I jolted up in bed, sweating profusely from the intensity of my dream. It was the same one that I had had for years. Except, it wasn't a dream. It was a memory. The only memory that I had of my birth mother. It has haunted me my whole life.

"Guys, if you don't hurry we're going to be late," Mum called up the stairs. At this I could hear the rushing sounds of my younger brothers as they too hurriedly got ready. All of our luggage was packed and already in the car, all we had left to do was get ourselves downstairs with our backpacks.

Aiden was the middle child, at eleven years old. From Ireland he sported soft red hair, bright green eyes, a splash of freckles, and a loving smile. My youngest brother Sean was a blonde headed seven year old with huge blue eyes and cherubic features. We were all adopted and, at thirteen years, I was the oldest.

"Do you have everything you need, Jules?" Papa asked as I walked into the kitchen at the right of the stairs.

"I think so. I double checked everything," I tried to assure him. "Is Alex going to meet us at the portkey?"

"Actually, he's going to meet us at the Leaky Cauldron. He said that he has some business to attend to in muggle London before he joins us."

Alex was the code name we had for my half brother, Apollo. It wouldn't do to call him by his name as people would automatically think of who he really was, a Greek god. I knew that my half brother was a god just as I knew that my biological father was a god. I didn't love my older brother any less for it. In fact, I loved him more because it was hard for him to love me but he did it anyways. My biological father, Zeus, was harder to explain. He loved me, that much was obvious, he just had a very hard time showing it. I thought for a long time that he hated me and then I realized that if he did he wouldn't have placed me with the wizarding family that raised me. He could've very well sent me to live at the camp that Alex says the rest of the misplaced half bloods go to.

My parents, Emma and Garrett Sánchez, were both purebloods who could have no children of their own. They decided that they wanted kids so they adopted three magical children that would've otherwise been sent to live with muggles. My Papa graduated from a school in Spain but my mum was a graduate of Hogwarts, the school that I, and now Aiden, attended. Aiden was going into his first year and I into my third.

The mansion my papa had inherited from his parents was extensive and in the back, past the lake, their was a portkey that would take us to the Leaky Cauldron. Shopping for school was something I looked forward to every year as it was one of the only guaranteed times of the year that I would get to see my older brother. He liked to accompany us on these outings and he was there waiting for us when we arrived, dressed to the nines in his blue cashmere business suit, black button down shirt, and matching blue tie.

"Alex!" I exclaimed, running into his open arms. He held me close and I relished in the feeling of his strong, protective arms. "I'm so glad you're here! How've you been?"

"Oh, you know, traveling to and from Olympus, hooking up with mortals," he laughed, teasing me.

"Stop it, Aiden and Sean are here."

"My boys!"

My younger brothers engulfed him, giving me the chance to escape. Across the room I spotted my three best friends and hurried over to where they were sitting down to eat.

"Juliet!" Harry shouted, shooting up out of his chair and coming around the table to give me a huge hug. I was passed around to Ron, then Hermione, and finally to the twins who sandwiched me in between them. When I was finally able to get free I sat down at the table, letting my three brothers join us.

"Hey guys," my older brother said as he took a seat next to me. He knew my friends in passing. He didn't know them terribly well but he knew that I loved him so he didn't feel like he had to. "How is everyone on this fine summer day?"

"Alex, shut up," I laughed, smacking my brother playfully on the arm before allowing him to wrap it around me and snuggling into his chest in perfect content. "But really, what are you all doing here?"

"We just got back from Egypt," Fred said, giving me his most charming smile. "How about you?"

"My parents-"

"Fred! George!" Sean screamed, rushing to the twins. They scooped him into a hug and he buried himself in their stomachs. "You were gone all summer. I missed you."

"We missed you too," they said in unison, eliciting giggles from the boy. I looked around at the people I loved most in the world, my parents conversing with the Weasleys, whom I considered family, Ron and Hermione arguing, Harry digging into his lunch as if he'd never seen food before, the twins amusing Sean with their tricks, Aiden blushing a bright scarlet as he spoke to Ginny, and Alex, his arm wrapped around me in a way that let you know he'd never really let me go. This was my family, where I belonged.

"Now, are we all ready to go? Harry? Hermione?" Aunt Molly asked as the adults came to join us. After receiving affirmative nods they herded us out of the inn and onto the streets of Diagon Alley. Alex and I fell in step with Harry, knowing Alex would pay for our school things as he always did.

We first stopped in the bookstore and a wanted poster caught my eye of a man who had escaped from Askaban. I had heard my parents talking about it, as my Papa was an auror and was helping look for him, but I didn't know much. Seeing his picture struck something in me as I recognized the black curls that framed his face as being much the same as those on the woman from my dreams, and as those that sat atop my own head. It seemed that Alex noticed the look because he pulled me behind a bookcase, intent on talking in private.

"Recognize something, do you?" He smiled, nudging me playfully. He would've told me who she was a long time ago but he had been forced by Zeus to swear that he wouldn't. He'd been dropping me what hints he could, hoping that I would figure it out. He couldn't tell me anything directly but he could dispel every option but the right one.

"That man, Sirius Black, they have the same hair," I stated. "Is it… are they related?"

"They do not have the same last name. Anymore."

"How are they related?"

"They're not siblings and they are around the same age."

"So cousins, most likely. Thank you, Alex."

"She loved you, more than anything, she loved you. You-you may think bad of her when you learn who she is but please realize that everything she did, she did to keep you safe from those who would hurt you because you are of Father's blood."

I fell forward into his arms, tears streaming down my face. My older brother was the only person I was truly this open with, the only person I could bare my soul to. He knew of my sadness at not knowing my birth mother and he didn't judge me for it. It wasn't that I didn't love my mum, because I did. It was just that I couldn't help but feel longing for the sad, beautiful woman from my memory, the crying mother who haunted my dreams.

As soon as I was able to pull myself together, we were off, searching the stacks for the books I would need. A thought came to me and, with what little knowledge of the Black family I had, I picked up a book called Modern Pureblood Families: History, Heritage, and Lineage. Alex smiled at the choice and I knew then that the answers I was seeking were in that book.