In All the Thunder

Chapter Sixteen: A Matter of Blood

For the next three days, Lorena's schedule was about as loose as a screwed in nail and about as empty as the Pacific Ocean. She was trying to gather witnesses. It wasn't that she couldn't find absolutely anybody in the entire planet - she could, and she already had - but it was the fact that no one was willing to testify against Lucius Malfoy. They were all too scared of him. As soon as they heard his name, they crawled back into their holes and left her out in the rain.

"Thanks a lot, prat!" Lorena shouted after her latest attempt as he scampered into the elevator. Lorena glared at the door, making some of her colleagues that saw her flinch, and then disappeared back into her office. She slammed the door shut, causing some books to fall off the bookcase and hit the floor. With a very irritated wave of her wand, they zoomed back to their spots, bashing into the back of the bookcase loudly. However, she paid it no mind as she groaned and fell back into her chair. She swivelled around in it, eyes closed.

Mark Walters had not been a single bit of help. He was one of the School Governors of Hogwarts and had been for a while. He'd been a Governor when she'd been in Hogwarts. She knew Malfoy had pressured them on numerous occasions so certain things would (mysteriously) sway his way, but Mr. Walters, along with five other School Governors, was far too fearful of Lucius Malfoy to say anything. He had merely bolted out of his seat and ran off at the mere mention of her cousin's name.

How did such pathetic wimps become School Governors of Hogwarts? Lorena thought.

A sudden knock on Lorena's office door interrupted her agitated thoughts. She opened one of her eyes to peer at the door. It had to have been Riley, who had been hiding behind a large (upside down) book when Lorena had shouted after Walters.

"Yes, come in, Riley," Lorena sighed. She sat back up straight and looked down at the folder. It hadn't gotten any bigger since the first day. Narcissa had given Lorena her written testimony, which Lorena had been very grateful about. The other woman would provide an excellent testimony against Malfoy, of course, however painful it might be.

Narcissa had also explained to Lorena how Draco had taken the news. She had told her son the truth the night just hours after they'd had lunch together. The poor boy hadn't believed his mother at first; he had been obstinate, claiming that his father was innocent. But his mother's honesty was overpowering. According to her, he hadn't taken it very well at all; he'd locked himself in his bedroom since she'd told him and had not come out for anything so far.

He needed to know, Lorena thought as she watched Riley walk inside her office and shut the door. The younger girl walked up to her desk.

"Another note came in for you," Riley announced. Lorena groaned. Hopefully, it was not from Madam Bones demanding an update or Cornelius Bleeding Fudge demanding that she put an end case immediately. She was, after all, going to put him on the stand, too, which he was furious about. He threatened to fire her if she didn't stop, but Lorena had merely given him her prettiest smile and waved him off.

How could you resist a face like this? Lorena thought with a snort.

"Who's it from?" Lorena asked, holding out her hand. Riley handed the note over to Lorena, who didn't look at it immediately. "Well?"

"I've never heard of this bloke before," Riley noted. "He's never owled you before, I don't think." Lorena began tearing the envelope open absentmindedly, only half-hearing what Riley was saying. "Have you ever heard of a Remus Lupin before?"

"WHAT!" Lorena dropped the note onto her desk and jumped out of her chair as if it had shocked her. She knocked her chair backwards onto the floor and the legs got caught on her robes, jerking her down to the floor along with it. Riley leaped back in surprise. Slowly, Lorena pulled herself back to her feet with the help of the edge of her desk.

"I take it you've heard of him before?" Riley said timidly.

"Heard of him? Heard of him! I've heard of him all right, but I haven't heard from him in years!" Lorena said loudly, nearly shouting. She was finding this very hard to believe. It couldn't be... She'd heard Riley wrong; of course, that had to be it. She'd said someone else's name. "Are you sure?"

"Look at the letter for yourself." Riley pointed at the note on the desk. Lorena snatched the note up and tore it out of the envelope. Shakily, she unfolded the letter and saw something frightening. It was Remus's handwriting, indeed; it looked just the same as it had been eight years ago - the last letter she'd received from him. Lorena sat down slowly, eyes never straying from the letter. It read:

Dear Lorena,

I know that I haven't written to you in quite a long time - eight years, in fact. I'm truly sorry, but I guess there really is no use apologizing to you now. I know how you don't like to dwell on things so I probably shouldn't be dwelling on that bad part on me. I should've owled you a lot more; we should've kept in contact. It would have been nice to be around a friend, but, well, you know how things were then. It hurt. It always hurt.

Anyways, I hope you're doing better now. I see that you're now the Chief Prosecutor. You've accomplished your dreams. Congratulations on achieving such a high status. I also hope that you're not so alone anymore; I left you in the worst possible moment. There's not a day that goes by that I don't feel guilty about leaving you in the time that you needed someone the most. I'll always hate myself for hurting you so much; you just can't know how much it destroyed me to see you so broken. It was a selfish thing to do on my part; and once again, I'm sorry. But let's not make this a pity letter, shall we?

As you can tell, I'm no good at writing letters anymore than I used to be. Well, I can't say that lady luck swung in my direction, as I have just lost my house among a few other things and as for any signs of a love life, well, you should already know my problem when it comes to that. Jobs are very patchy; they come in here and there. Not so much luck now that Voldemort has risen. No one wants someone like me working for them. Nonetheless, I'm doing well. I've got some type of roof over my head and food to eat so I'm well off for now.

You must be wondering about the point of this letter by now. I wasn't planning on writing to you at all, I'm afraid, but I saw you two days ago in Diagon Alley. If I'm not mistaken (which I know I'm not for once), you were having a friendly, little chat with Narcissa Malfoy. Please don't find this offensive, but I found that extremely odd and concerning. Since when did you become friends with your cousin's wife? I missed out on more than I had originally thought. Things just didn't change; the pancake was completely flipped over.

Now, to the point of this bloody thing (you always said I was hopeless when it came to letters): Something has happened that concerns you a lot. I can't exactly say what happened (for reasons you hopefully know why), but this is something that you need to know. I'm not sure how much it'll help you or hurt you, but this is terribly important for you to know - maybe for the sake of closure.

Krystyna was right. I wish I could've told her that when she was still alive.

I can't say much else so I thought we could meet up again. And no, this is not a chance for me to start dating you again because I need some money. I don't need any, thank you very much. I'm off just fine. Back to the original point: I thought we could meet up again, say tomorrow at noon? You seemed to like that little café back in Diagon Alley - or is that your special meeting place with Narcissa Malfoy (that wasn't meant to sound so offensive, by the way)? I really need to explain this to you in person. Maybe we could just talk in your office at the Ministry of Magic.

Please owl me back with a response. This is extremely important. It concerns Padfoot and Wormtail.

Sincerely,
Remus Lupin

There was a long silence. Lorena shook her hair out of her eyes and calmly folded the letter up. She set it on her desk and put her fingers together. After a few more seconds, she took a deep breath and sighed. She knew exactly who Remus was referring to: Padfoot and Wormtail were Sirius and Peter Pettigrew. Had something come up?

'Krystyna was right.' Does that mean Sirius was innocent then - somehow? And does that also mean that Peter is not? Lorena asked herself in her mind. This was making her head spin already. But Peter is dead and Sirius is on the run from the Ministry. Oh, no, I'm not sure I want to know. But this has something to do with Sirius and Peter, and I can't just turn my back on them. There's no turning back now.

Riley gawked at her boss, waiting for Lorena to say something. When she didn't, Riley took matters into her own hands.

"All right, tell me," Riley demanded. "Who is this Remus Lupin bloke?"

"Remus Lupin, Riley, is an ex-boyfriend of mine," Lorena answered coolly, sounding like she was without a care in the world. Riley was rightfully taken aback. Lorena just didn't have ex-boyfriends; she had former dates, but not ex-boyfriends. "I dated him for years and years. We probably would've gotten married had the First War not ended out the way it did. Things went downhill from there, I imagine. I lost control of practically everything, and he became unhappy so he split up with me after my last best friend got killed."

"Krystyna Melanie?" Riley inquired.

"No, Krystyna Black," Lorena snapped, but it wasn't because she was angry at Riley for a common mistake; it was more out of exasperation. Riley blinked, opened her mouth, and then closed her mouth back up. Some things just weren't meant to be questioned, but Lorena already knew what was on the younger girl's mind. "The Head Auror - Scrimgeour, I think - at the time didn't want people to know that Sirius Black had a family so he called her by her maiden name when she was killed. It would've been a horrible scandal had the public found out that they put a man with a family in Azkaban without a decent trial - even one convicted" - more like condemned, Lorena thought - "of doing the crime that he'd done."

"Oh, I thought he did have a fair trial," Riley muttered.

Lorena gave a bitter laugh. "If only! I had spoken - well, argued actually - with the then Minister of Magic, Daniel Jacobs, about it after the sentencing. I was there: I heard everything; I saw everything. For the first time, I saw the injustice of our justice system - and it hurt me more than I'd like to say; that's probably why I'm so difficult nowadays. No one else had to see the desperate look in his eyes before the Dementors took him away forever..."

"And now this Remus Lupin, your ex-boyfriend, wants to...what?" Riley queried curiously.

"He wants to meet up with me again," Lorena answered. "I haven't heard from him in eight years. I mean, I heard of him - oh, when was it? - in 1994. Remember when I argued against Rita Skeeter because she had wanted to do a story on someone?"

"Oh, yes, I remember that, but I don't remember that someone's name though." Riley pouted and tried to remember who it had been about.

Lorena smirked and spun in her chair again. "It was Remus; and I hadn't let her do it," she explained with a humourless chuckle. "Remember? She got so furious that I had gotten it past a judge to not let her do a story on him that she threatened to write a story on me. I told her to write something sweet or I'd get her sent to Azkaban to boot!"

"Ah, yes, now I remember that!" Riley giggled. "She turned redder than her lipstick! It did not look pretty on her. Did she ever do a story on you?"

A bitter but playful smile spread across Lorena's face as she nodded her head. Riley didn't ask about it because it was obviously pretty bad. Lorena had covered her tracks very well when her past was considered so Skeeter couldn't get much on her at all. There were two things that could've been a story to see:

1. She had dated a werewolf for close to eight years - more than knowingly.

2. She was a former alcoholic that had nearly gotten herself killed far too many times.

What else could Skeeter have possibly written about her? That she had a terrible, depressing life and was cousins with Lucius Malfoy? People wouldn't have hated her then; they would have been feeling sorry for her. Needless to say, the story had been a nasty one with all the bitter lies in it (Lorena still always laughed when she remembered the part that said she'd date any guy as long as she got some). Luckily, it hadn't sold very well since the Ministry had been in an uproar about it.

"So do you want me to set up an appointment with Remus Lupin or will you be 'meeting up' with him again at some other restaurant?" Riley asked. Lorena glowered at Riley and then smiled faintly. Riley grinned.

"He's an old friend; you don't have to set up an appointment for him." Lorena told the younger girl. "Goodness, what kind of person would I be then? I'm not that important to say, 'I am so rich and powerful; I make friends and family set up appointments with me.' Oh, please, do I ever do that with Nathan and Brandon?"

"No," Riley replied, grinning embarrassedly.

"I'll just owl him," Lorena told her. Riley nodded her head and started for the door. "Wait; Riley, I need to ask you something. Come back here for a minute." Riley stopped and turned around. She walked back to the desk and gave Lorena a curious look. "Did you ever find that note from my mother? My mind has just been on so many other things that I completely forgot to ask you about it when I came back from my chat with Narcissa."

"Oh! Yes, I'm sorry." Riley dug around in her pockets until she pulled out a crumpled up note. She tried to smoothen it out, but Lorena shook her head.

"I don't care about that," she said softly. Riley hesitated, nervous, and slowly handed the note over to Lorena. She opened the note up and her eyebrows rose in surprise. Never in a million years had she expected to ever see her mother again, much less have her mother request to meet her.

"Bloody hell, it's as if my entire past decided to make an appointment with me this week," Lorena groaned as she tossed the note into the bin and spun around in her chair. Riley gave her a questioning look. "I've got to meet my mum today. She says it's something important. It might be about-"

Lorena cut herself off very quickly and turned pink in the face. She was about to say that Brandon was going ask Riley to marry him...to Riley, herself. She laughed in the uncomfortable air.

"It might be about Nathan," Lorena replied coolly. That was a disaster avoided. Riley didn't look like she believed her completely so Lorena continued: "He doesn't have a girlfriend right now. Remember that letter from Nathan?" Riley nodded her head. "Well, it wasn't only about the Quidditch Tournament. He told me mum's been bugging him about getting a girlfriend so he can get married and have plenty of grandchildren for her. But Nathan is too happy with living the bachelor life right now; it's kind of hard to have a girlfriend during the Quidditch season."

"True," Riley sighed. She looked convinced enough, Lorena decided.

"I must be off," Lorena sighed, sounding disappointed. She stood up and pocketed her wand. "I don't want my dear old mum showing up here, blathering like an idiot in a very loud voice."

"Of course," Riley said, nodding her head.

"But first." Lorena dropped back into her seat suddenly, startling Riley. Lorena pulled out a small piece of parchment and grabbed her quill. She wrote a lengthy note very hastily (it always surprised Riley at the speed Lorena could write) and then charmed it, sending it off. Lorena stood back up. "Remus needed a reply so I gave him one. I shall be off now."

"But what about the Malfoy case?" Riley asked quickly, running after Lorena, who had walked out of the office abruptly.

Lorena turned around when she walked into the elevator. "At any rate, my mum probably wants to convince me to let go of his case," she said with a shrug. "With any luck, I might be able to manage pulling something out of her. She knew more than she let on when I was younger."

"But that was-"

"Unlike me, Riley, she didn't sever ties with Malfoy," Lorena replied coolly. It suddenly dawned on Riley and she thought about it. Lorena waved. "Goodbye! See how Jace is doing on the Rodolphus Lestrange case!"

The doors closed and the elevator began its descent. Lorena sighed and leaned against the wall. She was tired from all this running around. That was all she had done non-stop for the past three days. Now she didn't need to expect to see Remus when the doors opened because she'd be seeing him tomorrow. There wasn't possibly anything that could surprise her now.

My life is that black hole the Ministry has fallen into, Lorena thought sullenly.

~*~

Lorena stared up at her old house. It looked like it had gotten taller. Did houses really grow like children? Lorena shook her head at herself. Her parents must have added on two floors to the house. Nathan and Brandon had finally nabbed their own rooms after she'd left, even though the house had already been huge to begin with. The skies above her were dark and foreboding; the wind picked up. Lorena had half-expected to see dark clouds circling over her house with it swaying in the wind; it was so old and sinister, although not nearly as bad as the Malfoy Manor had been.

Lorena walked up the steps and looked at the door. Oh, they had gotten a new door, too. Actually, they had gotten a lot of new things. She wondered what had happened in the years she'd been gone as she went to grab the knocker to announce herself. However, when she touched the knocker - a snake (How appropriate, Lorena thought) - it hissed and snapped its jaws at her. She jerked her hand back before the snake knocker could sink its metal fangs into her hand.

"Bloody hell!" Lorena yelped, holding her hand back. "Did my mum call for me so she could kill me?" At that moment, the door swung open. The room inside was completely black. The house was still as sinister as it had been before, except a lot much darker - literally and psychologically. She brought her wand out and cautiously walked inside. The door slammed shut behind her; she was in the pitch black. "'Should've known that was going to happen. Lumos! Ah, yes, that's better."

The light from her wand lit her way around. The insides of the house had changed much more dramatically than the outside. Upon further inspection, Lorena came to find that this house reminded her of the Malfoy Manor very much. She felt the texture of a lounging chair and then shook her head - same texture. She left the foyer and walked into the corridor that should lead her to the kitchen.

"Miss Jezebel, you have come! Mistress Fawcett will be tragically pleased!"

Lorena looked down and saw a small house elf staring up at her with large brown eyes. The house elf was wearing the usual dirty tea rag. She looked younger than most house elves; she must've been only a few years old. Still, none of this could draw her away from what the house elf had called her.

"Excuse me? What did you call me?" Lorena asked, giving the house elf a suspicious look.

"Miss Jezebel!" the house elf replied in a squeaky voice.

"Ah, but that is not my name, sorry," Lorena told the house elf. She looked at Lorena oddly, as if she had said something wrong. Lorena gave the house elf a soft look. She remembered how house elves were treated, and she doubted things had become any better since she'd had one. "My name is Lorena."

The house elf gasped. "We is not allowed to speak of that name, Miss Jezebel! It is forbidden! Mistress Fawcett will be in spite if she hears Miss Jezebel speak of such dishonours!"

"So now I'm Miss Jezebel and not Lorena, the Dishonourable?" Lorena grinned wickedly. Her mother had outdone herself, really. Never in a trillion years would she have expected that her name would be as horrible as the most horrid of swear words. The house elf gasped again when Lorena said her own name.

"Do not speak the name!" the house elf squealed fearfully. Lorena sighed and nodded her head. Things were just too strange for her right now. She followed the house elf down the corridor.

I feel like bloody Voldemort, Lorena thought, except they call him You-Know-Who and I get stuck with my blasted middle name. Life is so unfair to me. I want a cool pseudonym! Like...She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He'd definitely kill me just for spoofing him way too much.

"Couture will take Miss Jezebel to Mistress Fawcett now," the house elf was saying. "Mistress Fawcett is waiting for Miss Jezebel in the parlour. Couture brought out tea and crumpets for Mistress Fawcett and Miss Jezebel."

I hate crumpets, Lorena thought. Mum just did that to spite me.

"Thanks...Couture."

Oh, Merlin, they're even naming their house elves with things to do with fashion! I can't believe they're still obsessed about that pointless dung, Lorena thought, looking down at the house elf with pity.

When Couture, the house elf, opened the door to the parlour, Lorena was blinded by light. The walls were made up of windows and sunlight was pouring into them, although it wasn't real sunlight, just charmed. Unlike the true outside weather, the weather outside of the window walls was very sunny. Lorena conjured a pair of sunglasses and put them on quickly.

"Ah, much better," she sighed to herself.

"Jezebel, dear, come in," a soft yet somewhat hoarse voice called to her. Lorena looked over to her left and saw her mother (albeit much older now) sitting in one of the squishy, white chairs. She was sipping on a cup of tea. Lorena frowned; she didn't want to be referred to by her terrible middle name all today. However, she walked into the room and sat down across from her mother. Couture left them and shut the door.

"Er..."

"I see you have not changed much, Lorena," her mother, Ana Fawcett, said rather frostily.

"The same should be said of you, mother," Lorena remarked just as coldly, keeping a calm look about her. That was something that had changed dramatically; she could keep her anger in check these days. "Of course, you have not kept your youthful appearance as well as I have. How does being fifty-eight feel?"

Ana smiled bitterly. "I admit that I deserved such a disdainful retort," she replied. "I am ashamed of my treatment of you when you were younger; it was harsh and horrible. I see now that it was not you who chose the path you walked but us. We put ourselves ahead of you and were not yet prepared for a teenage daughter, who was strong. We grew up in a time when girls automatically submitted themselves and were always submissive. You were one of a kind and clearly unheard of at the time. I'm afraid we did wretched things to you, my dear."

"It's a bit too late to apologize now," Lorena pointed out in an apathetic voice.

"That I know," Ana sighed. "I had watched you grow up and had seen that you were well beyond your years when it came to your intelligence. All of us knew that you would amount to something great. I wanted you to unlock your potential to the extreme, but you did not want to do it in the way that we all did. You desired control over your own life, which we were not used to."

"I remember that." Lorena snorted, much to her mother's contempt. She still had that seventeen year-old girl in her, deep down inside; although hidden, she was there. "I remember that very much."

"The more we pushed, the more you pulled back," Ana said, "and the more you pulled back, the more we jerked on your restraints to control you. It didn't matter though; we'd lost control of you in your third year and that was it; I knew we were fighting a lost battle by then. All that I had had planned for you, I could see falling apart right in front of me. I wanted you to be who you could be; I never knew that all I had to let you do was allow you be who you wanted to be."

"Too bad Allen wasn't a little older than me," Lorena interjected. "You could've experimented on him instead."

"Allen, yes, he is something that I need to talk to you about," Ana sighed, sounding guilty for once. Lorena raised her eyebrows. This was going to be interesting, indeed. "But first things first, I suppose. Lorena, your father died last week."

"Oh, that's why this place is so morose-looking," Lorena commented, and then added under her breath, "Not that it was any happier-looking before."

Ana frowned at her estranged daughter. Lorena had been the only daughter she had ever had. She had wanted more little girls, but after Lorena, her husband, Martin, had not wanted another girl. She had been enough trouble. So when Nathan and Brandon were born, he'd been enthused - only to realize that two boys were a lot more trouble than one rebellious teenage daughter. Lorena would never know, but Ana was proud of her only daughter. If she had just been an obedient girl, maybe her heart wouldn't have broken so many times.

"Lucius's father died last week, too," Ana added.

"Fascinating," Lorena replied dryly. "I guess Azkaban finally went to his head."

Lucius's father, Cassius Malfoy, had been sent to Azkaban in Lorena's seventh year at Hogwarts because he was a Death Eater, along with Lucius's older brother, Marcus, who was also a Death Eater. They had nearly killed Sirius - and Remus. Lorena never mentioned herself, who Samuel, Krystyna's older brother (who had also been sent to Azkaban for the same reasons), had almost killed.

"No, Azkaban never went to his head," Ana said irritably, "because he unfortunately had some unfinished business."

"I don't really want to know," Lorena intoned.

"You will listen to me, Lorena, because this, you need to know; after all, it concerns you," Ana said in a business-like way that gave her no option of escape. Lorena glowered at her mother, but pursed her lips, controlling her temper. "Both yours and Lucius's father died last week - at the same time."

"Oh, no, please don't tell me. Now I really don't want to know!" Lorena felt horrified. No, something was wrong with this picture. She was definitely not hearing this correctly. There was only one conclusion to this whole thing; and it was something that Lorena did not want to face. Her life was seriously a black hole. It was destroying itself. "No, no, that just can't be right. You...Uncle Cassius..."

"Cassius and I were never related to begin with - closely, at least. We were of the same lineage, but it was far too back. We weren't brother and sister; that was just a little lie to cover up...something else. My maiden name was never Malfoy; it was Wicken - Ana Wicken, not Ana Malfoy."

Ana didn't turn away from her daughter, who was being stubborn and continued to disbelieve her. She knew that this was something she should've told Lorena a long time ago when Lorena was a teenager, but things had been too difficult between them. At least, now, they could have a civilized conversation.

"This is so...wrong!" Lorena exclaimed, shaking her head. "No, no, I don't believe you."

"Believe me, Lorena, it was hard on all of us to find out, but that was the easiest thing to say!" Ana explained, keeping a firm look on her face. Lorena was getting out of hand again; Ana felt herself losing control of the situation very quickly. "Cassius and I looked so alike; it was so easy to get away with and before I had the chance to tell you, your relationship with everyone diminished. It wouldn't have been right to tell you then."

"I didn't want to know to begin with!" Lorena declared. She took the sunglasses off and tossed them onto the coffee table, putting her face in her hands and rubbing it. She then shoved her fingers through her messy, blond hair. She pulled her face back up, looking very tired. "Tell me, what happened?"

"Your, um, father - Martin - and I had been having difficulties since the beginning of the marriage. We didn't want to be in it and our fighting had worsened greatly. We were emotionally distant with each other, which is not a good thing at all for a relationship. A year later, I met Cassius Malfoy and I fell in love. Even at that time, I knew he was married; and he knew I was married. But that hadn't mattered then. We were both young and unhappy with our marriages; we thought nothing could go wrong and no one would find out. A few months later, I found out that I was pregnant - and not with Martin's child."

"Oh, good gods," Lorena groaned.

"What happened next was something unimaginable," Ana explained in a calm voice. Lorena was beginning to wonder how her mother could sound so flippant about something so serious. It was only right then that Lorena realized where she had inherited that talent from. "Cassius's wife, Selena Malfoy, became pregnant. I thought that I might make you appear as Martin's daughter because Cassius and I looked alike, but then I found out something else."

"What else could possibly have happened?" Lorena demanded, sinking down in her seat. This was unbelievable. It was just not possible. How could this be happening? The second she gets Lucius Malfoy's case and fate chooses that exact moment to turn the entire world against her!

"Allen happened. He's not your twin - or your blood related brother at all. I'm sure you've wondered why you two were so different and how we could have had two pairs of twins." Ana laughed painfully. "Unknown to me, while I was having my little affair, Martin was having one of his own. But Allen's biological mother died giving birth to him, which left me. Since he told me of his affair, I told him of mine. Lucius was born, and then Allen, and then you came last. The only problem was Allen and yours one month age difference. Cassius was the one who obliviated the Birthing Healers for us."

"Why would he do something like that?" Lorena asked, although she felt as if she didn't want to know. All of this was coming at her all at once way too quickly. It felt as if someone was pounding her over the head with a hammer.

"That was the deal. As you were Cassius's first and only daughter, he wanted to see you as much as he could. I couldn't do anything against him without raising our affairs into the matter. I went along with him on one condition: No one was to be told of anything. Marcus was told when he was old enough, but that still left Lucius and you. We covered it up by saying we were brother and sister because of our similar looks. The lie worked so well. I sent you over there, not only for discipline, but so you could spend time with your other family, your father and your brothers. You loved going over there when you a little girl, far more than staying here when Martin and I still were having our major differences. But after you started Hogwarts, I knew you hated it there, but you hated staying here, too."

This could not be happening. Those people that had gotten sent to Azkaban weren't her immediate family at all. No, this was wrong. It wasn't real. This was a dream. Cassius Malfoy was her uncle, not her father, and Lucius Malfoy and Marcus Malfoy were her cousins, not her half-brothers. Not at all - that was not real.

But it was very real and very true.

"Lucius and Marcus are your half-brothers, Lorena," Ana stated.

"That is...impossible," Lorena replied stubbornly, shaking her head. She laughed, half out of anger and half out of trying to make herself feel better. Her possible worst enemy not only had the same blood in him as her, but was her half-brother. He was closer in relation than a cousin. She had sent some of her immediate family to Azkaban. Now she knew how Krystyna had felt sending her father and brother to Azkaban.

"Cassius wanted to tell you before he died, but he never got the chance." Ana shook her head and gave another bitter laugh. "He had always said that it would be you who got him in the end - he said you were so smart. And he was right. You got the best of him, after all - his only daughter."

"I'm not his daughter," Lorena grumbled, "and I'm not your daughter any longer."

Lorena stood up quickly. She felt very nauseous right now; she wanted to throw up her lunch. This was just way too much for her to handle.

Her mother slowly stood up. "You will always be my daughter."

"Oh, so you outlaw my first name in this house? Am I still your daughter? If I am no longer Lorena, then who am I? I'm bloody Jezebel!" Lorena screeched furiously. Ana flinched at the harshness of her words, but they were true so she couldn't do anything. "Oh, I guess maybe my middle name is after my grandmother, after all - on my biological father's side! What a slip."

"You are not the Lorena you used to be!" Ana said loudly. "It hurts me every time I hear your name. I would rather hear your middle name instead so my heart doesn't ache so."

"It sickens me every time I hear anything to do with you and this ruddy family," Lorena spat. "I'm glad that I'm not that Lorena anymore. I'm a much better person now." Ana glowered at Lorena. "Good day, Mistress Fawcett. Or should I call you Mistress Malfoy?"

"That was uncalled for!" Ana exclaimed.

"But true," Lorena retorted. The control she had kept over her temper had disappeared. She felt nothing but anger and sickness. She needed to get away from this place; what she needed was some fresh air and an easy life. "Good day."

"Lorena, please!" Ana rushed after her daughter, who had stalked out of the room moodily. "Lorena Jezebel Malfoy, you get back here this instant!"

Lorena stopped in her tracks immediately. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. No matter how much she didn't want to face it, it came back to her. She wasn't a Fawcett, after all: She was a Malfoy. And now that she found out, it would be changed.

"I'm not a Malfoy," Lorena whispered.

"You are a Malfoy, Lorena," Ana said quietly. "You see it every day when you look in the mirror. You knew it all along, even if it was for different reasons. You were never a Fawcett to begin with. You grew up with the tendencies of your father. No matter how much we tried to hide them; they were there. The only thing that kept you from being one completely was your defiant mind."

"I'm not a Malfoy," Lorena repeated under her breath, now trying to convince herself of it. She had never been a Fawcett; she had always seen the Malfoy in her, but she refused to acknowledge it completely. To acknowledge it would have made her one of them; and now, she was one of them. "I never will be a Malfoy."

Lorena left the Fawcett household for once and for all. Nathan and Brandon were her half-brothers, as were Lucius and Marcus. Allen wasn't her brother at all, but her step-brother--in a way. Martin wasn't her father, but Cassius was. Ana was her mother while Selena was like her step-mother. That would make Narcissa her sister-in-law, not her cousin by marriage, and Draco was her nephew, not second cousin.

Things had spun out of control. Things were unravelling.

And Lorena hadn't even spoken to Remus yet.