tell she was angry with him, more so now, he figured. After all, he had chosen to get drunk instead of talking things out with her. Now he was put on the spot and still had no idea how he was going to explain things to her.

"I'm sorry," He started off with. "I should have told you before we came here. I should have had the courage to face you; I just didn't know how to tell you. I want more than anything to be with you, but my family's lifestyle just doesn't allow for it. I haven't known long."

He waited for her to interrupt, to yell at him or something, but when nothing came he just continued. "I love you, more than life itself. If I can find a way out of this, I will. I don't want to take over as a guardian: I just want to live the rest of my life out with you. I hope you believe me when I say that."

Terence watched her, but there was no change in her facial or bodily expressions. She was as neutral as any Auror trained in interrogation. He hated when she was like that, when she wouldn't show what she was thinking or feeling. He couldn't even feel what she was feeling, and that bugged him even more.

"Say something, please!" he begged.

"Like what? That you've been keeping this secret for Merlin knows how many years? Were you even going to tell me? If we didn't have to come here, would I have ever learned that there was no way we could be together again?" Lenna asked calmly, her voice as neutral as she felt. Years of practice had paid off; she had learned to be in control of her emotions no matter what.

"I was going to tell you, really I was." He wanted to stand up, and wrap his arms around her shoulders and make her pain go away, but knew better than that. He knew her better than that. "I'm sorry, what more can I say?"

"Even if we could be together, which apparently is destined never to happen, how can I even think to be in a relationship with someone who doesn't even tell me what's going on in their life? Where's the trust? You say you love me, but you're afraid to tell me something that's obviously important in your life." Lenna looked away from him, she was slowly losing control. She didn't want to cry; she didn't want to show how hurt she was.

"I tried; I tried so hard to make myself forget how much I love you. I tried to make myself remember that I was mourning the loss of Daniel." She looked back at him, her eyes glistening with tears. "And I can't. I love you, and you hurt my trust in you, Terence. I want to be apart of your life, not standing on the outside looking in. I want to know what's important to you, I want to know that you've got this strange family inheritance; I want to be with you. I don't care what I have to do to do just that."

This time he moved across the bed, and over to her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and held her while she cried. He would have done anything to spare her the pain he had caused, but he knew there was no way to spare her this pain. She had to know that there was a possibility of the two of them never being together, as much as they wanted to be. Fate had her sticky little paws set on keeping them apart.

"I'll do whatever I have to, to make this up to you. I'll find away for the two of us to be together." Terence whispered.

Lenna simply nodded, and turned her attention to the window. "It's getting late, we should get some rest. After the day we've all had, I'm sure none of you boys will be feeling up to leaving tomorrow. Get some rest, Terence. I'll see what I can do about finding three anti-hangover potions in the morning. I'm sure you'll need one, the sobering potion doesn't last long," she informed him as he was leaving the room.